Reseated the CPU three more times and hey presto, it works. It’s a bit fiddly, this new CPU. I’ve ordered an external 500GB eSATA drive as I’m low on space. I already have an eSATA slot, but it comes with a PCI eSATA card anway. Madness I say.
2007 has been a particularly interesting year for me. It started on a high with my first full time job at Avox. (In fact it’s my first Avoxiversary tomorrow). The working year ended with a nice Christmas Dinner with the fellow Quality Assurance peeps and then a nice Bowling session with all.
As a result of said steady income, I was finally able to get a high end computer, which, right now, has decided to play silly buggers with the even newer Quad Core CPU I bought (more below). I’ve also been able to obtain a proper Mp3 player, a Creative Zen Vision:M, which seems to be built like a tank (it once fell off the dashboard out an open window on a mini-rounabout in town, and I still retrieved it unscathed). It’s also filled with all sorts of features. I’ve also gone through four digital cameras, starting with a medium-low end Olympus, then even further down to a shitey ViviCam (seriously, wtf?) 5660, then up to a top of the range (for a compact, and at the time) Samsung NV11, and now finally onto a Nikon D40 DSLR camera. Hurray! Apart from that I’ve bought practically every new well anticipated game this year that isn’t still held in a box by the publishers.
I’ve also attended the TT-Forums meeting in Birmingham which was really fun, for a pub, and then there was Gran Canaria, which, while hot and sticky (I hate hot weather, give me cold, while perfect visibility), was also extremely seedy and tacky. Seriously, even the cheaply obtained goods try to sell you things. “YOU’VE WON A FREE HOLIDAY HOUSE JUST BY MAKING EYE CONTACT” – Gah, please, I’d rather France. Everyone just doesn’t care there, and that’s all you need.
Then there was also the incident involving my car and the other car and the damage incurred. Well, I’ve gotten most of the damaged bodywork off now, and everything underneath is looking quite unscathed. I only need the new radiator and light to get it on the move. But gah, really, they just don’t seem to be arriving. >:( If I can’t get my car fixed soon I’ll just stop caring and buy a new car.
Here’s to 2008, may it be an even better year, assuming I don’t die or the apocalypse happens. (I’m an optimist, me.)
Now, my computer. The CPU. I had this problem while installing it, it was just a case of reseating the CPU and heat sink to make it work. The only problem is that the current Intel heat sinks are so shitty to install correctly, it gets really frustrating. What made it even more frustrating yesterday was that after I’d put the old, surplus heat sink on quite simply and quickly (even thought it’s identical to the current one), I realised there was no thermal paste on it and didn’t want to risk anything so resorted to the newer one again. I finally got the newer one on after much pressure and worrying that I’d break the motherboard, only to find that reseating it didn’t work. I’ll try again later, after I have something to remove stray particles in the actual CPU socket.
Well well well, another year gone. It’s Christmas again, and the season of giving has arrived. Amongst some of the things I got are:
For myself, using a large amount of money I came into, I bought a DSLR camera. It’s a Nikon D40, which, after trawling through Wrexham’s shops today, I found to be the cheapest, but I got it with a 3 year extended warranty just in case. Cue photos;
Now. I realise that in the space of only a single year that this is my fourth camera this year. (1 2 (TT-Meet peeps may remember this one) 3 4), but so what? I must just like buying several cameras!
The parts for the car still haven’t arrived. Grr. I need them so I can get out there and take some photomographs!
It seems damage is actually less that can be assumed below. In this order, the only parts damaged are:
1xBonnet
1xDriver Side (left for us brits) front panel
1xBumper
1xDriver side headlights (one still works, barely)
1xRadiator
The cheapest part is the only mechanical one. The radiator. I have no idea to see if it’s intact or not, but it is bent, and the fan behind it won’t turn because of this. I won’t replace the grill, for as can be seen in the last post, only three prongy grill bits are damaged.
So. Quotes. The quotes I got were:
FRONT PANEL: £100 1months guarantee [Used]
BONNET: £125 1months guarantee [Used]
HEADLAMP (DRIVER SIDE): £85 1months guarantee [Used]
RADIATOR: £65 1months guarantee [Used]
WING (FRONT DRIVER SIDE): £40 1months guarantee [Used]Delivery: £15
Total price: £505.25 (Inc. Delivery)
That was the most expensive one. I won’t be using that if it’s the last thing I do!
FRONT PANEL: £30 3months guarantee [Used]
BONNET: £75 3months guarantee [Used]
HEADLAMP (DRIVER SIDE): £45 3months guarantee [Used]
BUMPER (FRONT): £65 3months guarantee [Used]
RADIATOR: £50 3months guarantee [Used]
WING (FRONT DRIVER SIDE): £25 3months guarantee [Used]Delivery: £25
Total price: £370.13 (Inc. Delivery)
The cheapest one. The only problem is that all the parts were sold by the time they were phoned! 🙁
FRONT PANEL: £35.00 2months guarantee [Used]
BONNET: £105.00 2months guarantee [Used]
HEADLAMP (DRIVER SIDE): £55.00 2months guarantee [Used]
BUMPER (FRONT): £95.00 2months guarantee [Used]
RADIATOR: £25.00 2months guarantee [Used]
WING (FRONT DRIVER SIDE): £30.0 2months guarantee [Used]
HEADLAMP SURROUND (DRIVER SIDE): £20.00 2months guarantee [Used]Delivery: £30.00
Total price: £464.13 (Inc. Delivery)
A middle ground cost. I’ll be getting in contact with these guys tomorrow.
FRONT PANEL: £40 1months guarantee [Used]
BONNET: £90 1months guarantee [Used]
HEADLAMP (DRIVER SIDE): £55 1months guarantee [Used]
BUMPER (FRONT): £90 1months guarantee [Used]
RADIATOR: £45 1months guarantee [Used]
WING (FRONT DRIVER SIDE): £35 1months guarantee [Used]Delivery: £40
Total price: £464.13 (Inc. Delivery)
Another I may use.
As can be seen, this’ll cost me. Thankfully I have a credit card still unused, but at the end of the month, that’s another £25 bill to pay. Argh!