custom build

My Custom Computer is finished. Whew!

~ Ron Walker ~ 33 Comments

After waiting 16 years since my last brand-new computer, I decided to build, rather than buy one. I searched YouTube for budget builds. There were several in the $500 budget build range. You might buy the parts for $500 if you’re lucky to get them at the price when the video was made, but they leave out the fact that if you want warranty protection on some components, that can run you another $50-$100. Not to mention the budget builds use the very small cases, and bare components. I needed a mid-sized case, so I could get my big hands in there to work. Plus, larger case, more air, cooler components.

Using the list from a budget build, I upgraded some of the items (most) and began building. I won’t go into detail of where and how much, as the prices change, and even many components get discontinued. I found this out, trying to follow many parts lists.

In the picture below, I had just installed the motherboard, power supply and routing cables. Yes, the label looks upside down on the power supply, the label on the other side is right side up, that is so you can install it either way and the label appear correct through the window on the other side.

The case came with three led fans pre-installed in the front, and one plain fan in the back. There is a tempered glass pane covering the other side of the case. This is a view of the cabling cavity (opposite side from window) of the case. I will install two more led fans in the top, and replace the plain one in the rear with a led fan. Sorry, I like my bling at times. 🙂

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Just getting started

Finished at Last!

I installed led light strips, recessed out of sight, and behind the white foam strip I added (to diffuse the light), to illuminate the main component area behind the glass. 

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There is a mesh air filter over the top fans
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A mesh air filter is located at the bottom of case for power supply air intake
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Front view

I LOVE this keyboard! It clicks/clacks like the old keyboards in bygone days. It is preferred by gamers (which I am not) The body is made of steel, so it has weight and feels sturdy. Slender and so easy to type on. The colors being the constant rainbow, seem to help focus quickly if I need to glance at the keyboard. Three levels of brightness, 9 modes of light movement if you’re into that. The grandkids love watching it when I put one of the modes active. 

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Red Dragon Rainbow keyboard

Components were picked for what I needed and budget. Not for highest performance. :)

  • Motherboard: ASRock B450M PRO4 AM4 AMD Promontory B450 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.1 HDMI Micro ATX AMD Motherboard
  • CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 1600 6-Core, 12-Thread Unlocked 65W Desktop Processor with Wraith Stealth Cooler
  • Ram: 16 GB GeIL 16GB (2 x 8GB) EVO Potenza DDR4 PC4-24000 3000MHz 288-Pin Desktop Memory
  • GPU: Gigabyte Geforce GTX 1050 Ti 4GB GDDR5 128 Bit PCI-E Graphic Card (I have wanted a 1050ti for years).
  • Main Drive (Boot/OS): Crucial BX500 240GB 3D NAND SATA 2.5-Inch Internal SSD
  • Storage Drives: 1TB Seagate HDD 5900 rpm  /  Hitachi Deskstar 3TB 32MB Cache CoolSpin SATAIII 6.0Gb/s 3.5″
  • Power Supply: ThermalTake Smart 500Watt
  • Keyboard: Redragon K551-R Mechanical Gaming Keyboard with Cherry MX Blue Switches “Vara” 104 Keys USB Wired  Steel Construction.
  • Operating System: Linux of course! It’s free!

Have questions about choices of components, please feel free to ask that is how we all learn.

Now, it’s time to enjoy it.
Comments always welcome,