How not to upgrade your PC
The process - not the hardware.
1. A bit over a month ago my graphics card (ATI Radeon 9700 pro) fan shat itself. Possibly due to me giving it a caning while playing Doom 3.
2. Fuck it I think, so I buy a new graphics
card and power supply so the bastard doesn't kill my PC
3. Thinking I'm not going to upgrade anything else for a while I go and buy Dawn of War. Then get annoyed that a lot of the graphics options need CPU more than a decent card. Bugger it, might as well upgrade other stuff as well.
4. Order new ASUS motherboard, Intel 540 LGA775 3.2 Ghz CPU and 2 x 512 Corsair AL-CMX512-3200C2PRO RAM sticks with the activity LEDS. Stuff arrives on Tuesday - ordered Friday arvo. auspcmarket rocks.
5. My wife goes into labour at 3:00 am on Thursday 28/10. By 12:30 we had a beatiful new baby daughter. Get home a bit after six, look after the 2 year old and keep the inlaws amused. Decide after 10:00 pm, now that everyone else is in bed it would be a good time to upgrade the PC.
6. Don't worry about any advice I've given to anyone else. Don't check if XP disk is bootable, don't make boot floppy.. Think I'm only changing RAM, motherboard and processor, she'll be right, will boot in safe mode and be able to reinstall.
7. 03:00 am next day - decide I should go to bed as XP CD isn't bootable, can't find boot disk after pulling apart study, can't successfully make a boot disk that recognises DVD-ROM. System reboots after starting in safe mode.
8. Take two year old to visit wife and new little sister. On the way home stop at local shop of Asian PC hardware goodness. Buy 200Gb SATA HDD. Go to Powerhouse. Buy XP Pro with SP2. Two year old says "no more shops Daddy". Take her to KFC for lunch.
9. Install XP pro on existing HDD. Make sure data is OK. Happy again.
10. Install SATA HDD. Start format and go watch tellie. Check format status. Go watch more tellie. Check format status. Go to bed. Get up for a slash during night check format status. Check a bit later. Format finished. Install XP Pro. Update all of the extra shit. Attempt to activate. Fucking XP tells me key has already been used. I know. It was me the day before on the same fucking machine with the same fucking hardware, but I've installed to another HDD. 05:00 am. Call Microsoft. Read out fucking huge validation code. Complain about shitty activation process. Told by operator who is too happy for someone at 05:00 on a Saturday that I can call any time. Fuckers. If the all games I wanted came out on Linux I would never use XP again at home.
11. Install Doom3 and Dawn of war. Copy old save files - all cool. Run both at maximum settings with no slowdown.
Now I just need to get a new case (I'm looking at this Lian-Li 6070A, but will probably get a window for my new geek bling bling)
If I had been sensible and relised it was almost 2 1/2 years since I last upgraded I would have gone the whole hog - SATA everything, PCI-E. If I get the new case and a replacement fan for the old graphics card then I've got enough bits to put my old PC back together. Fuck eh ? Anyone want a P4 2.0Ghz ?
1. A bit over a month ago my graphics card (ATI Radeon 9700 pro) fan shat itself. Possibly due to me giving it a caning while playing Doom 3.
2. Fuck it I think, so I buy a new graphics
card and power supply so the bastard doesn't kill my PC
3. Thinking I'm not going to upgrade anything else for a while I go and buy Dawn of War. Then get annoyed that a lot of the graphics options need CPU more than a decent card. Bugger it, might as well upgrade other stuff as well.
4. Order new ASUS motherboard, Intel 540 LGA775 3.2 Ghz CPU and 2 x 512 Corsair AL-CMX512-3200C2PRO RAM sticks with the activity LEDS. Stuff arrives on Tuesday - ordered Friday arvo. auspcmarket rocks.
5. My wife goes into labour at 3:00 am on Thursday 28/10. By 12:30 we had a beatiful new baby daughter. Get home a bit after six, look after the 2 year old and keep the inlaws amused. Decide after 10:00 pm, now that everyone else is in bed it would be a good time to upgrade the PC.
6. Don't worry about any advice I've given to anyone else. Don't check if XP disk is bootable, don't make boot floppy.. Think I'm only changing RAM, motherboard and processor, she'll be right, will boot in safe mode and be able to reinstall.
7. 03:00 am next day - decide I should go to bed as XP CD isn't bootable, can't find boot disk after pulling apart study, can't successfully make a boot disk that recognises DVD-ROM. System reboots after starting in safe mode.
8. Take two year old to visit wife and new little sister. On the way home stop at local shop of Asian PC hardware goodness. Buy 200Gb SATA HDD. Go to Powerhouse. Buy XP Pro with SP2. Two year old says "no more shops Daddy". Take her to KFC for lunch.
9. Install XP pro on existing HDD. Make sure data is OK. Happy again.
10. Install SATA HDD. Start format and go watch tellie. Check format status. Go watch more tellie. Check format status. Go to bed. Get up for a slash during night check format status. Check a bit later. Format finished. Install XP Pro. Update all of the extra shit. Attempt to activate. Fucking XP tells me key has already been used. I know. It was me the day before on the same fucking machine with the same fucking hardware, but I've installed to another HDD. 05:00 am. Call Microsoft. Read out fucking huge validation code. Complain about shitty activation process. Told by operator who is too happy for someone at 05:00 on a Saturday that I can call any time. Fuckers. If the all games I wanted came out on Linux I would never use XP again at home.
11. Install Doom3 and Dawn of war. Copy old save files - all cool. Run both at maximum settings with no slowdown.
Now I just need to get a new case (I'm looking at this Lian-Li 6070A, but will probably get a window for my new geek bling bling)
If I had been sensible and relised it was almost 2 1/2 years since I last upgraded I would have gone the whole hog - SATA everything, PCI-E. If I get the new case and a replacement fan for the old graphics card then I've got enough bits to put my old PC back together. Fuck eh ? Anyone want a P4 2.0Ghz ?
posted by monkeypox at 11/15/2004 03:30:00 pm
4 Comments:
Congratulations on your new baby.
oh and congrats on the new daughter as well.
Oh a small word of advice, if you don't want Stompbox ramming through your door ass first screaming GIMME GIMME GIMME. I don't suggest offering hardware up for grabs within earshot of him.
ask Skaff about the legend that is the 'void of consumption'.
Give that I might grow.
Congratulations on your new baby/computer.
Computerbaby. Ohh. Cute.
Everyone bring all laptops and PCs to my house for a "LAN party." Hook them up to my renderfarm, make it work, and then leave, no talking. Ah! Mmmmmmp! No talking!
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