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>> Every developer has a hard choice to make.
Do you code on a laptop and trade portability
for power or code on a desktop,
all the power, you're constrained coding in one place.
A lot of developers actually start with a laptop then move
to a desktop as the need for raw power increases.
Where do you start building your first desktop PC?
On today's show, I'm joined by Kayla,
a Program Manager for the Windows Terminal Team,
who decided that not only would it be fun
to finally build her first PC,
but it will be even more fun to build it
live during Microsoft's Premier Developer Conference Build.
Learn about the components she used to put
together not only a powerful developer PC,
but an electronic work of art.
From the choice of components for
speed to selecting the case and lighting
Kayla's created a machine that not only
drastically reduces her compilation times,
they get 10 times faster,
but was also a beautiful addition to any home or office.
The best part is you too can build
your own PC that looks and runs this sweet.
Let's Get Personal: Computing with Kayla Cinnamon.
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>> Hey Kayla. Great to finding you in person.
Welcome to the Microsoft Reactor in Redmond.
>> Thanks. It's my first time here.
>> I'm glad you can join us here and I'm
glad you brought Ada with you.
>> I did.
>> I've seen so much about this.
This is the beast in question.
>> Yeah.
>> How is that? How did you find it your fantastic new computer?
>> I've been loving it and haven't had it for too long,
been using it almost every day so that's been fun.
>> Nice. Just how powerful
is it happening before it's going to
like Task Manager, for example?
Just how much of a beast have you built here?
>> It has an I7 CPU in it,
so that's pretty powerful and then it also is using 2070 GPU.
Again, a little bit more powerful there too.
>> Pretty meaty stuff. If we actually flip the screen just for
a task manager and let's actually look at the specs of this thing.
I'm really intrigued. Where are we?
On the Performance tab,
I think. Oh look at that.
It's 12th generation Intel Core I7, 12700K.
Now I'm a little bit out of date with my PC building.
Last time I build a PC, I think I put
megabytes of RAM in the thing, so it was really out of date.
But this seems pretty powerful.
We're looking at what's that 3.61 gigahertz basically.
This is quite a powerful chip inside this is now.
>> Yes, I think so.
>> A lot of these multiple core chips we get these days.
How many cores has this thing got?
>> I didn't look that up. It has 12, check that out.
>> Check that out. Twelve cores, 20 logical processes.
This is quite a powerful machine
for building code and that's the RAM is a big thing these days.
You might notice, earlier we had this lovely PC and
actually with 16 megabytes of RAM.
Is it a little bit more than 16?
>> Just a little. This has 32 gigabytes of RAM.
>> Literally for 2000 times the
RAM this old box that I got next to you.
That's quite a powerful machine and you say GPU and that's 2070.
This is great for machine learning graphics workloads.
>> Yeah, exactly. Or playing games or anything like that,
anything that requires a heavy GPU,
2070 will be just fine.
>> You say it's got Nvidia G-force 2070 in there?
>> Yes.
>> There's a global chip shortage so how did you get one?
>> One of my friends was able to get a 3080.
Don't know how and
he retired his 2070 and didn't know what to do with it.
I just built this PC without
a graphics card because the motherboard has integrated graphics.
Then he gave me the 2070 and that's how I got it.
But I have heard that the shortage is lining up a little bit,
it's a little bit easier to get cards these days,
but I'm not totally sure.
>> I did see someone on
our scalp was complaining that he lost $23,000.
>> I also lost that too.
>> Yeah, heart bleeds for you.
This is a really cool system. Quick demo just
how powerful this is.
>> Yeah, totally. I have built Windows Terminal here,
so I'm the Program Manager for Windows Terminal.
>> Windows Terminal is your jam. This is your thing?
>> It's my thing, I know it inside and out.
We are open source on GitHub.
I cloned the repo from GitHub and then I built
it using Visual Studio and here is the build,
the dove build running here.
On my machine I was using before,
it took about 20-30 minutes to build terminal.
This took about 2-3 minutes when I ran the build earlier.
>> Ten times speedup.
>> Yeah, which is so great.
Because I do a lot of UI programming.
My background is in user interface design.
When I'm just trying to update just
what the front end looks like,
it takes a long time just to change like
a pixel and a margin or something, something very small.
The long build time was bugging
down my development I would say. This is a lot faster.
>> This is in terms of you're in a developer loop,
this idea of I debug
something or change something, I build it, I test.
I change it, I build it I test it.
You've gotten this almost like 10 times speedup
in terms of what you're doing.
This is phenomenal so I remember going back many years ago,
C plus plus programmer certain files,
you change those and the build could take like an hour and a half.
Which is great if you get the file changes before lunch.
But also a lot of changes after lunch.
Chris, you have a dig around inside?
Talk me through the build.
>> Yeah, totally. The first thing that
you start with is the motherboard, which is this.
It's actually lit up here,
but it's the white in the back of the case.
>> Oh, the nice case.
Motherboards with lights. I love light, that's so cool.
>> I think the integrated graphics are living under here,
but I'm not entirely sure.
I didn't see them anywhere else so I assume they're under there.
Then you're going to want to install your storage,
which is actually under this silver piece right there.
I have one terabyte of storage.
>> Just hidden under there, one terabyte?
>> There is a heat sink on the back of
that silver piece to make sure
that the storage doesn't get too hot and then for tightening.
>> The old PCF just behind you.
That's got like 40 megabytes of hard disk space.
Something done and the whole thing is like this
big and this is a terabyte now?
>> It's like this big.
Then once that's all set up and your motherboard's ready,
you install them motherboard into the case,
and then you can add on your CPU coolers.
This is a liquid CPU cooler that's mounted to the CPU.
Oh, you also put the CPU in,
this is an I7,
12 core CPU that you put in the motherboard first.
>> This is liquid cooled.
>> This is liquid cooled, so it
helps for a little bit more efficient
cooling rather than just a standard CPU fan.
>> Isn't that dangerous?
Electronics in liquid?
Always scares me a bit.
>> They don't really mix well.
But actually, nowadays,
the liquid coolers come pre-packaged with the liquid inside.
I didn't have to fill this because I think you used to have
to fill these tubes with the liquid for cooling.
This came all like pre-sealed and it's
all one unit. I didn't have to do that.
Luckily or hopefully if nothing breaks, it should be okay.
But it is a little spooky having
liquid running through your machine.
>> That's the cooler sits on top of the CPU
and CPU is always running at 3.6 gigahertz.
This is running fast as your a lot of
heat so that it needs this cooling.
That's hidden away. It just looks like some weird camera things
and almost like going
red and gay acts like how my 1,000 from 2,000.
>> That's really cool and then that's the brains behind there.
>> Right.
>> Then the glowing strips?
>> Those are the RAM sticks.
Each stick is 16 gigs,
adding up to 32 total.
>> The RAM has literally got glowing lights on the RAM.
>> Whatever I could get lighted up I did.
>> That's so cool. I'm a huge fan of lights.
I've got LED lights all around my house and behind
my desk of what light up shelves and
light up like out of some of the huge lights up.
I'm loving the fact we've got this lighting going on here.
Then you've got CPU,
you've got the RAM and
then at the back here that's the motherboard.
>> Here's the GPU and then the whole thing,
it's mounted onto this motherboard and this
is the motherboard as well that's lit up.
>> Because even past the motherboard.
>> Right.
>> Oh, it's changing colors.
That's so cool. Then these fans here are for-
>> That's the liquid CPU cooler.
>> Again, I wish we could say
that, but if I put my hand in there?
>> Also lit up.
>> Also lit up in different colors.
Nice and then I've got this lovely breeze when I'm sitting,
there's nice breeze coming towards me,
that's these fans here to help cool it.
>> We have three fans on the front for intake and
also three fans on the top and the back for exhaust.
When you're bringing air into the computer and you
want your intake fans on the bottom and the front,
and then your exhaust on the top and the back because heat
rises and needs to flow through the machine itself.
>> Rather than blowing the heat from here down,
pushing against that natural heat rising.
>> Right.
>> You're sucking the heat up at the top.
Coming out here and here,
we're feeling the airflow comes from the front brings it through.
>> Exactly.
>> Comes out the back.
>> Stay on the breeze you said.
>> I never said that exactly.
>> I know we should switch sides.
>> We should. This is a very,
powerful machine and then because you built
it yourself, it's upgradeable.
You could say, I want to change here.
Your friend gets rid of his AMD graphics card,
flop it out and away you go.
>> Exactly.
>> Now it's beautiful,
but I'm noticing the cables are little bit [inaudible].
>> I know.
>> You're not up seasoned PC builder?
>> No, I have no idea how to do
cable management to be completely honest,
I tried my best as bunch of wires and things
running along the back I guess the side.
But when things have to
plug into the front of the motherboard here,
I am not sure how to tuck it away
or tie it up or anything and we built this during Build.
Timing was a little difficult to
get in there and get things tidied up before
the next filming happened of
whatever I need to film doing with the machine.
Yeah. You said you build a stream build on Jumbo,
you're saying this is your first ever PC build?
>> Yes. I know.
>> Is there a story?
>> There is a story. It's a little bit
of background knowledge to this machine.
I am a completely newly PC builder I never built one before
the Build event except for the backup that I made of this machine.
>> The back up, the proper planning.
>> The proper planning.
>> Performance you want to write.
>> Because we don't want a story of that she's a newbie builder
and then we take you through the day
and then it doesn't turn on at the end.
I'd be really sad to watch.
I'd had one experience of building this exact machine,
once two weeks before Build.
Made sure it worked put Windows 11 on it and made sure the demo
worked and had something in case on Day 2.
If we turned it on and didn't work,
we had a machine that did work that looked exactly the same.
This is my second ever PC.
>> Second ever PC built.
>> Yeah.
>> Why? What inspired you?
Obviously, we've seen that it's a powerful machine.
>> Yeah.
>> What inspired you to build?
I mean, it's beautiful.
The PC is beautiful,
your keyboard, your mouse, it's stunning.
Just from a sheer aesthetics, it's incredible.
But did you just fancy something that looked cool,
or was there an inspiration behind it?
>> Yeah. I first started with
the keyboard and the mouse because I have a tablet
for work and I plug that into my monitor and then I
need a keyboard and mouse and we've been working from home,
so I wanted a nice setup.
Then that's where I got these.
Then I learned about keyboard switches and
all of those things which I'm really into.
>> Then deep private hole that is.
>> The deep private hole. There's so many switch colors,
they all feel different and sometimes depends on your mood.
If you're in a clicking mood, maybe you want blue switches,
if you're not on a loud mood,
maybe on red or brown.
I'm a big fan of mechanical keyboards,
these have the mechanical switches on them.
>> Does it click?
>> Very clicky.
>> Yes.
>> Then it lights up.
>> I'm typing in my terminal.
These are blue cherry switches in them.
But as we were moving into the office,
I was like, I'm going to need quieter switches.
I bought a bunch of
brown switches which are a bit
quieter but still have that tactile feel.
But then I unscrewed this whole thing and learned that
this is a soldering keyboards.
Some keyboards have hot-swap keyboards
that let you hot-swap the switches out and they just pop out.
These are soldered in then I needed to get
a soldering iron and then as you can see, there's still blue.
I haven't gotten around on soldering
these switches out of here and put in
the brown ones in but I will eventually.
>> A lot of work today, it would be nice thing to say forever.
Now from the office it does but with a-
>> Right.
>> The click.
>> Yeah.
>> Cool and the mouse as well it's called
what color? Matches my shirt.
>> My whole thing is a light pink and then I actually,
I replaced these key caps.
They used to be this color pink
in the typewriter shapes so then they matched.
But then I wanted a clean white look,
so I just bought different key caps and you can
just swap key caps out as you like,
I used talk about parts in your computer.
You get taught about parts on your keyboard
as well and so then I got
some white typewriter key is just to switch it up a bit,
but the pink mouse match
the original pink key caps when I bought this.
>> Nice, having the whole thing match is just awesome.
>> Yes.
>> It's looks lovely.
>> Thank you.
>> It's really cool.
>> Super on the keyboards, but then I
actually haven't owned a machine since college.
I have my college laptop and that was it.
Then I was just using the work computer.
>> There's something a lot of Tech people do this.
I don't know it's bizarre thing.
We're in Tech, we must own 100 computers.
>> Right.
>> A lot of us we're not working with it
anyway; what are we going to do at home?
>> Exactly.
>> We're going to hack on open-source projects,
which on our work would be easier.
>> I already had my work computer setup
with Visual Studio and everything.
If I was doing anything
outside of work hours is just on there anyway.
I never had a machine outside of college I was like,
"I think now it's the time."
Then that's why I wanted to get into building my own
and I know that you can upgrade PCs separately.
It's the analogy of you have a ship and you replace a piece of
wood and then our point is that the same ship or a new ship.
The same thing works with computers you
could build your machine and then swap
out the CPU or the graphics card
and then at some point you're just evolving the same machine,
but it's a new machine at the same time.
>> Yeah. In Britain we have it as an idea.
It's called Triggers Broom as a TV show.
I had a guy that could trigger and he
would come to replace the handle of
the broom or the head of the broom. It's always the same broom.
>> You're right.
>> But once placed the handle once, the head of it once.
It's actually a new broom but in his mind, same broom.
>> Exactly.
>> Same thing here this is the Triggers Broom you've
upgrade all the pieces over time.
>> Yeah.
[MUSIC] To get a new computer,
it may be the same computer, it still be either.
But it would just have slowly all the path's place
That's really cool that is great.
Thank you so much for bringing this
to share with us really appreciate you taking time.
>> Thanks for having me.
>> As cool as this project is.
What's even cooler is you can recreate this at home.
Check out the link below for everything you need.
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