Need help building a gaming PC!

[Mr. Detective]

You're trying to get me to spend more money, man? My wallet is probably sobbing more right now.
This one? Honestly, I went with the upthere because it had better reviews. Comes with a tube of thermal paste, too, but not sure how much it would be.

If you want to try something new, try the Noctua NT-H1 (or H2). It is better than all those above, but beware of its price.

It's a little cheaper, at 3.5 g. Is that enough for a few uses?

 

[Frostorm]

I pretty much never worry about the price of thermal paste. I'm more likely to lose it than to ever finish a tube since I'm only going to build a new rig once every few years... You only need a smidge/droplet of it per build. Like the size of half a pea.

 

[Xane]

I've just built one for around $1000 recently. I went with an 5700 XT But you can still get decent gaming out of the 5600 XT. I've created a new list of parts I used/swapped out for better airflow first and performance. This is an ATX build but the parts here are solid recommendations coming from people like Bitwit, Linus, JaysTwoCents.

System Builder

pcpartpicker.com

 

[Mr. Detective]

I've created a new list of parts I used/swapped out for better airflow first and performance. This is an ATX build but the parts here are solid recommendations coming from people like Bitwit, Linus, JaysTwoCents.

System Builder

pcpartpicker.com

Did you create this list just for me? Thanks.

But I've already made some of the purchases. I'm definitely not getting an HDD. Not a black case. Not a 450 motherboard, either.
PSU, RAM, GPU were chosen based on what these guys recommended. More expensive, yeah...
Including the monitor and keyboard, everything came to $1,339.86. Not including motherboard, which is probably another $200 or so after tax. So $1,640 or so in total.

Uhm... Folks, I think I am getting cold feet here...

 

[JamesRyan]

You're trying to get me to spend more money, man? My wallet is probably sobbing more right now.
This one? Honestly, I went with the upthere because it had better reviews. Comes with a tube of thermal paste, too, but not sure how much it would be.


It's a little cheaper, at 3.5 g. Is that enough for a few uses?

Sorry if my recommendation about the coolers cost more than you planned. In PC building world, I'm kind of a perfectionist, so I keep picking the best parts with a great price/performance, but still keep the quality

There should be thermal paste inside the cooler box, but enough just for one use. If you wanna reuse again, take the Arctic MX-4. It is cheaper than Noctua with fair performance.

And about the cooler, actually, you can still go with the cooler you chose before if you cannot afford more for another cooler I recommended (though the brand may not be a famous one). The R5 3600 is not too hot in gaming.

Try to list all your parts and show me. In case it is too much, I think I can help you reduce the cost by replacing some.

 

[Mr. Detective]

Try to list all your parts and show me. In case it is too much, I think I can help you reduce the cost by replacing some.

Yeah, I know it's always better to spend more money buying than spending more money later on repairing. But I greatly underestimated the overall cost of the build. I thought it might be $1,200-1300 or a little over at most. But a little extra here and there, plus taxes, and everything quickly shot up by $200 or so. Here are the parts I have:

AMD 3600: $182.87

MSI 5600 XT: $339.44

Western Digital WD BLACK SN750 NVMe M.2 2280 1TB + G.SKILL TridentZ RGB Series 16GB (2 x 8Gb) 288-Pin DDR4 SDRAM DDR4 3600 = $284.68

Acer V277U bmiipx 27" 16:9 IPS Monitor: $240.89

CORSAIR Carbide 275R Mid-Tower Gaming Case: $85.57

DEEPCOOL GAMMAXX GT BK, CPU Air Cooler: $34.99 before tax

SilverStone Technology Platinum 550W : $109 before tax

Asiahorse ARGB 5V case fans set of 3: $47 before tax

PICTEK Gaming Keyboard: $36 before tax

Noctua NT-H1 3.5g, Pro-Grade Thermal Compound Paste: $8 before tax

MSI B550 Gaming Edge Wifi: have yet to order, but probably $200 or so after tax

So in total, close to $1,600. I could probably have saved $100 or so if I had gone with the cheaper RAM, GPU, PSU, and SSD. Maybe another $50 if I chose a cheaper 1080p monitor.

I already bought some most of the parts already, since some were running out of stock in places, or their prices going up. The bold ones are the ones I haven't bought yet and unsure about. Haven't bought the keyboard and the case fans yet, but those are the best for my budget right now.

So... There's really not much I can save anymore. Someone actually recommended me to spend more money on the PSU. I think I'll pass on that... Worse case scenario, I can just stick with the stock cooler, since I won't be doing any overclocking. But how much that helps my budget, well, honestly, just a bit. Perhaps I could have saved $15-20 if I had purchased the SSD earlier while it was $135, instead of waiting until it goes up to $150. Free shipping, damn it! T_T

I found two other CPU fans that look better, by the way.
Thermaltake
Cooler Master
These will face the glass panel directly, so it's better aesthetically. As for performance, I don't know.

"I would not say you're overpaying, but certain things are more of a premium choice, leaving a lot of space to save money without degrading practical performance." - Someone.

This build better last a long time. At least 5-7 years or so. As long as my PS3 did. XD

 

[JamesRyan]

The two CPU coolers you have just listed are top-down style. They fit the mini ITX systems better. Personally, I don't really like the top-down coolers for an ATX system, which has lots of free space, and here are the reasons:

Firstly, top-down coolers will blow the air from above to cool down the hot heatsink below, spreading hot air to the areas around the CPU, which might cause the temperature of VRMs and phases around the CPU to get hotter. Secondly, the ones you mentioned are just aluminum coolers without bronze tubes (or just a small piece of bronze at bottom), meaning they are not really different than the stock one.

The tower-type coolers with bronze tubes will deliver the heat better and faster, and the hot air will be blown to the back and exhaled out of the case.

So if you can afford a $29.99 Deepcool Gammaxx 400 (not the GTE), take it. If you cannot, go back to the "upHere Quiet CPU Cooler with 4 Direct Contact Heatpipes" you chose from the beginning. At least it has 4 tubes and it is a tower-type cooler. Just make sure AM4 socket is compatible.

The thermal paste is okay. 3.5g can be used several times. Just don't overuse it. I once saw my friend spreading too much paste on the CPU and some got into the socket, making the system to become unstable and could not even turn on. I have just checked and seen that the MX-4 is even more expensive. Silverstone PSU is great, but if you really want to reduce the cost of it, go down to "Cooler Master MWE Gold 550W". It still handles your system well.

If you really want to reduce the cost more, change the motherboard to MSI B550 Tomahawk.

 

[Mr. Detective]

So if you can afford a $29.99 Deepcool Gammaxx 400 (not the GTE), take it. If you cannot, go back to the "upHere Quiet CPU Cooler with 4 Direct Contact Heatpipes" you chose from the beginning. At least it has 4 tubes and it is a tower-type cooler. Just make sure AM4 socket is compatible.

Silverstone PSU is great, but if you really want to reduce the cost of it, go down to "Cooler Master MWE Gold 550W". It still handles your system well.

If you really want to reduce the cost more, change the motherboard to MSI B550 Tomahawk.

Is there any significant reason why you recommended the 400 over the GT BK, besides it being $5 cheaper? One of the reviews said the 400 isn't very AMD compatible and hard to install. If the GT BK is just better then I'll bite and pay another $5.
MWE PSU is out of stock and takes a month to ship on BH, and it's overpriced on Amazon.
B550 Tomahawk is $10 cheaper but no wifi. Can't win there.

I guess I'm out of options, lol? Be honest with me, if a pre-built PC has similar specs to mine, will it end up costing more or less? If I'm paying more than a pre-built PC, then that's a bad mistake. Minus the monitor and keyboard, I guess it should be somewhere around $1,350?

Oh, one last thing: some Mega Man stickers. Heheheh.

 

[JamesRyan]

The Gammaxx GTE is basically the Gammaxx 400 with an RGB fan and better installation (also easier when taking out the cooler to reapply thermal paste).

Pre-built PCs might be more expensive, with the parts that may not be well-optimized, so I won't recommend them. I'm not sure how they are out there on Amazon or Newegg, but in my country, pre-built PCs only focus on the CPU and graphics card, with some fancy RGB fans to attract the buyers. The rest (especially the PSU) is from a no-name or a bad brand.

I see that you also need Wifi, so Tomahawk cannot serve you. But I still have another option for your PSU. Try to find a "Corsair CX 650W" (Do not mistake it with the CX-M). It should be around $85. Not as good as the Silverstone, but still can run your system without problems. Keep in mind that this one is not a modular PSU.

 

[Mr. Detective]

Try to find a "Corsair CX 650W" (Do not mistake it with the CX-M). It should be around $85. Not as good as the Silverstone, but still can run your system without problems. Keep in mind that this one is not a modular PSU.

It's $85 only on Corsair website. Shipping is $10 more. Tax is probably 10%.
What if I drop down to a 550W? That's too low?

Corsair 275R ATX Mid Tower Case has a front panel USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type A port, but the MSI MPG B550 GAMING EDGE WIFI ATX AM4 Motherboard does not have sufficient USB 3.2 Gen 1 headers. The case USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type A port will not be usable.

Uh oh. Uhm. The back ports are still fine, so I guess this doesn't matter?

Edit: All this crap is making me tired... I'm really tempted to just shell out a little extra and just move on... Am I gonna notice any significant differences? Loud fans? Electric bills? Performances?

Edit 2: Had this conversation with someone.

Him:
Electric bills? Yes. How critical it is depends on electricity cost in your region.

Say at typical 300W load the 650W 80+ Bronze PSU will be about 84-85% efficient. The 550W 80+ Platinum PSU will be at around 91% efficiency. That means the CX650 will need around 352W from the wall of which 52W will be converted into heat. The 550W platinum PSU will take 329W from the wall of which 29W will be converted into heat. So, a PC with a more efficient PSU will consume less power. But as you can see, not by much, by around 23W, or by an equivalent of a couple LED light bulbs.

However 52W of heat to dissipate vs 29W of heat to dissipate is 79% more heat. That means the CX's fan will have to spin faster to get rid of the extra heat. By how much I can not tell you, neither can I tell if it will be significantly louder because of that.

Performance? Unlikely, although better ripple suppression and better voltage stability can make a difference between a stable and an unstable overclock. Both PSUs have adequate characteristics in that regard nevertheless.

Also a higher quality PSU is less likely to bury other components with it in case of emergency and is more reliable. I would say both PSUs are very safe, so not much to be concerned with in that regard.

Me: 23W difference? Not sure where you got the 352W and 329W from, but ok... Average electricity price in CA is 16.7c. Let's say I use my computer on average 8 hours a day for a year, the total difference of cost would be $10 or so for a year. I guess after 3-4 years, the $20 difference pays for itself...? Or maybe I'm thinking too deep into this.

Him: The less efficient the PSU the more electricity it needs to provide the power to the system. So @400W load a perfect 100% efficient PSU will need 400W from the wall, a 90% efficient PSU will need 440W, a 50% will need 800W etc. 23W is difference between 52W and 29W of heat generated by PSU due to being 85% and 91% efficient respectively @300W load. It's not that significant but essentially you are right in both that a more efficient PSU pays for the price difference and also that this whole discussion is going very deeply.

So, the bottom line is that the Silverstone will pay the difference itself in the long run?

 

[JamesRyan]

Sure. In the long run, the 80+ Platinum will be more efficient than the 80+ Bronze one. As I remember, bronze means your psu will work at 82 to 85% efficiency, meaning if your system needs 300W, the psu must draw 352W directly from the wall (300÷85%), while platinum psu works at 91% effeciency and only draws 329W (300÷91%). But like you said, it only save you $10 a year and I think this is not much different. Of course it is always better if you can take the Silverstone PSU, but only if you can afford. Going down to 550W is okay. Still more than enough to run your system.

Just remember that I still highly recommend the Silverstone PSU, but if you cannot afford it, Corsair CX is still a decent option.

 

[Mr. Detective]

It's not exactly whether I can afford it or not. I'm just feeling unease to be spending this amount of money, more than I expected. Well, it replaces my laptop and I won't be getting a PS5, hope it's worth it.

I bought the Silverstone. Now, the only left is the motherboard. Just hope it's in stock soon.
So exhausting!
Thanks for all your help, guys!

 

[JamesRyan]

The B550 boards have just released recently, so I think they should be back in stock soon. Your system will be fine for some years.

 

[Mr. Detective]

Holy crap... I just saw some pre-built PCs with 5600 or 5700 XT or 2070 and they cost less than mine! Well, probably made some cuts on the PSU, SSD, no CPU cooler, and lower RAM, older motherboards, too, but still not too bad. I think there was one with 5700 XT was $1200 or so before tax.

Was surprised when I saw them. Can't say I didn't feel worried. O.O *Gulp*

 

[??????]

Hi, I'm familiar with the pc building process.

As others have mentioned, the 450w power supply whilst it may be suitable, I would recommend a 550w GOLD certified supply as a minimum. the psu is what powers all the things and it is 100% the most important part of your pc. yes, it doesnt actually process anything, but a good supply ensures that all your components get nice clean power sent to them. you also want to ensure that there is enough overhead in the supply incase you want to add additional drives or such in the future.

With regards to 1440p. I recently opted to try out this budget friendly 27" 1440p monitor. Its pretty decent for the price. my main issue with it is that sometimes things seem a little smeared. like, small text and such. its not bad enough that i wouldnt re-purchase the monitor.

iiyama - G-MASTER GB2730QSU-B1 Silver Crow – enter a new dimension

The 27” G-MASTER GB2730QSU known as Silver Crow opens you to a whole new level of gaming experiences. As the 2560x1440 display offers 77% more on-screen space than a standard 1920x1080 Full HD monitor,The Silver Crow makes sure all the finest details are displayed with perfect image clarity...

iiyama.com

side note: the stand this monitor comes with is freaking awesome!!!!!

I would also recommend using a nvidia graphics card over an amd one. purely because nvidia has nvenc encoders, so if your wanting to ~ for example ~ play games and stream or record at the same time, the nvidia card would be able to do so with less effort. Also ~ RTX Mincraft!!


edit: just seen you already purchased a psu

 

[Mr. Detective]

Yeah... After reconsidering again, I guess I'll be okay. A trade-off between good parts and lower CPU/GPU vs higher CPU/GPU and less quality parts. Welp. Can't be helped.

With regards to 1440p. I recently opted to try out this budget friendly 27" 1440p monitor. Its pretty decent for the price.
I would also recommend using a nvidia graphics card over an amd one. purely because nvidia has nvenc encoders, so if your wanting to ~ for example ~ play games and stream or record at the same time, the nvidia card would be able to do so with less effort. Also ~ RTX Mincraft!!

I bought everything already. I chose the Acer monitor. Just got the MSI GPU today. They shipped very fast! Just waiting for the rest, which should be arriving by Thursday-Friday. Only the PSU will take until next week. The only thing left is the motherboard. I don't think I'll be streaming, as my gaming skills are average at best. I'm also not a hot girl, either. XD

 

[??????]

Hot girls are the best streamers

I too have an msi gpu (GTX 1060 6gb). Got it a few years back now but it hasn't given me any issues thus far. Still able to play most games at 1440p on ultra settings.

You will have to post a pic of your new beast once you finish building it!

question: did you get any RGB components? Everyone knows more RGB = more frames.

 

[Mr. Detective]

Hey, I have another question for you guys. It's about the monitor.

https://www.asus.com/us/Monitors/MX279H/
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1456960-REG/acer_um_hv7aa_003_v277u_bmiipx_27_16_9.html/overview
I purchased the Acer monitor, 1440p, because I thought it'd be great to have a higher resolution screen to, not just for gaming, but for watching videos as well. However, today, my brother told me he has an extra Asus monitor that he couldn't return, for whatever reason. 1080p and lower brightness, 250m/s, I'm not very interested. However, I'm also wondering if it's really a good move to jump to 1440p. I checked the benchmarks, yes, and most games' FPS drop by 30-40% or so in ultra settings. I think I'll be fine with high settings in future games, if they are that demanding. Games like Tekken, Tales, or BF shouldn't be too hard to run, I hope? Is it better to play at medium/high settings at 1440p, or 1080p on a 1440p monitor? Will most YT videos eventually have 1440p instead of just 1080p? Is it a good idea for me to jump to 1440p now? Is it future proof for at least another 5-6 years?
That's what I'm worried about. What would you guys recommend? Stay with 1080p for now and upgrade later, or jump to 1440p now?

Edit: Please don't recommend me any other monitors. I'm just choosing between these two now.

 

[Mr. Detective]

@JamesRyan I need to honestly ask you this one: what does the MSI has over the Sapphire that makes it worth $21 extra? Sapphire after tax is $318, and the MSI X is $339. What makes it worth the extra $21? In what way is it better? Fps? Cooling? Build quality? Worth the price differences? These reviews I've been reading say they are pretty close in performance, but not good for the price tag. It's a good thing it's cheaper now, but I'm still wondering. Does it help with anything to have GPU and motherboard from the same brand?

Edit: was told mostly better cooling and noise. OK...

 

[JamesRyan]

Mostly, it is the appearance, cooling, fan/noise. In this case, I think it is the cooling system. The Gaming X comes with 6 heat pipes inside, with a thicker aluminum heatsink, comparing to Sapphire Pulse which only has 3 heat pipes and a thinner heat sink. While the Gaming X provides 8+1 phases on its VRM, the Pulse one only has 5. In some reviews, it has a lower temp in gaming than the pulse one. As I said before, both of them are good. You can choose either MSI or Sapphire. The MSI one is a better pick for you to sync with your MSI motherboard.