So I get my big-arse paycheck in from the month of December and I have money to burn! I decide to head over to Fry's and shop around a while and as I'm driving over there with Damian (new intern) I decide on getting new RAM and a new Video card in addition to the home theater system I was already planning on. So I get to the computer parts area and start checking out RAM (looking for DDR PC2100) and I remember that online they have a special: 512MB for $83.99 with a $30.00 mail-in rebate. 53 bucks for 512MB of DDR aint too shabby, so I ask the sales guy there and he tells me that they dont honor online specials in-store.
OK, I can handle that, some stores just don't mix online and aisle merchandise ads. So after he tells me this he walks off, doesnt ask if he can help me find anything else or make a pitch for some other RAM, just walks off. :beadyeyes: I spend the next 30 f***in minutes waiting for some dumbarse to get off the phone with his girlfriend, BEHIND THE COUNTER mind you, helping her with a computer problem. Dude looked right at me several times throughout the conversation and has the nerve to hang up the phone and ask someone who just walked up if they needed help! :2gunsfiring_v1: So the dude who initially walked off tells loverboy that I was there first and I FINALLY get my RAM. :fing07:
Now I walk over to the video/monitor section of the store, ask one person for a GeForce 5200 256MB video card for the price Im after. They walk me to the wall, pick one up and hand it to me. Under a minute. Now what the hell are they feeding those guys? Maybe they should rotate people in the computer departments, cause the customer service blew chunks in the mobo/ram area. But now Im happy cause I have my crap :2thumbsup: and time for -> :computing:
My mobo is a Shuttle AK32 v3.1 (or close to it) and has 4 RAM slots. Currently it had 2 sticks of 256. So I move the stick that was in slot 1 back to slot 3 and put the 512 in the primary. Plug in the PC and boot up. BIOS only picks up 512, so now im thinkin: "Which 512?" So I pull the 256 from slot 3 and boot up again. BIOS picks up 256 now. Now Im getting pissed. All that time I spent waiting for the dam RAM and now it dont even freakin work?!?! So I pull the last two sticks out and boot up. Get the little beepies for no/bad RAM and power down. Put the 512 in primary and boot. BAM! recognition!! WOOT! Put 256 in slot 2. BAM! recognition! Finally, 256 in slot 3. BOOYA!! Its freakin nice to see your BIOS doing a RAM check all the way to 1GB.
Vid card was a breeze. XP loaded the drivers I needed and everything. I can see blades of grarse in my game now. I see trees in the distance and even a sunrise on the right planet. Water has reflections and ripples, shadows are 3-D rendered and change with motion as well as time (you can actualy watch the shadow of a house grow, shrink, and grow with the sun cycle).
Now my computer boots faster, load apps quicker, and shutsdown faster. All I need now is a 40-60 gig HD so I can consolidate alot of games / downloads.
