#Current Situation
As I discuss in the NAS upgrade, the main reason to build my own system is because I want to learn linux, network and cybersecurity.
For a start though, I needed more knowledge.
So I decided to buy the latest Comptia A+ book, as it was highly recommended by many in the sector for learning the basics of IT.
Although I don’t plan to get the A+ certification, I have my eyes on other certification focused on network and security.
I enjoy the book, it is comprehensive and even without lots of knowledge, you learn the basics on many “objective”. As of today, I completed the Core 1 220-1101 and I’m rough fully at a quarter in on the Core 2 220-1102.
That been said, I miss practical experience because I only have a phone and a tablet (messing around with my partner workstation is out of the question); so practising on hardware and software it’s limited if not absent.
But not any longer: since the NAS upgrade, I now have most of the part to build my own pc.
#System Hardware
I have all this part lying around:
– CPU AMD Ryzen 5 5600G
– MB Asus m-Atx B550
– RAM 2x 8GB HP branded DDR4 non ECC
– PSU HP branded non modular 500w
– System Storage 256GB NVMe M.2 SSD
– Network ad-in card Asus Wifi6
– Case HP Omen
I saved everything apart from the case as the HP didn’t exactly support the micro-atx board and some modification to the chassis where made at the time of my first NAS built.
Also, although now I’m using the B550 m-Atx, I will relatively soon an Asus ROG Strike x570 that is currently in the workstation which is a standard ATX board.
I basically found as many excuses as possible to get the Fractal Design North.
Why the North? Well, I like the look, the airflow, the fact that it has mesh metal side panels, no flashy led and build quality seemed good in the Torrent compact (workstation) and the node 804 (NAS).
My only complaint is for the metal top panel, how it old itself in place to be more precise; I wish they had put a screw to really old him in place (like the Torrent).
I also bought the BenQ 27″ GW2790QT monitor, seems great for eye care technology and this one has preset mode for blue light, coding, e-paper and other already configured. I think the price is pretty reasonable too. I’m currently writing this with epaper mode and it’s fantastic.
#Building Process
This is going to be pretty simple really, as the motherboard already had CPU, CUP cooler and RAM installed from the previous build. But, I add a second M.2, this time is a 240GB SATA WD Green.
With the motherboard completed I then placed the it in the case, once all the panel where detached. I then add a Wifi-6 network card since the B550 board doesn’t have one.
Lastly, I fit the PSU in the bottom of the chassis and start connecting MB power cable, CPU cable and all the cable that comes from the case front: Power/LedPower, Audio Cable, USB-A cable; unfortunately although the Fractal Case has a functional USB-C on the front panel I don’t have the socket on my Asus board, so no USB-C for now…
Before I switched everything on I connected the two 140mm chassis fans, monitor, keypad and mice to be able to navigate inside bios setting.
Inside the EUEFI I look that all the info are correct (CPU and RAM ) and check for both M.2 drives and Wi-Fi card are visible. All running fine so power off the system and fit all the panel back.
#Operating System
My goal for this build is to create a double bootable system where I use the M.2 NVMe for the main operating system and the M.2 Sata for a backup operating system.
I decided to opt for the recently released Linux Debian 12 bookworm on the main system and I will install Arch Linux on other one. On both OS I plan to run a Virtual Machine hypervisor too to gain experience and have windows and MacOs available.
For now lets start with the Debian 12 Installation where I made a bootable USB with the system on it using Balena Etcher, by following the documentation found on their website.
On the Windows system was pretty straight forward:
Download Balena etcher, download the Debian 12 iso. Open etcher and follow the wizard to create the bootable flash-drive. Nothing complicated.
After doing that, I put the usb on the back of the case, power the machine on and went inside the bios. Once there,I select to boot the system by the USB stick and reboot the system.
NOTE: I didn’t try this out but I imagine that the system should eventually have selected to boot by USB stick by itself as both M.2 were formatted”
While the system was rebooting I took my tablet and open the official debian installation guide on one tab and on another tab I open youtube on Learn Linux TV as the Author has a clear video explaining in details the installation process. Just in case I found myself stock!
But I must admit that, beside the partition disk, where I wasn’t sure what to do, the entire experience was pretty straight forward.
I decided to opt for the standard installation and as for desktop environment I selected Gnome and KDE Plasma just to see the difference.
Both environment are quite common and well discussed by their user; being new on Linux is what I was looking for. And if you wondering: I did the installation via Wi-Fi and I had no problem.
After the installation I followed the instruction mentioned on Learn Linux TV titled “The First 12 Essential Tweaks After Installing Debian 12” and that was it. Now I have a system where I can gain some experience.
#Conclusion
In regard to the build itself: the case offered plenty of space, obviously the fact that I installed a m-Atx in an Atx case helped a lot; and because the motherboard was already prebuild the installation went smooth and fast. My only annoyance was the non modular power supply where I have GPU, SATA power connector tied up in the bottom of the case unused.
If you wondering why I opt for Debian and Arch, it’s because both OS are popular and very well documented. Which is great when I will encounter problems.
What to do next, of course I want to start learning the terminal, I’m thinking to do an article just with the command I learn so I keep a database.
I plan also to install Arch and select an hypervisor. Just that while I finish the Comptia A+ book it will keep me busy.