HotHardware's "Dads and Grads" Gaming Rig Give-Away!

kewl tower

Happy father's day. I know I will be enjoying the time with my daughter and it looks like it is going to be a beautiful day. Can you believe it is already 2/3 of the way thorough June already.

The vidcast will show some kewl dudes building a super kewl tower!

Father-Son Computer Build!

What a cool give-a-way!  I've got two boys.  We've built one computer together, but this "Pro-Built" system is something I'd love to win.  As a father-I think I'm doing it right.  Make no mistake, this would be Daddy's machine :0.  My boys have to build their systems.  Daddy would be very appreciative of winning this reward.  If you think I'm doing the right thing by making my kids learn and build their systems, like this entry and maybe the guys will see fit to make me the winner.

It's Father's Day today-if you're a dad and you're looking for a cool way to spend some time with your son or daughter and teach them some sweet skills-You know, like nunchuck skills, bowhunting skills, computer hacking skills...build a computer with them.  This will ensure they'll be the ones doing your tech support in your old age.  Teach them what you know now before they forget how cool you really are.  Time is short and soon they may find time with dad isn't a priority.  Make some memories now and they'll come back later when they realize, maybe you did know a thing or two and yeah-guess Dad is pretty cool.  Morale will be high around the house before, during and after the build.  Friend Envy will be high, and you will be accomplishing something together not many people have.  Roll with the Hero-worship and teach them to do the same.

Just remember, with great power comes great responsibility... Do the right thing-be a dad and if you have to, you can use this computer against them if they get off track!  In the event grades falter or incentive is needed...no Video Games, Computer or Console if grades aren't kept up.  This works amazingly well.  Gaming hours are defined and we keep strict track around here-there is more to life...that said-the digital age is here-so get them up to snuff if you are able.

My oldest son & I built a computer for him a year ago Easter Weekend.  I told him-I wasn't going to buy him a computer-but if he wanted-I'd help him build one if he learned about the building them from the ground up.  This meant, I too would have to learn to build from the ground up right along with him.  I gave him a budget that he had to stick to.  The economic lesson was probably as valuable as the tech lesson.  Bang for the buck, now and in the future.  We had a blast!

We started watching computer builds in YouTube videos and doing our research by spending time at  TigerDirect NewEgg and Microcenter & Best Buy.  The learning curve was swift as he was motivated...I find Zombie Slaying is extremely motivating to teenage boys...

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Another Resource you should definitely checkout HotHardware.com  Great reviews and really helpful, current video of a How-To build: 

http://www.youtube.com/user/HotHardwareVids?blend=23&ob=5#p/u/51/a4iRd2JXKPQ

You can purchase parts on-line through a store powered by Amazon.com  Go To:  Store.ThisOldNerd.com it's powered by Amazon and if you like this site and forum, these guys get a commission.  Support them if you can!

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The component that sealed the deal in regards to motivating my son to build his computer was a cool looking case, "The CoolerMaster StormScout"

http://www.coolermaster-usa.com/product.php?product_id=2912

From there we were off-

We decided to go as budget as we could stomach, but as future proof as we could afford.  WE DECIDED TO FUTURE PROOF OUR COMPUTER BY PURCHASING MORE MOTHERBOARD AND POWER SUPPLY THAN NEEDED AT BUILD!  This put us over our budget, but I think it will save time and money in the future.  Overall-we were very pleased with the end build and investment.

We went big on an ASUS Motherboard & made sure it was Cross-Fire Ready so we could add a 2nd GPU down the road and light on the CPU knowing thinking we could later upgrade the CPU to a Phenom 955-975 Black.  At time of build I think we used an Athlon II 620 or 630-it was Cheeeap!

We went with a 750 Corsair Power Supply-it seemed there were lots of warnings not to cheap out on the power supply-so we went big brand-good rating...

For the GPU we settled on a 5770...it was the most card for the budget we had at the time-overall-very pleased.

We started out looking at Components, then checked out the systems at Digital Storm (nice!) Cyberpowerpc and iBuyPower.  Nearly pulled the trigger as all Dad's are victims of marketing...stayed focused and started shopping Barebone systems hoping that was a good way to make sure the motherboards, ram, processors, etc would all work together. 

It all seemed to come down to the motherboard in regard to future-proofing.  As we learned about the various components-we built a wish list of them.

Then we built up the shopping carts at NewEgg & Tiger & MicroCenter.  When we were sure we knew enough to be dangerous-we zoomed over to the physical MicroCenter store in town and worked deals similar to what we had listed out on-line.  

By the time the build came, we were ready and we friggin' slayed it!

If you get a chance to do this, DO THIS.  If you screw it up, try again.  Your money won't go to waste.  If you get overwhelmed, you can take it to a shop and they'll assemble for you.  Stop freaking out though, because I promise it won't come to that.  Peeps on the forums and online as well as "seeing it done" on YouTube will make it easy peasy.

Good Luck and Happy Building.

Now, like this post so I win the Pro-Build :0

Happy Father's day everyone!

PFeenstra:

Happy Father's day everyone!

"Yeah, Happy Fathers Day to Every One!! My gifts  started rollin in yesterday. I got my dad a Roku XD player as added bonus, going up to visit him and set it up when I get Vacation next month, also got him a set of new tires for his Chevrolet Caprice Classic, I love that car, I learned how to drive in it and I made some cool night romantic trips to the woods. Anyways, I will be with my son later on tonight , cant wait, an also me and his moms got a lot talking to do."

-Optimus

CDeeter:

Btw does anyone know how points are assigned to posts.

I think it's 5 points for a post, then you get more for that post, when people reply directly to it. The more replies, the more points. I just replied directly to your post and bumped you up. You had 20 points before I replied, and now you have 35,.......

Now 25 of you reply to this post and watch the numbers as you do,.......

Thanks for the info. That makes sense. If people are replying to your posts, I guess that makes them more interesting.

It's nice to hear that you took the time to invest in your son that way. Too often today we take the easy way out - and I include myself.

Maybe the answer is to get back to the idea of doing things together, showing that you can do things for yourself instead of just paying someone else to do it for you.

I imagine your son will look back on this and say"Thanks for spending the time to do this with me." I;m sure he is proud too of this accomplishment and of you. Good Job!

@DSylvander That sounds like such a great experience. I am sure I will get the chance too build a machine with my daughter at some point. She is only 2 at this point though so maybe in 8-10 years lol.

Happy Father's Day to all the Dads out there hope you were all able to have a nice relaxing time. Speaking of Dad's and Grad's just a few days left until this doozy of a contest is over. Can you feel the anticipation building!?

kewl computer

@Lbowen first thanks... Second yes the anticipation is building big time... Maybe we will get the video within the next couple of days :)

Shouldn't be long. Only a few more days of waiting :)

lemme at it! Do I get bonus points for it being both Father's Day and my birthday on the same day this year?

Drake_McNasty:

What kind of laptops do you use? I imagine it was quite the process to choose a model that would hold up to school kid abuse.

We are using Dell Latitude 2100 and 2110 10 inch Netbooks currently and boy do they suck as far as the build quality is concerned. Thankfully we have the full damage warranty on them for the 3 years we lease them. It all comes down to budget unfortunately with school computers though.

Personally I think a 13 inch machine is the ideal balance between weight and functionality for these guys. I am just happy to know that with the next lease we do that we are not going to have to worry about batteries as much since so many companies are focused on the battery life. I am seeing many machines with 8 hours of battery life and our machines only need to last the 6 hour school day.

*drool*

Check out some of this crazy cable management that people are able to do with this sweet case.

Oh wow, that looks very neat and tidy. That, is geek porn :) Actually, makes me want to clean out my case, it's been far too long.

Wow... I'm going to take a guess and say that the back of the thing must be massive as hell.

Let my Dad win the contest, He's dying to win the computer.

*Sigh* I could spend some good time just staring at the image for this giveaway it's just so relaxing :)

Oh, I love me a modular everything. I dont do a lot of upgrading. but ill be a first adopter when detachable arm sockets and accessories make their way to market.

That chassis is just made for a modular PSU in any build ! who wouldn't use a modular PSU .

Lot's of room in back of the mobo  for some  very neat cable management.This chassis is the sweet combination of modern aesthetics and function.& Still looking forward to the vidcast of the build.

Geek p0rn at it's finest.

Man, just 7 more days until the contest ends.

I suspect that anticipation for who wins this bad boy is ridiculously high.

I want to be able to run 5 monitors in landscape mode with the crossfired 6870's!

Let me work this beast to its full potential! >:)

Pretty, pretty, please :)