Second Personal Desktop

Topics Learned

The Start

The motivation behind my second personal desktop was the old bones of my first computer. As it was, my first computer had almost no room for improvement after my upgrade at the start of COVID. On top of this, my first computer was having a hard time keeping up with newer games. I wanted to move to a computer with a better foundation that would allow me to upgrade in the future to new components. The specs I decided on are below:

• CPU: Ryzen 3 3100
• Cooler: Hyper 212 Black
• GPU: GTX 1660 Super 6gb
• RAM: 16 gb (2 x 8gb)
• Motherboard: Asrock B450 Pro4
• Storage: 500gb Nvme SSD and 1tb Sata SSD
• PSU: 600 watt Semi Modular EVGA Power Supply
• Case: Corsair 220t RGB Airflow Black
• Fans: 3 InWin 120mm Sirius Loop RGB Fans

Only some of the new aspects of this build gave me trouble. I didn’t have that much experience with managing RGB fans. It is not fun. They have twice as many cables as normal fans. And once you plug them in correctly, you still have to install software to control them properly. It was more tedious than I was used to but it didn’t hinder me too much. The CPU cooler installation was new. This was the first time I bought a higher performance CPU cooler for a build before. This bigger tower cooler was tougher to balance while I screwed in. I screwed it unevenly a couple times and had to start all over again. Bigger cooling systems definitely take more work but the cooling payoff and quietness of operation was worth it.

Last but not least, the three RGB fans I bought were the biggest pain of it all. They were almost impossible to screw in. I put the computer on the ground so I could put most of my weight on the screwdriver while screwing it in. No fan should be that tough to screw in. However, I completed it after a strenuous hour.

It was then onto cable management. I had to be very particular with zip ties because there were so many cables. With all the fans and hidden sata SSD, there wasn’t a lot of room. Because of this, I pulled the USB front panel connector too hard and it snapped out of its motherboard socket. Part of the plastic edging on the socket was ripped off. The pins in the socket on the motherboard were also completely bent. I thought I completely broke my motherboard. However, I used some needle nosed pliers to straighten the pins. The USB connector was then able to fit. I thought because the plastic edge of the socket snapped off, the connector wouldn’t stay in place. However, the USB connector stayed in place fine as if I never messed up anything. God truly blessed me.

After that, the computer was ready for installing windows. The installation went as smoothly as ever including the driver. With newer hardware, the drivers are really easy to find and work very well. I had no issues with anything here. I thought the RGB software might be gimmicky or not work. However, I was wrong and it allowed me to control everything as I liked.