Nothing was bought full price and I took advantage of Memory Express’s Price Beat Guarantee on most of my parts! I managed to stay well under budget and splurged on some more premium parts that I had my eye on (my case and CPU cooler).

Part List:

CPU: Intel Core i5-2500K 3.3GHz Quad-Core Processor
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z68X-UD3H-B3 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard
--Bundled together @ $300
CPU Cooler: Corsair H100 92.0 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($99)
Hard Drive: Seagate Barracuda 500GB 3.5" 7200RPM ($69)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 560 Ti 2GB ($249)
Case: Corsair 500R White ATX Mid Tower Case ($99)
Power Supply: Corsair 750W ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($89)
Optical Drive: LG Blu-Ray Reader, DVD/CD Writer  ($69)
Approx. Total: $974

I’m hoping to buy another HDD as well as add a SDD once the prices drop down, as well as a few fan filters once some washable ones come in stock. I’m also getting extremely picky with cable management, so I think I may be buying a few sleeved cable extenders from NZXT to make the insides of my pc looking as sexy as the outside ; )

All in all, I’m EXTREMELY happy with this build and how much I paid for it considering prices in Canada are quite a bit higher than in the USA.

I started looking at building a PC on a whim and I never thought that I’d actually manage to go ahead with it. This was just supposed to be a gaming rig, but I think I’m having too much fun with a pretty powerful computer to go back to my MacBook Pro as my main computer. Anyways, I’ve got a post with my build process as well as one about my peripherals in the works, so keep an eye out for them as well!

Oh who am I kidding. I still love it!

I’m a bookworm, I always have been. I remember when I first learned how to read, and how I’d spend most of my recess’s in the classroom with my teacher reading any book I could get my hands on.

So I’m taking a bit of a break from video games (okay maybe not a break.. just cutting down the time I spend playing), and I’m going to lose myself in literary wonderland.

I took a trip to the bookstore today and picked out George Orwell’s “1984″. I’m a sucker for stories having to do with dystopian societies and I’ve heard a lot of great things about this book, so I’m pretty excited to dive into it.

I think I’ll post my thoughts on the book so far as I go through it.

Anyone read it? Have any thoughts about it?

Here’s a pretty awesome kinetic type video done to Jonathan Coulton’s Shop Vac

It took a bit of planning, I had to use a special screwdriver which I had to go out and buy, as well as a certain type of paint that bonds to plastic (I didn’t want the paint rubbing off or becoming too sticky).

Then I had to figure out how to take apart the controller properly, which took a surprisingly longer time than I thought it would.

The painting was a relatively easy, the hardest part was waiting for it to dry! I forgot how much patience comes into play when you’re doing projects like these!

As well as painting the shell and buttons, I went ahead and took apart an old PS2 controller and used its thumbsticks to replace the worn out ones on my Xbox controller. I even went in and fixed a trigger that squeaked every time I used it (now the people I play with won’t make fun of me whenever I’m shooting someone lol).

It all went fairly smoothly, and I’m happy with the results. All the buttons work perfectly, the finish looks great, and the newly installed sticks feel pretty awesome. I’m giving it a few more days to fully cure before I go all out and frag some baddies, that way I’m sure no paint rubs off on my hands. I had fun painting, and I can’t wait to try painting another controller.

Anyways, enough rambling, here are pictures!

Forgive me if this is all over the place. I’m guilty of jumping from one thought to another when I do these types of posts.

Now Playing: Camo & Krooked – James Bond Theme

Work
I’ve been pretty busy with work, which I’m actually enjoying quite a lot. I know that it isn’t web development or design based.. but I have a lot of fun with it. It takes me back to my Marketing and Business roots, which is how I got into Digital Media in the first place. I didn’t see myself taking this direction career wise, but I’m pretty glad that I did. I think it utilizes a lot more of my strengths than coding websites did.

Halloween
For the first time in years I actually stood at the door and gave candy to trick or treaters. I don’t know how other people handle the cuteness that comes to their doors, everytime I saw a cute little kid in costume, all I wanted to do was fill up with bags with all the candy I had. I need more self-control haha. All the fun wasn’t had by the kiddies though. I managed to get out and go trick or treating myself in costume. I’ve got to say.. I’m fairly sure I was the loudest person out there yelling “TRICK OR TREAT!”

Randomness
So a bunch of games are dropping this month and I am SUPER EXCITED. I’ll be picking up Modern Warfare 3 at midnight on the 8th, and the Halo: Anniversary Edition as soon as it comes out.

Also, I’ve been working on my computer build. It’s taken me a bit longer to get it started, but I think that I’ll be building before.. or right after Christmas! It’s crazy  how much I’ve learned in a short period of time.

ANYWAYS. The pasta is al dente, I should get back to the kitchen and make the sauce!

Until next time,

Carrie

Who else is pumped for MW3?!?!