NORMANDY-SR1

While it's not a food recipe, I wanted to document the process of my trying to put something else together - a PC.  I had been toying with the idea of putting together a mid-range PC that would not only run more efficiently than the laptop I was using but that would also be capable of handling some PC gaming for some time.  I finally bit the bullet and just went for it.

I am, by no means, a hardcore gamer.  I have an Xbox 360 that I got as a Christmas gift (yes, I asked for it), but I don't run out to buy games whenever they are released.  I refuse to pay $50-$60 on a game.  Most of my time is spent playing the Mass Effect series.  I am soooo in love with those games, except for the first one, which I absolutely despise playing.  I've played the 2nd and 3rd games probably 5 times each and was brought to play the first game over again only so I could create a male Shepard character.  I tend to enjoy platform games and first-person/third-person shooter games.  Because of the latter, I learned that my gaming habits might be more suited to a PC because of the control a mouse yields.  It is sometimes hard to pull off headshots with that damn controller.

I did a lot of reading in trying to decide whether I'd go through with building a PC or not.  A lot of articles made the case that in the long-run, PC gaming is cheaper.  Of course, that all depends on your gaming habits.  Since I buy used games or games when they go on sale, it might not apply so much to me.  I figured that I spend almost all my time on the computer when I'm at home anyways, so a new computer would just be an upgrade for me.  I spent months reading up on parts and watching videos on how to put together a PC.  I used a Lifehacker article as a template off which to build.  Then, I waited for sales.  I decided on a budget of around $700.  Probably a bit more than I would have liked to spend, but I justified it as a good investment.  Here are the parts I settled on:

1) Case: NZXT Tempest 210
2) Mobo: Gigabyte GA-B85M-D3H Micro ATX Motherboard
3) CPU: Intel Core i5-4570 Haswell 3.2GHz
4) GPU: Asus GeForce GTX 660
5) CPU Cooler: CM Hyper 212 EVO
6) RAM: G.Skill Value Series 8GB (2x4GB) DDr3-1333
7) Storage: WD Caviar Blue 1TB
8) PSU: Corsair Builder Series 500W
9) Optical Drive: Lite-On iHas125-04 DVD/CD Writer

I enlisted my friend, Nelson, to help out because 1) he's my tech guru and knows about computers and stuff, 2) he was able to provide a copy of Windows 7, and 3) he's a lot more anal than I am so I figured he could help with the cable management.  He estimated it would take us about 20 minutes to put everything together.  Boy, was he wrong.

Nelson wasn't too familiar with some of the parts (he was shocked at how big the video card was) and we even had to use youtube to figure out how to insert the processor - tad embarrassing, but that's what the internet is for.  After 2 hours of being hunched over and squatting, a hand smeared with thermal paste, fears of plugging in the wrong connectors, and fussing with those massive cables on the PSU (seriously, go modular), we finally built that bitch. We couldn't do much with the wires because we were afraid they wouldn't reach or they'd get in the way of reattaching the side panel so we did the best we could. When the moment of truth came, everything turned on just fine.

Unfortunately, we screwed up the OS installation.  Nelson assumed I had a 32-bit processor when, in fact, I had a 64-bit.  I didn't even think to mention that to him.  Because he didn't bring that disc with him, I had to wait until he could get it to me.  But the beast was built and I was just happy that I didn't need to return anything.  Eventually, I want to get an SSD and possibly some red LED case fans to go in the front.  Those will be ideas for Christmas gifts.

I named my computer after the ship in Mass Effect.