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

[elLOaSTy]

I have the MX2. Really great mouse. Flow is a nice feature. Using it with my MBP and Windows PC.

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Awesome, this is great to hear as thats what I will do. My Retina MBP is still super fast but I cant stream with it, Mac OS is crap for that. Not to mention it can't handle my video or illistration needs anymore with it being 2015 hardware. Its still great for podcast recording and smaller photoshop files and regular use. So Im super pumped to see this feature, it will make it feel more seamless to use both machines.

 

[molnizzle]

$349 for the 10700KF seems like it might be the deal.

 

[Gevurztraminer]

You do know theres like 100+ dollar difference between the 3600 and 3700X?

I doubt games will NEED 16 threads any time soon, 12 threads for gaming especially on a TV should be more than sufficient, Im assuming the TV is 60Hz if its one of the LG OLEDs at 120Hz then sure bumping up for the extra frames makes sense.

Really from what I can tell the 3600 is perfect turn on PBO and have a 3600X for cheap, the savings on that vs a 3700X invest into the graphics card, a bigger 2070 Super should boost better or atleast not get as loud as a Mini 2070S.

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That's a good point about the price gap, forgot they are quite far apart. I wasn't not suggesting the 3600 though, just wanted to point out it's max worth comes from overclocking it. And if one has no plans to overclock and has some room in the budget, a x CPU is a better deal on my eyes.

 

[NovumVeritas]

Awesome, this is great to hear as thats what I will do. My Retina MBP is still super fast but I cant stream with it, Mac OS is crap for that. Not to mention it can't handle my video or illistration needs anymore with it being 2015 hardware. Its still great for podcast recording and smaller photoshop files and regular use. So Im super pumped to see this feature, it will make it feel more seamless to use both machines.

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I never used OBS on Mac OS. I have a MBP 2019. Do not forget to install the Logitech software. Setup is pretty easy fortunately.

 

[WestEgg]

Finalized my build:

System Builder

pcpartpicker.com

For now I'm forgoing a heat sink, as I've heard the stock one for the 3700X is pretty decent and I'm not intending to overclock. If I change my mind I can add it later. Also ditching the HDD. I figure 1TB SDD will be plenty for my programs, and I'll use an external HDD for everything else. I'm pretty happy with it, will definitely be the best computer I've ever owned.

A few parts are delayed a couple weeks, but I should be able to start building by mid-May, just in time because I was planning to stream Xenoblade when it comes out.

 

[Defunkled]

I've never owned a gaming PC before and my wife has finally given me the go-ahead. I've decided to use NZXT (I know, not the same as building it myself) and here are the parts I've settled on:

Now I'm torn on what kind of monitor to get. I'm trying to decide between 1440p 144hz or 4K 60hz. Or is 4K 144hz even worth it? Based on my specs, what do you think is the best option?

 

[macindc]

Finalized my build:

System Builder

pcpartpicker.com

For now I'm forgoing a heat sink, as I've heard the stock one for the 3700X is pretty decent and I'm not intending to overclock. If I change my mind I can add it later.

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Just to add 2 cents as a fellow 3700X owner, I thought the same as you do here, but I discovered the stock fan was a lot noisier than I was comfortable with. A Scythe Mugen B can be had for under $50 and made my build run far quieter and 15C cooler under load than the stock fan.

Just one thing to consider if it won't break your budget.

 

[WestEgg]

Just to add 2 cents as a fellow 3700X owner, I thought the same as you do here, but I discovered the stock fan was a lot noisier than I was comfortable with. A Scythe Mugen B can be had for under $50 and made my build run far quieter and 15C cooler under load than the stock fan.

Just one thing to consider if it won't break your budget.

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Alright, I was going back and forth on the heat sink, but I'll spend $50 on the peace of mind, thanks for the advice.

 

[sensui-tomo]

I know this is a pc builder thread, but I've got a prebuilt option( from microcenter) that's $1800(open box) and was wondering if it's good for the price or if I really should just build my own.
Intel Core i9 9900KF 3.6GHz Processor; NVIDIA RTX 2080 Super 8GB GDDR6; 32GB DDR4-3600 RAM; 1TB SSD PCIe NVMe M.2, on a ASRock Z390 Phantom Gaming 6 motherboard.
I decided I should just skip on the 2080 ti as it seems that the 30XX series will come out eventually and the money difference could just have me buy that instead and sell the 2080 super to a friend or whomever just to make some cash back.
Basically I'm wanting to game, possibly stream as well, and take advantage of higher frame rates/ use those better refresh screens and actually feel a difference, and to play cyberpunk on ultra on 1080p or 1440p and not worry.(also does ray tracing work well on 1080p or is it a "still in development phase?)

 

[Milennia]

I've never owned a gaming PC before and my wife has finally given me the go-ahead. I've decided to use NZXT (I know, not the same as building it myself) and here are the parts I've settled on:

Now I'm torn on what kind of monitor to get. I'm trying to decide between 1440p 144hz or 4K 60hz. Or is 4K 144hz even worth it? Based on my specs, what do you think is the best option?

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Personally the 1440p, 144hz
I have a better cpu than you but a 2070S and 4k is rarely worth it, also 4k 60 isn't even guaranteed in the mega heavy hitter games but I guess it depends on what you play normally anyway

Most go the 1440p, 144hz route
For sure don't even look at 4k 144hz, better off using that money on a 3080ti which wouldnt even be able to get that consistently itself

 

[TheMadTitan]

I know this is a pc builder thread, but I've got a prebuilt option( from microcenter) that's $1800 and was wondering if it's good for the price or if I really should just build my own.
Intel Core i9 9900KF 3.6GHz Processor; NVIDIA RTX 2080 Super 8GB GDDR6; 32GB DDR4-3600 RAM; 1TB SSD PCIe NVMe M.2, on a ASRock Z390 Phantom Gaming 6 motherboard.
I decided I should just skip on the 2080 ti as it seems that the 30XX series will come out eventually and the money difference could just have me buy that instead and sell the 2080 super to a friend or whomever just to make some cash back.

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Good deal. You're actually saving money.

Here's a list I assembled off of of PCPartPicker.

System Builder

pcpartpicker.com

I'm $100 over Microcenter without an OS. Granted, you can download Windows from Microsoft's website and not activate it to no detriment other than it becoming nagware, but still.

Sure, if I actually looked and tried to price things out, I'm sure I could easily drop that price by $50, 100, or maybe even $150. But in the end, I'd only be saving maybe $50 off of the Microcenter pre-built.

Buy it.

 

[sensui-tomo]

Good deal. You're actually saving money.

Here's a list I assembled off of of PCPartPicker.

System Builder

pcpartpicker.com

I'm $100 over Microcenter without an OS. Granted, you can download Windows from Microsoft's website and not activate it to no detriment other than it becoming nagware, but still.

Sure, if I actually looked and tried to price things out, I'm sure I could easily drop that price by $50, 100, or maybe even $150. But in the end, I'd only be saving maybe $50 off of the Microcenter pre-built.

Buy it.

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Thank you for the response, the only thing I'm not sure (since I couldn't find the info on the site) is buying an extended warranty from them good? The brand of computer was power spec which I believe is their inhouse brand. This would be the first desktop I've spent good money on and I just want to make sure I'm doing the right stuff. (My friend is going to show me proper computer maintenance)
I always thought microcenter was never a big deal, then doing research on computers the last week shows me people want them more than I wanted Frys Electronic stores in my region lol.

 

[TheMadTitan]

Thank you for the response, the only thing I'm not sure (since I couldn't find the info on the site) is buying an extended warranty from them good? The brand of computer was power spec which I believe is their inhouse brand. This would be the first desktop I've spent good money on and I just want to make sure I'm doing the right stuff. (My friend is going to show me proper computer maintenance)
I always thought microcenter was never a big deal, then doing research on computers the last week shows me people want them more than I wanted Frys Electronic stores in my region lol.

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That, I can't answer; the nearest Microcenter is 245 miles away :/.

 

[Relix]

I think my RAM is lost in the mail. It's the only goddamn piece missing. I should have received it. Newegg used UPS Home Innovation where they drop it to USPS. Now USPS says they accepted it on Tuesday but I haven't received anything yet.
I wanted to build this weekend :(

 

[Black_Stride]

That's a good point about the price gap, forgot they are quite far apart. I wasn't not suggesting the 3600 though, just wanted to point out it's max worth comes from overclocking it. And if one has no plans to overclock and has some room in the budget, a x CPU is a better deal on my eyes.

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With Ryzen its kinda weird for someone to say "im def not overclocking" PBO is basically an OC. PC building and optimizing has changed over the years, any Ryzen builder will need to enter the BIOS to set their RAM DOCP/XMP profiles, while there

Finalized my build:

System Builder

pcpartpicker.com

For now I'm forgoing a heat sink, as I've heard the stock one for the 3700X is pretty decent and I'm not intending to overclock. If I change my mind I can add it later. Also ditching the HDD. I figure 1TB SDD will be plenty for my programs, and I'll use an external HDD for everything else. I'm pretty happy with it, will definitely be the best computer I've ever owned.

A few parts are delayed a couple weeks, but I should be able to start building by mid-May, just in time because I was planning to stream Xenoblade when it comes out.

Click to shrink...

Might be one of the first builds ive seen where I legit have nothing to add.
Thats a brilliant build, cant wait to see the thing fully put together.

Keep us updated.

 

[Crazymoogle]

Well, even the OP has PC troubles.

• Boot to UEFI doesn't work (it just restarts Windows?)
• PC boots too fast to trigger UEFI

Pretty much all I can think of is either pulling the CMOS battery (ughhh) or creating a UEFI USB drive.

 

[Nightmare]

What do you mean that the PC boots too fast to trigger UEFI?

Does you PC restart randomly or at a specific point when loading Windows?

If it's restarting randomly, then it's probably a hardware failure or maybe unstable overclock settings.

If it's restarting always at the same point, then it's a problem with your Windows installation.

You can also try booting a linux live dvd or usb and see what happens.

 

[DJ Lushious]

Well, even the OP has PC troubles.

• Boot to UEFI doesn't work (it just restarts Windows?)
• PC boots too fast to trigger UEFI

Pretty much all I can think of is either pulling the CMOS battery (ughhh) or creating a UEFI USB drive.

Click to shrink...

Have you tried hammering the BIOS key right after pressing the power button? Endure the beeps, keep at it, and you should be able to get in. Then change the UEFI boot delay while you're in there.

 

[sensui-tomo]

Next dumb question I've got. I can get the Acer Predator XB273K 27" for $25 more than the Acer Predator XB271HU 27"
Is the 21Hz difference worth 4k and HDR and saving $25?

 

[Defunkled]

Personally the 1440p, 144hz
I have a better cpu than you but a 2070S and 4k is rarely worth it, also 4k 60 isn't even guaranteed in the mega heavy hitter games but I guess it depends on what you play normally anyway

Most go the 1440p, 144hz route
For sure don't even look at 4k 144hz, better off using that money on a 3080ti which wouldnt even be able to get that consistently itself

Click to shrink...

Yeah I'm definitely leaning towards 1440p 144hz. Thanks for the input!

 

[Nightmare]

To enter bios, the easiest way in your case is to type and select "Change advanced start-up options" in the Windows start menu. Then press the "Restart Now" button below the "Advanced start-up" heading.

Your PC will now boot in recovery.

From there select "Troubleshoot" and then "UEFI Firmware Settings". You PC will then reboot into bios.

I'm attaching a screenshot of the options I have in recovery.




Edit: With my motherboard you can also hold DEL or F2 while the PC is booting up to enter bios.

 

[Crazymoogle]

Nightmare No PC issues. I simply wanted to launch UEFI to check the BIOS version and a few other things. And hilariously found out that's not possible anymore. The PC just boots into Windows, that's it. Even plugging in a UEFI USB boot drive doesn't do anything.

1. Have you tried hammering the BIOS key right after pressing the power button? Endure the beeps, keep at it, and you should be able to get in. Then change the UEFI boot delay while you're in there.

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2. To enter bios, the easiest way in your case is to type and select "Change advanced start-up options" in the Windows start menu. Then press the "Restart Now" button below the "Advanced start-up" heading.

3. Edit: With my motherboard you can also hold DEL or F2 while the PC is booting up to enter bios.

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None of these work on my X570 TUF. 😆

1. The boot sequence is too quick; the Monitor doesn't actually turn on until the Windows login screen appears.
2. Windows shortcut to UEFI just reboots the PC to the Windows login screen
3. Holding/hammering does nothing
4. Turning off fast boot has literally zero effect on boot time.
5. Shift+Restart also has no effect on boot time.

At some point in the past I had the ability to hit UEFI, but now I just hit windows in ~6 seconds. I'm guessing maybe the BIOS itself is set to fast boot, but I really have no idea how to troubleshoot that Windows > UEFI boot doesn't actually work. There's no error - if you try to shutdown to UEFI from the command line it executes just fine. Only you restart Windows.

 

[Deleted member 2474]

Nightmare No PC issues. I simply wanted to launch UEFI to check the BIOS version and a few other things. And hilariously found out that's not possible anymore. The PC just boots into Windows, that's it. Even plugging in a UEFI USB boot drive doesn't do anything.





None of these work on my X570 TUF. 😆

1. The boot sequence is too quick; the Monitor doesn't actually turn on until the Windows login screen appears.
2. Windows shortcut to UEFI just reboots the PC to the Windows login screen
3. Holding/hammering does nothing
4. Turning off fast boot has literally zero effect on boot time.
5. Shift+Restart also has no effect on boot time.

At some point in the past I had the ability to hit UEFI, but now I just hit windows in ~6 seconds. I'm guessing maybe the BIOS itself is set to fast boot, but I really have no idea how to troubleshoot that Windows > UEFI boot doesn't actually work. There's no error - if you try to shutdown to UEFI from the command line it executes just fine. Only you restart Windows.

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What if you detach your Windows boot drive from the motherboard?

 

[Crazymoogle]

The answer was even stupider. For whatever reason, the combo of my GTX970 and - admittedly cheap Prism+ F270iPro cannot display the UEFI resolution on DisplayPort. Solution? Plug in HDMI to use UEFI, make whatever changes, then switch back because HDMI cannot actually handle 1440p144 😆

Unsolved: The Boot to UEFI doesn't work. It just does a reboot (so it's a "shortcut" to the UEFI boot screen, but can't boot into the UEFI itself). But the point is moot, as it seems the UEFI resolution just isn't showing up. (It's of course inexplicable how I couldn't at least blindly enter UEFI, but that's why I can't say if it's truly Windows, the monitor, or the old video card hamming it up.

Now I just have to figure out why AURASYNC is causing flickering on the 5V RGB...

 

[Vex]

This whole time I thought I was in 3200mhz mode with my g.skill ram. Turns out?:

Anyone else have this Mobo (x570 tuf gaming wifi plus) and 3700x? I've tried googling and it seems they say to update the bios. I am ready at 1407 (latest?).

Notice the docp selected.... Weird.. still 2133mhz

On another note.. my temps are at least better since I tweaked my fan curve (37c)

 

[Crazymoogle]

This whole time I thought I was in 3200mhz mode with my g.skill ram. Turns out?:

Anyone else have this Mobo (x570 tuf gaming wifi plus) and 3700x? I've tried googling and it seems they say to update the bios. I am ready at 1407 (latest?).

Notice the docp selected.... Weird..

Click to shrink...

Is your RAM the F4-3200C16D-32GTZR? I have exactly that motherboard and timings (though only the 16GB model) but what you need to do is check the advanced settings where the RAM speed is set, and that can tell you what is actually being run at. Or you could just boot into windows, launch CPU-Z and check the Memory Tab, if your DRAM frequence is ~1596MHz, it's in DDR4-3200 mode, if it's ~1796MHz then it's in DDR4-3600 mode. The info on the UEFI is unfortunate but shouldn't affect anything if Windows (and your RAM settings menu) are both okay.

That being said the F4-3200C16D-32GTZR is almost always Samsung B-Die and it's usually overclocked manually using DRAM Calculator.

 

[Vex]

Is your RAM the F4-3200C16D-32GTZR? I have exactly that motherboard and timings (though only the 16GB model) but what you need to do is check the advanced settings where the RAM speed is set, and that can tell you what is actually being run at. Or you could just boot into windows, launch CPU-Z and check the Memory Tab, if your DRAM frequence is ~1596MHz, it's in DDR4-3200 mode, if it's ~1796MHz then it's in DDR4-3600 mode. The info on the UEFI is unfortunate but shouldn't affect anything if Windows (and your RAM settings menu) are both okay.

That being said the F4-3200C16D-32GTZR is almost always Samsung B-Die and it's usually overclocked manually using DRAM Calculator.

Click to shrink...

F4-3200C16D-32GVK

Also.... Wait hold on... look:

EDIT: I derped.

Why is everything saying something different??

 

[Nightmare]

Vex You have to multiply the DRAM frequency by 2 to get the actual frequency.

I think you can manually set your RAM to run at 3200MHz from the advanced bios settings.

Crazymoogle I have the Crosshair Hero VIII motherboard (also by Asus and also based on the x570 chipset) and it reboots perfectly into bios (from Windows). And like I said holding the DEL or F2 key while booting works as well.

 

[Vex]

@Vex You have to multiply the DRAM frequency by 2 to get the actual frequency.

I think you can manually set your RAM to run at 3200MHz from the advanced bios settings

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Ahh ok so it is fine even tho the readings are wrong??? This is so confusing. I guess task manager reads directly from the bios (hence why it still shows 2133mhz) , and cpu-z reads the actual frequency?

I saw the option to change manually, but it still reads in the same awkward way in windows and bios.

Edit: wait nevermind I'm confused like hell right now. Not sure what to do?

 

[Nightmare]

Ahh ok so it is fine even tho the readings are wrong??? This is so confusing. I guess task manager reads directly from the bios (hence why it still shows 2133mhz) , and cpu-z reads the actual frequency?

I saw the option to change manually, but it still reads in the same awkward way in windows and bios.

Click to shrink...

No, it isn't because if you multiply 1064.5 by 2, the result is 2129MHz.

You have to enter the advanced bios settings and set the frequency there. Make sure that both the frequency and the CAS latencies match your RAM specifications.

 

[eddy]

Ahh ok so it is fine even tho the readings are wrong??? This is so confusing. I guess task manager reads directly from the bios (hence why it still shows 2133mhz) , and cpu-z reads the actual frequency?

Click to shrink...

Your DRAM frequency should be 13331600Hz to run at 3200MT/s. You're currently at ~1065.

Look at the SPD tab in CPU-Z.

 

[Vex]

Your DRAM frequency should be 1333Hz to run at 3200MT/s. You're currently at ~1065.

Look at the SPD tab in CPU-Z.

Click to shrink...

Yup. Still showing 2133.

No, it isn't because if you multiply 1064.5 by 2, the result is 2129MHz.

You have to enter the advanced bios settings and set the frequency there. Make sure that both the frequency and the CAS latencies match your RAM specifications.

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The frequency and cas latencies are automatically set when selecting docp.

For example:

But it still shows this after resetting:

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(Just restarted btw)
This is why I am so confused.

 

[Crazymoogle]

Ahh ok so it is fine even tho the readings are wrong??? This is so confusing. I guess task manager reads directly from the bios (hence why it still shows 2133mhz) , and cpu-z reads the actual frequency?

I saw the option to change manually, but it still reads in the same awkward way in windows and bios.

Edit: wait nevermind I'm confused like hell right now. Not sure what to do?

Click to shrink...

I would probably set the RAM settings manually in the BIOS. It's possible that because you're using RAM not on the QVL something fishy is going on with the DOCP profile. Windows should see 3200 MHz on Task Manager.

Since it sounds like you already did that, can you post a pic of the advanced settings page? I'm wondering if there is something else that needs to be set manually beyond the few you set.

 

[Vex]

Omg you guys it literally just started working.


CPU-Z
SPD tab now shows 2123(1066mhz)(which is still weird) and Memory tab shows 1596.6mhz!!! Wtf and now memory in task manager shows 3200mhz! Omfg wow wtf was that?!?

 

[eddy]

The "Max bandwidth" on the SPD tab shows the base (default) speed of the DIMMs, unrelated to what they're currently running at, so that's expected. I pointed to it because it shows you what's available in the XMP/DOCP profile.

(Note: I made a thinko earlier, it's of course 1600MHz for 3200MT/s, I was looking at my own machine at the time and got things confused, and no one ever does the math anymore)

 

[Doc Holliday]

All of my parts are almost here! I just need the power supply and case :D

ncase m1
ryzen 3700x
32 gig ram - I use photoshop and zbrush
Nvme m.2 gen 4 1tb
Aorus x570 I pro WiFi mITX
Corsair sf600
Noctua u9s and a few case fans
Geforce 1070 from my old pc until the new gpus come this year.

deciding If should pick a large sata ssd or a slower m.2 drive as my 2nd hdd. I'm worried about the temps in such a small case.

 

[Vex]

The "Max bandwidth" on the SPD tab shows the base (default) speed of the DIMMs, unrelated to what they're currently running at, so that's expected. I pointed to it because it shows you what's available in the XMP/DOCP profile.

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ah ok. good to know.

Had to make sure. Last time the benchmark showed that it under performed and linked me to a video of how to make it perform correctly. (Which obviously didnt work).

I would probably set the RAM settings manually in the BIOS. It's possible that because you're using RAM not on the QVL something fishy is going on with the DOCP profile. Windows should see 3200 MHz on Task Manager.

Since it sounds like you already did that, can you post a pic of the advanced settings page? I'm wondering if there is something else that needs to be set manually beyond the few you set.

Click to shrink...

btw thanks for helping me again as usual. I was hoping I wouldnt have to touch that manually. Didnt want to ruin anything. lol. And also Nightmare 😊 thank you too.

 

[WestEgg]

Whoa, I already got my case and CPU, wasn't expecting those next day. Let's hope everything else is ahead of schedule.

 

[Vex]

deciding If should pick a large sata ssd or a slower m.2 drive as my 2nd hdd. I'm worried about the temps in such a small case.

Click to shrink...

I have two m.2 drives currently. They are REALLY small. Like, any photos you see wont really tell you how small they are. They both sit @ ~40c all day. Although one came with its own heatsink. A PCIE gen 4 Sabrent that "fell off a truck" <.<

 

[macindc]

Well, even the OP has PC troubles.

• Boot to UEFI doesn't work (it just restarts Windows?)
• PC boots too fast to trigger UEFI

Pretty much all I can think of is either pulling the CMOS battery (ughhh) or creating a UEFI USB drive.

Click to shrink...

I know you found your own workaround but if it happens again (or anyone else has a similar problem) usually most boards will have a CMOS reset jumper (or even button) on them. I had a similar issue with my Aorus X570 Elite and I just had to move the jumper to the "reset" position and that kicked it out of fast boot mode. Just look in the manual.

 

[AquaRegia]

I haven't upgraded in a while (2500K and a AMD 7800...) and it's time. As a teacher in this new environment, making videos and streaming is suddenly very important. Gaming does not need to be a focus (CK3 is the only upcoming PC game I have my eyes on), but decent 1080P play would be nice. The outline of my proposed build is:

CPU: 3600 Ryzen
BOARD: B450 of some sort
GPU: 580 or equivalent
SSD: 1 TB something (Crucial P1?)
RAM: 16GB Corsair
CASE: Corsair 200R
Monitor: Asus V248Q 24"
PSU: Not sure, I assume a 550 or 600 would be plenty.

I have a Blu-ray drive I'll move from the old PC, and my Windows license should be transferable.

Trying to save a little since I'll still need a good webcam.

Main questions:
1) Clearly I don't upgrade all that often, so should the B450/3600 be good enough to last a 5 year generation?
2) Will a NVME SSD offer enough benefit for my uses, or should I save a little with a 6GB SATA?
3) Do modern video cards also function as capture cards? Have not kept up with this stuff, just need to be able to record Q&A, preferably being able to record my face and what I write/show on the screen.

Thanks for any answers and the guides in the OP.

 

[eddy]

2) Will a NVME SSD offer enough benefit for my uses, or should I save a little with a 6GB SATA?

Click to shrink...

You definitely want some sort of solid-state storage for your system drive. Absolutely top-priority to make a system 'feel' fast.

If you have need of more storage, add a HDD as necessary.

 

[AquaRegia]

You definitely want some sort of solid-state storage for your system drive. Absolutely top-priority to make a system 'feel' fast.

If you have need of more storage, add a HDD as necessary.

Click to shrink...

Oh I know to go SSD, I've just seen reviews, including one linked in this thread, that indicate there isn't much difference for some users between a SATA SSD and NVME.

 

[eddy]

Oh I know to go SSD, I've just seen reviews, including one linked in this thread, that indicate there isn't much difference for some users between a SATA SSD and NVME.

Click to shrink...

Performance-wise you'll be good with either, but an NVMe drive is just easier and more convenient, no extra cables for one, and they're usually not more expensive anyway.

 

[Deleted member 2474]

Oh I know to go SSD, I've just seen reviews, including one linked in this thread, that indicate there isn't much difference for some users between a SATA SSD and NVME.

Click to shrink...

ehhh, that's true now while most games are designed to run on 5400rpm hard drives, but with next-gen making a big deal out of using NVMe drives, i would definitely recommend investing in NVMe for a new machine if you want to be at all future-proof

 

[CelestialAtom]

Just finished my new build and going to be ordering the parts once I finish my Capstone course for my Bachelor's in June!

[PCPartPicker Part List](https://pcpartpicker.com/list/Xrjtq3)

**CPU** | [AMD Ryzen 7 3700X 3.6 GHz 8-Core Processor]
**CPU Cooler** | [Cooler Master MASTERAIR MA620M 57.3 CFM CPU Cooler]
**Thermal Compound** | [Thermal Grizzly Kryonaut 1g 1 g Thermal Paste]
**Motherboard** | [Asus TUF GAMING X570-PLUS ATX AM4 Motherboard]
**Memory** | [G.Skill Trident Z RGB 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3600 Memory]
**Storage** | [Samsung 970 Evo 500 GB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive]
**Storage** | [Samsung 860 QVO 2 TB 2.5" Solid State Drive]
**Video Card** | [EVGA GeForce RTX 2070 8 GB XC ULTRA GAMING Video Card]
**Case** | [Fractal Design Meshify C ATX Mid Tower Case]
**Power Supply** | [EVGA SuperNOVA G3 650 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply]
**Operating System** | [Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM 64-bit]
**Case Fan** | [Corsair AF120 LED (2018) White 52 CFM 120 mm Fan]
**Case Fan** | [Corsair AF120 LED (2018) White 52 CFM 120 mm Fan]
**Case Fan** | [Corsair AF120 LED (2018) White 52 CFM 120 mm Fan]
**Monitor** | [BenQ EX3501R 35.0" 3440x1440 100 Hz Monitor]

 

[DarthButcher]

Whelp, finally decided to take the plunge. My last build was in 2012 and I have been tower-free since 2015. I've been Switch-only for home consoles since launch day and finally decided it was time to take me home setup to the next level.

All parts are sourced from MicroCenter(two locations) and will be picked up this evening with curbside pickup.

CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 3700X Matisse 3.6GHz 8-Core
BOARD: MSI X570 MPG Gaming Pro Carbon WiFi
GPU: EVGA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER BLACK GAMING
SSD: Corsair Force Series 1TB SSD 3D TLC NAND MP600 M.2
RAM: G.Skill Ripjaws V 32GB (2 x 16GB) DDR4-3200
CASE: Lian Li PC-O11
PSU: Corsair RM650x

I also got a couple of 120mm fans(I already have 2 at home). I will be replacing the fans later with liquid cooling, but since I've been out of the game so long I know nothing about modern liquid cooling tech and wanted to do research before dropping that money.

Looking forward to the build and looking forward to hopping back into PCMR!

Edit: Total cost after tax came out to just over $1,800.

 

[eddy]

since I've been out of the game so long I know nothing about modern liquid cooling tech and wanted to do research before dropping that money.

Click to shrink...

If we're talking All-in-One solutions then it has been very stagnant the last few years, IMO. Unless you consider the addition of RGB bling as progress.

Gamer's Nexus reviewed a unit called the 'Arctic Liquid Freezer II' recently. Seems to have very attractive price/performance ratio. Exists in the usual configurations, 280, 360, etc.

Unless you need the comfort of say a Corsair Hydro H115i unit (my go-to), it'd look at it.

 

[nogoodnamesleft]

when should we expect pcie 4.0 to start becoming the norm? I would like to buy a new mobo/ssd combo

 

[SmartWaffles]

PCIE 4.0 is already on AMD's current X570 boards and will also be supported on their B550 mainstream boards. 4.0 SSDs will also be more common this year.