If you'd like the short version, just skim over this and skip to the last bold bit and the list of names.
I've wanted to build an HTPC for a long time, I've wanted to run LN2, or even LHe. I've wanted to show my school's Career-Technical "Cisco Networking Academy, A+ Certification" program, no, wait... actually show the world all about the value of AMD CPU's and AMD rigs... about AMD's personal commitment to the community. I will finally get my CompTIA A+ certification as a junior in high school this year. The others in the class will wait until the end of their senior year. I am much ahead of the game. Hopefully that means I can hitch a job at a local best buy, get myself a car, then worry about fueling not just my hardware habit, but my "Xtreme" side.
Today I took my not-so-little build in to the school, carried it across the building and up two flights of stairs.
Phenom II X4 840 BE, C3 Propus on Aluminum stock cooler
Sapphire HD 6670 with its cute little AMD silkscreened onboard DDR3
ASUS M5A97
500w Corsair PSU
I had scrapped the build together late last night...it was actually incomplete, my 8 GB of GSkill Value DDR3 had not shown up...so I threw in my RipjawsX DDR3 and primed it overnight while it downloaded Counter-Strike Source. I logged into steam this morning, made sure the game ran and headed to school. I bring the PC in and set it on a table. My instructor looks and goes; "So is that the PC you built last night?" ... I reply: "Of course" ...connecting to the school's network, and our SMART Board over d-sub, I downloaded CPU-Z and HWMonitor. I loaded them up, talked about the frequency of the processor, the amount of cache. I talked about the temperatures; voltages; asked if they had questions. I then loaded up Prime95, and the class watched the processor climb from 41c to 65c within a few minutes. I loaded CS:S, and they were all surprised by the fact that it got 250 FPS at a resolution of 1024x768 and medium details. (It didn't look too pretty though compared to their Xbox 360's) I taught them things my instructor didn't know. I taught them about the importance of a quality PSU. I taught them about overclocking. Did I mention I overclocked the PC in the EFI bios right in front of them? I've never done that before. I booted the machine at 3.9 Ghz with only 1.425v for them. After a minute back in Counter-Strike, the machine locked up...then ended with a BSOD. I loaded up Prime for a minute at 3.8, 1.425v for them to show them what overclocking does to a CPU's temp output. It rose to a steady 71c. I can't exactly say I'm comfortable at that temp, but whats fun about being comfortable? What matters most of all, I had fun today. I had fun doing what I love. I love overclocking. I love pushing limits. I love breaking barriers. I love showing people that I am worth something. I have knowledge that you don't need, to make $75k a year as an IT Administrator. Sometimes I get dissapointed that I do not have the resources to compete with the world's best. Actually, I am always disappointed. I want to try new things, compare things, push limits. I have the time, the prerequisite knowledge. I may not have all the experience, but I'd like to say I have the entusiasm to be an enthusiast. It gave me the passion to overclock again. My heart was racing during that 32M run (seen in sig) and all the failures before that. It took me 20 lbs of Dry Ice and a lot of voltage to get that far. My CPU isn't exactly what I would call strong. Is it bad? No, I can't say that. I can't believe that experience took place at the end of May.
Early yesterday morning, before I went to school, my father sat me down in our living room. He told me that in four weeks, he will have to switch from graveyard shift (10PM to 6AM) to first or second shift. This comes with a 10% reduction in pay. He told me that I might not get what I wanted anymore...that we will have to cut back. It's not like I've been spending anyway. I bought a single kit of Ripjaws X 1600 with my own cash, hoping it would have been better than I expected. I should've known, nothing works out for me like that. That's all I've spent this year. I payed for my pot, I payed for my dry ice and the ethanol back in May. I paid the $200 for my Hyper kit that was only slightly awesome when compared to my 965BE that couldn't run 3DMark06 at 4.1.
I feel as if I am losing myself. I'm so excited for Bulldozer, but I also know that my stay and keeping up in this community will only be a dream. Perhaps I can return in a year or so, perhaps people will donate parts to keep me current until then; parts my way to watch me have a little more fun. I've overclocked my 1100T and I've done everything I can with it. In essence, I am a bored teenage boy that is tired of playing the same game, every day, for months. I feel as if I'm losing respect. Not that I had any to begin with, I've never hit 7 Ghz on LN2, I've never tested all of AMD's CPUs, even though I've now tested one of each 45nm series excluding X3.
There are some very key people that I need to thank right now.
chispy from team PURE
- Donated my first kit of DDR3 when I could not afford one: 2x1GB Crucial 1600 CL8 with D9 that I pushed to 1850 6-6-6 validation on Simon Solotko's 565 BE
Simon Solotko - better known as 64NOMIS, together with Brian Maclachan, better known as chew*
-donated to me a Gigabyte 890GPA-UD3H, because they saw something in me. Simon supplied me a 565BE in a givaway here on the forum, and chew* has given me more advice and knowledge than anyone could ever ask for. These two are pretty solidly my heros of the OC world.
Gary Key, otherwise known as bingo13
- This guy, has to be the most charitable person I've never really met.
Hardware list from Gary alone:
ASUS 4870X2 TOP
ASUS M4A89TD Pro/USB3
Intel X25-V 40GB
A few things he was going to give me, but never made it include
ASUS M5A99X Evo
Several other things, enough to "build a whole new system
Aaron Schradin
- Sold me a 1100T several days before launch at $175. He was going to let me borrow a sample "Phantom" pot...turns out that he didn't have one to give me. He threw a Gigabyte T-Shirt my way, as he felt I deserved it.
stangracin3
- Sold me my first CPU pot, after he could no longer afford his. $110 for a Kingpin Venom 5.0. He also graciously threw in an Athlon X2 240e, that for some reason I have not played with over the last four months I've owned it.
Everyone else, from you to fugger.
I've acted like a fool at times. I'm growing up, I'm maturing. I'd like to say I am fully mature, but that is not the case. I suffer from PTSD due to things that have happened to me in the past. I can't say that I'm proud of how I react to situations. I haven't always made the right choices, I've not always given the best advice or said the right things.
Thank you everyone for supporting me, I hope you found my day's story interesting. This is all I have left to give back to all of those who have supported me.
So, the question really is:
"How far can we go?" - Simon Solotko, record breaking day for AMD on August 31st, 2011
I would like to believe that the sky is the limit, as long as we put our mind to it.
Reply With Quote
. 
Bookmarks