Session 4 - Graphics Card and Sound Card Installation

Today's Session was focused on the installation of the graphics and sound cards. Below are both cards and the associated documentation and fun stuff included with the XFX ATI Radeon HD 5970 Black Edition Graphics card.

The image below is of both the Graphics card and Sound card installed into the case:

This Graphics card is huge at just over 12 inches long and as such I had to remove the fane shround to get it to fit into the case. The picture below is a close up view of the minimal clearance between the fan and the card:

So the next step is to get all of the power and data cables connected and then the first power on (AKA smoke) test will be ready to occur.

Assembly Session 2 and 3

OK - I have been working on the system off and on for the last week. Below are the picutres from last Sunday and One from today that show the motherboard and it componenets and the CPU with cooler and fans installed.

Above: Motherboard Box

Above: Power Genie, DLED Display, X-FI Sound Card and Motherboard (underneath).

Above: All the stuff in the motherboard box.

Above: MSI Eclispe SLI Motherboard

Above: Motherboard With CPU Installed

Above: Xigmatek Thor's Hammer Cooler with 2x Antec 120mm fans for CPU Cooling.

Next Comes the Graphics Card and Sound Card!

First Assembly Session

I have begun assembling my new system and I took quite a few pictures both before  and during this sessoion so this entry will be mostly a pictoral of my first session, in which I installed the Power Supply, card reader, optical drives and the hard drive. So here goes the picture show.

All of the parts before assembly.

The Box for the case was nearly 30 inches tall!!!

The Drives, card reader, RAM OS and Graphics Card!

Motherboad, CPU, CPU Cooler and Power Supply.

The Case being unboxed!

The Unboxed Case - Its big for a "mid-tower".

Top views (with and without cover).

Case Interior

Power Supply Components - the bag on the left for cables. The PSU is in the felt bag. Parts bag and Ac Cable - Fancy packaging.

Front views of what has been assembled so far.

Finally the PSU in its mounted position. The case has a 3 way securing system for the PSU - the screws, velcro strap and a mounting bracket!.

Overall I am pleased so far. Tomorrow begins the motherboard installation.

Parts Have Arrived

Well the ordering is done and the parts have arrived. Next Step is to inventory and build the system. There have been two updates to the design - so the final as ordered system now is as follows:

Component	Qty
12GB DDR3-1333 - 3 sticks of Crucial CT51264BA1339 RAM (4GB each)	1
Silverstone Raven RV02-BW Case	1
Xigmatek Thor's Hammer CPU Cooling Fan	1
ATI Radeon HD 5970 Video Card - XFX Black Edition	1
Flash Media Reader/Writer - Rosewill RCR-IM5001	1
Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit	1
Corsair HX850 Power Supply	1
MSI Eclipse SLI	1
Blue Ray Burner - Plextor PX-B940SA	1
Intel Core i7-920 CPU	1
Hard Drive (1 TB) - Western Digital Caviar Black	1
DVD+/-R/RW Dual Layer Drive - Samsung SH-223C	1

So my original cost estimate for this system was $3026.58 (does not include shipping) and my final actual cost before shipping and rebates is $2877.87 (a savings of $148.71). Shipping added 44.36 to this. I have one rebate to process which will lower the cost by $10.00 thus my final cost will be $2912.23 for a delta savings of $114.35 from the original build cost estimate. Now the fun begins - building it and documenting it all here.

New System Design

My darling wife (you may know her poetic Louise Blog)  and  have been discussing the merritts of building/buying a new desktop computer system for the house. Through much discussion and possible uses we have decided to jump to the top (or very near the top anyway) of the technology pile so that we have very few, if any limitations on what the machine can do. I have come up with the following design for the new system:

Component	Qty
12GB DDR3-1333	1
Silverstone Raven RV02-BW Case	1
Xigmatek Thor's Hammer CPU Cooling Fan	1
ATI Radeon HD 5870 Video Card	1
Flash Media Reader/Writer	1
Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit	1
Coolermast Thermal Fusion CPU thermal compund	1
In-Win Commander IRP-COM850 Power Supply	1
MSI Eclipse SLI	1
Blue Ray Burner	1
Intel Core i7-920 CPU	1
Hard Drive (1 TB)	1
DVD+/-R/RW Dual Layer Drive	1

So my question is what do you all think? Comments and alternative ideas are welcome.

Favorite Accessories

Where would we be in this world without our accessories? Accessories – those lovely little gadgets that help us out when we need our primary gadgets to do just a little more - aren't they great?!

Right now I have two favorite accessories – a Targus 4-Port Powered USB hub, and a Power Monkey Explorer – an emergency power supply for a myriad of devices.


The workhorse of these is the Targus 4-port powered hub.

This device allows any two USB ports on a device to magically become 4 ports. I can use this 4-port hub to run high-power USB devices by simple plugging in both the black (data and some power) and Red (additional power) USB connectors. I have regularly used this device to recharge my Blackberry, run my pen drive, sync my Livescribe Pulse Smartpen, and run and external mouse.

The power monkey explorer by powertraveller is an auxiliary battery device that can be used to charge cell phones, mp3 players, portable game, and host of other devices. This device provides anywhere from 5-96 hours of additional time depending on your device and usage patterns (5 hours on game consoles PSP and 96 hours of standby time on your mobile phone). I have been able to refill a Blackberry Bold 2 times with one charge of the power monkey explorer. Best of all – if you are out of power and don’t have access to another power source the solar panel can be used to recharge the powermonkey explorer itself.

The powermonkey-explorer kit comes with:

• the powermonkey portable charger,

• the Solar Charger,

• a mains charger with international heads (UK, US, Europe and Australia)

• a USB charger and a whole bunch of charging tips for other devices,

Favorite Gadgets I currently use

Curently I have a select list of gadgets that I find most useful in helping me get things done.

First among these is my work provided Blackberry Bold. This device is very useful for me to maintain my schedule and accomplish work tasks while I am on the go at work. it also comes in handy as a device that allows me to carry a lot of information with me. Additionally I am able to use it as an MP3 player.

My second favorite device was a Christmas gift that my wife got for me last year (2008). This is the LiveScribe Pulse smart Pen. I have found this device useful for capturing time synchronized audio notes along with my handwritten notes. While some may not like this device for having to use special paper the small premium for it is made up for by the functianlity of the device itself.

Third, is my Acer Aspire One Netbook. I was an early adopter of this technology and bought the 8.9 inch version. I find the device usefull for mobile web browsing, document editing and other light to medium computing tasks but really believe that the latest generation of 11.6-inch netbooks and ultraportable notebooks is the real sweetspot for this technology. Best thing about this device is that is sure beats carrying my 6 pound work provided Dell D830 when I am on work travel.

Finally, two of my favorite 2 non-it gadgets are pens. The Zebra Telescopic Pen is very useful and is small so it does not require much room to sotre. My executive Yoropen is also a fine writing instrument that is very useful for both lefties (like me) and righties. It is highly ergonmoic and is comfortable to write with for long periods of time.