Description
In early 2016, I fell in love with the idea of building a computer. I knew absolutely nothing about it, so I tried to do some research. It was so stressful but intriguing because all of the videos I could find (mainly "tech quickie" at the time) would explain a subject about PCs, but they would assume that you knew a bunch about computers already. So, little by little, my knowledge grew and so I was more able to ask direct questions on places like YouTube and here on the PCPartPicker forums. Up until August of 2017, I never had any hands-on experience because I didn't have enough money. For that year and a half, I was happy just watching Tech/PC YouTubers.
I finally got my chance to build a computer in August because I got a friend into the hobby of computer building. You can read more about that adventure here. https://pcpartpicker.com/b/f8ZRsY
Since I started learning about computers, I have been messing with PCPartPicker lists that have continually evolved as my knowledge did. I got my first job back in April of 2017 and have been saving up my money ever since. With the approval of some of my tech friends, I was finally able to buy what my list evolved into.
Although this build is far from perfect, I finally have some hands-on experience with the hobby and have learned a lot from it. This is only the beginning, as I still have so much to learn, starting with overclocking.
I decided to name this computer Ralph II because my late grandmother named the laptop she bought me for Jr. High school Ralph. The laptop had a geometric texture to it and so does the Meshify C, which is why I bought it. I have used that laptop for over 7 years. Although it was well overdue for an upgrade, its weird not using it anymore.
Laptop: http://wlpapers.com/images/sony-vaio-laptop-2.jpg
My Case: https://www.vortez.net/news_file/11367_fractal%20design%20meshify%20c.jpg
(Let me know if those links ever stop working)
Also, I apologize for the poor quality pictures, I took them on my parent's IPhone 8 so they looked very nice, but they compressed somewhere along the line of me uploading them here.
Part Reviews
CPU
This is a solid CPU. Its easier to notice a CPU not working well than one that is working well because it just looks like a computer doing its job; not matter what I do, my computer doesn't lag, slow down, or overheat so I have absolutely no complaints. I'm not sure about overclocking, but that's because I don't really know how to do it properly.
CPU Cooler
Once you get this thing installed, you will absolutely love it. The fan sticker comes off easy if you don't like the look of it.
If you have a Ryzen CPU, ORDER THE SEPARATE AM4 BRACKET IN ADVANCE.
https://www.bequiet.com/en/contact/coolermounting
Once you receive the bracket, follow the included paper instructions. If you do that instead of trying to follow some German YouTube video, your life won't be the burning hell that mine was. Once I finally decided to follow the AM4 bracket paper instructions, the cooler took about 5 minutes to install.
My personal experience with this cooler was horrid, but if you don't make it more complicated than it has to be, your experience will be just fine.
Thermal Compound
3.5g is way more than you think it is. This stuff works well and the included spreader is nice, but I doubt I really needed it.
Motherboard
This is a very average motherboard. It looks nice and is pure black. But BEWARE the ugly yellow LED lights on the bottom half of the motherboard on the left. You can not change the color to anything but yellow, and can only be disabled by the MSI Mystic Light software that constantly sits in the background of you computer and has an impact on you boot time. When you boot the computer, the LEDs will be on until you computer has been sitting at the desktop for about 10 seconds.
Also, it's obnoxiously difficult to find the Mystic Light software. Have fun finding it, because I don't even remember...
Memory
Fits under my Dark Rock Pro 3; of the RAM available that could fit, this is the fastest, most reliable, and best looking.
Storage
My only other storage that I've ever had is a 7 year old 5400rpm laptop drive, so this SSD is wonderful in so many ways. It is small, relatively cheap, high quality, and should last a long time.
Video Card
One of the cheapest 1080s in the market (at the time of my purchase). It has a nice and minimal back-plate, a single 8-pin connector, RGB LED capabilities, a "Fan Stop" LED which is fun to play with, has 3 fans, and is lightweight. I'd recommend this GPU to anyone. You cant see the orange paint from a normal viewing angle of your computer.
Case
As I said in my description, I bought this case for the angular design on the front. If it weren't for that, I would've much rather bought the Fractal Design Define Mini C TG, but I have little against the Meshify, I am very happy with it. My only gripes are the tinted tempered glass, and the front IO being connected to the front panel.
Power Supply
Silent, small, amazing packaging, and black cables, although I do plan to replace them with CableMod ones in the future.
Case Fan
Almost no different from the stock fans, I should've only bought two of these. The are very nice otherwise. They are quiet, all black, come with a fan splitter, and match my case brand.
Custom
Got this as a birthday gift. The Sound quality is nice and is a third of the size of the Yeti.
Custom
I was not a fan of these, the magnetic adhesion severely limited where I could place them in the case.
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