[NEW BUILD] Help and Assistance

CharDar

n00b
Joined
Mar 12, 2016
Messages
38
Hey all,

I'm planning on build a new rig soon and I'd love to have some input. It's been nearly a decade since I've build a new, full rig! I'm trying to get keep under $1k for now.

1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
  • Gaming mostly (such as PoE, Overwatch); Web browsing
2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
  • ~$800 or so is fine. I could stretch a bit.
3) Which country do you live in? If the U.S, please tell us the state and city if possible.
  • USA, Maryland
4) What exact parts do you need for that budget? CPU, RAM, case, etc. The word "Everything" is not a valid answer. Please list out all the parts you'll need.
  • CPU, RAM, Case, Mobo, SSD
5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.
  • I have a EVGA 600W
6) Will you be overclocking?
  • Probably not
7) What is the max resolution of your monitor? What size is it?
  • 22' 1920x1080
8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
  • Within the next 2 months
9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Crossfire or SLI support? eSATA? Onboard video (as a backup or main GPU)? etc.
  • N/A
10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? If yes, what OS? Is it 32bit or 64bit?
  • Yes, Windows 7 64Bit


Right now I've got some parts put together on amazon just for reference. Here they are:


Memory: Corsair Vengeance LPX 16GB (2x8GB) DDR4 DRAM 3000MHz
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0134EW7G...colid=83VMHTP8YL8W&psc=0&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it

SSD: Silicon Power 240GB SSD 3D NAND S55 TLC 7mm (0.28") Internal Solid State Drive
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01M61OWR...colid=83VMHTP8YL8W&psc=0&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it

Mobo: MSI PRO Series Intel 8th Gen LGA 1151 M.2 D-Sub DVI DP USB 3.0 Gigabit LAN CFX ATX Motherboard
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B075GN9YC...colid=83VMHTP8YL8W&psc=0&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it

Case: NZXT S340 Mid Tower Computer Case, White
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00NGMIBX...colid=83VMHTP8YL8W&psc=0&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it


CPU: Intel Core i5-8600K Desktop Processor 6 Cores up to 4.3 GHz unlocked LGA 1151 300 Series 95W
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0759FKH8...colid=83VMHTP8YL8W&psc=0&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it




Cheers,
 
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PCPartPicker part list: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/wzXrXP
Price breakdown by merchant: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/wzXrXP/by_merchant/

CPU: AMD - Ryzen 5 2600 3.4 GHz 6-Core Processor ($159.99 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master - Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($26.92 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: MSI - B450-A PRO ATX AM4 Motherboard ($99.99 @ B&H)
Memory: G.Skill - Ripjaws V 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-2666 Memory ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Crucial - MX500 500 GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($72.89 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: PNY - GeForce GTX 1060 6GB 6 GB XLR8 Gaming OC Video Card ($229.99 @ Newegg Business)
Case: NZXT - S340 (White) ATX Mid Tower Case ($70.46 @ Newegg Business)
Power Supply: EVGA - SuperNOVA G1+ 650 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($64.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $825.22

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2018-12-09 19:37 EST-0500

The assumption is that you would overclock the 2600 to speeds at or exceeding the 2600X.
2600X vs i5-8600K:
 
That's a great place to start. However, I do not need a few things generated on that list, so that money could be used for beefing up other things.

I do not need:

GPU
Cooler
PSU
 
You stated that "you don't need a GPU," but most games actually REQUIRE one: The integrated IGP, especially Intel's, is almost always way too weak. You'll find that you'd actually have to turn down the video resolution to the absolute minimum that Windows permits, and then turn off all detail completely, just to get anywhere near playable framerates, in some of the games that you're planning to play.
 
That's a great place to start. However, I do not need a few things generated on that list, so that money could be used for beefing up other things.

I do not need:

GPU
Cooler
PSU
What model EVGA PSU do you have? You said 600W, but that doesn't tell me much. If it isn't a higher end model that is 80PLUS Gold or better, I would upgrade. The one I listed has a crazy 12 year warranty.
What HSF do you plan to use?
You are right to wait on replacing the GPU until the next wave of mid-range come out.


I left the HSF and PSU on here for reference:
PCPartPicker part list: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/FZ7LnH
Price breakdown by merchant: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/FZ7LnH/by_merchant/

CPU: AMD - Ryzen 7 2700 3.2 GHz 8-Core Processor ($259.00 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master - Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($27.13 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: MSI - B450-A PRO ATX AM4 Motherboard ($99.99 @ B&H)
Memory: G.Skill - Ripjaws V Series 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3000 Memory ($114.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: HP - EX920 1 TB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive ($174.99 @ Newegg)
Case: NZXT - S340 (White) ATX Mid Tower Case ($70.46 @ Newegg Business)
Power Supply: EVGA - SuperNOVA G1+ 650 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($64.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $811.55

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2018-12-10 11:11 EST-0500

And here is without:
PCPartPicker part list: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/gwbMgw
Price breakdown by merchant: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/gwbMgw/by_merchant/

CPU: AMD - Ryzen 7 2700 3.2 GHz 8-Core Processor ($259.00 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: MSI - B450-A PRO ATX AM4 Motherboard ($99.99 @ B&H)
Memory: Corsair - Vengeance LPX 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR4-2666 Memory ($229.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: HP - EX920 1 TB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive ($164.99 @ Newegg)
Case: NZXT - S340 (White) ATX Mid Tower Case ($70.46 @ Newegg Business)
Total: $824.43

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2018-12-10 11:17 EST-0500
 
Less than 2 years, I'd say.
Is this it? https://www.evga.com/products/product.aspx?pn=100-B1-0600-KR

If so, time to upgrade. I would be surprised if that PSU could do 500W for 30 minutes without catching fire, let alone 600W. There is so much more to PSUs than 80Plus ratings and wattage. Noise, ripple, voltage regulation, cooling, build quality, capacitors and the ability to operate at the rated wattage all factor in to what makes a "good" PSU. Friends don't let friends use low quality PSUs.
 
if you live near a microcenter you can save some loot by getting the $149 1700x or 2600, $30off mb/cpu combo.
 
https://www.evga.com/products/product.aspx?pn=100-W1-0600-K1

That's the one I have. But, I'd be willing to upgrade! I'd just have to modify the rest of the components to stay around budget.
Yeah, definitely time to upgrade.

Under budget, room for upgrades later on:
PCPartPicker part list: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/gdTy7W
Price breakdown by merchant: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/gdTy7W/by_merchant/

CPU: AMD - Ryzen 7 2700 3.2 GHz 8-Core Processor ($259.00 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: MSI - B450-A PRO ATX AM4 Motherboard ($99.99 @ B&H)
Memory: G.Skill - Ripjaws V Series 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3000 Memory ($114.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: HP - EX920 1 TB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive ($174.99 @ Newegg)
Case: NZXT - S340 (White) ATX Mid Tower Case ($70.46 @ Newegg Business)
Power Supply: EVGA - SuperNOVA G1+ 650 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($64.89 @ OutletPC)
Total: $784.32

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2018-12-10 17:40 EST-0500
 
https://www.evga.com/products/product.aspx?pn=100-W1-0600-K1

That's the one I have. But, I'd be willing to upgrade! I'd just have to modify the rest of the components to stay around budget.
Unfortunately, you will have to upgrade that PSU before you can subject any of your new higher-end, higher-performance, higher-priced components to its relatively wonky performance. That line of PSUs is, according to a PSU tier list, barely above garbage quality.
 
Thanks for the feedback on the PSU :) It's good to know!

Donald, thanks for all your hard work. I think it's starting to look really good so far. I'm going to take some time to review and I will be back!
 
One thing I was thinking: I'd be willing to go down some memory on the SSD for a bit more RAM. Would that be a smart move? For example, cut the SSD to 500G and double RAM.
 
One thing I was thinking: I'd be willing to go down some memory on the SSD for a bit more RAM. Would that be a smart move? For example, cut the SSD to 500G and double RAM.
If you are mostly gaming, browsing, there is no reason to get the additional RAM right now. Plus, it is way easier to add RAM later than deal with moving your OS. If it were me, I'd keep the SSD (32GB of RAM would cost more than the difference from 1TB to 500GB SSD anyway) and save a RAM upgrade for 2019 when the prices bottom out.
 
I think Donald's recommendations are spot on with one exception. Newegg's price for the HP SSD is $216 right now. I would go with a Samsung 970 Evo 500GB ($120 on amazon) or even The HP EX920 512GB ($85 for the next 3 days on the egg) boot drive and add a 2TB spinner for storage. Christ my i-Tunes library is almost 1.5TB right now!
 
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Wonderful, that's good to hear. And, what about perhaps upgrading the RAM speed a bit? I know my mobo supports DDR4-3466, but we have 3000 on there. Is it worth it to take a better RAM?
 
I think Donald's recommendations are spot on with one exception. Newegg's price for the HP SSD is $216 right now. I would go with a 970 Evo 512GB boot drive and add a 2TB spinner for storage. Christ my i-Tunes library is almost 1.5TB right now!
I've got a 1TB spinner right now. I hardly use much storage these days, however.
 
The Ryzen CPU's have been shown to benefit greatly from faster ram so a step up to 3200 might be worth it. 3466 is quite a bit more so might not be worth the extra $.
 
I've got a 1TB spinner right now. I hardly use much storage these days, however.
I can remember when I bought a $400 20MB drive and thought how I would never use all that space. Got over 12GB of storage in my current rig and could use some more.
 
I think Donald's recommendations are spot on with one exception. Newegg's price for the HP SSD is $216 right now. I would go with a Samsung 970 Evo 500GB ($120 on amazon) or even The HP EX920 512GB ($85 for the next 3 days on the egg) boot drive and add a 2TB spinner for storage. Christ my i-Tunes library is almost 1.5TB right now!
There are a bunch of places selling it for $174.99. Newegg just happened to sell out at the sale price of $164.99. You won't see or feel a difference between the HP and the 970 Evo. Not worth the extra $/GB

Wonderful, that's good to hear. And, what about perhaps upgrading the RAM speed a bit? I know my mobo supports DDR4-3466, but we have 3000 on there. Is it worth it to take a better RAM?
CPU maxes out at 2933 natively. Returns greatly diminish after that. High speed RAM above the CPU rating is a pointless waste of money on a gaming rig, IMHO. Faster speeds = slower timings = pointless

I've got a 1TB spinner right now. I hardly use much storage these days, however.
I bought an Intel 240GB SSD as my boot drive almost 6 years ago. Everyone was using 40, 80, or 120GB at the time. I just replaced that drive with a 1TB NVMe SSD and hope to get another 5-6 years out of it. Had 54% write endurance left on it.
 
Thank you all for your feedback. That's really good to know!

Another question: I have Windows 7, 64 bit. Will I get optimal performance out of that OS or should I upgrade to Windows 10?
 
A few different guys on the [H] are selling Win 10 Pro keys for around $20. Have purchased from "ickywu" multiple times and never had a problem.
Seems like a no-brainer to me. Just make sure to buy Win 10 Pro 64 bit, so you can set Windows update to delay updates to the time of your choosing!
 
Thank you all for your feedback. That's really good to know!

Another question: I have Windows 7, 64 bit. Will I get optimal performance out of that OS or should I upgrade to Windows 10?
Ebay has legit keys for less than $5. Just find a seller who has sold a bunch (noted in red) and above 99% feedback. I've gotten a few keys for older machine on there and haven't had any problems.
https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_nkw=windows+10+pro+key&_sacat=0&LH_BIN=1&_sop=15
 
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Stay away from ebay. No recourse if something goes wrong. ickywu will stand behind his sales 100%!
 
Stay away from ebay. No recourse if something goes wrong. ickywu will stand behind his sales 100%!
You realize that he probably buys his stuff from ebay or another placed priced similarly, right? I understand that you want to help the OP, but you are coming across as pushy. Just dial back the intensity by a notch or two. This isn't a contest.

OP: If you have any questions, PM me. I'm going to unsub from this thread.
 
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i thought everyone was doing a really solid job of helping the OP out...?
just wanted to add that the samsung 860evo 1tb can be had for $149(was $127) and the m.2 drive is a few bucks less @ $147. like donald said going with the 1tb ssd/m.2 drive now vs more memory will put you ahead of the game with plenty of fast storage.
https://www.amazon.com/Samsung-Inch-Internal-MZ-76E1T0B-AM/dp/B078DPCY3T
theres also a sweet deal on a intel 545s 512gb ssd for $54 on ebay(very solid specs and reviews), pulled from the hotdeals section. if you choose that route nab it quick as it comes and goes frequently.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Intel-545s...h=item58f97b67d3:g:QWcAAOSwZuRZz7Zp:rk:1:pf:0
heres the specs,
https://www.intel.com/content/www/u...45s-series/545s-512gb-2-5inch-6gbps-16nm.html
gl your rig is looking sweet!
 
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All great suggestions! I may wait until the beginning of the new year to purchase, however, so I may bump this thread right around the time I'm ready to buy. But I may buy earlier!

As far as Windows 10 goes, I don't mind spending a little extra as long as it's a legit copy! I've had nightmares with un-certified copies in the past.

All great suggestions, people! Thanks!

Any more tips or deals would be appreciated.
 
Trump said he was going to postpone the 25% tariff for 90 days beyond the scheduled Jan. 1st implementation date, but nothing has been made official. As impetuous as he is it may behoove you to buy before the end of the year.
 
Did you check price and availability of these components?
The NZXT case is out of stock. The EVGA power supply is $89.99 less the rebate (you counted it twice).
As far as to the 2700 or the 2700X, it depends! If you are comfortable with manually overclocking the CPU the 2700 is a great value, but if you are going to run stock speed then the 2700X is probably worth the extra $40.
Finally I think this ASRock mobo would be a much better deal for you: https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157841&ignorebbr=1
MSI's Bios is really quite antiquated compared to ASRock & Asus.
 
I don't see the PSU on there two times? I saw that the case is OOS, but I was posting this mostly for a check of quality. I plan on buying this rig within the next couple weeks.

I may be able to overclock, but it will depend on how friendly the BIOS is...hah
 
A few different guys on the [H] are selling Win 10 Pro keys for around $20. Have purchased from "ickywu" multiple times and never had a problem.
Seems like a no-brainer to me. Just make sure to buy Win 10 Pro 64 bit, so you can set Windows update to delay updates to the time of your choosing!
And is it possible to get this in a hard copy? Or would I have to purchase a copy and then burn an ISO onto a drive?
 
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