I purchased a Microsoft HABU Gaming mouse this weekend. I really love the thing! Highly accurate and responsive I feel it has given me a slight edge in game play that I did not previously have. I'd suggest anyone looking for a great gaming mouse...
I've been using this box for about 3 days now playing WoW and I must say I am very pleased with my purchase. I'm getting a whopping 60 frames per second (or more, I think I'm getting closer to 70 or 75 but WoW doesn't display it). Coming from 8 to 18 in Hyjal trash is a massive difference. Sunday I think I only dipped into the 40s with massive AOE (area of effect) spells going off all over the place (and mind you, I've got my settings cranked up); you really only need 30FPS for smooth game play.
I ended up going to Fry's last night and purchasing 2 sticks of PC8500 memory so I could use the system while RMA-ing my Corsair Dominator memory back to Newegg. I think the only crappy part is the 25 dollar restocking fee I had to pay to send the motherboard back. Oh well. I'd say all and all I will have put 1400 into the machine by the time I am done with it. I had been thinking of adding another drive for raid but I've changed my mind. This system is right where I want it...
I put my new computer together this weekend. I had a couple issues with it that were a little on the annoying side. One of the memory sticks was bad so I have to RMA the entire package back just to wait on them to send me good sticks... and the motherboard that I ordered cannot use DDR2 memory. Apparently, some boards can use both DDR2 and DDR3 memory but only if it explicitly states so. I ended up going to Fry's Friday night after work and purchasing a Gigabyte SD3R motherboard. I loaded everything up and played wow on Sunday... it was definitely nice to get 60 frames per second after getting 8-18 previously. I can't wait to see how much quicker it responds with the second stick of ram loaded to activate dual channel memory mode.
I ended up finalizing a parts list for the new gaming system I've been thinking of building for several months now. Here is what I ended up purchasing, all for about $1300 after shipping:
| Video Card | EVGA 512-P3-N801-AR 8800GT 512M |
| Memory | 1Gx2|COR TWIN2X2048-8500C5D |
| Hard Drive | 150G|WD 10K 16M SATA WD1500ADFD |
| Motherboard | MSI P35D3 Platinum 775 |
| Heatsink | ZALMAN|9700 |
| Power Supply | OCZ|OCZ700GXSSLI 700W |
| Processor | INTEL|C2D E6750 2.66G 65N 4M |
| Floppy | 1.44MB NEC|FD1231H-302 |
| DVD/CD | ASUS|DRW-2014L1T LS SATA |
| Video Cooling | THERMALTAKE|CL-G0102 |
| Case | Antec 900 Mid Tower |
I am hoping it will arrive sometime Thursday so I can put it together prior to the weekend.
In an effort to quiet down my mom's system for her Christmas present I also purchased 4 Thermaltake A1357 80mm Case Fans for her. I must say I am very impressed with them. There are two optional pieces in each fan, a minimum RPM selector as well as a temperature sensor that allows the fan to dynamically adjust the RPM. You can put your fingers around the temp sensors and watch the fans speed up and down. When I build my next machine, I will definitely be purchasing some of these fans... not only are they very useful but they are also cheap (7.99 a piece)! How can you beat that?