Rebuilding my computer
My beat-up homemade computer is 15 years old. Future-proofing my computer by building it myself worked but not as well as I’d hoped. The new motherboard with current technologies, for example, also requires a new CPU and memory.
I’ve upgraded it many times since I built it. This is its fourth motherboard. The white case is the only part left of the original build. I forced the latest-generation graphics card into the case by cutting a chunk out of it–the case, not the graphics card. Time to ditch the old case.
When the new case arrived, I thought I made a horrible mistake. The thing is enormous! It dwarfs the old case, as this photo illustrates.
And it weighs a ton! But by providing room for everything AND ample space to work it does everything I want. Adding anything to the old case meant removing multiple parts and then replacing them after installing the new bit.
This photo shows the old parts I’ve kept after previous upgrades. I’ve had success with Asus components in the past but was disappointed with the numerous problems I encountered with the new Asus motherboard.
The new board did not meet Microsoft’s requirements for Win 11. In Asus’ defense, Microsoft and Intel have experienced severe security bugs this year. Before I could complete the Windows installation, I had to flash the motherboard’s BIOS.
After fixing the Windows problem, I had to update the BIOS yet again with new WiFi drivers. But this board has everything I want and is working smoothly now so I’ll probably shop Asus again. The beast has 6 drives and room to add 3 more easily.
Tips:
ASUS tends to charge more than other brands for boards while offering inferior parts for the price. I also suggest avoiding the Intel platform. One of the main reasons is that Intel likes to force people to buy new motherboards when wanting to upgrade their CPUs. AMD has been making it possible to have years go by without dropping support for their socket. The AM4 socket has remained relevant for a very long time.
Get an 80 Plus Gold rated or better power supply with at least 135mm fan. If you need quiet there are fanless PSUs.
If you don’t play 3D video games, get a CPU that has a built-in GPU, so you don’t have to spend money on a separate GPU.
Always use an anti-static wrist strap when handling the parts, like the motherboard and RAM.
Check your needs to see if Linux can replace Windows, as Microsoft is jumping onto the fast planned obsolescence scheme Apple has been using.
Never overclock. It’s a waste of effort.
ASRock offers ECC memory support for many of its AMD boards. ECC RAM is nice because it is less vulnerable to errors that can cause corruption.
JA, thanks for your comments. I used an AMD motherboard in the first computer I built (20? years ago). I had unending problems with my graphics card and was determined to switch to Intel for the next build. Besides games, I do a lot of photography and video editing, so a good graphics card like the Geforce RTX 4070 Ti is necessary. The card’s massive size triggered a new case and the other upgrades I discussed in the port.