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Building Loong (Dragon i7-4770)

I have finally gotten to the point, where I am just waiting between downloads for the various Drivers and Updates…

Earlier, I put this together:

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This all started, kind of… A couple of days ago…

All part of a new installation…

Here is a quick Overview, which I was Posting on Facebook and Twitter –

[2013-Aug-09 Fri 12:00ish]
– USPS Delivers New Motherboard (Asus P87-Pro)

[2013-Aug-09 Fri 13:30ish]
– Motherboard boots outside of case

[2013-Aug-09 Fri 14:30ish]
– I’m in the BIOs!

[2013-Aug-09 Fri 15:49ish]
– COOL! – NO MORE FLOPPY! [EL – Oh I’m glad your cialis arrived!]
[AM – Is that no more 5.25 or no more 3.5″? ;-)]
[Me – Only Firewire & USB over that SATA 3…
Now we are calling gigabytes!]
[JQ – It is all about the thumb drive]
[Me – I got plenty of Front and Rear ports!]
[JQ – OH YEAaaaaaaaaaa]
[Me – and I have a TON of cache!]
[DP – That’s what she said.]
[VR – Floopy!? LOL]

[2013-Aug-09 Fri 16:02ish]
– Installed OS in under 10 minutes!

[2013-Aug-09 Fri 16:14ish]
– Too funny! – Out of the box… The OS rates this as 1.0 in User Experience… Let’s see if I can do something about that…

[2013-Aug-09 Fri 16:23ish]
My current System Rates at 5.0… OOTB… New machine (Loong “Chinese Dragon name”) rates at 1.0… I have NOT even put in the OEM drivers yet, and it is still faster!

[2013-Aug-09 Fri 17:06ish]
First FB post from Loong!

[2013-Aug-09 Fri 20:17ish]
One has to LOVE a family that understands the deep and dark ritual of installing a new personal computer… The various incantations to be passed down from Father to Son… Well… It sounded good… Didn’t it?

[LS – No sons, but the ritual here is gun cleaning and fishing lol]
[Me – Damn GF! You know me too well!]
[MR – Starting from a baseline of Gregorian chant punctuated by outbursts of Tourette syndrome, right? Toned down to Donald Duck when the kids and/or wife are around…]
[Me –  Scary, but TRUE, I have SEVERAL CDs of Gregorian chants! and that is an AWESOME idea!]

[2013-Aug-09 Fri 21:25ish]
– WinTel 7 Pro {Up-to-Date}
– Asus Drivers {Issues}
– Installed Browser (IE, Firefox, Chrome)
– Installed JAVA
– Installed Adobe Flash

[2013-Aug-09 Fri 22:09ish]
– Upgrade BIOs 1007 x64 (05/17/2013) > 1205 (07/05/2013)

Issues
– Can’t Get into BIOs w/USB Keyboard (DEL and F2 keys)
-> Switch to PS/2 and into BIOs w/o Issue

If you happen to have any Tips or Ideas, PLEASE let me know!

Stay tuned for Updates as I go along!

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New Computer Ordered

The last time that I bought a new computer, was back in late 2003, just before my daughter was born.

I remember say to my wife at the time, I had to purchase the computer because there was no telling the next time that I would be able to purchase a new one.

This time, instead of paying extra for a mainstream computer, I decided to go to a local computer builder, and have a custom unit built for me.

I ended up with a Pentium 4 on an Intel motherboard, 4GBs RAM and a 100GB HD for around $1000.

At the time, it was a very speedy machine, but after many years of service, and countless upgrades, the machine started to show its age when trying to run Windows XP, Office 2007 and Photoshop CS3.

So the hunt started for an upgrade, and I was able to finally scavenge a base Intel Core 2 6400 box, which I am still using to write this entry.

My biggest issue with this current machine, is that I am running into some compatibility issues with Camera Raw 7 after upgrading to Lightroom 5 and trying to move files into Photoshop CS5.

There is also the occasion, when working on larger 1+GB TIFF/PSD files, I simply run out of memory.

Then, about 2 weeks ago, after a tough budget negotiation, I was given the green light for a new machine!

Yeah!

Now the question was what to get!

I knew what I wanted a machine that could run Photoshop & Lightroom as the main applications, which meant as much CPU and RAM that I could get!

Like any computer geek, I fantasy configured systems on the major computer websites, and knew that they were way overpriced for what I wanted.

I wanted a custom-built machine, but how? Another Local vendor? or via the Internet…

Or myself, which I had never done before, even though I have fixed hundred of computers over the years!

I started to look at several ‘You Built It’ websites to get a very rough idea of price and configuration, and was quickly overwhelmed with the various configuration options!

It was time for a spreadsheet.

I listed the major components I wanted, and then I started to visited 5 different sites (ComputerLX.com, Magicmicro.com, NewEgg.com, TigerDirect.com, Amazon.com), collecting prices and reviews.

Even for a seasoned computer person, the various chip sets and sockets available made my head spin! I spent countless hours reading the forums on Tom’s Hardware so that I could make as intelligent decisions as possible!

At some point, I came to the realization, that I was going to be building this machine myself, and I started to venture into YouTube land to learn more about the basics of my new DYI project.

Finally, after many hours of research and internal debate, I finally placed my order:

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Stuff starts to arrive Wednesday!

I can’t wait!

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eWaste Recycling in Downingtown area

Like many folks, I want to do my part in trying to save the planet by recycling the various things that I use, and over the years, I have collected a few things…

Recycling 2005
Recycling 2011

Sometimes it is not easy to know what to do with a collection, and things like eBay, are not the best or easiest solution, so…

So I have put together a Post on where to Recycle eWaste in the Downingtown, Chester County PA area, for those that might be experiencing a similar situation.

If know of any other ways to locally recycle eWaste, please let me know!

Borough of Downingtown

The Borough of Downingtown also maintains a website for Recycling, which include such things as:

  • Trash & Recycling on Tuesdays
  • Bulk Trash on the LAST Tuesday of the Month
  • Tree Limb Chipping on the 2nd Monday of the Month (Appointment Only)

For more information, please check the website, or their Facebook page.

Chester County Solid Waste Authority

Bet you have never heard of these folks, but they help run many of the local recycling efforts, and should be first on your list of places to check.

The map below show what is going on currently in the Chester County area:


View 2013 Regional Southeastern Pennsylvania Regional Household Hazardous Waste and Electronics Collection Program in a larger map

Additional Links can be found at their main website, chestercountyswa.org.

There is also a Facebook page, where you can also “Like” them!

RecyclingCenters.org

Doing a quick search on recyclingcenters.org, can also be helpful if you have something more unique.

Best Buy

This was another national company that I found that has an eWaste program, and has a local drop-off policy.

I called the store in Downingtown, and spoke with someone in the Geek Squad about what to do when you bring in your 3 items per day limit.

You do not need to call ahead, but you are asked to bring items to the Customer Service people at Geek Squad desk, at the right when you walk in.

If you have more than one item or need help, it is requested that you contact the Security for further assistance.

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Hopefully, this information will help someone else in the area!

I do plan to up-date the page as needed, so please, if you find something, please let me know!

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Astronomy, Photography & Marsh Creek SP

During the past several CCPaPhoto meetups, one of the more common questions has been –

Where is it legal for Astronomy and Photography types allowed to group during the night?

I finally sent an email to “PA Department of Conservation and Natural Resources” asking…

A couple of days later, I got the following back –

“The park manager said that basically any approved parking lot can be used at night – the Dorlan Mill lot, the west side lot, or the Chalfant Rd. lot. Just make sure that no one is parking on the grass, or blocking a gate!”

which is great news, especially with the Summer months coming up!

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We’re ON! – 11/11/11 11:11:11

11/11/11 11:11:11

Have we blown the circuits yet?

Remember 01/01/01 01:01:01?

What a Decade!

Reference

– Andrew
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