Build Feedback please.

[Ba!nesy]

Hey guys, been a while since I've been on here. After just realising that Windows 7 is EOL at

the start of next year, I thought it's time I look at an upgrade, last one being like 5 years

ago. Any opinions, Other suggestions are welcomed within reason, I do have some wiggle room in

my budget for slightly more expensive parts.

Im a mid-range kinda guy, I don't need the latest and greatest (obviously since it's been 5

years since an upgrade) 16GB ram is enough for me at the moment. If I require more then i'll

just get more, but Im gonna try and keep 16GB for the whole build

Case: Corsair Carbide Series SPEC-05 Mid-Tower Case - $79
Nothing too flashy, I don't build PC's to show them off. I realize only 1 fan, but I'll either

get another one if needed, or take a spare one off my current PC which I'm planning on turning

into a HTPC.

PSU: Corsair CX550 550W 80 Plus Bronze OR Thermaltake Smart 600W Gold OEM - $89
Not 100% sure which one, I've heard people talk bad about thermaltake (but then i've probably

heard bad things about corsair as well) but the fact that the thermaltake is Gold should mean

better right?

CPU: Ryzen 5 3600 OR Intel 9400F - $315/$225
I've been wanting to give Ryzan a try, AMD seem to be on their way up, and competition is good

for us. However looking at videos it seems that the 9400F is as good as or out performs the

3600. Thoughts?

MoBo: AMD - Gigabyte GA-B450M DS3H/ Intel - Gigabyte B365M GAMING HD | Both $119
Here's where I tend to have a bit of trouble. too many numbers and letters. One of the reasons

I went for these is becasue they were close in price to my previous build's MoBo and thought

these should be in the same ballpark.
Intel MoBo doesn't "support" 3200mhz ram out of the box. AMD supports it through O.C (Would

this be an easy thing to accomplish?) Intel has 2 ram slots, AMD has 4. Doesn't matter much,

i'll only have 2 sticks. IF i need 32gb of Ram i'll just buy another set of Ram later on, but

I'm sure 16GB will do me till my next build. Both have 4 x Sata3 ports, more than enough. M.2

I'm not going to get much benefit from it so that doesn't matter to me at this stage.

RAM: Team T-Force Dark/Corsair Vengeance LPX 16GB - $115/$119
Both 16GB, both 3200 MHZ, Vengeance looks low profile, Team T-Force seems to be taller, not

sure how that would go, the ram slots on both MoBo's above seem to be a fair way away from the

CPU though. I'm currently running Corsair ram, no issues. Stick with them?

GPU: Gigabyte GTX 1660 super OC - $389 (Mini itx version also available at same price)
2060 more expensive (starts at $550 so almost $200 more), don't think I'd get enough out of the

ray tracing, or the minimal performance boost it'll give.
1660 and 1660Ti seem to underpowered/too expensive for the performance that the super delivers

at it's price

SSD: Samsung Evo 860 500GB - $108
Already have one, but can't hurt to have more right?

OS: Windows 10 - $169
If only Linux had more support for games and software (Natively, I'm aware of Steam play, going

to do some testing with my system tonight, see if what I have is good enough for now). Like

theres alot the Linux can do as good as or better than windows, the only thing it falls behind

on is support for the system. But that's a rant for another post.

Other:
DVD burner: I have one, but most things now a days are downloads, or put onto a USB and install

from it. If need be I'll just go and buy a USB 2 DVD burner for like $40 for the odd times I

need to use it.
Storage: I'm building a house and when I move out and get everything set up, i'll install a NAS

and get everything sorted.

Thanks guys and gals.
Ba!nesy.

 

[DaveB]

Case: Corsair Carbide Series SPEC-05 Mid-Tower Case - $79
PSU: Corsair CX550 550W 80 Plus Bronze OR Thermaltake Smart 600W Gold OEM - $89
CPU: Ryzen 5 3600 OR Intel 9400F - $315/$225
MoBo: AMD - Gigabyte GA-B450M DS3H/ Intel - Gigabyte B365M GAMING HD | Both $119
RAM: Team T-Force Dark/Corsair Vengeance LPX 16GB - $115/$119
Both 16GB, both 3200 MHZ, Vengeance looks low profile, Team T-Force seems to be taller,
GPU: Gigabyte GTX 1660 super OC - $389 (Mini itx version also available at same price)
2060 more expensive (starts at $550 so almost $200 more), don't think I'd get enough out of the ray tracing, or the minimal performance boost it'll give. 1660 and 1660Ti seem to underpowered/too expensive for the performance that the super delivers at it's price.
SSD: Samsung Evo 860 500GB - $108
Already have one, but can't hurt to have more right?
OS: Windows 10 - $169
Other:
DVD burner: I have one, but most things now a days are downloads, or put onto a USB and install from it. If need be I'll just go and buy a USB 2 DVD burner for like $40 for the odd times I need to use it.

I have both an AMD Ryzen rig and an Intel rig with an i5-9400F with a GTX 1660 Ti as you can see in my sig. Your prices are to high for the US so maybe you're in Canada? I have a Microcenter store nearby in Virginia, the i5-9400F was only $130 which made it a great value since it doesn't need high-end expensive RAM, cheap DDR4-2666 is fine. Along with an open box $50 mini ITX mobo and an open box $160 GTX 1660 Ti my i5-9400F system was very low cost. But if your final price is for the two options is going to be very close, go with the Ryzen 5 3600 build. Just make sure the B450 motherboard you choose will work out of the box with that 3600. MSI sells B450 MAX series motherboards that come with a BIOS for the 3600.

 

[trents]

If money is not object then go ahead and buy retail version of Windows 10 but you might also consider getting it for much, much less from URCDKey.com or Kinguin.net. You don't get physical media, just a key and then you use it to download the product from Microsoft or just make an installer from the Microsoft Media creation tool website: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows10

 

[ssjwizard]

All in all what you have laid out is a good build. Personally I would probably shop around on some of the bits particularly MoBo, RAM, and GPU.

Both of your options for GPU were nVidia are you opposed to AMD or any particular reason not to look at both sides?

My opinion on CPU is simple if you run few apps at a time or mostly use your computer for leisure the I5, if you might potentially do multiple resource heavy apps at a time or dabble in pro apps the AMD chip has more horsepower.

PSU I definitely stand behind Corsair PSU before a TT PSU. The few encounters I've had with TT PSUs is they are either inordinately over priced or feel cheap and flimsy.

RAM Id definitely go 2x8Gb for a total of 16Gb its the most common size these days and therefore has the best availability and lowest price point. Most likely I would personally look for either a slower speed RAM set with tighter timings or a good overclockable cheaper set than you have selected.

OS you know windows so get windows. IF you have an older license than can be upgraded to Win 10 and moved to a new build great, but otherwise definitely shop around and get the best deal possible. Linux is great and Id invite you to explore it again, but most definitely do not plan to spend money on a computer you dont know how to use. Dual boot or VM is a great way to familiarize yourself without abandoning the good ship windows without a life jacket.

Also with the savings from shopping around on these few bits I would invest that into additional cooling components such as a high end HSF, efficient and quiet case fans, and if it fits into the budget a nice new input device like a keyboard, mouse, or tablet to enhance how you use the new computer.

 

[Ba!nesy]

Nah, Australia mate. Given that, the prices include tax though, so no extra for tax (I know that's an American thing to do) included in the price.
Thanks for the feedback.

 

[Ba!nesy]

All in all what you have laid out is a good build. Personally I would probably shop around on some of the bits particularly MoBo, RAM, and GPU.

Both of your options for GPU were nVidia are you opposed to AMD or any particular reason not to look at both sides?

My opinion on CPU is simple if you run few apps at a time or mostly use your computer for leisure the I5, if you might potentially do multiple resource heavy apps at a time or dabble in pro apps the AMD chip has more horsepower.

PSU I definitely stand behind Corsair PSU before a TT PSU. The few encounters I've had with TT PSUs is they are either inordinately over priced or feel cheap and flimsy.

RAM Id definitely go 2x8Gb for a total of 16Gb its the most common size these days and therefore has the best availability and lowest price point. Most likely I would personally look for either a slower speed RAM set with tighter timings or a good overclockable cheaper set than you have selected.

OS you know windows so get windows. IF you have an older license than can be upgraded to Win 10 and moved to a new build great, but otherwise definitely shop around and get the best deal possible. Linux is great and Id invite you to explore it again, but most definitely do not plan to spend money on a computer you dont know how to use. Dual boot or VM is a great way to familiarize yourself without abandoning the good ship windows without a life jacket.

Also with the savings from shopping around on these few bits I would invest that into additional cooling components such as a high end HSF, efficient and quiet case fans, and if it fits into the budget a nice new input device like a keyboard, mouse, or tablet to enhance how you use the new computer.

Thanks for the advice.
Not opposed to AMD, I know they're making a comeback now, but it seems like the 1660 super hits that price/performance area that AMD isn't filling. At least in Australia price anyway.
I am seriously considering the R5 cpu, little bit more expensive, but could be worth it.
550W Corsair PSU should be able to handle this yeah?
Ram, I'll have a look around, Australia isn't as spoiled for choice or price as other countries are it seems though.
I am currently testing out Ubuntu 18.04. not completely sold on it as my daily OS though. Need to tweak a lot of things to make it feel better. Mouse movements for example. cranked everything up to the max, and it still feels slower than Win7. Do plan on dual booting to use it more though. that's what the SSD is for (Already have one of those i'll be using in the new rig.)
Some more fans would be nice. I'll see how it all goes and then add them later probably.
Thanks again for feedback.

 

[DaveB]

Nah, Australia mate. Given that, the prices include tax though, so no extra for tax (I know that's an American thing to do) included in the price.
Thanks for the feedback.

Yeah, here in the US each state determines the sales tax. My main home is in Virginia, which has a 6% sales tax so the i5-9400F ended up being roughly $137. I have a summer beach house in Delaware, which has no sales tax. So the pair of Polk R50 speakers I just bought for my stereo setup there cost $120 with no extra charge for sales tax. When I lived in New York, the sales tax was 8.5%. There isn't any Federal Gov sales tax.

Anyway, so which way are you leaning? If Ryzen, look at something like the B450M MORTAR MAX for your mATX motherboard since it's guaranteed to support that Ryzen 5 3600 out of the box.

 

[Zerileous]

Personally I would not use either of those PSUs, neither are high quality. Corsair (and most other PSU brands) sell PSUs from a variety of manufacturers at a variety of prices and quality levels. I would suggest something like the Corsair RMx or Seasonic Focus+ or EVGA SuperNova G2 or G3 series. I would fund this price difference by switching the NVMe drive to a 2.5" or m.2 SATA drive, as you will not notice a substantial increase in performance from it. 500W would be plenty unless you plan to substantially uptick the GPU.

I'm assuming the newer AMD cards would be out of your price range, as they are similar to 2060 cost levels. AMD is planning to release an RX 5500 which could compete with the 1660 super.

As to the 9400F vs the 3600, it depends on what you are playing. Some games will (rarely) suffer performance if they don't have more than 6 threads, but it's only a few games right now (I don't know which ones off the top of my head). If you're gaming at 1080p, you might see a bit of performance difference but I doubt by much. I actually found some benchmarks comparing the two (seems most reviewers focused on the more expensive 9600K) https://www.techspot.com/review/1885-ryzen-5-3600-vs-core-i5-9400f/. With the AMD you can overclock it which would further improve performance.

 

[caddi daddi]

depends greatly on what you are doing with the rig.
your software will play a roll in the choices made, eg, solid works, it's windows only, it's function, rebuild, is single core so it's the fastest core you can get and intel wins the day.
Blender, linux is much faster and ubuntu 16.04 or 14.04 is the way to go, in those you can add a config file and overclock your gpu's and also gain control of the gpu fans.
A 1660/2060, I assume you game at 1080p and 60 hertz refresh?

- - - Auto-Merged Double Post - - -

PS, in blender 2.80, you can now combine cpu and gpu rendering, so it now pays to create your product in what ever and then final render in blender under linux.

 

[Bill_Bright]

FTR, the only authorized places to buy Windows 10 or Microsoft Office licenses is from Microsoft itself, or from a licensed Microsoft dealer who is part of the Microsoft Partner Network. Kinguin is neither. Kinguin and others like it are "grey market" re-sellers.

Is Kinguin a legitimate company? Yes. At least in Hong Kong were headquartered.
Are the keys Kinguin re-sells legitimately obtained? No one, not even Kinguin, knows - as they readily admit.
Will the keys from Kinguin work? Probably.
Does that make them legit? No.
Can OEM licenses be resold? No. Not unless sold with the hardware it was originally installed on.
Can unused volume licenses be resold individually? Not in most jurisdictions.
Are you breaking the law buying them? No.
Are the re-sellers violating the EULAs? Yes.
Are you violating the EULA? Maybe.
Are EULAs legally binding? Yes.
Does the developer have the right to refuse to activate the license? Yes.
Does the developer have the right to refuse to support the product? Yes.
Does the developer have the right to revoke the software key once activated? Yes.
If the key fails to work or the developer disables the software is the re-seller obligated to refund your money? No.​

Much of the above applies to Steam and other games offered by Kinguin. This is not just a Microsoft thing. Is Kinguin Legit for Windows 10 & Game Keys?

No doubt many will jump in here to defend Kinguin. Note I said from the start, the company itself is legitimate.

Let your own moral compass be your guide before buying from Kinguin, URCDKey and others like them. I only ask that you please ask yourself this first. If these keys are totally legit, why don't Amazon, Walmart, Newegg, MicroCenter, BestBuy, SCAN in the UK, Umart in Australia and others sell them too? I will say no more on this.