PC Upgrade - Semi-Finalised and Budgeted Out Finally!

Right then, phase one parts:

  • CPU - Ryzen 7 3700X - NZ$600 - will use stock cooler for the moment.

  • Motherboard - ASUS RoG Strix 570X-E - NZ$549 - going with it rather than the F as E has better VRM’s for OCing the CPU.

  • RAM - G.Skill Trident Z Neo RGB 16GB 3600MHz CL16 - NZ$279 - ouch, but it turns out it’s latency makes it better than other RAM available in the NZ$200-300 range. And yes, options are way more limited here in NZ for RAM sadly. Also it’s good for OCing :3 Would like a 32GB kit, but can’t fit it in with the current budget timeline.

  • SSD - Samsung 860 EVO 1TB V-NAND 2.5" SSD - NZ$289 - getting it because it’s got a stupidly good lifespan for the price and is a good spot performance/price wise. Using it as main system drive

  • PSU - Corsair HX850 850W Full Modular 80 Plus Platinum - NZ$349 - getting this because a good PSU is worth it’s weight in silver and I want it to last a decade+

  • OS - Windows 10 Home DVD - NZ$209 - le sigh, should have kept the Vista 64 Pro key for upgrading, oh well. Fortunately MS has rolled most of the tools you’d get Pro for into the Home Edition, which means you’re not getting a gimped OS. DVD because they last longer than flash drives.

  • Case - Fractal Design Define 7 mid-tower White - NZ$349 - Paying it off at present - Missed the R6 case, which was $50 cheaper, oh well. Otherwise just as good as it’s older version, has space for 10 HHD + 3 SSD + 1 Optical Drive, plenty of ventilation and semi-decent dust protection. Will have to further dust proof it though, because my ability to keep things tidy is sh*t, but that’s what salvaging parts from my old Corsair 600T is for, since I’m going to dump it. Will recycle it as much as possible, and since it’s mostly metal it’s straight forward to strip the plastic and chuck the rest in the yellow bin.

  • Other parts - 4 2TB HHD’s, old IDE DVD burner using an IDE to Sata bridge to allow me to use it.

Now as for paying for it - NZ PC shops now regularly use part-payment systems like afterpay and laybuy etc, which gets around my bad spending habits vis depression + ADHD and inability to get teh credit. But such is the fun of not being able to work and thinking I’d never need a driver’s license.

At least though I’m lucky enough to be able to pull this off due the better welfare system we have in NZ and my personal circumstances that mean I don’t have to pay rent. Plus for the next 10 years this system is meant to last for - about the only things that will get upgraded are the GPU and possibly the CPU (probably go 2nd hand), plus replacing the SSD/M.2 when they wear out. So on a 10 year basis it’s not too bad a spend. Helps to that CPU’s are running into physical limits more so now, so even the 3700X might still hold up in 10 years.

And so, as long as nothing goes tits up, by the 2nd week of January I’ll have all the parts together to finally install Win 10, though I’ll hack it together and run it via win 10 on the current C:\ once the PSU arrives (uninstall all hardware drivers, and usually you can get windows to work with a new PC) just so I can finally play Satisfactory without it chugging :stuck_out_tongue: As I really want to get a hypertube and rail network up to show off to my friend’s little boy when she and him visit me this New Years for a week. I’m going to so totally blow his little mind :muwhahahahahahaha:

Phase 2 is a GPU, 1TB PCI-e 4.0 M.2 drive, 24’ FreeSync monitor and a Bluray burner for archival purposes. Along with some moar RAM, because I’m a total trash mammal who has far too many tabs open in Firefox and plays RAM devouring games. But that’s spread out 1 by 1 over next year with a bigger run up for the GPU so I don’t get so squeezed on savings. Meaning I can get some other stuff done and finally get myself a queen sized duvet because I’m slumming it with a single wool one at present.