Conveniently before the Caronavirus nuked the PC component economy (not to mention the rest of the economy), I decided to buy a new PC. This is different from the minor upgrades and part replacements over the last 9 years (i.e. the last time I did this), as this is, of course, a completely new build in a completely new case. I still have my old computer which actually works fine for the most part.
So why did I upgrade? Well, there is a host of reasons, one of them being I liked the old model of having a back-up PC and a reliable machine for folks to use at LANs. But more realistically, it was honestly just time to. There were parts in my old PC that were going on 9 years old (e.g. the power supply) that could give out at any moment. Plus, PC performance was becoming a slight issue.
So, the new PC. It's not bad, probably the most powerful machine I have constructed to date, even using the price:performance ratio I opt for (i.e. slightly above medium range). Coming in at just under $2000, I have built a machine that runs everything I currently play at ultra high settings - not a statement I have been able to say for awhile now. The build consists of the following parts (again, more for my own reference/keepsake):
GPU - Asus Geforce RTX 2060 6GB
Case - Cooler Master MasterBox MB520
PSU - Cooler Master MWE Gold 550w PSU
CPU - Intel Core i7 9700KF 3.6Ghz
CPU Cooler - Cooler Master Hyper 212 LED Turbo CPU Cooler
Thermal Grease - Artic Silver 5
Memory - G.Skill 32GB 2666Mhz RAM
Mobo - Asus ROG Strix B365-G LGA1151 ATX Motherboard
Storage - Western Digital Black 500GB m.2 NVMe SSD
OS - Windows 10 Professional OEM
Somewhat satisfyingly, the build was an incredibly smooth construction process, with no mistakes and everything working without unnecessary configuration. I did do extensive research in advance, so I was expecting this, however. I am quite happy with the build and case, being an anti-dust setup with lots of space and cable management, for once. The 'new' component, that being the use of an m.2 SSD was also a joy to figure out, and the speed of booting the system is definitely noticeable. I am very happy with the results.
Performance in Monster Hunter World: Iceborne is phenomenal, running at 120+ frames the majority of the time with maxed settings. I feel like I am playing a completely different game when I do. More importantly, Doom Eternal has been a visual treat and definitely a good stress test for the build overall. No complaints, basically.
Speaking of Doom Eternal - great game. While initially I was not sold on the adjusted game play mechanics (a departure from Doom 2016), requiring you to play a very specific way, you eventually get used to it and the flow of the experience comes to the fore. Having mastered the play style to some extent, playing on Ultra-Violence or Nightmare difficulty is really the only time the game can be challenging for me now, which is good. One addition to the standard campaign of particular mention is the introduction of Slayer Gates, which are considered some of the hardest content in the game presently. I will let you decide how difficult they are...
Overall though, its nice knowing that even this old, bitter man can still find some joy in upgrading his PC and playing the latest games at high performance settings, just like I did in the past. While I will say the excitement is certainly diminished, overall it is pleasantly nostalgic to feel like I am in my early 20s again. Something to look forward to, once in a blue moon.
Speaking of once in a blue moon, this dropped in Diablo III:
I can probably stop playing the game now, I think.
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