# My new PC is built and up and running! **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [August 22, 2002, 5:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-new-pc-is-built-and-up-and-running/125038 "2002-08-22T05:10:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![bouv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bc8723/32.png) [@bouv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bouv)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2002, 5:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-new-pc-is-built-and-up-and-running/125038/1 "2002-08-22T05:10:31Z")
Hooray for me! I built my own PC with very little help from outside sources! (I had one friend help me get the heatsink on, and another help me get my motherboard to recognize my processor’s correct speed.) I got myself an AMD Athlon XP 1900, 1.67 GHz, fast baby. The video vard is an nVidia GeForce 4 w/ 64MB of RAM, also very nice. A 123 GB hard drive, a CD-RW drive and lots of other fancy bells and whistles. I’m proud of myself for being able to do this with no major problems, and I think I’ll keep on doing it. It’s not expensive, and I get to choose exactly wqhat goes into my PC. Ah…anyways, I’m just gonna sit here and enjoy my new desktop. ---
**Author:** ![Gozu\_Tashoya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/7993a0/32.png) [@Gozu\_Tashoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gozu_Tashoya)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2002, 7:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-new-pc-is-built-and-up-and-running/125038/2 "2002-08-22T07:13:38Z")
Well, 1.67 GHz is all fine and good, but you’re hardly going to stop there, right? You had your fun getting your mobo to recognize its _proper_ speed, but now it’s time to overclock! Let us know how fast you can get her before she starts smokin’, alright? 😉 ---
**Author:** ![neutron\_star](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/51bf81/32.png) [@neutron\_star](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/neutron_star)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2002, 7:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-new-pc-is-built-and-up-and-running/125038/3 "2002-08-22T07:49:05Z")
Congratulations. It feels good once it’s finally up and running, doesn’t it? My first attempt was fraught with problems, but I didn’t give up. It took me a week to get everything fully operational, but in the end I was glad that I researched all the problems myself rather than passing the buck off on someone else. You don’t really learn anything that way. Agreed, though, some of those heatsinks can be a _bitch_ to snap on, especially while worrying about the delicate CPU underneath the whole time. ---
**Author:** ![Tourian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8491ac/32.png) [@Tourian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tourian)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2002, 12:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-new-pc-is-built-and-up-and-running/125038/4 "2002-08-22T12:12:44Z")
Next time you have to snap on a heatsink, use a CPU shim(preferably anodized aluminum, not conducting copper), makes you much more confident and DOES protect your Athlon core, but yes, it is scary snapping those things on…now try taking it off with confidence, ha ha ha ha… ---
**Author:** ![VenusProbe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/e495f1/32.png) [@VenusProbe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VenusProbe)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2002, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-new-pc-is-built-and-up-and-running/125038/5 "2002-08-22T15:04:34Z")
Sweet! what motherboard are you using? I’ll second Tourians suggestion, a cpu shim makes life a lot easier. an illustration: without cpu shim: 😕 :eek: :smack: with cpu shim: 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![Jman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jman/32/4416_2.png) [@Jman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jman)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2002, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-new-pc-is-built-and-up-and-running/125038/6 "2002-08-22T19:59:22Z")
1.67 = XP 2000+, so either he’s already overclocking, or he got a better CPU than he asked for! 1700+ = 1.47GHz (mine…running at 1.55) 1800+ = 1.53GHz 1900+ = 1.60GHz 2000+ = 1.67GHz 2100+ = 1.73GHz 2200+ = 1.80GHz 2400+ = 2.00GHz (just announced, should ship very, very soon…and they overclock, finally!) 2600+ = 2.13GHz ---
**Author:** ![bouv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bc8723/32.png) [@bouv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bouv)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2002, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-new-pc-is-built-and-up-and-running/125038/7 "2002-08-23T02:29:19Z")
Well, I know I got a 1900, so maybe it’s just 1.6 GHz. And I would love to overclock, but I just don’t know how to do that.