Question PC quote £799? Thoughts

[jd1883]

Mainly going to be used to play racing and flight simulator games and some basic work stuff

CPU​	AMD R5 3600
Mobo​	ASUS TUF B450-PLUS Gaming
RAM​	16GB Corsair 3200MHz
M.2​	Intel 512GB 660p m.2 NVMe
Case​	KoLink K5 RGB + 600W RioToro PSU
Video​	AMD 5600XT 6GB or Nvidia 2060 6GB for +£10
OS​	None
HDD​	Seagate 1TB HDD
Cooler​	AMD Heatsink & Fan
RGB​	Gamemax 3x 120mm ARGB Fans
​

 

[Oussebon]

To my surprise the PSU might not be complete trash but actually respectable. I'd check to make sure that actually is one of those PSUs specifically, and not something different Riotoro make to sell on the cheap bundled with case. Whenever I see a PSU bundled with a case, alarm bells go off all over the place... though that could just be the website's formatting.

Otherwise it seems fine.

I take it this follows on from:

Question - Gaming pc under £800

Looking at getting my son a new gaming pc, views on these two please, and any advice appreciated, fairly novice to all this. https://www.currys.co.uk/gbuk/computing/desktop-pcs/desktop-pcs/acer-nitro-n50-600-intel-core-i5-gtx-1660-ti-gaming-pc-1-tb-hdd-256-gb-ssd-10194262-pdt.html...

forums.pcgamer.com

Where is this quote from? Can you link the store/product page?

Does it include a Windows licence?

 

[jd1883]

Friend of a friend knows a bit more about stuff that me and had a look round to see what he could find over the weekend, from a company called Palicomp, seen reviews on Amazon and they look pretty good. Slightly worried about what you say about the PSU not being completely trash!

 

[Oussebon]

Never heard of them, though they could be quite new and what relatively few reviews there are of them on online platforms seem relatively favourable.

If the PSU is one of the Builder series units and therefore reasonably sound, it seems fine.

Whether it's sold via Palicomp themselves or via Amazon marketplace, it's usually possible to contact the seller to ask a question about the product. I'd probably ask them

No Windows licence, so factor in another £100 for that I guess.

 

[jd1883]

Other than that do you think it's a fairly sound build? Anything you'd upgrade / change?

 

[Oussebon]

Is it a custom build or a pre-configured, can't-change spec?

If it's a custom build, would need to see the configurator to see what alternatives they offer

 

[jd1883]

Think you can change the spec, as they have given me a couple of alternatives, but think he's got a deal with them so there's not a specific page I can direct you to.

 

[Oussebon]

So would you be buying it or would he?

If it's him, you're basically making yourself reliant on him for the warranty. And if life intervenes on him at the same time as you have a problem with the PC, you're out of luck and out of pocket.

I had a look at the cases here:

https://www.palicomp.co.uk/create-my-amd-pc-am4-series-cus9

Maybe the CIT Prism since it does actually have a mesh front

And get confirmation on the PSU. if confirmation isn;t available then the Be Quiet Pure Power Gold is £40 more but at least you know what you're getting and that it's good.

 

[jd1883]

Would be me buying it direct from the company, wouldn't do that however much I knew him! Don't risk friendships where money is concerned. This is the PSU - 600W RioToro

 

[Oussebon]

The thing is there is a PSU called

BUILDER EDITION 600W | RIOTORO

www.riotoro.com

Which is apparently fine - not amazing, but fine.

It's also possible they make other PSUs, which aren't fine. The fact they don't specify it's a Builder Edition when saying it's Riotoro is what gives me pause.

 

[jd1883]

Understood, was looking at maybe the EVGA 80+, but will check out the Be quiet too.

 

[jd1883]

So, this is the final spec they've come up with, would appreciate your thoughts. Asked for an optical drive to be added

CPU​	AMD Ryzen 5 3600
Mobo​	ASUS TUF B450-PLUS Gaming
RAM​	16GB Corsair 3200MHz
M.2​	Intel 512GB 660p M.2 NVMe
Optical​	24X Dual-Layer DVD-RW
Case​	KoLink Pitch + 600W RioToro
Video​	nVidia RTX2060 6GB
OS​	None
HDD​	Seagate 3TB HDD
Cooler​	AMD Cooler
Cooling​	3 x 120mm Black Fans
Warranty​	3 Year Return To Base Warranty

We do this one for £829.99 delivered.

The PSU prices would be to change to a beQuiet PurePower 600W @ £40 or EVGA 80+ @ £30, but the RioToro having Seasonic as their OEM offer the best value of the 3

 

[jd1883]

Comparing it to this one really.

AlphaSync Ryzen 5 8GB RAM 1TB HDD 240GB SSD RX 5600 XT Gaming Desktop PC

Buy our AlphaSync Ryzen 5 8GB RAM 1TB HDD 240GB SSD RX 5600 XT Gaming Desktop PC from our wide range of Gaming Pcs

www.ebuyer.com

 

[Oussebon]

So it's ~£930 including Windows

And they've swapped it to a cheaper case? With literally no airflow at the front?!

Don't get that case.

Can they not give a straight yes or a no as to whether the Riotoro SSD is the builder edition as per
https://www.riotoro.com/builder-edition-600w
?

 

[jd1883]

I asked them to change the case because I wanted an optical drive. Can ask for the one you mentioned, and forgot to mention the Riotoro, is it really that big an issue (asking as someone who knows very little about this stuff). Get the impression you think it overpriced? Don't need windows.

 

[Oussebon]

If the Riotoro is not the one that's actually okay, but an even more cheaply built alternative, it could go pop, damage other components, and potentially be a fire risk too. As very cheap PSUs lack basic protections.

The case isn't a good case, and will probably do a terrible job cooling the components. If they did the Fractal Focus G that would be a good option as it has decent cooling and an internal drive bay. Otherwise could you just use a USB DVD drive?

 

[jd1883]

Ok, gotcha, thanks for the info, will check that out. If the psu looks ok, or I get the alternative, and sort the case out, what's your honest view?

 

[Oussebon]

That spec, with a decent case and PSU, would be nice for the price.

However, you're already seeing price-creep. £930 inc Windows, plus whatever they charge for a better case. And potentially a better PSU - (were they really saying a white-rated EVGA PSU, which is possibly as bargain-bucket as 'okay' goes adds £30 to the order?! They must have a great supply deal with Riotoro).

At which point you get to ~£1000 other companies start being a lot more competitive on price. For instance another UK custom builder:
https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/amd-am4-gen3-pc/0UWpXRdjdd/

If Palicomp would kindly confirm what Riotoro model it is - i.e. is it that okay Builder Edition one - that would help.

Only telling the customer a brand and (supposed) wattage is like saying "Buy this motor vehicle - it's by Ford and it has horsepower". Doesn't give much away...
In fairness a lot of companies do that for some components e.g. you get OEM branded SSDs that could be whatever. But an SSD will be hard pressed to fry your system if it goes wrong, unlike the part that is funnelling the electricity everywhere.

It's very possible they are using a Builder Edition, they just really ought to confirm it if so, or tell you the exact model so you can look it up

 

[jd1883]

Appreciate what your saying. Will make sure I check that out before I go ahead with it.