Presentation and Closure

     This week we finished up our PowerPoint presentation and presented it to the class. Throughout the course of this project, I learned about the parts of the computer and how to build the computer. Although it was overwhelming at first, it's all crystal clear now. I'm able to tell the function of each part in the computer and what each part looks like. It was awesome working with Ivan and Josh on this project because we were all completely clueless at first and it was funny at first how incompetent we were. However, after much help from friends and our mentor Sun Nguyen, I have acquired a great deal of computer literacy.
     After seeing Ivan's computer and how well it runs, I am now motivated to build my own computer. I have been using the same laptop for 3 years and it's really starting to fail me now in terms of gaming. Although it has served me well over the years, I have decided to build a desktop computer for about 1000 dollars. This will be a blast! I've already ordered the parts and most of them have come in already. I can't wait to play on this new computer over the break! I'll be so much better at so many games!

Painkillers Help Recovery

     Long story short, It's been a very miserable week for me. Remember when I said I was getting my wisdom teeth out? The surgery didn't hurt that much because I was numbed but the whole recovery process drove my crazy. My mom was convinced that I didn't need painkillers even though the Doctors prescribed them. Well, she was wrong. I can finally start eating normally and talking normally as of today and the swollen mass which was my cheek has finally gone back to normal.
     Needless to say, all I've done this week was try to distract myself from my painful mouth through entertainment like movies and games. I haven't really done any more on the review videos than last week but I'm finally ready and in shape to start. This is due in about a week so I really need to get on top of this!

BREAK IS HERE

Well, I'm finally on break now! It's really nice to finally get a break from school. Though I do have to get my wisdom teeth pulled out tomorrow (Ouch). On Friday, I was the only one from our group in class because Ivan and Josh were at the Georgia Aquarium for AP Biology. This was ok as we already split up the work and who was going to be doing what. I looked at the parts I was assigned and began to recollect why we had chosen each part. However, I am on break, and have no desire to work on this project as soon as I got home. I will hopefully have more to post about next weekend!

Working Out the Details

   This weekend, Josh, Ivan, and I got together at Ivan's house to get some work done on these videos. Once we got there, Ivan realized that the videos which Samir uploaded to Google Drive weren't fully processed and we could not access them at all. It isn't really anyone's fault but we can't get started on the tutorial video until we can get a flashdrive containing all of the videos from Samir.
    Once we realized this at Ivan's house, we decided to make the best of coming over to Ivan's house and played video games together!

Post Build Endeavors

     After completing the actual construction of the computer, all we have left to do is to make the tutorial videos. We will make 2 videos: one will show the actual construction of the computer and the other will show the parts and why we chose each part. We decided to split up the work like this.

     Over the next few weeks, we will start making and finish making these videos. We haven't decided when or where we are making these videos yet. We could either make them on our own or do it at someone's house one day to ensure that everything that needs to be covered is covered.

Assembly Complete!

     This blog post was a little bit late because of the complications we ran into on Sunday Night. On Sunday, Albert, Fayaz, Josh, Samir, and I all came over to Ivan's house to build the computer. Everyone got there at around noon but Josh had Church for a while longer. We decided to wait for him because he had the best camera, but after waiting over an hour and him still not showing up, we decided to start.
     We decided that we would get multiple angles of the building process so that we could pick out the best camera perspectives to use in our tutorial video. Multiple people held cameras while Ivan and I assembled the computer one part at a time and Fayaz held a flashlight so that the cameras could have good lighting. After a while, Josh got there. Josh brought his Nikon D5200 camera and he became the main cameraman.
     Further into contruction, we realized that we were missing 2 parts. We were missing a SATA cable for the optical drive and a 2.5 inch to 3.5 inch adapter for the SSD. Half of us went to microcenter to pick up the parts while half of us manned the house. Ivan did not want to leave his computer sitting there unguarded.
     As night rolled around, people began to leave and I had to leave as well. Albert stayed behind and him and Ivan finished the physical construction of the computer. Although it took around seven hours, we finally finished assembly of the computer.
    
     All that was left was installing the OS. To save money, Samir got us a bootleg version of Windows 7 OS. Although it should have worked, it was not installing properly. The next day, Josh and Patrick came over to Ivan's house to try to install the operating system because they knew a bit about installing operating systems. However, this was all in vain and nobody knew what the problem was. Finally, we called our friend Jason and he came over. He figured out the problem in under 20 minutes. It was a broken front USB port that would not transfer the files. After installing the OS, we installed the drivers and the computer was set.
In the next few weeks, we will be managing the video files and making it into a tutorial.

Almost Assembly Time!

     This week, some of the parts already came in and more parts are coming in later this week. It's reassuring that we are ahead of schedule. Last week, we decided upon a keyboard, mouse, and monitor for the computer. I mentioned that we would also need speakers, but it was determined that they weren't really needed because the monitor came with speakers attached. If the speakers on the monitor aren't good ( which is likely), Ivan already has speakers at home that we can use. This is the final parts list and shows when everything is supposed to come in.

     The total came out to be $944.72 dollars, which was under our limit of 1000 dollars. We originally thought it would be less because we had not factored in the tax (Whoops!). The second thing we had not factored in was the wireless adapter needed for connecting to the internet. As laptop users, we had completely forgot about this because laptops usually have built-in wireless. Computers need either an ethernet cord or a wireless adapter to connect to the internet. Because Ivan's computer is two rooms away from his router, the ethernet cord solution does not seem viable. Therefore, we looked into some wireless adapters. We found a wireless adapter for 20 dollars, resulting in a total of $964.72 spent.
     Now that the parts are in, we needed a schedule for assembling the computer. The schedule we came up with is right here:

    I talked to Ivan and Josh and we agreed that we would work on it Sunday, November 2nd because Ivan had to finish his questbridge application on Saturday and I had orchestral obligations on Saturday. We chose the time 12-5 PM on Sunday because Josh had church in the morning and Ivan needed to leave for work at 5 PM. We will probably want some people who are good with computers there as well to make sure we don't break anything.

First Purchase

     This week, a lot of progress was made. Instead of following our old schedule which limited us to researching and deciding one part each weekend, we spent a lot of time looking at many core computer parts. We put this build on a Google doc and had our friends Albert, Sida, Fayaz, and Jack look at it. They revised it and told us what changes they would make and we finally came up with  and came up with a build that included everything except for an operating system, mouse, keyboard, monitor, speakers, and other peripherals. It only cost 730 dollars in total so we have plenty of money left to spend on these peripheral parts. Here is the build on pcpartpickers.com

     We decided to compile a build on pcpartpicker.com because we realized that stores would start jacking up prices before black friday and that would be bad for us. Also, some deals are hard to come by and it would be best to claim them as they come. The deal Albert showed us this week was a Radeon R9 290 graphics card shown here:

We decided to order this immediately because it was too good to be true. It gave us a really good graphics card, with 20 dollars mail-in rebate, a 100 dollar headset, and an AMD game card that came with 3 free games on newegg.com.
     Overall, we got a lot of work done this week. We realized that it was probably best to start ordering parts now instead of waiting till black friday and have finalized a basic computer build. Also, we have split up the peripherals and are each doing research on one thing at a time. For instance, I am looking at keyboards while Josh is looking at monitors and Ivan is browsing monitors. We also need to find speakers. This project is finally coming together.

Storage Devices and Divine Intervention

     This week was a very busy week for us. Not only did we research storage devices this week and come up with our selections, we revised the previous parts we had as well. A lot of Major changes were made this week to the parts we found. Basically, we were not spending the right amount of money on each of the parts according to some of our friends. They were dissatisfied with the way our computer project was coming along and decided to give us advice (Thanks Sida, Albert, Fayaz, and Jack).As a result, we re-organized our budget and decided how much money we were going to spend on each part. Even though it was kind of frustrating realizing that the parts we decided on weren't the best, it was a good learning experience that put us back on the right track. Our new budget chart is shown below. 

     Originally, we were going to go with the AMD FX-4350. But, our friends convinced us that we were not spending enough money on the processor and recommended processors like the i5, i7, and AMD FX-8350. We decided to go with the AMD FX-8350 because AMD processors are better than intel processors for gaming. Also, two very cool things I learned while re-researching processors were that there are 1024 bytes in a gigabyte(and not 1000 as I had thought. Mind blown) and that the speed of the processor in ghz can only be compared to the speed of a processor in the same family of processors. Therefore, an AMD FX-4350's processor speed can only be compared to another AMD FX processor and not any intel processors or other brands of processors. Here is a comparison chart of the AMD FX-4350, which we originally were going with, and the AMD FX-8350, the new processor we decided on.

     All of that was fixing past research; now onto this week's research! This week we researched storage devices, which come either in the form of a hard drive or an SSD (Solid State Drives). SSD's are much more expensive than hard drives but are much faster than hard drives. We decided to go with both a smaller SSD and a bigger hard drive. We would be able to put programs which are frequently used onto the SSD and keep programs which are not often used on the hard drive. Here are the two storage devices I found which we decided to go with.

     Overall, we cleared up a bunch of our past research with our friends' help. We are also faced with a dilemma: whether to buy the computer parts now or wait till black Friday. We did some research and realized that many shops jack up prices right before black Friday so that it would appear that they are giving out "good deals" when they are actually not. It might actually be a good idea to buy sometime soon before they start cranking up prices. We will see. 

Processor Picked

     According to the schedule we developed, we researched processors this week. The processor of a computer determines how fast a computer can run programs. Processors are manufactured by two main companies: Intel and AMD. Generally, AMD processors are cheaper and less versatile than Intel processors. Processors also need to be compatible with the motherboard and some processors come with their own integrated graphics. However, the integrated graphics that come with a processor are usually low-quality so we will have to buy a graphics card anyways. Therefore, we are not taking into consideration whether or not the processor has integrated graphics while researching.
     Because we decided to go with the ASRock-970 motherboard, we had to choose an AMD processor which narrowed down our search significantly. Afterwards, we all separately went on the site pcpartpicker.com and looked at all of the compatible processors while taking into account price, quality/features, and speed.
     After researching quite a bit, I favored the AMD FX-4350 while Ivan favored the AMD FX-4300 processor. Here is a side-by-side comparison of the two processors on pcpartpicker.

     After some debating on Saturday afternoon, Josh pointed out that the AMD FX-4350 was only 11 dollars more expensive but was actually 4 x .4 ghz = 1.6 ghz faster. Also, I did a little bit of research on the L3 Cache since the AMD FX-4300 had a 4 mb cache while the AMD FX-4350. While researching, I came upon a bunch of complicated stuff. However, the general idea was that every bit of space the L3 cache brought would give the processor a little bit of performance boost. After taking into account all of these factors, we agreed that the extra 11 dollars was worth, and  we decided to go along with the AMD FX-4350 processor. However, we will use the AMD FX-4300 processor as a backup in case something comes up and our budget isn't enough.

Motherboard Matters

     This week was a big improvement for our group. At the beginning of the week, we all agreed that each of us would research motherboards and compile all of the information on a google drive. We researched things like specs, types of motherboards, types of CPUs that the motherboard is compatible with, etc. Here is a brief summary of what we learned about motherboards.

     After researching about motherboards, we began to look for potential motherboards that would suit our needs. We don't have all of the money in the world so a mid-priced motherboard with decent specs is what we looked for. While looking around, I found the site Pcpartspicker.com and shared it with my partners. This site allowed us to compare different motherboards based on specs, pricing, and reviews. It also gave us compatible CPUs that would work with the motherboards we selected. For instance, some motherboards only work with AMD processors and some only work with Intel Processors. Now we know to keep that in mind when looking for a processor next week.
     After everyone did his research, we had a group call at 3:30 PM on Friday to discuss the potential motherboards that we found. I found a good motherboard for 120 dollars but we agreed that it was a little too expensive and agreed on another one. The motherboard we agreed on was the ASRock 970 at http://pcpartpicker.com/part/asrock-motherboard-970extreme4. It has decent specs for a decent price.


I feel very accomplished this week because we finally agreed on our first part to buy. Although it is not set in stone, there is a very good chance we will be using this part. Next week we will focus on processors while keeping in mind that the processor we choose must be compatible with this motherboard!

Getting It Together

     This week, we presented our 20% time research project to the class through a PowerPoint. When we were putting together the PowerPoint, it was apparent that we hadn't communicated about the project and that we were working separately. Well, that won't work in the long run. The PowerPoint made us realize that we need to each research the same part of a computer and come up with a consensus on which part to buy. For instance, we would all do research on motherboards for one week and come up with an optimal motherboard to buy. However, we would probably want to wait until Black Friday (November 26th) to do the buying because everything is cheaper on black Friday. To help us get on track, Ivan created a calendar on what part we are researching every week. It is shown below.

We will research one part every week and have 2 weeks to spare in the end to research additional supplies that are not necessarily "needed" or for emergency situations.

      As for our mentor, we have decided to ask Patrick Nguyen's brother. From what I've heard from Ivan, he is very good with computers and can definitely help us. My friend Yassin Moghazy is also very good with technology and he has agreed to help us pick out the best parts for our computer. Luckily, I have many friends who are good with computers and know how to build them. Varun Ramachandran, Albert Phouangaphay, and Jack Fontana have all built their own computers and are willing to help me. 

     After solidifying a schedule for what parts to research and when, I feel much more organized and confident about building this computer. I won't feel like I'm just randomly doing research anymore. The future looks bright.

In-Depth Research, Google Drive, and Mentor

This week, I dived into more research and mainly clarified a few terms I did not know in last weeks research.
     The difference between micro-ATX and ATX motherboards is not substantial. Apart from certain chipsets being found on only one board and other chipsets being specifically manufactured for the other, the only difference is that micro-ATX boards can only hold 4 extra slots while while ATX boards can hold up to 7. mATX boards usually have onboard video and no overclocking while ATX boards have no onboard video and overclocking. However, no matter how many slots it has, the case needs to be compatible to fit that many PCI-PCI-E slots. If we decide to go for a smaller computer, we would probably want to invest in the Micro-ATX board because it is cheaper and offers the same performance. It just has less expandability. Micro-ATX boards range from $6 to $300 so I definitely need to do more research on what sets Micro-ATX boards apart from each-other and what makes a "good" Micro-ATX board. Likewise, ATX boards range from around $100 to $500. However, for our budget purposes, we will probably not use a regular-sized ATX board.
     A lot more research has been done and we have compiled all of it on a Google drive so that any of our group members can access it anytime they wish to. This way, we will not have to have redundant research done on the same parts and we will all know what we have been up to. Finally, I have asked Yassin Moghazy to be our computer-building mentor as Yassin is very experienced in technology and hopes to become the TSA/technology teacher at Parkview one day.

Research Continued

     I did some more research on computer parts and learned that there are actually many types of computer parts. Certain parts can only function together with other compatible parts.
     The computer case of a computer comes with lights, vents, fans, and places for attaching cables. The case needs to be compatible with the motherboard inside the case.
     The motherboard is the primary circuit board inside the computer which everything is connected to. The motherboard comes in mainly two styles-ATX and microATX.
     The power supply connects to the computer and gives it power.
     The central processing unit or CPU for short is the heart of all computer operations and determines how fast hardware or software can run.
     Random access memory is the place where information is stored when it is waiting to be processed. There is a maximum amount of random access memory a computer can handle. There are many types of RAM and only certain types of RAM can be handled by certain motherboards. We will need to keep this in mind when buying RAM.
     The computer drive is a place where information which is not used is stored. There are two standards: the older IDE Standard and the newer SATA standard.
     Fans are used to prevent computers from overheating. People who use computers for long periods of time sometimes use something called a water cooling system. Since this computer will be used regularly for long periods of time, we might need to invest in a water cooling system.

Getting Started on 20% Time Project

     The purpose of my 20% project is to create a decent functioning computer while being economical at the same time. I, along with Josh and Ivan, will learn how to assemble a computer, actually assemble a computer, and make a video tutorial of how to build a computer. This tutorial video will help other beginners put together a computer.

     I chose this topic because my dad has been urging me to learn how to build a computer for a long time and I've never really had the time to learn how to do it. He said that it will help me save a lot of money on computers in the future because building a computer is often cheaper than buying a computer with around the same specifications. Also, the knowledge of the inside workings of a computer will help me be able to repair it when my computer does fail me(which has happened many times).

     I enjoy the idea of building a computer because it's actually something I want to do. I joined technology student association this year to improve how well I can work technology and building a computer will supplement me in that area. Also, it will be more fun because I am working with my friends. Team work makes the dream work!

     I have done some basic research on parts and what parts are required for a computer to run and what parts can make a computer run better but aren't necessarily required. More research needs to be done.

     Although I have done some basic research, I have not done nearly enough. Next week I plan on researching more about the different kinds of parts that can satisfy a requirement in a computer. For example, a computer can be cooled through a liquid cooling system or a regular cooling system. I am going to do more research on these options and see what really fits our needs. Also, I will need to try to find deals on parts that we have already confirmed that we need since our budget is around 400 dollars.