17 Jan 2022

PC Build

I built a new PC last week. I had bought my previous PC from a friend five or so years ago, and it was showing its age in its inability to run games smoothly, which is really the only thing I care about.

I’ve wanted to build a small form factor (SFF) PC ever since I learned about them years ago, so it was exciting to downsize into a smaller, cuter case. I was fortunate to have the moral and technical support of my much more PC-savvy friends throughout the entire process, from selecting parts to actually building it (an hours-long ordeal).

My new small PC, next to my old, bigger PC.
Small.

Specs

  • Case: Cooler Master NR200P
  • CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 5600G
  • Motherboard: Asus STRIX 550-I
  • GPU: AMD Radeon RX Vega 64
  • PSU: Corsair SF600
  • RAM: Corsair Vengeance Pro 16GB
  • Storage: 256GB + 1TB SSD

The GPU and SSDs are taken from my old PC; all other parts are new. I also specced out an Intel build, but decided to go with AMD because it ended up being less expensive.

Build Issues

A hilarious number of things were a struggle during my build, because I am a clown. Here’s a list for posterity:

  • Thought I had to take off the plastic logo piece attached to my CPU cooler, because it seemed like it wouldn’t fit on my motherboard if I left it on. I spent a while struggling to take it off before giving up, and it turned out it was unnecessary.
  • Took a long time to figure out how to screw in the CPU cooler screws.
  • The I/O shield on the case was hard to put in.
  • GPU didn’t go in smoothly at first.
  • Connected power cables in the wrong spots.
  • Used the wrong PSU <> CPU cable.
  • Had to remove PSU several times from my case because it was in the way of other cables and/or components.

Amazingly, it booted up fine when I first turned it on.