Rocky Smolin
rockysmolin at bchacc.com
Thu Jun 23 10:21:07 CDT 2011
Building the box was really simple. Specing the components was really the hardest part. Required a little research (and help from the list) but he specced out what he wanted. I helped him with a couple things on the build but remember he's coming off that win at the national robotics competition in St. Louis last April and is not afraid of hardware. So I had him do most of the stuff. He wanted me to drop in the chip and attach the cooler but he did pretty much everything else. And was really happy that he built one instead of buying a box. Being out of school is a big plus - he can spend the rest of the week configuring without being pestered with inconveniences like homework. Or eating and sleeping. So I got that vicarious thrill and will be getting a Dell i7 quad core with 8GB, 1TB, W7 Home Premium, etc., in a week or so with 1 year on-site service - never left my chair - they bring it to me - which I find has a certain charm about it - for about $850. And of course, as you know, doing a project with the boy is its own reward. R -----Original Message----- From: accessd-bounces at databaseadvisors.com [mailto:accessd-bounces at databaseadvisors.com] On Behalf Of jwcolby Sent: Thursday, June 23, 2011 7:31 AM To: Access Developers discussion and problem solving Subject: Re: [AccessD] Rocky - computer build NICE system! A hex core with 8 gigs will last a good long time. My only concern with the build is the AM3 socket. It cannot use the new bulldozer processors coming down the road. OTOH changing the motherboard is pretty trivial these days. So now that the dust has settled, and considering that this was your first build, how do you rate the difficulty of building your own system? I think it is important just because it lets your son see what's in there, learn each part and have confidence that it is easy to add memory, change the graphics card and so forth. My son was in there with me as we blew the dust out of the inside of his desktop machine. I showed him each part and he was fascinated. John W. Colby www.ColbyConsulting.com On 6/23/2011 9:05 AM, Rocky Smolin wrote: > Done! We had a problem with the thing just NOT starting - no post > screen - nothing. The fans powered up, HD turned, DVD lit. So we > knew there was power to the mobo. > > Finally figured out we had left off one important connection to the > motherboard - the CPU power connector from the PS - guy a Fry's helped > us with that. Felt pretty dumb. But the mobo installation > instructions left out that step. :) > > He ended up with the AMD Phenom II Black - hexacore @ 3.2GHz, 8GB 1333 > RAM, 1TB HDD, MSI 870U-G55 motherboard, GTX 560Ti graphics card that > dims the lights in the house when it fires up, and a 600W PS. > > The chip has some function on it where it will reduce itself from 6 to > 3 cores and up the speed to 3.4GHz. It's also set up to overclock easily. > > It took three trips to Fry's to get the job done, but he's happier > than a pig in dirt. Busted his budget - I gave him $600 - he figured > to get there for $700. Probably be closer to $850 when the dust settles. > > One thing he hadn't counted on was the OS - my copy of W7 Ultimate > would not load for some reason on his machine - says key invalid. :( > > So he put 64-bit XP on for the moment and will upgrade when he gets > some dough saved up. > > Does anyone have a cheap source for W7? > > TIA > > Rocky > > > -----Original Message----- > From: accessd-bounces at databaseadvisors.com > [mailto:accessd-bounces at databaseadvisors.com] On Behalf Of jwcolby > Sent: Thursday, June 23, 2011 5:29 AM > To: Access Developers discussion and problem solving > Subject: [AccessD] Rocky - computer build > > Is the son busy building his computer? Is dad in there with sleeves > rolled up? > > :) > > -- > John W. Colby > www.ColbyConsulting.com > -- > AccessD mailing list > AccessD at databaseadvisors.com > http://databaseadvisors.com/mailman/listinfo/accessd > Website: http://www.databaseadvisors.com > -- AccessD mailing list AccessD at databaseadvisors.com http://databaseadvisors.com/mailman/listinfo/accessd Website: http://www.databaseadvisors.com