New computer!

So about a year ago, I blogged about my dream computer, with dual monitors, a nice comfy chair, and…well, that was it.  What can I say?  I’m easy to please.

Well, now that I’m graduated from BYU and (theoretically) no longer have access to BYU’s computers, I decided to go ahead and build my dream machine.

I got a lot of help picking out parts from my friend Cognoscente, who is a pirate par excellence.  My goal was to be as economical as possible while still picking out parts that are going to last for a long time.  I bought virtually everything from newegg.com, except for the mouse and keyboard which I picked up for $5 each from the BYU surplus sale (I’ll probably pick up a second monitor from them, eventually).

Anyway, here are the specs:

CPU—Intel i3-530 (2.93 GHz, 4 MB cache) ($114.99)
Mobo—Gigabyte GA-P55-USB3 (USB 3.0) ($119.99)
HDD—Western Digital 1TB drive ($69.99)
RAM—A-DATA DDR3 2 x 2GB ($98.99)
Video Card—Zotac 9800 GT 512 MB x2 DVI ($89.99)
PSU—Corsair CMPSU-450VX 450 W ($69.99)
Optical Drive—ASUS 2 MB cache DVD burner ($21.99)
Case—Rosewill Blackbone ($39.99)
Monitor—ASUS 22″ widescreen 1680 x 1050 ($169.99)
Total Price (including s&h, not including rebates): $824.05

I ordered the parts on Memorial day, and guess what? Everything but the video card showed up this morning–and the video card is scheduled to come tomorrow!

So this weekend, after I find a desk somewhere (either from DI or listed free on craigslist), I’m going to get together with Cognoscente and put together this beast.

So yeah, I’m totally geeking out about this new computer. It’s going to be sweeeet once it’s set up–I can hardly wait!

I’m also hoping it will help me write more. Right now, my only machine is my netbook, which is extremely portable and useful for travel, but not very good as a primary machine. It can get tiresome to write on a 10″ screen all day.

So yeah, I totally know what I’m doing this weekend. It’s going to be AWESOME 🙂