Hey, I'm Cody.

I built my first PC in 2019 — freshman year of college, studying computer networking and cybersecurity, and I needed a machine I could actually learn on. I'd always loved gaming, and my early coursework was pushing toward a CompTIA A+ certification, so building a PC from scratch felt like the perfect combination of hobby and hands-on study. What could go wrong?

A lot, as it turned out.

My first build was centered around a Ryzen 5 3600, an ASUS X570 Prime Pro motherboard, 16GB of Corsair Dominator RAM, a 1TB Samsung 970 Pro NVMe, and an EVGA RTX 2070 Super — all tucked into a Phanteks P400S case with a Corsair AIO cooler and RGB fans. On paper, a clean build. In practice, it refused to boot.

I spent what felt like days staring at my motherboard's LED diagnostic codes. The first board got returned entirely — I was convinced it was dead on arrival. The replacement booted further, but still wouldn't POST. I chased the issue through every forum thread I could find. Eventually I narrowed it down to the RAM — replaced the sticks, felt certain that was the fix. Still nothing.

Then I noticed the LED indicators on the board cycling in a specific pattern and actually stopped to look up what they meant — something I probably should have done from the start. Turns out the X570 Prime Pro hadn't shipped with a BIOS version that supported the Ryzen 5 3600. The CPU was new enough that the board needed an update before it would even recognize it. One BIOS flash later and the machine posted on the first try.

That experience taught me more about PC hardware in a week than any textbook did all semester. It also gave me a pretty healthy respect for how much can go wrong — and how most problems have a straightforward fix once you know where to look.

That machine is still running today — it's the one I'm writing this on right now. Six years later and the Ryzen 5 3600 and RTX 2070 Super are still holding up for gaming and day-to-day work. It hasn't been without incident though. I foolishly went with an 80+ Bronze PSU on the original build — a decision I paid for when it failed on me. That was promptly replaced with a Gold-rated unit, which is exactly why I recommend 80+ Gold or better in every build guide on this site. Don't learn that lesson the hard way.

Last year a stick of RAM failed — not uncommon over a long enough timeline. I replaced the original 16GB kit with a 32GB (2x16GB) Corsair kit and stayed with the brand because after years of use I genuinely trust their products. The upgrade also gave me a solid excuse to bump to 32GB, which is a noticeable improvement for modern gaming and multitasking. Sometimes a failure is an opportunity in disguise.

Why BlueScreenBuilds exists

Most PC hardware advice online is written for people who already know what they're doing. The big sites assume you have an enthusiast budget, a rack of test hardware, and the patience to read a 6,000-word review before buying a $150 GPU. Most people just want to know: what's the best PC I can build for my money right now? That's the question I try to answer here — honestly, without the fluff.

What I actually do

Every build guide and recommendation on this site is based on real research — benchmarks, user reports, compatibility testing, and keeping a close eye on what prices are actually doing in the market. I don't recommend parts I wouldn't put in my own machine, and I don't sugarcoat it when something isn't worth buying.

I also run Tragic Studios, a small development studio where I work on games, tools, and web projects. BlueScreenBuilds is part of that — a practical resource built by someone who spends a lot of time thinking about hardware.

A note on affiliate links

Some links on this site are affiliate links — if you buy something through them I earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. This is how the site stays free. It never changes what I recommend. If something isn't worth buying, I'll say so regardless of whether there's a commission attached. You can read the full affiliate disclosure here.

Get in touch

Have a question about a build, a part recommendation, or just want to talk hardware? I actually read my emails. Reach me at CodyShouey@outlook.com.