Mission: Accomplished

From: http://www.buildyourown.org.uk/forums/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=47890

When I began my DIY journey, I started out wanting a Mac. However, that quickly became too much of a headache to even begin to think about how to get the parts’ compatibility issues worked around. So I turned to other parts. Not only did I end up with a faster, more compatible system, but also a more stable and affordable one as well.

Of course, I ran into troubles when it came around to getting everything inside the case and getting it all to work. I’d put everything together (or so I thought), but was still having issues. Mainly, the PSU would not even power up. Also, I couldn’t find the cable for the DVD drive to the mobo. The graphics card wasn’t fitting onto the metal brace properly. And I was not able to find the appropriate cables to power the case’s panel ports.

I finally threw in the white towel and sought direct help, as it just wouldn’t get the job done if I’d relied solely on the forums or google. My friend knows a guy who works with computers. We took it there. In about two hours’ time, he’d disassembled the computer and put it all back together properly.

I had done a few things wrong, apparently. He tried explaining it all to me, but I could not fully comprehend everything. Most likely due to the fact that I was just happy to have the computer up and running.

After enduring his ramblings about AMD processors being superior to Intel, nVidia outgunning ATI, and Steve Jobs being an asshat, while Bill Gates was the wisest wizard in the kingdom, I finally had my computer ready to take home. He did this all for free.

When I got this bad boy home, I came across a couple issues:
- Ethernet driver installed improperly the first time. Reinstalled by itself and it works fine.
- External USB SATA HDD cannot be accessed. It’s in the hardware devices menu and make the chime whenever it’s plugged in or unplugged. Still no dice, however. Not a big deal tho.

One thing has to be said, and it should be the highlight of this whole story: I am extremely happy with my purchase! However, it must also be know, that if you’re at all a newbie, I wouldn’t suggest building a computer without: a) a REALLY good guide/instructions for all components, b) a backup plan. Only thing I am a bit bummed about, is the lack of CrossFire support on my mobo.

Some goof-ups:
- Ordered two mice
- Ordered a B&W printer w/o realizing it
Haha!

Now, to the juicy part; the build!

Meat ‘n Potatoes
Intel Core i5 Lynnfield
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115215

SAPPHIRE Radeon HD 4890
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102852

Gigabyte UD3L mobo
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128406

OCZ Obsidian 2×2GB DDR3
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227495

COOLERMASTER 690 Chassis
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119137

OCZ ModXStream Pro 600W 80% PSU
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817341017

Samsung 22x DVD Burner SATA
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827151187

Samsung Sinpoint 500GB 7200RPM SATA 3gbps
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152181

Side-Orders
Acer 22″ LCD
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824009145

Logitech G11 Gaming Keyboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16823126009

Logitech MX518 Gaming Mouse
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16826104178

Difficulties

I am having difficulties with installation of some hardware with my build. This post is mainly for a place to post my pictures so I can make a topic for a support forum.

Build it and they shall come!

All my life, I have been a Mac Addict, thru and thru. No Windows here, pal! All that changed when I became a serious gamer a couple years ago. Mainly, World of Warcraft. All I had was my 2.33 Ghz C2D MacBook Pro. Not a gaming computer. However, I sold that computer a couple months ago.

So now here I am. I was considering building a Hackintosh. A custom PC running Mac OS on compatible equipment. I was so close to ordering the parts, when I started reading about what it takes to get some hardware to work with Mac. So I finally said “fuck it” and compiled parts for a PC build. And it’s twice as good as the Mac build would have been. Ordered the parts yesterday and they should be here in two days.

Logitech G11 Gaming Keyboard (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16823126009)

Logitech MX 518 Gaming Mouse (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16826104178)

COOLER MASTER RC-690-KKN1-GP ATX Mid tower case
(http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119137)

Acer 22″ LCD monitor
(http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824009145)

brother HL-2140 laser printer
(http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16828113290)

GIGABYTE GA-P55-UD3L mobo
(http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128406)

SAPPHIRE Radeon HD4890
( http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102852)

OCZ Obsidian 4GB (2×2 GB) DDR3 RAM
(http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227495)

Intel Core i5 2.66 Ghz Lynnfield
(http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115215)

(PSU & DVD drive not shown)

Em Pee Gee

After about a month and a half of ownership, I am averaging just below 37mpg. I can’t say I’m overly impressed, but I can say I am extremely happy about the car’s performance. I almost hit 40mpg a couple times.

Roadkilled

Well something just amazing happened last week. I approached a red light where a white Suburban was stopped. I had to make a right, so I got beside him. Just before I got to the line, he jutted out in front of me, turning right. His rear passenger side tire ended up molesting my driver side bumper and spoiler. Long story short, I ended up not calling the cops cause I’m a fool. Exchanged insurance. Got a quote from insurance. $667. My deductible is $500. I’ll have to wait till they decide he was at fault.

+MPG via CAI?

I’ve started a topic on the Fit Freaks forums pertaining to this issue. Definitely some heated opinions. End result? I’ll most likely end up spending the extra money on an intake kit from Schucks to figure it out for myself.

http://www.fitfreak.net/forums/eco-fit/47340-mpg-via-cai-2.html#post731569

It fit… At a cost…

Well. Great. Five years of driving, five previous cars, and never have I scraped my rims. Nor have I had black rims before. Even better. Till today… I tried fitting into a fairly small space at the gas station. Well… It fit. But only to the soundtrack of the gut-wrenching sound of my right front wheel grinding against the curb. Yay.

I’ve attached an image. Anyone have ideas now to repair this?

Photoshoot!

Took Mr. Mugen to a hand carwash today. They do an awesome job. They run the car thru a drive-in one and while it’s in there, they scrub the crud off of it. Funny tho… One thing I don’t understand about this place… They hire tall white guys to valet your car to the entrance of the washy tunnel, while two tiny (< 5′2″) Mexicans scrub the car, including the roof. *shrug*

Went to lunch with my father and visited my grandfather for a bit before heading back home to get ready for work. Which is what I’m doing now, by the way.

On the way home, I saw a nice large parking lot – one that is way too large for the outlet mall that it services. So I went to the corner that never gets used and took some picky-pics. Here they are: (the first two are from the other night at work)

144 Hours Later…

It’s been six days since I drove this beautiful car off the showroom floor used car lot. And I’ve already been thru a lot with it! It’s been a busy week, so I’ll try to remember things chronologically.

First, I drove it to work. Yay…
After work, at 9am, I picked up my lady. She said it would be a nice car to fuck make whoopy in. I concurred.
We drove to quite a few places over the next four days.
- 20mi to neighbouring town to see my mother
- 20mi back to hometown
- 10mi to a video store
- to Home Depot to pick up wood for target practice with my .30-06
- 20mi to another neighbouring town to visit her grandparents
- 30mi to outside city limit of neighbouring town #1 to shoot my rifle (she decided not to shoot)
- 10mi into town to see  my brother, get car washed, visit train depot, get lunch at a local eatery (yum! Papa Joe’s!)
- 10mi back into hometown. Grabbed sno-cones.
- 30mi to return videos and take her home
- 20mi two-ways to work

It’s been a great few miles, that’s for sure! I am very impressed with the car’s peppiness and overall performance. Very zippy! Reminds me of my ‘84 Prelude in a lot of ways. Except, in the Fit, it doesn’t understeer at all.

Best of all… It took only $24 to fill-up and I averaged 35.4mpg. And yes, I was driving kind of crazy at times. Love it!

There have been a few frustrations (obviously, if you’ve read my previous posts), but hopefully it’ll all work out in time. The stock stereo is on its way and it should be here this evening or tomorrow. I will be getting that professionally installed next paycheck (20th). The dashboard is, I think, beyond repair. I may have to look at getting a dash topper. One person over at fitfreak.net’s forums suggested I place a bunch of little dashboard goodies on every one of the spots, so as to not make it obvious. o.O Haha.

Mr. Mugen’s Introduction

Hello there! My name is Mr. Mugen. I am owned by the guy writing this blog. My previous owner didn’t exactly appreciate me, but thankfully this guy is taking great care of me! Here’s a list of all the stuff that my new owner is working on:
- Replace aftermarket Koss head unit with stock head unit (in the mail)
- Get glue off dash from previous owner’s dash topper.
- Replace shift knob with one that actually stays on the stick!

Images of all that are coming soon, says Mr. Owner. He’s sleeping right now tho. We’re at this place he calls “work”. Apparently he gets to sleep at work. Go figure! He’s in the while I have to try and sleep under all these lights… Ugh!