#computer builds

AMD Ryzen 5 2600 Processor 3.5 Ghz

MSI Gaming GeForce GTX 1660 Ti 192-bit HDMI/DP 6GB graphics card

MSI Performance Gaming AMD Ryzen 1st and 2nd Gen AM4 M.2 USB 3 DDR4 mobo

Crucial MX500 500GB 3D NAND SATA M.2 Type SSD (for OS and maaaaybe to load sims for fast boot idk)

Western Digital RE4 WD2003FYYS 2TB HHD (general storage)

16GB RAM 

CORSAIR RMX Series (2018), RM550x PSU

Total Build cost: $930 (this includes a new copy of Win 10)

So first of all, full confession, I bought that 2060 back in uh... *checks notes* March?  I think I posted about this somewhere.  And then  it wouldn’t fit in my case, so I bought a new case, and then was real busy for a weekend or two and then... the entire project just... laid forgotten.  Because I’m a lazy bitch like that sometimes.

So yeah for like six months I had a bright shiny new video card and case and didn’t use them.

Last weekend I got fed up with myself and moved it all to the new case.  I showed some pictures to my coworkers and one was like “Ew, why do you still have that Intel stock fan on your processor?”  Also I agreed, it looked like crap and was on sideways so, I decided to get a better processor fan.  Also, the red fan on top was never my favorite, it came with my previous case, and was really harshing the vibe I was going for.  So this week I spent like $40 more on a much better heatsink/fan for the processor and some other purple fans for the top and back.

I would highly NOT reccommend that particular heatsink / fan I got.  It was, by far, the most frustrating part of this entire build and very high in the list of most frustrating components I’ve ever installed on any computer, ever, and I’ve been building my own computers since the late 90′s.  It may be better on some motherboards, but the base that fits on the back of the motherboard doesn’t quite line up with the holes in the motherboard because there’s a slight bump on the processor backing.  So TBH, the fan itself is only anchored on two sides and I’ll be keeping a close eye on if it starts wiggling free in a few months.  

Also, turns out my motherboard is old enough where it doesn’t have the required plug for RGB control for a heatsink/fan with RGB, so I was hoping that I could get it to sync with the video card RGB.  And it would, but since I can’t plug that control in, instead it’ll just be a fun rainbow spin all the time.  It doesn’t match like I want it to.  But that’s my own fault for not having a newer motherboard.  I don’t see myself getting a new MB for another year or two so, for now, this is how it is.

The top fans are a bit brighter than I was hoping for honestly, I was kind of thinking they’d have the softer purple glow like the 2 purple Corsair fans in the front, but honestly, they work and I like them?  I mean I like the color they give off when not looking at the fans themselves, they’re a bit bright when you look at them.   My only real complaint  about them is that they have a cord which can connect to a power supply with two different adapters and there’s not enough space between the two adapter types on the wire, so the much larger and uglier adapter was difficult to hidefor both, but after some finagling, you can barely see them, and not at all in those pictures.

I TRULY love this case and can’t imagine replacing it anytime soon.  The glass front is easy to get off and put back on, the case back is well laid out (even if I didn’t manage the cables as well as I could have), there’s plenty of space and it even thoughtfully left space open to easily put the mount on the heatsink back so i didn’t have to take the entire motherboard out.  (I would have returned the heatsink before doing that, tbh.)

I think I’m done tinkering with it for a year or two, though.  

So, current specs in my Mid-Range gaming PC:

Motherboard: MSI Z370-A Pro Processor: Intel 8th Gen Core i5-8400 Processor Video Card:  Strix GeForce RTX 2060 Case: NZXT H500 RAM: G.SKILL FORTIS Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) 288-Pin DDR4 SDRAM DDR4 2400 (Maybe my next upgrade.) Mouse:  Logitech G600 MMO Gaming Mouse Keyboard: Microsoft Ergonomic keyboard (I really want a comfortable mechanical ergonomic keyboard RGB but haven’t found anything viable yet.) Sound: Logitech G533 Wireless Gaming Headset Monitors: 2x ASUS VE278H 27" Full HD 1920x1080 HDMI VGA Back-lit LED Monitor.  Honestly, after memory, I want to upgrade to get a 4k gaming monitor here next.  But they’re fine. Storage: 2TB hard drive, 3TB in SSDs

B: BoyThat’sALotOfStuff:WD Black 2TB Performance Desktop Hard Disk Drive - Slow but reliable storage for pictures, media, backups of stuff from old hard drives, general file / archive drive.

C: LocalDisk - Samsung 840 Series SSD 250 GB for Windows and misc. programs installed.  

G: Games - Samsung 850 EVO 500TB SSD for video games... only about 50gb free on this one.

M: MassEffect - another 250gb Samsung 840 Series for all 4 Mass Effect games + Mods, also all three Dragon Ag games and The Sims 4 are on there too.  I’d move The Sims off if it wasn’t such a hassle.

S: SoManyGames - Samsung 860 QVO 1TB SSD... Oh yeah uh, I bought this on sale like a year ago and FORGOT and found it while doing some housecleaning recently, and literally installed it yesterday. I think I’m gonna download and install a lot more games now.