D-DAY [Desk Day]

With my computer ready to use, I was lucky enough to have my desk delivered in two days at no charge [S/O all of the delivery teams busting their ass during COVID!!]. It wasn’t anything fancy: in fact it required an IKEA-like setup. But it would be perfect for the amount of space in my room to keep my MacBook Pro on, my keyboard/mouse, and maybe even a speaker and wireless charger.

With the setup I had currently in my room, I could use my already-mounted TV as a secondary monitor, which would end up being perfect for juggling between apps and games, as well as give my girlfriend a screen to watch content on while I was gaming or working. I got the desk set up and planned to wall-mount the monitor in the highlighted area below. For the time being, I decided against ordering my own monitor, and continuing to use the one lent to me, as long as it wasn’t needed. I don’t know the exact specification, but it seems to be a 27 inch LG 75hz monitor. Eventually, I will upgrade to a monitor with a higher refresh rate. 

I planned on putting the actual PC on the glass table just to the right of my desk, to keep it actually off of my main desk, but still at a spot that was viewable, and accessible to plug in peripherals. I received the mounting hardware for my monitor and got to work. My keyboard and mouse also arrived, and I was ready to finally get everything set up and running!

I was extremely pleased with how the desk came out, especially with the LED lights that I repurposed from behind my TV and stuck onto the back. A salvaged plant added some greenery to the setup, while also lightly matching my keyboard and mouse of choice.

At this point, I was completely set up and ready for gaming!

Now obviously I have added several new components to this build, so I figured I should also make a completely cumulative list of additional parts added to get an idea at the overall total cost of this build:

• MOTHERBOARD: Asus ROG STRIX Z390-I GAMING $198.44, eBay

• CPU: Intel Core i5-9600K $199.69, Amazon

• GPU: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 Super Founders Edition $604.99, Amazon

• RAM: Corsair Vengeance RGB Pro 16GB (2x8GB) DDR4 3600, $99.99, Amazon

• STORAGE: Intel Solid State Drive 660P Series, 1 TB $129.99, Amazon

• COOLING: Corsair iCUE H100i RGB PRO XT $119.99, Amazon

• POWER SUPPLY: Corsair SF Series SF600 80+ Gold $134.99, Amazon

• CASE: NZXT H201i $109.99, NZXT.com

ESTIMATED COST PRETAX (without peripherals): $1,598.07

Peripherals: 

• KEYBOARD: Keychron K2 Wireless Mechanical Keyboard with White LED Backlit Keys, Brown Switches $84.99, Amazon

• MOUSE: Finalmouse Ultralight 2 - Cape Town - $120.00, finalmouse.com [purchased this off a friend for a steal at $20 used]

• MOUSEPAD: Ktrio Extended Gaming Mouse Pad with Stitched Edges $16.99, Amazon.com

• CABLE EXTENSIONS: Sleeved Cables PSU Extension Cable Kit with 30CM Sleeves $27.99, Amazon

• MONITOR MOUNT: VideoSecu ML12B TV LCD Monitor Wall Mount Full Motion 15 inch Extension Arm $12.69, Amazon

• USB HEADER: RGEEK 9pin USB Header Male 1 to 2 Female Extension Cable Card $7.99, Amazon

• Pepper Jobs W10 GYRO Air TV Remote,QWERTY Keyboard Fly Mouse for Win 10 $25.00, Amazon

• DESK: Carbon Loft Chattanooga Home Office L-Shape Computer Desk Writing Table $136.83, Overstock.com

ESTIMATED COST PRETAX (just peripherals): $332.48

TOTAL BUILD PRICE PRETAX: $1930.55

Similarly priced build on NZXT.com, before installation fee, and without any peripherals listed: $1999.99.