My Computer and Network Specs
Greetings!
How are you doing? Are you having a good day? Are you aware I can't hear you respond to these questions?
I have been a fan of computer hardware for a while now, and thought it would be fun to share my current computer and network specs.
My Computer Rig
I've had my current computer for three years now, and it's been running pretty good. It was a prebuilt (not that I can't build my own, it just worked out to be cheaper) that had:
Ryzen 7 2700x Processor
GTX 1660
256 GB SSD
2 TB HDD
16 GB @ 2666mhz Ram
Windows 10
1080p60hz Samsung Monitor
But since then I have made a couple of upgrades:
Replaced GTX 1660 with RX 6600
Got a 2TB M.2 NVMe SSD
Got 32 GB @ 2933
Upgraded to Windows 11
1080p165hz Acer monitor
Overall, I've been really happy with my Ryzen 7 2700x processor. I have considered upgrading to a 5000 series processor, but I was waiting until the 7000 series dropped to see if it's worth replacing my motherboard too (update, it might not be, but 7000 is still pretty solid). My GTX 1660 had put in a good amount of work, but I got a decent deal on a RX 6600 ($190 + shipping on eBay), and wanted to give my GTX 1660 to someone to help out their rig. The 2TB M.2 has been probably my best upgrade subconsciously, it's amazing how much of a difference having a lot of fast storage makes you not think about it much. Upgrading from 16GB to 32GB of RAM was honestly kind of pointless, just got a decent deal on sticks. I tried running them at higher speeds, but the system was unfortunately unstable, so I had to settle for a lower XMP profile. I probably wouldn't recommend going above 16GB unless you are know you need it. When I updated to Windows 11 it felt basically like they reskinned a handful of things and called it a day, so I don't have much of an opinion on it. The 165hz monitor has been real neat, granted for the size of monitor I got, I regret cheaping out with 1080p and not getting 1440p or higher.
My Network
I went to community college for networking, so I figured I have to put this here. That being said, I still think networking can be a bit dry. So I'll briefly explain my current setup. At the time of writing, we have T-Mobile home internet, which has proved to be pretty decent actually, because we live outside of town. The T-Mobile router (which I have affectionately called the trashcan) is connected to another router, which is in turn sending out Wi-Fi and is hardwired into my PC. Alongside that connection, my secondary router is connected to a Raspberry Pi running Pi Hole and the Brickmasons Discord bot (when it's not down...). Pi Hole is a DNS server that blocks DNS queries to domains that host ads, so I get to enjoy faster speeds and much fewer ads. It's a fairly simple network, that could use some improvements, but it does it's job.
In terms of improvements, I really have been wanting to run some ethernet cables throughout the house to fully connect other devices. However, logistically it won't be easy. Another improvement I've wanted to make is to build a NAS for my families important files as a backup, and maybe a media streaming server. I want to build it more for the experience, since I don't fully think we would use it that often.
Wrapping Up
Anyways, that's what I've got, and some of my future plans, thanks for reading!
Written by LegoBro on 9/28/2022