The Great Computer Build 2013 - HAL 4500 Jr Pt. 3

HAL 4500 Jr. has been up and running for a few months now. For the most part. it's been a pretty glitch free experience. Being able to boot up in 45 seconds (typing the login password included) is fantastic. Programs still pop up almost as soon as I click them, and those that need to load a slew of plugins in minimal time. I used to be able to fix a drink in the time Photoshop took to open. Now, before I can decide what I want off the bar area Photoshop is ready to roll. This is speed I can get used to. Mind you, it's not without quirks. For instance, I ended up redoing the install a few days after I got the basic programs loaded up, as for reasons unknown it would not play nice with my WHS2011 rig. The computer thought I had a pending install or update running that prevented the WHS connector software from doing its thing. Since I hadn't started really putting anything on the SSD yet, it didn't take too long to move the few installers I did download to the old HDD (I pulled the drive from my old computer to manually transfer files and programs to the new rig),  reinstall Win7, get the Connector program running for WHS2011, then loan everything up again. Probably took 2 hours out of my life, but it could have been worse.

There was a LOT of this screen, let me tell you...

Unfortunately, 2 weeks later there was a sense of deja vu all over again, as I ended up doing ANOTHER wipe and full reinstall, as my rig and WHS2011 were not on speaking terms for about 2 weeks or so. I couldn't do a backup to WHS2011, or do a backup through Win7. Restarting the backup services didn't seem to help either. Instead of wasting time tracking down what the problem was, it was simply easier to just start from scratch. Again. Let's see how well this one goes, shall we?

In the time since the last post I've made 3 alterations. First, I have a new monitor. My old setup had 2 17" monitors running on my computer desk (again, parts decommissioned from work). On the one hand, they were perfect for the days I had to work from home, as I could have my Outlook open on one screen and the program I use at my job open on the other, and could drag and drop between the two. I have the same setup at work (a 15" laptop and a 20" HP monitor), and after using 2 screens, it's VERY hard to go back. That said, the monitors I was working with at home were the old 4:3 aspect ratio, and the world as a whole is moving to 16:9(ish). Plus, most video cards have some kind of digital output moreso than analog (DVI, HDMI, Display Port), and both monitors I had were straight VGA, which wouldn't do much with any video card I would get. So, another trip to Microcenter was in order. The original plan was to get 2 monitors, somewhere in the 21"-23" range so I could go with the 1080 resolution. After perusing the aisle, I did find a nice 23" AOC e2343Fk monitor, which happened to be on sale. $130 later, I'm walking out of the Falls Church store (which I will never visit again, for a number of reasons that merit a different post).

See the mount? We'll get back to that...

However, there are a few caveats which I must mention, which ultimately may make a change in the final specification. First, while the monitor was on sale, it only came with a VGA cable. Therefore, whatever savings I made on the monitor itself were eaten up by needing to buy a DVI cable. Eh, not the end of the world. The second problem is the size. The initial plan was to get 2 monitors and run them side by side, either on the desk or on a VESA mount. At 23", I'm stretching the amount of room I actually have to work with on my current desk. On the one hand, the desk, and everything in the basement, is subject to change (the desk will be replaced, and ultimately the basement will be rearranged to my liking, whenever I have the time and funds to do so). So, once all is said and done, 2 23" monitors may work just fine. But right now? Not going to happen given space constraints. Third problem: mounts. At the end of the day, mounting the monitors on a VESA mount of some sort will be the way to go. Unfortunately, the AOC monitor I have has a rather funky mounting setup. Instead of the VESA mounting points being on the frame of the monitor, as is often the case, on the AOC the VESA points are on the bottom of the articulating monitor base (which, once extended for desktop use, is already suspect). This means the monitor will sit higher up on the VESA mount once all is said and done. Depending on where the desk ultimately goes (and what desk I chose) it may not be a big deal. Still, it's one additional variable I didn't think would be an issue, but now it is. At this point, I can't say anything bad about the monitor itself as far as the color and sharpness. However, I also can't say I won't sell the monitor at a loss for 2 different monitors in the end. Time will tell.

The second, and much more important, item to be added to the rig was the GPU. It's common knowledge to anyone building a rig that onboard graphics, at best, suck. While Intel's HD4000 series on board graphics are worlds better than what they previously had available, for any moderate gaming it would fall woefully lacking. For casual gaming, it probably would be OK. But to play anything that resembles games on my PS3, the video card was a must, not an option. The catch for me was figuring out the card that would give me the best bang for the buck, which I naturally made more difficult than it needed to be. As mentioned in an earlier post, I have a genetic disease that forces me to check, double check, triple check, and basically drag out any purchase I make. The amount of time it takes to make a decision on a purchase increases depending on the amount and technical nature of said purchase. So with the target price of $200-$250 and a slew of video cards in that range, I was in for a world of pain.

After some internal debate with my wallet, I decided a 7900 series card or a 660 Ti would be more money than I wanted to spend on a card, and quite probably overkill on a 23" monitor. This meant looking at something in either a GTX 660 card (Nvidia) of some ilk or a HD 7870 (AMD). After research and suggestions, I had narrowed the choices down to an EVGA GTX 660 (either SC or FTW) and the XFX 'Double D' HD 7870. For the most part, it seems chosing between AMD and Nividia is a lot like siding with Ford or Chevy, with either make coming out on top depending on the given application (and what goes on sale when). Both cards were spec'd pretty closely, with frame rates not too far off each other, depending on the game. Both also had cool looking fan shrouds, although with the way the mobo sits in any case it really doesn't matter as I wouldn't be able to see it anyway. Vanity, I tell you.... In any case, just before I got to the point of pulling out a coin and flipping it, a la Two-Face, something new hit the scene...

Life would be easier if this was how most decisions were made...

AMD released the HD 7870 LE (or XT, depending on  the card), which was based on a cut down Tahiti chip found in the 7900 series card, rather than a revision of the Pitcairn chip found in the 7800 series. This meant the chip was a bit faster (though possibly less energy efficient) than a stock 7870 chip. Initial testing showed that, depending on the overclock, it would meet or beat some 7950 boards. The best part? The board was close to the same price as your popular 7870  boards, depending on the vendor and what sale they had going. Sounded like a winner to me. The bad news? AMD really didn't push the chip, so only a handful of companies made a board with the new chip. With a little digging, I found out that Sapphire had produced a HD 7870XT with the Tahiti based chip for $245 on Amazon (through Tiger Direct, which is important later...).  Once the funds were right, I picked that up, along with some LED sleeving for the case (figured I may as well, since the case already had a window)

Army boobs sell video cards? If they say so...

So, one Saturday afternoon, I took HAL back to the bench. I cleaned up the internal wiring a bit more, rerouted some of my headers, sleeved my SATA cables, installed the 7870XT, then ran the 2 meters of LED sleeving through the case. Most annoying part? The little clips for the LED sleeve. Their double sided tape sucks. Halfway through the process I had half a mind to grab some servo tape to hold those little clips down. But patience prevailed, and after an hour or two, HAL 4500 Jr. was finally complete

The Great Computer Build 2013 - HAL 4500 Jr Pt. 2

The process of choosing parts parts for the build began months ago. There were a few components I knew for sure I wanted that were pretty simple to decide on. A few other pieces, not so much. Come to think of it I'm still deciding on a video card! But I'm getting ahead of myself. Here's what I got and why.

Case: Fractal Designs Define R4

Looks like a mini Monolith. But Titanium Gray...

One of the prerequisites of the build was above all else the computer be as quiet as possible without overheating. Naturally a case with sound dampening material would be in the running. The R4 got the nod for a few reasons. First was the sound dampening materials built inside the case. With padding on the side panels, the front door and the top of the case, it cuts down on noise and vibrations from the inside. Second: fan options. There are 6 places to add fans, either of the 120mm or 140mm design, so there are plenty of places to add cooling. With that many cooling options, the fans wouldn't need to spin nearly as fast, thereby making less noise. Third: design. I've always been a fan of clean lines, symmetrical design, and general lack of gaudiness (I'm a huge Audi styling fan, for instance). Having a door to hide the drives and card reader, which blends into the clean side panels just works for me. Before I was serious about the build I was a fan of the old NZXT H2. After some research, I found that Fractal Designs had worked out a few kinks the H2 had with their R3. By time I started buying parts, the R3 was supplanted by the R4, which was available  with a side window. Now, admittedly, a side window wasn't completely necessary, as the case would be on the floor under the computer table, where nobody can really see it. But a little bit of flash never hurt anybody,  and I wanted a side window. It just says CUSTOM, even if nobody cares. So a trip to Microcenter netted one of these. As an aside, I had been debating on the Ti Gray version or the Pearl Black version (only the color of the front door is different; the rest of the case is black). When I went to the store I couldn't get anybody to grab the ladder and get the case for me (always hovering around when I don't need help, never around when I do. Like the cops...), so I jumped up, knocked it off the shelf and caught it. I swore I had the black, but when I got home it was the gray. In the end, I'm happy with that choice.

CPU: Intel Core i5 3570K

As with most electronics, there's always a 'sweet spot', a product that will give you the most bang for your buck. Not overpowered for your current or eventual needs (and likewise priced out of your budget), not underpowered now or later (and not bought to meat a lower price point). The i5 2500K was the Goldilocks pick of the Sandy Bridge chips: Faster than an i3, and could be overclocked to match some of the lower i7 numbers, at a price accessible to most builder's budgets. However, by the time I was ready to start buying parts, Ivy Bridge was rolling out en mass. So, it seemed right to pick up it's successor, the i5 3570K. I wouldn't need the hyper threading of the i7 3770, and if I wanted to overclock it I could get faster in most benchmarks than that chip, at a lower cost. Now, realistically, I didn't need the unlocked chip, as my current plans and needs don't warrant any overclocking. Honestly I probably could have been just fine with an i3 chip. But, if you're going to go through the trouble of building your own computer there's no need to gimp yourself from the jump. So the 3570K was a lock

Mobo: AsRock Z77 Extreme4

Unlike most of the choices I had to make, choosing a motherboard seemed like closing my eyes and throwing a dart at a list of names. Admittedly it's hard to get a crappy mobo these days; it pretty much comes down to featureset and UEFI/BIOS preference. None of which I really cared much about, to be honest. As long as I had enough SATA headers for any drives I want to add, as I didn't feel like getting a PCI adapter to add drives (as I did with the old computer), was able to accept 32GB of memory if I decided to go that route down the road, I was fine. Having an onboard wifi card would have been nice, but I'm running Gigabit LAN in the basement, so it was unnecessary at the time (and an add on card if needed down the road would be cheaper). So, it was up to Tom's Hardware for approval. I decided on the AsRock based on 3 things: the recommendation from the website, the fact that Microcenter had them in stock (and would knock $40 off the price if bought with the i5), and that the board was all black, which would match the aesthetic of the R4, with the black/white insides. Hey, if you're going to go custom, there has to be some vanity considerations after all...

PSU: SeaSonic X Series X650 Gold

Choosing a PSU was a headache. I knew I wanted one as quiet as possible. I knew I wanted one fully modular, if possible. I knew I didn't want to spend $200 in the PSU, which was more important than the first 2 demands, as realistically, I was never going to drive the computer to the point that I absolutely needed a $200+ PSU. So the research dragged on. For a while, the thought of a fanless PSU appealed to me, even with their higher price. However, the configuration of the R4 prevented that, as having the PSU mounted on the top of the case generally works better from a cooling perspective with a fanless GPU. So, that was out. Most of the boards, threads, and recommendations from builders gave SeaSonic and their line of PSUs high marks for silence and reliability. The problem was, those PSUs were expensive for a non-modular version. Fortunately, I kept my eye on them. Just before the new year, Newegg had this PSU on sale for $90, which was basically half price, with free shipping. It took 2 weeks to get sent to the house, but a deal like that just could not be passed up, even if I had to wait a month.

RAM: Crucial Ballistix Sport 16GB DDR3-1600

Memory was something I figured, after some internal debate, that I didn't necessarily have to go ALL OUT on. As long as the memory was made by a reputable manufacturer and it  fast enough I didn't really need heat spreaders or super fast timing to support any voltage overclocks (which I'm pretty sure would be a bridge too far for me. At least at this point). That said, I've always heard the mantra 'there's no such thing as too much memory', so at least 8GB would be going in the rig. Brand and exactly how much would depend on what was on sale when I went to the store to pick it up. Originally I was going to go with the Corsair Dominator series. Why? The heat spreaders looked cool. But the Crucial memory was $20 less, which money could be shifted to another part in the build. So, 16GB of Crucial 8x2 memory for $72? Sold. Will I ever NEED 16GB? Maybe not. But I can upgrade to 32GB to max out the board if I so choose too. One thing is for sure. I should never, EVER get a low memory warning, no matter what I have running.

CPU Cooler - Corsair H80i

This decision probably took longer than anything else. Depending on who you ask, the Cooler Master Hyper 212 Evo is all the cooler you need. It easily outperforms coolers 3 times it's price. But I didn't want it. It's too....plain. I could have gone something huge like the Noctua NH-D14. But that's a lot of weight hanging off the mobo I didn't necessarily want. So after a month of research and internal debate, I decided going with an AIO water cooled setup. Would it be as efficient as a home built water cooling loop? Nope. But I wasn't even about to invest the time and resources to map one of those out (especially when all I really need was that 212 Evo). Would the AOI setup be overkill? Yep, as there's not much need to overclock anything and what I currently do won't stress the processor out at all. But again, this was first my custom rig, and a water cooled solution would (in theory at least) be quieter than 2 or 3 huge fans blowing inside the case, hanging over the RAM and making installation a PITA. After another few weeks of research. the H80i won out. Between the ease of installation, the cooling efficiency, control of the Corsair Link2 and the ability to change the color of the LED on the pump (vanity has to be taken into consideration, you know...) it seemed to be the choice for me. When the local Microcenter had it in stock, I snagged it.

SSD: Samsung 840 Series, 250 GB

Going into the build, I knew I wanted a SSD for the boot drive. Mostly for speed, partially for vanity's sake. The beautiful thing about a SSD: read/write speeds that simply crush a regular HDD. To be able to go from a cold start to working in 20 seconds or less is fantastic. Programs pop open no sooner than you double click them. The biggest problem with a SSD is storage size and cost. Even with the HDD shortage last year (which is starting to stabilize now) you can get waaaaaaaay more storage for less with a standard HDD than going SSD. Which is why most people, yours truly included, will use the SSD as the  boot drive and supplement that with a bigger HDD for data and programs.It's hard to go absolutely wrong with whatever SSD you chose. Yes, some are faster than others, but the majority of the public really won't notice or care, especially if it's faster than they are used to. That being said, if you're going through the trouble of building your own computer, this is the kind of thing that would matter to you, whether you can ACTUALLY tell the difference or not. Samsung's 830 line of SSDs have been regularly praised in reviews for it's speed, so it seemed to be as good a choice as any. Just before I began to open my wallet to start buying stuff, the 840 was launched. So, 840 it was. The biggest question, however, was just how big a drive to get. While a 60GB drive would be more than enough to install Win7 on, anything else would fill the drive faster than it could boot. While you could install most programs on the HDD, some of them don't like to be anywhere but the C: drive. That wasn't worth the hassle for me. So the debate was between the 120GB, which hovered between $100-$120 depending on the store and the week, or the 240+ range, which went for $170-$190, again depending on the time of day and store. In the end I decided to save and go with the bigger drive. May as well have the ability to install whatever program to the SSD and not have to worry about it (considering I had a 320GB drive in the old setup with programs AND data and wasn't quite 3/4 full, the 250GB should be no problem, with a bit better data management). 

HDD: Segate Barracuda 2TB

Not really much to say here. 2TB of storage (7200RPM speeds, to boot) for under $100? Especially when 750GB, and some 500GB drives were as much a few months ago (and even now, if you want, say, a Caviar Black)? Even if most of my data is offloaded to the WHS2011 server, this much internal storage on the rig for this price? Winner, winner, chicken dinner.

ODD: LG 14x Blu-Ray Burner

Remember I said I swapped out the Corsair memory for the Crucial? That had a lot to do with this purchase. For the most part, any DVD burner will do for 98% of people. I mean, unless you're Mr. Bootleg, you're not burning that many movies at home to trade or sell. Most data is being downloaded from somewhere (either legit or grey market), meaning the few times you really need a physical drive would be to install some piece of hardware or to rip a CD you already own to iTunes (or MediaMonkey if you're smart). Likely you have a Blu-Ray player hooked to your TV or own a PS3 to watch your movies. So there isn't that much need for the majority of the public to install a Blu-Ray player in their desktop, other than because you CAN put a Blu-Ray player in your rig. Which was exactly the decision I had to make. In the end, I decided to get at least a Blu-Ray reader, just in case I wanted to archive the movies I have to my server. Looking at the prices on Microcenter, their Blu-Ray readers were somewhere in the $55 range. The Blu-Ray burners? Closer to $75. Not enough difference to kill my wallet. Plus, with the $25+ I saved switching from Dominator memory to Ballistix, well.... there you go.

So, after months of research, planning, saving, and buying (most of which came after the job's winter bonus), I had what I needed to replace the wind tunnel of a computer I was currently using:

Like Christmas for geeks

Since I had a number of crisis to deal with at the time, it would have been smart to wait until the weekend to get everything done. Unfortunately, I'm not that smart, which lead to staying up after 2:30 am two consecutive nights to get everything installed, and a third day to go in and clean up the wiring front and back. But in the end, it all came together

I now have a powerful, cool, quiet, color coordinated computer that should easily be able to handle whatever I throw at it now or months down the road. While the LGA1155 chipset may be supplanted by whatever Intel comes out with this year. my current setup should be able to last me for quite a while before I absolutely NEED to replace anything for being wither too slow or totally obsolete. My inner geek is thrilled.

You may notice that there is no mention of a GPU. Any self respecting builder would die before sticking solely with onboard graphics (even if the HD400 GPU on the 3570K is an improvement on past onboard graphics setups). The reason? I haven't chosen one yet. My OCD won't let me pick between a GTX 660, HD 7870, or the  recently released HD7870 LE (which should be faster than both, and probably faster than a GTX 660 Ti). Realistically, I could but a GTX 650 or a HD 7700 series card and be absolutely fine for what PC gaming I do (currently none), but that would seem to be a disservice to the rig I've built. Plus I still have to decide on what monitors I'm going with (after having a dual monitor setup at work, it's hard to go back to a single, even at home). Both, and whatever other peripheral I need to pick up, will be covered in a later blog.

In the end I managed to build a cross between the Baseline and Performance recommended setup from  MaximumPC, but slightly cheaper. I can't hear the computer upstairs, it boots up faster than I can fix a drink while waiting, it looks great, and I shouldn't have to replace anything for a few years unless I absolutely need the newest and best, which I don't. I haven't come up with an official name, so Hal Jr. it is for now. It's not sentient (nor will it be), nor the most powerful or best spec'd rig around. But it was designed and built from the ground up by me, so it's perfect for me. It's the sweet spot.

Maybe I should call it Goldilocks....

The Great Computer Build 2013 - HAL 4500 Jr Pt. 1

I am a geek. A geek with a bit of an OCD complex. And I am OK with that. That's the only way I can explain most of the things that interest me and how I approach them. Take my RC hobby for instance. The majority of people go with whatever Tyco product is shown on TV, or whatever is on sale at Radio Shack.

I'm sure somebody got this for Christmas. Not sure why though...

 Me? I've got maybe 8 vehicles, all of which were built from kits, which had to be ordered online or purchased from a hobby shop (and I have been to most of the shops and know some of the workers of said shops in a 50 mile radius of the house), and can tell you what rechargeable battery (moving to lipos), motor, engine (there is a difference), speed controller, servo, body, starter box, radio....

I can probably name each of those parts. Probably own most of them too,,,

You get my point. Video games. I've played SFII and it's ilk since the arcade scene was hot in the 90's. Most people would just play on their control pad, or, at best, but a controller from Madcatz or Hori (the fact I know the brands already gives the geek aura away). But how many people do you know have gone and built their own arcade stick to play at home? I own 3, all custom, all that needed to have buttons, joysticks, PCBs, LEDs purchased, installed, soldered, wired, and in some cases programmed to work?

El Guapo and El Jeffe. Yes I named them. Don't ask how much they cost...

Like I said, geek.

The one thing I hadn't really done, which seems to be a prerequisite of any geek or nerd, is build my own computer.Not that I hadn't ever grabbed the Phillips head screwdriver and went into a case before, mind you. Back in the days when I graduated, I had the choice of a car or a computer. You can guess which way I went. While I decided on an Amiga 2000 (probably on this side of being a nerd), I had to have extra memory, faster processor card, audio recording card, and a removable hard drive, all of which had to be ordered and installed by yours truly.

In the early '90s, this was a big deal. Just trust me...

Over the years, I've had to add hard drives, memory, or PCI cards to a number of computers for my friends and family depending on their needs. I even had to put together a computer on a $350 budget when my brother's Compaq gave out on him last year. But building one for my own personal use? Never got around to it.

Now, admittedly, very few people NEED to build their own computer. If you think about it, computers, as with everything else, are getting smaller and more portable. Most people can get along just fine with a low to mid-spec laptop. Tablets like the Nexus 7 and the ubiquitous iPad are expanding because they provide access to the things most people use a computer for (e-mail, messaging, web surfing, Netflix and the occasional game of Angry Birds or Words With Friends) in an easy to use portable device. Smartphones are getting faster with bigger and brighter displays (watch how many 5 inch phones come out this year), with better cameras front and rear to truly become all in one devices (which, ironically, are used less for making phone calls than ever).

Sorry Apple fanboys....

Even if you need a traditional desktop (and if sales and stocks are any indication, more people than ever don't), you can pop into your local Best Buy or hit Dell's website and get more computer than you need for your daily tasks. So why on earth build one yourself?

Simple answer: Because You Can. Even if you go through Dell or HP and customize one of their computers and have it shipped to you, there's always going to be a level of choice that you can't get unless you build it yourself. Say you're heavy into gaming on your PC. You may want more onboard memory and a separate video card to make sure you can get the highest graphics level on any given game. If you do music production, you may need a discrete audio card that will allow greater control and cleaner sound than your onboard audio from the motherboard. If you do video editing you may need a much faster processor and tons of memory. While your choices may be limited with a mass market seller, if you build your own each specific part cam be chosen based on your individual need. Then there's the customization factor. Want a case with plenty of vents for your cooling fans? Need one with a side window to show off your handiwork? Need multicolor lights in your fans or in the case to match your mood or your lighted keyboard? Feel like building a water cooling loop to keep the CPU chilly while you overclock the mess out of it? You've got to go custom. Do you NEED to do any of this? Nope. But you CAN do it, so why not?

Doubt you can buy this at HH Gregg....

Like I said, geek...

So, that being said, I decided I wanted to build my own computer. The current desktop I had was given to my from my IT manager at my job. He had ordered a mobo replacement for one of our servers, and got a whitebox desktop setup instead. Go figure. It was old, but serviceable  Athlon X2 processor, 4GB memory, DVD burner. A step up over the old Dell P4 I had been using (another decommissioned job from my office). The thing was, the computer was LOUD AS F$^K.  With no front fan and only a 80mm rear fan, it had to spin as fast as it could to keep the inside cool, even with a vented side panel and my aftermarket cooler I bought (with another 80mm fan, meaning it was still spinning ultra fast). Add to that a no name, barely vented power supply and you have a noisy, but underpowered, setup. I could hear the fans spinning from the upper landing before heading down the steps to the basement. My WHS2011 server, which I had cobbled together from another decommissioned computer (Lenovo something-or-other P4, which I simply added memory, bigger HDD and Gigabit LAN), and stays on 24-7, was nearly silent. This had to stop. I thought about simply replacing the case with something that could take bigger, quieter fans, and maybe the power supply and CPU cooler to make sure I could keep the sound down. But if I was going to go through the trouble of moving a mix of old and new parts to another case, I may as well take the time and just go from scratch all the way and build up a rig that is at least in the current cycle of parts (pretty sure the CPU and the mobo of the other rig had been discontinued years ago). The process of choosing parts, it turned out, was more difficult than I expected.

I get a lot from my father. My name. My eclectic taste in music. The benefits of good audio equipment (if you only knew how many headphones and high end walkmen I went through as a youth...).

One word: SuperBass

The benefits of good video equipment (which is why I'll go plasma over LCD if I'm paying for it). And the incurable need to research any and every electronic purchase for at least 4 months before buying anything, and even after making the purchase fretting over your decision for weeks afterward, even if you love the purchase. It's horrible. My dad obsessed so long over whether or not to get his Pioneer plasma TV (the one that was a step down from the legendary Kuro line) that my mother threatened to order it, have it installed in the den, and dare him to say anything about it. There were articles, reviews, price comparisons, etc around his house for months. He may have printed out close to a ream of paper on the TV and it's comparisons before finally pulling the trigger and buying it. It was frustrating, even for me, since he would e-mail me stuff on his TV. But in the end, he got it, he's happy, and it looks fantastic (I already told my mother when he passes I'm taking his TV). Sadly, he passed that same affliction on to me. Anything I buy has to be researched, reviewed, double checked, cross referenced, vetted by 2nd and 3rd parties, compared, seen, touched, debated, slept on and price matched before my wallet opens. I annoy my friends. I annoy my wife, I annoy myself. I hate it. I can't help it. So I blame my OCD on my father and keep it moving.

Now that we have the prelude out of the way, I can get to the actual build in the nest post. Which, hopefully, won't take another year, unlike any of the other projects I've got to finish (or start) a writeup on...