Geekvice Computer Build

I have been wanting to build a computer since I was young, but I was always worried about compatibility and my ability to troubleshoot any problems.  Now with all the tech videos on YouTube and with the amazing website pcpartpicker.com I finally jumped into my first computer build.


The first thing I need to do was figure out what I wanted to use this computer for.  Obviously being that it was a computer for Geekvice I needed to be able to play games, stream videos, record and edit videos, and of course record the podcast.  Then I did a little research on what parts would work best, are compatible with each other, and I can afford them.  This is where pcpartpicker.com was a huge help.  This website allows you to put together parts lists and check for compatibility.  And it even aggregates prices from several websites.  Here is a link to my parts.

As you can see from my parts list I went with a Ryzen 7 1700 CPU and an MSI X470 Gaming Pro motherboard. Those were my first purchases with the idea that these would be the backbone of the whole rig. I have always used mechanical hard drives so I really wanted to try out a solid state drive. All of the other parts were fairly easy to pick out except for 2 very important parts, the RAM and the video card. My thought was that I wanted to get something that could run my games at higher settings but also not break the bank. I originally designed the build to include a GTX 1070 TI and 32GB of DDR4 RAM. That became rather difficult with the current market. I finally settled on a Geforce GTX 1060 with 6 GB and I downsized by RAM to 16GB of DDR4 3200. With my motherboard I left myself enough room that I could add an additional 16GB of RAM in the future when the price of RAM comes down a bit. And I have the option of upgrading the video card down the road.

Once all the parts came in, which I did wait for sales to order, it was time to start building it all. I realize now I probably should have taken more pictures of the process, but when it is your first time you don’t really think about that stuff. Construction took a little bit longer than I expected mainly due to the fact that I had to look up where cables needed to connect to the motherboard. After the first
couple of parts I knew where to look for the answers and was able to put it together rather quickly. And believe it or not, all the parts I installed worked first time. The only hardware problem I ran into was the 3 pre-installed fans that came with the case. They were originally connected to a fan controller but for some reason I couldn’t get power to it. But, as I did a little trouble shooting the motherboard can actually control up to 4 fans not counting the CPU fan so I just disconnected the pre-installed fans from the controller and connected them directly to the motherboard. And since the BIOS for this motherboard has smart fan settings I am still able to control the fans through that.

Overall I am really happy with this build and it has been working great. It is a little time consuming adding all the software to it, but so far all the software including Windows 10 have worked smoothly. I have never had a computer that booted up in less than 15 seconds and this one has been doing that. I have tested Civilization 6, XCOM 2, and Pillars of Eternity 2: Deadfire just loading up and the speed has been incredible. After finishing everything and getting it all running I am very proud of myself. This was a first for me and with all said and done I would chalk it up as a success.