Computer Builds

I got into custom computer builds in 2000 because I can’t stand being ripped off. My initial desktop was from a prominent brand that still exists today. I encountered issues and, after troubleshooting, realized I needed additional memory. I jumped online and found what I needed and was excited to find that the memory wasn’t that expensive. I opened my computer case to double-check the sizes and everything to ensure that I could use what I found and to my dismay discovered that I couldn’t use the affordable memory that I found online because the big brand company made their motherboards only accommodate their memory which was double the price…this is still a strategy by the way. I’ve been building systems for myself, friends, and family since.

Passion for Builds:

I love the search for parts that are going to come together and the whole process of putting it all together. I’m not an influencer and don’t care to be. I will never drop over $600 on a graphics card for example. It’s not necessary. Bigger and more expensive isn’t always better, especially with current technology. When I start working on a computer build my challenge to myself is to always keep my budget at $900 minimum to $1,000 maximum. For over two decades, I’ve managed to succeed with that challenge giving me systems that are cheaper and faster than major brands. However, the downside is that my systems typically last for 10+ years, limiting the frequency of my builds.

Challenging the Throw-Away Mentality:

I know…I know…we live in the age of throw it away and upgrade, but if you stick around, I’ll show you over time that the throw-away mentality isn’t necessary because I’m going to keep working on this website for the years to come with the same parts that are listed on this page. I promise you I’m not crazy, I’m just a realist and miss that no one makes products that are built to last anymore. Why big bulky desktops? You will always be able to do more for less with them compared to a laptop. The current lifespan for a laptop is approximately 4-5 years and that’s if you know how to fix them and keep them running. For example, I bought a top-of-the-line laptop (I wish there were more options to custom-build them) in 2013 that’s still kicking. However, I’ve had to change the hard drive (unusable if you can’t fix it) and remove one of the video cards that died. It had dual video cards, or it wouldn’t still be usable since a replacement video card for it is way more than I’m going to pay.

Longevity of Desktops:

Another issue is that the video card manufacturer stopped supporting the software for the video cards 5 years ago. Therefore, playing games on it is practically a lost cause, even though it excelled at gaming when I first bought it. To prove my point, I built a desktop a few months before buying that laptop that’s still running smoothly. When I upgraded the video card on my current build to the XFX Speedster I tossed the XFX Radeon RX 570 RS XXX Edition into it which was a valuable upgrade for it since homework is being done and modern games are being played on it daily (it’s starting its 10th year). The point of this page is to show you what I’m using to play and make these web pages to save all my readers some time, money, and frustration. I will update this page when I do change something.

Build Tips:

• I don’t use liquid cooling since I do budget builds, only case fans. This GPU fan isn’t necessary but is a cheap way to keep your graphics card very cool. If you can get your hands on one. I’ve been using it for a year now and it quietly works. The instructions that come with it are vague and tell you to remove the fans from your graphics card. You only need to do this if you don’t have room in your case to fit the fan next to your graphics card. Both fans working together makes this an even better buy. Seriously, I consider liquid cooling every time I work on a build and just can’t bring myself to spend that much money on it. It’s just not necessary.
  
• What I do is install Windows (Windows 10) on a small SSD hard drive (this one is 500 GB but a 250 GB SSD will work) and then run my games from a separate NVMe SSD. I have a couple of regular hard drives for storage and backups as well. SSDs and NVMes are still quite expensive so this top is a budget workaround that works extremely well.

Previous Budget Build: 2020 – 2023

Current Budget Build: 2023 – Now