Custom System
Near the end of 2019, a decision was made to build a custom machine. Below is a summary of the current system configuration:
Item | Name | Price ($) |
power supply | EVGA 700 BR | 65.21 |
motherboard | MSI MPG Z390M Gaming Edge AC | 191.98 |
case | Corsair Carbide Series 175R RGB | 75.66 |
CPU cooler | Noctua NH-L9i 92mm SSO2 CPU Cooler | 39.95 |
main storage | Crucial MX500 2.5” 1TB SATA III 3D NAND Internal SSD | 109.99 |
secondary storage | Seagate BarraCuda 2TB 7200 RPM | 54.89 |
system memory | Crucial 32GB (2 x 16GB) DDR4 2666MHz DRAM CL19 1.2V DR DIMM (288-pin) | 130.00 |
cable | StarTech.com 18-inch SATA Serial ATA Cable | 3.90 |
processor | Inter Core i7-8700k Coffee Lake 6-Core 3.7GHz (4.7GHz Turbo) LGA 1151 (300 series) 95W | 354.99 |
system fan | Corsair ML120 PRO 120mm Premium Magnetic Levitation PWM Fan | 23.99 |
keyboard | Microsoft Natural Ergonomic 4000 | 4.00 |
mouse | HP C2600 (keyboard and mouse combination) | 25.00 |
speakers | Philips | 5.00 |
monitor | LG 27UK650-W 27 Inch 4K UHD IPS LED Monitor with HDR 10 and Adjustable Stand | 0 |
USB expansion card | Allegro Pro Type A 4-port USB 3.2 PCIe card with four 10Gbps ports, dual controllers & USB charging × 1 | 139.99 |
total cost | 1224.55 |
The monitor is one I already owned long before building the machine. The system runs Linux Mint 19.3 Long-Term Support (LTS). The entire system costs less than than my late-2016 MacBook Pro laptop with TouchBar (Built-to-Order) which cost $2450 when new. This machine has been my daily driver. In fact, this machine got me to look into purchasing an Android phone and moving from my iPhone 7, since iOS does not support MTP.