An Alien Life of Starboykb

Building your own gaming PC usually is the most recommended route to take. But after MOF slap 5% tax in Brunei, my mindset have to change if I want to continue bringing parts from Singapore. The airport and the post office customs are becoming more active inspecting the stuffs coming into the country. So it’s not a joke if you get caught sneaking in and I’m sorry, 5% tax (reported more) is a fucking big deal to me right now.

I’m currently considered getting from the local computer shops. But who is the best should I source the parts from? Few of my friends recommend me Chong Hock computer and told me their price are quite reasonable. In order to find out whether its true or not, I went to their FB and PM for the quotation for CPU, motherboard, graphic card, their recommendation memory ram and power supply unit last week. What do you know, I was surprised the price they quote me.

They are unimaginable very competitive even I admit it was acceptable price you can get locally. Chong Hock also confirmed me their warranty follows the original manufacturer so it's a double plus. In case, you wonder what kind of hardware am I asking for. It’s the AMD Ryzen 1700X, MSI X370 Gaming Pro Carbon, MSI RX580 Gaming 8GB, lastly their recommendation Corsair 2666 (not sure which model) memory ram and Cooler Master V850 (modular type) power supply unit. All of these total cost around $1950.00 (BND). If I choose AMD Ryzen 1600X, the total cost would be 1,774.00.

Now, let’s compare to OEM gaming system everyone now could get in Brunei. With this money you can get an OEM Acer Aspire GX-281-1700 for $1,838.00. When you purchase from Netcom Computer House (September 2017 brochure), the bundle comes with 24” Gaming LED LCD monitor and Kingston Hyper X Cloud Stinger Gaming headset including free speaker (selected model). You are basically paying with all in one package deal.

Acer Aspire GX 281-1700 is an interesting and likely the most affordable gaming PC compare to Predator series. Not without sacrificing the performance and features. Yes, it has AMD Ryzen 1700X but the rest are basically downgraded and assemble with the cheapest hardware's Acer could put together. The AMD RX480 graphic card 4GB is okay, the motherboard reported using B350 model and chassis design only able to house two 3.5” (2.5”) HDD from what I see from the reviewer photos. The HDD expansion slots will be a future issue not unless I plan to buy dedicated NAS machine to host my files. I am environment friendly person and will continue to use existing PC for custom NAS running so nope.

I felt a bit surprise about the additional 24” Gaming Led LCD monitor. I deal quite a bit with Acer Aspire product and never failed to amaze me with the extra they willing to throw at. While the Acer Aspire GX 281-1700 hardware cannot really compete with the spec I plan to build (incomplete) above, the price and the stuffs you get really just unbeatable.

As for right now, I haven’t decided yet which path to choose. My aim are seeking the right PC gaming hardware able to last around 4-5 years. Yes, Acer Aspire GX 281-1700 does met the requirement and I can loan using credit card payment. Chong Hock computer require in cash payment. It just that I want to keep my spending minimum without regrets especially how do I going to reusing the existing good old Cooler Master Cosmos 1000 (I got two, mind yuo). There is no reason for me to get another chassis when you can’t even sell it off and recycle for money. I know my chassis are classic especially without or upgrade any USB 3.0 ports. Since I am flying to Singapore coming November, I will be heading to Cybermind hunt for DIY parts. From there onward, I may already have an answer for my need.

Not an awesome start for new year but after seeing the Nintendo switch introduction on the hardware and features. I am going to get one but not on the first day release on March this year. I am going to wait and see if there are more interesting unannounced game going to release this year. Also, making sure that the console first release in the market doesn’t have any issue. So better wait little longer rather rushing it.

I can’t really think of anything that you can get in Brunei when it comes to computer parts. The internal HDD for headless server upgrade still had to wait because the local selling prices continue to be ridiculous not unless getting from neighbouring country. I will only hunt those that worth the spending which I recently brought a Western Digital 1TB Passport Ultra HDD and Edifier Sound to Go Plus portable speaker this week holiday sales.

The portable HDD are safe to buy in Brunei because after my trip to Singapore, I didn’t find too much the price different over there including neighbouring country. For the sake of convenient and easy warranty, BND100.00 is best way to go. Actually, the preferable portable HDD design in mind is rugged version. The reason I needed it because of often working on site and experience higher rate of drop. After a long consideration, I realize the existing home portable WD 1TB My Passport warranty left until next year. It’s about right time to get a replacement and swap for work by adding thick soft material to reduced impact in the HDD case.

As for the portable speaker, that was an unexpected selection put into the shopping cart last minute. I didn’t really want to get another but wanted one for the laptop a long time ago. It just my taste on design hasn’t been right, must be portable and sound quality is important too. After poking around longer, I finally found Edifier Sound to Go Plus. It fits the category perfectly. Slim design, great sound quality (tested) and can run with battery itself. This portable speaker is just what I needed.

The success upgrade and maintenance for my existing gaming rig finally allow me to complete building DIY home NAS. The previous Intel Pentium I got from eBay very dirt cheap is basically too slow and realizes it was single core version. Since the new ASROCK motherboard I brought able to support up to Intel Core 2 Quad, I decided to replace with Q9400. At the moment I am testing which OS to run my file storages so it is preferable to have ready hardware to meet some of the open source requirements.

Anyway, these are the hardware specifications for my complete custom NAS or file server builds. Many of them are existing stocks so I actually save quite a lot all this years. If you have read my previous posts for Aerocool DS Cube and ASROCK G41S-GC R2.0. The remaining purchases are new power supply unit (PSU) and pen drive.

Never knew there are such a way allows putting Intel Xeon CPUs (LGA771) into LGA775 motherboard not until I place a mistake bid on the Intel Xeon E5462 and sudden win. It was worrying at first because I have no idea if my existing motherboard may even work. More importantly, you will need to cut the two hinge parts on the CPU sockets carefully not to damage the pins. The reason for this requirement is due to Xeon CPUs design at different side.

With the success finding the LGA775 motherboard, my next hunt will be computer casing. One problem was my disappearance senses of hunting computer parts really drive me a bit crazy. There are simply a lot of brands and nice styling designs out these days. Since I am building custom NAS system, my primary requirement will be quiet and have better cooling feature.

Building network-attached storage system is something I wanted to do a long time. The existing computer parts that I use for Linux OS are simply outdated which limited to 32bit software. Having hardware able to support both 64bit and over 4GB memory ram including SATA Hard disk drive are always best choice.

Since I already have Intel Pentium processor (less than BND$20.00 at eBay) and 4GB DDR3 memory ram I got from Kingston reward in the past. My first task is to find an affordable Intel LGA775 motherboard suitable for use for NAS build and allow possible further upgrade.

Finding LGA775 motherboard is very challenging and tricky in Brunei. I want to have a convenience way when it comes sending for hardware warranty so I willing to support the local market. However, my only condition is as long the prices are reasonable with good warranty. Turns out not the case and some of them dare took advantage quoting me outrageous price for special order, which is nearly 50% mark up. I simply cannot accept such amount that makes no sense scaring me away entirely as customer. It’s more like I am buying at eBay of some sort. If they think using the statement “because it’s an old motherboard” would affect on me, they are just huge mistake.

Of course, there are alternative ways to get. I don’t plan to get the second hand from eBay because the demand for LGA775 model will continue to exist in the market at least for another one more year I estimate. So I have to look into Malaysia market with my friends help. Finally a long patience wait, I got ASROCK G41C-GS R2.0 in hand with very good price cover with three years warranty.

The motherboard itself is new designs revisions that support both DDR2/DDR3 memory ram up to 8GB that meets the requirement needed to build a nice NAS system. It really does pack a lot of nice stuffs for such value so I think better off getting another one as backup for my gaming rig in case something happen in the future once I have enough budget.

Sometimes, it is personal question whether or not getting the old computers working worth your time and money. Majority people nowadays no longer care and will throw away without hesitations. They prefer buying new PC or laptop since it is so affordable and more new features with faster technology.

Old computers may be slow and worthless. But for me, it stills got the value and can help to reduced spending on certain new technology. This is where open source comes in. The only problems are in Brunei, not many of them including companies are interested even if it’s a free license. The presence of Microsoft marketing here are so strong so it going to be long for locals start interest using open source.

I personally slowly migrating and learning how to use open source especially Linux. To be honest, I do not see the reason keep sticking Windows when they going to release new operating system estimate every two years. I no longer can afford to buy new license and devices to keep up with Microsoft products. If it weren’t I am a gamer, I would have already with Linux long time. Nonetheless, the introduction of the Steam OS is going to be new future alternative gaming operating system and I am looking forward to that.

Deploying Linux operating system does indeed a bit tricky. This is why I need to find out which is the best for older PC builds. There are simply too many versions of Linux distros on the internet so I normally go for the popular version like Linux Mint. Ubuntu is out of question because I last used was left unimpressed with huge performance impact. I thought Linux Mint is better but encounter some startup lagging and displaying crash issues with my setup using Intel Pentium 4 1.8GHz (Socket 478), EPOX EP-P4MKI mATX, 1GB Kingston DDR memory ram kit (2x512MB), Western Digital 80GB IDE HDD and Nvidia Geforce 2 MX 64MB AGP graphic.

It does work pretty OK and some TV series are watchable. I decided to try much more lightweight version of Linux using Lubuntu. The next installation will include minor upgrade in the hardware after I found some more parts left cleaning my cabinets. The CPU will be replacing to Intel P4 2.4GHz and slightly faster Nvidia Geforce 4 so that it can run better and manage to run most nowadays media format.

YES! I finally decided to purchase and replace my aging PowerShot A710 IS with Canon EOS M! Although the original plan is getting DSLR version, in the end I went for compact and believe not necessary investing on professional camera. I know there are many mixed response on Canon new release mirror less technology. Still, I continue to jump in for it and feeling lesser worry about being too heavy carrying around.

In case you wonder how much I brought, the current selling special promotion price is B$1319.00 at Interhouse Company event in Kuala Belait. I choose the third package version that comes two different lens and mountable flash which I find the best to go for. Yes, it comes with free stuffs. Not exactly very attractive compare to Hari Raya promotion. But free 8GB SD memory card, cleaning kits, camera bag and two years warranty sure quite good.

I already take my camera for a spin and the photo results turn out pretty good for inexperience like me. Even bad photos nowadays can be easily fix using Photoshop or others so nothing to bother being lousy photographer. Anyway, I should invest another extra battery and larger SD memory cards so that I can take more photos.

Well, after getting my bonus cheque last weeks. Its time to do some shopping and grab something this month. I don't want to simply spend just on toys only, also since the black Friday coming so you got to spend wisely and try saving as much as you can.

The Netcom anniversary sales comes unexpected on time this week and have been thinking getting some stuffs for my lappy. I do have to admit there is a lot of great deals offer but so far ended getting only Targus DFD backpack and A4Tech wireless mouse for B$17 each. I was hoping to replacing the aging Linksys wireless G router with Prolink product. Again, after learning Interhouse too throwing promotion on their AIO PIXMA printer, it just got me interested. I have been using paperless many years at home so it is time to get a printer to make both myself and my sister convenience in case we need to print out something last minute.

For your information, this is PIXMA MG3170 model comes with built in WIFI and free promotion gifts (PIXMA cable pouch, 24 months warranty, PIXMA USB lamp and Canon PG740 Black cartridge). I got to say Netcom made a right choice changing the gifts to something much more useful rather giving the customers KFC coupon.

Woo! Finally got my Western Digital 1TB external drive from KL! It sure took me a while buying one after the old one finally die out and not even one local shops able to sell the price for $125.00 so far. Well, now I don't have to worry without a HDD at work.

Although I don't really like this type of external drive due to unable to open up in case of failure or faulty. I usually buy those internal type and get separately for the HDD chassis because it's much more reliable and easily able to test either one of them for problem without worrying voiding the warranty of the HDD. So far, I had a bad experience with Seagate when I first got it in the PC fair. But my sister using the WD version also from the PC fair still last until today and counting. Well, better off getting WD which is my trusted brand!

Took me a while deciding to buy new Kingston ValueRAM 2x2GB memory ram to replace my current Cosair 2x2GB brand. I don't remember when I last warranty it but their brand sure suck causing my PC auto restarting itself or crash during booting. I think about for years now. Back then the memory ram price jet up a lot so I tried keeping my spending low until my system die. I guess it's not possible as I believe my current gaming still can last for another two years or more before replacing whole new hardware.

There isn't any point of spending bunch of money on the PC upgrade when I can't even last ten minute playing many first person shooting games nowadays. My friend told me to tried out ginger tea before hitting the games. That only works extra thirty minutes or so and I’m entirely done motion sicking. Probably hitting old age so my body are too weak handling this kind of games. Sad hate to say.

I also purchase Cooler Master U2 Notebook cooling pad for my laptop at Netcom Computer Shop for B$33. Most of you probably would say why bother to buy such expensive notebook cooling pad when you could get less than $10?

Brand is one of the reason, they have been around in the industries and market selling computer cooling stuffs around 20 years. Secondly, the fans are replaceable and even removable to allow adjusting the cooling location for any laptops design. Thirdly, their fans have longer fan life expectancy. Lastly, the pad is made of aluminum!

I was supposed to let you guys know if this pest repeller gadget work last month. But I forget to write after going through my posts and busy watching World War II history channel. It’s a good thing to see the long term results instead 9-14 days as mention. Anyway, does it really work?

For my room, yes, it works. I haven’t seen any lizards in my room making noise anymore and now stay outside. The ultrasound really does the trick, even not seeing any insects in my surrounding. Only ants does crawl into my room sometimes, not a big problem. It just I always forgot to bring the drinks and foods out of my room.

So lucky that I didn’t waste my $59.90 spending on something I’m not familiar. Although this things claim no effect on pets, but my dogs never stay or even sleep nearby my room outside. I kind of suspect probably they are somehow disturbed by this ultrasound. Nevertheless, I am happy able to sleep peacefully without getting disturb by the lizards.

Never thought I would go and buy this kind of stuffs. It does making me no choice to try it when the pests always come to my room. Especially the lizards are most annoying among them making noises and shit around my window. Not to mention hey they smell bad when it die.

The lizards spray only works well for at least two to three days. After that they came back into my window again. They don’t die easily from the normal sprays and continue lay shit into my new car. I hated them so much without knowing how to deal with them anymore.

With technology continuing improving everything everyday, probably something or someone might work on some thingy could kill the pests. I discover the Pest–Shop product showcase at Soon Lee in Mumong. It was supply by Olee from Singapore so I did some research which is best for my room and inquiry how to warranty (in case any problem or faulty) issue before purchasing one.

I choose the Ultimate AT Pest Repeller (Pest-Shop 3000AT) device which cost BND$59.90 and comes with one year warranty. No one really knows how special and effective going to works on those pests. But I decided to give it a try myself no matter if it’s misleading. You got to test to see if it really works. According to the instruction, I have to wait for 10-14 days to see the results. I will update the post and let you guys know if it does really works.

It is now done! Last week I was only doing some dust cleaning and swapping all the hardware out to the newly purchase mini tower. I do not need another tower chassis as it really occupy too much space especially my sister just use the PC for movies and surfing. All four original 120mm fans are working and the chassis still looking good. Any interested buyer can contact me and the final price is B$160.00.

The new mini tower I given to my sister is Cooler Master Elite 360 I brought from QQeStore last month. It offers quite good bargain (B$98.00) in term of quality build and design allow to fit in the large GeminII CPU heat sink. Although fitting the remaining fans bracket is impossible. Luckily the side panel saves my day which allows installing either 80mm or 120mm fans and also blowing directly to both CPU and heatsink. It was indeed a good chassis.

This year I probably am going to be putting myself into more aggressive decision buying new gadgets. I already accomplished getting (nah! Loan) new car. Now, the next target is getting a laptop and then new cell phone. My company currently is offering promotion for the latest ACER models which I heard are limited productions models across Malaysia.

The one I am getting is Acer Aspire AS4750G-2414G50, which offers very attractive B$1024.00 price. Of course I can get lower than that as an IT staff. I already had done a check on the laptop specification, definitely fast enough for normal usage and onsite works. For your information it also comes with an Apacer 16GB thumb drive, Trend Micro 2011 Titanium Internet Security and extended three years warranty as a free gift.

Now, the criticism about Acer products will never disappear from the history itself. I know a lot of people are unhappy with their laptops and service in the past. A lot of us do prefer getting Dell laptop instead due to its best onsite service rating which I hope Acer should do the same thing opening a centre in Brunei. But I decide to give it a go for three years and see it myself if the products has improve.

You should be seeing the latest models promotion anytime at the local ACER reseller’s computer shop by now. Mine haven’t arrived yet because I am paying for two month and not yet deposit. Once received it, I will run a full review.

At last! My long awaited computer parts have finally reached me today! I have been waited for at least coming month receiving it due to him going for courses and vacation last month. Luckily he comes to work all else I not even sure when I suppose to received it.

What I got here are WD Caviar Green 500GB SATA HDD, Kingston DDR 1GB 400 and Scandisk Cruzer Blade 8GB USB flash drive. All of them brought from Plaza Low Yat at KL. Total spend, just only B$125.00. Seriously, it’s really damn cheap.

I actually wanted to go for larger size hard disk. But due to my behavior on the spending on toys are too heavy. So I just temporary go for the smaller purchase. I am planning to stock a bit DDR/DDRII memory ram next time including the older P4 478 and 775 sockets motherboard. My current PC is having quite a lot of trouble lately. Auto restart for no reason when idle which I suspect the warranty Corsair DDRII sent to me has compatibility problem. Hate it when these kinds of things happen.

Damn the technology these days are becoming so powerful every year. Seems like I need to get a new phone soon. BTW, Merry Christmas!

Finally my long awaited upgrade for my PC arrived yesterday. I know this is not the high end card or something, but I have to say it’s enough running most of the latest PC games today at highest quality mode! I tested few of the games loaded in my PC and it’s really gives ton of punch on the graphic at full resolution 1680x1050 on my Dell 22” LCD monitor. I really enjoying on the smooth gameplay. Although turning on to maximum AA and AF does degrade the performance on the games. But so far, it was minor lag and entirely playable in acceptable frame rate even on Supreme Commander 2 (Buy!)demo with plenty of units shooting around.

I also benchmarking and tested on the first person shooting (FPS) games like Resident Evil 5 (Buy!) and Wolfenstein 2 (Buy!). Both of them are at playable smooth framerate on maximum setting. Currently the last game I am planning to test was Warhammer 40,000 Dawn of War II (Buy!). But something is wrong and currently unable to launch because there are updates going on which was never mention on Steam. I got to wait for it to finish before start testing.

If you wonder how much I actually spend on this card. It was around B$300.00 below, I cannot tell you the exact price because this is a special price from friend. Yes, from the way it look, expensive was the right word. You need to understand that AMD do not currently have any competitions at the moment for his mid-range card market and NVIDIA has been really slow launching their new products too causing the price stay. Another reason for this kind of price is because it able to support four displays (2x DVI and 2x HDMI) and even comes with free full Colin McRAE DiRT 2 Steam game. I’m not a fan on driving games but it support running Microsoft Direct X 11 so it’s going to be fun experience the new graphic details.