2021 06 18                        BOX and COOLING

My computers need names, to reduce the confusion:

• STIRLING 2021 - Built last February, currently running a Ryzen 9 3950X CPU. Stirling is a lovely town in Scotland where my beloved and I stayed overnight on a 2nd honeymoon trip some years back. Three Stirling computers have been built so far, but only Stirling 2021 exists here now. One failed, and another is put to good use elsewhere.
• FORTE - The computer we're building now. The word origin is probably French, meaning "strong point." Usage and pronunciation may be influenced by Italian, as in music. Pronounced for-tay in my office, accent on "for," it is simply the name of my next computer.

So far we have decided on these components:

• CPU: AMD Ryzen 9 5950X CPU, 16 cores & 32 threads, $799.00 Amazon, two on order, one due very soon, one in July.
• Motherboard: ASUS ROG Crosshair VIII Dark Hero, PCIe 4.0 and more, $449.00 Amazon, ordered for delivery Wed, Jun 23.
• Windows 10 Professional, FPP, box pack, full version, USB. Not yet ordered. Some are available for $99, but that price seems low and I'm suspicious that it might be a knockoff. I want the real thing from Microsoft.

The AMD Ryzen 9 5950X CPU which is arriving soon could be used in either Stirling 2021 or the new Forte. We'll see. It depends a little on how soon the second one arrives. It's on order too.

be quiet BK022 Cooler
Image from Amazon web page

A "be quiet" brand BK022 Dark Rock Pro 250W TDP CPU cooler (air, not liquid) was ordered and has arrived. $89.90 from Amazon. It remains to be seen whether that will fit on the selected motherboard in the selected case above/beside the selected memory cards. It's a big honker, weighs 2.4 pounds, and will sit directly atop the 5950X CPU. 

It came with a second fan, not attached but attachable. I'm still a little confused about where the loose fan should mount. There's a space right in the middle of the cooler - the image shows a fan there. Should the loose fan go there? If so, why wasn't it mounted there at the factory? If there's room, should I add a third fan on the back, pulling air rather than pushing? Why not?

Phanteks Enthoo
Pro PH-ES614PTG_BK

The case will be the same as the one used in the Stirling 2021 computer, the Phanteks Enthoo Pro "PH-ES614PTG_BK" ATX Case with tempered glass side panel and integrated RGB (LED) lighting. Ordered from eBay (Newegg store), $109.99, shipped yesterday, should arrive in a week. Size HWD 21.1 x 9.4 x 21.7 inches. The glass side panel is one whole side of the case, so you get a spectacular view of the innards, taking full advantage of any RGB inside. And for other reasons as well, I really like this inexpensive but full-featured case. 

The case has three bays for optical (CD/DVD/BD) drives, and I'm still a believer in optical discs. Many of us still have a library of movies or games on CDs, DVDs, or BDs that can be played on the computer. You can still buy "My Cousin Vinnie" on DVD or BD from Amazon.

Full case with lots of RGB

Much more important, we write some of our backups on Blu-ray M-Discs because they are a genuine archival medium. An M-Disc in a bank vault will last longer than the bank. Even in our own fire-resistant safe they will probably last far longer than anyone now alive, and longer than we will have computers and drives capable of reading them, if they don't fall prey to some risk other than simple deterioration. See the previous post about risks (theft, fire, flood, etc.).

New laptops are too thin to have disc drives these days. USB flash drives are not archival. So it's just a good idea to have a highly competent computer around that can still read and write CDs, DVDs, and BDs. A good LG drive which will do all of that costs $74.99 at Amazon and hooks directly into a standard SATA port on the motherboard. I have two here in Stirling (and can write two backup BDs at once), but Forte can get along with just one. It's easy to add another. One drive is on order.

2021 06 13

What computer shall I build this time? I'm a retired guy with an appreciation for excellence and (maybe) enough budget to do excellence. My computer experience started in 1962 with the University's Control Data 1604 using a magnetic tape operating system. Indeed, even though that computer cost a million dollars, disk was still a dream. My how times have changed.

I'm going to make (another) very hot, dual-purpose, world-class (if consumer-grade) Windows 10 desktop computer.

New Computer with RGB (LED) Fans
Photo by Don

Last February, 2021, I fired up a really nice new homebuilt desktop computer with an AMD Ryzen 9 3950X CPU, the gamey little brother of the Ryzen 9 5950X CPU, which is is arguably the hottest silicon on today's market. Both CPUs sport 16 cores and 32 threads with speeds that make them appropriate for BOTH gaming and content creation. At the time, I bought the 3950X instead of the 5950X to avoid scalper's prices and sellers with odious reputations. That computer is working very well, thank you, but perhaps I'll upgrade to the 5950X soon anyway. The ASUS mobo and everything else will support the big brother.

Now I want to build another new computer just because it's fun to build hot computers. I don't really have any use for it yet - perhaps I'll sell it, or use it and sell the first one. Cost is an issue, but performance is a bigger one. Here are some features that are already pretty much decided:

Photo by Don

Processor: AMD Ryzen 9 5950X. I'll get one somewhere, maybe two. Prices are coming down and the sellers are looking more reliable. In fact, BREAKING NEWS, last week (June 5, 2021) Amazon was selling these from their own warehouse to prime members, with 3-week delivery, at the AMD list price of $799. Today they aren't, though. Sigh. Guess I should have snagged one when I could have. Yep. 

More BREAKING NEWS - I just ordered one from Amazon Prime with delivery in July. $799.00 Sold by Amazon, shipped by Amazon. And just now I hear that delivery will be in June after all. I like Amazon.

ASUS ROG Crosshair VIII Dark Hero,
 Image borrowed from Amazon

Motherboard: ASUS ROG, X570, exact model to be determined. TUF? STRIX? Crosshair? What kind of a name is "Crosshair" anyway? (oh, it's a rifle sight). Or "Strix" for that matter (a mythical bird of ill omen). I choose ASUS only because I have some experience with ASUS. Most of that experience is good, though not all. Is there a better mobo? Comments invited. Maybe this isn't so very decided after all. Having done some searching, I'd probably choose the same board that I bought before, the ASUS ROG Crosshair VIII Hero, though I was advised online not to waste my money on "that brick." 

Looking further, however, I'm now attracted to the newer ASUS ROG Crosshair VIII "Dark Hero" mobo. It's more expensive yet, but has every feature of the plain ordinary brick plus Wi-Fi, and seems somehow simpler and more straightforward. In particular, it doesn't seem to need its own fan to cool the X570 chips. It's just cool all by itself. $433.89. BLT (ShopBit.com).

More coming soon ...