And then this heartache will get chased away
Eight hours and $1100 later, I have a new computer. Here are some things I learned (most of which you probably already knew):
- Intel stock heatsinks are a pain in the ass to install, and you only get one shot since the thermal paste is pre-applied. You can buy more thermal paste, but I ended up buying a new (really, really large) heatsink at Frys which was only a little easier to install.
- The arrows on the pegs for the heatsink are full of lies, the screwdriver slot should be pointing at the heatsink, not parallel to it.
- Intel processors will shut off if they get too hot, which is nice.
- Windows XP cannot be installed on a SATA drive without either a floppy drive (which I do not have) or slipstreaming the drivers onto the install CD (which is probably as fun as it sounds). I ended up using a spare IDE drive I had lying around
- Windows XP would not install when I had 4GB of RAM plugged in, it would hang at the “Setup is starting Windows” prompt. I pulled my second 2GB RAM chip out and it installed just fine (well, after I addressed the overheating issues as well)
- Installing new USB device drivers may turn off your existing USB support, which is great if you are using a USB keyboard and mouse
- New graphics cards are really, really large.
- Your motherboard’s on-board ethernet may not have a driver available on an XP SP1 install, you probably need to use the CD that came with it.
- Microsoft seemingly has gotten lax with Windows XP activation.
- I finally see why everyone went ga ga (ga ga ga) over Spoon’s album last year.
- I have to apologize for that last bullet point. That was bad and I am ashamed.
In case anyone is curious about the new machine, here is another unordered list just for you:
- Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 2.40 Ghz
- Biostar TP45 Motherboard
- Diamond ATI 4870PE5512 512MB GDDR5 Video Card
- 4GB 1066 DDR2 SDRAM
- 750W Power Supply (with ten million power connectors)
- Antec Three Hundred ATX Mid-Tower case (very nice but not flashy)
- 500 GB SATA drive (which is sitting nice and unpartitioned)
- DVD-RW drive
If you do not know what half of those things mean, it is okay, I do not either. I do know that this is by far the most powerful computer I have ever owned, and it still cost me less than a Macbook (and just Macbook, not Pro or Air) would have.
