The PC Builders Thread ("I Need a New PC") v3

Flammable D · Apr 11, 2020

Hi all,

I've been pondering biting the bullet on an upgrade for a little while, I've been stringing my current build on with graphics cards upgrades since *checks reciepts* 2012, so I'm unfortunately at the point where any upgrade is going to require multiple parts replaced!

My PC gaming is almost exclusively done to my TV over Steam Link, so I guess I don't need beyond 1080p, but I don't ever feel that I've had a high quality or stable experience even at that level. One look at Jesse's face in Control got me pondering this haha

Here's the PCPartPicker Part List for my current PC:

CPU: Intel Core i5-2500K 3.3 GHz Quad-Core Processor
CPU Cooler: Corsair H60 54 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler
Motherboard: Asus P8Z77-I Deluxe Mini ITX LGA1155 Motherboard
Memory: Crucial Ballistix Sport 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR3-1600 Memory
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 1060 6GB 6 GB Dual Video Card
Case: BitFenix Prodigy (Orange) Mini ITX Tower Case
Power Supply: Corsair Builder 750 W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply

I guess I have a few questions for y'all:

What parts should I be looking to upgrade, if anything?
What's still good here that I can keep?
What would be the best I could do with a £500-£700 range, assuming no need for storage or peripherals?
Is this a bad time to do an upgrade? I'm happy to hold off if new stuff/price drops are due

Thanks guys, let me know if you need any more info

PhantomFFR · Apr 11, 2020

Symphony said:
Unfortunately I really do need an old AMD GPU in there, to work with a CRT TV I've got to force the output to 15khz via a modified driver. While it is possible with older Nvidia cards as well by setting a custom resolution, that runs the risk of damaging the CRT if the resolution happens to changes at any point (like boot screens).

I assume newer AMD GPUs are ruled out as well? Intel too then I guess. Perhaps the innards of an older laptop with an AMD GPU?
I think aside from an older(ish) Thin-Mini-ITX board (Socket 1150), there's few solutions that are smaller. Maybe going through a bunch of adaptors from a NUC with mini-PCIe/USB 3 to full size PCIe? I thin LTT did something like that for some reason in a video about ... 2 (?) years ago.

wild_fire · Apr 11, 2020

So I'm upgrading my ~2014 pc with a new mobo, cpu, Nvme, and ram. I'm keeping the rest of the parts from before. But I have a couple of probably stupid questions

1) Will my Corsair 400R case from 2014 still have all the correct mounting locations for a new x570 motherboard? PC part picker says there's no compatibility issues, and I think the standards are all still the same, but I wanted to double check with some humans here.

2) I have to put my PC on top of my desk (I have a 2 year old) and the only safe place to put it is on the left side of the desk against a wall. So when I'm looking at all the new cases online it looks like the "pretty" parts of the mobo/gpu/cpu always face to the left (which would be towards my wall) Is that pretty standard? Do any PC cases have the mounting points on the left side of the case so that all of the hardware faces to the right?

skullmuffins · Apr 11, 2020

I plan on putting together a new build if this stimulus check comes through. One question - is there a compelling reason not to reuse my trusty Antec P160W case if I'm trying to keep unnecessary costs down? Are the thermals in newer cases that much better? I'm eyeing at most a Ryzen 5 3600 + GTX 2060.

PhantomFFR · Apr 11, 2020

wild_fire said:
1) Will my Corsair 400R case from 2014 still have all the correct mounting locations for a new x570 motherboard?

2) I have to put my PC on top of my desk (I have a 2 year old) and the only safe place to put it is on the left side of the desk against a wall. So when I'm looking at all the new cases online it looks like the "pretty" parts of the mobo/gpu/cpu always face to the left (which would be towards my wall) Is that pretty standard? Do any PC cases have the mounting points on the left side of the case so that all of the hardware faces to the right?

1) Yes. (micro)ATX/ITX has not changed in ...decades and is still the standard.
2) There are some cases that allow for a turned motherboard alignment, eiter with the slots in the back or up top.

Vulcano's Assistant · Apr 11, 2020

skullmuffins said:
I plan on putting together a new build if this stimulus check comes through. One question - is there a compelling reason not to reuse my trusty Antec P160W case if I'm trying to keep unnecessary costs down? Are the thermals in newer cases that much better? I'm eyeing at most a Ryzen 5 3600 + GTX 2060.

The two main things you are missing are radiator support and USB 3, but the later you can easily add since you have various 5. 25" bays; and the former wouldn't matter because you don't need a liquid cooler for a 3600 which makes them an unnecessary cost.

Is it possible to mount intake fans anywhere in the front? Those 3 holes seem like they would do a decent job. Still the case is big enough that I think you should be good with just exhaust and negative pressure.

Modern cases aren't necessarily more open, some popular ones like NZXT's have limited airflow intake. Cooling elsewhere has improved enough that cases are still mostly for looks.

wild_fire · Apr 11, 2020

PhantomFFR said:
1) Yes. (micro)ATX/ITX has not changed in ...decades and is still the standard.
2) There are some cases that allow for a turned motherboard alignment, eiter with the slots in the back or up top.

Great! Thanks for the info! I'll probably stick with my current case since it holds everything and has good airflow. Upgraded USB ports would be nice on the front, but it get the job done for now.

Vimto · Apr 11, 2020

Smokey said:

I really hope this release alongside ampere / zen 3... It would suck if I build new pc and get stuck with my 1440p monitor.

Terbinator · Apr 11, 2020

Smokey said:

Thing is, even with the refresh rate you'd have to be mad to buy one of these over an LG C9/CX.

4K120Hz with HDR10/DV and OLED, with respectable input lag, for the same price (or cheaper) and larger.

I don't think it's the manufacturers fault (rather than materials), but top-end monitors exist in a place where they aren't outright the best or competitive.

skullmuffins · Apr 11, 2020

Vulcano's Assistant said:
The two main things you are missing are radiator support and USB 3, but the later you can easily add since you have various 5. 25" bays; and the former wouldn't matter because you don't need a liquid cooler for a 3600 which makes them an unnecessary cost.

Is it possible to mount intake fans anywhere in the front? Those 3 holes seem like they would do a decent job. Still the case is big enough that I think you should be good with just exhaust and negative pressure.

Modern cases aren't necessarily more open, some popular ones like NZXT's have limited airflow intake. Cooling elsewhere has improved enough that cases are still mostly for looks.

Yeah, there's a 120mm fan in the front behind the ovals

SolidSnakeUS · Apr 11, 2020

Smokey said:

I seriously wish my desk could fit a 32" monitor. I'm currently using a 27" G-sync monitor and a 23" 1080p monitor on a stand and it takes up so much of the available space.

Also, side note, anyone else waiting for Ryzen 4000 CPUs before doing their full upgrade?

Smokey · Apr 11, 2020

Terbinator said:
Thing is, even with the refresh rate you'd have to be mad to buy one of these over an LG C9/CX.

4K120Hz with HDR10/DV and OLED, with respectable input lag, for the same price (or cheaper) and larger.

I don't think it's the manufacturers fault (rather than materials), but top-end monitors exist in a place where they aren't outright the best or competitive.

See my response late last night to that same thought:

Smokey said:
Not everybody wants a 48'' display. For one, on a desk, it would need to be pretty deep. Some people may not be comfortable, for whatever reason, maining an OLED screen for PC use. Some people may like to keep their setups separate.

I have the 27UQ, the predecessor to the 32'' monitor I linked. I also have an OLED. I've got a wife and a kid as well. I don't want to put my PC in my living room. I wouldn't buy the 48'' CX just because it's a better buy dollar wise than the 32'' Asus. It doesn't fit my current situation no matter how good or nice it is. That monitor will be expensive. Would I pay MSRP? Probably not. But it will still be a hell of a monitor for gaming and just about everything else.

It comes down to setup. Obviously the C9/CX is a better buy overall, but like I said above, there may be reasons why you don't want to use it as a monitor. Or have your PC in your living room full time.

MazeHaze · Apr 11, 2020

So I got most of my build done, just have to pop in the PSU and connect everything and install the GPU. I've never installed a ryzen cpu tho and was worried I didn't apply enough thermal paste? I did a plus sign like the instruction video for my cooler (dark rock 4) however, the plunger on the included syringe was broken so I had to take it apart and use get it out best I could. When I mounted tge cooler I realized it was upside down, so I carefully removed it and flipped it right side up. Took a quick glance at the cpu and the paste doesnt really cover the corners of it, just a thin flat layer covering most of the middle, is this ok? (There might be some corner coverage on the cooler plate itself I didn't look there, I was very nervous during this step tbh)

LegendX48 · Apr 11, 2020

Anybody here with a navi gpu able to comment on the current state of their drivers? There's a Gigabyte RX 5700 XT going for $370 that I'd love to get for my itx VR system but the reputation of the nightmare mountain that is AMD gpu drivers is the only thing keeping me at bay.

edit: For reference, my itx system currently has my old gtx 1070 which, personally, doesn't cut it in a fair number of games I've played on it (ie, playing games at 1440p on a 4k tv)

noj86 · Apr 11, 2020

Hi everyone,

here is a quick "post-mortem" of my latest rig update.

Due to the current context (confinement due to the coronavirus) which causes us to be working from home but also the recent release of Half-Life: Alyx (and some other nice & pretty PC games), I wanted to upgrade our computer (a rig from 2013) to support both our professional (3D/VFX rendering & high-end/high-resolution retouching) & my gaming needs (1440p and VR gaming).

The idea was to build in a relatively small form factor and maintain as much silence as possible.
Here is the full updated rig as of late March/early April 2020.

CASE: NZXT H210 (Mini-ITX includes 2 PWM Case Fans)
MB: ASUS ROG STRIX X570-I GAMING (Mini-ITX)
CPU: AMD Ryzen 9 3950X (16C/32T, 3.5Ghz BC to 4.7Ghz TC, 72MB Cache, 105 Watts TDP)
GPU: EVGA NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 Super XC GAMING 8GB DDR6
RAM: Corsair 2x32GB (64GB) Vengeance LPX Black CL16 3200MHz
COOLING: NZXT X53 AIO 240mm (2x120mm PWM Radiator Fans)
SSD SYSTEM: Samsung 970 EVO Plus 1TB NVMe M.2
SSD STORAGE: Crucial MX500 2TB SATA 2.5"
PSU: CORSAIR SFX SF750 80 PLUS Platinum (750 Watts)
MONITOR GAMING: ASUS TUF Gaming VG27AQ (27" - 2560x1440 @ 165Hz - IPS - 8-bit)
MONITOR PRO: HP DREAMCOLOR Z27x (27" - 2560x1440 @ 60Hz - IPS - 10-bit) (1st Generation)
CALIBRATOR: X-RITE i1DISPLAY PRO Plus
CABLE SPLITTER: 2x Akasa AK-CBFA04-15 PWM Fan Splitter Cable
CABLE EXTENSION: Silverstone SST-PP07-MBB 24 Pin Extension Cable
KEYBOARD: Corsair K63 Wireless Mechanical (Cherry MX Red)
ALT KEYBOARD (when silence is needed): Corsair Raptor K30 Wired Membrane Keyboard
MOUSE: SteelSeries Rival 700
MOUSE PAD: SteelSeries QcK Edge
TABLET: Wacom Intuos 3 L

Everything has been updated at the exception of the professional monitor, tablet, mouse and alt keyboard that we've kept from the previous rig.
The potential future updates might include some replacement fans for the AIO and Case (probably some Noctua NF-A12x25 PWM) and maybe a stronger GPU if the next revision (RTX3000 series ?) are seriously stronger.

Would be good to see if people would have selected some different parts and why.

Lazybob · Apr 11, 2020

Flammable D said:
Hi all,

I've been pondering biting the bullet on an upgrade for a little while, I've been stringing my current build on with graphics cards upgrades since *checks reciepts* 2012, so I'm unfortunately at the point where any upgrade is going to require multiple parts replaced!

My PC gaming is almost exclusively done to my TV over Steam Link, so I guess I don't need beyond 1080p, but I don't ever feel that I've had a high quality or stable experience even at that level. One look at Jesse's face in Control got me pondering this haha

Here's the PCPartPicker Part List for my current PC:

CPU: Intel Core i5-2500K 3.3 GHz Quad-Core Processor
CPU Cooler: Corsair H60 54 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler
Motherboard: Asus P8Z77-I Deluxe Mini ITX LGA1155 Motherboard
Memory: Crucial Ballistix Sport 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR3-1600 Memory
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 1060 6GB 6 GB Dual Video Card
Case: BitFenix Prodigy (Orange) Mini ITX Tower Case
Power Supply: Corsair Builder 750 W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply

I guess I have a few questions for y'all:

What parts should I be looking to upgrade, if anything?

What's still good here that I can keep?

What would be the best I could do with a £500-£700 range, assuming no need for storage or peripherals?

Is this a bad time to do an upgrade? I'm happy to hold off if new stuff/price drops are due

Thanks guys, let me know if you need any more info

1. The CPU for sure. That's gonna necessitate a new mobo and memory too though.

2. I assume everything else should be fine. Not 100% sure if the cooler will be compatible as is or needs a new bracket for whatever CPU you'd get. The 1060 is solid ebough that you should at least wait for new GPU's to come out.

3. Something like this I guess. Maybe get a better mobo or faster ram then what i listed. https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/list/ if you want an intel CPU maybe wait.

4. Should be fine if you're not interested in a GPU or an Intel CPU. Nvidia should have their 3000 series this year and AMD should release new ones soon too. Intel's 10th gen CPU's should be announced by the end of the month iirc so maybe wait if you wanted one of their CPU's (maybe already announced. I forget.)

Crazymoogle · Apr 11, 2020

Metanoia Prime said:
I'm very excited to share that I completed my first build and I only wanted to quit 5 times during the build process! 🙌 😂

CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 3700X 3.6 GHz 8-Core Processor
Motherboard: Asus TUF GAMING X570-PLUS (WI-FI) ATX AM4
Memory: Corsair Vengeance RGB Pro 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR4-3200
Storage: Crucial P1 500 GB M.2-2280 NVME SSD
Storage: Crucial P1 1TB 3D NAND NVMe PCIe M.2 SSD
Video Card: EVGA GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER 8 GB BLACK GAMING Video Card
Case: NZXT H510i ATX Mid Tower Case
Power Supply: Cooler Master MWE Gold 650 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply
Monitor: Dell Alienware AW3418DW 34.1" 3440x1440 120 Hz Monitor
Keyboard: Wireless Gaming Keyboard GameSir GK300
Mouse: Logitech G602

Nice build! Looks like it turned out great. Any particular reason for dual P1s (totally valid btw, just asking). Nice to see a 3418DW in the wild, too.

Flammable D said:
CPU: Intel Core i5-2500K 3.3 GHz Quad-Core Processor
CPU Cooler: Corsair H60 54 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler
Motherboard: Asus P8Z77-I Deluxe Mini ITX LGA1155 Motherboard
Memory: Crucial Ballistix Sport 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR3-1600 Memory
Video Card: Asus GeForce GTX 1060 6GB 6 GB Dual Video Card
Case: BitFenix Prodigy (Orange) Mini ITX Tower Case
Power Supply: Corsair Builder 750 W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply

Basically, you can keep the Video Card, Case, and PSU for now. The rest would need a swap. You could pretty much overhaul with this:

Ryzen 5 3600X (comes with a reasonable CPU fan) - upgrade to 3700X (8 cores if you want them now and not upgrade to 4000 later)
Gigabyte X570 AORUS PRO WiFi (itx)
Vengeance LPX 16GB (maybe a good time to get 32GB instead)

Roughly ~480 pounds on PartPicker for the cheap config. New GPU/CPU/Motherboards are coming later this year, but as I said if you go AMD you have a good chance of being able to upgrade through X570. With Intel they are going to a new socket so you are stuck waiting on them. PSU and Case are eternal, the cooler won't have the brace necessary and has probably lost liquid with age anyway.

wild_fire said:
2) I have to put my PC on top of my desk (I have a 2 year old) and the only safe place to put it is on the left side of the desk against a wall. So when I'm looking at all the new cases online it looks like the "pretty" parts of the mobo/gpu/cpu always face to the left (which would be towards my wall) Is that pretty standard? Do any PC cases have the mounting points on the left side of the case so that all of the hardware faces to the right?

Motherboards always have the IO on the left (if looking overhead). So what you're asking for would be very difficult to pull off and would show off a lot of cables to the toddler.I'd say the most prominent exception right now is ITX; ITX boards are small enough to have weird case designs. The NZXT H1 for example looks like an Xbox Series X and has all of the IO come out of the bottom. But for ATX/mATX even if you get a case with glass on both sides, all you would see is the back of the tray. A reverse mount wouldn't be possible.

MazeHaze said:
So I got most of my build done, just have to pop in the PSU and connect everything and install the GPU. I've never installed a ryzen cpu tho and was worried I didn't apply enough thermal paste? I did a plus sign like the instruction video for my cooler (dark rock 4) however, the plunger on the included syringe was broken so I had to take it apart and use get it out best I could. When I mounted tge cooler I realized it was upside down, so I carefully removed it and flipped it right side up. Took a quick glance at the cpu and the paste doesnt really cover the corners of it, just a thin flat layer covering most of the middle, is this ok? (There might be some corner coverage on the cooler plate itself I didn't look there, I was very nervous during this step tbh)

It doesn't need to cover the corners, just ensure most of the square has paste after squeezing a bit. The CPU is not actually that square - it's simply a thin metal heat spreader. Inside it are (smaller) chips with the actual CPU and IO. It's difficult to say where the chips are, so it's important to have coverage.

If you're just using regular paste or non-conductive paste you don't need to be worried about having too much though...

noj86 said:
Due to the current context (confinement due to the coronavirus) which causes us to be working from home but also the recent release of Half-Life: Alyx (and some other nice & pretty PC games), I wanted to upgrade our computer (a rig from 2013) to support both our professional (3D/VFX rendering & high-end/high-resolution retouching) & my gaming needs (1440p and VR gaming).
CASE: NZXT H210 (Mini-ITX includes 2 PWM Case Fans)
MB: ASUS ROG STRIX X570-I GAMING (Mini-ITX)
CPU: AMD Ryzen 9 3950X (16C/32T, 3.5Ghz BC to 4.7Ghz TC, 72MB Cache, 105 Watts TDP)
GPU: EVGA NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 Super XC GAMING 8GB DDR6
RAM: Corsair 2x32GB (64GB) Vengeance LPX Black CL16 3200MHz
COOLING: NZXT X53 AIO 240mm (2x120mm PWM Radiator Fans)
SSD SYSTEM: Samsung 970 EVO Plus 1TB NVMe M.2
SSD STORAGE: Crucial MX500 2TB SATA 2.5"
PSU: CORSAIR SFX SF750 80 PLUS Platinum (750 Watts)
MONITOR GAMING: ASUS TUF Gaming VG27AQ (27" - 2560x1440 @ 165Hz - IPS - 8-bit)
MONITOR PRO: HP DREAMCOLOR Z27x (27" - 2560x1440 @ 60Hz - IPS - 10-bit) (1st Generatio

Everything has been updated at the exception of the professional monitor, tablet, mouse and alt keyboard that we've kept from the previous rig.
The potential future updates might include some replacement fans for the AIO and Case (probably some Noctua NF-A12x25 PWM) and maybe a stronger GPU if the next revision (RTX3000 series ?) are seriously stronger.

Would be good to see if people would have selected some different parts and why.

Seems pretty luxe to me. I guess I could ask why you felt only a 2070 Super was necessary but I'm not aware of how the 3D world treats GPU acceleration. If you're waiting on RTX 3000 though, that makes sense. The input devices are all personal preference. Sounds like a pretty packed ITX! How is the noise level?

MazeHaze · Apr 11, 2020

Crazymoogle said:
Nice build! Looks like it turned out great. Any particular reason for dual P1s (totally valid btw, just asking). Nice to see a 3418DW in the wild, too.

Basically, you can keep the Video Card, Case, and PSU for now. The rest would need a swap. You could pretty much overhaul with this:

Ryzen 5 3600X (comes with a reasonable CPU fan) - upgrade to 3700X (8 cores if you want them now and not upgrade to 4000 later)

Gigabyte X570 AORUS PRO WiFi (itx)

Vengeance LPX 16GB (maybe a good time to get 32GB instead)

Roughly ~480 pounds on PartPicker for the cheap config. New GPU/CPU/Motherboards are coming later this year, but as I said if you go AMD you have a good chance of being able to upgrade through X570. With Intel they are going to a new socket so you are stuck waiting on them. PSU and Case are eternal, the cooler won't have the brace necessary and has probably lost liquid with age anyway.

Motherboards always have the IO on the left (if looking overhead). So what you're asking for would be very difficult to pull off and would show off a lot of cables to the toddler.I'd say the most prominent exception right now is ITX; ITX boards are small enough to have weird case designs. The NZXT H1 for example looks like an Xbox Series X and has all of the IO come out of the bottom. But for ATX/mATX even if you get a case with glass on both sides, all you would see is the back of the tray. A reverse mount wouldn't be possible.

It doesn't need to cover the corners, just ensure most of the square has paste after squeezing a bit. The CPU is not actually that square - it's simply a thin metal heat spreader. Inside it are (smaller) chips with the actual CPU and IO. It's difficult to say where the chips are, so it's important to have coverage.

If you're just using regular paste or non-conductive paste you don't need to be worried about having too much though...

Seems pretty luxe to me. I guess I could ask why you felt only a 2070 Super was necessary but I'm not aware of how the 3D world treats GPU acceleration. If you're waiting on RTX 3000 though, that makes sense. The input devices are all personal preference. Sounds like a pretty packed ITX! How is the noise level?

Thanks for the insight. Was it ok that I removed the cooler and re seated it without reapplying thermal paste? It was removed for 30 seconds or so, just enough to flip it around since I had it backwards.

catpurrcat · Apr 11, 2020

LegendX48 said:
Anybody here with a navi gpu able to comment on the current state of their drivers? There's a Gigabyte RX 5700 XT going for $370 that I'd love to get for my itx VR system but the reputation of the nightmare mountain that is AMD gpu drivers is the only thing keeping me at bay.

edit: For reference, my itx system currently has my old gtx 1070 which, personally, doesn't cut it in a fair number of games I've played on it (ie, playing games at 1440p on a 4k tv)

I doubt you'll get many replies here. Best to check reddit.

Smokey · Apr 11, 2020

I think I finally got my 9900k to 5ghz stable after putting it off for a year+

During gaming, the temps aren't bad at all. Mid 60s. Doing tests outside of gaming that involve AVX etc, is a whole different story. Mid 80s - lower 90s. I have a H115I Platinum 280mm AIO, and I put some Thermal Grizzly on it today after putting it off for months. When I tried to OC before, I had some pretty bad temps, even by 9900k standards. The paste today made a world of a difference. Pulling an impressive 202w from the processor during testing.

Crazymoogle · Apr 12, 2020

Smokey well 9900K + H115i = that cooler better be able to pull off 5ghz :) Great setup; I always wondered how 140mm would have made my AIO experience better.

MazeHaze said:
Thanks for the insight. Was it ok that I removed the cooler and re seated it without reapplying thermal paste? It was removed for 30 seconds or so, just enough to flip it around since I had it backwards.

Yeah probably. The idea of the clamp is that it puts enough pressure on the cooler to touch the CPU heatspreader that there should a microscopic gap that forces the paste to spread across like a liquid. Nothing is foolproof but it should be okay.

Smokey · Apr 12, 2020

Crazymoogle said:
Smokey well 9900K + H115i = that cooler better be able to pull off 5ghz :) Great setup; I always wondered how 140mm would have made my AIO experience better.

Heh. Well I didn't have the best temps before a reseat and new paste. And 5ghz doesn't really help me at 4k, so I didn't bother to really go through the process of trying to get it to that level. But with quarantine going on, why not.

Even with this cooler, running Prime95, without AVX instructions, it gets hot. Like ~92-93 on a few cores. Of course Prime and the like are worst case scenarios, but still.

Really just some more incentive and motivation to go full on water...

finally · Apr 12, 2020

Looking for a cheap and upgradable PC build that will play single player games at 60 FPS, BTW I enjoy both AAA and indie games and would like it to be my main platform moving forward, because I will not buy PS5 or Xbox series, I also would like to use it to advance my career and learn CAD programmes and other structural programmes, watching movies and practically everything else.

What's your budget and currency?
Around $1100, most likely will buy from amazon

What do you want to use the computer for?
(gaming? web? video editing? everything?)
Everything.

When do you plan to purchase the parts and build it?
As soon as amazon allows to buy them again.

Are you reusing any parts or are you building a completely new computer?
No

Do you only need the computer itself or do you need accessories, such as a monitor, mouse, keyboard, and speakers?
I need keyboard, mouse, monitor.

Do you want to overclock? (will make your PC faster, but requires better cooling and can have various side effects)
If it is ok, I will do it after I do some research.

Crazymoogle · Apr 12, 2020

finally said:
Looking for a cheap and upgradable PC build that will play single player games at 60 FPS, BTW I enjoy both AAA and indie games and would like it to be my main platform moving forward, because I will not buy PS5 or Xbox series, I also would like to use it to advance my career and learn CAD programmes and other structural programmes, watching movies and practically everything else.

What's your budget and currency?
Around $1100, most likely will buy from amazon

Given your budget I would aim for a basic 1080p build. Assuming you are going to build it yourself:

CPU: Ryzen 5 3600 (Awesome 6 core/12 Thread CPU)
If you have more money: The 3600X is 5% faster but has a better CPU cooler. +$25
Motherboard: ASUS Prime X570-P (reasonable chance of Ryzen 4000 upgrade later)
If you have more money: Wait for the ASUS TUF X570 to come back down to the same price. It's +$40 right now because of supply issues. +0
NOTE: Ryzen 4000 is coming between August and end of year.
RAM: 16GB Corsair LPX (can always add two more sticks later)
If you have more money: 32GB G.Skill Ripjaws V is double the RAM, but you might not need it until you get serious in 3D. I would probably recommend sticking to 16GB and then buying two more identical sticks later since the MB has four slots. +$57
GPU: Zotac GTX1660 Super Gaming AMP (6GB 1080p video card, should do well for steam games)
If you have more money: For 1080p gaming this is considered the price/perf leader. You can wait til later this year for Nvidia's new cards though.
SSD: Crucial P1 NVMe 1TB
Easy to install and gives you fast SSD storage. There are lots of better options if you can up your budget.
Power: EVGA BQ 600W
Generally respected PSU brand, nothing special here.
Case: Meshify C (Has two fans, lots of room for an easy build)
Easy to build. You can cut half the cost by going with a cheap case, but it's ymmv in terms of the build.
M: Logitech G502
KB: Corsair K55
Just something to vaguely consider. You can find the right mix of price/quality for you.
Monitor: Pixio PX247
Monitors are also subjective, but this one is 1080p, 24" IPS with a 144hz refresh rate.
Total: $1206 USD

Use pcpartpicker to figure out what build you want. Should have lots of time to fiddle with it if you're waiting on Amazon.

finally · Apr 12, 2020

Crazymoogle said:
Given your budget I would aim for a basic 1080p build. Assuming you are going to build it yourself:

CPU: Ryzen 5 3600 (Awesome 6 core/12 Thread CPU)
If you have more money: The 3600X is 5% faster but has a better CPU cooler. +$25

Motherboard: ASUS Prime X570-P (reasonable chance of Ryzen 4000 upgrade later)
If you have more money: Wait for the ASUS TUF X570 to come back down to the same price. It's +$40 right now because of supply issues. +0
NOTE: Ryzen 4000 is coming between August and end of year.

RAM: 16GB Corsair LPX (can always add two more sticks later)
If you have more money: 32GB G.Skill Ripjaws V is double the RAM, but you might not need it until you get serious in 3D. I would probably recommend sticking to 16GB and then buying two more identical sticks later since the MB has four slots. +$57

GPU: Zotac GTX1660 Super Gaming AMP (6GB 1080p video card, should do well for steam games)
If you have more money: For 1080p gaming this is considered the price/perf leader. You can wait til later this year for Nvidia's new cards though.

SSD: Crucial P1 NVMe 1TB
Easy to install and gives you fast SSD storage. There are lots of better options if you can up your budget.

Power: EVGA BQ 600W
Generally respected PSU brand, nothing special here.

Case: Meshify C (Has two fans, lots of room for an easy build)
Easy to build. You can cut half the cost by going with a cheap case, but it's ymmv in terms of the build.

M: Logitech G502

KB: Corsair K55
Just something to vaguely consider. You can find the right mix of price/quality for you.

Monitor: Pixio PX247
Monitors are also subjective, but this one is 1080p, 24" IPS with a 144hz refresh rate.

Total: $1206 USD

Use pcpartpicker to figure out what build you want. Should have lots of time to fiddle with it if you're waiting on Amazon.

Thanks, this is perfect for me, I have to wait for sometime to be able to buy anything anyway due to essentials policy so I may choose the better but little more expensive option.

MazeHaze · Apr 12, 2020

finally said:
Thanks, this is perfect for me, I have to wait for sometime to be able to buy anything anyway due to essentials policy so I may choose the better but little more expensive option.

Despite what they say Amazon is totally delivering PC parts still. I had a CPU cooler delivered yesterday, it arrived in less than two days (a day earlier than scheduled even)

wild_fire · Apr 12, 2020

I'm sorry if this has been answered before, but I'm getting a 3600 and a Hyper Evo 212 cooler. I'm kind of confused about PBO and AutoOC. I've never been confident enough to overclock before, but I like the idea of getting a bit more power out of my new CPU since I'd like to use it for at least 5 years.

Anyone have any insight to if these settings are meaningful, or worth it? Does it require using higher end cooling?

Searching around the internet gives a lot of various answers and results.

Evolution of Metal · Apr 12, 2020

wild_fire said:
I'm sorry if this has been answered before, but I'm getting a 3600 and a Hyper Evo 212 cooler. I'm kind of confused about PBO and AutoOC. I've never been confident enough to overclock before, but I like the idea of getting a bit more power out of my new CPU since I'd like to use it for at least 5 years.

Anyone have any insight to if these settings are meaningful, or worth it? Does it require using higher end cooling?

Searching around the internet gives a lot of various answers and results.

It is enabled by default. You don't have to do anything when it comes to CPU overclock.

The only BIOS modification that you have to do is enable XMP/Memory OC. It is one-click solution.

uzipukki · Apr 12, 2020

Smokey said:
I think I finally got my 9900k to 5ghz stable after putting it off for a year+

During gaming, the temps aren't bad at all. Mid 60s. Doing tests outside of gaming that involve AVX etc, is a whole different story. Mid 80s - lower 90s. I have a H115I Platinum 280mm AIO, and I put some Thermal Grizzly on it today after putting it off for months. When I tried to OC before, I had some pretty bad temps, even by 9900k standards. The paste today made a world of a difference. Pulling an impressive 202w from the processor during testing.

What voltage are you running your 9900K at?

wild_fire · Apr 12, 2020

Evolution of Metal said:
It is enabled by default. You don't have to do anything when it comes to CPU overclock.

The only BIOS modification that you have to do is enable XMP/Memory OC. It is one-click solution.

Okay cool! So if I use an aftermarket cooler it should automatically boost above the base 3.6Ghz depending on temps?

finally · Apr 12, 2020

MazeHaze said:
Despite what they say Amazon is totally delivering PC parts still. I had a CPU cooler delivered yesterday, it arrived in less than two days (a day earlier than scheduled even)

International shipping isn't possible

Vaiim · Apr 12, 2020

For the first time in a 'while' I'm thinking about upgrading my trusty old PC - for those interested it's been based on an overclocked Intel i5 750 @ 3720Mhz & 8gb RAM for the past 10 years (can't quite believe it's been that long), but still managing surprisingly well (well until Resident Evil 3 made it a bit sad). I've been given two Nvidia GTX 780, which I know aren't exactly new either, but I'm hoping to get away with those in SLI while updating the CPU etc, to lessen the blow a little bit, and I wondered what people thought? Currently content @ 1080p, although a little future proofing couldn't hurt with my track record...

Anyway after a good read around here and looking at reviews/prices this is what I'm wondering about:
https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/list/TkgWjp

AMD Ryzen 7 3700X 3.6 GHz 8-Core Processor
Asus ROG STRIX B450-F GAMING ATX AM4 Motherboard
Corsair Vengeance LPX 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 Memory
ADATA XPG SX8200 Pro 1 TB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive

Components I already have:
Gigabyte GeForce GTX 780 3 GB Video Card x2 - Hopefully to run SLI
Corsair CXM 750 W

Black_Stride · Apr 12, 2020

Vaiim said:
For the first time in a 'while' I'm thinking about upgrading my trusty old PC - for those interested it's been based on an overclocked Intel i5 750 @ 3720Mhz & 8gb RAM for the past 10 years (can't quite believe it's been that long), but still managing surprisingly well (well until Resident Evil 3 made it a bit sad). I've been given two Nvidia GTX 780, which I know aren't exactly new either, but I'm hoping to get away with those in SLI while updating the CPU etc, to lessen the blow a little bit, and I wondered what people thought? Currently content @ 1080p, although a little future proofing couldn't hurt with my track record...

Anyway after a good read around here and looking at reviews/prices this is what I'm wondering about:
https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/list/TkgWjp

AMD Ryzen 7 3700X 3.6 GHz 8-Core Processor
Asus ROG STRIX B450-F GAMING ATX AM4 Motherboard
Corsair Vengeance LPX 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 Memory
ADATA XPG SX8200 Pro 1 TB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive

Components I already have:
Gigabyte GeForce GTX 780 3 GB Video Card x2 - Hopefully to run SLI
Corsair CXM 750 W

SLI????

Everything looks all good otherwise
Stretch your budget out and get a new GPU and you are more than sorted for the next few years.

Pretty much no games actually use SLI....so youll be running off 1 GTX 780.
Worse still even with SLI you will be severely....and I mean severely gimped by having 3GB of VRAM.

PhantomFFR · Apr 12, 2020

Vaiim said:
Asus ROG STRIX B450-F GAMING ATX AM4 Motherboard
Gigabyte GeForce GTX 780 3 GB Video Card x2 - Hopefully to run SLI

I don't think non X370/X470/X570 chipsets are SLI-capable. So if you were to try that, you probably need to get a SLI-compatible mainboard as well.

Deleted member 56752 · Apr 12, 2020

Vaiim said:
For the first time in a 'while' I'm thinking about upgrading my trusty old PC - for those interested it's been based on an overclocked Intel i5 750 @ 3720Mhz & 8gb RAM for the past 10 years (can't quite believe it's been that long), but still managing surprisingly well (well until Resident Evil 3 made it a bit sad). I've been given two Nvidia GTX 780, which I know aren't exactly new either, but I'm hoping to get away with those in SLI while updating the CPU etc, to lessen the blow a little bit, and I wondered what people thought? Currently content @ 1080p, although a little future proofing couldn't hurt with my track record...

Anyway after a good read around here and looking at reviews/prices this is what I'm wondering about:
https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/list/TkgWjp

AMD Ryzen 7 3700X 3.6 GHz 8-Core Processor
Asus ROG STRIX B450-F GAMING ATX AM4 Motherboard
Corsair Vengeance LPX 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 Memory
ADATA XPG SX8200 Pro 1 TB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive

Components I already have:
Gigabyte GeForce GTX 780 3 GB Video Card x2 - Hopefully to run SLI
Corsair CXM 750 W

The fact you're still running games on this build makes me excited. Maybe my rig will last longer than I think

Infinite Justice · Apr 12, 2020

Is SLI/Crossfire still a thing? 🤔

are games updated in a quicker fashion to take advantage as i remember that usually being an issue with multi gpu setups.

Deleted member 17092 · Apr 12, 2020

Infinite Justice said:
Is SLI/Crossfire still a thing? 🤔

are games updated in a quicker fashion to take advantage as i remember that usually being an issue with multi gpu setups.

Lots of games support sli. Even some newer stuff. It is true that less and less new games are supporting it natively. But if the poster with the 2x 780s has any kind of a backlog of somewhat older stuff they they wanna play they'll be good for a while.

List of games that support SLI - PCGamingWiki PCGW - bugs, fixes, crashes, mods, guides and improvements for every PC game

www.pcgamingwiki.com

Evolution of Metal · Apr 12, 2020

wild_fire said:
Okay cool! So if I use an aftermarket cooler it should automatically boost above the base 3.6Ghz depending on temps?

Yes. It works with the stock cooler too, but the CPU boosts based on the temp (as well as other things), so aftermarket isn't a must, but it will help.

Freezer Esports 34 is better than 212 EVO.

Jadax · Apr 12, 2020

I'm considering building a gaming pc - so right now I have r5 3600 and 1650 super - is this considered a budget gaming build, or is there another budget build which will play all current games (not necessarily ultra, but decent high settings).

Flammable D · Apr 12, 2020

Lazybob said:
1. The CPU for sure. That's gonna necessitate a new mobo and memory too though.

2. I assume everything else should be fine. Not 100% sure if the cooler will be compatible as is or needs a new bracket for whatever CPU you'd get. The 1060 is solid ebough that you should at least wait for new GPU's to come out.

3. Something like this I guess. Maybe get a better mobo or faster ram then what i listed. https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/list/ if you want an intel CPU maybe wait.

4. Should be fine if you're not interested in a GPU or an Intel CPU. Nvidia should have their 3000 series this year and AMD should release new ones soon too. Intel's 10th gen CPU's should be announced by the end of the month iirc so maybe wait if you wanted one of their CPU's (maybe already announced. I forget.)

Crazymoogle said:
Basically, you can keep the Video Card, Case, and PSU for now. The rest would need a swap. You could pretty much overhaul with this:

Ryzen 5 3600X (comes with a reasonable CPU fan) - upgrade to 3700X (8 cores if you want them now and not upgrade to 4000 later)

Gigabyte X570 AORUS PRO WiFi (itx)

Vengeance LPX 16GB (maybe a good time to get 32GB instead)

Roughly ~480 pounds on PartPicker for the cheap config. New GPU/CPU/Motherboards are coming later this year, but as I said if you go AMD you have a good chance of being able to upgrade through X570. With Intel they are going to a new socket so you are stuck waiting on them. PSU and Case are eternal, the cooler won't have the brace necessary and has probably lost liquid with age anyway.

Thanks for the pointers guys!

The concensus generally seems to be Ryzen and I don't have any particular attachment to any of the brands to want to wait for Intel.

Lazybob what parts were you looking at? The link you posted doesn't go to the right place

Crazymoogle Were you reccomending the ITX version of that board specifically over the mini ITX version? Just wondering if they were interchangeable as the ITX would require a case change

Lazybob · Apr 12, 2020

Flammable D said:
Thanks for the pointers guys!

The concensus generally seems to be Ryzen and I don't have any particular attachment to any of the brands to want to wait for Intel.

Lazybob what parts were you looking at? The link you posted doesn't go to the right place

Crazymoogle Were you reccomending the ITX version of that board specifically over the mini ITX version? Just wondering if they were interchangeable as the ITX would require a case change

Shit forgot you need to copy the list as text

PCPartPicker Part List: https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/list/y8ctHB

CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 3700X 3.6 GHz 8-Core Processor (£269.00 @ Amazon UK)
Motherboard: ASRock Fatal1ty B450 Gaming-ITX/ac Mini ITX AM4 Motherboard (£118.33 @ SmartTeck.co.uk)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LPX 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 Memory (£83.99 @ Scan.co.uk)
Total: £471.32
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2020-04-12 17:23 BST+0100

Crazymoogle · Apr 12, 2020

Vaiim said:
Anyway after a good read around here and looking at reviews/prices this is what I'm wondering about:
https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/list/TkgWjp

AMD Ryzen 7 3700X 3.6 GHz 8-Core Processor
Asus ROG STRIX B450-F GAMING ATX AM4 Motherboard
Corsair Vengeance LPX 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 Memory
ADATA XPG SX8200 Pro 1 TB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive

Components I already have:
Gigabyte GeForce GTX 780 3 GB Video Card x2 - Hopefully to run SLI
Corsair CXM 750 W

I mean, if you're planning to still run the GTX 780, the 3700X is overkill. May as well get a 3600?

I'm usually first to recommend the SX8200 Pro but I have to admit that right now, your pick should very much be based on price at the moment. Better products like the Samsung 970 or WD 750 may very well be similarly priced. The Sabrent Rocket should also be considered. Beyond that, as mentioned B450M doesn't support Nvidia SLI, only AMD crossfire (and even then, you have to check...)

Jadax said:
I'm considering building a gaming pc - so right now I have r5 3600 and 1650 super - is this considered a budget gaming build, or is there another budget build which will play all current games (not necessarily ultra, but decent high settings).

The 3600 is a strong midrange CPU right now. You get 6 cores/12 threads, great clockspeed, and a modern architecture. The 1650 super, on the other hand, is a budget product. You can pretty much upgrade all the way through to RTX 2070 Super and you are still going to be GPU bound. So if you want to see better framerates, you should consider a better GPU.

Flammable D
ITX or m-ITX, it's the same thing. Just easier to say ITX. It's all one 6.7" square board.

OrdinaryUsername · Apr 12, 2020

Do you have experiences with PCSpecialist? https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/

This year I am considering buying a powerful laptop with the possibility to upgrade it. This is more for work-related things (graphical), but I plan to use it for games as well. I don't have time to play games at home anymore. Besides, I have to move around a lot, so a laptop is necessary.

- I'm still waiting for the RTX 3080, it will certainly take some time before I buy it.
- Games will no longer be my priority, I thought to separate them by putting them on an external hard drive. Does that affect performance?
- A 4K screen would be handy.

AkumaNiko · Apr 12, 2020

i am upgrading my rig soon, Ryzen 5 1600 and GTX 1070. I am upgrading to 16gb of ram and upgrading my SSD from 240 to 1tb.

My question is, is there a way to clone the smaller HD and transfer its contents without limiting the space on the new HD? My only thought is to partition the new HD but i dont know if that will bog down the system the way a normal 240gb will

noj86 · Apr 12, 2020

Crazymoogle said:
Seems pretty luxe to me. I guess I could ask why you felt only a 2070 Super was necessary but I'm not aware of how the 3D world treats GPU acceleration. If you're waiting on RTX 3000 though, that makes sense. The input devices are all personal preference. Sounds like a pretty packed ITX! How is the noise level?

It was to wait for a potential RTX3000 but also the fact that I'm not currently playing in 4k so there was less incentive to invest into a CG that is double the price of a 2070 Super or more. In terms of the the 3D world, there is some interest in getting CUDA compatible hardware (which explains the NVIDIA choice) but most of the rendering is still happening on the CPU (which also explain the choice for 3950X)

Noise level wise, it's extremely good, completely silent when not in load and a bit of white noise (but very minimal) on heavy load. It would probably disappear completely with some Noctua fan instead of the stock NZXTs. I still need to play with the fan curves because when the cpu turbo occasionally I get a quick spike in fan speed before going back to normal in a matter of 1 or 2 seconds. CPU Temperature are moving between 55-60C and GPU around 50-55C on desktop usage.

xxracerxx · Apr 12, 2020

Going to keep an eye on this thread. Thinking of building my first PC in over 15 years soon.

Smokey · Apr 12, 2020

uzipukki said:
What voltage are you running your 9900K at?

I have it set at 1.32v in BIOS, but when under load, it's at 1.288v

Flammable D · Apr 12, 2020

Crazymoogle said:
Flammable D
ITX or m-ITX, it's the same thing. Just easier to say ITX. It's all one 6.7" square board.

ah right i was thinking of ATX! thanks!

uzipukki · Apr 12, 2020

Smokey said:
I have it set at 1.32v in BIOS, but when under load, it's at 1.288v

Are you using adaptive voltage? :o Or what ever it's called.

Smokey · Apr 12, 2020

uzipukki said:
Are you using adaptive voltage? :o Or what ever it's called.

No, the difference is called VDROOP. I have my Load Line Calibration at Level 7, on a scale of 1-8, where the higher the setting, the closer the motherboard tries to stick to you requested voltage. 1.3v when taking into account the VDROOP, wasn't enough voltage to be stable at 5ghz on my chip.

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