It's Valentine's Day! And I wanted to build my wife a PC as she has been nothing but supportive of my work and dreams. She's not a gamer, but got into gaming as she knows I love it, so just that is reason enough for me to want to build her something comfy.
Planning the build was the hardest part. I wanted it to fit in an IKEA Kallax shelf, it has to look pretty with lots of RGB, and be cheap as we can't really afford to spend too much now.
All of the build was sourced from 2nd-hand markets, discount shops, but were all in pretty mint condition. I spent weeks trawling these markets just so I can pick out the good deals. I wanted cheap, but I wanted mint condition stuff too. I tested them on my table first in a really janky setup, and it posted!
With all the parts needed, I set about planning the build. The PSU is hidden behind a old IKEA Kallax cupboard door which I got for $2. I also measured and installed standoffs on the door which will hold the motherboard. I bought longer than standard standoffs so I can tuck cables under the mobo for a clean look, and also drill more holes for improved airflow to the PSU behind.
I then installed magnetic brackets to hold the IKEA-door-mobo-mount upright in front of the PSU. This hides the PSU, and is easy to just pop off the mobo should I need to access the PSU.
I then used a plank of wood from Daiso to fashion a mount for the radiator. I also modified a old USB hub I found lying around into the mount, and added a power switch so my wife now has an IO!
Finally I fashioned a small bracket to hold the GPU as I do not have a proper PCIE slot.
All in all, it was hard but fun to build, and runs decently well. I planned the build to support a much better GPU in the future, hopefully it will be the one I win from #Scooget :p
Once we have a new GPU, it will just be a case of popping it in, and I will do some proper watercooling for it and setup a glass panel in front. Right now it's just running like a test bench, but temps are really low!
The wife was ecstatic when I finally told her this build is actually for her. We spent Valentine's Day just gaming together for the first time over some beers. Totally worth it!
Planning the build was the hardest part. I wanted it to fit in an IKEA Kallax shelf, it has to look pretty with lots of RGB, and be cheap as we can't really afford to spend too much now.
All of the build was sourced from 2nd-hand markets, discount shops, but were all in pretty mint condition. I spent weeks trawling these markets just so I can pick out the good deals. I wanted cheap, but I wanted mint condition stuff too. I tested them on my table first in a really janky setup, and it posted!
With all the parts needed, I set about planning the build. The PSU is hidden behind a old IKEA Kallax cupboard door which I got for $2. I also measured and installed standoffs on the door which will hold the motherboard. I bought longer than standard standoffs so I can tuck cables under the mobo for a clean look, and also drill more holes for improved airflow to the PSU behind.
I then installed magnetic brackets to hold the IKEA-door-mobo-mount upright in front of the PSU. This hides the PSU, and is easy to just pop off the mobo should I need to access the PSU.
I then used a plank of wood from Daiso to fashion a mount for the radiator. I also modified a old USB hub I found lying around into the mount, and added a power switch so my wife now has an IO!
Finally I fashioned a small bracket to hold the GPU as I do not have a proper PCIE slot.
All in all, it was hard but fun to build, and runs decently well. I planned the build to support a much better GPU in the future, hopefully it will be the one I win from #Scooget :p
Once we have a new GPU, it will just be a case of popping it in, and I will do some proper watercooling for it and setup a glass panel in front. Right now it's just running like a test bench, but temps are really low!
The wife was ecstatic when I finally told her this build is actually for her. We spent Valentine's Day just gaming together for the first time over some beers. Totally worth it!