Micro ATX Build Advice - Budget ~ $3000

LThickySmallz on 28/07/2024 - 12:36
Last edited 28/07/2024 - 13:42

Hi,

Looking for any advice for a new micro ATX build. Will be using it for a variety of games and aiming for 1440p, 144Hz at high/ultra. Budget is $2200-$2300 for the tower and $700-$800 for two 27 inch monitors. Here is the build.

PCPartPicker Part List: https://au.pcpartpicker.com/list/CQjqCd

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 7600 3.8 GHz 6-Core Processor ($287.77 @ JW Computers)
CPU Cooler: Thermalright Phantom Spirit 120 SE 66.17 CFM CPU Cooler ($93.72 @ Amazon Australia)
Motherboard: MSI B650M GAMING PLUS WIFI Micro ATX AM5 Motherboard ($198.77 @ JW Computers)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR5-6000 CL30 Memory ($179.00 @ MSY Technology)
Storage: Western Digital Black SN770 2 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive ($200.05 @ Amazon Australia)
Video Card: Sapphire PULSE Radeon RX 7900 XT 20 GB Video Card ($1069.00 @ Centre Com)
Case: Lian Li A3-mATX MicroATX Mini Tower Case ($119.00 @ PCCaseGear)
Power Supply: Thermaltake Toughpower GF A3 ATX 3.0 850 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply ($135.00 @ Centre Com)
Case Fan: ARCTIC P12 PWM PST 56.3 CFM 120 mm Fan ($15.00 @ PCCaseGear)
Case Fan: ARCTIC P12 PWM PST 56.3 CFM 120 mm Fan ($15.00 @ PCCaseGear)
Case Fan: ARCTIC P12 PWM PST 56.3 CFM 120 mm Fan ($15.00 @ PCCaseGear)
Monitor: LG 27GP850-B 27.0" 2560 x 1440 165 Hz Monitor ($417.00 @ Amazon Australia)
Monitor: LG 27GP850-B 27.0" 2560 x 1440 165 Hz Monitor ($417.00 @ Amazon Australia)
Total: $3161.31
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2024-07-28 12:34 AEST+1000

I've been quoted $2300 for the build apart from the monitors. The monitors are on sale for $388 at Retravision and planning to price match with Officeworks.

Any changes recommended?

Computing Computer Desktop Computer Micro ATX

Comments

  • geekcohen on 28/07/2024 - 12:58
    -2

    After going through my own PC battles and issues recently, here is the thread, I would recommend going to a bigger PSU.

    I had (and still do) the MAG B660M MORTAR DDR4 and it was a good motherboard. Doesn't appear to be the result of my issues, more the CPU it seems. But it is pretty good. MSI seems fine.

    • bazingaa on 28/07/2024 - 21:12

      I have a 13900K system (aircooled AK620, kinda maxed out on MAG Z690,4 * DDR5 for 160GB,RTX3090,6 * M.2 SSD,1 * HDD) with 850W Deepcool PQ850M.
      Could your issues be caused by latest issues with 13/14th gen CPUs ? I believe some motherboards were over volting CPUs and caused permanent damage.
      I always manually set power levels (PL2) at 253 to 288 W.

      • OMGJL on 29/07/2024 - 01:10
        +1

        The chip degradation it's less likely about power limit but more of a VID issue, I personally recommend setting static voltage/frequency with low LLC where possible. No fluctuating VID from turbo boost behavior anymore.

        • bazingaa on 29/07/2024 - 10:30

          I think some motherboards increase VID when PL is set unlimited, which degrades the chip as you mentioned. I anyway use with negative offset undervolt along with PL2 limit.

          • OMGJL on 29/07/2024 - 10:48

            @bazingaa: in one of GN's video it does mention that one of the 13700t also got degraded.

            In BuildZoid's video he mentioned a server farm with w680 mobo + default power limit from intel documentation have seen a lot of CPU degraded.

            Both have had much more conservative PL than yours..

            • bazingaa on 29/07/2024 - 11:06

              @OMGJL: yeah, that's because of boost voltage then. I meant that higher the PL, higher the voltage. I was reading below article the other day and it says that even with 65W PL some got affected.

              https://www.theverge.com/2024/7/26/24206529/intel-13th-14th-…

              • OMGJL on 29/07/2024 - 13:04

                @bazingaa:

                higher the PL, higher the voltage

                it supposed to be like this! don't know what dark magic intel has applied to their CPU, causing high vid even with limited PL

      • geekcohen on 29/07/2024 - 07:42

        Could your issues be caused by latest issues with 13/14th gen CPUs ?

        Latest issues, well the CPU is 2 years old. However, the latest reported issues. Yes it was the issue.

    • OMGJL on 29/07/2024 - 01:07
      +1

      Your issue is one of hundreds of thousands of cases originated from the Intel Instability drama, IDK how you came to the conclusion about power usage on that one.

      Plus, 7600's average gaming power draw is way below 100w, which differs to the 13900k with ~200w gaming load

      • geekcohen on 29/07/2024 - 07:43

        IDK how you came to the conclusion about power usage on that one

        I never said that the power was the usage. It was the CPU. However, as per the thread some recommended a little more power from the PSU because over time it will degrade and have a reduced power output. I've also put a bigger PSU in my machine to be safer.

        • Namesareapain on 29/07/2024 - 11:08
          +2

          OP's 850W PSU is nearly twice what that system would draw and most quality PSUs can provide substantially more than their rated max load.
          Any degradation depends on the capacitor quality and how hot they have been running, a system only running at about half the PSU's rated load is going to have SFA degradation as long as it has had reasonable airflow.

  • garetz on 28/07/2024 - 15:00
    -2

    That cpu will massively bottleneck that video card, the higher the resolution the worse the bottleneck gets.

    https://pc-builds.com/bottleneck-calculator/result/1lq1cW/6O…

    in a micro atx build you will need to bump up the cpu abit, and downgrade the gpu if you want to waste less money and get better relative performance.

    • OMGJL on 29/07/2024 - 01:11

      the higher the resolution the worse the bottleneck gets.

      dude, less resolution = more CPU load = bigger CPU bottleneck.

      why comment if you have no clue.

      • garetz on 29/07/2024 - 13:35
        -1

        That is the dumbest thing i have read in a long time. Congrats.

        https://softwareg.com.au/blogs/computer-hardware/does-higher…

        The higher the resolution, the more work the CPU has to do to process and display the graphics, which can result in slower performance and reduced frame rates in resource-intensive applications and games. Higher resolution can indeed use more CPU resources.

        • OMGJL on 29/07/2024 - 13:39

          Why Reviewers Benchmark CPUs @ 1080p: Misconceptions Explained

          it only sounds dumb to the person who have no clue.

          • garetz on 29/07/2024 - 13:48

            @OMGJL: I am quoting an actual article based on truth from a well renowned website, you are quoting a youtube video.

            Nice comparison. Also you dont even understand the content you are linking. It has no relevance to the issue we are talking about.

            • OMGJL on 29/07/2024 - 13:57

              @garetz:

              a well renowned website

              LOL, quote from them: "With higher resolutions, the CPU has to work harder to process and render each individual pixel"

              https://www.hp.com/us-en/shop/tech-takes/is-my-cpu-bottlenec…

              I guess HP must be wrong then.

              • garetz on 29/07/2024 - 14:06

                @OMGJL: I dont think you even understand the basics of what you are trying to say.

                What is a bottleneck in computer?

                What is a PC bottleneck? PC bottleneck is a situation where one computer component hits its limit and limits the capacity of the other components in the system. If your favorite video game lags due to an underperforming video card, your processor's efficiency won't matter. The graphics are limiting your PC

                Now the same is true of your cpu as well, if your cpu is the limiting factor, it will cause your gpu to underperform.

                1080p has 1920 x 1080 pixels, making for a total of 2,073,600 pixels. 1440p has 2560 x 1440p pixels, making for a total of 3,686,400 pixels
                So your video card has to render way more pixels in 1440p over 1080p, so if your cpu is the limiting component, your fps will drop alot more on 1440p than 1080p

                • OMGJL on 29/07/2024 - 14:11

                  @garetz: before get your facts right, the more you post, the more dumb you look.

                  find a old platform, install a new GPU, test out yourself.

            • OMGJL on 29/07/2024 - 14:03

              @garetz: you know what make your comment more funnier?

              on the same well renowned website, in a different article
              https://softwareg.com.au/blogs/computer-hardware/higher-reso…

              they wrote:

              higher resolution displays can minimize the workload on the CPU, reducing the chances of CPU bottleneck.

              I'd say they more of a dodgy website that can't get their facts right.

              • garetz on 29/07/2024 - 14:11
                -1

                @OMGJL: You are confusing workload with bottleneck, they are not the same thing.

                • OMGJL on 29/07/2024 - 14:13

                  @garetz:

                  You are confusing workload with bottleneck

                  higher resolution displays can minimize the workload on the CPU, reducing the chances of CPU bottleneck.

                  • garetz on 29/07/2024 - 14:28

                    @OMGJL: I found this on reddit, if you cannot understand this analogy then there is nothing more i can do for you

                    So imagine that the CPU is a professor assigning papers, and the GPU is the student who has to write them.

                    1080p is like the professor assigning a 5 paragraph open ended essay. No big deal, quick and easy for the GPU to complete. Give it back to the professor to grade and say >"Okay done, give me the next assignment". This means the professor has to grade really frequently and have new prompts ready to go just about every class period, if not more >often.

                    4k is like the CPU/professor assigning a 25-30 page in-depth research paper. It takes the GPU/student A LOT longer to complete something of that scale, so the professor >doesn't have to grade nearly as much, and doesn't need to hand out new prompts very often because that one takes so long to complete.

                    This is how CPU/GPU work together to build the world. The CPU basically says "hey I need you to make this world", the GPU renders and says "Got it, next please", and then it >repeats. If the GPU takes longer amount of time before it asks for the next frame, the CPU has to give less instruction.

                    • OMGJL on 29/07/2024 - 14:38

                      @garetz: you was quoting an actual article based on truth from a well renowned website, now you are quoting from reddit.

                      your standard have dropped rather significantly.

                      also quoting from your own quote:

                      If the GPU takes longer amount of time before it asks for the next frame, the CPU has to give less instruction

                      hence more resolution, longer it takes for GPU to render, less CPU load, exactly opposite to your original claim.

                      • garetz on 29/07/2024 - 14:45

                        @OMGJL: I was trying to find something as a common denominator so you could understand as an analogy.

                        Now comes in bottlenecking, Bottlenecking just means that one component is more powerful that the other (CPU vs GPU) and the stronger component cant perform at its maximum as its waiting for the other component to do its job.

                        So if the cpu is bottlenecking the gpu, depending on the % of bottleneck, it will reduce your performance the higher the resolution is as the gpu is processing more frames but the power stays the same from the cpu. I hope that is easier to understand.

                        If the gpu is the bottleneck then resolution doesnt matter, as you are getting max performance on your gpu no matter the resolution.

                        • OMGJL on 29/07/2024 - 14:58

                          @garetz:

                          If the gpu is the bottleneck then resolution doesnt matter

                          🤡🤡🤡🤡🤡🤡🤡🤡🤡🤡

                          • garetz on 29/07/2024 - 15:02

                            @OMGJL: Obviously your fps will drop the higher your resolution goes, but you are still getting the maximum performance the gpu can provide. Was the entire point of my original post.

                            • OMGJL on 29/07/2024 - 15:19

                              @garetz:

                              That cpu will massively bottleneck that video card, the higher the resolution the worse the bottleneck gets.

                              "you are still getting the maximum performance the gpu can provide. Was the entire point of my original post."

                              🤡🤡🤡🤡🤡🤡🤡🤡🤡🤡

  • GordonD on 28/07/2024 - 15:23
    +3

    With the 9000 series Ryzens due within days, this week is not a good time to be locking in an AM5 purchase. If the 9000s are worth whatever extra they cost, you'd want to go with them. If they aren't, their release might well result in a price cut on the 7000s. Either way you lose.

    There will subsequently be new 800 series chipsets, but in the meantime the 9000 series CPUs will run on 600 series motherboards.

    • sicarius on 29/07/2024 - 11:45

      On that, sounds like the new Ryzen's are delayed two weeks, but still wait till mid August to see if the new cpus are worthwhile.

      • OMGJL on 29/07/2024 - 13:02

        9600x/9700x only delayed a week, due to release on August 8th.

  • ReaperX22 on 30/07/2024 - 13:00

    Agree with GordonD. Wait for am5 to drop.

    If only considering the current options, I'd consider the 7800X3D upgrade right now. Will still definitely help at 1440p.

    Matching monitors is nice, but you won't be gaming on the side monitor, I suggest you get similar size brand etc monitor with 60hz and save the 150-200 bucks there to put towards the 7800x3d. Given one will give you noticeable improvements in actual fps vs just having matching refresh rates on a screen that's probably going to be used for discord or YouTube.

    The Lian Li a3 is small enough to make use of sfx power supplies, and cable management with them is much easier. So consider that. Though double check EPS cable length and position of your connection on the board.

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