You guys might have seen my Rig Of The Month Entry https://community.amd.com/t5/rig-of-the-month-entries/perseverance/ba-p/555290, well let me share with you the story. It is riddled with moments of elation, devastation and ultimately overcoming adversity - buckle in.
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My newest build, which I have aptly named "Perseverance" really started back on Dec 22nd, 2021 when I was informed that I had won this Intel i9-12900k and Swag kit during a giveaway.
I followed all of the steps, replied to all the emails and provided my details to Intel and their giveaway sponsor, then I received silence back. Until February 4th, when I finally heard from Intel that my prize had shipped! Now, since I normally run AMD I started thinking about how I was going to need to change out my Motherboard & Cooler but also my PSU to try and upgrade my system. At the time I was running a Ryzen 7 2700x with an ASRock B450 Motherboard, Wraith Air Cooler and XFX 650W PSU. However, I knew not to put the cart before the horse, so I said just wait a couple of weeks and when you get your new CPU you can start looking for parts.
The weeks started adding up...
A month passed by, and I received a call from FedEx explaining to me that my package had been lost. Let me tell you I was devastated. I reached out to the contact I was dealing with, and they told me not to worry - a replacement would be on its way. I was able to start getting my hopes up. They asked for a little time to get things sorted...
March turned to April.
April turned to May.
May turned to June.
June turned to July.
July turned to August.
I couldn't take it anymore, 5 months of unanswered communication and what seemed like broken promises - I had reached the end of my rope and lost all faith that I was ever going to see the prize I had won. So I decided to throw out a hail mary.
August 30th - After a day of cyber sleuthing, I sent an extremely detailed email to the Director of Global Customer Care at Intel, laying out my entire case and asking for their support. It was a long shot, but I had no other option.
August 31st - A reply.
Absolutely shocked when that email came through, that a Director of such a global company would be replying to my email, but my long shot had paid off and they said they would take this matter on personally. Finally some good news.
September 16th - The package finally arrived. It wasn't the full kit, with the Swag and the Hardcase - but I had the chip, which for me was really what it was all about.
Well, now that I finally had the chip in hand. Time to build right? - Not quite. I still hadn't bought the new parts that I needed, and at that moment I couldn't really focus on the build so I put it off for a while.
October 13th - I put in the order, a new Z690 Motherboard, 240mm AIO and 850w PSU all scheduled to arrive in about 3 days' time. I could see the finish line... until I couldn't. My items were delayed and nothing arrived until the 26th.
October 28th - Now was the time, I could finally start building my new rig! I had been so looking forward to this moment, and it had been nearly a year to get to this point, so I wanted to take a moment to document, remember it and share it with you all!
Then not pictured here, is when I take my AIO out so that I can start planning if I want the tubes running forward or backwards. That is when I come across utter devastation in this process.
The radiator and fans are too thick, they won't fit in the gap. I made all the measurements, to make sure that it all fit, but this little lip I never thought about. Devastated.
That night, I knew I had no other option - I needed a new case. So an order was placed and the DeepCool CG560 was on its way. Another day wasted.
November 3rd - The new case arrived, and now there was nothing stopping me. The PC was being built! I had a full day of work and parenting, and it was getting late after 8:00 pm but there was no turning back.
Things were moving ahead, all the components were fitting. The CPU went into the MB, the MB into the Case, the AIO into the Case, and the PSU into the Case. I was taking it slow, but it was finally time to start hooking up cables, and everything was going great until.
It was after 10 pm, and my mental capacity was wearing thin. This screw was positioned perfectly so that I couldn't connect my SATA cable to that SSD. I had two options:
- Remove the SSD
- Remove the Screw
Well, since that was a Motherboard mounting screw, and the access screws to the SSD were also behind the Motherboard I would have had to reverse all the work I've done up to this point to take out that motherboard. So I did the logical thing and...
It was close to 11:30 pm, but finally
After cleaning up the dining room table, I took the PC to the office to try the first boot. The lights turned on! The fans were spinning. Then - Nothing.
November 4th - We had crossed over midnight, but I wasn't stopping until I got this to work! That is when I noticed the little red light at the top right.
Devastated. I had to figure out what was going on with my RAM. The sleep deprivation and constant issues have gotten to me, was it my RAM? Was it my motherboard? Did I break something? Was it already broken? - So started the game of musical RAM sticks. Finally using one stick in slot 2, we got it to POST! - YAY! I shut it down and moved the same stick over to slot 4, it also posted. Then I tried adding my 2nd stick in again - nothing. Apparently one of my 8gb sticks had died - CRAP! Also, after all that, I realized my boot disk, the SSD we fought so hard to connect, wasn't showing - DOUBLE CRAP!
Another game had to be played, but this time it was musical SATA cables until finally, all four disks were showing. After a windows install, the rig was finally done.
Through it all, I've never built a rig that had so many ups and downs. So many moments of celebration, followed by devastation. There were moments I felt tested, but I'm glad I stuck it out. This PC means just that little bit more to me after all that, and for the first time ever, I gave it a name.
TL:DR: Won a CPU, had to wait 10 months for it to arrive. Started building PC, the case didn't work. Bought a new case. Had to saw a screw to get SDD in. RAM Stick Died. - Nearly gave up. Didn't.
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