First build - Low Setting Gaming, advice appreciated

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MosleyCale
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Joined: Mon Oct 26, 2020 6:14 pm

First build - Low Setting Gaming, advice appreciated

Post by MosleyCale » Wed Jan 13, 2021 12:21 am

Looking for advice on a new computer to bring my house (relatively) current. Most intensive use would probably be games on low settings (prioritize FPS over best graphics). Below is what I've drafted; any input greatly appreciated. Would going smaller (case/mobo) save money? Seems like I wouldn't have any problem doing so.

Any good ways to save on the OS? I have a windows 8 CD

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 3600 3.6 GHz 6-Core Processor ($199.99 @ Best Buy)
Motherboard: MSI B550-A PRO ATX AM4 Motherboard ($139.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LPX 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 CL16 Memory ($71.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Crucial P1 1 TB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive ($99.99 @ Adorama)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 1050 Ti 4 GB Video Card ($179.99 @ Dell)
Case: Cooler Master MasterBox NR600 (w/o ODD) ATX Mid Tower Case ($64.98 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: SeaSonic S12III 650 W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($51.98 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM 64-bit ($108.78 @ Other World Computing)
Case Fan: ARCTIC P12 56.3 CFM 120 mm Fan ($10.50 @ Amazon)
Monitor: MSI Optix G241 23.8" 1920x1080 144 Hz Monitor ($169.99 @ B&H)
Total: $1098.18
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Japanese Capacitor
Posts: 360
Joined: Wed Oct 21, 2020 5:16 am
Location: Warszawa, Poland

Re: First build - Low Setting Gaming, advice appreciated

Post by Japanese Capacitor » Wed Jan 13, 2021 12:33 pm

I don't know, how are your locas prices, but I send you some alternatives based on european prices. Everytime I talk prices, it's like in my country (Poland) better deal (the same, but cheaper or better for the same price).

We can start with a platform with having some future GPU upgrade in mind and focusing on only gaming performance. i5 10400F + B460 board + some 2666 MHz cheap ram will do the same as your 3600 combo for maybe smaller money. Nice B460 is MSI Torpedo. Try find ram with lowest latency possible (CL) you can get for reasonable price. i5 10400F + Z490 board will be ~10% faster than this Ryzen in comparison made with the same faster RAM speed - but that's mostly when combined with some strong GPU (>2070S) and in FullHD. But that also will allow you to fully utilize in the same resolution future stronger card than B460/3600 route. Decent, affordable Z490 boards are MSI Gaming Plus or Tomahawk - everything decent and I wouldn't reccomend going too cheap with a board for many reasons. Platform with B550 and 3600 has one advantage - working PCIe 4.0. So even faster PCIe 4.0 drives and GPU support. For now 4.0 drives don't make a difference in games, I suspect CPUs we talk being usesless, when GPUs start to make a difference with 4.0. I would go B460 route, if that computer will never have better card, I would go Z490, if so. If you have some spare GPU, you can buy F version of 10400 and save some money, if not - I wouldn't.

It's great to add some CPU cooler, because stock is weak and noisy (SPCR forum). be quiet! Pure Rock 2 is high quality, so reliable, strong, but nicely quiet and with thermal paste preaplied ( I always use Grizzly Kryonaut to let cooler achieve its full potential).

For now the best deals for fast memory in Poland (Z490 option or Ryzen with some future GPU upgrade) are Patriot Viper Steel 3733 MHz, CL17 or 3600, CL17

How price of chosen NVMe compares to Samsung 970 EVO? It's overally better and just decent. For now you won't notice the difference in games, but maybe it will change with conversions from next-gen consoles, which have fast storages. But 1050 Ti won't handle them.

I would go with Pure Base 500 case. Great build quality, one of the best fans you can get with a case, great dust filtration, sound-dampening material all the walls (SPCR forum), two alternative top covers to match your needs and hardware. Nobody gives that much for that price and I would call it the cheapest case you can't say anything bad about. Windowless version will be quieter.

About PSUs, how are the prices of Bitfenix Formula Gold and Whisper? Decent, super-quiet PSUs. be quiet! System Power is nice, more affordable option for such low power build. But if some upgrades in the future, I would prefer to run my computer with something a little better - like ones above. And you don't need 650W for such build, but you maybe plan some upgrades.

I wouldn't buy P12, but choosing PB500 you don't need any additonal fans. P12 are high-end performance for 30% price with (should be expected) cheap fans problems, which not many talks about (mostly buyers do).

About the Windows, you should be able to buy some used one. But that's kinda fishy thing Microsoft doesn't seem to care about (for now).

CA_Steve
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Joined: Thu Oct 06, 2005 4:36 am
Location: St. Louis, MO

Re: First build - Low Setting Gaming, advice appreciated

Post by CA_Steve » Thu Jan 14, 2021 7:24 am

Welcome to SPCR.

A quick comment on the PSU - take a look at the be quiet! Pure Power 11 CM. It's Gold rated, so much less waste heat that the venerable Seasonic. The 500W is $80. <10dB at 50% or less load.

Abula
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Joined: Tue Nov 02, 2004 12:22 pm
Location: Guatemala

Re: First build - Low Setting Gaming, advice appreciated

Post by Abula » Thu Jan 14, 2021 3:09 pm

I like almost all of the choices on the hardware for a budget build.

Only thing that i would change, i feel the 1050ti is a little old, we have the 3060 that will be released shortly, so the 3050 should follow in the months to come. If you budget is tight, drop the windows 10 licence, and buy it on urcdkey, it work fine and even activates with your account, i have used it in a lot of builds for friends and not single issue.

Olle P
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Joined: Tue Nov 04, 2008 6:03 am
Location: Sweden

Re: First build - Low Setting Gaming, advice appreciated

Post by Olle P » Tue Jan 19, 2021 4:41 am

CA_Steve wrote:
Thu Jan 14, 2021 7:24 am
... take a look at the be quiet! Pure Power 11 CM. It's Gold rated, so much less waste heat ...
The difference between Gold and Bronze rating is just a few percent (= watts), so there's not much less heat at the <200W typical (~300W peak) power draw expected here.
It will take decades to make up for the price difference in saved electricity, like 1,000 hours of actual use per USD purchase price difference.
Abula wrote:
Thu Jan 14, 2021 3:09 pm
... i feel the 1050ti is a little old, ... the 3050 should follow in the months to come. ...
A GTX 1050Ti is simply not up to par with that monitor, but I wouldn't expect an RTX 3050 to be a viable option anytime soon.
Look for something available and reasonably priced, like a Radeon RX 5600XT or GTX 1660(Super).

CA_Steve
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Joined: Thu Oct 06, 2005 4:36 am
Location: St. Louis, MO

Re: First build - Low Setting Gaming, advice appreciated

Post by CA_Steve » Tue Jan 19, 2021 6:23 am

PSU: 5% efficiency bump = 5 to 10W less heat. I like it. Cost savings <shrug>. Better design, better fan profile.

Overall, with the current parts shortages and price inflation, it's a sad time to build a PC. Probably won't improve until March - June time frame.

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