I recommend anyone at least try and build your own computer. I found it to be a fairly straightforward and enjoyable process.

Here is what I put together in 2016 and has served faithfully (except for the PSU) ever since:

CPU: Intel i7 4790k
GPU: GeForce GTX 970
Mobo: MSI Z97 Intel LGA 1150 DDR3 USB 3.0 ATX
RAM: Crucial Ballistix Sport 16gb DDR3 Kit
Case: Cooler Master HAF 912 Mid
Phanteks Enthoo Pro Full (arrives tomorrow!)
PSU: Corsair CX Series 750w Bronze (died in 2021)
Segotep 850w Gold (current, installed 2021)
Storage: C:Boot Drive- Samsung 850 EVO 250gb 2.5-Inch SATA III Internal SSD (which in hindsight was too small)
D:Drive- Western Digital 1TB WD Black Performance Internal Hard Drive HDD
1 Samsung 870 EVO SATA III SSD 1TB 2.5” Internal Solid State Drive (arriving today!)
Optical Disk Drive: ASUS 24x DVD-RW Serial-ATA Internal OEM Optical Drive DRW-24B1ST Black (which I rarely ever use).
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 Evo CPU Cooler 120mm PWM Fan
Fans: got a bunch from a friend and bought a Cooler Master Silencio FP120 PWM 2400 120mm for the front of the case.

This post has been edited by TheCheshireKhajiit: Jun 22 2023, 03:28 PM

I feel I should specify... Having done this professionally for many years starting in 1990, I then had enough of it... something snapped around 2010. Now I just want to play.

That makes sense

Funny how that happens. In 2014 a 250GB hard drive didn't seem that small at all. I had bought an external hard drive at the time that had a whopping 1TB - surely, I shall never be able to fill that up! - I thought. Ha!

Clarification: that external hard drive was meant for backups. I still use it. When I remember to do a backup, that is.

This post has been edited by Lena Wolf: Jun 22 2023, 03:14 PM

Lol exactly

Did some backups today. Savegames from FO3 and Blivion and some pics.

But did you backup the backups?

I knew I forgot something.

I might do this when I'm ready. I recently learned there are classes online which teach what we'll need. 🖥 And how to put it all together.

For me the classes were called YouTube.

YouTube® is fine. Because it's so visual, I'd be able to see what goes where into how. There's also Micro Center. Micro Center also has classes, problem is, MC is 40 minutes away from where I live. I could conceivably go to MC for some parts, at least.

How much money could someone expect to save these days, by building their own? I remember back in the forums a lot of console players would say "I play on console because I can't afford a PC" and then somebody from the PC crowd inevitably would say "But if you build your own rig, the cost is comparable to a new console." So ... 12 years ago this would've been somewhere around $400 to $500. Is that still about right?

This post has been edited by Renee: Jun 23 2023, 02:12 AM

Yes, you can build a gaming PC for slightly more than $500. You just have to pay attention to the component specs so that they your meet min requirements. Don’t be like me and start thinking for just a little more I can get this part, and this part, and this part. I didn't save a dime. All totaled nearly half as much more than I had intended.

A simple search on youtube for ‘PC build for $500’ pulls up several.

This one was fun to watch although I think he glossed over a couple steps.

How To Build The Best $500 Budget "Gaming PC" In 2023 (step-by-step) - YouTube

BTW, I took a 3 hour JC course on PC Building nearly 20-years or maybe more ago. Parts have changed but the basics are pretty much the same.

Not yet, but I will as soon as possible save onto two other flashdrives and the backup computer

See, just watching videos like that gets me wanting to build a new PC, lol


Very good. Carry on.




This post has been edited by TheCheshireKhajiit: Jun 23 2023, 03:07 PM

I have been busy this morning trying to do as much research as possible on transferring my almost full SSD boot drive to a bigger SSD. So far I’ve learned how to reset my 250gb SSD to factory, and have seen some things on cloning drives, but apparently this has to be done through the use of certain third party software. Anyone here familiar with this process?

This post has been edited by TheCheshireKhajiit: Jun 23 2023, 04:16 PM

As far as I know, cloning works only on drive of identical size. Unless this has moved forward since? Personally I would probably buy a larger drive with pre-installed Windows, then reinstall all the software... Or else just add another drive. Not the answer you're looking for, sorry. But do let us know if you find a better solution.

Well, I was just watching this video and it showed how to do what I’m needing. It used two separate third party programs, one to clone the drive and one to expand the new drive to its native size after receiving the cloned drive. I was just hoping someone here might’ve had some experience with this, as it’s a pretty scary prospect, lol

This post has been edited by TheCheshireKhajiit: Jun 23 2023, 05:03 PM

My ‘C’ drive is 250gb and it was getting full. Cloning the drive was to a partition on a larger SSD was tempting. However since I now had two drives what I decided on doing was to add the second larger SSD drive ‘E’ and then copy and reassign the Windows folders Documents and Pictures folders to it. While I was at it I added another large SSD ‘F’ and reassigned all my game files to it. After ensuring all files copied correctly I then deleted the ‘C’ drive folders and pointed Windows to look for the folders on the new drive. Doing that cut the ‘C’ drive usage in half.

I hope that makes sense.

I cloned my Primary PC's original 500gb M2.NVME boot drive to a 2TB M2.NVME drive last year. It's easy with the right software, so long as you have an empty socket (or an adapter) to plug the target drive into. The software I use lets me designate individual partitions for expansion during the clone process. (I believe it also allows for shrinkage, but I didn't need that.) However, Partition Master Pro, isn't freeware. There are freeware cloning programs, but I've not used them so can't comment on their versatility and safety.

A good thing about cloning is that, should things go amiss and the clone fail, you still have your original SSD in-place to fall back on until you straighten out the kinks. (In other words, don't erase your original drive until the new boot drive is in place and working properly.)

(link) Here's a YT video on the topic (link)

This post has been edited by Decrepit: Jun 23 2023, 05:21 PM

Hmmm, interesting. So you basically just copy and paste all of the windows folders into a new drive? If that is correct, how do you tell windows to start using the new drive?


Ah yes, the guy in the vid you posted is using Aomei, which from what I found in my research is no longer an entirely free program. Apparently, to do what I need it to do, I would have to pay a subscription. I want to do more research into the free options before I decide to spend more money on this little project. I greatly appreciate your response though! It’s good to know someone here has done this before.