Why a new PC

• Macbook Pro was fine before 2020
  • 2014 MBP 13" i7 16GB
• Pandemic WFH 2020 cooked it
  • Large FP projects
  • Zoom/Slack with Webcam
  • Screen sharing
  • New 4K screen(s)

Specs required

• Multi-core CPU
• 32GB+ RAM
• Fast 1TB+ SSD
• Graphics card that handles 4K & games
• MacOS preferred, but could be Linux
• Not noisy

Mac or Linux

• 2020 Macbook Pro 13"
  • 32GB, quad core i7, 2TB
    • £2999
  • + eGPU & AMD 5700XT
    • £3670
• 2020 Macbook Pro 16"
  • 64GB, 8 core i9, 8GB GPU, 2TB
    • £4099
• 2019 Mac Mini
  • 64GB, 8 core i7, 2TB, eGPU, 5700XT
    • £3570
• Linux desktop
  • 64GB, 12 core Ryzen 9, 3TB
    • < £2000
• Don't need a laptop for a while

Research & Shopping

• Youtube
  • Bitwit, Gamers Nexus, Linus Tech Tips, Level1Techs
  • JayzTwoCents, Paul's Hardware, KitGuruTech
  • Hardware Canucks, BadSeed Tech, TechBlock
  • Hardware Unboxed, Greg Salazar, Gear Seekers
• Reddit
  • buildapc, pcmasterrace, linuxhardware
  • Battlestations, AverageBattlestations, ShittyBattlestations
  • AskBattlestations, IkeaPCstations, Workspaces, Macsetups
  • CableManagement, Ryzentosh
  • Amd, Nvidia, Asus, FractalDesignNA, NZXT, CoolerMaster

PC Part Picker

• pcpartpicker.com

New CPUs & GPUs

• Nvidia Ampere class graphics cards
  • Nvidia GeForce RTX 3090, 3080, 3070
  • Announced 1st September
  • Released in October
  • 3070 not yet available
• AMD Ryzen Zen 3 CPUs
  • AMD Ryzen 5000 series
  • Announced 8th October
  • Released 5th November
• AMD Big Navi class graphics cards
  • AMD Radeon RX 6800, 6800XT
  • Announcement 18th November
  • Expected release 8th December
  • AMD Radeon RX 6900XT later
• Why not?
  • Needed a PC in October
  • Cards & chips scarce or not yet released
  • Hardware & software bugs
  • Motherboard reflash
  • Kernel & driver support
• Upgrade next year...

Parts list

Parts list

• CPU: AMD Ryzen 9
  • AMD Ryzen 9 3900X 12 core
  • Alternatives:
    • AMD Ryzen 7 3700X 8 core. £110 less
    • AMD Ryzen 9 3950X 16 core. £300 more
    • AMD Ryzen 9 5900X 12 core. Maybe £200 more
    • AMD Threadripper 3990X 64 core. £3400 more
• RAM: 64GB 3600Hz
  • G.Skill Trident Z Neo 4x16GB 3600Hz CL16
  • Alternatives:
    • 2x16GB 3200hz. £200 less
    • 4x32GB 3600hz. £280 more
• Motherboard: AMD B550
  • Asus ROG Strix B550-E Gaming
  • Alternatives:
    • MSI MAG B550 Tomahawk. £100 less
    • Asus ROG Crosshair VIII Hero X570. £100 more

Parts list

• Graphics card: AMD Radeon 5700XT
  • PowerColor Radeon RX 5700 XT 8GB Red Devil.
  • Alternatives:
    • Asus Dual OC AMD Radeon RX 580. £180 less
    • MSI Gaming X Trio Nvidia Geforce 2070 Super. £120 more
    • Asus STRIX Gaming Nvidia Geforce 3070. £200 more
• Case: Airflow/mesh
  • Fractal Design Meshify S2.
  • Alternatives:
    • Lian Li Lancool II Mesh. £80 less
    • Phanteks P600S. £5 less
    • CoolerMaster P500 Mesh. £20 more
  • Fans: 4 Fractal Design Prisma AL-14 PWM 140mm

Parts list

• Cooler: 280mm AIO liquid cooler
  • Fractal Design Celsius+ 280
  • Alternatives:
    • Deepcool Castle 280EX. £30 less
    • NZXT Kraken Z63. £80 more
• Disk: NVME & SSD
  • NVME PCIe 4.0: Seagate FireCuda 520 1TB
  • SSD: Samsung 860 Evo 2TB
  • Alternatives:
    • No SSD. £219 less
    • Samsung 970 Evo NVME PCIe 3.0 512GB. £110 less
    • Seagate BarraCuda 2TB HDD. £140 less
• Power supply: 850 watts
  • BeQuiet Straight Power 11 850 watts
  • Alternatives:
    • Corsair RMx White 750 watts. £40 less

Parts list

Build: Case

Fractal Design Meshify S2

• Mesh front

Build: Case

Fractal Design Meshify S2

• USB C on front IO

Build: Case

Fractal Design Meshify S2

• Includes fan hub

Build: Fans

Fractal Design Prisma AL-14 PWM

• PWM
• RGB
• 8 140mm fans
• 3 intake fans at the front, 1 at the bottom, 1 via PSU
• 1 exhaust fan at the back and 2 with the top radiator
• Fan hub was helpful

Build: Fans

• Non RGB Fan at the bottom

Build: Motherboard outside

Asus ROG Strix B550-E

• Slot CPU in and lock it
• Click in RAM sticks
• Screw in NVME drive

Build: Fit motherboard

• IO shield
• 8 screws

Build: Motherboard

• Cable management

Build: AIO Cooler

Fractal Design Celsius+ 280

• Attach fans to radiator

Build: AIO Cooler

• Attach radiator to the top lid
• Reattach the top lid into the case

Build: AIO Cooler

• Fit AM4 bracket to pump
• Apply thermal paste
• Fit pump to CPU

Build: Graphics card

PowerColor Radeon RX 5700 XT 8GB Red Devil

• Slot in graphics card in top 16x PCIe slot
• Attach 2 x 8 pin power cables

Build: Graphics card

First boot

Does it post?

First boot

Operating System

Pop!_OS 20.04

• Made by System76
• Based on Ubuntu 20.04
• Includes Pop Shell

Operating System

Install Pop!_OS 20.04

• Download ISO from pop.system76.com
• Make bootable USB key in MacOS with Etcher
• Insert into new PC and turn on
• Install onto NVME disk, enable disk encryption

Operating System