I’ve been an Apple guy since college when I bought my first Macbook. The last PC I owned was somewhere around 1999. Let's just say it has been awhile. So getting back into the Windows PC scene was a bold move for me. Why a PC, you ask? The answer is pretty simple: Gaming. I love gaming. It's the one thing I've done pretty consistently since being a child. As much as I love my current iMac and all the creative tools I use (Final Cut Pro X, Pixelamator, Photos, etc), I also really love gaming.
The Parts
Picking parts was not very hard. A useful website called PC Part Picker not only let me create a totally custom rig with parts in the wild, but it also told me who sold it for less and if there were any obvious compatibility issues between parts. Some vigilance and research was still necessary because component sizes (a giant video card or large cooling fan for example) weren't always accounted for. This was especially important for me since I built a Mini ITX computer. Also, RGB compatibility between parts weren't listed (more on that later).
PCPartPicker Part List: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/sjbsD2
Generated by PCPartPicker 2019-05-22 08:00 EDT-0400
Motherboard: Asus - ROG Strix B450-I Gaming Mini ITX AM4 Motherboard
Memory: G.Skill - Trident Z RGB 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3000 Memory
Storage: Crucial - MX500 500 GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive
Storage: Samsung - 860 Evo 1 TB 2.5" Solid State Drive
Video Card: EVGA - GeForce RTX 2060 6 GB XC ULTRA GAMING Video Card
Case: NZXT - H200 Mini ITX Tower Case
Power Supply: EVGA - SuperNOVA G3 650 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply
Like I said before, my main reason for building the PC was for gaming. My budget was to keep it under $1500. In order to keep costs down, I chose a Ryzen processor over an Intel one. I also went for a midrange graphics card so I would have more money for other things like faster memory, a quality SSD drive, M.2 storage stick and a good power supply.
The Build
So what do you do when you’ve never done something before? You watch YouTube and follow along! I found Paul’s Hardware to be very informative. He recently created a 3-part series on building a PC. It went from picking the parts, then building the PC, and finally installing the operating system. I didn't use the same exact parts but his explanations were so clear that it still applied.
After unboxing everything, I felt a little overwhelmed. There were parts EVERYWHERE and the amount of cables laying around was unsettling! I organized myself by grabbing a small bowl for screws and bolts, laid all of the manuals out and kicked it off by installing the Ryzen processor. Placing it on the motherboard was a lot simpler than I imagined it would be. It sort of just falls into place. No pushing or rocking it back and forth was necessary. The lock bar swung down and locked it in. The next step was installing memory and that was also very simple. They snapped right into place with a firm push.
M.2 storage was new to me. This particular motherboard had slots for two M.2 boards. One could be installed underneath a heatsink in the front, and a second could be installed on the backside. After screwing in the M.2 board on the front and making sure it was snug, I replaced the heatsink and tore off the plastic film protecting the part (ahhhhh, so cathartic!)
Next up was the Wraith processor cooling fan that came bundled with the r2700x. This actually turned out to be one of the harder parts of the build (and it really wasn't even that difficult). At some point I accidentally installed the fan latch clips on the motherboard backwards which didn't allow the fan to fit over the processor and latch down. Whoops! A tip for anyone doing this themselves: The motherboard instruction manual is a really helpful tool! It even has pictures!
I guess I'll go over my RGB complaint now since it applied to the fan I used in my build. The Wraith cooler came with 3 cables in the box. One was for power (simple enough) and two were for who-knows-what-because-the-instruction-manual-is-worthless (I assumed RGB but why 2?). There was no mention of any RGB connections in the instruction manual. In order for the RGB to work with my particular motherboard, I needed to choose the correct one (the cable that plugged into the RGB header on the motherboard instead of the cable that plugged into the USB 2.0 on the motherboard). I believe they can't be plugged in simultaneously because of a conflict between RGB programs. That was the only way I could synchronize the RGB lights with Asus' RGB program, Aura. Currently, I have the USB 2.0 connector plugged into my motherboard (not the RGB header one) because I wanted more control over the fan lights than Aura could provide. So... long story short, I'm using 2 different RGB programs (Wraith Prism and Asus Aura) to control 3 different RGB parts (Wraith cooler, TridentZ memory and motherboard) in my computer. Now I have a headache.
Last but not least, cable management. Ahhh… cable management. As a Type-A person, I knew that this was going to take the most time. My PC needed to look nice through the side glass or all is for naught. I mean, I didn't but all these RGB parts to hide them behind a metal wall. Turned out, my clumsy hands and the small form factor of a Mini ITX case was not a good combination. And also I'm a perfectionist.
Here's the front after some cable work...
...and here's the back. Not too shabby!
Now for the real test... POWERING IT! Within seconds, the American Megatrends Bios screen lit up. Following Paul's advice from the 3rd video, I changed the Bios settings to maximize performance and installed Windows 10. Within 45 minutes of turning the computer on for the first time, I was installing drivers and updating the operating system.
All-in-all, I’m really glad I decided to build my own PC. I now know a little more about how everything works and could probably troubleshoot hardware problems down the road if needed. The "nerd" in me was beaming from ear-to-ear because it felt like a big accomplishment! The biggest problems during my build were actually not that big at all and I overcame them with some research, Paul and common sense.
Gaming on this beast is just plain awesome! I can run all my current games at ultra settings and still easily hit 100fps. The 144hz refresh rate of my monitor makes everything buttery smooth! I will have a hard time going back to my Xbox now that I’ve experienced PC gaming how it was intended.
Conclusion
I enjoyed the build so much that I recommend it to anyone who’s considering buying a prebuilt. Just do a little research and build your own. In the end it’s usually cheaper and can be completely customized for your needs. If you need help, there are plenty of videos on YouTube or join a PC sub on Reddit like r/buildapc or r/pcmasterrace.
Now it's time to destroy the competition in my new favorite shooter, Apex Legends!
No comments:
Post a Comment