Summoning the Beast

“I suspect if more people understood how simple it really is to get computer components to fit together, more would try it. Getting them to work together is a dark and terrible magic.”

My thoughts exactly… sorta. I’m building a new rig this week, and while it’s always good to be careful and even a little nervous when assembling expensive components, that attitude is a little cynical for my taste. Building computers is fun. Doing mods, upgrades, repairs, is fun. I’m absurdly excited about my rig, truth be told. For your viewing pleasure, below are the parts I’ve got so far (still waiting on the case):

Processor: AMD Phenom II X3 720 BE

X3 720 BE

New iPhone/iPod Touch This Summer

The Apple rumor mill is in full swing once again. Reports are popping up all over the internet, mostly about the speculated release of new, 3rd-gen iPhones and iPod Touches. There’s always a chance that we won’t be getting anything more than a minor revision like increased storage, but it’s more likely that we’re looking at a pretty major update. For starters, Apple has made a pre-release of the 3.0 firmware available to iPhone developers. Additionally, AT&T has reduced the pricing on their no-commitment iPhones, perhaps in an attempt to clear out inventory. There are no guarantees with Apple, but I’m guessing that the combination of these two pieces of information means something. Below, in no particular order, are some of the rumored updates, as well as how likely I think they are.

Computer Build Part One – Choosing Your Components

I actually completed this build about two weeks ago, but I’ve been too busy with school to write up a decent post on it. I previously wrote one post about ordering the parts for it, and another with a few teaser pics of my work area. Now I’ll finally get into it. Here we go…

My First Computer Build

Maybe the title is a little misleading. While this is my first build, it isn’t really mine. I’m putting together a gaming rig for my friend Raymond, who has plenty of money available but not a ton of knowledge when it comes to computers. I’m by no means an expert, but I’ve upgraded computers quite a few times, throwing in new hard drives, memory, graphics/sound/wireless cards, etc. From time to time I’ve performed hard drive reformats, and I seem to have become 24-hour tech support for my family and friends. Raymond happens to be the most recent example, and I’m excited to challenge myself (and a little encouraged by how many people online state that “any idiot with a screwdriver and a how-to guide can build a computer”).