...I thought I'd post some revised specs for my computer. And... Well, yes... I'm bragging. I think this is the final configuration. I keep reading and researching and checking reviews and I always come back to this. At first, I read a lot of reviews that said "hey, you know, if you're a gamer, you should go for the Core 2 Duo Extreme series", but not only are they uber expensive, but they're uber hot and not quite as future proof as a Quad Core. I think the main thing is the Extreme has a 1333MHz bus, and the Quad Core only has 1066MHz... Still, it's not a huge issue for me, since I'm not going to be using it ONLY for gaming. I've got some serious parallel processing in mind! Video encoding... 3D rendering... Ohh, yes.

Main system:
Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 2.4GHz Processor
(2x) Kingston HyperX 2GB SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) Dual Channel Memory
EVGA 122-CK-NF68-A1 NVIDIA nForce 680i SLI ATX Motherboard
(2x) EVGA 640-P2-N821-AR GeForce 8800GTS 640MB Video Card
Thermaltake Toughpower W0133RU ATX12V / EPS12V 1200W Power Supply
(2x) Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3320620AS 320GB SATA Hard Drive
NZXT Zero Black/Silver Aluminum ATX Full Tower Computer Case
Sound Blaster X-Fi Platinum Fatal1ty Champion Series Sound Card

Monitor:
Dell 2407WFP-HC Ultrasharp 24 Inch Widescreen LCD Monitor

Input:
Microsoft PS/2 Wired Standard Keyboard 500
Microsoft USB + PS/2 Wired Optical IntelliMouse Optical 1.1

Also, I've been toying with the idea of trying my hand at third-party CPU heatsinks! Therefore, I have picked out these two possibilities, reviewed to cool a Quad Core by anywhere from 10 to 30 degrees cooler than the stock fan you receive with the CPU:

Air Cooling:
Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound
ZALMAN CNPS9500 LED 92mm 2 Ball Cooling Fan with Heatsink

Yes, the Zalman fan is huge... Gargantuan, even. And expensive for a fan. But the desktop I have right now gets hot during a load in the summer, so I think I'll try this. Somehow, I'll have to check if the fan will even fit inside the case I have picked out. I'm guessing it will... Maybe... I may have to remove a side fan. Maybe not. I know it works with the motherboard I have picked out, though, as the EVGA forum has proved many times.

Day 2 of 50 complete. $140 of $3250, 4.30% raised. Finish: November 1st.

Revised my numbers for 330 dollars a week. (Short day for Tuesday math class.) Doing pretty well, a bit tired, though, but I think that's just because I'm working, because I'm still getting 8 hours of sleep a night, like I have even when waking up at noon. (Actually, more like 7 hours, since I can't fall asleep at midnight, yet... I'm sure that'll change.) I actually plotted a finish date, too. November 1st! Maybe I will be able to do NaNoWriMo again this year... Hmm. Or I might be too busy playing Oblivion to care. We shall seeee.

Here's something I've been wanting to share for a few day, but never got around to it. The definition of irony. The definition of irony isn't seeing Microsoft Windows merrily booting itself on an Apple computer. It's this:

Irony is when Apple iTunes, a music player, needs to restart Windows... Windows Vista, I might add. The version of Windows that doesn't REQUIRE restarts anymore. (With the exception of OS update, which, I might add, requires that most OSes reboot after applying.)

I'm sitting here still wondering why in all heck an MP3 player needs to reboot Windows after installing. Especially since it's merely an upgrade. Is it because it can't restart the services? Lame. Apache2Triad can do that, and look, it asks me for administrative privileges in the first place! It certainly has the power to start and stop services. If services are the fault here, then chalk it up to lousy programming.

Is it installing a kernel-level piece of code that Windows can't start? I certainly hope not. It's a music player, for crying out loud, not a critical security update. If iTunes is installing kernel code... I'm going to be angry. If Winamp can upgrade without rebooting, certainly Apple's "glass of water in hell" (according to Steve Jobs) shouldn't have to. If it's installing kernel code, what do we chalk it up to? Lousy programming.

Fear not, Vista nay-sayers... For I have also updated my XP system and it also asked for a reboot. Perhaps it installs a driver? In which case, rebooting in XP would indeed be required. But in Vista? With the previously cried for, yet now oft-overlooked feature of user-mode drivers? Not required in the least bit. Not even my VIDEO CARD DRIVER asked for a reboot. It merely uninstalled, flickered the monitor a few times, and voila! Done deal. Why should iTunes ask for a reboot?

But what driver could it possibly be for? The iPod? No, I honestly don't think so. Windows XP and Vista can both discover an "iPod" when you plug it in... Without having installed iTunes. It's a built-in driver. Is it an iPhone driver? That would certainly be the pinnacle of irony. But still, let's not forget that Vista doesn't need to be rebooted for drivers.

Still, I find it oddly humorous. iTunes, a music player, asking for a reboot.