So, I have some leftover computer parts on hand from my recent builds / rebuilds. I have parts from prizes I won in this AMD Support Forum, such as when I won Rig of the Month with Purrfection in September 2022. And I have an older AMD FX computer installed into my workbench shelf called TOTB (Thinking Outside The Box), which had replaced the older flatbed scanner called Scan-a-Tron-2 a few years ago. Anyway, the modern AMD CPUs, meaning the Ryzen series, are much faster than the AMD FX series of CPUs, so I decided to go for a major upgrade. I would keep the same piece of plywood and aluminum bars frame structure from TOTB, and pull out the old motherboard. I could even keep those spinning hard drives (HDD) mounted on the plywood, as they are fine for gaming and data drives.
First order of business was to deal with this Gigabyte AB350-Gaming 3 motherboard. It had a very old BIOS and I wanted to run an AMD Ryzen 5 5600 CPU. So I had to deal with installing first the Ryzen 7 1800X CPU, flash the BIOS, and then install the Ryzen 5 5600 CPU. But it wasn't so easy you see. When I tried to flash to the latest BIOS after booting into the old BIOS while on the 1800X CPU, it kept telling me the BIOS image was bad or corrupt. So I downloaded it again and once more I got the same message. I then tried a few of the BIOS files before the latest one (from February 2023), and they didn't run either. Eventually I noticed that I had to first flash to a much earlier BIOS from 2021, then I could flash to the latest BIOS. I had to do this on the 1800X CPU, because I wanted to install Windows 11 on a new M.2 drive, and Windows 11 doesn't approve of the older 1800X CPU. Anyway, I got to the latest BIOS and then installed the 5600 CPU, so it's all good now. I'm initially using the stock AMD CPU cooler, and I noticed the 1800X was running around 54 C when idle. That's too hot for me.
More to follow....
Next up was to again attempt to flash to the current BIOS (F52i from February 2023). This time it was successful. Now I could pull out the Ryzen 7 1800X and put in the Ryzen 5 5600 CPU. I noticed when I booted up that this CPU was running a bit cooler than the 1800X was. I had already ordered a CoolerMaster Hyper 212 RGB cooler in black, so I was still going to replace the stock AMD cooler. Anyway, I was now ready to load Windows 11 onto the M.2 drive, and this will be the second time I've reused a Windows 11 USB install drive and an online purchase of a Windows 11 Home key (for $37.52 after fees). It installed fine and it was time for a glass of wine. This was all happening Wednesday, 02 August 2023. It was a good day.
With the new components up and running, it was now time to place them on the plywood base of TOTB, which meant pulling off the old motherboard, CPU cooler and video card. It was hard to pull the plywood out of the shelf unit back on Wednesday (as I needed to use the PSU for the new build), because my left thumb had become infected somehow over the previous weekend. I did see a doctor on Monday (end of July 2023) and he prescribed antibiotics for the infection. It sure was hurting me though and it was hard to hold things due to the pain. But I powered through it and I won't show you any pictures of what came out of the bulge on my thumb when I eventually popped it on 04 August 2023. It feels much better now.
Anyway, I installed the new components onto the plywood on Thursday, 03 August 2023. It went pretty well and I used an old (early version LED) fan mounted to the video card to keep air moving over the motherboard and it's M.2 heatsink. The next step would be to install the new CPU cooler and then place this build back into the shelf unit; the cooler was due to arrive on 04 August 2023. I hate waiting.....
Ah, my new CPU cooler arrived early Friday (04 August 2023) afternoon. Wait a minute, this one is white and I ordered the black one! Oh, I see what happened. The UPC / Product label is wrong. It says this is the black version and it's on the white version box. Well, I can still use it, but maybe the color isn't the best choice....
Or is it? I discovered another problem - a bigger problem actually. The RGB connector on the fan plugs into the 5 V addressable RGB connector on a motherboard. But my motherboard only has the 12 V RGB (non-addressable) connectors. I cannot plug this LED fan into the motherboard at all. Crap.
So, I remembered that I had three RGB fans from the earlier version of TOTB that I wasn't planning to reuse. Well, now I was changing my mind and I decided to use them. I would install two of these mostly black fans on the CPU cooler and the other one would replace the cheap LED fan mounted to the end of the video card.
Mounting hardware consisted mainly of zip-ties! Boy, these come in handy because CoolerMaster only gives you two of those fan spring-wire clips for the one fan they supply and I had a second fan to attach. Also, my custom attachment to the end of the video card wasn't going to be easy with real mounting brackets. And, to top it off, I am cheap. I'll go with stuff I have on hand at times like these.
Now it's time to get this computer placed back into the shelving unit. Not an easy task - remember I had an injured thumb on my left hand? I didn't forget about it. Anyway, I had to climb up on the workbench and muscle the plywood frame up onto the hooks in the back. Then I saw that a few PSU cables were not long enough to go behind the motherboard, so I had to disconnect them and route them around the front, behind the video card. I won't win any 'cable management' contests with his upgrade, but I got it installed and running smoothly. Another viable gaming computer for my upcoming Labor Day LAN party!
So this rebuild project was completed Friday night (04 August 2023). I even had time to game a bit on the new build before I went upstairs to watch a Clint Eastwood movie (High Plains Drifter) that I've seen maybe a dozen times. My wife and her girlfriend Lynn were at a performance in The Kennedy Center. They dined at the restaurant in The Watergate Hotel (remember Nixon?) while I ate a sandwich. But I was happy.
Ok, time to spill my guts to the AMD public. What would improve my gaming experience on this computer you might ask? A new video card perhaps? Nope. I'm cheap, and somewhat constrained by my spousal unit. Instead, I wanted to be more comfortable while gaming. I don't particularly like looking up at the monitor all the time. I like it in front of me. But my previous mount for the monitor would not lower the screen at all. I needed to fix that. So I ordered a new monitor mounting arm from Amazon yesterday and installed it today. This one allows me to move the monitor up and out of the way when I'm not on this computer, but I can also bring it down to eye-level when I am gaming while sitting at my workbench. Here's the install pictures....
I've updated my website to include the rebuild of TOTB. Give it a look if you have a few minutes.
The original TOTB was built into a plastic tub and hung on the wall in our den. When my Scan-a-Tron needed replacement, I took TOTB out of the plastic tub and placed the plywood base into my shelving unit above the workbench in our basement storage room. Now I have used that plywood base to support a new motherboard, CPU, RAM and CPU cooler. I even upgraded the video card. This machine is good for 1080p gaming.
