Build Log - Hoshī

[Eschew]

Introduction

Hey there! Welcome to 'Chew’s PC build log!

 

It’ll be a bit of an odd build log, because... eh... the PC’s already built. But! Opportunity! I’m switching cases -- meaning I’m pretty much disassembling and reassembling most of my system -- and I thought I’d take the chance to write up a build log while I’m at it.

 

I hope you like reading, because I like writing, hehe.

 

What's Old News

• Parts List
• Trolley-PC - 'Chew's First Build
• ESCHEW-PC - 'Chew's First Case Build

 

What's New News

• Non-Generic Name!
• Disassembly and Reassembly!
• Non-Photogenic Photos!
• Future Updates...?

 

---

 

Name

Names are important. A good name expresses the personality of its bearer well, and likewise, a good title-bearer should live up to its name. The main reason I didn’t "officially" name my build until now was that I couldn’t think of a suitable name for it.

 

So, what's up with "Hoshī"?

 

*Deep breath.*

I chose a weeb name because I AM A WEEB AND I'M PROUD TO BE A WEEB.

*Clears throat.*

 

For real, though, the name crossed my mind as I was listening to 星降る夜のラピス (The Starry Night’s Lapis), a song collab by TUMENECO and GET IN THE RING. It is absolutely one of my favorite songs -- perhaps my favorite, period. I love everything about the song -- from the arrangement, to the vocals, to the lyrics -- as well as other contextual factors -- like it being a collaborative effort between my two favorite Touhou doujin circles, or it having two versions sung by my two favorite Touhou vocalists みぃ (Mie) and yukina.

 

YouTube Lyric Video (Fan-Made)

Spoiler

At the 2:01 mark, the song goes: "ねえ、星が綺麗。" That particular part of the song struck me vividly.

• The lyrics bear an uncanny resemblance to the romantic phrase, "月が綺麗。" Translated literally, it means, "The moon is beautiful." Figuratively, however, 月 (つき, or tsuki) sounds much like 好き (すき, or suki); the former means "Moon," the latter means "Fondness," "Like," or "Love" (in the right context). Hence, "月が綺麗。" could also be interpreted as "好きが綺麗。" or "Love is beautiful." It's a poetic way of confessing attraction to someone.
• In the song's case, 星 (ほし, or hoshi) sounds similar to 欲しい (ほしい, or hoshī; extended ī sound); the former means "Star," the latter means "Want," "Wish," or "Desire." Thus, "星が綺麗。" (The stars are beautiful.) could also suggest "欲しいが綺麗。" (Want is beautiful.) It makes a sublime sort of sense in relation to the song. (Hehe, sub-lime, ayyy...)

 

欲しい, or Hoshī, is very appropriate for my build. The entire purpose of my PC revolves around frivolous, unadulterated want -- as opposed to, say, the need for a server, workstation, or a backup system.

• I wanted to own my first desktop PC.
• I wanted to experience building my own PC with parts that I picked out.
• I wanted to use the PC to play games at graphics settings that my laptop couldn't handle.
• I wanted PC building bragging rights.

 

Also, the name's short and sweet. Purposely understated and unassuming, and a perfect fit for my build.

 

---

 

Current Parts List

Component	Selection	Price
CPU	AMD Ryzen 5 3600X 3.8 GHz 6-Core Processor	$159.99
CPU Cooler	Noctua NH-D15 chromax.black CPU Cooler	$99.95
Motherboard	ASUS PRIME X570-PRO Motherboard	$210.00
Graphics Card	SAPPHIRE NITRO+ Radeon RX 6950 XT PURE Graphics Card	$959.99
Memory	G.Skill Trident Z Neo 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR4-3600 CL16 RAM	$139.99
Storage	WD_BLACK SN770 500 GB NVME Solid State Drive Seagate BarraCuda 1 TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive Seagate BarraCuda 4 TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive Inland Professional 240 GB SATA Solid State Drive	$Dennn $10.82 $Dennn $0.00
Power Supply	EVGA SuperNOVA 1000 P6 Power Supply CyberPower CP1500PFCLCD UPS	$224.99 $199.49
Case	Fractal Design Define 7 Compact	$88.99
Case Fans	1 × Noctua NF-F12 chromax.black 4 × Noctua NF-A14 chromax.black	$Dennn $94.50
Operating System	Microsoft Windows 10 Education 64-bit	$0.00
Monitor	Sceptre C325B-QWD168 32" 2560 x 1440 165 Hz Monitor Sceptre E255B-1658A 24.5" 1920 x 1080 165 Hz Monitor	$340.97 $163.16
Keyboard	K-4398 - 43Studio 4398 Keyboard Eighty #391 - Mode Designs First Edition Eighty Keyboard (Dark) R2-968 - REALFORCE R2 TKL Keyboard MGK64 - GK64 Keyboard	$Too Much $Too Much $260.37 $Dennn
Mouse	Logitech G703 LIGHTSPEED Wireless Mouse Logitech M510 Wireless Mouse Kensington Wireless Mouse-for-Life (K72392A/K74532A)	$44.99 $8.00 $17.99
Sound	HIFIMAN ANANDA Planar Magnetic Headphones Drop + HIFIMAN HE-35X Dynamic Headphones Antlion ModMic Wireless Fostex HP-A4BL DAC/AMP	$550.00 $55.00 $90.00 $Dennn
Wireless Adapter	ASUS PCE-AX58BT PCI-E Wireless Adapter	$61.79
	Grand Total (Shipping and Taxes Excluded)	$3,823.99 + $Too Much + $Dennn

 

Parts Update History

Spoiler

• [02/19/2020]: PC Parts List
• [03/29/2020]: Trolley-PC Build
• [04/12/2020]: EVGA DG-75 Case Update
• [09/29/2020]: Noctua NH-D15 CPU Cooler Update
• [12/06/2020]: Carbon CableMod Extensions Update
• [02/13/2021]: ASUS PCE-AX58BT PCI-E Wireless Adapter Update
• [03/02/2021]: ASUS PRIME X570-PRO Motherboard Update
• [03/03/2021]: Minor Adjustments Update
• [06/19/2021]: Expansion n' Extensions n' Stuff!
• [01/12/2022]: Sceptre C325B-QWD168 Monitor
• [01/28/2022]: Inland Professional 240 GB SATA SSD
• [10/12/2022]: SAPPHIRE NITRO+ RX 6950 XT PURE Graphics Card + EVGA SuperNOVA 1000 P6 PSU
• [01/29/2023]: WD_BLACK SN770 500 GB NVMe SSD + G.Skill Trident Z Neo 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR4-3600 RAM

 

---

 

Case Comparison

Fractal Design Define 7 Compact and EVGA DG-75. Purely aesthetic and physical size comparison. I'm not GamersNexus, lol.

 

Switching out cases, from an EVGA DG-75 to a Fractal Design Define 7 Compact, because I wanted the PC to sit up on my desk, instead of lying about on the floor alla time. The DG-75 case is waaay too big, but the Define 7 Compact is a noice fit.

 

Fractal Design Define 7 Compact - Solid/Mesh Top Panel

 

Fractal Design Define 7 Compact - Mesh Top Panel/No Panel

I've heard others saying they don't like the disorganized, irregular design of the mesh panel, especially with the unsymmetrical dust filter underneath. I... kinda like the mesh design...? But I have to agree with the latter part, the case definitely looks a little bit odd with the mesh plus filter peeping out from the holes. Good thing it'll be hidden from my view 95% of the time!

Fractal Design Define 7 Compact - Solid Top Panel

It's a simple sheet of metal. I love it. I'm assuming that fabric is noise-dampening material?

 

Left: Fractal Design Define 7 Compact, Right: EVGA DG-75

Length matters, when the d**k is tiny and the case is too big. (Desk, y'all, DESK.)

 

Top/Right: EVGA DG-75, Bottom/Left: Fractal Design Define 7 Compact

They're about the same height. Define 7 Compact has slightly more chonk (width), more CPU cooler clearance.

 

---

 

Disassembly and Reassembly

Double the ass...embly.

 

Disassembly Process

• Graphics Card
• Hard Drive (No Pictures)
• Cable Connections
• Motherboard
• PSU + PSU Cables
• Water Break

 

EVGA DG-75 System Interior - Hihi

 

Graphics Card Removal - Unscrewing PCIe Slots

 

ASRock Radeon RX 5600 XT Challenger D OC Graphics Card

 

Disconnecting (PITA) Cables

Motherboard 24-pin and CPU 4+4-pin connectors are always a PITA to remove. The ones that came with my PSU, anyway.

 

Motherboard Standoff Screw Removal

'Chew recommends a magnetic screwdriver. Second pic had around an inch of space to maneuver, my hands are too big to fit in that sorta gap.

 

GIGABYTE B450 AORUS PRO WIFI ATX Motherboard

Also attached: AMD Ryzen 5 3600X processor, Noctua NH-D15 CPU cooler, TEAMGROUP T-FORCE VULCAN Z 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR4-3200 RAM, Inland Premium 512 GB M.2 PCIe NVMe SSD.

Oh. I... seem to have left the wireless mouse dongle in the USB port.

 

PSU Removal - Sliiide...

 

EVGA SuperNOVA GA 650 W PSU + PITA Cables

 

EVGA DG-75 Case - Barebones (Hehe, Nekkiiid)

Didn't pack it up immediately, 'cos some hardware was still attached to EVGA DG-75 case parts/accessories (e.g. HDD mount, PSU mount). Lazy way to keep screws together, lol.

 

Water Break - Stay hydrated!

Not-LTTStore.com

 

Reassembly Process

• Case
• PSU + PSU Cables
• (Hard Drive Rack)
• Cable Routing
• Motherboard
• Graphics Card
• PC POST + Startup
• 4-Hour Sleep
  • 'Chew sleep. Not PC sleep.
• Desk Rearrangement

 

Fractal Design Define 7 Compact - On the Surgery Table!

 

Opening the Case - Smooth Side Panel

Thumbscrews, thumbscrews... Wait. There aren't any screws or handholds.

 

Opening the Case - From the Top

Straddling the case to get inside it.

 

Opening the Case - POP!

I popped it's cherry, huehuehue.

 

Fractal Design Define 7 Compact - First Barebones Look

Why hello there, you pretty lil' thing.

 

PSU Installation - Prepping

 

HDD Tray Cover - Thinking About Cable Routes

*Stares at HDD rack and HDD rack covers in confusion.*

*'Chew.exe is loading.*

Oh! I should remove the HDD rack.

 

HDD Rack Removal - From the Bottom

Ooh, the dust filter slides in and out. HDD rack can also slide along the rails, flexible positioning.

 

HDD Rack Removal - Nyoop!

HDD rack trays must be removed before nyooping the HDD rack. There's not enough clearance, otherwise.

 

HDD Rack + Case Accessories

Accessories are packaged like candy. 10/10 would prefer over Halloween candy. Gimme alla screws. Wait, I mean--

 

HDD Tray/Mount Comparison

'Chew's first time installing into a HDD tray. Odd holes confused me for a bit, 'til I read the manual.

Define 7 Compact also comes with noise-dampening marshmallows. (⊃゜▽゜)⊃━□□□

 

PSU Installation

Halfway through fiddling with the HDD rack, I forgot why I was playing around with it.

Back on track... PSU. Install. Yes. 

 

Cable Routing - I Feel a Migraine Coming On...

Protip: Install the HDD rack before planning cable routes. 'Chew did not follow the protip.

On the bright side, front panel headers. Nifty lil' thingymajig came with my GIGABYTE motherboard. Plug the itty-bitty parts into their labelled slots in the nifty thingymajig, then plug the thingymajig into the motherboard's front panel header pins.

 

Cable Routing - MIGRAINE

You... do not want to know how long this took me.

It took me a full two hours. 'Chew was being indecisive, FFS.

 

Motherboard Standoff Screws Installation

Once again, 'Chew reeeaaally recommends a magnetic screwdriver.

 

Define 7 Compact Progress - Interior

FINAL STRETCH, LET'S GO LET'S GOOO.

Dooon't worry about the floppy USB-C cable, my motherboard doesn't support that feature ahahahahaha...

 

Graphics Card Installation - THE FINAL SCREW

 

Define 7 Compact Hardware Installation - Complete!

 

POST + Startup

YEEEEEEEEES!

Also, 2:30 AM, when I have to wake at 7 AM! #PoorLifeDecisions!

 

Sleep Time

 

Current Desk Setup

Fast-forward past 30 min briefly cleaning up, 20 min shower + hair drying, 4 hour sleep, 20 min morning routine, 1 hour desk arrangement, and TA-DAAAH!

I forgot to peel the thingy off.

 

---

 

Post-Hardware Installation List (Windows OS)

With the hardware part done, it’s software time! Or, er, it would be time for software, if this were a fresh build.

 

Installation list included anyway, because it’d be handy for Future ‘Chew to have a clear-cut order of things. Based off JayzTwoCents’s Guide (YouTube) and personal preferences. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

1. Windows 10 OS Installation Media (Offline)
   • Recommended: Enter Product Key (For Correct Windows 10 Install)
2. Disk Management (For SDDs/HDDs)
3. Windows Updates (Online)
4. Preferred Browser (Chrome, Firefox, Etc.)
5. NVIDIA/AMD Graphics Driver Update
6. Display Preferences/Monitor Settings
7. RAM XMP Settings
8. Motherboard Drivers/Updates (Chipset, Ethernet/Bluetooth, Audio, Sound Card, RGB Software, Etc.)
9. Essential Software (7Zip, Java, LibreOffice, Malwarebytes, Notepad++, Etc.)
   • Ninite Customizable Software Package
   • Codec Pack (K-Lite Codec Pack, Media Player Codec Pack, Shark007's Codec Pack, Etc.)
10. Additional Software (Discord, GIMP, Skype, Steam, VLC, Etc.)
    • Ninite Customizable Software Package
    • HWiNFO, CrystalDiskInfo, MSI Afterburner
    • Peripherals Software/Firmware (QMK Toolbox, QMK MSYS, VIA, REALFORCE Software, Logitech G HUB, Etc.)
    • Folding@home Client and BOINC Manager

 

---

 

Closing Comments

Thanks for reading through my sleep-deprived spiel, I hope it was somewhat entertaining? I certainly found it a lot of fun tearing down and putting back my system! Good learning experience, too; thought about things that I could've done to make the process more efficient, and also reminded me that I'm still a novice when it comes to PC building. The largest time investment in my case was cable management -- I could've just jammed all my cables in whatever gap there was, but OCD is terrible curse.  Those long and grueling two hours paid off in the end, though, I think.

 

Ow, the migraines are coming back, ow ow ow...

 

I fully realize that my build is far from balanced. For $1,300, I wager others could draw up a significantly more powerful system. But note that I'm no OC'er, and I have very minimal interest in "min-maxing" my build's price-to-performance. It works perfectly well for my current use case, and I've yet to encounter any detrimental hardware issues.

 

*VERY LOUD KNOCKING ON WOOD.*

 

Though, I do plan to fit s'more things in my system. If or when I do, I'll post updates in this thread.

 

Once again, huuuge thankies for reading!

[Haro]

Looks great!

Now peel the plastic off please! /s you don't have to.

[SavageNeo]

6 minutes ago, Eschew said:

Eschew

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bless you!

 

Anyway nice build! My build is coming up soon too! When my motherboard wil come from RMA. Darn it

[Mateyyy]

Fractal Define gang

[Vishera]

1 hour ago, Eschew said:

GIGABYTE B450 AORUS PRO WIFI ATX Motherboard

Did you know that this motherboard is heavily based on the Gigabyte B450 Gaming X?

I bought the Gaming X for $77,it was crazy cheap when i bought it.

Same VRMs,same heatsinks,PCB design is similar.

 

Both have a PCI-E slot with just a single lane at the bottom,but on the AORUS PRO WIFI it's in a full X16 size to make it look better.

 

B450 AORUS PRO WIFI:

Spoiler

 

B450 Gaming X:

Spoiler

 

[Guest]

CUTE.

[DoctorNick]

Looking good! Very clean! Unlike other weebs. Also:

 

[Eschew]

Hoshī Update - Carbon CableMod Extensions

About time I stopped procrastinating and fitted Hoshī with Den's CableMod extensions.

...But 'Chew was legitimately busy, too, m'kay?

 

Hoshī - Before

~Hello My Baby~

 

Hoshī - After

~Hello My Honey~

 

Motherboard 24-Pin ATX Cable Extension - Close Up

Thicc.

 

CPU 4+4-Pin EPS Cable Extension - Close Up

Smol.

 

...I posted the Status Update first, and literally the second after I did that, I remembered I had written a build log for the express purpose of sharing Hoshī updates. 

Lemme put on muh Dunce hat and go sit in the corner now. 

 

BUT HEEEEEEEEEY~ Hoshī got more sexy points. 

[Guest]

It's heccin' beautiful!

[Eschew]

Hoshī Update - ASUS PCE-AX58BT PCI-E Wireless Adapter

...Don't be a 'Chew.

Don't buy frivolous things that you absolutely do not need and that are redundant because you already have a thing that does the same thing.

Wait that's all my keyboards.

 

Context

• Hoshī's current motherboard, the GIGABYTE B450 AORUS PRO WIFI, already has built-in WiFi and Bluetooth.
• ASUS PCE-AX58BT PCI-E Wireless Adapter... is for WiFi and Bluetooth.
• ...IT'S CALLED PREPARATION, M'KAY? I'm preparing for whenever I'm swapping out the AORUS MOBO for one with USB Type-C front headers.
• Also I needed to check that the ASUS PCE-AX58BT Wireless Adapter functions as intended, because it arrived in not-so pristine condition.

 

Hoshī + ASUS PCE-AX58BT + Electric Duster

Might as well take the opportunity to clean 'er insides up a bit.

 

Hoshī - Interior

There's a thin layer of dust here n' there.

Ah. Case fans were also on my shopping list. 

 

Hoshī - PCIe Slots

...Dat clearance for the PCIe x1 slot, lol.

Ahahaha... It is nooooooooot gonna fit under the Noctua chonky boi.

 

ASUS PCE-AX58BT - Installed

PERFECT FIT.

 

Hoshī - ASUS PCE-AX58BT Installed + Cleaned Up!

There was an unhealthy puff of dust when I blew the electric duster through Hoshī.

 

Wireless Networks

Wi-Fi is the B450's onboard WiFi. WiFi 2 is the ASUS PCE-AX58BT.

Was worried how the PC would handle having two wireless network adapters, seems it just works seamlessly?

Awesome.

 

Does it work? Yus.

Does it make PC faster? IDK n' IDC, lol. 

[Guest]

17 hours ago, Eschew said:

Does it make PC cuter?

Yes.

[Eschew]

Hoshī Update - ASUS PRIME X570-PRO Motherboard

Uhhh...

 

The socially-acceptable, practical reason I swapped out my GIGABYTE B450 AORUS PRO for an ASUS PRIME X570-PRO is to make use of the case's USB Type-C front header, which the GIGABYTE B450 doooeeesn't support.

 

The more important reason was the GIGABYTE AORUS MOBO's obnoxious gamer-y aesthetics was getting on my nerves. 

(Performance-wise, the B450 was perfectly fine for my use case, and the X570 is prooobably overkill for a Ryzen 5 3600X, ahahaha...)

 

Hoshī + GIGABYTE B450 AORUS PRO Motherboard

...Friggin' obnoxious angles and weird fisting eagle logo. 

 

Hoshī + ASUS PRIME X570-PRO Motherboard

Yeeey~ 

Now to slap the case's opaque, metal side panels back on my baby and not see its internals for another year. 

I CAN FEEL Y'ALL JUDGING. I DO WHAT I MUST TO EASE MY MIND, M'KAY?!

 

つかれたあ。

There was a lot of crawling around, lifting, bending over, screwing, kneeling down, grunting, and blowing involved...

 

 

Ahhh, but fer real, my muscles are gonna be hecka sore tomorrow.

 

Post-Hardware Concerns and Thingymabobbies

• Reinstall OS?: Turns out, I don't have to do a clean install of Windows 10, and to go through all the activation hullabaloo -- at least, not when going from a B450 to an X570 motherboard? Will keep an eye out and see if I run into any problems.
  • Reinstall MS Office?: While Windows 10 activation was one thing, keeping my MS Office 2019 license was the bigger concern on my mind. Thing is, I... don't have (read: neglected to copy ) the full product key, and I'm very uncertain whether the license has been linked to my MS account. It doesn't show up in my Services/Subscriptions/Orders, since I got it from a third-party (OnTheHub/Kivuto, 'cos I could get it free of charge with my school account). The best I could do was retrieve the last five digits of my product key, but that isn't enough for a reactivation, in the event that MS Office doesn't acknowledge.
  • Reinstall MS Office - Plans B + C: Should the MS Office 2019 product key be lost, Plan B was coughing up $15 to access the key from OnTheHub/Kivuto, and Plan C was to install MS Office 365 instead, which I could also get from my school account. IIRC, I can only use that 365 license for a limited number of times, however. I'd prefer to use MS Office without using up those limits and without being signed in to my school email, buuut, meh.
• WiFi: Was a bit worried about wireless access, but the WiFi adapter worked seamlessly! Already had the drivers for it installed on my M.2 NVME SSD (ASUS PCE-AX58BT PCI-E Wireless Adapter Update), so several steps were sidestepped there.
• USB Type-C: Confirmed that it's definitely functional. Sweeet! Now to take advantage of it perhaps only once per two months, kek. I don't have too many USB Type-C devices lying around, lmao. But hey, IF I ever needed that functionality, I have it now! 

I definitely over-thought and fretted way too much on the motherboard. The hardest thing was moving hardware around, and that was more tedious than difficult, really. Not having to reinstall Windows cut out a lot of headache from my schedule this week.

 

Off to the slep now, and to wake up with protesting muscles in the morning. 

...And then to clean up the mess I made the night before. 

[Mateyyy]

That's the board I was going to get when I was planning my new build almost two years ago! Well, if I had gone AMD.

Hoshī do be looking real nice! 

11 minutes ago, Eschew said:

There was a lot of crawling around, lifting, bending over, screwing, kneeling down, grunting, and blowing involved...

11 minutes ago, Eschew said:

Off to the slep now, and to wake up with protesting muscles in the morning. 

[Eschew]

Hoshī Update - Minor Adjustments

Preparing to sell Hoshī's excess, unused parts to a coworker! Specifically, the GIGABYTE B450 AORUS PRO WIFI motherboard and the EVGA DG-75 case.

...Thank the heavens. I've been meaning to pawn off the case for a while, but whomst the heck would want a giant glass hotbox like the DG-75, lol?

 

And, since I want to be a decent human being, I'm selling both parts boxed with 99% of their original accessories. Uh, 99%, because I need the one M.2 screw that came with the GIGABYTE board; my ASUS PRIME X570-PRO was missing it's M.2 screws + standoffs baggie. (Isok, I prodded the seller and they refunded me $10 for the inconvenience. )

 

GIGABYTE B450 AORUS PRO WIFI Box Contents

• GIGABYTE B450 AORUS PRO WIFI Motherboard
• M.2 Screws + Standoffs (1 × M.2 Screw in Hoshī)
• 2 × SATA Cables (1 × SATA Cable in Hoshī)
• 1 × Wi-Fi Antenna (In Hoshī)
• 1 × G Connector
• 1 × Motherboard Driver Disk
• 1 × User's Manual

 

Den's NVME M.2 SSD Heat Spreader (Featured in Goodie Bags! Status Update!)

Some dingus decided it would be a stellar idea to keep the GIGABYTE's heat spreader stuck to Hoshī's boot drive.

Dingus be me. 'Chew the dingus.

Miiight be a good idea to swap out the heat spreader with another one lying around, especially if I wanna sell the GIGABYTE board with it's OG parts.

 

Hoshī - NVME SSD + Heat Spreader Reinstalled

[Eye twitches.]

 

Hoshī - Graphics Card Reinstalled

Slightly better...?

[...Eye twitches.]

FEKKIT, I'm adding M.2 standoffs to my Amazon shopping list, FRIGGITY FRECK FECK. 

 

Hoshī - Cables (Before)

Ah, I never did show the cable run in the previous update, did I?

SATA cable that came with the GIGABYTE board is in the bottom-left corner.

...Don't look at the rat's nest. DON'T.

 

Hoshī - Cables (After)

Cleaned 'er up a lil'. Left side doesn't look as hectic as before, methinks.

 

Hoshī - Antenna

Swapped out the GIGABYTE antenna with the one that came with the ASUS PCE-AX58BT.

Huh... I might like this better? Reminds me of Zero Two, lol. 

I haven't watched Darling in the FRANXX. 

 

GIGABYTE B450 AORUS PRO WIFI Motherboard - Box Contents

There we go. Baggies aren't the original baggies, but almost all of the MOBO's original accessories are in there.

Missing one M.2 screw should be fine? Coworker did tell me he only has SATA SSDs, no NVME ones.

 

EVGA DG-75... Box

Heeey, my hoarding habits paid off for this one -- it still has it's OG packaging with OG form-fitting foam inside! 

...I'd open it up and check it still contains it's original accessories and whatnot, but I haven't had dinner and am slightly hunger. 

 

Ahhh... Got a good feeling my coworker'll take the MOBO, just a bit worried that the case might not sell (it do be kinda sucky). Money hasn't been exchanged yet, and coworker is still window-shopping/researching parts versus prices for his build. Hooopefully an enticingly low price and some honeyed words will move him, lol. 

[Eschew]

Hoshī Update - Expansion n' Extensions n' Stuff!

Chonky update! 

 

Hoshī + Upgrades!

PC's actually been sitting with the side panel off since... April?

Long story short, CableMod's 24-Pin ATX Cable Extension was causing BSODs.

Got a replacement cable (with Den's help! ) two weeks ago.

 

Upgrades:

1 × Noctua NF-F12 chromax.black Case Fan ()

4 × Noctua NF-A14 chromax.black Case Fans

1 × Seagate BarraCuda 4 TB HDD (ST4000DM005) ()

1 × CableMod 12-Pin ATX Cable Extension (Replacement)

 

Hoshī - Cable Management

Y'know when you put a lot of effort into a thing.

Only to tear it down later?

Yeah...

 

Hoshī - Rat's Nest

Ugh. Cursed.

But, gotta deal with the rat's nest to get at the HDD rack.

 

Hoshī - Underside

Props to Fractal Design for the rail design, much appreciated.

Lets me slide the HDD rack without fully removing its screws.

If say, I needed to get at the bottom slot (currently blocked), I give the rack a temporary slide to the right, and I can pull it out.

 

HDD Tray + Seagate 4 TB HDD

...I'm gonna game on it.

For the record, this ithe 7200 RPM one, not the 5400 RPM.

 

HDD Dampener

I only noticed the shape of this thing now.

Uh, eight months after building in the Define 7 Compact case.

And... I'm fairly certain I installed it wrong the first time around. 

 

HDD Tray + HDD Dampeners

Dampeners in the same plane as the HDD tray.

Makes sense, as that way, they can make contact with both the vibrating HDD and the screws holding it to the tray.

'Chew is the biggest derp. 

 

HDD Tray + HDD Assembled

Assembled (). Heh.

 

HDD + CableMod Cable Extension Installed

I actually started with the cable extension first.

Too busy muttering colorful words under my breath to take pics of it at the time.

Don't look at the HDD corner. Don't.

 

Hoshī - Front Panel Removed

Like the rest of the Define 7 Compact, removal of the front panel is completely tool-less.

Just, yoink!

 

Hoshī - Back + Front

Featuring the Define 7 Compact's default fans:

1 × Fractal Design Dynamic X2 GP-12 Case Fan

1 × Fractal Design Dynamic X2 GP-14 Case Fan

 

Case Fans

 

Hoshī - Noctua Fans Installed!

This took me waaay too much effort.

Ran into clearance issues between the top fans and the 4+4 pin EPS Cable Extension.

Also, please ignore the cable leading up to that fan in the front. 

 

Hoshī - Back + Front

Yaaas!

Having all the fan slots occupied makes 'Chew super happy.

 

Data Transfer - Media (D:) to Backup Plus (E:)

Before the hardware upgrades, I made a backup of the Media drive on my Seagate Backup Plus.

Partly 'cos I had something to restore, if I ran into issues moving all my games to the new HDD.

Also partly to get an idea how fast or how slowly data would transfer.

Ignore the Windows estimate, the copy-pasta took mebbe an hour, for 200 GB of stuff.

 

BIOS

HDDs detected? Check.

Fans running? Check.

(Yes, I plugged fans into the AIO and Water Pump headers. Cable lengths, yanno.)

Cable Extension, I'll have to check over the next week. Hopefully power delivery will be stable and no BSODs. 

 

4 TB HDD Automatically Detected!

Didn't have to fanagle with Disk Management and pull up YouTube tutorials!

Den is to thank.

 

Data Transfer - Media (D:) to Local Disk (E:)

Hm... Don't remember how long it took. I think I was cleaning up tool and leftover accessories after the hardware upgrade?

Eh. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

After copy-pasta'ing my games over, went through the tedious part of "repairing" game clients and correcting game directories.

 

Steam is easy and painless, everything's done automatically and in an instant.

Origin needs the user to find the game's new folder, and can verifying files take a while, depending on how large the game is.

Ubisoft Connect is also easy and painless, seems to be automatic, but I only have one Ubisoft game to test.

 

---

 

So tired.

Was sweating buckets throughout the whole hardware installation. Sweat from nervous-stress mode, combined with Cali's suuucky summer season.

...'Chew hates the heat.

 

Off to take a long, comfortably cool shower.

Something something stay hydrated something something. 

[Eschew]

Hoshī Update - Extra Storage

Got an Inland Professional 240GB SATA SSD for free a while back, but I hadn’t had the motivation to use it 'til now.

 

Inland Professional 240GB SATA SSD + SATA Cables

So... About two days ago, I realized I didn’t have extra SATA data cables lying around. 

Thankfully, I managed to mooch some SATA cables from the coworker I sold the GIGABYTE MOBO to.

Bless. 

 

Hoshī - Cable Management (Before)

 

Hoshī - Cable Management (After)

The freaking rat’s nest is growing.

…Just gonna slap the side panel on and forget about it. 

 

Disk Management
New drive is the F: Drive.
Yes, it’s called NSFW. Yes, it’s in plain sight in File Explorer.
It's reverse psychology. Think I'd keep NSFW on my PC? 

 

---

 

Disk Management - New Volumes

Been a while since I last touched Disk Management, so I looked up Jayztwocent’s Post-Build Guide.

Steps listed below for Future 'Chew’s reference, since she disdains watching video tutorials.

1. Start Disk Management.
2. Initialize Disk should appear for new drives.
   • Select GPT (GUID Partition Table).
   • The new drive will appear with a black bar and the Unallocated description.
3. Right-click on the new drive and select New Simple Volume.
   • Specify Volume Size:
     • Simple Volume Size in MB: Default Value.
   • Assign a Drive Letter.
   • Format Partition:
     • File System: NTFS.
     • Allocation Unit Size: Default.
     • Volume Label: Drive Name.
     • Perform a Quick Format.
4. Complete the New Simple Volume Wizard, and the new drive should appear in File Explorer.

[Eschew]

Hoshī Update - vBIOS Update

As I understand it, when it comes to vBIOS and flashing, the mantra is, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”

 

[Proceeds to flash vBIOS.]

 

Someone: Is the graphics card broke?

’Chew: Neu*.
Someone: So, why?
’Chew: Yes. 

Spoiler

Asterisk (*): Okay, this is not entirely truthful. There have been multiple instances that I’ve run into AMD driver timeouts, but these happen so infrequently and so randomly that I can’t pinpoint the exact cause. Could be the infamous but incredibly vague “AMD drivers” issue, could also be something else.

 

For the record, I have tried DDU + reinstalling fresh drivers. No dice.
Also -- respectully -- I’m not currently looking for help. I appreciate the thought, but please do not jump in with proposals that end up corrupting this Build Log into a troubleshooting thread.

 

---

 

Flashing the vBIOS

Specific for the ASRock AMD Radeon RX 5600 XT Challenger D, and written for Future 'Chew’s reference. Doubt that ASRock will pop out an updated vBIOS for this card in the future, but eh. 

 

Resources

• RX 5600 XT Challenger D vBIOS Downloads from ASRock
  • Flashing Tutorial
• RX 5600 XT Driver Downloads from AMD
• Backup vBIOS: ASRock RX 5600 XT VGA BIOS Collection from TechPowerUp

 

vBIOS Versions

• 113-EXT900162-L05: L05 vBIOS (Stock)
• 113-EXT900170-L07: L07 vBIOS
• 113-EXT40650-001: L08 vBIOS

 

Checking the vBIOS Version

Spoiler

Windows Settings
System ⇒ Display ⇒ Advanced Display Settings

 

Advanced Display Settings + Adapter Properties
Display Adapter Properties ⇒ BIOS Information

 

vBIOS Flashing Tutorial

1. Download and extract the latest vBIOS and AMD Software: Adrenalin Edition to their respective, separate folders.
2. Restart the PC.
   • On startup, check that AMD Software: Adrenalin Edition is running.
3. From the vBIOS folder, run Update.cmd to update the vBIOS.
   • Updating should take 5 - 10 min.
   • SUCCESS: Restart System To Complete VBIOS Update. should appear with a successful update.
     
4. Restart the PC.
5. From the AMD folder, run Setup.exe to reinstall AMD drivers.
   • PC should undergo two restarts before drivers have been successfully reinstalled.

 

---

 

Successful Flashing

AMD Software: Adrenalin Edition
Apparently the L08 vBIOS brings with it an upgraded a 14 Gbps memory clock / bit rate (stock was 12 Gbps). Also higher power limit and GPU adjustment range?

Oh... vBIOS info shows up here too.

 

Awesome.
I have no idea what that those numbers mean or how they apply to my use case.

But I’m happy the flashing worked and didn’t brick my card? 

Not my first time flashing the card, but I didn’t realize I hadn’t written anything about it up 'til now.

 

If vBIOS flashing solves the sporadic and unpredictable driver timeouts I’ve been getting (doubt it), all the better. If it doesn’t... Well, those graphics cards I’ve been window shopping are looking mighty enticing. 

[Eschew]

Hoshī Update - Performance Stuff

 

EVGA SuperNOVA 1000 P6 + SAPPHIRE NITRO+ RX 6950 XT PURE + APC BE670M1
Performance, baaabyyy!!!
APC UPS is for the modem and router at muh place.

 

Hoshī - Interior (Before)
So I don’t think I’ve opened 'er up since erm…
Jan 28.
Uh, this is a PSA-reminder to please clean your PCs. Repeat, please clean your PCs.

There was a groooss amount of dust in there.

 

Hoshī - Cable Management (Before)

TBH, I lowkey dread getting new hardware.
Because CABLE MANAGEMENT.

Okay, so listen, I’ve been dealing with cable management at work – twice, because we got new tables in - and now I come back home, not to relax, but to deal with more cable management. Do you, like, have any idea how tired I am. 

 

Hoshī - Interior (After)

CHONKAY.
Erm, totally forgot to check whether the Define 7 Compact case had enough clearance for the card before buying it. Ah hah hah ha... 

Minor oh shid! moment, but it worked out, lucky me.

Hopefully that Graphics Card Supporter does it’s job. 

 

Hoshī - Cable Management (After)

Off-Screen: Aching Back, Sore Fingers, Intermittent Cursing, Bruises (Following Morning), Chaotic Mess of Open Boxes and Parts, Hiccups

 

---

 

Post-Hardware Swap
DDU’d it after I got Hoshī POSTing. 

 

Resources

• Wagnardsoft - Display Drive Uninstaller
• AMD Drivers and Support: For AMD Software: Adrenalin Edition
• Jayztwocents - This serious issue was a simple fix...: Step-by-Step DDU Tutorial

 

Condensed Step-by-Step

1. Download and extract the latest DDU and AMD Software: Adrenalin Edition to thier respective, separate folders.
2. Restart the PC in Safe Mode (without Networking).
   • Shift-Click on Restart.
   • Troubleshoot > Advanced Options > Startup Settings > Restart.
3. From the DDU folder, run Display Driver Uninstaller.exe.
   • Options: See below.
   • Select Device Type: GPU
   • Select Device: AMD
   • Clean and Restart / Clean and Do Not Restart > Shut Down.
     
4. After the PC restarts, from the AMD folder, run Setup.exe to reinstall AMD drivers.
   • PC should undergo two restarts before drivers have been successfully reinstalled.

 

---

 

HWiNFO64 System Summary
Medium Potato CPU with Beeg Potato GPU. 

 

Folding@Home Client
Let’s goooooooooo 2 mil PPD! 

(But am gonna be playing games so actual PPD’ll be lower.)
Was getting approximately 900K PPD with the RX 5600 XT.

[Eschew]

Hoshī Update - Forced Upgrades

So, 'Chew actually hasn’t touched her desktop PC in over a month, being preoccupied with RimWorld and cozy laptop-in-bed times.

 

PC silently borked on 1/16. The PC sat downstairs with it’s monitors dark, it’s fans were audible, and it’s RGB was still rainbow’ing. The only way I knew about it was thanks to XOC’s F@H charts:

 

EXTREME Overclocking Folding@home Stats - Eschew
The huge dip on 1/16 is when my main pointsgetter (Hoshī) borked.
The tiny blips that continue after 1/16 is 'cos I installed F@H on my work’s office PC, lol.

 

It’s shown similar symptoms before, and usually I interpret it as my PC needing to update it’s AMD drivers. Though, this time, I got constant BSODs immediately after startup, even when I tried booting into Safe Mode. Stop Code: CRITICAL_PROCESS_DIED wasn’t very informative, so I brute forced it until I got a successful DDU through, and just as I started installing AMD Software: Adrenalin Edition, the install process tells me it failed.

 

After that, more BSODs. And restarts. And BSODs again.

 

Next step for me was to nuke the OS and reinstall Windows 10... Except I couldn’t even get past the install process. Either the PC BSOD’d again, or Windows 10 simply refused to install to the wiped drive.

 

Windows 10 Setup - Error Message
I think I had a different Error Code, but the general message was identical.

 

At this point, I’d concluded the issue was the physical drive itself. “I’m through with Inland Premium’s NVMe drives,” I said, “2/2 drives failed on me.” But before I could place an order for another NVMe SSD, Den sent one of his over -- Priority Shipping, too.

 

WD_BLACK SN770 NVMe SSD Installed

It's under the black heatsink near the top of the pic.

 

Turns out, the issue still persisted, even with the new SSD.
God, FML. 

 

Okay, so the SSD isn’t the issue.
Not any of my other drives either, 'cos I’d disconnected all of those.
Not the graphics card either, or else I’d be seeing weird graphical stuff.
And probably not the PSU, these don’t seem to be voltage-related issues I’m running into.

 

Earlier in the day, Den suggested I run MemTest86 to see if RAM was the issue. I tried it, and...

• Attempt 1 (Both RAM Sticks): Test froze at Pass 33%, Test 50%.
• Attempt 2 (Both RAM Sticks, XMP Disabled): Test froze at Pass 33%, Test 50%.
• Attempt 3 (One RAM Stick): Test froze at Pass 33%, Test 50%.
• Attempt 4 (Other RAM Stick): Test FAIL. Test aborted due to too many errors.

Did a quick search regarding MemTest86 – specifically what it means if the test froze (MemTest86: Freezing and Lockups), and whether a FAIL definitively meant faulty RAM (MemTest86: Troubleshooting Memory Errors).

Quote

Please be aware that not all errors reported by MemTest86 are due to bad memory. The test implicitly tests the CPU, L1 and L2 caches as well as the motherboard. It is impossible for the test to determine what causes the failure to occur. However, most failures will be due to a problem with memory module. When it is not, the only option is to replace parts until the failure is corrected.

Well, great.
Though, the pattern of errors above led me to believe that at least one – but most probably both – of my RAM sticks were faulty. In the event I was off the mark again, I was going to replace the motherboard and CPU and commit crimes.

 

“If it came to that,” I thought to myself in the shower, “I’d have replaced every part of my original PC build.”

 

---

 

Saturday: Tustin

Quote

> 5:00 AM: Wake up.
> 5:30 AM - 6:20 AM: Break all the speed limits.
> 6:30 AM - 9:00 AM: Hike at Peters Canyon Regional Park.
> 9:15 AM: Eat gyros and chicken souvlaki -- nevermind, they aren’t ready yet. BRB.
> 9:20 AM - 10:00 AM: Kill idle time in Micro Center’s parking lot.
> 10:00 AM: Purchase RAM and -- “Will that be all?”, “Yes, thank you.”, “Did you find everything--”, “Yes, thank you.” -- let me go, I have places to do and things to be. Please and thank you.
> 10:30 AM - 10:50 AM: Get gyros and chicken souvlaki to go. Damn, they smell nice.
> 10:50 AM - 11:30 PM: Break all the speed limits, except when idiot drivers stop and slow on the highway for no god damn reason. There weren’t even any roadside accidents, whaddafuq.
> 11:40 PM - 12:00 PM: God damn it, I have to buy groceries. Been running out.

Actually my Saturday morning was awesome. Hike was pleasantly exhausting, Micro Center people were friendly and no-nonsense, gyros people were great, and the gyros and souvlaki were hella bomb. 

 

Could things finally be looking up?! After an entire week of nausea and low morale induced by PC troubleshooting?

 

MemTest86 - PASS (One RAM Stick)
Yes.

 

Alright, but we’re not out of the woods just yet. Let’s do it with both sticks--

 

MemTest86 - PASS (Both RAM Sticks)
Double yes.

 

---

 

Sunday: Reinstall... Everything
This is the boring part where I spend hours waiting for the progress bars on installations and game verifications to run across the screen.

 

Here’s some success pics, instead.

 

Hoshī - Interior

My pride, my heart, my child. 

Had to relocate the NH-D15’s fans 'cos of clearance issues. If I put the fan over the RAM, the side panel won’t close up.

...I took an admittedly hilariously long time to re-figure out how those metal wires / fan hooks work.

 

RGB
Stupid shiny RAM. 

The RGB isn’t sync’d, and one of the few instances I really do not care to change it due to an intense aversion towards RGB mal-bloatware.

OpenRGB doesn’t seem to detect / support the SAPPHIRE 6950 XTs.

 

HWiNFO64 System Summary
Let’s see... 32GB (2 x 16GB), DDR4-3600, CL16-19-19-39, 1.35V, check.

 

CrystalDiskInfo - WD_BLACK SN770 NVMe SSD

Healthy 100% SSD.

Thank you again, Den!

 

EXTREME Overclocking Folding@home Stats - Eschew

WE ARE.

Back in business, babyyy! 

 

Also I guess I owe AMD, Lisa Su, and Inland Premium / Micro Center an apology, lol. Not that they care?
In my technical inexperience and hot-bloodedness, I was unfairly blaming them and their products for this catastrophe.

 

No, I should really be saying FucThank You to Newegg and TEAMGROUP.
Thank you for selling me faulty RAM listed as new, Newegg!
And if Newegg actually received faulty RAM to sell as new, thank you for manufacturing it TEAMGROUP!
Really, capital F and capital U, Newegg and TEAMGROUP.

 

I’m just happy that Hoshī’s back up and running, now.

Good freaking Lord, what a week. 

[sub68]

12 minutes ago, Eschew said:

No, I should really be saying FucThank You to Newegg and TEAMGROUP.
Thank you for selling me faulty RAM listed as new, Newegg!
And if Newegg actually received faulty RAM to sell as new, thank you for manufacturing it TEAMGROUP!
Really, capital F and capital U, Newegg and TEAMGROUP.

Was this the same RAM when you first put this together.

[Eschew]

3 minutes ago, sub68 said:

Was this the same RAM when you first put this together.

Yeeep.

 

Ever since TROLLEY-PC's days:

On 3/29/2020 at 8:00 PM, Eschew said:

You can see it sitting on top of the EVGA GA 650 PSU, next to the AMD Ryzen 5 3600X's box.

 

Here it is again, in the EVGA DG-75 build:

On 4/12/2020 at 2:33 AM, Eschew said:

And most recently, it was in the Fractal Design Define 7 Compact case, up 'til now.

Scrubbed through my pics and I don't have a good pic of the TEAMGROUP RAM in this case 'cos it's hidden by the chonkeh Noctua NH-D15 cooler, lol.

[sub68]

4 minutes ago, Eschew said:

Yeeep.

Makes sense, 2020 was a horrible QC year COVID.

Manufactures were trying to push out product at a fast pace while with oncoming COVID lockdowns and So alot of QC was expedited.

At my school we have/had tons of year 2020 chromebooks with bad wifi cards due to this problem, and its a pain because all of them had to be RMA, we couldnt replace them only the RMA could.