2021 Build round up

[abit-sean]

I've got the building bug at the moment so last year I replaced all the PCs in the house and the workshop. So I thought I would share some better looking ones with you.

 

The first one I did was of course was mine, it was more form over function build just a kind of refresher as I hadn't got my hands dirty for a while.

Fairly simple build nothing too exciting. Built mainly as an entry level VR for my Samsung HMD Odyssey+ headset.

-Intel i5-9400

-MSI MPG Z390 GAMING PRO CARBON

-Corsair Vengeance LPX 16GB (2x8GB)

-MSI GTX 1660 Ti ARMOR 6G OC

-WD Blue SN550 250GB NVME M.2

-Kingston KC 600 512GB SSD

-Corsair CX-F RGB Series 550W

-Corsair Carbide Series 275R

 

 

 

The second build was slight different as it came about by accident. When I was clearing out my Grandads loft I found lots of old tech and one of the me was a 1960s "poratable" TV. It looks to good to throw away and too dangerous to power on.

So I removed all the internal components and replaced it with PC parts. I use it in my workshop as a internet radio. I kept the original internal components and have them on display in my workshop. Power button is a rotary switch mounted to the side.

-Display is a standard Dell 17" TFT

-Intel i5-3470

-MSI H61I-E35 V2/W8 Motherboard Mini ITX

-4gb DDR3

-Kingston 128GB SSD

-Generic 400w PSU I found in my tech bin

 

Build number 3.

This was a pity build for my Nephew. Unfortunately he gets all the hand me downs for his PC. I manage all his tech and he is part of my microsoft family group. He was in desperate need of some sort of upgrade. He was using an Intel Q6700 with 8GB ram, mechanical hard drive and a ATI HD6870. I am planning a massive tech upgrade for him this year as soon as buy myself a new GPU and I will give either one of my GTX 970s or a 1060. No pics of this one as it was terrible to look at.

-Intel i5-3470

-16GB DDR3

-Gigabyte P67A-UD4-B3

-Kingston 256gb SSD

-GTX 760

-CiT 500W

-HellCrack Midi Case

 

Build number 4. 

This was a present for my daughters 13th birthday. She had been using a 2nd Gen i5 with a terrible GPU for ages without complaint. This was fine for Roblox and Minecraft but as she gets older she wanted to play better rated games.

I know in the image below it shows a GT710 card but I did install a GTX 1060 6GB in the end.

-Intel i5-10400f

-MSI B560M-A PRO

-Corsair Vengeance RGB White PRO 16GB

-Gigabyte GTX 1060

-Corsair CX-F RGB Series 550W

-Kingston 256gb SSD

-Samsung 2TB (this was required as she owns all (and I mean all) the Sims 4 expansion packs).

-Corsair 220T RGB Airflow

 

Build number 5.

Since the early 2000s I have always had a PC connected to my TV. In the early days this meant using a composite cable from the GPU and a 3.5mm to RCA cable for audio. Now we have HDMI it has made life a lot easier and I still have PC connected for light gaming with the family streaming films for services not available on my LG TV. But during the pandemic with had to come up with new ways of enjoying ourselves without going to cinema or bowling etc. So I bought a VR headset and we love it, even my Dad enjoys playing a round of golf. But we wanted have more interaction so I decided to build a second VR PC using the my Samsung HMD Odyssey+ headset. Now use a Quest 2 which I use on Airlink to my PC. No pictures as it is currently located in the cupboard under the stairs and connected via a media panel to the TV. Only issue I have is the heat generated whilst using VR, current solution is to open the cupboard door to allow air in.

-Intel i3-10100F (Amazing CPU for under £100)

-Generic 16GB RAM kit

-Asus prime b460-plus

-Kingston 256GB

-2TB WD drive for game storage

-MSI GTX970

-Supermicro 700w PSU (No idea where it came from but it does the job)

-Some Generic ATX case.

 

Build number 6.

Christmas is now upon us and it was time to finally upgrade my youngest daughters PC. She was using a Dell 390 with a 2nd gen i3 and it is terrible. Main use will be Minecraft and roblox (of course). I asked her what she needed from a PC and was told simply it must have rainbow lights. Obviously she had no idea at that time I was planning to give her a PC for Christmas. So this build was all about looks with enough performance to play the games in her steam library including a few VR titles. So it had to powerful enough to run a HP VR1000 at low to mid performance. 

-Intel i5-3470 (recurring theme I know. But they are good chips and bought a batch of 10 of them for a good price)

-Original motherboard was a Gigabyte GA-B75M-D3H this decided to kill every ram stick I installed. Stupidly I went through 4 8GB sticks before I worked it out.

-New motherboard ASUS P8H61-M (issue no USB3 for VR)

-Corsair 2x8GB DDR3
-MSI GTX 970 GAMING 4GB
-SEASONIC 600w
-WD VelociRaptor 500GB (Game library drive)

-ADATA 240gb SSD

-GAMEMAX MINI ABYSS CASE
-RGB PCI-E POWER EXTENSION
-SHAKMODS ATX 24 & 4 PIN BLUE EXTENSION
-JONSBO RAM RGB HEATSPREADER
-GAMEMAX ARGB Controller with RF remote

-PCIE USB3 card (to solve the VR issue)

-Additional 2x GAMEMAX RGB fans in the front.

-So much RGB

 

So that was a tour of my 2021 via PC home builds, not sure how many servers, sans, switches and workstations I installed for work but it was a lot more than 6.

 

I have been threatened by my wife that if I build any more PCs for our house I will be sleeping in the workshop. So this year I will start the upgrade for all the PC listed here as well as a few retro builds which will remain hidden in my workshop. Please don't tell my wife. Maybe also an ITX build and custom wood case and maybe something for the kitchen 

 

 

[Bombastinator]

I admit a certain covetous desire for the one in the photo the second from the top.  Perhaps I’ve played too much fallout.

[abit-sean]

1 minute ago, Bombastinator said:

I admit a certain covetous desire for the one in the photo the second from the top.  Perhaps I’ve played too much fallout.

Everyone loves the TV build. I might have to do a full write up on once I finally finish a few cosmetic issue with the rear i/o

[Bombastinator]

1 hour ago, abit-sean said:

Everyone loves the TV build. I might have to do a full write up on once I finally finish a few cosmetic issue with the rear i/o

I recall there being an ID museum somewhere.  Might give inspiration.