I built a budget PC for myself this week. It is something that I’ve been meaning to do for awhile, but for some reason or another never could bring myself to commit the money to because I’m such a tightwad. D=

I can’t recall the last time that I used a Nvidia card. I’ve had a preference for ATI ever since I received my first ATI card as a hand-me-down; which was by no coincidence when I also became addicted to Source games. Most Source games were (and still are) optimized for ATI, so there was a noticeable difference in benchmark performance between comparable cards. Eventually though, I just stopped upgrading (and caring) enough to keep track of those things, and exclusively bought ATI cards. My love affair with ATI became so strong that once, I even bought ram simply because it was ATI certified. Yeah, I’m such a tool. =PpP

All of this ended once ATI sold out to AMD. Driver updates became slow (which wouldn’t have been bad if they weren’t also unstable) and every Catalyst Control Center from 9.4 onward had installation problems. I used system restore more times than I can count — routinely uninstalling and then reinstalling CCC, ATI drivers, and .NET Framework whenever there was yet another broken CCC update. It became so routine that I’d check the AMD forums before each update just to see if they had been deluged with the same old complaints. As for my registry? It was like fighting a losing battle to keep it from looking like something out of Cthulu.

So far, I’ve been happy with my GTX 260 just because updating drivers hasn’t caused anything to ‘splode. =B

I had to post a picture of the Gigabyte GA-X58A-UD3R by itself because it is without a doubt the prettiest motherboard that I have ever owned. That is probably the last adjective I would use to describe the appearance of a motherboard, but… just look at it! Have you ever seen anything so SHINY?! LOL I have no experience with Gigabyte as a brand, but their Intel-optimized boards have good ratings on Newegg, and this board had so much upgrade potential (SLI, tri-channel). It is why I compromised on GPU and ram for now.

This is like its baby picture, because I took it the first time that I powered it up! It looks like it barfed up a bunch of wires in the photo because I hadn’t bothered to organize or tie them up yet. I know that some people consider that a top priority, but I wanted to check my fan speeds and temperature in bios first just to make sure that everything was working properly and I hadn’t messed something up. =X

The V8 is so huge that I was worried I might need to remove one of my fans to make it fit (CM Scout has a 120m fan at the top), but fortunately it didn’t turn out to be a concern. I did need my Dad’s help while installing the mount though because it was difficult for me to screw it into place in the back while holding the V8 in position on the front. He kept asking if I was doing anything that could electrocute him. =P LOL Oh, and the best part was applying the thermal compound (Arctic Silver 5), since it came with a little brush! It was like giving a manicure to a processor. The last time that I installed a heatsink, I used the stock compound that came with it in a tube, which was messy and scary (since there was no applicator). But this was so easy!

Anyways, I love my Scout(s). <3

Chassis: Cooler Master Storm Scout (Medium Tower)

PSU: XFX (P1-650X-CAG9) XXX Edition (650W)

Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-X58A-UD3R (LGA 1366)

Processor: Intel Core i7-930 Bloomfield 2.8GHz Quad-Core (LGA 1366)

CPU Cooler: Cooler Master V8

Memory: Corsair XMS3 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800)

HDD: Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB (7200 RPM)

GPU: MSI Nvidia GeForce GTX 260

OS: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit

I’m not ashamed to admit that for an Indie title categorized under the “Family” genre on Steam, Secret of the Magic Crystals is a very enjoyable game. The premise of raising fantasy horses is whimsical enough to appeal to my inner-child, while the strategy elements involved in their breeding and outfitting adds an element of complexity that I find engaging enough to keep me interested as an adult. I’ve clocked twenty hours into the game since receiving it as a gift from Ayakashi a few weeks ago — it is highy addictive!

I was surprised that for such a simple and multilingual title, virtually no information existed online for SotMC. GameFAQs only contains the official game description paragraph, which article stubs on game news websites merely regurgitate ad-naseum. Even the developer’s official website, which I only found by Googling their company name, doesn’t do much to promote the game. Running a basic WordPress install, it offers a minimalist game booklet for download. I found it useful as a game introduction, but still lacking as a tutorial in explaining even the more basic gameplay functions (most of which I had to discover on my own). It is a shame considering the obvious amount of thought and effort that they invested into developing the game.

I love my new horsey socks!!! >3< Aren't they adorable?! His sign says: “Will Work For Carrots!” *L*

Valve introduced a Steam UI beta recently and the prospect of eventually being forced to use it during my games is absolutely horrifying. It is like going from OPEN LOOK to Motif while breaking every GUI/window standard since 1994 (obviously, it wasn’t designed by a Californian). *L* Everything is so graphics-choked and cluttered (not to mention resource-intensive due to the Steam cloud) that the overlay now takes twice as long to open or close during a game. The more graphics-intensive the game, the more likely the overlay is to crash.

The purpose of the Steam overlay (to me) has always been communication; having a means of organizing things with your friends when you are already in a game. The browser was a welcome addition in that it provided a quick and forgettable distraction from L4D2 lobbies when you were waiting for people to join. Valve however seems to have re-evaluated the overlay’s purpose and concluded that it needs to be more browser (and distraction) oriented. They’ve provided “helpful” links to game groups and the forums in the upper-right of the overlay, since apparently we all can’t live without reading/making “+1 rep” posts during a game. If you’re the type of person to have more than one chat window open at a time, you’re likely to accidentally click one of these links while moving/closing the windows — which is as distracting as it is resource-hogging.

This all might be acceptable to me if some of the additions to the overlay were necessary improvements or beneficial to me in some way as a user, but they’re not. They do nothing to improve the appearance or functionality of the overlay and only serve to make it more unstable. Why would I need to see my most recent Achievement for a game in the overlay, when I could review that information in my Control Panel, or on my Steam Profile? Why do I need to read a three-month-old news feed for the game when I already belong to the Official Group and receive news in the form of Announcements? Why do I need to see a horizontal display of four random friends (who aren’t even playing the same game) when my vertical Friends List does a better job?

I really hope that we’ll have the option of continuing to use the old overlay once the new one is released.

I hate worrying about getting my riding boots dirty outside of the arena (leather and mud don’t mix), so I bought these wellies to wear when I’m lunging, brushing, picking, and otherwise seeing to the care of horses. I have no intention of wearing rubber boots with no grip in an English saddle; so without needing to worry about soles, I gave myself an excuse to browse Hunter’s RHS collection. I picked out this monochrome floral pattern to match my riding habit, which usually consists of dark grey or black jodhpurs in the winter. However, I forgot to pick a size larger than I normally wear (so that I could slip them off easily when muddy); so they’re tight around the calf. I already purchased a different pair to wear in the meantime, but I still haven’t decided what I want to do with these yet. It isn’t economical to return them and they’re too pretty to sell at loss. =(

Oh! I was reading about Battlefield: BC2 on Kotaku yesterday when something familiar caught my eye. XD

Have you ever played a videogame from your childhood and noticed, with the sobering objectivity of adulthood, that some things just don’t make any sense (not even within the game’s fictional universe)? For example, I can accept that the Reptites of 65,000,000 B.C. are sophisticated enough to construct sleep-inducing Smoke Bombs. They are a fictional race and the game sufficiently presents them to be more technologically advanced than prehistoric man. But why would a robot from 2300 A.D. be the party member most susceptible to the Sleep effect of their bombs? Does Robo have air-intake valves, or a respiratory system? Do the robots of 2300 A.D. even sleep? I am only capable of suspending so much disbelief! ww

My Dad showed up at my Mom’s yesterday with an unexpected package addressed to me from Conlan Press. Upon opening it, I practically began to hyperventilate! It was a limited edition art print of the Lady Amalthea that I had placed an order for back in 2006 or 2007. The prints sold out immediately due to unexpected fan response (only 500 of each piece existed) and unfortunately my order was placed too late. I declined a refund at the time, hoping that someone might cancel their order and I would be next in line to receive it. Eventually I forgot about the print (and refund) altogether; but it would appear that Conlan Press didn’t forget about me! Somewhere, somehow, someone’s returned or canceled print turned up, and I’m now the proud new owner.

The artwork in the print is from one of my favorite animated films: The Last Unicorn. Without going into too much detail, both the film and the novel it was based on are very special to me. I was obsessed with the film when I was younger (I watched our VHS copy to death) and fell in love with the novel once I read it as part of my assigned reading in junior high. I even devoted a website to the film when I was in high school. It is a bit embarrassing for me to look at my site now though, seeing its 800X600 design and my poor writing. =P

I have a new dollie! Her name is Moni and she is a 2003 Kinder by my favorite doll artist, Annette Himstedt. Gosh, she’s just the most darling little ginger girl I’ve ever seen with her cute freckles! X3 The hat she’s wearing is not original to her outfit (crocheted it from alpaca yarn), but I think it compliments the colors.

I don’t know if I’ve ever discussed my doll hobby on here, but I basically get it from my Mom. She’s a pretty crazy doll collector and when she still lived with my Dad, we had two bedrooms (one being a masters) where she displayed all her dolls. My Mom moved into a smaller house when they divorced, so she has much less room for her dolls now even though she continues to collect them. So, whenever she needs to make room, I offer to adopt some of them. I began taking the Himstedts originally because something about their mohair and precious faces appealed to me. Then I got into knitting because of them, wanting to make little hats and outfits, and it just took off from there! The ironic thing is that I probably play with dolls more now than I ever did when I was younger. I never owned a single Barbie because I was more interested in Transformers. =P Maybe that is why I find dolls so appealing now? Or maybe knitting for them is just easier. *L*

One down and four to go on Still Something To Prove.

This Thanksgiving I completed Dead Center on Expert with three other girls (we coincidentally searched for an Expert Lobby at the same time and were matched up with each other). The last stand of the campaign, when you gas up Jimmy Gibbs Jr.’s Stock Car, was the most frustrating and took us over an hour to complete.

On Normal or Advanced, it is easy enough for two people to stay on the ground floor gassing up the car while two others search the top floors for gas cans and throw them down to the Food Court. This just didn’t work in Expert because the Director was spawning too many Hordes and Special Infected for the people on the ground floor to handle on their own while also being expected to gas up the car. The two people on the upper floors also took too long collecting the gas cans because a Tank would spawn before they finished.

When our lobby leader (and token guy on the team) left, one of the girls suggested a new strategy. If both teams searched for gas cans on opposite floors first, we would collect them faster, and stand a better chance of gassing up the car afterwards as a team of four. Our goal was to do this before the Tank spawned. Mapping out the most expedient routes for both teams to take took a lot of trial and error, but a hundred deaths later, we practically had it down to a science. All four of us escaped before the Tank spawned.

My guy friend (who joined us at the end) joked:

“Of course GIRLS would have no problems beating this Campaign on Expert. Their strategy involves memorizing the layout of a MALL. That’s like, their sixth sense IRL.” LOL

I forgot to post this delicious Juicy Couture Cake Bank (I purchased it along with the Etiquette Pony for my birthday). The Marie Antoinette palette and delicate flower details give it an elegant appearance that is almost reminiscent of Capodimonte. I could have done without the gold scroll though, because as cute as I find Juicy’s catchphrases, I’d prefer to not have them shamelessly plastered all over everything! Anyways, I’ve been using this to store lipgloss and other small things, since I don’t really keep loose change around.