Over the past few months you might have heard me speak (complain) about my desire to buy a PlayStation 5 that’s been consistently undermined by the fact that getting one is basically impossible. A real quick summary of that situation is that I had saved some money over the past year, specifically to buy one of those goofy looking boxes. But as I spent more and more time in front of my computer, unable to buy one of these stupid things, I finally decided that even with a PlayStation 5 I’d probably still end up spending most of my time on my PC. So I spent my console fund on some new computer parts that hopefully wont get outdated the moment I install them.

As of writing this, my new processor and RAM are sitting on my coffee table taunting me. They haven’t been installed yet because my motherboard is apparently taking the scenic route to my home, probably in an effort to see the world one last time before it’s relegated to living in the darkness that is the inside of my PC tower. I’m pretty sure I’ve checked the Newegg app every hour on the hour for any sort of update as to where this stupid thing is, as if doing so will make whatever truck it’s on travel faster.

I’m genuinely nervous about installing these components not only because I have no idea if everything will work or not, but more so because installing processors happens to be the most harrowing part of any computer build in my opinion. There are just so many dang fragile pins on the thing, something that my oafish hands are ill-equipped to handle. Then there’s the whole thermal paste thing which is a hot-button issue in the PC building community that everyone has a different opinion on. Some folks draw an X on their processors while other opt for a mere dot. I’ve landed in the “grain of rice” sized amount of thermal paste camp, but the very notion of applying it at all makes me worry that I’m somehow going to paint the inside of my tower with this goopy stuff.

But I need to upgrade this machine, and there’s no getting around that fact. My current motherboard isn’t compatible with modern processors or RAM, and those seem to be my main bottlenecks when it comes to gaming and processing video. I’d love to finally be able to play a modern game on my PC that runs at a stable framerate and looks good. Make no mistake, even after this upgrade my PC will not be a behemoth of any kind, but it will finally be compatible with newer components like the newest 30 series of graphics cards. Funnily enough, getting a hold of those is just as difficult as getting a PS5, so I’m fucked regardless.

While it’s a little sad and uncomfortable to see this fund I’ve been building for so long just vanish over the course of a few minutes, I know that I made the right decision. My computer has been one of the few things that has kept me sane throughout the course of this pandemic and that fact alone makes me feel better about funneling more cash into it. My only sticking point is that despite how much I’ve spent already, it’s only half of a complete upgrade. Now I need to build the fund back up in order to get my paws on one of them 3070 or 3080 graphics cards, and then I can watch YouTube videos and work on my D&D campaigns in full 4K resolution, just like Gary Gygax intended.

UPDATE: It didn’t go great…