So I built myself a small form factor PC like I’ve always wanted to. I just bought a new house so I’ll be using it as my main media center and hub for all other PC’s in the house. I’ll probably upgrade the RAM sometime soon but for the time being it’s perfect for what I need.

Here’s exactly what went into the computer. All of this is guaranteed to fit and work with each other (because my computer is proof…) All links take you to the product’s page on Newegg.com where I bought the pieces.

Motherboard: ASUS P5E-VM

Case: SILVERSTONE SG01-BW Black Aluminum MicroATX Case

Power Supply: KINGWIN ABT-600MA1S 600W

CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo 2.53GHz Socket 775 Dual-Core

CPU Heatsink: SILVERSTONE NT06-LITE CPU Cooler

RAM: 2GB G.SKILL DDR2 800

Hard Drive: 320GB Western Digital Caviar SE

Optical Drive: SAMSUNG 22X DVD Burner

Keyboard: ADESSO WKB-4000US Wireless Mini Keyboard

Assembly wasn’t the easiest thing in the world. I’ve put together a few PC’s in my lifetime but nothing in a case this small or this cramped. I’ve built computers in everything from a drawer to a wooden box to a cardboard box (man I really wish I had pictures of each of those to link to…) but none of them were as tight as this latest computer.

The case was obviously well thought out. I chose it because it had a clean look to it and wasn’t too “lan-party with a handle!!”-ish but still had some “ooh cool I can see the inside!” factor to it. The case has great air flow and a great solid quality feel to it. The top feels a tad flimsy when you take it off - but it’s not…just because it’s a bent piece of sheet metal probably…but other than that everything else seems top-notch!

I haven’t run any benchmarks and I’m not putting a wireless card in it because I’m going to be plugging it up directly to my wireless router. Also, there’s no need for a video card as of now because I’m not going to be gaming on it and the motherboard has built-on HDMI for 1080p right out the box!! Talk about sweet…

Hope this inspires some of you to build yourself a small form PC!

Here’s some pictures of the build. The only negative thing to happen the whole build was my twisting the head off of a screw (used the wrong screw…) and my DVD burner is now permanent in the case (ok so I’m over reacting…but that thing ain’t comin out easy…). That and the cramped space isn’t for the timid or faint of heart.

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So this time around I’m in the drivers seat of a brand new Ford Flex. Yeah the same one I wrote about a few days ago. Apparently some people liked what I had to say about it and have offered to let me drive one for the next First 5000.

First drive reaction: Wow these seats are freakin comfortable. It’s the first thing everyone says when they sit down in it. It’s absolutely cavernous on the inside. With the seats adjusted down and back a bit you can fit a 6 and a half foot guy in it with ease.

I took some pictures the other day when Ford brought one down for us to take a look at and so I didn’t really need to take a lot of pictures…except for the fact that all the pictures I can find of it on the internet are staged studio photos or are pictures of the car out on a lot. You never see it at night with the headlights (new really freakin bright HID lights by the way) on and the ambient interior lighting and all the cool blue dash lights on, so I snapped a few shots last night with the Digital Rebel. Hopefully this will help people be able to see what the Flex looks like at night with it’s ambient lighting package and HID headlights on! Enjoy!

So Detroit sent a Ford Flex down for us to take a look at yesterday. I wasn’t let down at all. It’s got a nice amount of amenities such as up-to-date information from your navigation system (weather, traffic, sports scores), a refrigerated center console on the second row, sun roofs all the way to the third row, and a 110V power inverter (auxiliary power outlet). The woodgrain is everywhere. It’s not a tacky thin-plastic looking woodgrain either. All the gauges are a soft blue and in the center of the console is an analogue clock. The leather is perforated with a really cool pattern with white stitching around the sides.

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I have the benefit of being able to see what search terms were used when a visitor comes to my site from Google. Recently I’ve had a rather large amount of people searching for Ole Miss iPhone wallpapers end up at my site only to find that I have iPhone wallpapers on my site as well as pictures from a track meet at Ole Miss. I know they leave disappointed so for the few each week that end up here looking for them here’s 4 of them I whipped up real quick. Click on the thumbnail then right click the picture and “Save As”.

So the other day I was bored and asked Katie “Hey I’m gonna make another really dumb rap song, what should I rap about?” and of course she doesn’t miss a beat and replied “Blueberry waffles…” I laughed and ignored it and then realized how freakin awesome that would actually be. Well… here it is. I love blueberry waffles.

Click here to download:

I Love Blueberry Waffles.mp3

Today marks the last day I drive the Ford Fusion SE that I’ve had for the past 5,000 miles. I’d give this guy an 8/10 if I had to put it on a scale of 10. For the other posts on this car see. Part 1 and Part 2 - Update.

Here’s some of the highlights I’ve had so far:

• Good Gas Mileage. I can get 30mpg in my V6 just by keeping to around 60mph on the interstate. Sure you’d have to drive slower than the 70mph speed limit to achieve this, but I’m willing to do it to get an extra 60 miles from a tank of gas the way prices are going.
• Ride comfort. Man this thing rides smooth… I expected it to handle somewhat like a Contour but it rides more like a Lincoln! I have the smaller SE wheels which gives me more rubber between me and the road which can only contribute to ride comfort.
• Sync. Enough said. I bought a small Western Digital external hard drive ($84) and plugged it in (the USB plug is inside the console so it’s easy to set it in there and not worry about it) after loading it up with all my music and I now have 13,000 songs at the tip of my finger…err..sound of my voice. Not sure what to listen to? Set shuffle to “on” and say “Play All”.
• Styling. It’s a sharp car and in my opinion better looking than the Camry, Accord, or Altima. The only car in it’s class I can think of that looks better is maybe the Acura TL…but then again you’re talking $34k large.

Some of the cons I’d say were:

• Syling. For the same reasons I love the Fusion I didn’t like about mine. I didn’t have a spoiler (a $295 option) and I had the smaller alloy wheels instead of the better looking 18″ wheels. There’s also a “sport” package that adds alot of sporty touches to the car and I would’ve loved for mine to look like this picture and this picture.
• No Hybrid. Yet. Ford has slated to produce a 2009 Fusion Hybrid. I’m really looking forward to seeing this and maybe getting my hands on one to test!

All in all my car was pretty impressive especially for the 22k price tag it had. What’s next in the First 5000 lineup? We’ll find out in the next few days as to what I’ll be testing next!