Question The Old Guy Considers Repeating The Long-Standing Habit Of The DIY Build

[BonzaiDuck]

In discussions with our friends here -- on the "Windows" forum and "OEM-Pre-built" or whatever it's called, I've looked at some OEM options, but also decided that I shouldn't feel so overwhelmed by jumping from Kaby Lake Z170 to Arrow Lake and Z890.

I started a preliminary iteration of parts selection. First off -- there will be no dGPU graphics. I'll depend on the Intel iGPU instead.

As for the computer case? Y'all gonna say I'm nuts. I have another spare 20-year-old CoolerMaster Stacker 832 midtower. Some simple Lexan-plate and foam-art-board mods and "good to go".

I've already and long-ago purchased a slim-line BD/DVD burner, now sitting in its cardboard package, and an ICYDOCK 5.25" bay assembly for two 2.5" HDDs and the burner. [I don't give up on dated hardware -- I can use it.]

The initial list:

series 2 Core Ultra 7 265K . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $299.00
ASUS TUF Gaming Z890 Pro mobo . . . . . . . . . $280.00
G.SKILL Trident Z5 CK 2x (2x24GB) RAM . . . . $560.00
Seasonic Focus V4 GX-750 80+ Gold PSU . . . . $130.00
SK Hynix Platinum P51 2TB PCIe Gen5 NVMe . $270.00
Ocypus Iota A62 Digital Air Cooler . . . . . . . . . . . $ 58.00

TOTAL: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$1,597.00

As I said -- VERY PRELIMINARY -- a Window-shopping exercise. Constructive comments encouraged.

I have a lot of spare -- even brand new -- additional parts that will fit in the case and complete the project. There are spare 2TB Hynix NVMe Gen 3 drives and 4TB 2.5" HDDs. I may want to spend between $25 and $50 for a 3.5" front-panel USB 3.0 4-port device.

And if I decommission my original Skylake system, more parts yet.

Except for the OEM SFF cases of Dell and HP versus my "free" Stacker, the total outlay isn't significantly different, and I feel more confident of getting what I want, as opposed to what Dell etc. choose to put into their box for Mainstreamers.

AMENDMENT: The Windows 11 Pro OEM OS license and installation media. It's about $150, as I recall. You get that for free with a Dell or HP -- if they aren't bundled with "Home".

 

[manly]

What do you do with your PC? At a glance, this just seems very "imbalanced." What I mean is that $1600 is a lot to spend, and you aren't even getting a new case or Windows license included. Just reuse the spare 2TB NVMe drive you already have, and pocket the savings.

Many of us are partial to AMD these days, but that's a separate argument. I'd also hate to see Intel fail as an independent company, and get bought by a Broadcom or other tech giant. (So supporting them while they are still in the game isn't a bad thing.)

My humble opinion is that you aren't that far from Micro Center in Tustin. You can buy one of their off-the-shelf PowerSpec systems built off of standard components OR you can even pick your own components, and they will assemble it for a small fee. I don't go to Micro Center much, but their selection is good enough that you should be able to put together a solid build.

Just for example, here's an OK bundle at Micro Center for a DIY build:

AMD Ryzen 7 7700X, ASUS B850-PLUS TUF Gaming WiFi AM5, G.Skill Flare X5 Series 32GB DDR5-6000 Kit, Computer Build Bundle - Micro Center $429.99

Ram latency could be better, but maybe not a bad price on this bundle? Still in stock at over 20 stores as of 6/11 https://www.microcenter.com/produ...ild_Bundle

slickdeals.net

 

[BonzaiDuck]

What do you do with your PC? At a glance, this just seems very "imbalanced." What I mean is that $1600 is a lot to spend, and you aren't even getting a new case or Windows license included. Just reuse the spare 2TB NVMe drive you already have, and pocket the savings.

Many of us are partial to AMD these days, but that's a separate argument. I'd also hate to see Intel fail as an independent company, and get bought by a Broadcom or other tech giant. (So supporting them while they are still in the game isn't a bad thing.)

My humble opinion is that you aren't that far from Micro Center in Tustin. You can buy one of their off-the-shelf PowerSpec systems built off of standard components OR you can even pick your own components, and they will assemble it for a small fee. I don't go to Micro Center much, but their selection is good enough that you should be able to put together a solid build.

Just for example, here's an OK bundle at Micro Center for a DIY build:

AMD Ryzen 7 7700X, ASUS B850-PLUS TUF Gaming WiFi AM5, G.Skill Flare X5 Series 32GB DDR5-6000 Kit, Computer Build Bundle - Micro Center $429.99

Ram latency could be better, but maybe not a bad price on this bundle? Still in stock at over 20 stores as of 6/11 https://www.microcenter.com/produ...ild_Bundle

slickdeals.net

I see your point. I probably wouldn't notice any difference between the 3.5 GB per second and 14 GB/sec. That's one cost saving. If I opt for the 2-stick 48GB of RAM initially, I've saved a total of -- whazzit? -- $550 or thereabouts.

Of course, this is why I would always opted for this DIY approach in the past. The thought would be to add stuff later. If I buy a Dell EBT 2250 tower, I wouldn't feel so confident about some of the imagined future upgrades. And the cooling solutions on those Dell models aren't very cool -- to use some 20th-century hip slang.

Two of my Sky/Kaby systems have 64 GB or RAM, but that's because these were configured with PrimoCache, so that even the NVMe boot drive was cached to RAM. The benchies showed enormous performance for that, but -- really -- I suppose I wouldn't miss it.

Even so -- these Win 10 systems on the old Z170 platform don't miss a lick for most of my apps.

On the other hand, having retired early as I did, I would build new systems just because . . . just because I could. It was something "to do".

I need to get through the summer with some key restorations on my old Trooper, so then I'll see how much spare change I have to throw at a "project".

Maybe I should investigate the MicroCenter possibilities as you suggested -- as well.

 

[BoomerD]

Also, if you really want to build your own...microcenter has some decent CPU/motherboard bundle deals.

Amazing Intel Bundle Deals | Micro Center

Shop bundle deals with featuring processors and more!

www.microcenter.com

Amazing AMD Bundle Deals | Micro Center

Shop bundle deals with featuring processors and more!

www.microcenter.com

Unfortunately, their Tustin store is the closest one to me...(about 1200 miles) Looks like they're opening a store in Santa Clara...only about 850 miles.

 

[BonzaiDuck]

Also, if you really want to build your own...microcenter has some decent CPU/motherboard bundle deals.

Amazing Intel Bundle Deals | Micro Center

Shop bundle deals with featuring processors and more!

www.microcenter.com

Amazing AMD Bundle Deals | Micro Center

Shop bundle deals with featuring processors and more!

www.microcenter.com

Unfortunately, their Tustin store is the closest one to me...(about 1200 miles) Looks like they're opening a store in Santa Clara...only about 850 miles.

That's good! I'd been tethered here at home for short in-town trips because of the eldercare. But Tustin? Less than 40 miles and just west on the 91 freeway. I used to take the same route to my dentist and travel at least a 3rd of that hike. If I do it at the right time of day, I'll get the full HWY mileage on the old Trooper-Pooper.

I think I've grown slightly retarded since I retired. I should be keen to these things. Should've picked up on this years ago . . . I may even be able to score their bundle customized with my own mobo choice . . .

 

[manly]

Micro Center opened its Santa Clara store at the end of May, and I believe it'll be one of their flagship locations.

With few exceptions, you cannot customize the bundle deals and still get the big discounts. Their Web configurator setup is new-ish, introduced last year I think. You can mix and match components, but you'll see that only a select few items get the bundle savings.

Strictly speaking, you can't return part of a bundle that you don't like/want. But this is at a manager's discretion, and some may be more flexible than others. There is supposedly one known loophole. If you add the correct components to the online cart individually, you still get the special pricing. But this is no longer a bundle SKU, and if you had to return an item, that should be okay. I haven't done this myself, but that's how their system used to work.

(But if you walk into the store and buy a bundle, it's all or none. You can't return just the motherboard.) Anyway, you can play with the online configuration to see what the options are. Newegg has had a few bundle deals lately as well.

 

[BonzaiDuck]

So-o-o-o . . . . Now I'm waiting for the Arrow Lake "refresh" due "latter half of 2025".

Friends here have advised me to consider an AMD system, but . . . "old dogs . . . new tricks" etc.

I had settled on getting a Core 2 Ultra i7-265K processor, and I've been looking at the ASUS Z890 WS workstation board. I'm also going to change my usual habit with air cooling and use either a 240mm or 280mm AIO -- looking at the Montech HyperFlow 240 and the NZXT Kraken 280mm kits.

Plenty of time; plenty of money (for a computer project without cutting corners or building on the cheap -- but nothing extravagant.)

Also still determined to use an (old) CoolerMaster Stacker 832. Yes!

It isn't as though I resolutely PLAN to over-clock. I just want the OPTION. So -- K processor, Z890 board with better than average phase power design. You know the drill . . .

 

[boondocks]

Just FYI you can get a Windows 11 Pro license "lifetime" for $30 or less at Groupon, etc. How I upgraded my older pc from 10 > 11. Also a Z170.
I got the free upgrade from 10 > 11 on my main rig which has seen several, no many, motherboard changes. lol.

 

[BoomerD]

So-o-o-o . . . . Now I'm waiting for the Arrow Lake "refresh" due "latter half of 2025".

Friends here have advised me to consider an AMD system, but . . . "old dogs . . . new tricks" etc.

I had settled on getting a Core 2 Ultra i7-265K processor, and I've been looking at the ASUS Z890 WS workstation board. I'm also going to change my usual habit with air cooling and use either a 240mm or 280mm AIO -- looking at the Montech HyperFlow 240 and the NZXT Kraken 280mm kits.

Plenty of time; plenty of money (for a computer project without cutting corners or building on the cheap -- but nothing extravagant.)

Also still determined to use an (old) CoolerMaster Stacker 832. Yes!

It isn't as though I resolutely PLAN to over-clock. I just want the OPTION. So -- K processor, Z890 board with better than average phase power design. You know the drill . . .

I’m firmly on “Team Blue” when it comes to CPUs, yet, if I were going to build a PC nowadays, I’d be looking hard at the AMD X3D offerings.7800, 9800 series. (Gosh, it makes me feel dirty just saying that)

 

[manly]

Makes little sense to DIY an "enthusiast" level build with a WS mainboard and overpriced components, but also insist on using an antiquated case.
But to each his own, I guess.

I’m firmly on “Team Blue” when it comes to CPUs, yet, if I were going to build a PC nowadays, I’d be looking hard at the AMD X3D offerings.7800, 9800 series. (Gosh, it makes me feel dirty just saying that)

"Team Blue" will exist in some form in the future, but it'll take a minor miracle for them to survive as an independent firm. The new CEO is selling off everything he considers non-core just to stave off financial ruin. He just admitted they lost the AI chips game, and it's too late to join that party. It'll be one of the greatest recoveries in tech if he manages to restore Intel to glory.

If I were a betting man, I'd wager that they will continue to fall and ultimately get bought by Broadcom or other tech giant. The name will live on as a subsidiary.

 

[BonzaiDuck]

Makes little sense to DIY an "enthusiast" level build with a WS mainboard and overpriced components, but also insist on using an antiquated case.
But to each his own, I guess.



"Team Blue" will exist in some form in the future, but it'll take a minor miracle for them to survive as an independent firm. The new CEO is selling off everything he considers non-core just to stave off financial ruin. He just admitted they lost the AI chips game, and it's too late to join that party. It'll be one of the greatest recoveries in tech if he manages to restore Intel to glory.

If I were a betting man, I'd wager that they will continue to fall and ultimately get bought by Broadcom or other tech giant. The name will live on as a subsidiary.

I need to check if the WS board offers an auxiliary set of PCIE lanes, as did the Z170 WS on which I'm composing this message. I think the WS board probably -- at the moment -- costs about $200 more than an equivalent ASUS gaming board with the same power-phase profile. It is the ASUS Maximus line which sport the highest level of power-phase specs. But one would only want that if the plan were to do "serious" -- if not extreme -- overclocking.

As for the case. The 15-plus-year-old Stacker has all the features I need, and newer cases don't really offer anything substantive that cannot be replicated with a little extra work. A lot of modern cases have the PSU placed at case bottom-rear, while the Stacker 832 or similar midtower puts it at top rear. But this is not a problem unless you absolutely had to place your 240 or 280mm AIO radiator and fans at the top of the case as opposed to bottom or front.

I have to attend with a tape measure in consideration of the AIO cooler. But I'm reasonably sure that I can get a dual-fan 240mm radiator in the case-front with no problem -- hoping for a 280mm.

Everything is fluid at the moment. I don't worry about pinching pennies, and nothing is final, although this is likely to be an INtel Arrow Lake system. I've done a survey of G.SKILL RAM modules and hopes that I can put 64GB in the sockets right away.

I initially planned to avoid using a dGPU, thinking to use the "K" processor's integrated graphics. But now, I'm looking at a Gigabyte nVidia RTX model for about $300.

I still need to have a 5.25" ICYDOCK device that makes room for a slim-line BD writer and two 2.5" hot-swap bays. So that's the only thing limiting a choice of water-cooler, and I'm not really sure that there's enough room in the case-front for a 360mm radiator. I'm hoping to fit a 280mm Kraken.

I've looked at the newer cases, and they just don't make my ODD and hot-swap desires achievable. To me the only thing that counts besides a decent-to-elegant case appearance is accommodation for a full-ATX board and PSU.