Got a new machine
Let the pics speak for themselves first :)
Build myself a PC instead of spending on a LCD TV. Aimed for a small-medium sized, silent and powderful HTPC, and the results are quite near to my ideal.
Building the PC costs me 2 trips to Akihabara (which was free) on Saturday (May 9th, 2009) and a dislocated arm (j/k). Unpacked everything in the night and started fitting everything the next Sunday morning. Must be lucky that there were no hiccups at all during the assembly process. Everything just fits in nicely and the first power-on was perfect. Installed Windows XP Pro SP2 Japanese and boot time was under 20 seconds, after the 5th restart and hard disk defragmenting. Parts specs and review follows.
Specifications:
Processing power are middle-class with a bottom-end quad-core Intel CPU and a slightly performance-oriented DDR2 ram from CFD. The hard disk is also a reliable a silent Seagate ES.2. Although there is already a full HD capable G45 on-board graphics, I opted for a full 9600GT for a more smoother full HD playback and the occasional Spore time-waster. I chose this board from Gigabyte for its fanless design, which fits into my silent and powderful criteria. It even performs as good as than it’s active cooled brother, but on a lower temperature, thanks to the huge heatsink and pipes. (see Tom’s Hardware review conclusion)
The hardest choice is to choose the casing to fit in everything neatly. Shortlisted a few cases and seek wise postings from real buyers on the web. Finally I settled to Silverstone’s new revision SUGO-series. This makes it a V2 for Silverstone, as my previous case was also from them (and the same color too). The selling point for this case is the almost cube uATX form, but can fit a full-size graphics card with adequate openings for good air flow and heat management. The PSU sits not more than 2cm above the stock CPU heatsink/fan, so an aftermarket heatsink that can fit in would be hard to come by. 2 intake fans (above the graphics card sucking air from behind, and in front of the HDD rack sucking air from the side) are there by default. After fitting in everything, there is actually ample free air flow on the motherboard, and the side ventilation are quite good with holes from front to back. Cables coming out from the PSU, however, cramped between the the PSU and the optical drive, but this a non-issue since it does not block any heat flow to and from the main parts.
The whole system was black in color, so I decided to give a black-related hostname to it. Since my last PC was also an all-black system, some candidate names are already on my mind ie nero, darknyte, kurosuke (1st choice actually) etc. But it sounds too gay, so I name it to something I would adore. Searched my memory for black-related anime characters, but nothing that I favor came up. The one that managed to pop up is Kurokawa Tomoka, one of my favorite 3 actresses (the other two is Miyazaki Aoi and Yoshitaka Yuriko). So “tomoka” it is.
There is however a few stuffs which are not in the plan. First, the PSU is quite a hit to the pocket at Y13,000. If this is just a pure G45 uATX machine, then I would definitely go for some low-middle class no-name PSU. But since I decided to fit in the C2Quad and the 9600GT, having a stable and sufficient power pack is becoming a necessity. The 80plus marketing also had me buy into their gig. But the result is a quiet PSU and solid (purported) performance, so I hope this is a good choice.
Secondly is the mouse. Having used to a very good Microsoft Trackball Explorer mouse for more than 7 years, I am all for trackballs. Sadly there wasn’t any from Microsoft camp at Yodobashi, and I am left only with Logitech. Actually I already dropped the trackball and put a normal big sized mouse was on my list instead. After 10mins in the mouse corner, I decided that trackballs are the one for me indeed. Actually there was no mouse that really interested me that day, so I picked the best of the rest. Once I put it into use, it felt really awkward when being used on the floor; with the arm on a higher lever than the mouse. And the right click button was a bit too far to the back. It felt just OK in the shop, so I guess the feel would change when it is on a proper table.
Now to get a proper working table and chair. Still undecided on whether to get a half-height table or a full one.
