Friend's Micro Center Westmont build

S

SamuraiInBlack

Supreme [H]ardness
Joined
Oct 10, 2003
Messages
5,771
Buddy of mine back in IL is looking to have another machine built, but since I'm no longer local to him, he is dependent on the Micro Center local to him to do his parts and build. Came up with a build, but not sure if I could do better or if I'm going overkill somewhere.

1) What will you be doing with this PC? PC gaming, web browsing, occasional virtual tabletop stream
2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included? $2000 before tax, not an issue if it pushes it over
3) Which country do you live in? Westmont IL, USA
4) What exact parts do you need for that budget? Case, power supply, motherboard, processor, ram, video card, SSD, hard drive
5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Blu ray drive
6) Will you be overclocking? No
7) What is the max resolution of your monitor? What size is it? 1920x1080
8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC? By end of month
9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Crossfire or SLI support? eSATA? Onboard video (as a backup or main GPU)? etc. Nothing special
10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? No, need a copy of Windows 10

Here is what I managed to throw together for him:
https://www.microcenter.com/Insider...dtgpPx&Email=eYGm5HzH89q5q2o/WDV6yQnwnHNBpF49
 
What would he be using 32gb for?

I would get an m.2 for OS, an SSD for games, and the 4tb I'm guessing is for media/streaming?
 
st4rk said:
What would he be using 32gb for?

I would get an m.2 for OS, an SSD for games, and the 4tb I'm guessing is for media/streaming?
Click to expand...

He doesn't upgrade often, so the 32GB is from a future proofing aspect. By the time he goes for another build, 32GB will probably be the recommended minimum for whatever version of Windows he'd have to be on by then. (Read: Win7 was still the new hotness when I built his current rig)

Why would you suggest an M.2 drive? It won't make enough of a difference in performance for the price premium over a regular SSD. He doesn't do anything that has some specialized workload that would benefit from it.

The SSD will be the OS drive plus storage for everyday programs. The 4TB will be for games, music, and whatever crap he's amassed over the years. He's a digital hoarder like I am.
 
I'm semi-local to your buddy (down in Crest Hill now, but Westmont isn't a hellacious commute).

A 1TB SSD is just overkill.

I'm not even using half my 512GB.

And if you're throwing GAMES onto the mechanical drive, you have even less need for that much space.
You use the SSD for gaming on anything that has level loading,because the level loading happens faster.
If he's really a digital hoarder, get him an WD 8TB External Drive instead. $160. You can shuck it and stick it internal if you wish.
 
Within a few hours, AMD will launch their 2000 series of updated AM4 CPUs. Instead of the 1700x I would get the 2700 or 2700x. ($300 and $330 respectively) They will feature higher base and boost clocks which will be useful since you do not plan on overclocking. (They also come with cpu coolers unlike the 1700x)

Only other thing is just a matter of preference. There are newer, better looking cases for that price point in my opinion.

Good parts otherwise.
 
SamuraiInBlack said:
Why would you suggest an M.2 drive? It won't make enough of a difference in performance for the price premium over a regular SSD. He doesn't do anything that has some specialized workload that would benefit from it.

The SSD will be the OS drive plus storage for everyday programs. The 4TB will be for games, music, and whatever crap he's amassed over the years. He's a digital hoarder like I am.
Click to expand...

Always separate your OS drive from everything else. OS should always have its own dedicated device. M.2 is incredibly small and easy to install, no cables. Might as well use the slot if it's there.

SSD benefits a lot of different games. Especially if you find yourself quick loading a lot.
 
I agree with Neapolitan6th, you should get the newer AMD CPU/MB.

I would definitely go for a better video card. evga 1070 ti is only $80 more at $499 http://www.microcenter.com/product/..._SC_Gaming_Dual-Fan_8GB_GDDR5_PCIe_Video_Card

You could easily save some money on the PSU. The Seasonic Prime is an amazing PSU but a Seaonic Focus 650w is a very good PSU and costs $140 less. 650w is more than enough power if you aren't overclocking.

I could see getting an m.2 sata SSD since they are usually barely more than a 2.5" ssd and the form factor is nice. Unfortunately Microcenter doesn't seem to have them. m.2 nvme is just too expensive.
With a 1TB SSD there is no reason not to have your games on there. I have a 250GB SSD and I keep 4-5 games on there. I wouldn't add a 3rd drive, it just makes things more complicated. I used to run more drives and different partitions but now I like to just keep things simple. SSD for OS/Programs/Games I play most and a HDD for music/video/storage/backup.
 
Chas said:
I'm semi-local to your buddy (down in Crest Hill now, but Westmont isn't a hellacious commute).

A 1TB SSD is just overkill.

I'm not even using half my 512GB.

And if you're throwing GAMES onto the mechanical drive, you have even less need for that much space.
You use the SSD for gaming on anything that has level loading,because the level loading happens faster.
If he's really a digital hoarder, get him an WD 8TB External Drive instead. $160. You can shuck it and stick it internal if you wish.
Click to expand...

1TB is what he wants. No getting around it. Apparently he has some games that he wants on the SSD now.

Neapolitan6th said:
Within a few hours, AMD will launch their 2000 series of updated AM4 CPUs. Instead of the 1700x I would get the 2700 or 2700x. ($300 and $330 respectively) They will feature higher base and boost clocks which will be useful since you do not plan on overclocking. (They also come with cpu coolers unlike the 1700x)

Only other thing is just a matter of preference. There are newer, better looking cases for that price point in my opinion.

Good parts otherwise.
Click to expand...

I wasn't even aware AMD was launching anything yet. Shows how much I've been paying attention. Good to know though! Case wise, he's a sucker for front connectors and peripheral drives. I figured this case fit nicely.

st4rk said:
Always separate your OS drive from everything else. OS should always have its own dedicated device. M.2 is incredibly small and easy to install, no cables. Might as well use the slot if it's there.

SSD benefits a lot of different games. Especially if you find yourself quick loading a lot.
Click to expand...

I agree, but from a price to capacity standpoint, he wouldn't stand to benefit. After talking to him today, it sounds like he has some games that he knows would benefit from SSD now.

Dermen said:
I agree with Neapolitan6th, you should get the newer AMD CPU/MB.

I would definitely go for a better video card. evga 1070 ti is only $80 more at $499 http://www.microcenter.com/product/..._SC_Gaming_Dual-Fan_8GB_GDDR5_PCIe_Video_Card

You could easily save some money on the PSU. The Seasonic Prime is an amazing PSU but a Seaonic Focus 650w is a very good PSU and costs $140 less. 650w is more than enough power if you aren't overclocking.

I could see getting an m.2 sata SSD since they are usually barely more than a 2.5" ssd and the form factor is nice. Unfortunately Microcenter doesn't seem to have them. m.2 nvme is just too expensive.
With a 1TB SSD there is no reason not to have your games on there. I have a 250GB SSD and I keep 4-5 games on there. I wouldn't add a 3rd drive, it just makes things more complicated. I used to run more drives and different partitions but now I like to just keep things simple. SSD for OS/Programs/Games I play most and a HDD for music/video/storage/backup.
Click to expand...

Changed the PSU to the Focus. The M.2 isn't going to happen. He's not liking the pricing for the capacities compared to SSD. He did say down the road if pricing drops, he'd consider it.

DirtyB said:
For sure. That PSU money would be a complete waste.
Click to expand...

After having a couple systems meeting their end back in my teenage years by not getting a good enough power supply, I tend to go high end on the power supply out of paranoia/peace of mind. Then I run it by the folks here to see what I should really be getting.

Overall, I made some changes, and even though it's put it over the budget, he's fine with it.

My only regret is I won't be there to build it for him.
 
SamuraiInBlack said:
1TB is what he wants. No getting around it. Apparently he has some games that he wants on the SSD now.



I wasn't even aware AMD was launching anything yet. Shows how much I've been paying attention. Good to know though! Case wise, he's a sucker for front connectors and peripheral drives. I figured this case fit nicely.



I agree, but from a price to capacity standpoint, he wouldn't stand to benefit. After talking to him today, it sounds like he has some games that he knows would benefit from SSD now.



Changed the PSU to the Focus. The M.2 isn't going to happen. He's not liking the pricing for the capacities compared to SSD. He did say down the road if pricing drops, he'd consider it.



After having a couple systems meeting their end back in my teenage years by not getting a good enough power supply, I tend to go high end on the power supply out of paranoia/peace of mind. Then I run it by the folks here to see what I should really be getting.

Overall, I made some changes, and even though it's put it over the budget, he's fine with it.

My only regret is I won't be there to build it for him.
Click to expand...
If you do end up going the 2nd gen Ryzen route, you may want to get a X470 motherboard since those guarantee out of the box compatibility without bios updates. Also, Microcenter is currently running a $50 off promotion when bundling the new AM4 cpus with a compatible motherboard (b350,x370,x470)
 
I echo the idea that 32gb of ram is too much if all he's doing is games, web browsing and streaming. 16gb will do just fine. There's no need to future proof ram. If more is needed, he has additional slots. Otherwise, by the time games start using 32gb of ram, DDR5 will be the standard and he'd have to upgrade anyways.
I race and stream iracing with several background programs running in addition to OBS and i dont think I've ever had up to 12gb of ram usage at one time.
 
Neapolitan6th said:
If you do end up going the 2nd gen Ryzen route, you may want to get a X470 motherboard since those guarantee out of the box compatibility without bios updates. Also, Microcenter is currently running a $50 off promotion when bundling the new AM4 cpus with a compatible motherboard (b350,x370,x470)
Click to expand...

That is actually the plan and for that reason. The board I picked is a jump in price, but from a performance, future proofing, and compatibility standpoint, I think it is worth the extra.

manny1222 said:
I echo the idea that 32gb of ram is too much if all he's doing is games, web browsing and streaming. 16gb will do just fine. There's no need to future proof ram. If more is needed, he has additional slots. Otherwise, by the time games start using 32gb of ram, DDR5 will be the standard and he'd have to upgrade anyways.
I race and stream iracing with several background programs running in addition to OBS and i dont think I've ever had up to 12gb of ram usage at one time.
Click to expand...

By the time he's ready to upgrade again, we'll possibly be on DDR6 (or the new hotness equivalent if they don't name it that) , or really cheap high performance DDR5.
 
I'm with the guys that say go with 16GB memory, cheaper PSU, better GTX 1080, and go with a Samsung 1TB 860 EVO SSD.

ETA: I would also go with an 8700K based system.


.
 
Spartacus said:
I'm with the guys that say go with 16GB memory, cheaper PSU, better GTX 1080, and go with a Samsung 1TB 860 EVO SSD.

ETA: I would also go with an 8700K based system.


.
Click to expand...

The samsung SSD is $80 more than the Crucial, no way it is worth that.

Memory is the easiest thing to swap out. I would go with 16GB for now and upgrade it later. Prices will come down eventually. It is possible in a few years when you need 32GB it will be a lot cheaper. Plus you can spend the money saved to get an even better video card. The video card is always the best place to spend money on a gaming PC.
 
Dermen said:
The samsung SSD is $80 more than the Crucial, no way it is worth that.

Memory is the easiest thing to swap out. I would go with 16GB for now and upgrade it later. Prices will come down eventually. It is possible in a few years when you need 32GB it will be a lot cheaper. Plus you can spend the money saved to get an even better video card. The video card is always the best place to spend money on a gaming PC.
Click to expand...

>>The samsung SSD is $80 more than the Crucial, no way it is worth that.

That's a matter of opinion as is my statement that he should go with the Samsung.
The Samsung SSDs have a proven track record of performance and durability.
That's all I buy for myself and my customers. Haven't had one go bad yet.

By not buying 32GB of memory and going with a cheaper power supply, that frees
up funds to spend more on critical parts like the SSD and the GPU.

Put the money where it will do the most good.

.
 
Spartacus said:
>>The samsung SSD is $80 more than the Crucial, no way it is worth that.

That's a matter of opinion as is my statement that he should go with the Samsung.
The Samsung SSDs have a proven track record of performance and durability.
That's all I buy for myself and my customers. Haven't had one go bad yet.

By not buying 32GB of memory and going with a cheaper power supply, that frees
up funds to spend more on critical parts like the SSD and the GPU.

Put the money where it will do the most good.

.
Click to expand...

It is an opinion and here are my arguments for it. Identical performance and warranty for less money.

Lets look at Samsungs 840 EVO track record. After 90 days your read speeds drop to 50mb/s. Their fix (which took more than a year to be released) has the SSD constantly rewriting your data in the background which decreases durability.
 
Dermen said:
It is an opinion and here are my arguments for it. Identical performance and warranty for less money.

Lets look at Samsungs 840 EVO track record. After 90 days your read speeds drop to 50mb/s. Their fix (which took more than a year to be released) has the SSD constantly rewriting your data in the background which decreases durability.
Click to expand...

True, the problem with the 840s is old news though.
No such problems with the 850s.

I have nothing against Crucial, but I'll still recommend the Samsung SSDs.
It's a $60 difference right now for the 1tb 850 EVO.


.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top