Dreaming Of Disassembly

Today, I woke up from a dream. I had a dream that I was disassembling my old MSI EX 460 Laptop (the one I mentioned previously that died on me, see: http://tomhuang03.blogspot.com/2012/06/getting-my-nerd-on-part-1.html). I lay in bed for a few minutes, debating with myself on whether or not I should go through with it, I weighed my options (warranty is already void, it's already non-functioning, I'll put everything back the way it was v.s. what if it can still be fixed, what if I break something, what if I can't put it back together) and then I decided, screw it, I'll turn this dream into a reality. So I got out of bed, took out my toolkit and laid out the laptop on a stable surface, which is actually just the foam mats I use for grappling. I tried looking for instructional videos and documentation to no avail, so I decided to go with the "unscrew everything from the outside in making sure to note down where each screw came from" method. I didn't get too far, I wasn't able to take the whole laptop apart as much as I had hoped/wanted to but I did get significantly far.


I was able to remove the optical drive and the Thermal Module as well as the Processor (Intel Core2Duo CPU T6600 @ 2.20GHz). But other than that, the case seemed to be held together by some other unreachable/hidden screws. Or I could be doing something wrong. I didn't want to force it and pry the thing open in the fear of breaking something. So after awhile, I put everything back together.

(MSI EX460 Dis-assembly, Photo by Thomas Joseph Huang

(Intel Core2Duo T6600 CPU, Photo by Thomas Joseph Huang)

It was good being able to get that far and seeing the semi inner workings of this laptop. It's something I suggest you shouldn't do to a fully functioning, still under warranty, everyday usage laptop, unless of course you know what you're doing or are confident enough to risk it. This experience gave me an idea though, since I can easily get to the processor, why not try to give it an upgrade? I probably need to take it to a shop to have an initial assessment of what exactly is wrong with it in the first place.


I need to look into this possibility and do a little more research. All hope may not be lost for my dead MSI EX 460. Perhaps I can resurrect it.


Interesting.


If I find anything on the topic, then you will most likely see a new article regarding this.

Getting My Nerd On (Part 1)

A few weeks ago, my trusty MSI EX 460 laptop was called into Silicon Valley Heaven. It was a sad day. From getting me through some school work, to passing the time, to daily activities, to a 24 hour LAN party with friends, this laptop has been through a lot with me. I suppose you could say it served it's purpose quite well. What added to the sadness is that I now have to resort to using my iPhone 4S (which isn't a bad thing, except for the small screen size) as well the office laptop (an old Dell Latitude D630) at home for my daily activities. This sparked a thought, "Why not go back to the Grade School and High School days? Why not build my own PC rig?" and this led to me "Getting My Nerd On".


Ever since I was about 14 years old, I've always had a fascination with technology, tinkering with it, taking it apart and putting it back or simply taking it apart and appreciating all the details (also because there were times when I couldn't put it back together. -_-).  With that being said, I guess it was only a matter of time before I got back into it. And since I have decided to build my rig from scratch, that childlike excitement got renewed in me. 


And this is where my quest begins.


Step zero. Goal setting. Begin with the end in mind. My goal is to build a mid-performance, mid-budget rig. This may be a subjective category though.


Step one. Due diligence. Researching like a beast. Reading specifications. Reading reviews. Watching reviews. Comparing reviews. Comparing parts. Window shopping. It's a very tedious process, but it is a necessary evil. It could also save you a bunch of money if you look well enough. Because in the technological world, things aren't always what they seem, faster is not always better, more expensive is not always the best. This was the simple advice from Martin, a very good friend of mine who has ample experience in rig building.


The first thing I gathered intelligence for was to find the main organs of the rig. The Central Processing Unit (CPU) and the Motherboard. Finding these is like preparing for marriage, the two need to be compatible or else there will be problems. The first piece I looked for was the CPU and the motherboard. Something I learned recently (courtesy of Martin) was the wattage capacity of the Motherboard (e.g. Processor Thermal Design Power (TDP) is 125w, Motherboard only supports 95w). I had no idea about this and it would have become an issue if I hadn't gotten this tip. This certainly helped me narrow my searches for parts.


This will serve as the first part of the series I will be putting together as I progress through my build.


Stay tuned for the next part when I begin purchasing the hardware!