Hey,
I have been tasked to build a PC for (watch out it get’s complicated): The friend of a neighbours son. Budget seems to be roughly 700€. As he is around 15-ish you might guess that the main goal is gaming (and you would be correct).
I am currently planning two options and wanted your input on it:
Option A) Min-Max to the limit:
CPU: Ryzen 5 2600
GPU: AMD RX 5700
PSU: be Quiet 600W System power
RAM: 8GB / 3000
SSD: 512 GB Intel 660p (nvme)
Motherboard: Something B450 / X470
Option B) More well rounded
CPU: Ryzen 5 2600
GPU: GTX 1660 or RX 580 8GB
PSU: be Quiet 600W System power
RAM: 16 GB 3000 Mhz
SSD: 1 TB Intel 660p
Mobo: see above
As you can see I’m trying my best to fit the RX 5700 in the budget in the min-max variant. It is also the cheapest non-reference card. I think the Ryzen 5 2600 would probably not hold it back in most games. Variant A) has some issues but those are able to be fixed down the road for a max of 50€ per issue (8GB more RAM, a SATA ssd, better cpu cooler, more quiet fans). The 600W PSU costs about the same as the 500W PSU.
The variant B speaks for itself, more RAM, more SSD, less GPU. I’ll probably recommend
Known issues:
Case / Monitor / Keyboard et cetera: He has one, we will reuse the case. It is a Cooltek with a 120mm in front and the option for two 120mm fans on the side panel (as well as an 80mm in the back).
Intel 660p… Get rid of that… A good fast SSD is not that more expensive but it’s noticeably faster. For example SX8200Pro is lightning fast and is slightly more expensive. Although if you really are min maxing just get a standard SATA drive and that will be that… You won’t really be able to tell the difference between SATA and 660p…
Yeah he might wanne check out Alternate as well.
They sometimes have nice upgrade kits for sale.
Not sure if mindfactory is cheaper doe…?
A 3600 cpu is also an option.
However when it comes to B450 boards, then you are pretty much stuck with Msi only.
Because that seems to be the only brand that has bios flashback support.
Maybe both mindfactory or alternate might have some interesting cpu, mobo + ram upgrade kits.
Better platform due to the 25% (roughly) better CPU performance. I have an NVME 1 TB drive on my new pc… it does not feel much faster than my sata3 ssd.
If you can find a store that will update the bios of a B450 motherboard, you can save some money:
When it comes to gaming, the most important thing to consider with a modern rig is your screen resolution and refresh rate. For the perfect experience, your rig needs to push out enough pixels in $GAME to get twice the FPS of your monitor refresh rate - or better. Everything else - sound, input, CPU etc - is pretty much good enough for all 4-core+ CPU builds released for the last 3 years or so. The RX 580 is good enough to last for a 1080p build as well.
Three important improvements however:
No reason not to go for B450 at this stage.
The Vega 56 is worth it if at all possible, it guarantees the system can last for 3 years.
Do NOT skip on the PSU. While a 450W PSU is sufficient, it limits upgradeability. A 650W leaves plenty of room for more power hungry parts.
In total €676.03. If you are willing to reach slightly over budget you can get a reference Vega 56 blower design (worse thermals) for €225.90 which barely go outside your budget (total €712.93).
It’s also possible to get a good Vega 56 for €269.00, which will break your budget (total €756.03). Your choice though!
FWIW, really happy with the sub $500 budget build I did earlier this year - msi tomahawk, r5 1600 (was going to go 2600 but the 1600 was on sale for $80), 16gb adata 3000, used red dragon rx580 ($109 shipped). Running stable at 3.4ghz/2933 with gaming boost/xmp… playing mostly older games - dark souls 3, tombraider (2013), witcher 3, Arkham knight - runs those well at high to max/ultra settings.
What’s up with all the 80+ gold PSUs? Am I missing something?
I regularly build PCs for people but have only old hardware myself (AMD Fx and first gen core i). I have like 2 to 3 PSUs that are 80+ gold and between 5 and 8 years old and I’m not overly impressed. One is making noises while running and the other has tendencies to blow the breaker when I switch the switch on the back of the psu.
Gold PSU is just a certification for efficiency. NOTHING MORE. Usually that means it uses better internal parts to reach that efficiency, but not always. I don’t know what models you have, but keep in mind most brands are actually rebrands in the most literal sense.
There are in total 5 or 6 manufacturers and everything else is rebrand of existing designs.
XFX uses Seasonic as supplier, NZXT as of late started using Seasonic as a supplier for their higher end stuff, Corsair uses CWT and sometimes Seasonic, there are also FSP, that supply Bitfenix, I believe Enermax are their own thing, and most of the others are just rebrand so you may as well cut the middle man and just buy Seasonic… Honestly the focus line is so good for the price I don’t know why people buy anything else…
I still have an Ultra LSP750 (750W) PSU running a Phenom II X6 1055t system. It has been used nearly daily for around ten years now… I don’t think there were these types of efficiency certs back then.
Again, the certification (bronze silver gold platinum titanium) is efficiency only. It tells you absolutely nothing else about the PSU. That is why I got 430W bronze unit for the same price a friend bought 750W non certified unit and another one got 530W gold rated. The gold one died first while the rest of our units still run just fine. The gold certificate is only giving you the efficiency and nothing else.
