[Series] ~Showa PC Geek Chronicles~ Part 12: "My First Custom Build"

I was no longer satisfied with just "buying" a computer.

Manufacturer-made PCs are convenient.
BTOs also offer good value for money.

However, something felt lacking.

Because I had reached a point where I could no longer stand
"using something without knowing what's inside."

And finally,
I decided to take on the challenge of building my own PC.

A 150,000 yen decision

My first custom PC.
The budget was, if I recall, around 150,000 yen.

It was by no means a cheap amount for me at the time.
Rather, it was quite a gamble.

Even so, my knowledge was still not enough.

So I relied on
Tsukumo Nagoya Store No. 1 in Osu Ameyoko.

I explained the situation to the clerk.

"I'm building a PC for the first time, and my budget is around 150,000 yen..."

The clerk then, in a practiced manner,
told me their recommendations in order: CPU, motherboard, memory, power supply, and graphics card.

"This combination will work just fine."

As cheap as possible within the budget.
Yet, without compromising the balance.

With that in mind, I chose the parts
focusing on the clerk's recommendations.

And then—

I bought everything right there on the spot.

CPU
Motherboard
Memory
Power supply
Graphics card
Case

Looking back, it was quite bold, but
at the time, that was the most reassuring way.

Back then, for custom builds, rather than information on the internet,
the shop staff were our teachers.

And so, the parts for my first custom PC in life were gathered.

A "castle" called a middle tower

The case was a Sharkoon middle tower.

The deciding factor was
the blue LED fan glowing on the front.

It wasn't a glass panel like today's.
It was just black, rugged, and excessively bulky.

But to me at the time,
it looked incredibly cool.

The smell of brand-new parts taken out of the box.
The crisp feel of the anti-static bag.
The precise circuit board of the motherboard.

Everything looked divine.

The greatest tension — the CPU

The part that made me the most nervous was, of course, the CPU.

I chose an Intel Core i3.

In terms of performance, it wasn't high-end.
But for a first custom build, it was enough.

For the graphics card, I chose
Radeon .

Looking back, it was a modest configuration, but
for me at the time, it was more than enough performance.

The moment I placed that small square
into the motherboard socket.

If I bent a pin, it would be all over.

I held my breath.
I slowly lowered the lever.

Click.

"...It worked."

In that moment,
I felt like I had cleared a hurdle.

First Boot

I finished the wiring.

I turned on the power.

The fan started spinning.

Silence.

And then—

The BIOS screen appeared on the monitor.

It was a success on the first try.

I still can't forget the thrill of that moment.

A machine I built with my own hands
was actually working.

It wasn't just a computer.

It was a creation.

📷 My first completed custom PC

When I turned on the power, the blue fan started spinning slowly.
This was the first custom PC of my life.

The Custom Build Rabbit Hole

And, naturally, this is what happens.

Once you experience building your own,
there's no turning back.

I started checking for component compatibility.
I started calculating power supply capacity.
I started thinking about airflow.

The PC was no longer a black box.

I could see the inside.
I understood how it worked.

And above all—

It was fun.

Before I knew it, my custom PC building
didn't end with just one.

Two, three...

In the end,
I would build over 30 custom PCs.

Of course, building that many
using only new parts was financially impossible.

So I started
collecting used parts.

And even further beyond that—

junk partsbecame my next target.

Buying parts without knowing if they worked,
and combining them to make them run.

It was like a mechanical puzzle.
I sourced my parts exclusively from Yahoo Auctions and HARD-OFF.

That said,
it wasn't enough for them to just work.

I wanted a certain level of performance.

That's where I used
game benchmark software.

Dragon Quest.
Final Fantasy.
And Resident Evil.

I would run them
to measure the performance of my custom PCs.

It was satisfying when the score went up.

And then, once again,
I start searching for the next parts.

📷 Custom Build No. 2

My second custom build, using a case I bought after falling in love with its Eva-style form at first sight. It still looks cool even now.
By this time, I had become a complete PC geek.

And then the war begins

My first custom build was
Core i3 + Radeon.

But after that,
the CPU moved to Core i5, and then Core i7.

The graphics card also
changed to a GTX960.

And I
started to think like this.

"Which CPU is truly the fastest?"

Intel?
AMD?

Performance.
Price.
Brand.
And—faith.

🔔 Part 13 Preview

"The CPU War"
The story finally enters its core.

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