Twenty-five years ago, I built my first computer.
Well… I attempted to build my first computer.
It booted Windows 2000 for reasons I still can’t explain, crashed constantly, and only half worked.
So I decided it was time to try again.
This is my new Linux machine… Opus.
One night I was talking to ChatGPT about dreaming about building a computer, and I just decided then and there, screw it. Let’s do it.
Initially, I was going to build a computer using the free Computer-2 case I got from Teenage Engineering. However, I saw some builds of it online, and I just didn’t like it. I had to dream bigger.
Building the PC
The first step was finding a motherboard. I had a few options, but I decided on the MSI MAG B650 TOMAHAWK. I was firmly going down the AMD route, as I knew I wanted to run a Linux Distro. It costs £187 new on Amazon, but I found an open-box version that was described as ‘like new’ for just £129. Saving money on the motherboard meant I could spend it somewhere else later.
That same night, I ordered the case. The Fractal North. I went with the black version and the glass side panel because I think it just looks so nice.
I’m going to be honest—I leaned on ChatGPT throughout this build.
Not because it built the PC for me, but because every time I wasn’t sure about something, I had someone to sanity-check my thinking before I did something expensive.
The following day, I started shopping around for a CPU cooler and a Power Supply. For the cooler I went with the Thermalright Phantom Spirit 120SE — I ended up with the ARGB version which wasn’t a deliberate choice, but I’m actually really glad I did. For the PSU, I went with the be quiet! Pure Power 13M. It’s a 750w power supply which, according to AI, should be more than enough for my needs. The advantage of the 13M model is that it’s modular — the cables aren’t built in, you just connect what you want and leave out what you don’t need.
For the processor, I went with an AMD Ryzen 9 9900X. And I’d like to give a shoutout to PC Tec UK who I bought this from. They’re not sponsoring the video or anything, but they sell OEM versions of the processors for much cheaper than the retail box version, and their customer service is superb. I received it in less than 24 hours, they Whatsapp’d me advice, pictures of the processor, the packaging and tracking number.
In terms of why I picked this processor — I’m not using this computer just for gaming, but that is important. I’m going to be using this for video editing, music production, game audio programmes such as Unity and 3D Printing. So I needed a very capable all-rounder.
At the start of this process, I knew exactly how I was going to handle the GPU. This is the most expensive component alongside the RAM, so I knew I was going to use the second hand market. In the UK we have a chain of stores called CeX which you can trade in your gear and buy other gear people have traded in. So — I traded in just over £500 of stuff I no longer use, and got a Sapphire Nitro Plus AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT with 16GB GDDR6 memory. It was £645, but with my voucher from the trade in, I paid about £130.
And now the truly painful bit. RAM. I’m building a computer at the worst possible time, with RAM prices going through the roof. I hope the prices return to how they were two years ago, but for now, I’ve gone with KLEVV FIT V 32GB of DDR5 memory. I like this RAM because it’s low profile, and the CPU cooler takes up a lot of space. The RAM fits perfectly.
For storage, I had a Crucial P3 Plus 1TB drive sitting in a drawer, so I’m using that. It’s not the best, so in addition to this, I traded in a few more things into CeX and bought a 2 TB Samsung 990 Pro.
So with all the parts in place, it’s time to build. Like I said before, I didn’t know what I’m doing. So I took it slowly, using a combination of ChatGPT, the instruction manuals, and video tutorials to help me. It took about 3 hours and to my delight, it booted up straight away.
After a quick BIOS update and correcting the RAM speed, I installed my OS of choice: Bazzite. My knowledge of Linux is quite basic, but I’ve used Ubuntu a bit before on my Plex server. The Bazzite website has a nice feature that lets you customise your experience before you download it. I’m using the KDE desktop environment, and I’ve chosen not to have the machine automatically launch into game mode, using desktop mode instead. As I say, it’s only partially a gaming machine, and if I want quick access into Steam’s Big Picture mode, I have a Steam Controller and two presses of the Steam button takes me straight there.
Gaming Performance
Part of the reason I built this machine is for gaming. I’m a Mac user, and whilst the gaming landscape on Mac is very slowly improving, it’s still so far away from having a Linux or Windows gaming PC.
A game I’ve really wanted to play in decent resolution is the Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered. It’s a really poorly optimised game, remastered in Unreal Engine 5. On the Steam Deck it runs like a potato.
But on this computer… wow! I’m running this game in 4K Ultra settings, and in outdoor areas I’m getting an average of around 70-80fps. Indoors, it’s often over 100.
Fallout 76 also runs in 4K Ultra, and I get over 100fps easily.
In Cyberpunk 2077, I’m running it in 4K with a mixture of Ultra and High settings, Ray tracing turned on, and I get between 60 and 80 fps depending on the scene.
In First Light, once again I’m running it at 4K high settings, and 50-60fps consistently.
So yeah — for the gaming performance, I’m really happy. 4K performance is great, and I could easily get even more performance by dropping it to 1440p.
When the Steam Machine pre-orders began, and I ended up stuck on the waiting list, I was a bit disappointed, to be honest. I thought it was the perfect machine for me, but it turns out that wasn’t the case. I’m really happy with the machine I’ve built, and I’m really excited to see where this Linux machine takes me.
