And to think that they scoffed when I said that everytime one builds a brand new computer from scratch there's a slew of obligatory bugs that need to be sorted out. Well, this one is no different. But let me take a few steps back.
All the remaining parts arrived on Tuesday, and I promptly spent a few hours that evening mounting the power supply and routing the appropriate cables through the case. It was trickier than I expected. But that's okay, over the next few evenings I got the processor, heatsink, and RAM in. Then I basically procrastinated a night because I really didn't feel like cannibalizing my computer to shreds. So I played the back-everything-up-just-one-more-time game, and got all my ducks in a row and nerves collected. The next evening I spent coughing through the plethora of dust I unleashed from my old rig. It was a pretty... Unsettling experience to tear the old beast apart. Alas, by Thursday night she was all assembled and ready to fire up. Heck, I even got Windows installed that night.
But due to a few misunderstandings, I ended up formatting and reinstalling two more times. These could have been avoidable, but I admit that at that stage it's a relatively simple task to have a do-over. And, these formats helped me understand the nature of the problems. First, installing the motherboard SATA RAID drivers don't cause the computer to assume you want to make a boot disk every single startup - it's what it does when you boot from the motherboard CD.
Also, how the computer hangs more and more frequently? It has nothing to do with drivers - they were just a catalyst for the existing problem. Turns out that one of the video cards has insufficient airflow and was overheating once I was able to up the resolution to spec. The crappy part is that there really isn't a way around the problem unless I want to hack up my case. But that's okay, a single card should do me fine. At least this way I get dual displays all the time. Go figure. Alas, if anyone wants a Galaxy 9600GT for $100, let me know.
There was also a third 'bug', but it was resolved without a complete reinstall. For some reason the CPU was being detected as it should be - An Intel 3.33GHz Core Duo. What it was clocking at, however, was a single core 2.0GHz. Turns out the BIOS didn't auto detect _anything_ correctly. The front side bus, processor multiplier, and RAM timings all had to be manually adjusted. Go figure. Many thanks to Eric for helping me figure that one out.
On the plus side, everything is now running oh-so-smoothly. As far as I can tell, at least. So far I've mainly played TeamFortress 2 - whereas the old setup got me a low of 20-30FPS and a high around 70-80FPS, my numbers are now closer to a 60-70 low and a 120-140 high. Not bad, not bad. And that includes some graphical enhancements. I also tried GRID, and while I don't have any actual numbers, I significantly beefed up the details and I'm pretty sure it's running more smooth than it was before. Rock on.
So now I say, BRING ON THE BIG GUNS. Within the next month or two we should be seeing some solid releases for PC that I'm eagerly awaiting. Namely Left 4 Dead, Need for Speed Undercover, and Mirror's Edge. With, of course, a plethora of other titles mixed in here and there that I may need to download an 'extended trial' of before I buy.
The next few weeks of work may be very hairy - whereas I was working with my boss on the big project of the season, he decided that he was too busy and that it's now my responsibility to get it done. So that's what I'll do - I'm going to work my arse off to get it wrapped up and ready to go. I suspect that my other supervisor will want to keep very close tabs on how it progresses, so it may or may not meet the desired deadline. Either way, I will get it done.
It's always... Worrisome when you stumble across someone doing something that you consider your specialty, and they're kicking your ass at it. Specifically, my roommate/friend/coworker was drawing trees, something she wanted to get lazored up. And damn was she doing a fine job of it. It was primarily line work, but it was really well done. The trunk/bark had a great flow and direction, and the branches felt very organic. But there I am stealing a glance and the odd pages she left on the kitchen table, and feeling very threatened for some reason. Art is my specialty, no? I don't have the nerve to go about kicking her ass at first aid! Of course, it's not that there's anything wrong with it at all - there's no serious reason for me feel like she's done wrong. But it is a bit of an eye opener.
It took me some pondering last to figure it out. Truth is, I do suck at drawing, and there isn't a real reason why I should necessarily be better at all things artistic. Maybe I feel some entitlement to being 'the best' because I do this sketch-a-day schtick. But really, it isn't all that much in the grand scheme of things. Heck, I haven't even been into drawing period for any significant chunk of time - it's really just been these last nine months.
But it's still a terribly unnerving feeling when someone creeps into what you consider your territory and out-performs you. So of course this morning I had to test my metal and see just how bad I am. Below is my tree, if looks like one of those crappy paint-by-numbers kits. There's no denying it, I have come a very long way since I embarked on the sketch-a-day challenge. But I still have a lot longer to go before I get to claim any kind of right to any kind of territory.
-Cril
He was star of all the rodeos but now they rob him blind
It took eighteen years of Brahma bulls and life on the line
To get his spread and a decent herd
But now he spends his time pulling night guard
Stan Rogers - Night Guard
1 comment:
Maybe this week's assignment can be line drawing related?
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