So, I have a not so unique problem. I want to build a PC with decent power and good Linux support but local parts are hard to get and importing is a mess.

Local shops don’t have much

https://www.scanmalta.com/shop/ this is the only local shop with parts in stock, and even they only have 1 amd GPU.

I’m looking for both amd CPU and GPU. At least 16 GB of ram and ideally as cheap as I can. Anyone have any advice to give me?

I’m aiming for something midrange-ish

  • Megaman_EXE@beehaw.org
    1·
    2 months ago

    This seems like a dumb question, but ima ask it anyway. Is there a more interactive or “fun” way to learn the process of building a pc? I know there are certain compatibility issues parts can have with each other, and I want to learn how to do all this.

    But I feel like the info is really dry, and instead of just memorizing information, I want to make it fun, lol.

    • DdCno1@beehaw.org
      3·
      2 months ago

      There’s PC Building Simulator and its sequel. The first one is on sale right now for 5 bucks (at least in my region):

      https://store.steampowered.com/app/621060/PC_Building_Simulator/

      The sequel is also on sale right now, but it’s only on Epic:

      https://store.epicgames.com/en-US/p/pc-building-simulator-2

      It’s not perfect, but it’s a whole lot closer to the real deal than most other job simulators. You can genuinely use this to pick up the basics, but there’s no substitute building in the real world. The sequel got better reviews (79 on Opencritic vs. 70 for part 1), but I haven’t tried it yet.

      What I’d recommend once you know which part goes where is getting some scrap parts from somewhere and assembling something functional out of them. I’m talking random parts found by the side of the road to at most 20 bucks in total for everything, case included. That’s how I built my first PC as a kid. It was only a 486 with 100 MHz (which came out in 1994) years after the GHz barrier had been breached (~2002ish), but it was mine and I loved it.

      • Megaman_EXE@beehaw.org
        1·
        2 months ago

        Ohh thanks! I’ll have to check that out! I didn’t even think about checking for a game lol

        I built my current PC with a friend back in 2013, and I’ve done some minor upgrading since then, but yeah, most of my knowledge is out the window at this point so maybe this will do the trick :)

        • DdCno1@beehaw.org
          2·
          2 months ago

          Happy to help. Forgot to mention: Make sure to check the difficulty options and disable things like automatically placed cables.

          Also, keep in mind that any prices in there tend to be widely out of date. If you want to use this to plan your build, use PCPartPicker to pick out the parts you can afford and then find them or the closest equivalents in this game. The sequel is obviously going to be a bit more up to date.

    • burgersc12
      2·
      2 months ago

      LTT has some pretty good building videos, very thorough!

      • Megaman_EXE@beehaw.org
        1·
        2 months ago

        I’ll have to take a look, thank you! I guess videos are more fun than just reading the information haha

    • teawrecks@sopuli.xyz
      2·
      2 months ago

      I feel like the end goal has always been the incentive for me. I learned to build a PC because, if I wanted to play the games I wanted, there wasn’t another option. I still do always enjoy the process of putting it all together, but I’m always ready to have it all working, booted, and put to use (if not just so I can be relieved that I don’t need to RMA anything, hah).

      If the end goal isn’t something that interests you, then maybe it’s just not worth doing it.

      • Megaman_EXE@beehaw.org
        1·
        2 months ago

        Hmm, yeah, I get what you’re saying. I guess for me, I don’t feel like I have a ton of time to actually sit down and learn stuff, so any way I can make it more fun or give myself some kind of incentive to learn helps.

        I know I want to get the end result, but it’s just a matter of tricking my stupid monkey brain into thinking it’s just fun games when I’m learning lol. It prevents me from getting bored long enough for me to dig in and get interested

        • teawrecks@sopuli.xyz
          2·
          2 months ago

          Honestly, it’s just a matter of knowing this list:

          • CPU
          • RAM
          • motherboard
          • GPU
          • hard drive
          • case
          • power supply

          And roughly how they should fit together.

          But every time I build a PC I have to figure out what the latest versions of these parts are, make sure they’re compatible, and when I get the parts they might have some unique form factor I have to figure out on the fly. Just going to PC Part Picker and picking out each part is 90% of the way there. After that it’s just a matter of getting them, sticking them together, crossing your fingers that it powers on, and installing an OS. If/when it doesn’t power on, THAT’S when you start learning…

          But I would say building a PC is not a fraction as difficult as say, knowing how to work on a car.