E6600

Yipee. I'm so happy. This, everyone, is my first ever desktop that I built myself. I'm naming it E6600.

There are a number of parts in this computer that I carefully handpicked and bought. Some parts are recycled.

The CPU is Core 2 Duo E6600, 2.4 Ghz, 4 MB L2 cache, 1066 MHz FSB; Motherboard, Asus P5B Deluxe, bought in Japan; Memory is Patriot PDC22G6400LLK, PC2-6400 4-4-4-12 DDR2 800Mhz 2x1 GB; Video card is Asus EN7900GT, 256MB, recycled, bought from Japan; Power supply unit, Enermax Liberty ELT500AWT, dual 12V rails, SLI-ready, bought from Japan; CPU Case is Antec 900, 2x120mm Blue LED fan in front, 1x120mm Blue LED fan in the rear, and 1x200mm monster fan mounted on top; Optical drive is LG GSA-H44L, dual layer DVD+/-RW; lastly the IDE hard disk, mouse, monitor, and keyboard are the other recycled parts. All in all, I spent almost PHP 40,000.

As we know, such technologies don't last lifetimes, only months or years. Despite that fact, I plan to use this PC until its end of life, 5 years at the least.

Assembling this PC wasn't an easy task. It took me 10+ hours to get the whole system up -- from handpicking of each part, to shopping for it, to studying the manual, to the assembly, and up to powering it up. Handling of every PC part should be not taken lightly. This is because our human body contains small amounts of static electricity that can instantly destroy the electronics of a computer part. Installing the processor was by far, the most delicate task. Second to that, was installation of the Intel's stock fan for E6600 processor. Other challenges were the management and connections of cables -- there were so many cables. Improper connection of any kind of cable can bring serious problems.

At the end of the assembly, with a deep breath, I powered up the system for the first time -- Yaaay... The system booted up! CPU is running at 45 deg Celsius at idle mode, which is not very good. I have to install an operating system yet and apply finishing touches. Nevertheless, I'm so happy that I didn't mess up PHP 40,000.