First Personal Desktop

Topics Learned:

The Start

I wanted to build a computer before freshman year of high school because I had a passion for video games. I also wanted to spend the least amount of money possible. I heard building a computer was the most cost-effective way to get into PC gaming. It was the summer after 8th grade and I had plenty of time on my hands.

I started to research all the knowledge I would need to achieve this goal. I had zero prior knowledge and had to learn everything from scratch. I watched YouTube videos on YouTube videos and read articles upon articles. I finally got to the point where I had just enough knowledge and money saved up to order the parts. The next step was convincing my mom that I was responsible enough to take on such a big financial endeavor. My mom forced me to take apart another computer in the house in order to prove I knew enough. She didn’t want me to spend all this money on computer parts just to fail. I completed her trial and ordered the parts for my own PC. The components below made up my computer:

• CPU: i3-3220
• RAM: 8gb (2 x 4gb)
• Motherboard: Gigabyte z77 Extreme 4
• GPU Radeon HD 7850 2gb
• Storage: 1 tb Hard Drive
• PSU: corsair CX500

When the parts finally came, I took an entire day just to mount the motherboard in the case with the ram and CPU installed. After that, I became very confused with all the wiring. I consulted all the manuals and internet resources I could. I had no one to help me at the time so I became very frustrated.

Therefore, I put off completing my computer for a couple days. Once I returned to the project, I finished the wiring and was prepared for my first test boot. I hit the button and magically it all turned on and I received a post on the monitor. A great success moment for me.

However in hindsight, I realize I did multiple things wrong. I plugged the front panel connectors incorrectly into the motherboard. In fact, I think the only connector I got right was the power switch. Besides that, none of the front IO worked. I also didn’t cable manage. First of all, the case was terrible for cable management. I couldn’t even thread the big 16 pin power connector through the back. It just went straight up through the middle of the case as can be seen in pictures below.

The last thing I did wrong was the software in general. At the time, I didn’t know you had to purchase windows to install it. I could not afford the 100$ price tag. That was just too much. At this point, I just laid my computer to the side and started to save up for the software. A month and some time passed. I began to think I would never get to the finish line.

Luckily for me, SSDs were becoming more regularly adopted as small boot drives in computers. My dad decided to hop on the trend and bought himself an SSD to install in his computer. He then realized he was in the same predicament as me and needed a windows installation disc. When he went to the store to buy himself a windows disk, he bought one for me as well. Bless his soul. I was very surprised because my parents never spend that kind of money on me unless it was a holiday or something. He truly resurrected my computer from the ashes.

I installed the windows onto my 1tb hard drive. Then it was onto the big daunting driver install. I’m thankful that process is a lot easier nowadays. Back then, USB 3.0 was brand new. Even though my motherboard and case had USB 3.0, I had to install multiple USB drivers from the motherboard manufacturing website. All in all, it was a terrible experience installing drivers solely because of this USB complication. I tried everything: installing different versions, uninstalling and reinstalling, searching for drivers on windows update, everything I could think of. The USB would never work correctly. Sometimes the USB wouldn’t register the device even though it was plugged in. I just unplugged and replugged in devices until they were recognized. I then never ever touched the USB devices again. It was a crappy fix but it worked. I actually ended up installing my drivers much better than my dad and he asked me to fix his video driver issue that he was encountering. I was able to help him no problem.

I used the computer like that for 4 years. I used it all the way up to college. Before I left for college, I unplugged the desktop and put it in my closet in my room for storage. I proceeded to not touch the computer for 3 years.

The Upgrade

Fast forward to spring 2020. Covid was hitting and ruining everyone’s lives. I decided that I would get back into computer gaming because we would be locked down inside a lot. I decided to look at my old computer and upgrade the components. The upgrades I decided upon are below.

• CPU: i3-3220 → i7-3770
• Cooling: intel stock cooler → Thermaltake Gravity i2 96W
• RAM: 8gb (2 x 4gb) → 16gb (4 x 4gb)
• Storage: added an Adata SU635 240gb SSD
• GPU: Radeon HD 7850 2gb →  RX 570 4gb

As I was making these upgrades, I realized all the errors I made previously when first building the computer. I fixed the front panel connectors so everything worked on the front. I also was able to fix the USB problem. Not without bumps in the road however. I installed windows through a USB device this time. The motherboard only allows you to use its USB 2.0 ports for boot devices. If the computer doesn’t boot into windows to use the USB driver, basically all the USB 3.0 ports are useless even if they are properly connected. This was definitely the worst designed motherboard I have ever used. I tried to install windows from a USB 3.0 port and the computer would have a blue screen. The error message that it would give me would send me on a wild goose chase. None of the error messages I got were indicative of the problem. I just assumed it was the USB because everything I tried wouldn’t fix this. After trying every USB port, I finally got windows boot media to load on one of the 2.0 ports.

From here, it was smooth sailing. I installed all the drivers for the computer without a hiccup. Also, once I installed the USB drivers, I received zero USB issues. After not using the computer for so long, there was a new USB driver update. This update saved my computer. I was able to resolve every issue I had with the computer previously. I also messed around in the BIOS much more this time to tailor the fan speed to my liking. Before I ran all the fans at max speed. Which would explain why my computer would have so much dust in it. With the new fan speeds, the computer was also much quieter.

All in all, I was very happy with the PC. The difference an SSD made was night and day. The fact I was able to fix all the issues I experienced before was also very fulfilling. There was an obvious advancement in learning over the years.

I used this upgraded computer for almost a full year. I ended up selling it in winter of 2020 because I wanted to build a brand-new computer that would allow me to upgrade in future. With the motherboard on this computer, I was at the limit of enhancements I could make to improve it. What I needed was a new foundation.