Buy laptop computer

I have to confess something: I'm not a hardware guy. To me, software has always been a lot more interesting to review than hardware. I'd certainly never bother building my own system. Unlike Loyd, Dave and Jason (our ace hardware gurus), I had never been bitten by the Do-It-Yourself Bug--until yesterday, that is, when the Compaq I had been using as a desktop continued crapping out while attempting to run America's Army and Hunting Unlimited 2.

[Loyd here. I know the feeling well. Better to fix the problem than tear your hair out. ]

I had been having problems running games on that box for quite some time. I did everything I could to fix the problem--I updated every driver imaginable and even tried different operating systems. I updated the BIOS as well, and it still was a crappy gaming PC. It locked up with alarming regularity while I tried to play my two new favorite games, and I had had enough. I was going to build a better computer myself, and that stupid Compaq could burn in hell for eternity for all I cared. So, I hopped in my car and rushed off to Micro Center to begin my journey into the world of DIY.

Before I go any further with this, I know you might be wondering why I didn't buy my components online. The answer is simple--I was really PO'd and wanted a new machine right away. I couldn't stand the thought of being stuck with my unstable Compaq any longer, so I tossed out the idea of bargain shopping in favor of impulse buying. When you gotta have it, you gotta have it.

[Loyd again. Did Jim call me? Or Dave? Or Jason? Noooo...]

I gave myself a budget of $800, which I didn't quite meet. (More on that later.) Since this was my first time building my own machine, I created a list of everything I'd need--then promptly left it on my desk at home. Thankfully, I didn't end up forgetting anything, but I was less than pleased with myself when I realized my detailed list had been left at home. Oh well.

The first thing I had to do was pick out a case. Being a newbie, I went off the deep end--way, way off the deep end. I chose a gigantic grey Antec case that was labeled as a "SOHO File Server." It was probably more than I needed for a desktop, but it was cool looking. Hell, I thought it kicked ass in a metallic, honkin' DIY kind of way. Plus, it came with a 430-watt power supply, so I wouldn't have to bother buying and installing one. (Yes, I'd taken the DIY plunge, but in a slothful kind of way).

[Loyd, butting in again. All those case reviews we wrote... At least he got a decent one, though he could have gone a quieter route if he'd gotten the Antec Sonata.]

I then snagged a motherboard. I admit I had done absolutely no research on this whatsoever. So, I mulled things over and just looked around until I saw the Soyo KT600 Dragon Ultra Platinum. The packaging alone was just so damn cool and the information on the back of the box just floated my boat. (Yes, I really am that shallow when in an impulsive buying mood.) Besides, I was in a rush to get my machine built that night so I didn't have all day to browse around. At any rate, it turns out I made a pretty good choice on the motherboard.

[I'm starting to tear my hair out. All those motherboard reviews. All that testing. And Jim goes for the sexy package!]

The next thing to do was to get myself a processor. This was yet another situation where I'd done absolutely no leg work beyond knowing that I liked AMD better than Intel. Sorry, Intel fans, I've just always preferred buying AMD processors. (Though my laptop does have a P4 in it, so don't think too harshly of me). To each his own.

Looking at the processors I couldn't decide which one to go with until I realized that the fastest one they had in stock was an AMD 3000. Okay, fine by me. Fast is good. So I snagged it. It came with its own fan too so I didn't have to bother buying another one--yet another convenience for a lazy DIY-er like me.

Next, I grabbed a Western Digital 160GB drive and a TDK DVD/CD burner combo drive. The Western Digital had a rebate being offered for $70 so that took quite a bit off its price. Once those two components were in my cart, I snagged 512MB worth of SimpleTech DDR400 RAM (although I actually ended up with an additional 256MB once I filched some of the memory out of the evil Compaq when I got home).

[Good, Jim did get PC3200 DDR. That will enable him to move to an Athlon XP 3200+ later if he wants -- Loyd]

After that, I just picked up a few odds and ends such as a small toolkit, a new keyboard, etc. I knew I had screwdrivers and some other tools around the house, but half the time I can't find them and I wasn't sure if I'd have everything. So the toolkit actually ended up being quite useful. Once I got everything together, I headed to the cash register to pay the toll for my DIY freedom. Here's the complete list of the loot I took home:

AMD Athlon XP 3000 Soyo KT600 Dragon Ultra Platinum Motherboard TDK DVD +R/-R/RW /CD Driver Netgear Ethernet Card Microsoft Natural Keyboard Western Digital 160GB Hard Drive SimpleTech 512MB RAM Antec Performance Plus 1080AMG Case Belkin 10-Piece Toolkit

Note that I didn't buy a video card or sound card. The ones in the Compaq were fine (PNY GeForce 4 TI 4400 and a SoundBlaster Live) for what I needed. So I saved a few bucks there. The grand total for my purchases (including tax) was $1053.06. As I said earlier, I probably could have saved some more money if I'd bargain-shopped online, but time was of the essence (plus, I still got that nice $70 rebate on the hard disk). I wanted my new computer and I wanted it now!

[Loyd: Jim's credit card is whimpering, though…]

When I got home, I promptly banished the annoying parrot that lives in my home office to another room. I knew from the start that no human being could put together a computer for the first time while being screamed at or pooped on. Despite not having built a machine before, I wasn't particularly nervous. I've read the DIY articles on ET, obviously, and that held me in good stead when it came time for me to put my own PC together.

The only real headache I experienced was connecting certain things on the motherboard, such as the USB/Firewire. It's not easy being hunched over the case trying to stick your fingers into various nooks and crannies while trying to connect things. It can be an exercise in frustration, especially if you're tired or your back hurts.

[It's called a headlamp, Jim. Heck, even a small flashlight helps.]

Latching the fan down on top of the processor was another annoyance. The directions that came with my AMD processor specifically say not to put pressure on the it. I'm sorry to tell AMD this, but you do end up putting at least some pressure on it while trying to secure the heatsink/fan. You can't help it, since the latches almost seem too short to reach on both sides of the processor. At any rate, I got it done after thinking I'd squished my new processor a couple of times.

[The little things you learn. The first time I installed a heatsink was one of the most nerve-racking experiences of my career -- Loyd]

Installing the DVD drive, hard disk and the rest went very well. I didn't have anything in the way of problems with any of it. So far, so good. But will it boot?

I put my new machine on my desk, hooked up all the various cords, etc., then decided to push the Power button. Before I did, though, a small part of me wondered if this had this been too easy. Had I screwed up somewhere? It can't be this easy, can it?

Undeterred, I pushed the button and...boom! My new computer booted successfully. Wow. I felt a surge of exhilaration and flat-out joy. I had put my own computer together and the damn thing had actually booted successfully the first time out. I was terrifically happy that it had all gone so well. Now all I had to do was prep the new hard disk and then install an operating system. Piece of cake--or so I thought.

I created three partitions on my hard disk and then opted to install Windows XP as the first OS (I'll be sticking Linux in another partition shortly, but since this box is used for work, XP must be on it to use our content management program.). All was well until I tried to boot into XP and I got a nasty error message. It took me a while to figure out that I needed to disable the SATA settings that were on by default in the BIOS. Once I did that, I was able to successfully finish the XP installation.

Afterwards, I installed a bunch of patches (gotta love Windows--the first thing you do is install patches instead of actually using it for anything) and it was time to see how well my new machine would handle America's Army and Hunting Unlimited 2.