A Project Zero Journey Link to heading

Easter 2025 marked the completion of something I’d been planning and building since Black Friday 2024: to build a super sleek gaming and development PC for under AU$2,000 (~US$1,300). The goal was ambitious but clear; create a machine that would handle everything I could throw at it for the next five to eight years, look absolutely clean with zero visible cables, and stay within the budget.

Thanks to consistent on-call weekend work providing an extra $250~300 each month, I could afford to be patient and strategic about each purchase. Rather than rushing to buy everything at once, I spread the build across six months, hunting for the best deals and ensuring each component fit the overall vision.

The Project Zero Concept Link to heading

The centrepiece of this build was the “Project Zero” theme; MSI’s approach to completely hiding all cables for a clean, wireless aesthetic. While the PC obviously still needs power and data cables, the Project Zero design routes everything through the back of the motherboard and case, leaving the visible interior completely free of cable clutter.

This wasn’t just about aesthetics (though the all-white theme looks spectacular). A cable-free interior means better airflow, easier maintenance, and a build that will age better visually over its intended lifespan.

The Six-Month Parts Hunt Link to heading

November 2024: The Foundation Link to heading

Black Friday and Cyber Monday provided the perfect opportunity to secure the foundational component. The MSI Mag Pano M100R Project Zero case at $99 was an absolute steal; $40 off the RRP of $139 from Amazon for a case designed around the cable-free concept.

December 2024 - March 2025: The Motherboard Indecision Link to heading

The key components of the build; small, but pricy

❌

The key components of the build; small, but pricy

After all the CES 2025 announcements it was clear the new B850 chipset would be the only one used for the AM5 platform going forward, so I had to make a decision on the MSI B650M Project Zero mATX motherboard (MSI P-Zero) given the complete lack of new Project Zero/BTF/Stealth options. At $315 from Scorptec, it wasn’t cheap, but the stock was inconsistent and I was concerned it might become end-of-life as B850 gained momentum. The Project Zero cable routing was essential to the build’s concept, making this a necessary purchase rather than an optional one. After a couple of months watching stock levels and prices, I finally pulled the trigger in late March 2025.

January 2025: PSU and Storage Deals Link to heading

A weekend deal in January delivered two crucial components. The ThermalTake 850W Gold+ PSU dropped to $159 with a $20 discount, and the Corsair P3+ 4TB NVMe SSD was available for $329 on the same weekend; both from Amazon. This was perhaps the most future-focused storage purchase: 4TB of fast NVMe storage should eliminate any capacity concerns for years to come.

March 2025: Memory Madness Link to heading

A weekend-only deal in mid-March delivered one of the best bargains of the entire build: Crucial DDR5/6000MT 32GB RAM kits; in white, of course. Again I doubled down thanks to the generous Amazon special offer. Two separate 2x16GB kits at $130 each gave me a total of 64GB of memory; complete overkill for gaming, but invaluable for development work with virtual machines, containers, and large datasets.

April 2025: The Final Component Link to heading

The CPU was the last component delivered, and the choice came down to budget versus performance. The Ryzen 7800X3D was clearly superior for gaming, but at nearly double the price and requiring a separate cooler, it would have blown the budget. The Ryzen 7700 with its included Wraith Prism cooler at $479 from Scorptec ($60 off RRP) offered the right balance; excellent performance for both gaming and development, with enough headroom to meet my usage timeline. I probably could have saved $50 or more by going with a 7600, but the Wraith Prism cooler was the deciding factor.

Update June 2025: GPU Reality Check Link to heading

The graphics card purchase was the most frustrating part of the build. NVIDIA’s 50-series cards were in high demand with prices starting at $1,600+ for 16GB models; completely unrealistic for this budget. AMD’s 9070 XT looked promising at $1,200-1,300, but still too expensive.

The AMD 9060 XT announcement changed everything. A $600 price point for 16GB of memory was exactly what this build needed. When AMD lifted the embargo on 9060 XT reviews, it was clear this was the obvious choice for this build. I ordered an XFX Swift 16GB in white immediately at $629; the final piece of the puzzle.

The Numbers Game Link to heading

Here’s the complete breakdown of components, when they were purchased, and from where:

Total build cost: $2,270 (final cost including GPU purchased in June)

Going over the original AU$2,000 budget by 14% while achieving the performance and aesthetic goals felt like a genuine win. The extra memory and storage provide room for a lot of growth and the quality of each component gives me peace of mind that it is all going to last the distance.

Why Eight Years? Link to heading

The eight-year target wasn’t arbitrary. Looking at my usage patterns and the components I chose:

Gaming: The 9060 XT with 16GB VRAM should handle new releases at high settings for at least five years, and remain playable for the full eight years. Plus most of the games I enjoy aren’t the most graphically demanding.

Development: 64GB of RAM and 4TB of NVMe storage eliminate the most common bottlenecks in modern development workflows, and this is the genuine reason I opted for such a high memory capacity.

Future-proofing: The AM5 platform supports future CPU upgrades, and the 850W PSU provides headroom for GPU upgrades down the line, however unlikely they may be.

Build Quality: Every component was chosen for longevity rather than cutting costs. The all-white, cable-free aesthetic will age better than flashy RGB setups.

Assembly Next Link to heading

The parts are all here, the Easter break provided the perfect assembly window, and I’m genuinely excited about this build. The Project Zero concept means the assembly process will be different from traditional builds; more planning required, but the end result should be spectacular.

I’ll be documenting the full assembly process with detailed photos and build steps in a follow-up post. The goal is to create a resource for anyone considering a Project Zero build, since the cable management approach requires some specific techniques and considerations.

This build represents something beyond just upgrading hardware; it’s about creating a workstation that will genuinely last, look clean throughout its lifespan, and provide the performance foundation for whatever projects the next eight years might bring.

Ever planned a build around a specific timeline? What’s your approach to balancing performance, aesthetics, and longevity in PC builds?