Please Vet This PC Build

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Hi, everyone. I've been asked to build an upper midrange gaming PC for my bother in law to run mostly MMOs like New World on a large 4K monitor and a VR setup yet to be purchased. I don't have a clear picture regarding how demanding of games he might want to run in the near future, so I think I have specced a bit of overkill in the GPU and generally all around, to make sure it will last him a while. Looking for a sanity check to make sure nothing really stands out as a big mistake. Here's the tentative list:




AMD Ryzen 7 3700X 3.6 GHz 8-Core Processor
He ended up wanting the 8-core, we'll see if we can OC it a little without needing a fancy cooler. Based on my experience with the earlier silicon, I doubt it, but maybe they've gotten better.

ASRock X570 Phantom Gaming 4S ATX AM4 Motherboard
Entry level X570 board from preferred manufacturer ASRock. Supposedly will accept upcoming CPUs.

G.Skill Flare X Series 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 CL14 Memory
B-die, though this may not be entirely necessary. Not planning on any hardcore OCing, just want it to be stable and fast.

Samsung 970 Evo Plus 1 TB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive
A selection suggested by BlueLineSwinger, the Pro version was admittedly overkill here.

No GPU purchase now, I'm going to loan him a 2060 until the new stuff comes out. Hopefully we can snag a 3070, but something tells me they are going to be flying off the shelf.

Phanteks Eclipse P300 ATX Mid Tower Case

This is what I ended up with, not thrilled that things go out of stock in the blink of an eye. The Corsair was a better case. We'll see if this is okay or not.

Silverstone TEK 550 W 80+ Gold Certified ATX Power Supply
Another instance where the desired part is suddenly out of stock. Would have preferred the Seasonic, but this is probably okay.

Microsoft Windows 10 Pro OEM 64-bit
I like Pro because it allows more control over when updates are installed. That's worth extra in my book. Will probably shop around for a better price on this. Edit: Got a sealed disc for quite a bit cheaper on ebay.

Optical drive and peripherals are existing or to be supplied by user.
Edited, total is now about $890 with this list.
 
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Unless retailers start really slashing the pricing on the RTX2070 cards, I can't see getting one over the 3070.

Gaming PCs are not the target platform for the 970 Pro. The 970 Evo/Evo Plus is a more proper fit, and costs less. There are also other higher-end SSDs to consider, such has the WD SN750 Black.

Unless the CPU is a placeholder for Ryzen 3 (the 4000 series), I'd go with an 8-core piece. The upcoming consoles have 8-core CPUs, and I expect games released in the next year or two to start targeting that number.

No thoughts on that mainboard. Everything else seems good to me.
 
BlueLineSwinger , thanks for the response. I agree that I was aiming pretty high with the SSD. Also I would say that the GPU selection is in flux given the imminent release of Ampere.
I've edited the list to reflect the change in SSD.
 
If ampere is the target gpu this will perhaps be cause to reconsider your PSU choice.

A few articles (example) have mentioned that the cards will include an adapter for using the standard PSU connectors.

PSU manufacturers will probably offer replacement modular cables using the new connector.

Also, non-reference designs may or may not use the new connector.
 
Thanks, learners permit . I'd read that the new connector was being reserved for the highest-end cards for now, and adapters will be available as mentioned. At any rate, I would not expect any GPU we pick in the near future to exceed the capabilities of the PSU, although it is something to keep an eye on.
 
If it were me, I would get a platinum or titanium level efficiency psu. A quality psu will last a decade, why waste all that electricity?

You can get 32 gigs of ram for not much more. Games are on the verge of needing more than 16 now. (Flight sim 2020)
 
If it were me, I would get a platinum or titanium level efficiency psu. A quality psu will last a decade, why waste all that electricity?

If you're in a market with very high electrical rates, maybe. The cost of any electricty saved rarely makes up for the price premium for platinum/titanium PSUs.


You can get 32 gigs of ram for not much more. Games are on the verge of needing more than 16 now. (Flight sim 2020)

Eh. Most games are aimed at consoles, and the upcoming ones are 16 GB. FS2020 is an exception. Worst case, get 16 GB now and add another 16 GB pair later.
 
Thanks all for your input, see updated list as purchased above. Several changes, two due to lack of stock. I'm not sure about the case, it might get sent back if it's a POS.
 
I'm not sure about the case, it might get sent back if it's a POS.
im happy with my p350x case, its a good solid, well built case, imo. i've built in some real junk... yours is just bit shallower front to back so with front intake fans you'd be limited a ~12" gpu. im not sure if fans fit behind the front panel though... i would also agree about the psu, you need to make sure that you get at least the minimum for the target gpu. for a 3070 im seeing 650w...
 
im happy with my p350x case, its a good solid, well built case, imo. i've built in some real junk... yours is just bit shallower front to back so with front intake fans you'd be limited a ~12" gpu. im not sure if fans fit behind the front panel though... i would also agree about the psu, you need to make sure that you get at least the minimum for the target gpu. for a 3070 im seeing 650w...
Thanks, I've had some Phanteks stuff that's been good, but it turns out that this is their lower end unit, so we'll see. Regarding the 3070, afaik it's supposed to have a 220W TDP, so I don't think we are in danger with a 550W PSU, are we? The calculator put the system at 432W with a 250W TDP GPU.
 
Thanks, I've had some Phanteks stuff that's been good, but it turns out that this is their lower end unit, so we'll see. Regarding the 3070, afaik it's supposed to have a 220W TDP, so I don't think we are in danger with a 550W PSU, are we? The calculator put the system at 432W with a 250W TDP GPU.
theres plenty of people around here that made the same argument and have had issues. ive never trusted those calcs either. id rather listen to the people that actually built the gpu.
 
theres plenty of people around here that made the same argument and have had issues. ive never trusted those calcs either. id rather listen to the people that actually built the gpu.
Noted, though since I already have the unit I am going to burn it in with a 250W TDP GPU and see how it goes.
 
Since we're this close to a Zen 3 reveal (maybe November launch?), I'd probably just get a 3600 as a placeholder and then upgrade to the 4700x.

There is virtually no point to paying a B-die tax with a Zen2 CPU and a X570 motherboard. I'd get a good set of 32GB 3600/Cas 16 memory for the same money.

One thing I don't like with that motherboard is how close the 1st PCIe (graphics card) slot is to the I/O panel and the CPU socket. If you compare that with the B550 picture here, you can see that some boards have it spaced down one slot. Gives you more room for a larger video card or a beefier CPU cooler.

That SSD is overkill. You can get a Phison E12/Toshiba TLC memory drive for $120 (or less) instead of $180. I mean you're getting 99% of the performance at 60% of the price.

That case is fine although slightly restrictive with the front airflow. I think they make a mesh version that isn't much different in price.
 
Since we're this close to a Zen 3 reveal (maybe November launch?), I'd probably just get a 3600 as a placeholder and then upgrade to the 4700x.

There is virtually no point to paying a B-die tax with a Zen2 CPU and a X570 motherboard. I'd get a good set of 32GB 3600/Cas 16 memory for the same money.

One thing I don't like with that motherboard is how close the 1st PCIe (graphics card) slot is to the I/O panel and the CPU socket. If you compare that with the B550 picture here, you can see that some boards have it spaced down one slot. Gives you more room for a larger video card or a beefier CPU cooler.

That SSD is overkill. You can get a Phison E12/Toshiba TLC memory drive for $120 (or less) instead of $180. I mean you're getting 99% of the performance at 60% of the price.

That case is fine although slightly restrictive with the front airflow. I think they make a mesh version that isn't much different in price.
It's a little late for me to make changes now, since it's sitting on my desk burning in right now, but thanks for participating. At least I didn't buy a 2070...
 
I delivered it with one of my own 2060's to get him going, we'll see if 3070's even become available enough in October to be able to snag one.
 
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