Upgrading my mini-ITX desktop PC
I used to be a PC gamer, but nowadays I prefer consoles. The user experience is straightforward and they are good value for money. I do have a desktop PC whose main responsibility is to be able to play The Lord of the Rings Online.
I bought about four years ago and the Ryzen 3 processor started to feel weak. Originally I wanted to get Ryzen 5, but due to low availability and price bump got the cheaper model. First, I thought about getting rid of the machine, but decided to upgrade the CPU. It is currently not possible to play LotRO on Mac without hassle and the upgrade should grant the system couple more usable years.
The computer had InWin A1 Plus case, Asus ROG STRIX B450-I motherboard 2x8GB G.Skill Trident Z RGB memory and Ryzen 3 3200G with stock cooler. I decided to get the new AMD Ryzen 5 5600GT and be quiet! Pure Rock Slim 2 cooler. Earlier I had Radeon 5500XT graphics card, but it had issues and I sold it as defective.
Fitting the components into a mini-ITX case was difficult. I had to remove the rear fan to be able to fit the motherboard in and connecting cables behind the cooler was hard. I almost broke the RGB header in the process, but in the end got everything connected.
I am satisfied with the upgrade. The components were not expensive and the computer runs much smoother now. The new processor is more powerful than my i5 Framework 13 and I might end up doing more image processing or music production with desktop.
Processor and cooler installed on the motherboard.
All components assembled and RGB lighting on in the InWin A1 Plus case.