In 2023, the Dell T3500 Workstation I had been using since 2016 as my daily driver had become very limiting. I had been working full-time remotely since 2017, so having a geriatric machine I spent eight or more hours (usually many more) in front of daily was a liability to my sanity.
I decided to treat myself to a new build. Given how long I keep machines in service, I purchased much more CPU than I needed at the time, which also required a nice CPU cooler. Three years later, I think it was the correct decision.
I like to name my primary machines by the number of CPU cores — Quad, Hexa, and now Dodeca.
I’m strange that way.
To show how much prices have increased recently, I’ll list what I paid (tax included) next to each component — just to make us all feel bad.
AMD Ryzen 9 5900X 12-core, 24-Thread Unlocked Desktop Processor– $318- This has been a fantastic processor. Note the benchmark of the 5900X compared to the Hexa’s W3670.
Noctua NH-U12S Redux, Quiet High-Performance Single Tower CPU Cooler– $54- Very quiet and it keeps the CPU cool.
MSI B550-A PRO ProSeries Motherboard– $130
G.SKILL RipjawsV Series DDR4 RAM (XMP) 32GB (2x16GB) 3600MT/s– $86- This started acting up and blue-screening my desktop. The set was RMAed twice, and has been running fine since. I will have a detailed post of that entire experience in the future. I’m very glad I went with 32GB at the time, as 16GB would have seriously limited my browser-tab addiction.
CORSAIR RM750x ATX 3.1 PCIe 5.1 750W Power Supply – Black– $135- This was my first fully modular power supply. I’ll never go back.
Noctua NF-A14 PWM, High-Performance Quiet Fan 140mm (two)– $52- Quiet, and they move a lot of air.
Samsung 980 PRO SSD 1TB PCIe 4.0 NVMe Gen 4 Gaming M.2 Internal Solid State Drive Memory Card– $54- It runs fairly warm most of the time, usually around 109°F (43°C).
Fractal Design Meshify C Black ATX High-Airflow Compact Mid Tower Computer Case– $108- It took some getting used to having no DVD/BD drive bay, as the entire front of the case is dedicated to airflow. The dual 140mm intake fans do an excellent job of keeping everything cool.
I reused a Geforce GTX 1050Ti– $0 that was in one of the other T3500s sitting in the closet, waiting to be pressed into service. I also moved the WD 4TB Red NAS spinner into the machine.
Overall, the build was no different from any other PC build. I installed a fresh copy of Windows 11 on the M.2 drive and did have to adjust the fan curves to keep the fans from ramping up aggressively every time the CPU temperature changed.
Three years later, Dodeca has turned out to be exactly what I wanted. The 5900X was excessive for my needs in 2023, but I’m glad I bought it. The machine still feels fast, quiet and nowhere near replacement territory. Other than the memory problems, it has been remarkably uneventful — which is about the best compliment I can give a computer I sit in front of every day.