Assembling my own PC
Last time I built a PC was in 1998. Since then I bought laptops and macs for myself. So finally I decided to build a PC for myself. Here is what I learnt.
I love technology and follow the developments in that industry closely.
The AMD Ryzen 3000 series processors launch in 2019 piqued my interest. These processors were fantastic and giving Intel a run for their money. Excitement was back in computing. It got me thinking if I should assemble a PC for myself. The subsequent COVID shortages and tech price inflation meant that most things were very costly during this time. Finally, prices moderated in 2022 and taking advantage of the Amazon Black Friday sales, I took the plunge.
PC building has become exciting and easy.
The amount of information and guidance available online is mindblowing. The last time I built the PC, e-commerce and reviews were not a big thing. Now, I can get detailed product analysis and in-depth reviews of almost anything.
The PC components were always modular. But the quality of components and segmenting in each category is fantastic. I was delighted to see the breadth of products on offer. Dedicated sites like PC Part Picker can help you pick compatible parts easily.
Amazon has been a delight for PC builders. Other web stores like NewEgg deliver to many places in the world and have special features for PC builders.
If you need to troubleshoot or get help with your specific problems, there are tons of forums on reddit where people have put up guides and techniques.
PC Overclocking is a new frontier.
The hardcore techies are now exploring PC performance enhancement techniques. These could be overclocking (maxing the processors or graphics performance for playing online games), or creating beast of a machine for video and audio editing or specialist work. Some modify the PC, components, cooling, or other aspects to create specialist machines.
The PC hardware suppliers are also equally engaged in this. Most PC hardware makers have unique products for overclockers.
Important websites and YouTube channels to refer to for PC building:
Gamers Nexus gives you an in-depth analysis of computer cases, CPUs, graphic cards, CPU coolers, PC building and overclocking. Also features factory tours, deep dives into how CPU works etc.
Linus Tech Tips has evolved into a tech industry behemoth. Their detailed video on building a PC is quite detailed and runs into 1 hour 40 mins. They do some excellent work on Network Attached Storages and how to set up home server and home tech in general. They have good reviews on gaming laptops and screens as well.
On Paul’s Hardware channel, Paul helps picking PC parts, building PCs, gaming and other stuff. Lookout for Paul’s tech news if you follow the tech industry. He also maintains a price comparison sheet about what parts are available at reasonable prices.
Kyle from BitWit also shares his PC building videos with different parts and techniques. You get different suggestions and ideas for various parts. Kyle also tinkers with custom liquid cooling loops for computers.
Jayz Two Cents also does some informative videos on PC building. His video on what to do after you built your PC (i.e. how to install Windows etc.) is quite informative.
Hardware Canucks is another channel with reviews and PC build guides. They also review laptops and other gear for streaming and content creation.
Techtesters does excellent benchmarking for storage devices SSDs etc. So when you want to buy an internal or external SSD, games, monitors and troubleshooting issues, check out this channel.
If you want to deepdive into the overclocking and motherboards, you can checkout BuildZoid’s channel Actually Hardcore Overclocking.
Some Interesting Links:
Here is Henry Cavill (Superman) building a PC and Kyle from Bitwit reacting to it:
Here is how NOT to build a PC from Verge (again, Kyle from Bitwit reacting to it)
Here are the specs of the PC I built:
Processor: AMD Ryzen 7700X
Motherboard: ASUS ROG Strix X670E-E Wifi
Graphics Card: ZOTAC Nvidia RTX 3060
RAM: Corsair Vengence 64GB DDR5 5200MHz
SSD: 2 of 2TB Kingston NV2
CPU Cooler: Be Quiet Dark Rock Slim
Power Supply: Corsair RM850 Gold
Case: Be Quiet Pure Base 500DX
I already had these from my normal set up:
Keyboard: Logitech MX Keys
Mouse: Logitech MX Master 3
Monitor: Prism+ X340 Pro 144
Would you do a follow up on operating systems? A decade ago I bought a Lenovo laptop with Windows 10. I had an old desktop running Windows 7 and a first gen Surface Pro. The laptop shorted out within six months. The warranty didn’t cover repair or replacement without several hundred dollars just to to do the analysis. So, no more Lenovo. No more Best Buy. The Surface Pro was more of a novelty. The desk works fine still in Windows 7. I purchased a MacBook Pro. Seven years later no problems. Though I like Windows 7 better than the Apple system. So, what have you learned?