final setup?

Ok, so now I have a fairly better idea of what my computer is going to look like. It'll still be awhile before I start buying, and I'm going to want to see some people when I visit Whitworth (probably in October) before I make the final decisions. So anyways... here's the list. It's fairly mixed and matched, so I don't even know if half of the stuff is the right size/pin number/socket/whatever for the other half. I'll worry about that when I get there.

MoBo: Asus A8N-SLI Deluxe -- $153.49 + $8.67 shipping = $162.16
CPU: AMD Athlon 3500+ -- $218.49 + $8.67 shipping = $227.16 (still not sure about this)
Case: Xion II Xon-103 Steel ATX Mid Tower -- $65.99 + $15.99 shipping = $81.98
PSU: ENERMAX EG465P-VE(FC) ATX 460W -- $52.99 = $6.99 shipping = $59.98
RAM: CORSAIR XMS 2GB (2 x 1GB) 184-Pin DDR SDRAM Unbuffered DDR 400 (PC 3200) Dual Channel -- $276.00 + free shipping = $276.00
Graphics Card: ASUS Geforce 6800GT -- $269.00 + $3.50 shipping = $272.50 (not overly picky here, just want some flavor of the 6800GT)
Hard Drive: Western Digital Caviar SE 320GB Ultra ATA/100 7200RPM Hard Drive w/8MB Buffer -- $136.90 + free shipping = $136.90

Total cost of current setup, including shipping: $1216.68
Fairly spendy, but from my point of view it looks like a pretty sweet system. Again, please weigh in, because I know there are several people who know more about this than I do.

holy crap! and other stories

so i ordered "The Count of Monte Cristo" from the library the other day, and it came in today. all 1365 pages of it. should keep me occupied for awhile.

also, i'm starting to look at putting together a new computer. i'm pretty happy with what i've been albe to find at newegg so far, and i've run it past some of my CS buddies (thanks guys!), but if you have any suggestions, let me know. it will probably be another month or so at least before i start buying the parts.

Motherboard: ASUS P4C800-E Deluxe Socket 478 Intel 875P ATX Intel Motherboard
Processor: intel Pentium 4 3.2E Prescott 800MHz FSB 1MB L2 Cache Socket 478 Processor
RAM: CORSAIR XMS 2GB (2 x 1GB) 184-Pin DDR SDRAM Unbuffered DDR 400 (PC 3200) Dual Channel Memory
Case: RAIDMAX Scorpio ATX-868WBP Black 0.8mm Japanese SECC Gaming Case Computer Case 420watts PS2 ATX12V Power Supply
Dave doesn't like standard PSU's, so here's the one i'm looking at now: ENERMAX EG425P-VE SFMA 2.0 ATX12V 420W Power Supply 95~135V or 180V~265V(Adjusted Automatically) UL (Level 3), cUL (Level 3), VDE, CB, NEMKO, SEMKO, DEMKO, FIMKO [i have no idea what about half of that means, but nate highly recommends enermax]

still looking for a good hard drive (120+ gigs) and video card (not sure whether to just get a 128 or splurge and go for 256), and eventually i'll want a dvd+/- rw drive to stick in it. i think i'm going to stick with the monitor i've got for now, and my speakers are still nice.

--update--
now that i think about it, i'll probably need a sound card too, eh? sound tends to make games a bit more enjoyable.

--update 2--
molson apparently prefers amd to intel for processors. it just seems odd to me that a 2.4 ghz processor would be better than a 3.2 ghz.

--update 3--
ok, so at molson's suggestion i have looked into an amd based system. i personally still prefer intel, so i'll probably end up mixing and matching from the two sets i'm looking at. or maybe getting something completely different.

MoBo
CPU
RAM
PSU
Graphics Card
Case
Hard Drive

Rough cost (before shipping): $1054.71. That's about half of what I paid for the Dell I've been using for the last three years, and this one looks a hell of a lot nicer. Especially when you consider the fact that my parents will be paying $300 of it. They wanted to buy me a new digital camera for graduation, but I convinced them that a new computer would be much more useful.

Again, feel free to weigh in.

--update 4--
ok... here are some more ideas:
CPU
MoBo

Discuss amongst yourselves.

i <3 jeff goldstein

but not in that kind of way.

The yin and yang of intimate interpersonal relationships post, 16" (from the protein wisdom conceptual series)

yin: “Do these jeans make me look heavy?”

yang: “The jeans? No. But all that extra fat on your ass is a whole different story.”

pw

--update--
how long before our politicians get a clue and start doing this?

he walks a lonely road

the only road that he has ever known. and he walks alone.

i wonder if he ever stopped to think that maybe if his music didn't suck so bad, he wouldn't be alone all the time.

hmmm...

now here's an interesting thought.

h/t powerline

perspective

here's a very interesting way to look at the war in iraq.

add it to the collection

so, as of sometime last night when the bidding ended, i am now the proud owner of an 1897 edition of Bram Stoker's "Dracula."

--update--
nevermind. i got an email from the seller that said "oops, it's actually from 1910," so i'm not buying it.

alright!

i just pre-ordered dungeon siege II today. hopefully it will work on my computer. if not... well, then i have an excuse to buy a new one. not a very good excuse maybe, but still an excuse.

pat! you need to post again

also, my diploma finally came in the other day. it looks nice. i'll try to have a picture of it up here someday soon.

book review, in part

Title: The Three Musketeers
Author: Alexandre Dumas

Excellent book. Dumas is a great story teller, and occasionally works his sense of humor into his writing. Well worth reading.

Current score: 11.3/11.2

i wish i had found this sooner

dean's screams

h/t michelle malkin

thank you

another good topic that i'm too lazy to write about.

phrase of the day

for better or worse, here is the phrase of the day: ego masturbation (scroll to the bottom of the post).

finally

bush uses his authority to give john bolton a recess appointment as our ambassador to the un. if only more things could work like that. not too many, of course... the senate is there for a reason. but more would be nice.

bwahahaha!

take this, you liberal buggers. a plan that will actually work (free registration required). and won't cost an arm and a leg. john writes about it much better here.

semi-related news items

first, rob over at say anything found this interesting article, which makes you realize how rediculous the government can be.

second/last, i saw a great sign today, also put up by the government, albeit the local one. it read: "Littering fines mean less beer money."

ouch

it just took me 12 minutes and 45 seconds (and, for the truly curious, 84/100s of another second) to run about a mile and a half. back in the good old days, when i was in shape, it took me a minute less to run 2 miles. oh well. someday, i will be there again. and some other day, i will quit saying "oh well" so much.

movie review

Title: The Aviator
Starring: Kate Beckinsale was the only one I cared about

Verdict: Not worth watching. It had a few funny moments, but didn't flow very well, and didn't explain the main characters mental problems at all. So unless someone else is paying for you to see it--or preferably paying you to see it--don't bother watching it.

Score: -15/42,000,000,000

yarrrgh...

so i spent all of yesterday downloading the beta for dungeon siege 2. when i tried installing it this morning, it told me i needed a key number, so i hopped online to find one. instead, i found out that the beta was already closed, and there were no more numbers. so unless someone decides they don't want to play the beta anymore and gives me their number, i'll just have to wait for the full game. oh well.

"oooh, pretty" part 2

so i checked up on dungeon siege 2 today. and it looks pretty. unfortunately, it'll probably have to wait until i have a new computer. which will hopefully happen before too long. anyways, here's a trailer and and a narrated demo video. enjoy.