Building My PC 10 - Deneument

I built this PC nearly one month ago and am happy to report I am extremely happy with the outcome.

Given the original requirements of looks, volume, and speed we excel on all fronts. The Antec case fits beautifully under the desk and you'll only know if it's on if you're sitting right next to it. The only downside there is I have to enter the office to make sure its off, where as before the whir audible from the hallway could answer that question.

Speed-wise the computer feels completely fluid. iTunes, the worst performing application prior to the build, once again responds to our commands. Switching users between Jackie and I takes about 5 seconds which is about the time it takes for us to switch chairs anyway. 

I finally "stress tested" the computer by running Command and Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars. (Previously I could only play on the old PC for 5-45 minutes before the computer turned itself off) With the settings on "High" the game runs beautifully. Although my weary RTS patience is a story for another blog.

From here on out I'm going to be a build-my-own kind of geek. I like having the comfort knowing I got the best performance for the price. Plus, if something goes wrong I feel that my familiarity with the parts means I'm freed from any Geek Squads or cross-world Tech Support. 

Here are some final notes:

• The PC transfer functionality that Vista provides to transfer files from an old PC to a new one proved quite useless to me as it quickly hung up on some files (likely due to wonky permission settings I didn't have the patience to look into). I went with just pulling my files across the network or dumping them on the external hard drive (where they should have been in the first place if I wasn't such a lazy bum about backups)
  
• The "Back Up My PC" functionality with Vista proves equally disappointing. I can't seem to tell it exactly what to back up, I can only click vague boxes that say, "Music", "Video" and "Additional Files". The idiot-proof "Back up entire PC" would probably work fine, but I do not yet have a hard drive big enough to handle such a data feast.
• The only DOA part was the Microsoft 2000 Curve keyboard. Then again, for $15 I wasn't exactly going for high end equipment. I returned it to Newegg.com last Monday and by Thursday the new keyboard had arrived. I always felt wary of returning items from online retailers and this effort represented by first attempt. It was quick, painless and from a return-ship on Monday Newegg.com had this new keyboard under my fingers again by Thursday. 

And finally, special thanks to BenM for helping me get Vista up and running!