Requesting Advice on PC Build Please

FBI on 04/05/2020 - 10:15
Last edited 04/05/2020 - 13:05 by 2 other users

Am just trying to reach out for advice for my sons PC build please. He has come with following. For a bit of gaming and first year Uni work. Can you advice if the combination below is best suited for a PC so ALL works in HARMONY ?

I think the below came to about $1350 (without build cost) so if you can advice of a BETTER combination then PLEASE let me know. We are not stuck with Center Com so am happy to use any reputable outlet.

With appreciation

CPU
Motherboard
GPU
Memory
SDD
HDD
PSU
Case

CPU
AMD RYZEN R5 3600, 6C 12T, 35MB CACHE, 65W TDP

Motherboard
MSI B450 Gaming Plus Max AMD Motherboard
Satisfying gamers with what they really need, B450 GAMING PLUS MAX is equipped with Core boost, Turbo M.2, DDR4 Boost, USB 3.2 Gen2 Connector
Supports 1st, 2nd and 3rd Gen AMD Ryzen™ / Ryzen™ with Radeon™ Vega Graphics and 2nd Gen AMD Ryzen™ with Radeon™ Graphics / Athlon™ with Radeon™ Vega Graphics Desktop Processors for Socket AM4
Supports DDR4 Memory, up to 4133(OC) MHz
Lightning Fast Game experience: TURBO M.2, AMD Turbo USB 3.2 GEN2, StoreMI Technology
Core Boost, DDR4 Boost, Audio Boost & Flash BIOS Button

GPU
Galax Geforce GTX 1660 Super (1-Click OC) 6GB Graphics Card
NVIDIA® Turing™, NVIDIA® GeForce Experience, NVIDIA® Ansel, NVIDIA® G-SYNC™ Compatible, NVIDIA® Highlights, Game Ready Drivers, NVIDIA® GPU Boost™
Microsoft® DirectX® 12 API, Vulkan API, OpenGL 4.6
DisplayPort 1.4, HDMI 2.0b, DVI-D, HDCP 2.2, VR Ready

Memory
Team T-Force Night Hawk RGB 16GB (2x8GB) 3200MHz DDR4 Desktop RAM - Black
DDR4 RGB full-color lighting effects, Using JEDEC Association latest RC 2.0 circuit configuration
Supports T-FORCE BLITZ control, Supports ASUS Aura Sync

HDD
Western Digital WD Green 3D NAND 240GB M.2 (SATA) SSD 240GB WD Green 3D NAND SSD, M.2 form factor, SATA Interface, CSSD Platform, 3 Yrs warranty
Seagate Barracuda 3.5" 2TB 256MB Hard Drive - ST2000DM008
SEAGATE BARRACUDA ST2000DM008 DESKTOP INTERNAL 3.5" SATA DRIVE, 2TB, 6Gb/s, 7200RPM, 2YR WTY

PSU
Cooler Master MWE V2 550W 80 Plus Power Supply
Cooler Master MWE 550W Power Supply, 80PLUS, 1x EPS, 2x PCIE6+2, 6x SATA, 3x Molex, 120mm HDB Fan

Case
Cooler Master MWE V2 550W 80 Plus Power Supply
Cooler Master MWE 550W Power Supply, 80PLUS, 1x EPS, 2x PCIE6+2, 6x SATA, 3x Molex, 120mm HDB Fan

Computing Computer Desktop Computer

Comments

  • Frayin on 04/05/2020 - 10:36
    +7

    Might be better to list the actual component names next to the links to save people time from clicking each link OP :D

    • FBI on 04/05/2020 - 12:38
      -1

      Thanks Chief - first time I did this and will try :-)

  • pinchies on 04/05/2020 - 10:45
    +2

    Looks well balanced to me. Definitely a sensible all-round build.

  • burgermaniac on 04/05/2020 - 10:52
    +3

    One thing to note, having an M.2 SSD using SATA, will stop you from using NVMe architecture. Also, seeing that the SSD is only 240GB, I regret not getting a larger SSD, like 500GB/1TB, especially as the prices have dropped over time

    • [Deactivated] on 04/05/2020 - 12:06
      +2

      +1 to looking at bigger ssd.

      • FBI on 04/05/2020 - 12:40

        That seems to be the general consensus so will do. Many thanks for your advice!

        • lew380 on 05/05/2020 - 09:41

          Down the track when you have to delete games to download more games you will regret saving 50 bucks on more storage!

    • xylarr on 05/05/2020 - 13:41
      +1

      Definitely second this.
      When you buy an M.2 drive, make sure it is NVMe - always
      Even the cheapest M.2 NVMe drive will outperform as M.2 SATA drive.

  • Godric on 04/05/2020 - 10:52
    +3

    Interesting way to provide a component list

    • FBI on 04/05/2020 - 12:41

      Apologies will try to rectify that.

  • Mechz on 04/05/2020 - 12:03
    +2

    Without build cost? Do it yourself! It's quite easy and there's plenty of youtube guides.

    • FBI on 04/05/2020 - 12:42

      We thought of that but was worried about warranty - $110 Center Com charges :-)

      • Kangal on 04/05/2020 - 14:33

        Yeah, not worth paying that money

      • Mechz on 04/05/2020 - 14:39

        It will not change your warranty coverage.

  • arkie0 on 04/05/2020 - 12:14
    +1

    For a bit lot of gaming and first year Uni work

    Correction based on my experience with the balance between gaming and uni work.

    As others have mentioned bigger SSD, some games have huge file sizes. I would even suggest not getting the 2TB and just getting a 1TB ssd.

    • FBI on 04/05/2020 - 12:42

      That seems to be the general consensus so will do. Many thanks for your advice!

      • Kangal on 04/05/2020 - 14:34

        That seems to be the general consensus so will do. Many thanks for your advice!

  • mr-incredulous on 04/05/2020 - 12:34
    +2

    For reference, if you put the parts into pcpartpicker it will show you any obvious compatibility issues (not guaranteed to find them all though). You can then share your list here and people will appreciate being able to see all parts at once.

    userbenchmark is another useful site. It shows user-submitted performance stats for parts so you can compare actual performance. For example, if you were wondering if it's worth getting the 'super' version of the GTX 1660 you can compare them like so and see that the 'super' version gets somewhere between 10% and 20% more performance.

    • FBI on 04/05/2020 - 12:43

      Great thought and advice. Shall definitely do this :-)

    • conza on 04/05/2020 - 12:55
      +2

      Useful to post the pcpartpicker, unfortunately it went to the US site, the AU one would be great.

      Userbenchmark isn't well regarded by the community, I would avoid using or referring to them, not a great site at all.

  • conza on 04/05/2020 - 13:02
    +1

    I think it has gone above the budget, it actually looks fairly good, I made a counter list.

    *GPU is on pre-order but is the next tier up, HDD I picked is on preorder but is 20% cheaper

    I also don't like the case you chose, it's ok but the fans have to get past the blocked front end so they'll have to spin faster and be louder and overall won't work as well. If it's for aesthetics it should be fine though

    PSU is also fine, but found a 650W unit for the same price, also 80+

    https://au.pcpartpicker.com/list/nxvqgJ

    Alternatively going with 1 larger SSD for the cost of $140 would quadruple the SSD space and remove having a HDD altogether, you end up with 1TB less space but it's much faster and more convenient than moving items to and from a HDD all the time.

    https://au.pcpartpicker.com/list/qR3mvW

    • FBI on 04/05/2020 - 14:30
      +1

      Awoooo… thank you so much !!

  • Kangal on 04/05/2020 - 15:02
    +4

    Now is a horrible time to buy or build a PC, just because of shortages, price increases, and shipping times.
    So your list might not be bad for current conditions, I dunno. However, I have seen better deals from TechFast here on OzBargain.

    1) Ryzen 5-1600AF (roughly 2600X), RX 580-8GB (roughly GTX 1660), best value combo = $588 shipped
    …this is almost as powerful as yours, and it is LESS THAN HALF price!

    2) Ryzen 5-3500X (roughly 3600X), RX 5700-8GB (roughly RTX 2060-S), great value combo = $999 shipped
    …this is 36% cheaper than yours, and it is noticeably FASTER.

    3) Ryzen 7-3700 (roughly 3800X), RTX 2080-S (roughly GTX 1080 Ti), good value combo = $1888 shipped
    …this is 40% more expensive than yours, and it is about DOUBLE the performance!

    • conza on 04/05/2020 - 17:33
      +1

      Yes it's a pity those coupons appear to be expired? Devil is in the details.

      So as I remind people, the cases and PSUs, I've done some digging online, and I can't find any solid details on these PSUs but but anything but lower power / budget systems, I wouldn't keep them long term, so minimum I would budget to replace the PSU immediately, or risk the entire investment being jeophadised, so add $80 from the start.

      Closest system in terms of budget is the "AMD Ryzen 5 3500X | RX 5700 8GB Gaming Desktop PC", It has the same CPU but doesn't have hyperthreading, so 6 cores and 6 threads not 12, but should be ok, can be upgraded later.

      It has an unknown B350M board, I've upgraded a B450 board to a bios supporting Ryzen 3000 and it's severely lacking, but look it'll probably do the job, chipset is from 2017, shouldn't be an "issue" though.

      Unknown AMD Radeon 5700, it will outperform a 1660 super or ti, but it may be a blower card so it could run either hot or loud (or both)

      Ram is slow at only 2666Mhz, another $50 to get back to a reasonable speed of 3200mhz

      Unknown 240GB SSD, an additional $109 to make it to 1TB

      Unknown 550W PSU with an unknown rating (probably not 80+) so as above just budget to replace it immediately.

      Case is lackluster, or $19 for another lackluster case, probably better off

      So yeah, it's a very basic PC with a big GPU, you're looking at spending the same amount and get

      Less storage
      slower ram
      older motherboard
      worse case
      untrustworthy PSU

      But a better GPU

      Just don't think it's worth it really.

      • conza on 04/05/2020 - 17:37
        +1

        The savings from the coupons mean you can spend extra to upgrade parts that are otherwise not great, then allocate what you need for at least a PSU, then probably a case, and still be ahead, so it's a good way to buy a container with some good parts, when the coupon is available, otherwise at retail doesn't make as much sense, to me, then again, I haven't bought one of these PCs and tested it, best I can find is TechYesCity on YouTube who took a look at them, suggest anyone looking at getting these systems and running them as is, at least watches his 2 cents on it.

        • Kangal on 04/05/2020 - 19:33
          +1

          Umm, nope.
          TechFast, you can check reviews on eBay, online, and here on OzBargain. Just because they use budget motherboards, budget cooling, and budget PSU doesn't mean it's going to explode out of nowhere. They have a reputation and warranty to honor.

          It just means you won't be able to overclock things too much.

          You can build better and cheaper systems than TechFast but it requires you to be thrifty and knowledgeable. But as I said, not in this current market.

          I want to say, I have no affiliation with TechFast. I'm not shilling them. And I posted the links, knowing full-well they were expired. I put them as a courtesy to show the type of systems and prices I was referring to.

          Besides, what some people do is get the $1800 build and use it that way for a while… then they transport it to a new system (better quality components), and the old budget donor-parts are used to build a second system. This second system is usually used like a family pc or hand-me-down. Or it's sold on gumtree/eBay/Facebook and it makes profit, just like TechYesCity style. (personally I prefer Hardware Unboxed).

          • ozbking on 04/05/2020 - 20:30
            +2

            @Kangal: What I did was to buy a budget system ($340 for 2200G system) , and upgraded over time. There was a deal for the Aerocool 650W for $99, and 2700X for $199. Also got the SSD, case and hard drive on special through OzBargain

            • conza on 04/05/2020 - 23:10
              +1

              @ozbking: That's a good story Jimmy, glad it worked out for you.

              Kangal, yeah, I think I tend to agree, but considering there are people like us on here and others looking for advise, figure I'd give my 2 cents.

              I sort of feel the reverse, for someone in the know I would help them find a good deal at TechFast then they and I would know to swap parts for safety. You make a good point there's a 12 month warranty and there are reviews, but on the surface it does appear to be an inferior deal to parting it yourself… Yes, you need to do research though, but I'd rather people get up to speed, even if only slightly, then get a better bang for your buck, puts more pressure on SIs to offer better deals or better parts, or both.

          • FBI on 05/05/2020 - 16:59
            +1

            @Kangal: Many thanks for your advice and the Ryzen deals as comparison. It does allow us to check the "value". Totally agree that its not the best of time to buy - supply and demand - I shall do a head check with son on this front. Cheers and thanks again.

      • FBI on 05/05/2020 - 17:05

        Will definitely analyse your views and thoughts above. The $$ value does not seem to drive as far as it used to. Many thanks..

    • FBI on 05/05/2020 - 16:53

      Thanks for your feedback.

  • ode1online on 04/05/2020 - 16:04

    Consider adding cable extensions for cosmetics , helps feed the cables round the right side of the case behind the motherboard and looks good if you have a case that is windowed.
    I did it with my build as I had a White case and wanted to have a Black and White theme inside.

    https://www.pccasegear.com/products/40252/cablemod-basic-modflex-cable-extension-kit-white-(6+2pin)

    https://www.centrecom.com.au/thermaltake-ttmod-sleeve-extens…

    • FBI on 05/05/2020 - 17:02

      Personally, I too did not like the case my son picked.. will check your recommendation out. Many thanks

      • indium on 05/05/2020 - 23:00

        You will save money in the long run if you buy high quality case, power supply, keyboard, monitor, headphones and storage now because then you won't ever feel the need to upgrade any of these because they are not lacking in any areas and they should also last a very long time because they are built to a higher standard. Whereas with cpu, gpu, ram and mobo you may buy high quality up to date parts but the technology is moving so fast that these will be outdated a lot faster while all the other components will survive multiple builds.

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