New (Old) Iteration!

In December of 2024, I decided to do something very cool! I got an old HP Pavilion 540n computer, with a design I’ve sought after for well over a decade! I decided this was finally time for me to redo my computer. Behold!

Specifications:

CPU: AMD Ryzen 9 5950X
Motherboard: Asus TUF B550M-PLUS mATX AM4
RAM: 64GB Crucial DDR4-3200
GPU: Nvidia GeForce RTX 2080 Super 8GB
Storage: Samsung 990 1TB NVMe + 980 1TB, 2x Seagate 2TB 2.5″ HDD
PSU: XPG Core Reactor II 650W
Peripherals: LG BD-RE drive, Kingwin 5.25″ card reader, floppy drive (works!)
Cooling: Noctua NH-U14S (w/cosmetic damage discount!) + Noctua 92mm exhaust
Monitors: Dell G2422HS 24″ 1080p 165Hz IPS LCD + ViewSonic A75f 17″ Aperture Grille CRT

Doing this was a tradeoff for sure. The cooling of my old case (as you’ll see below) was MUCH better, so I sacrificed that at lot. It doesn’t help that I now have even more powerful hardware than I did. But the fact of the matter is that despite my high-end hardware suggesting otherwise, I’m a fairly casual user that more favors features & reliable performance than someone who runs it at redline all the time.

Think of me as the person that gently drives a sports car, but since I’ve got the kick, I can get some dang good speed if I want it! (But in reality, I drive a Toyota Corolla)