Question Im looking for some pointers

[Jpmwell]

Ive put together a mock build, this is my first crack at pc building, and id reckon I've gave myself a reasonable budget for a first time build.
My question to you all is, can you have a look at it and give me some advice if there is any part ive selected that could be bettered in any way?
Ive included the link at the bottom of my post.
thanks in advance guys.

Please click the green human to continue - UserBenchmark

 

[JC_Denton]

Hey @Jpmwell and welcome to the forums.

Solid build!

You'll need a quality and reliable power supply like Corsair CX550M or Silverstone ET550-HG. Both have enough amps and watts to keep you going strong for many years.

PC Case Gear is my top recommendation for buying parts.

 

[Jpmwell]

Hey @Jpmwell and welcome to the forums.

Solid build!

You'll need a quality and reliable power supply like Corsair CX550M or Silverstone ET550-HG. Both have enough amps and watts to keep you going strong for many years.

PC Case Gear is my top recommendation for buying parts.

Hi JC, thanks for the welcome.

Thanks for having a look, my friend told me i was good to go with the build but he's also pretty new to the scene but has a year or so on me, so not to undermine his opinion but i just wanted another opinion to see if theres anywhere i could improve on.
im not looking to run cpu heavy games which im assuming would be games like battlefield 5 call of duty or any racing games?
Im looking to play games more along the lines of day Z, pubg and rust (i’ll keep my console for the fast paced fps’s)
Also thanks for your recommendations i’ll have a look at both of those power supplies.
Is there any certain case you would say is better or is it more down to personal preference?

 

[Rensje]

Hey Jpmwell!
If you will allow me to throw my two cents in here, I have a few tips to give you.

I noticed that you have 32GB of system RAM in your configuration. This is perfectly fine if your budget allows it, but I will say that 16GB is more than sufficient for a gaming rig in today's day and age. There is a case to be made for more RAM if you are a heavy streamer or do a lot of photo/video editing, but that depends on your use case.

The games you mention are actually quite CPU intensive, particularly PUBG. Not to worry, a Ryzen 5 3600(X) would be able to run the game just fine. Your build lists a 3600X, but I would suggest that you save a few bucks and go for the non-X variant instead. The consensus is that the 3600 is just as fast as the X, and can also be pushed just as far as the X, but for less money. That's money you can simply save, or spend elsewhere in the build.

Furthermore, the MSI B450 Tomahawk MAX and B450 Mortar MAX would technically be slightly better for overclocking than the Gaming Pro Carbon you picked, and are also ready for Ryzen 3000 processors out of the box. On top of that, they should be a little cheaper. Something to think about, depending on what you need from your motherboard and how you like each board's aesthetics.

Finally, I see that you don't have a case and CPU cooler listed in your build. The cooler isn't important as the CPU comes with one in the box, but for a case I have some recommendations. The be quiet! Pure Base 500 Window would be my #1 choice for a perfect price/performance case. Another great option is the Fractal Design Meshify C. If you end up going for a Mortar MAX motherboard, you could even buy the Meshify C Mini and build yourself a balls-to-the-wall small form factor desktop.

Welcome to the master race, my friend. It's good to have you!

 

[Jpmwell]

Hi Rensje!

Thanks for the input, its greatly appreciated.
I didnt actually expect those games to be as testing on the CPU as you explained but i’ll take that on board for future reference.
you reckon that the alternative parts you recommended i put in place of the ones I've chosen will be perfectly fine for running the type of games in looking to play with no real bother?
would both motherboards mentioned be better out of the box than the gaming pro carbon i included in the build? As i probably wont be overclocking on my first build, i'm probably going to get my head around the whole building and working out which parts compliment each other, part of pc gaming before i delve too deep just yet.I’ll have a look at al of the cases mentioned in the thread so far to me and i’ll see which seems better for me.

with that being said again i greatly appreciate your input.
Its exactly what in looking for to help me get my best bang for buck, theres so much to take on board jumping from a console to a PC!

 

[Rensje]

you reckon that the alternative parts you recommended i put in place of the ones I've chosen will be perfectly fine for running the type of games in looking to play with no real bother?

Oh, for sure! The graphics card you picked is going to plow through those games and that Ryzen 5 3600 processor will do just fine as well. Somethimes I like to just punch part names + game name into YouTube and see what pops up. Here's a benchmark for PUBG, to give you an idea.

would both motherboards mentioned be better out of the box than the gaming pro carbon i included in the build?

Yes, in the sense that they will work out of the box with the Ryzen 5 3600 processor, whereas the Gaming Pro Carbon AC motherboard would require a BIOS update before it recognises the processor. If you go for the Tomahawk, you will lose 1 M.2 SSD slot (the Gaming Pro Carbon AC has 2), but otherwise they seem largely identical in terms of features. The B450 Mortar does have 2 M.2 SSD slots, but as it is a Micro-ATX board rather than a full ATX board you lose the option of putting a second graphics card in (which you shouldn't do anyway).

IMO, if you're new to building and you just want something that works, you can't go wrong with either the Tomahawk or the Mortar. In my personal rig I have the Mortar, which I picked because I actually liked the slightly smaller form factor and because I use both M.2 SSD slots.

 

[Jpmwell]

Brilliant!
I chose the parts i did initially due to the website giving me a benchmark percentage as well as a value percentage so i tried to keep it mid range without scrimping too much, i also downsized to a Corsair-Vengeance-LPX-DDR4-3200-C16-2x8GB RAM, do you think thats more than sufficient to run with the build instead of the higher 32gb version?
Thanks again for all the info, any help is good at the moment.
Now to start buying and get the ball rolling!

 

[Rensje]

Yes, it's more than sufficient. The sweet spot for RAM in gaming builds seems to be 8GB these days, with 16GB only really important for people who edit video, stream or like to have a million Chrome tabs open in the background while gaming. There's barely a handful of games that could feasibly fill up 16GB of system RAM by themselves, if any.

Just make sure you are running your memory in dual channel. You will if you buy two 8GB sticks, so no worries there. RAM speed is also somewhat important for gamers, and in the case of Ryzen 3000 processors, the sweet spot for price/performance is 3600Mhz RAM. If your budget allows it, see if you can find a kit like this.

Good luck with your purchases and if you need any help with assembly, feel free to send me a private message!

 

[Jpmwell]

no problem at all thanks for al your help!
i’ll have a look now for some with a 3600Mhz ram.
Appreciate everything!

 

[logainofhades]

What is your system budget?

 

[Jpmwell]

What is your system budget?

Im trying to limit it to around £1000 for my first build mate!

 

[logainofhades]

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 3600X 3.8 GHz 6-Core Processor (£193.98 @ Aria PC)
Motherboard: MSI B450 TOMAHAWK MAX ATX AM4 Motherboard (£94.95 @ AWD-IT)
Memory: Patriot Viper Steel 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 Memory (£68.99 @ CCL Computers)
Storage: Western Digital Blue SN550 1 TB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive (£99.99 @ Amazon UK)
Video Card: Zotac GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER 8 GB MINI Video Card (£439.98 @ Amazon UK)
Case: RIOTORO CR480 ATX Mid Tower Case (£51.56 @ Amazon UK)
Power Supply: Corsair TXM Gold 650 W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-modular ATX Power Supply (£69.98 @ Amazon UK)
Total: £1019.43
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2020-01-27 16:07 GMT+0000

 

[Jpmwell]

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 3600X 3.8 GHz 6-Core Processor (£193.98 @ Aria PC)
Motherboard: MSI B450 TOMAHAWK MAX ATX AM4 Motherboard (£94.95 @ AWD-IT)
Memory: Patriot Viper Steel 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 Memory (£68.99 @ CCL Computers)
Storage: Western Digital Blue SN550 1 TB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive (£99.99 @ Amazon UK)
Video Card: Zotac GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER 8 GB MINI Video Card (£439.98 @ Amazon UK)
Case: RIOTORO CR480 ATX Mid Tower Case (£51.56 @ Amazon UK)
Power Supply: Corsair TXM Gold 650 W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-modular ATX Power Supply (£69.98 @ Amazon UK)
Total: £1019.43
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2020-01-27 16:07 GMT+0000

You reckon thats a better build than the parts ive chosen myself mate?

 

[Rensje]

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 3600X 3.8 GHz 6-Core Processor (£193.98 @ Aria PC)

Video Card: Zotac GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER 8 GB MINI Video Card (£439.98 @ Amazon UK)

Case: RIOTORO CR480 ATX Mid Tower Case (£51.56 @ Amazon UK)

I still think it's pointless to go for the 3600X. It's simply not worth the extra money for the marginally better performance, which the normal 3600 can achieve anyway.

Nor do I agree with your choice of graphics card. The RTX 2070 Super is a great performer, but don't recommend a mini version. They're portable heaters and get loud as a jet engine. A dual slot graphics card with two or three fans is the way to go unless you are building in a tiny case. Coolers need surface area to perform their best.

And you can't actually be serious about that case. I mean, it looks awful and doesn't even have a PSU shroud. The side panel is acrylic rather than tempered glass and there's drive bays on the front. @Jpmwell don't get this case.. it's just awful.

Other than that, your recommendations are solid.

 

[Zoid]

@Jpmwell You have gotten good advice already from @JC_Denton and @Rensje so I will just chime in with a couple extra things. There are tons of different power supplies out there and it can be hard to tell which ones are of higher quality when you're hunting for deals. This PSU tier list is a good reference to have on hand, and it is currently up to date with new releases. Shoot for something in "A" tier or above, and anything in the 550 - 750 watt range would be appropriate for your build (you don't need more than 550w but sometimes you find deals on higher capacity units, which is totally fine).

As Rensje mentioned, you should also try to bump your RAM up from 3200 to 3600 if you can. These new Ryzen chips love to have fast RAM and it can make a measurable difference in performance. Once you get everything running you can also try tweaking your memory timings using this Ryzen DRAM Calculator which can help you get even better performance from your memory.

Is there any certain case you would say is better or is it more down to personal preference?

It's really down to personal preference. Some cases are easier or harder to build in, are of higher or lower quality construction, or have better or worse airflow. Think about what features are important to you in a case (cable management, USB connectors, ability to accommodate fans or radiators of a certain size, aesthetic appeal, etc.). If you have a computer parts store near you, just go walk around their cases and get a feel for things. If you want a personal recommendation from the internet, then my personal favorite cases at the moment are the NZXT H-series. They have some really nice cable management features and are well built. I'll also second Rensje's recommendation of the be quiet! Pure Base. It is really nicely designed and, as the name suggests, it runs quiet.

Good luck with your first build! Feel free to shoot me a message if you have any questions about the process and I'd be happy to help.

 

[Jpmwell]

I still think it's pointless to go for the 3600X. It's simply not worth the extra money for the marginally better performance, which the normal 3600 can achieve anyway.

i reckon i’ll stick to the 3600 Rensje, and use the spare cash to put towards a 3600Mhz RAM if i need to.

Think about what features are important to you in a case (cable management, USB connectors, ability to accommodate fans or radiators of a certain size, aesthetic appeal, etc.)

Hi Zoid thanks for your thoughts, id say the most important factor for me would be cable management and ventilation most definitely.
what would you recommend for both of those?

 

[logainofhades]

The 3600x, I believe, currently on sale, at a price more in line where the 3600 normally resides. You get better cooling, and a bit faster CPU, for the same cost, pre sale, of the 3600. If you want to save some money, and go with the 3600, that's fine too.

 

[Zoid]

Hi Zoid thanks for your thoughts, id say the most important factor for me would be cable management and ventilation most definitely.
what would you recommend for both of those?

Assuming you are using a full-ATX motherboard then I'd recommend the three that have been mentioned so far (be quiet! Pure Base series, NZXT H-series, or Fractal Meshify). They're all great, not horrifically expensive, and have their own trade-offs. The Fractal has the best airflow of the three but is also the loudest and slightly more restrictive on cable management, though still better than most others. The be quiet! has a flexible, modular design with nice cable management and will be the quietest of the three, with a slight airflow penalty. The NZXT has excellent cable management and the highest build-quality-to-price ratio of the three, but loses a little bit of airflow to the Fractal.

If you went with a micro-ATX or mini-ITX motherboard then I'd have others to add in.

 

[Jpmwell]

If your budget allows it, see if you can find a kit like this.

Rensje I've only just noticed this included a link, Is the pricing correct for this? the only reason im asking is i popped corsair vengeance in to userbenchmark and the pricing for 2x8gb at 3600 came back at over £200, that price you linked me to is far far less.

 

[Zoid]

Rensje I've only just noticed this included a link, Is the pricing correct for this? the only reason im asking is i popped corsair vengeance in to userbenchmark and the pricing for 2x8gb at 3600 came back at over £200, that price you linked me to is far far less.

Check out pcpartpicker.com. It's a great resource when putting together a parts list. Here's a list that is filtered by 2x8GB kits of DDR4 3600, CAS Latency 17 and under, £ 150 and under.

 

[Jpmwell]

Assuming you are using a full-ATX motherboard then I'd recommend the three that have been mentioned so far (be quiet! Pure Base series, NZXT H-series, or Fractal Meshify). They're all great, not horrifically expensive, and have their own trade-offs. The Fractal has the best airflow of the three but is also the loudest and slightly more restrictive on cable management, though still better than most others. The be quiet! has a flexible, modular design with nice cable management and will be the quietest of the three, with a slight airflow penalty. The NZXT has excellent cable management and the highest build-quality-to-price ratio of the three, but loses a little bit of airflow to the Fractal.

If you went with a micro-ATX or mini-ITX motherboard then I'd have others to add in.

I really like the be quiet case, its pretty cool!

 

[Jpmwell]

Check out pcpartpicker.com. It's a great resource when putting together a parts list. Here's a list that is filtered by 2x8GB kits of DDR4 3600, CAS Latency 17 and under, £ 150 and under.

Am i correct in saying if i choose any from that list that they will all do exactly the same job and the only separating factors are price and looks?
there are a few in that selection that caught my eye , especially if i choose the Be Quiet case with the glass side in which case id like them to look the part too!

 

[Zoid]

Am i correct in saying if i choose any from that list that they will all do exactly the same job and the only separating factors are price and looks?
there are a few in that selection that caught my eye , especially if i choose the Be Quiet case with the glass side in which case id like them to look the part too!

Essentially yes. Research any RAM you're considering to make sure it doesn't have any big quality issues, but all of the RAM in that list will work with your PC and will provide close to the same performance out of the box. The two primary performance measures used for RAM are clock frequency and timing. There are multiple variables wrapped into RAM timing, but Column Access Strobe latency (CAS latency, or CL) is the one you'll see when shopping.

Higher frequencies and tighter timings both lead to better memory performance. It is possible for lower speed RAM with tighter timings to outperform faster speed RAM with slower timings, but generally speaking the performance you're paying for will scale with frequency, at least until you pass the sweet spot. The sweet spot of price vs performance for Ryzen at the moment is 3600 MHz CL 16, but CL 17 would be ok too.

Keep in mind that the highest stock frequency of DDR4 is 2400 MHz, so when you first boot up your computer the RAM will be running at that speed. You will need to enable your Extreme Memory Profile (XMP) in the BIOS in order to access faster speeds. This usually just takes one click. You can also manually teak your timings to tighten them up further and gain a little bit of extra performance, as long as they are still stable values.

 

[the_Unforgiven]

How about a stick?
If you really want to make a point,
sharpen the stick

 

[Jpmwell]

How about a stick?
If you really want to make a point,
sharpen the stick

I think you've got the wrong end of the “stick” so to speak, i wasn't making a point if you read the title correctly i was looking for some pointers lol....