ches111
Distinguished
- Feb 4, 2006
- 1,958
- 0
- 19,780
Man where to start,
One day at computer camp!!
37 with 27 true years experience (worked as a computer tech/gopher during the summer with my dad @ age 10 for Ohio University)
Have built many many machines (from PCs to enterprise level servers to super computers).
Have worked on many many OSs from DOS 2.1 through to WinXP Pro and many different Unix derivates.
I have worked in everything from Universities to computer retailers to Satellite Ground Stations Operator (see AV), to Senior Manager of Information Technology for a government organization.
I now am a SR. Development and Integration Testing Lead for a major telecom here in my resting 😉 place of Colorado.
Married 18 years as of the other day…..
And that is "the rest of the story”
One day at computer camp!!
37 with 27 true years experience (worked as a computer tech/gopher during the summer with my dad @ age 10 for Ohio University)
Have built many many machines (from PCs to enterprise level servers to super computers).
Have worked on many many OSs from DOS 2.1 through to WinXP Pro and many different Unix derivates.
I have worked in everything from Universities to computer retailers to Satellite Ground Stations Operator (see AV), to Senior Manager of Information Technology for a government organization.
I now am a SR. Development and Integration Testing Lead for a major telecom here in my resting 😉 place of Colorado.
Married 18 years as of the other day…..
And that is "the rest of the story”
scorch
Distinguished
- Jun 2, 2004
- 297
- 0
- 18,790
Im 31, been into computers since 486 DX2 66 was top of the line which was also my first computer. My current computer is in the signature and it is my 3rd build for myself. I also have a dell, which I purchaced dirt cheap from a friend, for my daughter to use (2.8 ghz p4 512mb ram 120gb hd and an Nvidia PCI FX 5500). My knowlege is mainly with the pc, printers, and basic home networking(peer to peer). Servers bewilder me but I enrolled in a basic server course at the local community college, hope it helps me.
I am getting ready to totally gut my computer room (10' X 12'). It is a plaster and lath nightmare complete with lead paint and 1950's electrical. I only have one outlet and for light......a top of the line pull chain light fixture. Oh and I am pretty sure the floor tile under the 1980's linolium is asbestos based. It will be a 2 month job just for this small room. I am really glad I picked up electrical along the way.
I am getting ready to totally gut my computer room (10' X 12'). It is a plaster and lath nightmare complete with lead paint and 1950's electrical. I only have one outlet and for light......a top of the line pull chain light fixture. Oh and I am pretty sure the floor tile under the 1980's linolium is asbestos based. It will be a 2 month job just for this small room. I am really glad I picked up electrical along the way.
54 with 5 builds. Got started so I could tell Dell what to do with their low end components and 85 pieces of junk pre-installed shovelware.
never happier than when that new good looking high end screamer boots for the first time and I can grab more than just one high end beer with the savings
never happier than when that new good looking high end screamer boots for the first time and I can grab more than just one high end beer with the savings
I'm the oldest person here. Just turned 66 in July. I've had computers since about 1983. The first was a DEC Rainbow 100+ with a blazing 896 k ram and a HUGE 10 meg HD. MEG, NOT GIG. Cost $6500 plus printer and software. CPM. All typing, no GUI, mice or multicolor monitors.
I thought it was cooler and a better design than the IBM PC's, but the DEC had a weird, propriatary OS and software which wasn't compatible with the IBM DOS, etc. and soon became very quickly obsolete. A waste of money. My ex wife and I even owned 2 Commodore Amigas! Remember those?
I'm an artist, ex rock and roll drummer, furniture designer, etc.
I've had lots of other computers and this is being typed on an old worn out Fujit So So laptop.
Believe it or not, I'm just doing my first on my own build of this:
ASUS A8N5X
AMD X2-3800
Corsair TWINX2048-3200 2 Gig
PNY Quadro NVS 440 PCIEX-16
WD Cav. SE16 WD2500KS
Samsung SH-S162L
Centurion 5 CAC-T05-UW
COOLER MASTER RS-450-ACLY
2 AG Neovo CW-19
It's for online stock and currency trading, no games, plain vanilla. Mostly 2D kinda stuff, but the money is good. I'm probably going to add another 2 LCD monitors, since the price seems to be sinking daily.
Oh, and will a Zalman CNPS7000B-ALCU fit on an ASUS A8N5X mobo? I can't find out from Zalman, they don't list the 5X in their configurator.
Whadda ya think? Is it all overkill? Of course, but I ain't the only gearhead here.
I think it's wonderfully good and hilarious that I'm here with a bunch of teenagers and we all LOVE COMPUTERS! I'm obsessed with them and spend so much time on the internet that it's disturbing. I must be one of the most well read people on the planet.
Cheers and thanks to Tomz and everyone here for all the fun, opinions and well (and otherwise) informed knowledge and help. .
I thought it was cooler and a better design than the IBM PC's, but the DEC had a weird, propriatary OS and software which wasn't compatible with the IBM DOS, etc. and soon became very quickly obsolete. A waste of money. My ex wife and I even owned 2 Commodore Amigas! Remember those?
I'm an artist, ex rock and roll drummer, furniture designer, etc.
I've had lots of other computers and this is being typed on an old worn out Fujit So So laptop.
Believe it or not, I'm just doing my first on my own build of this:
ASUS A8N5X
AMD X2-3800
Corsair TWINX2048-3200 2 Gig
PNY Quadro NVS 440 PCIEX-16
WD Cav. SE16 WD2500KS
Samsung SH-S162L
Centurion 5 CAC-T05-UW
COOLER MASTER RS-450-ACLY
2 AG Neovo CW-19
It's for online stock and currency trading, no games, plain vanilla. Mostly 2D kinda stuff, but the money is good. I'm probably going to add another 2 LCD monitors, since the price seems to be sinking daily.
Oh, and will a Zalman CNPS7000B-ALCU fit on an ASUS A8N5X mobo? I can't find out from Zalman, they don't list the 5X in their configurator.
Whadda ya think? Is it all overkill? Of course, but I ain't the only gearhead here.
I think it's wonderfully good and hilarious that I'm here with a bunch of teenagers and we all LOVE COMPUTERS! I'm obsessed with them and spend so much time on the internet that it's disturbing. I must be one of the most well read people on the planet.
Cheers and thanks to Tomz and everyone here for all the fun, opinions and well (and otherwise) informed knowledge and help. .
- Jun 19, 2006
- 1,025
- 0
- 19,280
NO matter how old you are, you're still a computer nerd by heart , if you're at this site.
Wow, we have gurus from the tender age of 14 (myself soon to be!) all the way to 66 year old techies. Thanx for all the info, and hope everybody had a good time telling about themselves and reading about other people!!!
Thread's Still open for late-comers!!!
XD
, if you're at this site.Wow, we have gurus from the tender age of 14 (myself soon to be!) all the way to 66 year old techies. Thanx for all the info, and hope everybody had a good time telling about themselves and reading about other people!!!
Thread's Still open for late-comers!!!
XD
maverick777
Distinguished
- Jun 9, 2006
- 45
- 0
- 18,530
Just turned 23 😀 I've been playing around with computers since I was 5. So 18 years of computer experience I guess. But with all that time, I just recently build my first computer. Specs are in my sig and I also posted my final build in another thread. I had a ton of fun building it, wish I had done it before, but then again, I never had the money especially during college. Dang tuition ate me alive.
My first build
http://forumz.tomshardware.com/hardware/AM2-Build-FINISHED-ftopict194882.html
My first build
http://forumz.tomshardware.com/hardware/AM2-Build-FINISHED-ftopict194882.html
19 here, started learning about computer hardware at the age of 7.
living in Twin Cities, MN... Half Indian and Half Persian.
Can speak: Urdu, Hindi, English, French, Arabic.
Came to USA when I was 10. Been to: Canada, China, UK, Middle East (Dubai).
- Got my First computer (386 machine) when I was 3 (in 1990).
- Started learning programing in High School when i was 16 (AP C++, AP JAVA).
- built alot of computers, now I am tired of it, saving money for (i dont know)
- broke into alot of School security systems, (once I changed my math grade hehe) too old to do that shit again.
- Now I just help others build their computers.
living in Twin Cities, MN... Half Indian and Half Persian.
Can speak: Urdu, Hindi, English, French, Arabic.
Came to USA when I was 10. Been to: Canada, China, UK, Middle East (Dubai).
- Got my First computer (386 machine) when I was 3 (in 1990).
- Started learning programing in High School when i was 16 (AP C++, AP JAVA).
- built alot of computers, now I am tired of it, saving money for (i dont know)
- broke into alot of School security systems, (once I changed my math grade hehe) too old to do that shit again.
- Now I just help others build their computers.
OldBear
Splendid
- Sep 14, 2001
- 5,379
- 0
- 25,780
60. Retired aeronautical engineer. I used Crays and never built PC's for government. I don't have any idea how many PC's I have built. It doesn't really matter because I can't take them with me when I die. I enjoy meeting new people and I meet new ones everyday. Even my oldest friends are new to me.
What was the question :?:
What was the question :?:
mrreality13
Distinguished
- Jan 30, 2006
- 154
- 0
- 18,680
hey all 39 here hatboro pa** 
** 40 in jan. have never built YET but have upgraded parts.have a 478 northy(400 fsb) 768 of PC2100 im just about to mess with IF i can find really cheep parts ie; mb,power,hd,case got the rest from oh and need a OS... see u all round.....
** 40 in jan. have never built YET but have upgraded parts.have a 478 northy(400 fsb) 768 of PC2100 im just about to mess with IF i can find really cheep parts ie; mb,power,hd,case got the rest from oh and need a OS... see u all round.....
clue69less
Splendid
- Mar 2, 2006
- 3,622
- 0
- 22,780
Oh, man, you shoulda gone for the Socket Dew ME baby build. What kind of shoe box are you using for the case? Dang, 371 years old... I bet your wrinkles have wrinkles on their wrinkles. Do you feel wise?
Onus
Titan
- Jan 27, 2006
- 37,035
- 12
- 89,965
I'm 46. First computer was a Crapple ][+; yeah I had the full 64K, and TWO floppy drives!
I'm a [lapsed] Novell CNE, and have been doing hardware and software user support of some kind or other professionally since '84. I'm currently a lead on a highly specialized technical help desk (who here has even heard of IMPACT ?). I enjoy user support; even in Guild Wars I spend most of my time helping other people do stuff.
I've worked for companies that built PCs, so I don't know how many I've built for others. I've probably only done 6-8 for myself, not counting lots of upgrades; to those and to another half dozen I bought pre-built.
My entire team is being laid off in December (client claims to be in-sourcing), so I too would appreciate job leads. I currently live near Knoxville, TN but am open to company-sponsored relocation.
Oh yeah, and even my own parents look at me like I've got a hole in my head.
I'm a [lapsed] Novell CNE, and have been doing hardware and software user support of some kind or other professionally since '84. I'm currently a lead on a highly specialized technical help desk (who here has even heard of IMPACT ?). I enjoy user support; even in Guild Wars I spend most of my time helping other people do stuff.
I've worked for companies that built PCs, so I don't know how many I've built for others. I've probably only done 6-8 for myself, not counting lots of upgrades; to those and to another half dozen I bought pre-built.
My entire team is being laid off in December (client claims to be in-sourcing), so I too would appreciate job leads. I currently live near Knoxville, TN but am open to company-sponsored relocation.
Oh yeah, and even my own parents look at me like I've got a hole in my head.
Im 48 and living in north Alabama. My Dad is diagnosed with Parkinsons so I retired early and moved in to help my Mom care for Dad. It has given me so much time for learning about my PC. Yes , thats right, I am a newbie. I got my start with webtv in 2002 and in 6 months I was on the phone with DELL.4 years later I have upgraded and learned enough to build one from scratch.My first post here was two days back about my first build.I wish I had owned a PC long before I really did, fear of the unknown I guess.I even game some-FPS mostly-nothing online.Im building an SLI rig using an ASUS M2N-SLI Deluxe.AMD CPU,Thermaltake Shark case.2gb RAM,2 Xtreme 6800XT256 PCI Express,WD2500KS 250gb H/D,550 PSU. Im a little nervous about it being my first build, afterwards, I'll be looking forwards to my next one !
enough about me...
enough about me...
jitpublisher
Splendid
- May 16, 2006
- 8,747
- 2
- 31,960
47, West Coast Operations Manager for a global digital publishing solutions company. Currently live in Orange County, CA.
I had never even sit in front of a PC until one day in like 1993 I was at a friend of mines house after a round of golf and he was playing this new golf game called Links386. I was instantly hooked and went straight out and spent $2200 dollars on the first PC I ever owned.
A 486-33DX, 340 meg hard drive, Trident video card with 512K of memory, 8 meg of system memory and 256K of cache!
3 1/2" AND 5 1/4" floppy drives. (still remember my first big task -editing my autoexec.bat to load a compliant VESA driver so my Links golf game would run)
Did my first overclock on that one by accident when I dropped in an AMD 486 -133 overdrive and had the bus set to 40mhz, could not figure out how it kept posting at 160mhz! But I thought what the heck, it's working fine so I just left it at that. Later when I found Toms Hardware Guide, I was shocked to learn you could actually do this on purpose 😀
Built probably 10-12 pc's for myself over the years, somewhere around 30 for the office/friends/family.
Have to say that what I taught myself about PC's since that original 486 is partly what helped moved me from a part time position to my current position credited with doing 3 successful new plant start-ups in 7 years.
Portland OR, Kalama WA, and most recently Irvine CA.
I had never even sit in front of a PC until one day in like 1993 I was at a friend of mines house after a round of golf and he was playing this new golf game called Links386. I was instantly hooked and went straight out and spent $2200 dollars on the first PC I ever owned.
A 486-33DX, 340 meg hard drive, Trident video card with 512K of memory, 8 meg of system memory and 256K of cache!
3 1/2" AND 5 1/4" floppy drives. (still remember my first big task -editing my autoexec.bat to load a compliant VESA driver so my Links golf game would run)
Did my first overclock on that one by accident when I dropped in an AMD 486 -133 overdrive and had the bus set to 40mhz, could not figure out how it kept posting at 160mhz! But I thought what the heck, it's working fine so I just left it at that. Later when I found Toms Hardware Guide, I was shocked to learn you could actually do this on purpose 😀
Built probably 10-12 pc's for myself over the years, somewhere around 30 for the office/friends/family.
Have to say that what I taught myself about PC's since that original 486 is partly what helped moved me from a part time position to my current position credited with doing 3 successful new plant start-ups in 7 years.
Portland OR, Kalama WA, and most recently Irvine CA.
clue69less
Splendid
- Mar 2, 2006
- 3,622
- 0
- 22,780
My dad is 80 and he spends hours a day surfing and playing games, editing music, etc., on his Dell. I got him on the Internet years ago with a Mac and a US Robotics phone modem. Showed him how to get around and he's never looked back. But computers were no stretch for him. He's been designing loudspeakers since the late 50's. He used to make tube amps, preamps and speakers then sell them to make spare bucks to upgrade his own system. Self taught jack of all trades, he is. He and I put together a Heathkit color TV back when rich folks were the only ones not watching B/W.
michaelahess
Distinguished
- Jan 30, 2006
- 1,711
- 0
- 19,780
Almost 27, Big Wonderful Wyoming.
Built well over 2000 machines, not sure how many, had a comp bussiness for 3 years, worked in IT for 8, currently a netadmin for a large cable provider, only three of us in the state. Been programming various languages and working on all manner of machines for 16 years and playing games for 21 (first Nintendo in town baby!).
Certs:
MSCE (expired cause it sucks, NT and 2000,) A+ (haha, took it when I was 18 cuz an employer needed it, didn't study, just went in and took it, perfect score!) BiCSI, ALCOA, 3M, NetTest, CSSA, EIA/TIA Fiber Optic Technician and Fiber Optic Installer, and probably some other crap I forgot about. No CCNA crap, no point in going to school for something you can learn in a week messing around with the real thing. Currently studying for JNCIS-m and JNCIP-M, though I doubt I'll bother taking the tests.
I'm also employed by a mental health non-profit with 4 offices and around 70 staff as their IT staff, uh, person. And I do a lot of small business work on the side, everything from CPA's to banks, and printing and publishing companies.
Built well over 2000 machines, not sure how many, had a comp bussiness for 3 years, worked in IT for 8, currently a netadmin for a large cable provider, only three of us in the state. Been programming various languages and working on all manner of machines for 16 years and playing games for 21 (first Nintendo in town baby!).
Certs:
MSCE (expired cause it sucks, NT and 2000,) A+ (haha, took it when I was 18 cuz an employer needed it, didn't study, just went in and took it, perfect score!) BiCSI, ALCOA, 3M, NetTest, CSSA, EIA/TIA Fiber Optic Technician and Fiber Optic Installer, and probably some other crap I forgot about. No CCNA crap, no point in going to school for something you can learn in a week messing around with the real thing. Currently studying for JNCIS-m and JNCIP-M, though I doubt I'll bother taking the tests.
I'm also employed by a mental health non-profit with 4 offices and around 70 staff as their IT staff, uh, person. And I do a lot of small business work on the side, everything from CPA's to banks, and printing and publishing companies.
clue69less
Splendid
- Mar 2, 2006
- 3,622
- 0
- 22,780
The conditions I set when putting rigs together for my kids was that they would do the nuts and bolts - mounting components, plugging in cables, loading the OS, etc. Our boys are 10 and 12 and for the most part, they enjoyed it although loading XP did not go fast enough to suit them and they did not appreciate the level of QC that I required of them. Along the way, they learned something beyond the black box approach. The older is impatient as an overclocker and keeps wanting to be allowed to cut corners. I've been teaching them some rudimentary game programming this summer and hope to keep that up - it's teaching me new stuff too.
Kids are way smarter these days than I've ever been but at least I have some knowledge to share.
tech4808
Distinguished
- Apr 29, 2006
- 54
- 0
- 18,640
29 from Ontario Canada.
3 years of college: Electronics Engineering Technologist
Started building my first computer(s) when I was 14.
Opened my own small business for on the side doing repairs, upgrades, new builds etc for the small city I live in. Like many others doing this, I make enough to put gas in my car, and a few extras for myself.
I am currently a Slot Technical Shift Manager at a major Casino.
Was always an Intel boy until my latest build... finally seen the light of AMD!
AMD 3700+ San Diego
BFG 7800 GT OC
4 GB Ram
Windows MCE 2005
32" Toshiba 32HL84
19" Komodo
3 years of college: Electronics Engineering Technologist
Started building my first computer(s) when I was 14.
Opened my own small business for on the side doing repairs, upgrades, new builds etc for the small city I live in. Like many others doing this, I make enough to put gas in my car, and a few extras for myself.
I am currently a Slot Technical Shift Manager at a major Casino.
Was always an Intel boy until my latest build... finally seen the light of AMD!
AMD 3700+ San Diego
BFG 7800 GT OC
4 GB Ram
Windows MCE 2005
32" Toshiba 32HL84
19" Komodo
hergieburbur
Distinguished
- Dec 19, 2005
- 1,907
- 0
- 19,780
JC, by rehabber, do you mean flipping?
Yes. I only deal in single family homes. Much easier then commercial.
Cool, I've been looking to buy a house with an eye to sell in 3-4 years (After the wife is done with her PHD). Trying to find one with an outdated kitchen that I can add a bathroom to and improve the living space. Its tough out here in NJ though since the real estate market is insane (250K for a 60-80 year old 2 bed one bath).
I'd like to get into flipping at least part time at some point, probably in a few years when I am not traveling so much.
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