New computer!
Christmas isn't quite over yet . . . I posted a few entries ago that my grandmother offered to pay for half of a new computer for me. Today I went to a place that builds computers and ordered one. I'm starting out with some lower-key components, but there's going to be lots and lots of room to upgrade, which is what I really wanted and what mass produced computers really didn't offer. The computer I have now was also custom-built, and it's lasted me five years with almost no problems. It also had lots of upgrade capability, but I've maxed it out at this point.
So what I ordered was the processor (Pentium 4, 3.0 gh) and motherboard, hard drive, DVD player (I'm scavenging the CD-RW from my current computer because it's only about a year old), floppy drive, RAM, and sound card. I'm going to order some type of NVIDIA 3D card and put it in myself, and I'm just going to keep the stuff like the keyboard, speakers, etc. from my old computer. And of course I already have a new monitor. I can also get XP Professional from IU for $20.
In the end the cost was actually less than what I would spend by getting one from some place like Dell, and it's not going to have a bunch of crap bundled software that I'll never use. Just the stuff that comes with XP. It'll also be a lot more upgradeable and . . . well, I just like the greater sense of control I get over the process of building it.
So what I ordered was the processor (Pentium 4, 3.0 gh) and motherboard, hard drive, DVD player (I'm scavenging the CD-RW from my current computer because it's only about a year old), floppy drive, RAM, and sound card. I'm going to order some type of NVIDIA 3D card and put it in myself, and I'm just going to keep the stuff like the keyboard, speakers, etc. from my old computer. And of course I already have a new monitor. I can also get XP Professional from IU for $20.
In the end the cost was actually less than what I would spend by getting one from some place like Dell, and it's not going to have a bunch of crap bundled software that I'll never use. Just the stuff that comes with XP. It'll also be a lot more upgradeable and . . . well, I just like the greater sense of control I get over the process of building it.