So last week, my 10 year old PC died.
It was sudden and unexpected, and I suspect the Nargels were behind it.
I'm not a computer geek by any stretch of the imagination. More of an enthusiast at best. But I knew I didn't want to buy a brand new computer.
So began several hours of YouTube watching for tutorials and product info etc etc.
Keeping it relevant and only vids from the last few years, my theoretical knowledge went from just knowing how to swap out RAM sticks and Power Supply, to how to do a full tear down and rebuild of my PC! (Whoa - thanks YouTube!)
Impressive, you say? Well it's more like grown up lego, and quite fun TBH. After doing this, I don't think I'd ever buy a retail PC again!
The build is for some light gaming, reliable streaming, as well as video and music editing (yay!). I need it to be able to handle fairly regular multitasking and be futureproof enough for at least the next 5-10 years.
Here's some fun along the way (and all done with the help of my friend Richard who helped me out with some last stage troubleshooting), here's what I did:
(all product links to the local store I purchased from)
What did I keep?
The HP case and fan (I wanted a glowy one, but they ran out - any suggestions for a 90mm case fan? Hahaha)
2 x WD SATA HDD for existing mass storage.
Blu-Ray player / DVD writer. Because why not?
Card reader - I don't think it works... maybe I should test it
What did I replace?
New motherboard : Asus Prime B450M-A
New CPU : AMD Ryzen 5 3600 with Wraith Cooler
New Graphics Card: Gigabyte Radeon 4GB RX570
New Power Supply: ThermaltakeToughpower GF1 650W 80+ Gold
Be sure you research your desired setup and component compatibility etc before purchasing anything!
And don't forget to use your PC builders' brains trust friends!
For anyone looking to do the same, I'm sharing the 2 videos below that helped me the most (as far as the actual build process).
Let me know how you go!
So what projects have you started that was a learning project? I'd love to hear about your successes, your struggles and how you overcame it!
Be safe & take care of each other!