Enthusiast Explained
Posted February 23rd, 2008 at 23:44 by RA1D
en*thu*si*ast [en-thoo-zee-ast]
-noun
1. One who is ardently absorbed in an interest or pursuit
2. A fanatic
As I take a glance at my computer with its LED's, advanced cooling system and hand picked components, I can't help but wonder what type of person I've become and how exactly I got here. There was a time not long ago that I paid little attention to computers. I used them at work for a few small tasks and would check my email from time to time but I really could care less what was inside the case. My gaming was limited to the Playstation. The only game I would play on the the PC was minesweeper (and I was pretty good at it). Now the only console I own is the Wii which I only play about once a week with my family. The rest of the time I spend sitting right here usually playing Supreme Commander or World in Conflict.
My interest in computers grew over a short time period. I would read magazines or online reviews with great care. As soon as MaximumPC hit my mailbox, I would absorb its contents in one sitting. My jaw would drop at some of the custom built rigs I came across and I craved more information on every aspect of computing hardware. It became my main hobby but I had to play catch up. There was so much to learn.
The first computer I ever bought for myself was a Gateway. I remember opening up the case for the first time and following the cables to see where all the cables started and ended. I had it for about a year before the videocard went bad and I had to replace it which was a big deal for me at the time. After I took the old one out and put the new one in, the display looked normal again and my games ran a lot smoother. Cool.
After another couple of years, I decided it was time to build my own computer. After lots of research I ended up with a decent set up and I was happy with the results. Intel P4 on an Asus mobo, Corsair memory sticks and an X800XL video card. I was hooked. Shortly after building it, I upgraded my CPU cooling, added some case fans with a controller. Man, this stuff is pretty neat.
Soon I got my feet wet in overclocking. I had that 3.2 chip blazing at 4.2GHz in no time. I remember the chills that went down my back as it completed the benchmark. There was so much cool stuff to do with a computer and it slowly but surely took over as my main interest with each passing day.
Here I am now with two high end water cooling loops sitting on top of an Extreme series chip and an 8800 Ultra, staring at a giant 27" monitor with sounds bumping out of a 500 watt speaker system. My hobby has become a passion and is starting to define me as a person. I can't wait for new technology to arrive and quickly devour online reviews on a daily basis. I've spent countless hours pushing my parts to the limit and fine tuning my rig to run at optimum levels. Does any one of these things make me an "enthusiast"? I don't think so. But put them all together and I think I could make an argument for it.
-noun
1. One who is ardently absorbed in an interest or pursuit
2. A fanatic
As I take a glance at my computer with its LED's, advanced cooling system and hand picked components, I can't help but wonder what type of person I've become and how exactly I got here. There was a time not long ago that I paid little attention to computers. I used them at work for a few small tasks and would check my email from time to time but I really could care less what was inside the case. My gaming was limited to the Playstation. The only game I would play on the the PC was minesweeper (and I was pretty good at it). Now the only console I own is the Wii which I only play about once a week with my family. The rest of the time I spend sitting right here usually playing Supreme Commander or World in Conflict.
My interest in computers grew over a short time period. I would read magazines or online reviews with great care. As soon as MaximumPC hit my mailbox, I would absorb its contents in one sitting. My jaw would drop at some of the custom built rigs I came across and I craved more information on every aspect of computing hardware. It became my main hobby but I had to play catch up. There was so much to learn.
The first computer I ever bought for myself was a Gateway. I remember opening up the case for the first time and following the cables to see where all the cables started and ended. I had it for about a year before the videocard went bad and I had to replace it which was a big deal for me at the time. After I took the old one out and put the new one in, the display looked normal again and my games ran a lot smoother. Cool.
After another couple of years, I decided it was time to build my own computer. After lots of research I ended up with a decent set up and I was happy with the results. Intel P4 on an Asus mobo, Corsair memory sticks and an X800XL video card. I was hooked. Shortly after building it, I upgraded my CPU cooling, added some case fans with a controller. Man, this stuff is pretty neat.
Soon I got my feet wet in overclocking. I had that 3.2 chip blazing at 4.2GHz in no time. I remember the chills that went down my back as it completed the benchmark. There was so much cool stuff to do with a computer and it slowly but surely took over as my main interest with each passing day.
Here I am now with two high end water cooling loops sitting on top of an Extreme series chip and an 8800 Ultra, staring at a giant 27" monitor with sounds bumping out of a 500 watt speaker system. My hobby has become a passion and is starting to define me as a person. I can't wait for new technology to arrive and quickly devour online reviews on a daily basis. I've spent countless hours pushing my parts to the limit and fine tuning my rig to run at optimum levels. Does any one of these things make me an "enthusiast"? I don't think so. But put them all together and I think I could make an argument for it.
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