MSI X38 Platinum (BIOS 1.3), Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600 @ 3.0 GHz, OCZ Vendetta 2 HSF, 2x VisionTek Radeon HD3870 in Crossfire, 3x 2GB OCZ Gold PC3-10666 9-9-9-20, WD 74GB Raptor, WD 500GB Caviar, PC Power & Cooling 750w Silencer Crossfire Edition, Lite-On 20x DVD SATA, Lian Li PC-V1110 Chassis, Vista Ultimate 64
My very first computer was a Commodore64. Following some Apple II/c and II/e exposure in school I moved up to an NEC 386sx16 at home. My last Intel-based computer was a Gateway Pentium-Pro 200 which was also coincidentally my last OEM-built desktop computer. I moved to AMD with the Athlon 900 Thunderbird, and followed up a year or two later with an XP 2000+ Palomino, the first system I built strictly with overclocking in mind. I moved through several different configurations of XP-based hardware until making the jump to A64, and currently maintain four AMD-based computers in the house. I’ve been involved in Information Technology professionally since 1993. I began my career on IBM System36 and AS/400. With the growing popularity of twisted pair Ethernet and the advent of Windows 95 I made the switch to PC-based networking and haven’t looked back. Following the natural progression of workstation to server to network administration in addition to many other aspects of IT such as telephony, security, routing and switching, I’ve had the opportunity to gain experience in a diverse range of technologies. I’ve held certifications in Microsoft, Cisco, Citrix and others over the years, and am currently employed as the IT Manager for a local internet-based print procurement company here in rural PA.
The first computer I ever operated was an IBM Model 360, while I was taking a programming course in college in the mid '70's. It used IBM punchcards, (Do Not Spindle, Fold, or Mutilate) and not including the desk-sized keypunch machine, it was around 4' tall, a dozen or so feet long, and probably used as much power wattage as the average home.
My first really "high tech" purchase was an Atari 5200 console. Real cutting-edge technology for the time. Guess I had over a grand tied up in periphials and games. That was a lot of money in the early '80's.
After a tape drive TRS-80, and a Commodore 64, my first "real" computer was a Tandy 1000EX...about 95% IBM compatable, a smoking 8088 processor, one 5 1/4" floppy drive, a massive 256K RAM... and no hard drive, purchased in late 1985. The Tandy 1000 line was the biggest selling line of computers of all time. A friend of mine bought Windows 1.0 around that time. I thought it was silly, and would never fly...LOL! I was in the US Army in the mid/late '80's, and used some really state of the art stuff, including a 286 laptop with 40 meg hard drive, and could have up to 5 programs on PROMs. It weighed probably 12 or so pounds, mostly because of the heavy steel case. I used another laptop rig that had an EPROM burner.
I was somewhat out of computers from the early to mid-1990's, but finally got back into them in 1997, with a 333mHz PII. And of course, now I'm hooked on building, and anxiously await my next one!
Rig 1: Intel Q6600 Core 2 Quad Processor @ 3.1gHz, Asus P5K Deluxe Wifi-AP Motherboard, OCZ PC2-8000 Platinum Edition 4 gig kit, Zotac geForce 8600GTS, Seagate Barracuda 250 gig SATA 3.0 HDD, Hitachi Deskstar 160 gig SATA 3.0 HDD, Lacie 360 gig external HDD, Rosewill Xtreme 850 watt PSU, OCZ Vendetta CPU cooler, Zalman VF-1000 GPU cooler, Thermaltake Xaser Full Tower
Rig 2: Intel E8400 Core 2 Duo 45nm Processor, Asus P5K64 WS Graphics Workstation motherboard, Kingston PC3-11000 2 gig kit, XFX geForce 8600GT Ultimate Overclock, Seagate Barracuda 250 gig SATA 3.0 HDD, SilverStone Decathlon DA800 800 watt PSU, Apevia X-Supra mid tower
I have been working on electronics since I could hold a screwdriver and gaming since the Atari 2600. After traveling the country for many years I returned to my hole-in-the-wall hometown to work mowing greens at a local golf course because I love free golf (who doesn't?). Soon I was making more money doing PC repair on the weekends than I was getting in my 2-week paycheck on the course. I decided to open a little retail/repair shop, and have been doing it ever since. Now my wife and I are expecting our first little overclocker this December!
I am an old-school overclocker with a sweet-tooth for volt-mods and extreme cooling. I dig the overclocking community almost as much as the overclocking itself. There is nothing quite like making a $75 processor out-perform an $800 chip with a little knowhow....and then sharing the settings with your friends!
Not to mention the edge it gives in gaming...well, that makes it golden! My chip progression over the last few years: AMD Athlon 4000+, AMD Athlon 5200x2, AMD Athlon 6000x2, AMD Athlon 6400x2 BE, AMD Athlon 5000x2 BE, Intel Q6600, Intel E8400, Intel QX9650....
Current Specs: Intel Q9650 # 3.6 GHz, Asus Maximus Extreme x38, 4GB DD3 @ 1440 MHz, Zotac GTX260, 2x 74GB Raptors in RAID0, Multiple SATAs storing 1+TB, OCZ GameXtreme 1010w PSU, LG Blu-Ray/HD-DVD, TT Mozart TX, KDS 26" LCD, Vista X64
When I was younger, I never got into computers much. You could say I was a late bloomer. My dad came home one day with an old 486 Tandy running a menu driven DOS operating system. Later we upgraded it to Windows 3.1. I remember always playing Jetfighter 3 on it. My folks then got me a Compaq pushing an Intel Pentium I 200mhz with MMX. Back before I knew anything, we attempted to get a new video card and more RAM put into the machine. The local store we took it to managed to burn out the motherboard. Now that I know a thing or two, I can't believe they could have pulled that off unless they spilled something on it. After the Compaq got too old, we decided to get a Gateway with a Pentium II 233 mhz. I used that computer for a long time. It even outperformed a buddies K6-2 333 mhz machine. But that was before AMD knew what they were doing. That is probably when I got into building my own. I started building my computers with AMDs when the slot processors were out. I used that old Gateway case for as long as it would last, until I had to upgrade the PSU, which didn't fit.
I have jumped from processor to processor always wanting the fastest (that I could afford). I have moved from a 1600 XP to a 2000 XP, 2400 XP, 2500 Barton, then 2800 64, 3200 64 (754), 3000 64 (939) and finally to an Intel Quad Core. I am a fan of change, can you tell?
Intel Q6600, ASUS P5K Pro, 4x 1 GB DDR2, ATi Radeon 3850, BeQuiet 700w PSU, 30 GB OCZ SSD, 640 GB Seagate, Moneual Labs HTPC Chassis
I was introduced to computers much later than the rest of these guys, receiving my first pc after graduating high school. To illustrate just how little I knew at the time, I purchased one running Windows ME and, well, we all know how that turned out. My systems have always been modest in regards to the world of modding and overclocking, playing the role of solid workhorse for intensive graphics software rather than that of a fleet footed thoroughbred. As a result, I have also become competent with Macs over the course of several years of art school. My experience has remained firmly in the area of digital art, web design and the equipment and software involved in the creation thereof, including digital tablets, monitors, and graphics creation programs.
PC: AMD 7850 Black Editon Kuma @ 2.8 Ghz - ASRock K10N78M - Geforce 9800GTX - Kingston HyperX DDR2 1066 2 GB – In Win Allure minitower chassis Mac Mini: 1.83 Ghz Intel Core Duo - 2gb DDR 667 - Intel GMA 950
