yes i got my hands on another beta test! this time its the new final fantasy xiv beta i’m downloading the client updates at a horribly slow speed so it might be a while before i actually get to play D:  *grumbles about crappy connection and bit torrent style client updates*  anyway. i’ll be back with a review of this after i finally get to play it.

i meant to write this blog last night but i was so exhausted that i totally forgot about it.

last night i built a computer by myself with only the aid of badly written manuals to guide me. it was scary as hell but i am so proud of myself for figuring it out! i took some pictures while building so i figured i’d share those with you as well

this is my ridiculously large case. don’t make the mistake i made here! even though i kinda needed a huge case with lots of airflow and stuff.. this case doesn’t fit under my desk and thus i’m kinda sitting awkward now because i can’t scoot my chair up to the desk all the way. this of course will be remedied later when my brother moves out and i get my old room back. then i can use my bigger desk.

this case had horrible instructions. not sure if this is the way it is for most cases since this was my first time building one, but the manual was just crap. if the little cords there on the side hadn’t had labels on them i would have had no clue what they were for.

my processor and motherboard i went for the new i7 processor and i am so glad i did!

this is where i installed the motherboard. not as scary as i anticipated. one thing the case did bother to do was give you a label on the back so  you can check which letters your motherboard needs screws for.

here’s the part where i honestly felt like i was going to die lol. the processor installation scared the crap out of me! especially when i went to lock that lever down and it was really hard to press down. i’d read that it takes a little force, but wow, it felt like it wasn’t in right but it was!

this is the heat sink i bought to use in the new computer HOWEVER the bracket that came with it sucked ass directions wise. the pictures that explained what you were supposed to be doing, sucked and i couldn’t figure out where part of the bracket went! it wasn’t until i had everything ready to go that i realized that it went on the back and the other part went on the front X_x so i will be installing this later on. but until then..

at least the processor came with a stock heat sink which i can use until i decide to switch it out. this one was wayyy easier to install.

this was when i realized i was working with some fancy shit. my power supply came in a velvet bag LOL!

installed the ram. could probably do this with my eyes shut… done it a million times in the past.

the monster that is my video card! this thing took up two slots in my machine! and i had to plug in 2 pci-e power cables from the power supply as well! works great though!

and then finally the moment we were all waiting for. i turned on my computer and it ddn’t start >_> so i turned it off and realized i forgot to plug in one of the power supply cords to the mother board. plugged that in and turned it back on and YAY! installed windows 7 and here it is i love it! this computer is sooo much faster than my old one. even my internet seems faster and i’m sure that has to do with the new motherboard versus the old motherboard. my last computer was around for 6 years so lets hope this one lasts a while as well!

i’m so excited right now! my package is only a few hours from reaching me according to the newegg tracker, which is why i am up at an insanely early time at the moment! not much to write about right now but i’m sure i’ll edit this post later when its arrived

well here’s the edit. even though i bought everything at the same time, and paid for overnight shipping.. i received my computer parts BUT NO CASE!!! needless to say, i am livid right now… i called new egg and got credit back on the case’s shipping, so i pretty much got half of what i paid for overnight shipping.

the most retarded part? the case was in the TN warehouse which is only a few hours away.. the parts were in CALIFORNIA. THE OTHER SIDE OF THE MAP.. and i managed to get them but not the case? i just can’t figure out how that is even possible.

so anyway, case tomorrow and then the assembly will begin.. and i swear to god if anything is DOA i am going to eat someone’s face.

the parts have been ordered, i opted for rushed processing and overnight delivery so here’s hoping i have them in my hand sometime tomorrow! now the scary part comes and i have to learn how to assemble a computer all by myself! i watched some youtube videos and they alleviated some of my fears. it actually doesn’t look all that hard when you watch someone do it. just reading about it was scary because they kept telling you how it could go wrong if you do this or this wrong, but the videos were really helpful. even though they were not for my specific build, they did show how to do things like installing processors and heatsinks and stuff like that.

i found a couple of time lapse builds with the same heat sink i am using, and it looks like it might be a pain in the ass to install, but hopefully i’ll get it figured out in one go. if not, i have alcohol and cotton swabs and the thing comes with a full tube of thermal paste so i’ll just go at it until it does what its supposed to do!

i cannot wait to play my games again and work on stuff and have my own computer to play with. mom’s laptop is horrible! and her power cord won’t stay in which means i have to leave it in one spot and can’t move it around.

so anyway i’m excited and i wish i could get same day shipping lol…

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*edit 2* my debit card miraculously arrived in the mail moments ago, but i hit another brick wall… when i transfered my money from bank to paypal i forgot to leave a little in the bank to keep them from closing my account. the account is still there just kind of in a state of suspension. i’ve got 10$ which i added to my account a couple days ago when i realized i needed to keep it out of 0$ balance, and aparently that has been pending for a few days thanks to the holiday… the bank dude told me it would go though at midnight! so i’ll order my computer then and i guess it will be here on the 8th. lets hope there are no more road blocks!

*edit* so now i will probably have to wait yet another week, hopefully this won’t cost me even more money… even though you can pay newegg with a paypal account, you have to have a credit card or debit card on file to confirm your address.. which i think is pretty ridiculous. i am very disappointed… here’s the old entry though, in case you care to read it.

i am so nervous! its the 6th and although i said i’d have to wait until the 7th because a part is out of stock, i moved some things around because i wasn’t sure i could handle installing said part (an ssd) and now all parts are in order and are available and all i need is paypal to send me the lovely email that says your money is ready. i have no clue when they will do that.. it still says i am processing even though its the 6th and that was the estimated day of clearing i just really want to get this over with!

can you believe i have had two really bad panic attacks over this?? buying computer parts is nothing new for me but i guess its just the gravity of the situation. i’m using every single dime i have on this thing. i can’t mess up at all. i cannot afford to damage or screw up anything during installation.. on top of that well.. i’ll be spending the most money i’ve ever spent in my life. yeah i know its not much for some people but it is for me.

earlier i removed my old computer from its spot in the computer desk. i guess i could spend some time today removing various parts from it for use in the new machine. i’m cannibalizing what i can from this thing, the rest i’m going to try and sell to a local computer repair guy who was friends with my dad.

i’m keeping the cd drive, because i like having 2, i’m keeping the card reader thing.. keeping my hard drives, and i think that’s it! the fan on the video card is dead but i’m pretty sure someone with knowledge on how to fix that could make it work again. my dad’s fixed old videocards of mine before so that’s not too hard. the power supply is only a year old (so’s the videocard for that matter) the ram is a couple years old but could be useful for someone with an older machine..same with the mother board and processor… so i hope i can get a bit of cash back on this thing.

for those curious in what i am going to get, here’s a rundown:
Case
dvd burner
small hard drive for windows install and programs needing fast access
bigger hard drive for storage
video card
power supply
ram
mother board
processor
windows 7 64 bit
heat sink

now if paypal would just hurry up…

since we’ve been on the subject of computers recently i thought i’d let my readers know about a really cool give away from colleen at living live one day at a time. one of the things that always bugged me about my laptop was that it heated up so much! especially in the summer. one year i went though 4 different cooling pads from walmart. they all sucked because the fans would die out after a few months.

colleen has written an excellent review on a ThermaPAK heatshift pad that requires no power, and has no fans! the best part about it? its not just a review, its a giveaway!

there are many ways to enter and if you have a laptop, the prize is seriously a life saver for your computer, so check it out and enter!

you know, if nothing else, this lack of computer has made me blog more! i’m sure that will fade of course when i have the new beast running…

order day swiftly approaches. my money clears on the 6th but i’ll probably have to wait until the 7th to order because one of the parts i want is out of stock until the 7th UGH! hopefully that will be the final delay. i have just enough to cover over night shipping, so i’m going to get that and have the thing here by the next day.

as the day starts to round the corner, i’m starting to get scared! i’ve never put a computer together before! i don’t have any money to replace anything if i break it during installation, so i want to make sure i do everything right. there are so many things you can mess up when building a computer!! but i am my father’s daughter, and he did teach me a little bit, so i hope that i can do this without him holding my hand.

worries aside, i’m excited about having a new computer. my old one has been chugging along for 6 years, just barely able to make it though videogames, the newer one were becoming a strain to try and enjoy, so i will be very pleased with something a bit more current.

yes yes no computer blah blah blah done bitching. 2 more days of this hell.

today is july 4th. its the first july 4th since my father’s death and so its one of those reminders that we lost him. every year for july 4th, we used to pile into the family car and go to the local fair grounds to see fireworks set off by the fire department. even when my dad got sick he still wanted to see them, ever year. i remember being a little girl on his shoulders, being afraid of the sound, and my dad spent the whole time explaining to me how fireworks worked. what they were made of, and why they make that noise. he was my own personal mister wizard (and if you don’t know who that is, you’re fired.)

i’d originally planned to skip out on the family fireworks tonight, but thinking about it… i think i should go.

what do you do for july 4th (if you celebrate it)?

are you getting sick of these blogs yet? i know i am. right now my laptop is being poked at by computer dude and i’m kinda hoping mom will return with it magically fixed, though i’m pretty sure its not a problem that can be fixed easily. not having any of my computers has left me feeling kind of lost. i feel like i am behind on so many things that i cannot access right now, and i feel like there is absolutely nothing to do. its kinda getting depressing. i don’t like how much i rely on technology to be honest, but there really isn’t anything else to do here, so its really the only entertainment i have.

so i have a quest for you that read my blog, suggest something for me to do! games i can play on my browser, ideas for stuff i can write, stuff like that.. i can’t promise i’ll do them, but hey i am open to anything that keeps me from feeling like i do at the moment.

3 days until my money clears, so its not a horribly long wait.. but it feels like an eternity.