DIYPC Zondda-O

From AzNate's Tech Wiki

The DIYPC Zondda-O is the case that I built my first custom computer in. It's a pretty cheap case, but it got the job done.

DIYPC Zondda-O
DIYPC Zondda-O custom build PC
My custom computer build
TypeDesktop computer
Release dateMarch 2020
Introductory price$500-ish
Operating systemWindows 11 Pro, English
CPUAMD Ryzen 5 5600 @ 3.5 GHz
Memory32 GB (DDR4 3200 MHz)
Storage250GB ADATA SU800NS38 M.2 SSD, 120GB HP S600 SATA SSD, 2TB Seagate Barracuda ST2000DM008 SATA HDD, 1TB Crucial MX500 SATA SSD
GraphicsPowerColor Fighter AMD Radeon RX 6600
Connectivity4 USB 2.0, 5 USB 3.1 Gen1, 2 Audio jacks, 2 HDMI, 2 DisplayPort, 1 DVI-D, 1 VGA, 1 PS/2
PowerThermaltake 500 W PSU

Collection Specifics

Graphics

I built this computer in March 2020, right before computer hardware prices skyrocketed, especially graphics cards. Thanks to that, I kind of regretted not jumping up a tier to a RTX 2060, so I have a GTX 1650 in my system since it's cheaper. It's still a decent card, so I'm not that upset.

On November 27, 2023, I upgraded my GTX 1650 to a PowerColor Fighter Radeon RX 6600 for around $180. This is a great deal considering the performance should be comparable to a RTX 3060, but for way cheaper.

CPU

I went with an AMD Ryzen 5 1600AF when I built this computer because it was only $85 on Amazon and it's a pretty decent CPU. Especially for only $85.

On August 2, 2024, I bought an AMD Ryzen 5 5600 for ~CA$180 from Canada Computers in Toronto as I've been wanting a little CPU upgrade for a bit. This is the latest generation Ryzen CPU my computer supports without upgrading the motherboard and it should hopefully allow this system to be performant for a little while longer than with the 1600AF. (Also I finally rotated my CPU cooler so that it doesn't block my RAM slots).

Memory

When I first built this computer, I only had 8 GB of memory installed. However, I'm an avid Cities: Skylines player and I use a lot of mods, so more RAM was helpful on that front. Now, you might be wondering how I ended up with 20 GB. Well, originally I had 2 4 GB sticks. One of these sticks is stuck under the stock AMD CPU cooler, and thanks to my laziness, I decided to buy a single 16 GB stick and just replace the easily accessible 4 GB stick.

On August 2, 2024, when I bought my Ryzen 5 5600, I also bought a pack of Corsair Vengeance 32 GB (2x16) RAM from Canada Computers. I finally fixed the wonky 20 GB setup I had and have a matching set now. I also took this chance to actually apply a XMP profile to my RAM finally, so it'll now run at full speed.

Storage

Lots of upgrades have been done to my storage configuration over time. Originally, I only had a 128 GB TeamGroup M.2 SSD and the 2 TB Seagate HDD. However, I play a lot of different games and store a lot of different things related to virtual machines, such as installation images for various operating systems, which take up a lot of space, especially newer ones. Eventually I upgraded my boot M.2 SSD to the 250 GB ADATA one since 128 GB was a bit small, then eventually I shoved in a 120 GB HP SSD that I used to use for dual booting. Lastly, I obtained a 1 TB Crucial SSD as a gift to make up my current storage configuration.

Operating System

Since this computer was built in 2020, I of course, originally installed Windows 10 Pro. Since then, I got more involved in the Windows Insider Program and started running preview builds on this machine, so now it runs Windows 11 Insider Preview builds.

I also used to dual boot Windows 7 on this machine since all of the hardware supported it, but I almost never used it. For a short time, I also had an Ubuntu dual boot and a Windows 8 install. Eventually, I upgraded the Windows 7 dual boot to Windows 10 after Windows 11 came out, due to many things dropping Windows 7 support. Though, the Windows 10 install is quite useless because Windows 11 isn't much different except visually.

At some point, I wiped the Windows 10 install to get a little bit more extra storage space because, somehow, I keep running out of storage...