Desktop Computer
When I was a kid, computers and gaming consoles weren’t as common as they are today—almost every household has them now, but back then, very few families did. So there were a lot of game arcades (both arcade halls and console game centers) and internet cafés. When I was around six or seven years old, my family bought me a Famicom (known as the NES in North America). Although the NES era had already ended abroad for several years, it was still very popular in China at that time.
At that time, there was no official game market in China, so many game consoles and game cartridges were pirated. Therefore, they were not as expensive as the official ones, but as a non-essential item—a game console for a child—it wasn’t cheap either. In general, a high-K game (which refers to later, higher-quality games) cartridge that contained a few games might cost around 40 RMB, while a low-K game (earlier, simpler games) cartridge that contained dozens of games might be about 25 RMB. My father bought me a 14-in-1 game cartridge. At that time, I didn’t know what high-K and low-K games were; as long as the graphics looked good and the game was fun, it was a good game. And because this 14-in-1 game cartridge was my first cartridge, I played it a lot and was very familiar with the games in it. Maybe because I was too familiar with them, I didn’t think it was that great back then. But all the friends who had seen my cartridge really liked this cartridge and wanted to use their cartridges to exchange with my 14-in-1 cartridge to play, or even exchange it permanently. Although I had played the games in it many times, I always had this feeling in my heart: “Any other cartridge is fine, but not this one.” So I never exchanged it with anyone, and almost never lent it to others to play. I often lent out my other cartridges, though. Later, I asked my father out of curiosity how much this cartridge cost. My father said it was more than 100 RMB—I don’t remember the exact number, but I remember it being over 140. I was very shocked, because that price was sky-high for a cartridge. I was very surprised that my father bought a game cartridge at that price. And that cartridge was one of the most important ones for me at the time. Even now, I still remember what the 14 games in it were, and in what order they were arranged. I can even still clear some of them with one life to this day.
1.The Lion King
2.Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 3
3.Super Contra
4.Kunio-kun’s Nekketsu Soccer League (World Cup)
5.Chase H.Q.
6.Double Dragon II
7.Tom and Jerry
8.Super Rescue Solbrain (Shatterhand)
9.Kid Niki 3
10.Adventures in the Magic Kingdom
11.Samurai Pizza Cats
12.Batman
13.Chip ’n Dale Rescue Rangers 2
14.Contra Force
(The order of the games on the cartridge — I cleared most of them, and for some, I can still finish them in one life even now.)
Although I had such a game console at home, as I said, the NES era had already ended abroad many years ago, so more game consoles had already been released, such as Sony’s PS1, Sega Genesis, Nintendo’s SFC, and various arcade games, etc. Of course, there were other game consoles at that time, but in our local area, we could basically only come into contact with the consoles mentioned above. It was also under the lead of my cousin, who was three years older than me, that I started going to game arcades together with him and another cousin who was the same age as me. At that time, children like us who went to game arcades would be called bad kids, so we could not tell our families that we were going to the arcades. We would tell them we were going out to play, and then go to the arcade together. However, after we came back from playing, my mom and my aunt would say, “Did you guys go to the arcade? I can tell just by looking at your faces.” Then they would say that our expressions looked tired or listless. I don’t know whether they really knew that we had gone to the arcade or if they were just testing us with their words. But at that time, every time my two cousins and I were on our way home, we would talk and say, “When we get home, don’t look tired or listless, or they’ll definitely know we went to the arcade.” So we would put on energetic expressions and go home looking lively. Thinking back on it now still makes me laugh.
Although children who went to game arcades were called “bad kids,” we were really just going there to play games, and we definitely never did anything bad. Later, I also took my classmates to the arcade. We were actually all good kids, and I always had very good grades, and I was always the child who got praised; we just went there to play games. Arcades were also divided into levels: the ones with console games were relatively less “bad kids” places and the environment was a little better, but arcade halls were a mix of all kinds of people, so going there meant being even more “bad kids,” and there was a higher chance of encountering real “bad kids.” I still remember one of my elementary school classmates, who had been in the same class with me for a few years, said to me: “I developed the habit of going to arcades because of you.” ? I didn’t know what to say at that time, but we really just went to the arcade to play games, we didn’t do anything bad, and everyone was very happy back then ?. But the smoking habit he later developed was definitely not taught by me, because I never smoked at all, and by high school, we were not even in the same class.
Times kept changing, and later came the computer era. My cousin, who always “kept up with the latest technology” and is three years older than me, started taking us to internet cafés to broaden our horizons and play computer games. I am not saying that my older cousin was always taking us to places we shouldn’t go. I usually spoke to him casually (according to Korean culture, I should have used honorifics when speaking to my older cousin, but since we grew up together, I always spoke casually). Although it seemed like he was completely equal with us, he still did what an older cousin should do. For example, when I was in middle school, if my older cousin saw me and my classmates in an internet café, he would buy us drinks. He would also occasionally take me to restaurants to eat delicious food, and he almost always paid the bill. Going to arcades and internet cafés was also not something he forced or tricked us into; my same-age cousin and I were looking forward to going. But in any case, it was my older cousin who led us in this regard.
At the time when computer games became mainstream locally, all my friends hoped to have their own computers. I did too. But computers were very expensive at that time. However, when I was in about the 4th or 5th grade of elementary school, my family still bought me a desktop computer. I was very excited at that time. But to be honest, what could a kid like me do with a computer that was not yet common? Of course, play games. Occasionally, I would also use it to watch VCDs. But I have to say, my skills and understanding of computers increased a lot at that time. And this was the first desktop computer I ever owned.
Since then, I had always owned a desktop computer, until I graduated from high school and came to Canada. Because I was moving overseas, I would only bring a laptop. And at that time, laptops were no longer as poor in performance as ancient laptops. So since then, I have never owned a desktop computer again.
I have been in Canada for many years. During this time, I occasionally thought about whether I needed a desktop computer, whether I should buy one. But thinking about how I often had to move and didn’t have my own transportation, a desktop computer would most likely become a burden. And the performance of the laptops I bought later was completely sufficient for me, so owning another computer seemed unnecessary. Even for gaming, I later bought a console to play on, and that was enough. So every time I thought about a desktop computer, I would immediately dismiss the idea.
Until that one time, when I started to seriously consider whether I should really get one…
PlayStation console
As mentioned above, I, or rather many people like me, grew up with video games. After coming to Canada, I still played video games; it was a form of leisure and entertainment, much like watching TV in the free time. During my university years, besides occasionally playing some games on my laptop, I sequentially acquired the following handheld consoles or consoles with handheld functions: 3DS, PS Vita, and Wii U. After owning the 3DS for a while, I sold it to buy the PS Vita, and later sold the PS Vita to buy the Wii U. At that time, I had to move dormitories frequently and did not have my own car. I did not dare to buy things that were inconvenient to carry, such as a TV, so I only bought compact handheld consoles with built-in screens. However, I felt that none of these handheld consoles really suited me. Many types of games on them were not suitable for me, and the variety of games was also pretty limited. Eventually, I sold the Wii U along with all its games. For a period of time after that, I did not own any gaming console, and for some reason, I was not particularly interested in playing games at that time. During that period, I played a few games on my laptop at the beginning, but later I almost stopped playing games entirely.
It was only after I started earning my own income, no longer relying on my parents financially, and after I used my hard-earned money to buy a car, that I began to consider whether to acquire another gaming console. Perhaps because I grew up playing video games, I always felt that while I could go without playing games, I had to own a device that could play them. Even if I did not use it, I had to have it—this strange feeling. Against this backdrop, I developed the desire to buy a gaming console again. At first, I considered buying a gaming laptop with a good graphics card, but after seeing the price, it was too expensive. I did not play many games at the time and felt it was not worth it. Meanwhile, the PS4 Pro was relatively reasonably priced. It was not only the latest model at that time, but I also found it was on sale. I felt that with my financial situation at the time, I could afford a PS4 Pro without too much pressure. Moreover, as long as I bought physical copies of the games, I could sell them later if I got bored of them or did not like them, recovering some money. Now that I had a car, traveling and moving things like a TV was completely manageable. Having a TV at home to watch from time to time was not a bad thing either. After considering all this, I felt that buying a PS4 Pro was not excessive, and so I decided to buy one.
After buying the PS4 Pro, I was very satisfied. Compared to the handheld consoles I had purchased in the past, I felt that PS console games suited me better. From then on, I continued to own a PS gaming console, up until the later PS5. Up to the present day, through PS Plus monthly games (obtained through PS Plus subscription) and my own purchases, I have built a fairly large PS game library. Sometimes I even feel that, compared to playing games themselves, I might enjoy collecting games more. I found that gradually I no longer sold the physical copies of games I bought, but kept all of them for collection. Over time, however, I realized that every time I changed games, getting up to swap discs was particularly troublesome. Because it was troublesome, I would sometimes continue playing the same game out of laziness, even when I actually wanted to switch to another game. Since I found swapping discs inconvenient, and I would not sell the games I bought anyway, I thought it would be better to sell all my physical copies and later buy the same games again during sales. Subsequently, my PS game library became almost entirely composed of digital games. This further increased my feeling of ownership and made collecting PS console games feel like I was constantly building something I treasured. I have wondered more than once whether I could leave the PS console, whether I could sell all my PS console devices. Could I really do it? Especially when I look at my total playtime in the annual PS official player summary, I ask myself again: Can I leave the PS console? Am I still in control of my PS console, or is it controlling me?
(PS Game Library Image)
The arrogant one
Time passed like that, until Sony announced that the price of the PS Plus membership would be increased—from the original 70 Canadian dollars (since it was often on sale, the actual purchase price was usually around 50 dollars) to 95 Canadian dollars. Their given reason was “to provide better service and better games.”
So what exactly is this PS Plus membership? I’m talking about the most basic PS Plus plan, since that’s what the majority of users subscribe to. It provides online multiplayer, cloud storage for save data, and also gives two or three games every month. The games provided through the basic PS Plus membership stay in the user’s game library and can always be played as long as the membership remains active.
Actually, those free games aren’t the main point, because many of the games they give out aren’t ones that I or other users are interested in, so even if we claim them, we rarely ever play them. It’s just that the basic features—online play and cloud saves—are included only with PS Plus, so people have no choice but to subscribe. Many people, including myself, dislike this kind of practice where such basic functions require a paid service. But since it used to cost around 50 dollars a year, it was still somewhat acceptable, so I didn’t think much of it.
However, charging 95 dollars a year for just those basic features, and almost never putting it on sale, made it hard for me to accept. Still, at that time, I only felt dissatisfied but didn’t take any action. In the past, I would usually buy about two years of PS Plus membership during sales, even if my current membership wouldn’t expire for a long time. But after this price increase, I decided I would only consider buying it again when it was about to expire. By the way, the “promise” they made about providing better PS Plus games was never fulfilled.
Later, after the price increases of the PS5 console, PS5 controllers, and various other accessories — and the absurd pricing of the PS5 Pro — Sony announced yet another PS Plus price hike, this time to 110 Canadian dollars. After this series of moves, I was finally truly pissed off. And once again, they used the same hypocritical excuse: “to provide a better user experience…”
I want to make a small digression here. I personally rarely, or almost never, use Apple products. Although Apple products are often expensive, it’s not like I can’t afford them. What really puts me off is their attitude. For example, they once claimed that removing chargers from iPhone boxes was for environmental reasons. But at the same time, they continue to use their completely proprietary Lightning cables that are incompatible with other devices. After removing the headphone jack, they started selling new headphones with a different connector — all of which completely contradicts their so-called “environmental concern.”
I understand that businesses aim to maximize profit — I don’t agree with their decisions, but I can at least understand the logic behind them. What I can’t stand, however, is this arrogant, greedy, and hypocritical attitude.
Of course, this is only one of the reasons why I don’t like using Apple products. Others include their overly closed software ecosystem — for example, on Android phones, I can install whatever I want, not just what’s available in the app store. That’s not to say Android doesn’t have its own flaws (some flagship Android phones have also stopped including chargers and headphone jacks). But what I really want to point out is that Apple’s arrogant and hypocritical attitude is what truly disgusts me.
And now, Sony is doing the exact same thing — arrogant, greedy, and hypocritical. With all their unreasonable pricing, especially charging for the most basic features like online play and cloud saves — and constantly increasing the fees — I just can’t accept it. And they still have the nerve to claim it’s all “for the players.” Sony probably believes that after all these years, many users have built massive game libraries on their platform (like I have — and most of those games are digital, so there’s no way to resell or transfer them). They likely think those users won’t ever switch platforms or abandon their PlayStation accounts. No matter how much they raise the price, players will just have to accept it. Even if some resist now, Sony assumes they’ll eventually give in.
Yes, maybe some players will. But I’m not one of them. This isn’t about whether players can afford the cost — as a financially independent adult, I certainly can. What I can’t tolerate is Sony’s arrogant posture and the way they keep testing consumers’ limits through greed and hypocrisy.
“Can I leave the PS console?” I think, deep down, I already know the answer. And that’s exactly what made me start seriously reconsidering buying a desktop PC again.
Serious reconsideration
At that point, I still hadn’t completely decided whether to buy a desktop PC or not — because it’s not cheap. I wasn’t planning to buy a mediocre one either; if it failed to meet my standards and I ended up selling it to get a better one later, that would just waste both money and time. I needed to think it through carefully. The first thing I had to decide was whether I really needed one.
The main reasons I had dismissed the idea before were: it’s inconvenient to move, I could already play games on my console so there was some overlap, and the “computer stuff” part overlapped with my laptop. The first concern, portability, could now be completely ruled out — I already have a car and no longer move frequently. The gaming overlap could also be ruled out, since I no longer want to support Sony’s PlayStation. That left the overlap with my laptop, which I still needed to evaluate.
My current laptop is actually brand new. I used my previous one for seven years. I’d already thought about replacing it two years ago, but since I couldn’t find one that I truly liked, I just “extended its life” for another two years. Recently, I finally bought a model I really liked — exactly what I wanted, and it was even on sale. I have to say, my old laptop had served me exceptionally well. Back then, it was nearly top-tier when I bought it, and it fulfilled its mission perfectly. The new one also performs excellently. If I had to point out one shortcoming, it would be that the GPU is integrated rather than a dedicated one. That means if I ever need to do something that relies heavily on the graphics card, this laptop wouldn’t be up to the task. I did have that concern in mind when I bought it. Now I figured that a good desktop PC could make up for that weakness. Still, the question remained: is it really worth buying an entire desktop just for a better graphics card?
Does a desktop have any other advantages? As far as I know, for the same price, a desktop generally offers better performance and better cooling (which affects how efficiently a computer can run under long or heavy loads — and that’s part of performance, too). It also provides greater hardware expandability — when upgrading in the future, I can just replace specific components instead of the entire system like with a laptop. These are the general advantages.
Then, let’s look at some more specific ones. What can a desktop with a good GPU do that my current laptop cannot? After some research, I found that they mainly include:
1. Playing various games with a better experience than a console can offer
2. Running local AI models
3. Handling graphics-related tasks that require stronger GPU performance
But when listed out like this, it still didn’t feel very intuitive — I couldn’t make a firm decision yet. What was missing? Right — the price. I needed to compare its cost alongside its potential uses to see whether it was actually worth buying.
So, what exactly would I need to buy?
I already have a monitor, a good keyboard, a good mouse, and all kinds of data cables. I even have a 4TB high-speed NVMe SSD, which I bought back when I was using my PS5. Game consoles may seem cheaper than PCs, but they also require a lot of extra accessories — especially now, with all the recent price hikes, consoles don’t really have much of a price advantage in the long run. Unexpectedly, these accessories I bought for my console could now come in handy for the desktop. So all I really needed was the main desktop PC itself.
As far as I know, I could either buy a pre-built desktop or assemble one myself. Building one myself would be a bit cheaper, and since I could pick each component personally, it might also feel more reliable. Plus, since I already have a 4TB NVMe SSD, building it myself seemed like the better option. Still, to be safe, I decided to first look at what pre-built desktops were available — because assembling one would take some extra research, and checking pre-builts would be quicker. I looked up various brand-name desktops online, and even visited physical stores to check their size and design. But after looking around, nothing really made me feel, “That’s the one.”
Until one day, while browsing in a store, I saw a case that looked quite different. It’s hard to describe what it looked like — it didn’t really resemble a typical PC tower — but the moment I saw it, I liked it instantly. I later looked it up at home and found out that it was actually a case shell sold separately, meant for custom-built PCs. That settled it — I decided to build my own. Time to start researching how to build a desktop PC.
(image of the case)
To be honest, I had absolutely no idea how to build a desktop PC. I had to start by doing some research. Fortunately, there are plenty of guides and videos. From these, I learned that I would roughly need a graphics card (GPU), CPU, motherboard, power supply, case, RAM, CPU cooler, and storage. Among these, the two most performance-critical components are the GPU and CPU, with the GPU being especially important. So I needed to choose a GPU first.
I already knew a bit about NVIDIA’s graphics cards. I knew the previous generation was the RTX 4000 series, and the new generation that had just come out was the RTX 5000 series. Since gaming would be one of my main uses, I wanted my GPU to be at least mid-range or above. The RTX 4060 series counts as mid-range, but I wanted better performance, and the next-level GPUs were still fully within my budget. That put me in the range of RTX 4070, RTX 4070 SUPER, RTX 4070 TI, and RTX 5070.
After a lot of research, I eventually narrowed it down to two GPUs not on that initial list: the RTX 5070 TI, which is a step above the 5070, and the AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT, which sits about half a tier higher. The reason is that all the 4000 series cards have fewer AI features, and the RTX 5070 only has 12GB of VRAM, which isn’t future-proof and might become insufficient in a couple of years. The RTX 5070 TI, on the other hand, offers the best price-to-performance ratio in the RTX 5000 series and is powerful enough. The RX 9070 XT has performance close to the RTX 5070 TI (very similar in gaming, though slightly lower in other productivity tasks) but is considerably more affordable. So for now, I narrowed it down to these two GPUs.
Why didn’t I just choose one immediately? Because I valued the comprehensive performance of the RTX 5070 TI, while also appreciating the better price-to-performance ratio of the RX 9070 XT. So I couldn’t make a final decision yet.
When it came to choosing a CPU, I initially planned to go with the latest Intel Ultra 7 processor, because CPUs rarely become a performance bottleneck — at least in my usage scenario. I didn’t need the best CPU; a mid-range CPU could fully handle the performance I needed while saving unnecessary cost. But after some research, I found that AMD CPUs, especially the X3D series, offer better gaming performance at a similar price. Since I’m unlikely to run into a CPU bottleneck, I decided to choose the CPU that provides better gaming performance. Among them, the previous generation 7800X3D not only costs less than the current 9800X3D but also more than meets my performance needs. So the choice was clear: 7800X3D.
While selecting a motherboard, I learned a lot as well. The motherboard connects all the computer components. When choosing one, my CPU model is crucial, because each type of motherboard is compatible only with certain CPU models. If the CPU and motherboard aren’t compatible, the CPU simply won’t install. This is the first key decision in choosing a motherboard. Once I knew which motherboards were compatible with my CPU, I could then pick a specific model.
For the CPU cooler, there are two main types: air cooling and liquid cooling. I chose liquid cooling because it takes up less space. The remaining space could then be used for other things (like putting a decoration). Many modern CPU coolers also come with a small screen that can display GPU and CPU temperatures and even play custom animations. I chose a liquid cooler that is reasonably priced and has the largest possible screen.
For the power supply, I chose one that is highly rated and capable of powering at least an RTX 5070 TI. For RAM, I went with 32GB, focusing more on specs like capacity, DDR generation, speed, and latency rather than the brand.
I also discovered that a retailer was selling a bundle of motherboard, CPU, and RAM at a discounted price. The exact models for CPU and motherboard in this bundle happened to be the very ones I had chosen. Even though the RAM is slightly lower in performance, that difference can be ignored considering the price difference and the only 1% – 2% performance difference in real-world usage. I also found a virtual PC building website, https://ca.pcpartpicker.com/
, where you can select the components you want, and it will check whether they are compatible and if there are any conflicts. After inputting all my selected parts, as expected, everything matched perfectly. At that point, I still hadn’t fully decided on the GPU — it was an accidental search later that helped me make the final choice.
While researching which specific GPU brand and model would suit me, I accidentally discovered that the installation orientation of the GPU can greatly affect its cooling system, which in turn impacts both performance and lifespan. My chosen case, due to its unique shape and structure, requires the GPU to be mounted vertically (most GPUs are installed horizontally). Most GPUs do not cool effectively when installed vertically, which put me in a dilemma — should I give up this case?
After a lot of research, I finally found three GPU models that should work fine. Two were high-end RX 9700 XT models, and one was a high-end RTX 5070 TI. Among RTX 5070 TI users, 100% reported no issues when mounted vertically. For RX 9700 XT, most users reported no issues, though a few mentioned minor problems. I had been torn between the RTX 5070 TI and RX 9700 XT, but in the end, I decided to go with the safer RTX 5070 TI. Although it’s more expensive, it offers better and more comprehensive performance, and I can be almost certain that this brand of GPU is fully compatible with my chosen case and will cause no problems. Since the GPU is one of the most expensive parts of a PC and return policies are often strict (some can’t even be returned once opened), caution is essential.
At this point, all the parts for my desktop PC were chosen, and I confirmed all the prices. Most other components were only slightly more expensive than I had initially expected, except the GPU, which was several hundred Canadian dollars higher than planned. But I really liked this case and didn’t want to change it, so I accepted it.
Strictly speaking, this desktop is not a necessity, and it’s expensive — especially since the main reason I considered buying it this time was to replace a game console. So I felt it was necessary to give myself a cooling-off period to check whether I was acting impulsively and to think about what purpose this desktop would serve for me. I gave myself three weeks. Once I was sure I truly wanted this desktop, I finally placed orders for all the components.
Assemble and set off
All the PC components arrived one after another — and surprisingly fast. It was time to start assembling. Of course, I had no idea how to actually assemble a desktop, but luckily there were plenty of tutorial videos available. I watched a few and then got started.
The assembly process turned out to be easier than I expected. Not only were the tutorials helpful, but each part also came with a manual explaining the step-by-step installation process. The motherboard had many ports that needed different cables plugged in, especially a bunch of tiny wires. I found a little trick here — every small connector has a slightly different shape, so even without looking at the manual, you can figure out where each one goes just by matching the shape on the motherboard.
When I was installing the fans for the water-cooled CPU cooler, I noticed that each fan had a tiny metallic droplet in the center. At first, I thought it was a manufacturing flaw or a defect and even considered returning it. But after checking online, I learned that it’s actually a functional part used for balancing — it’s supposed to be there.
After spending some time carefully assembling everything, I finally finished building the PC. Once I installed the system drive, it was ready to go. One thing worth noting: when connecting the PC to the monitor, the desktop PC might have multiple display output ports — some from the GPU and some from the motherboard. If you want to use your GPU, make sure to connect the monitor to the GPU’s ports, not the motherboard’s. Otherwise, your GPU might not actually be used, and only the integrated graphics will run. To get full performance, always connect through the GPU’s display outputs.
(Image of the desktop PC)
Then I started trying out some games. My PC game library was pretty small since I rarely played games on the computer in the past few years. But that wasn’t a problem — unlike PlayStation games, which tend to stay at similar prices for years due to lack of competition, PC games often have much better deals because of competition among various platforms. You can often find great discounts, especially on websites that sell CD keys, where you can buy the games you want at very affordable prices. Plus, there are emulators and other ways to access games too.
After buying two or three games I was interested in, I started playing. The biggest and most obvious difference was the gaming experience itself — the graphics, frame rates, and so on were indeed far superior. By the way, the GPU brand and model I chose proved to be very powerful; even when mounted vertically, the GPU temperature under heavy load never exceeded 73°C. For GPUs that don’t cool properly when mounted vertically, the temperature could easily reach over 95°C.
Another clear advantage is the availability of mods and trainers. Mods modify the original game, such as character models or game modes, giving a fresh experience to games you’ve already played and greatly enhancing replayability. Installing mods requires a little learning — how to use them, which mods are incompatible, which might cause errors, and finding the ones you want. This takes some time, but I actually enjoy this kind of research so much that I often spend more time studying mods and trainers than actually playing the game. This lets me play games on my own terms without wasting hours farming resources in single-player games — I can just use a trainer to modify what I need. Now, I can get the best gaming experience in the limited time I have. This is exactly the style of gaming I want: truly playing the game, rather than being controlled by it.
Beyond gaming, since this desktop has a 4TB hard drive, I can also back up some important materials, like photos and videos. On that note, I discovered a use I hadn’t considered before. Regarding tasks that require GPU performance, I initially thought only of gaming or 3D modeling. Since I don’t do 3D modeling, that left just gaming. But when I started post-processing RAW photos, I realized I could use the desktop to significantly improve efficiency. Previously, I used my laptop for post-processing, but because it has only an integrated GPU, denoising a single photo could take around three minutes. With the desktop, it only takes a few seconds. Video editing is also much faster.
I also experimented with local AI. At first, I didn’t really consider it because web-based conversational AI is so convenient, and it didn’t feel necessary to run it locally. But since I had factored this function into buying the PC, I decided to try it at least once, specifically for non-conversational AI — for example, generating images from text. Online AI tools often have limitations, such as low resolution or mediocre speed and quality. So I started learning how to install AI locally. Installing AI isn’t too complicated; you need programs like GIT and Python, then follow online tutorials to set up an AI operating UI. Initially, I used Automatic1111’s web UI, but it wasn’t compatible with my GPU. After further research, I switched to ComfyUI, which ran perfectly.
Then I downloaded the models I needed and placed them in the correct folders. ComfyUI also requires some learning, and the learning curve is quite steep. You have to connect nodes in order, which requires knowing what you’re doing and why. I’ve managed to grasp some basic workflows. But I must say, the power of local AI exceeded my expectations. Even basic workflows can produce a wide variety of images and videos. So far, I’ve tried generating new images or videos from text or other images, and upscaling image and video resolutions. The results have been excellent, and this is only a small part of what’s possible. I’m still exploring, as even more complex workflows yield even better final outputs. I’m completely hooked.
In short, after buying this desktop, it’s not just a gaming machine — it’s a true multi-functional computer. Overall, I feel it was a very good purchase, and the experience has been excellent.
The traps
Although I shifted from PlayStation to PC out of dissatisfaction with Sony, desktops have their own traps.
First is the GPU price. Graphics cards are inherently expensive, and there’s a risk of scalpers driving prices even higher. When I first started searching, many GPUs were out of stock. Only gradually did availability improve, giving me more options. The GPU I eventually bought has a retail MSRP of CAD 1,450 before tax, so the price isn’t exactly reasonable.
About two weeks after I purchased my GPU, other retailers dropped the price by CAD 150. By then, I was already past the period to return or adjust the price. Later, the same GPU would frequently go on sale, sometimes dropping as much as CAD 250. There were also rumors that the next-gen RTX 5070 TI SUPER, originally expected around April next year, might release at the end of this year. It would have roughly the same price as my RTX 5070 TI but with VRAM increasing from 16GB to 24GB. Because I bought early, I effectively “lost” 8GB of VRAM. This shows that GPU prices are unstable, and buying early doesn’t guarantee a better experience; sometimes it’s the opposite.
Moreover, during the first month after I got the computer, in May, I found myself unable to stop and kept playing on it. After all, it was something new, and it felt novel and addictive. I won’t deny that, and I didn’t try to strictly suppress this behavior at the very beginning; I tried to understand it, especially since there wasn’t anything particularly important to do in May. But after that month, I realized I couldn’t keep going like that. If I didn’t restrain myself, I might really have gotten addicted. So I consciously started reducing the frequency, and as I needed to do other things, I gradually stopped being obsessed, only using it when necessary.
During the transition from PlayStation to PC, I also realized something. At first, I thought that rebuilding a PC game library might cost quite a bit of money. So I revisited my PS game library to see which games I would need to buy or rebuy. I found that none of the games I had considered “collectibles” were truly indispensable. I was just trapped in that mindset at the time, thinking these were all part of my collection and that I couldn’t really do without them. But once I stepped out of that circle, it became clear: they were all basically optional.
Since buying the desktop, I’ve hardly ever turned on the PS5, and I feel that not having the PS5 or the games in my PS library has no impact on me at all. These games weren’t really a collection; sometimes I even bought games just to complete the collection of the game series and never played them, which was just a waste of money. And I didn’t truly own these games. Later, I received a notification that my PSN account password had been changed and that games were purchased. I realized my PSN account had been hacked. Although I managed to recover the account and the stolen games were refunded after contacting PSN support, it made me realize that if anything ever happened to my PSN account—whether it got hacked or banned—all my games could vanish. So I never truly owned them. I need to avoid falling back into that trap: don’t “collect” games; only buy the ones I genuinely want to play.
There’s one more thing I have to mention. My desktop originally had 32GB of RAM, which is more than enough for daily use. But when I tried running local AI, I kept getting warnings that the RAM wasn’t sufficient. I checked the RAM usage while generating things by local AI and found it was often between 85–94%, and sometimes even reached 99% or caused a crash. After looking into it, I learned that 64GB of RAM is generally recommended for local AI.
I really like this local AI, and I remembered that when I bought the 32GB RAM, it cost me about CAD 130. I thought adding another 32GB wouldn’t be a bad thing, and the price is OK for me. But when I checked online, the price had jumped to CAD 290. At first, I thought it was just some individual seller inflating the price, but the official and major retailer prices were the same. That is insane. Why did the price skyrocket so much in just a few months? More accurately, within a few weeks. After investigating, it seems one possible reason is that because AI has become so popular, so RAMs are in demand from big technology companies, and manufacturers are more focused on providing RAMs to those companies, not general consumers, which has made demand from general consumers exceed supply. Further, the price of RAM increased like crazy. I wish to upgrade my RAM, but I think I have to wait for the right time. This kind of crazy fluctuation in computer component prices is also frustrating.
Conclusion
Since buying the desktop, apart from being a bit obsessed during the first month, my gaming time has actually decreased compared to before. Maybe it’s because I’ve stepped out of that “circle” and realized that many things in games don’t really matter to me, like game saves or in-game collectibles. Now I’m not even interested in logging in for daily events or similar activities.
But within the limited time I do spend gaming, the experience has improved a lot, thanks to things like mods, trainers, and better graphics. I hardly even turn on the PS5 anymore, though I’ve decided to keep it. After all, there are still quite a few games on it, and selling the PS5 now wouldn’t really recover the cost. I basically won’t spend any more money on it, and even when a PS6 comes out in the future, I might not be that eager to buy it.
Even though there have been news about GPU price drops or better GPUs at the same price, the graphics card I currently have is already powerful enough for me. I’m very satisfied with this desktop purchase and really enjoy using it.