Ryzen R5 3600 "upgrade kit"

Hi all, new to these forums. Currious about these forums, so I’ll post my desired upgrade kit for my current pc.

** WARNING: Alot of time went into this post. I tryed to hide alot of stuffs, so to hide the TLDR stuffs. Feel free to unfold, and read it all. Scroll to the bottom, to read my questions. **

Current pc:

Summary

AMD A8 5600k (4-core APU)
16 gb DDR3
MSI 1050 ti (depending on game type, it might get bottlenecked)
240 gb Kingston HyperX Savage SSD
1.5 tb Samsung HDD (8,5+ years old and spinning)
3 tb Seagate HDD (well over 3 years I asume)
4 tb Seagate HDD (just over 8 months old?)
850 watt Zalman 80+ gold full modular PSU
Ancient round full-copper Zalman CPU cooler. This used to be higher end. The stock blue-LED fan broke down, and I’ve mounted 2x 80mm fans to it. Push-pull, vs stock single push fan.

Highly modded crappy case with:

Summary

Zero provisions for cable management
Flipped around motherboard (glass on the right side of the case, PSU in the bottom)
2x (1) 120mm front panel intake fans (1 broke down already)
2x 80 mm top exhaust fans
2x stand alone RGB strips in cans on top of the case (with remote control)
4x small pieces of regular glass as side panel windows
Black-orange colour scheme
Thick “bumper bar” infront of the pc case, with a candle mount
Cloth/filter as front panel

Now let me try and follow the “General Guidelines - Build a PC”.

Summary

Budget: I do not have a fixed budget, but I do want to stick to a lower budget. There are several components I want, so it’s not LOW-budget. I origionaly was looking at around 400 euros, but my current wishlist is closer to 500 for the actual hardware. Also, I’m on wellfare, so the parts have to last me a long time. Last time I bought a NEW pc core, I got an AMD X2 64 4200+, which lasted me 9 years of 24/7 usage, and that PC core still works just fine.

Where do you live: I live in the Netherlands, and I use the Euro.

Is there a retailer you prefer? Yes, I am going to buy from an online store called “Megekko”. It’s the allround cheapest online store I can find in my country, and I’ve bought parts there before.

Do you need or already have peripherals? Yes, considering it’s an upgrade kit.

What will you be using your Glorious computer for?
-I do play games with my GF online which are creative in nature. Games like The Forest, Empyrion, Space Engineers, Factorio, Rising World, Satisfactory and Raft. I also like to play 4x games like the Civilisation games or Stellaris. I do not play those games online, and I will also stay away from (toxic) FPS multiplayer games. High FPS is not required for me.
-Storage pig. My current pc has 8.5 tb of HDD storage, and it’s 75% in use. Movies and series, downloads from Youtube. That kind of stuffs. I don’t own a tv, and I’ve got a second monitor in my bedroom. Considering buying a 3rd screen (a large tv) to watch stuffs from a couch.
-Browsing all kinds of websites. News, Youtube, tech, porn, wiki, science… You get the picture.
-Simple webserver. I host a few homebrew web pages from my pc for private usage. (me and my GF)
-Alarm clock. Yes, I use my pc as my alarm clock, because no regular clock will wake me up propperly.
-“It’s better then tv”. Watching all kinds of movies/series, often in lower quality. My eyes are fooked anyways, and both my screens run at 1280x1024.
-I still want to start a crappy low budget DIY YT channel, so rendering might be in the future. I don’t know a thing about rendering/editing. But I’ve got some time to wait.
-24/7 turned on. My current case doesn’t even have a power-off switch. Currently 217 days online without any sleep mode. And I kinda need to dust everything off. (so lets get an upgrade kit!)

Do you overclock or want to get into overclocking? I do not plan on overclocking right away. I expect that the performance increase will make me amazed enough for the first few years. But later in life, when the hardware gets dated, I might want to OC before I do another upgrade. This way, I hope the core components can last me a long time. (5+ years minimal)

Do you plan on going for custom water-cooling now, or in the future? I am considering getting a nice (good) AliExpress waterblock and D5 pump and hook it all up with an large (externaly placed) CAR radiator or CAR AC radiator. But I need to do some other things first. It’s mostly to keep things origional-ish and fun, not for a higher OC.

Operating System. I’m currently using windows 7, and I kinda don’t like the concept of windows 10. But I am considering a fresh windows 10 install. (this should not be included in the total build cost)

"If you Game"

Summary

I’ve already listed several games I like to play, and the genres. I play usually at 1280x1024. Several of the more “heavy” games suffer more from crappy sim speeds, then low FPS. But as long as games remain playable, I’m happy with low 30’s and low settings. It’s about the experiance of making stuffs, not so much the graphical things TO ME.

"If you Render or Edit things"

Summary

I might get into making YT vids, but I have no clue at which software I would need, or what settings to run. I can’t work with photoshop at all. My smartphone records in 1080p, 30fps.

"If you don’t have peripherals"

Summary

It’s an upgrade kit. I have a fully functional pc as it is right now, and I will take all peripherals from it.

Desired upgrade parts
CPU: AMD Ryzen R5 3600 195,00
I am not allowed to use links in my posts…

Motherboard: Asrock B450 STEEL LEGEND 99,00
I am not allowed to use links in my posts…

Memory: Ballistix Sport AT DDR4 16GB Kit 8GBx2 3200 MT/s 89,95
I am not allowed to use links in my posts…

CPU cooler: Cooler Master MasterLiquid ML240L RGB 58,05
I am not allowed to use links in my posts…

Case fans: Cooler Master MasterFan MF120R RGB 29,90
I am not allowed to use links in my posts…

RGB splitter: Akasa RGB LED Splitter Cable 1 to 4 7,95
I am not allowed to use links in my posts…

Why/what/how:

Summary

I will be keeping my current 1050 ti, 5.1 surround sound speakers (3.1 in use right now), 850 watt PSU, all my storage and my SSD, mouse + keyboard and my 2 1280x1024 monitors.

Case mods:

Summary

I will also be keeping my current PC case. I will repaint it into mat black and glossy white. I will be putting a big piece of glass into the side panel. Mounting the radiator on top might be slightly tricky and not fully optimal considering the 2 cans “chimney style” diameters. Might need to make a shroud, so all airflow gets directed outwards. But the openings should be plenty big, especialy considering how poorly some brand new cases are made. And finaly I will be looking at a nice new piece of black-white cloth for the front panel cover.
All 4 fans (2x 120mm and 2x 80mm) need to be replaced. They are LOW-budget, and well over 5 years old/spinning 24/7. With a larger side panel, the current LED strips don’t cut it, and getting some propper RGB fans is the cheapest/best looking option. (vs getting low-budget black fans and an aditional RGB strip)

Cooling:

Summary

Considering how I plan on using my pc, the AIO will be overkill and most likely sub optimal. I plan on using this platform for at least 5 years, and I consider it very possible that the AIO will fail before that. But it looks really nice, and the pump will be at it’s lowest place. If I do not buy this AIO, I need to replace the 2x 80 mm fans, which can be low budget/doesn’t have to be RGB.
The Ryzen R5 3600 CPU comes with the wraith stealth cooler, which seems to be capable enough. But if I don’t buy this AIO, I will be re-using my ancient broken but fixed full copper Zalman CPU cooler. (will do some thermal testing, because this is an really old and used cooler)

B450, Ryzen 3000

Summary

I do not plan on getting any PCIE gen 4 hardware any time soon. So an 570 motherboard seems like overkill to me. The Ryzen R5 3600 seems to be mid-range, and I don’t plan on doing anything SLI. So the 470 motherboards seem to be overkill because of that. So the B450 makes the most sense to me.
The Steel Legend motherboard as sold by this retailer, seems to have an firmware/bios version, which does support Ryzen 3000 series CPU’s, so I don’t need a loaner CPU or play with an USB stick without a CPU installed.
The Steel Legend also has 5 audio plugs, so I could hook up my current 5.1 (3.1 in use) surround sound speakers. Although the audio chip itself isn’t the best? (not a headphone user, so less of an issue?)
The motherboard also is ATX formfactor, which fills up my pc case nicely. I like the neutral colours and that it has both RGB and ARGB headers. 6 sata connectors is the bare minimum for me, considering I will be already using 4 of them. 7 regular USB connectors on the back is also really nice, because I have had them fail due to dust and such in the past. Having a PS/2 connector on the back is also a must for me, because it always works.
And finaly: back in the day, I considered Asrock an cheaper brand. But it seems to have changed. And Asrock seems to really make an effort on fixing firmware/BIOS stuffs, which is something that’s really important to me.

The memory

Summary

I know Ryzen likes it’s memory fast. People will often say you should at least get 3000 mhz memory. The memory I’ve picked is some of the cheapest 3200 mhz memory for that webstore. But not only that, it looks kinda good. It will fit very well with my (fixed) pc case and motherboard/GPU. It’s also CL 16, which isn’t that horrible at all. And finaly, I wen’t for 2 sticks of 8, so I have both channels occupied. And considering that those creative games like memory, 16 gb looked like the minimal amount to me. (+ I’ve currently already got 16 gb DDR3 memory, and it will get propperly past 8 gb in use)

CPU, 3600

Summary

I want (need) an CPU that is very capable and modern. I like having alot of cores, but it needs to remain affordable. And being an AMD Fanboi for ~20 years, Ryzen it is. When looking at the line-up, I could go with a 2700(x) or something like the 3600 or 3600x. But many reviews and comparisons I found, said that the 6-core 3600 will be better then the 8-core 2700x. I like the idea of having plenty of cores, but it did make me lean towards the 3600(x).
Because I have my pc on 24/7, power consumption is also a consideration. Which made me look more closely to the 3600 vs the other 2. 65 watt tdp does sound really interesting. And after watching a Tech Jesus video several times, I came to the conclusion that the 50 euro more for a 3600x, isn’t worth it.

Any comments/suggestion?
What would you change? Did I look at all the important things? Did I miss something? Would you change motherboards, and if so, to which one? Would you go for the AIO, or stick to the stock or ancient CPU cooler? Would you want a picture of my current pc/case mods?

Last note: I’m on wellfare/really poor. I need these main core components to last me a long time. And spending almost 500 euro, just freaks me out/makes me really insecure. Thanks for reading!

Ok, i just skimmed what you have written, so pardon if i missed stuff.

  • R5 3600: Great. No Problem here.
  • Motherboard: This Board doesn’t have flashback and won’t support Ryzen 3000 out of the box. Make sure you either have a CPU to flash it, or get another board.
  • RAM: Is fine
  • AIO: Skip the AIO Cooler. Go for a mid Range Aircooler Instead (CM Hyper 212 or Noctua NH-U12 or such). Saves you money, is more reliable, quiet and performs the same or better. Ryzen 3000 doesn’t overclock and the 3600 at 65W doesn’t produce a ton of heat.
  • Case Fans: I’m sure 30 Bucks isn’t per Fan. If it is, get other fans. Else, they are fine.
  • No idea what the RGB Splitter is for, but if you need it, you need it. I hate RGB with a passion, so…

I’d personally get a B450 bord from MSI with a flashback function. I myself got the B450m Bazooka Plus with my 3600 and it’s working great.
The stock CPU cooler is barely adequat. It works, but doesn’t keep the CPU that cool. One of the 20-30 bucks decent aftermarket aircoolers is a great choice.

Thank you for skimming my first topic on these forums!

The motherboard does indeed not have a flashback. But on the webshop site, it lists the current bios/firmware version. And it seems to be updated/compatible with Ryzen 3000 series. (I’ve put it somewhere under them summaries)

The AIO is partialy for it’s RGB lighting, and partialy because it has fans. The “radiator spot” currently has 2 small 80x80 fans, which are kinda worn out. If I wouldn’t get this AIO, I would need to buy some extra fans anyways, which lowers the functional cost of the AIO.

Can you please explain on the “Ryzen 3000 doesn’t overclock” part? Because I think you are wrong. We are talking about AMD, not Intel. If you mean “Ryzen 3000 series doesn’t overclock much”, sure. And I’ve also seen some vids mentioning that Ryzen boosts more if it’s colder.

Case fanS = 2x 120mm RBG fans for a total of 29,90.

The listed AIO has 2 (same brand) RGB fans on it, and the kit comes with a 2 to 1 RGB splitter thingy so you’ve got only 1 cable going to the motherboard. (which has 1 RGB header?) If I would want to connect those other 2 RGB case fans, I would need some more headers for it. With the splitter, I can connect all 4 RGB fans to my 1 header RGB motherboard.

Taking away the need for a flashback function, is there any other reason to recommend me an MSI motherboard? (I want an ATX formfactor board to fill my case)

If I’m not going to buy this AIO, I will be testing temps with both the stock CPU cooler, and my ancient Zalman CPU cooler.

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To make it clear on the “price of the AIO”: it costs 58,05 and can work together with the 2x 120mm RGB fans. If I do not buy this AIO, I will have to buy 2 80mm fans. I’d go with the “ARCTIC F8 Pro” fans, because they are budget, look interesting, have plenty of cfm and fit the black-white colours I plan to use. Those cost 5,95 each, making the actual cost of the AIO to me 58,05 - (5,95x2) = 46,15. And to ME, that doesn’t sound like alot.

Great. Then no, there is no particular reason i’d recommend MSI. Asrock Boards are perfectly fine.

It’s a really “hot” ( :wink: ) topic atm. So far, many people aren’t even reaching advertised Boost clocks on 3000 CPU’s. All overclocking that has been done so far yielded mostly results within margin of error. Unless you are planning to go sub ambient temps or such, i wouldn’t expect to get any more performance out of Ryzen 3000 Chips. At least not until the current Situation gets better and the Platform matures a LOT. AMD has binned those CPU’s really close to their max potential. It’s a lot different than first and second gen Ryzen.

In principal, there is nothing wrong with getting an AIO. I’ve had one myself for 7 years now. There is just a lot more that can go wrong with an AIO over an air cooler. A decent air cooler will generally be cheaper and last longer. Also, some more recent tests have shown, that an AIO is not necesarily cooler than an air cooler.
At 60 Bucks i’d ask myself why it is so cheap. Most 240 AIO’s are around 100 or more. Again, it doesn’t mean it’s bad. I have no experience with that particular model. I’m just done with AIO’s as they didn’t offer better performance or lower noise levels in my case. I’d maybe see if there’s someone around here that has experience with the model you are planing to get.

Is there AM4 mounting hardware available for that? I remember those things and they where really good coolers when they came out.

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Forget RGB and forget the AIO. Sell the old GPU and add the extra money saved from not buying useless crap towards a better GPU.

That Zalman CPU cooler has some sort of mounting clip. I’ve used it initialy on an AM2 socket. Now it’s on my FM2 socket, and my GF is using the same (bought as old stock) CPU cooler on her AM3 socket. And as far as I could see, I should be able to just clip it onto AM4 too. (it doesn’t have screws to mount it)

I kinda too wonder why that AIO is so cheap, especialy considering it has an RBG CPU block and 2 RGB fans. However, it is a CoolerMaster product, and not some random no-brand product. I do not expect it to last as long as an air cooler, where you would just replace the fans. (like I did with my Zalman cooler) But I never had any kind of liquid cooling, and it looks fancy. (and there should be some buffering going on, which I’m interested in)

Somewhere in my first post, I mentioned maybe getting an AliExpress waterblock, D5 pump and using an car radiator for cooling. With an few litre/gallons reservoir. Having an idea of this heat soaking buffer, would be usefull IMO.

@ImprovisoR, RGB or not, I need 4 new fans. And they do cost money. Scrapping the RGB will only result in a bit more money saved.

As I have mentioned in my opening post, I use 2x a 1280x1024 monitor. They are set as clone, because 1 is on my desk, and the other one is in my bedroom. I have bad eyes, and I do not care that much about awesome ultra graphical settings. Games I like to play are more CPU intensive games.

And my pc is on 24/7. When I bought my current used (1050 ti) GPU, I could also have bought a 1060 6g for the same price. I didn’t buy it, because it consumes more power. I am happy with my current GPU, and not looking to upgrade. Saving money on the RGB/AIO, would just go into my pocket. (not want to spend 50 euro more for just an X or an extra 16 gb of memory and the motherboard isn’t the cheapest on the webshop already)

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I’ve bought the part. Changedthe memory to some ballistix sports lt white, other specs seemed to be the same. Also bought an cheap (cheapest I could find) philips curved 27" VA monitor, 1080p. And finaly I just bought (not yet in) a used Asus 1060 3g GPU for a 100 euros. Lots of moneys spend, still have to mod my case before I can test all the components.

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