The year 2020 is definitely the year I build my own computer, and I plan to go pretty big. For many years I have worked on a MacBook Pro and more recently an iMac. I have not really complained, until I was in the process of finishing my degree. During the last couple semesters I had some projects that dealt with virtualization or I had to do some sort of video editing and the computers I had were not handling these workloads. Now that I’m out of school I want to play around more with virtualization and even add a local web server for my home network. However, an iMac is not the right machine to put in charge of this task.
The iMac is a late 2015 model with a 4K Retina display equipped with a quad core intel CPU and 8GB RAM with speeds maxing out at 1867 MHz. No wonder this machine struggles to handle multiple running programs and since it is an Apple machine I can forget about upgrading any of the internal components. Nonetheless, I did manage to add a second monitor to this setup which helps with screen real estate but not much else. The second monitor is an LG at 4K resolution and is slightly bigger than the iMac’s, at 24” versus 21.5” respectively, although they both take up a similar amount of space which hides the size difference. Although the iMac is underpowered I will not discard it just yet as it has its uses in video editing and in coding for Xcode which I would like to use more too.
With that said the PC build I have in mind will have beefier components. To start, the CPU I plan to go with is the Ryzen 3950x for its high core count at a respectable price especially when compared to Intel chips and the Threadripper. To handle virtualization I want to go with as much RAM as possible and if it’s worth doing, it’s worth overdoing. I believe 128GB of RAM at AMD’s recommended speed of 3200 MHz is the path I want to take. I don’t want to go too overboard with RGB but Corsair’s vengeance pro RGB sticks will provide a nice splash of color to the system.
Another item that will have some lighting too will be the motherboard, which as of now is looking like the ASUS ROG Strix. This motherboard features 2 M.2 slots and multiple expansion slots which will help when I am able to add an extra NIC. It is also capable of the RAM capacity that I am going for and has built in Wi-Fi capabilities which is a nice touch for now but I will be looking to hook it up to Ethernet through its built in NIC.
Now before I go any further listing out the other components on my wish list, I did want to point out that I did not include a case or a GPU. This is because I was able to get both for free from my younger brother who had upgraded his own system. He also threw in some sticks of 8 GB RAM but that will continue to sit in my desk. The tower is from Cyberpower and has ample storage space to include 2 2.5” and 3 3.5” drives. The GPU is nothing fancy because if it was my brother wouldn’t have given it to me, he would have sold it. But I didn’t mind as gaming is not the sole purpose for the machine as of now.
Continuing on with the rest of the components, I intend on getting myself at least two NVMe SSDs to start and might expand with 2.5” SATA SSDs later on. The power supply will be fully modular and will most likely be fully utilized by the end of the build. As for cooling down the system, I have been leaning towards using all fans instead of adding a water cooler. I know AMD recommends water cooling for the 3950x however I am convinced that the Noctua DH15 chromax black can sufficiently cool down the CPU.
With a build like this, some of you might ask why go to such lengths for virtualization or for an internal web server. And yes I do realize these specs may seem overkill for these tasks but I am thinking about future implementations as well. Eventually I could see myself using this PC for gaming but I definitely want to use some of its power for a built in NAS.
I had considered buying a dedicated NAS unit for the home but for roughly half the cost I will get better performance using one beefed up machine for the task. Plus, open source NAS software is readily available, such as FreeNAS, and it won’t cost anything extra. I would just need to learn how to set it up but hey, that’s the fun part of the journey.
While everything sounds great on paper, I hope I am able to get my hands on the parts from my list pretty soon. Unfortunately, there are things that are beyond my control and we are facing an unprecedented world event. So we will when I am able to pool my resources to build this machine but I am definitely looking forward to it.