My Gaming PC

In October 2007 I made the choice for a new PC. The old PC, the Family PC, was built in 2002, and it was good for basic needs such as Microsoft Office and browsing the web only; however, the Family PC was used for scanning, printing, backing up the family’s laptops, and playing old video games.

In October 2008, I choose to make the new PC happen. I named my new PC the “Gaming PC.” I wanted the best hardware I could afford. I took advantage of the recession and the Christmas shopping season confident I find great deals. I purchased hardware on sale and/or after shopping around comparing prices. Four hardware parts included rebates. Three hardware parts were on sale.

I installed Windows XP of course XD I purchased Crysis to test the graphics. I need to install Team Fortress 2 and the Half Life series from the Orange Box. Here are the specifications in order of purchase:

*Oct 27, 2008: Silverstone 850W power supply at newegg.com. 850W ATX 12V 2.2 80 Plus Certified.

*Nov 1: ATI Radeon HD 4850 video card at Micro Center. 512MB GDDR3.

*Dec 1: ASUS P5Q Deluxe motherboard at newegg.com. Intel P45 DDR2 1200, FSB 1600.

*Dec 6: Intel Quad Q9300 CPU at Micro Center. 2.5 GHz, 6MB L2 Cache, 1333 MHz FSB, 45nm. Also Arctic Silver Polysynthetic Silver thermal compound at Fry’s.

*Dec 25: Logitech G15 keyboard, a gift from gmontem and Appu.

*Dec 29: Samsung T260 25.5 inch LCD monitor (20000:1 contrast ratio, 5ms response), HP 1070i optical drive SATA (DVD+/-RW up to 20X, CD+/-RW up to 48X SATA with Lightscribe), Crucial Ballistix RAM (DDR2 2X2GB PC6400 800 MHz CL 4-4-4-12), Cooler Master CM 690 mid-tower case, and Western Digital 6400CSRTL hard drive (640GB 7200 RPM 16MB buffer) at Fry’s.

*Dec 29: PC installed and active.

*Dec 30: Cooler Master 120mm blue LED two fans at Fry’s and Crysis video game at Circuit City.

*Feb 3, 2009: Corsair Twinx RAM (DDR2 2X2GB PC6400 800 MHz CL-5-5-5-18) at Fry’s.

I installed the programs between Dec 30 and Feb 11. I already have the gaming laser mouse that is the Trooper from Wolf King and gaming headphones that is 4H from SteelSound. I have the Logitech QuickCam Fusion webcam. And the HP LaserJet 5 printer is still good.

The one problem was my Gaming PC froze or crashed when I played Crysis. I started to play Crysis the last week of January. I didn’t have time to play video games most of January because I was sick T__T My friends suggested I replace the RAM. I did. On Feb 3, I purchased Corsair RAM at Fry’s. I played Crysis the same evening and my PC froze again. On Feb 5, I exchanged the Corsair RAM for another Corsair RAM. I played Crysis for two hours problem free. I’m currently trying to get a Return Authorization number from Crucial to get a replacement RAM.

I want to thank my Dad for helping me install the PC and Appu and gmontem for their advice and information. My Gaming PC is available for my family. My friends and I gathered at my house one Friday night to look at my Gaming PC and to hang out. And I have not played Team Fortress 2 since late Dec ‘08.

Gaming PC summary specs: Intel Q9300 2.5 GHz CPU, ATI Radeon HD 4850 512MB GDDR3, Corsair Twinx 2X2GB DDR2 PC 6400 800 MHz, Western Digital 640GB SATA 7200 RPM 16MB buffer, ASUS P5Q Deluxe DDR2 1200 FSB 1600, Samsung T260 25.5 inch LCD.

More pics below ^^














I'm growing up Finding Raymond Mar