Post your PC build (1 Viewer)

[Twyst]

prices are skyrocketing for PC parts... at least on the AMD side and PSUs

Yes. I ordered parts for a new build for when I get home next week and parts are super high. Barely any suitable power supplies and graphics cards even available.

I also went in with about 22-2500 in mind but am easily over 3000 now.

Heres my list, Ill post the build (my first ever!) after I get home and get to build it next week while I quarantine for a couple of weeks before going back to work.



Some stuff is silly like the 64 gb ram, but to have the ram I wanted come in time and have 4 sticks so my MB is full (just for looks) made it this way. I was definitely not wise with the spending,.


LOTS of storage as well.

Part List - AMD Ryzen 7 3800X, GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER, Fractal Design Meshify S2 ATX Mid Tower - PCPartPicker

Part List - AMD Ryzen 7 3800X, GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER, Fractal Design Meshify S2 ATX Mid Tower

pcpartpicker.com

 

[kcirdor]

apparently, along with Covid stopping most production, a major factory in china burnt down around February. I just bought the most basic Mobo I could with a ryzen 5 3600 cpu, luckily only cost me 350 for the bundle... BUUUTTT... no idea when that's going to get delivered cause everything is basically out of stock.

 

[James Spader]

i9-9900
2080
850 PWS
32 GB ram 3000mhz
MSI Z390 board
500 Samsung M2 stick 970 EVO plus
1TB Samsung M2 stick 970 PRO
Cryogenic cooling system.
Benq 27inch 1440p 144hz
Samsung 34inch ultra wide 1440p 70hz

I can also help with a build if need be.

 

[James Spader]

How else do you think I got Mine Sweeper and Solitaire? Apparently they don't come free with Windows anymore.

I have a steam account as well if you want to link up. I have tons of games.

to anyone else, would love to game with some of you guys. I have a steam, Origin, Ubisoft, and Battle.net accounts.

 

[kcirdor]

i am redrum on steam, my avatar is

 

[antipop]

harb

 

[kcirdor]

popitna

 

[Taker597]

So, I have been working a new desk project and have a new PC build in the works.

 

[TheDeparted]

My oldest has been bugging me about building a gaming PC since his school laptop isn't so great for it (by design, I say) My work laptop has been pretty inadequate as well lately, so I got the bug to build a machine for the first time in ... something like 10-15 years.
The only Desktop in my house was an old "server" machine I put together to have a massive RAID, and it was using a Geforce 8500GT Silent. If that dates it at all (apparently launched in ~2007). I don't even recall what processor it's running.

So, I researched for months to get caught up on the change in hardware this decade. Decided on AMD (like always, apparently) primarily because I want lots of cores/threads for productivity. The more projects build in parallel, the better.

The Lian Li case I wanted was available, then sold out, then available for a 50% markup, so I went with a Cooler Master case TD500 Mesh while it was still available.
I tried snagging an RTX 3080 at launch and almost had one from Best Buy, but that didn't work out. AMD announced its new processors though, so I decided to wait.
But then Samsung launched its PCIe 4.0 m.2 nvme, so I bought the 1TB Samsung 980 Pro.

The drive arrived at least a week earlier than expected though, so I bought a cheap, open box x570 mobo with WiFi and 32GB of 3200 G.Skill RAM.
That then arrived a little sooner than expected, so I ordered a 3400G on sale, went out to Best Buy and bought a Corsair PSU and put it all together.
I booted it and got everything running.

I have to say I'm pretty impressed! It's super weird looking into the case and just seeing a MOBO, RAM, CPU cooler, and yet it has everything needed. No SATA drives, just one m.2 drive hidden under a heat sink attached directly to the motherboard. And yet, I can do my work with no issues, and I can play modern games at what I would consider to be perfectly reasonable frame rates on my old 27" 1920x1200 monitor.

And this isn't even the CPU or GPU I'm holding out for. Or even the monitor I will eventually have (Samsung G9 Odyssey ...)

Computer hardware today is insane.

 

[TheDeparted]

And now with the Radeon 6000 series being announced officially, it's just a waiting game to see what I can actually get.

I'm hoping for a 5950X and a 6800XT. I'm sure it won't be an issue if they have more stock than NVidia.

 

[Taker597]

And now with the Radeon 6000 series being announced officially, it's just a waiting game to see what I can actually get.

I'm hoping for a 5950X and a 6800XT. I'm sure it won't be an issue if they have more stock than NVidia.

I'm probably going 5900X and 6900XT

 

[TheDeparted]

My CPU finally arrived. Now I just need a new GPU and to upgrade my monitors. (Just the GPU now) (Got a GPU)




I unexpectedly got my monitor upgrade today, the 29th. Found a barely used 49" Samsung CRG9 for $600 on craigslist. My 14 year old wasted no time testing CS:GO out at 5120x1440.

 

[TheDeparted]

Oh yeah .... Big improvement in basically everything so far. Except in Cyberpunk because I'm GPU bound. A Zip compression test that took 20s before now takes 4 seconds. Four!

 

[GeauxWhoDats]

I would appreciate any build advice for a unit that can last us a while. My 17yr old loaded RDII on my laptop which shouldn't have any problems running most programs today and I think that he killed my graphics card or it was a weird coincidence. He has a dated laptop and I knew that he was getting a MAC for college next year so I help off on a new laptop for him for Christmas. He is mostly in Xbox but has been wanting to get into the PC games.

I have been on Newegg.com looking at builds and to be honest I am overwhelmed with all of the options now. Also I know that I will have to set up this rig in the middle of my living room and my wife would kill me if I bought one of these with the clear/lighted case, keyboard and mouse. I understand that they are fans but I don't want to purchase a disco ball.

Any recommendations for a unit, monitor, keyboard and mouse? The further below $2k the better.

Jesus I sound like an old fart reading this out loud.

 

[TheDeparted]

I would appreciate any build advice for a unit that can last us a while. My 17yr old loaded RDII on my laptop which shouldn't have any problems running most programs today and I think that he killed my graphics card or it was a weird coincidence. He has a dated laptop and I knew that he was getting a MAC for college next year so I help off on a new laptop for him for Christmas. He is mostly in Xbox but has been wanting to get into the PC games.

I have been on Newegg.com looking at builds and to be honest I am overwhelmed with all of the options now. Also I know that I will have to set up this rig in the middle of my living room and my wife would kill me if I bought one of these with the clear/lighted case, keyboard and mouse. I understand that they are fans but I don't want to purchase a disco ball.

Any recommendations for a unit, monitor, keyboard and mouse? The further below $2k the better.

Jesus I sound like an old fart reading this out loud.

I'll link a few parts that I would recommend, but I'd like to explore some overall goals first.


If this is primarily a gaming PC, then the CPU plays second fiddle to the GPU. One way people build cheap gaming rigs is to buy old Intel workstations with 3rd gen (ish) Core i7 processors, lots of ram, then they spend the rest of their budget on the best video card they can get.

It would be useful for him to select a monitor and resolution first, because that will determine what the best hardware is for that build.


If he's going to build a machine from scratch - something I not only recommend, but would volunteer my time to help with over Zoom or something - these are the parts that are required:

1. Case (just go ahead and buy this one before it goes off sale. Seriously. Unless he hates white or something. Paint it?)
2. Power Supply (Good but cheap. limited connections though. Heavy. Good power supplies are heavy.)
3. Motherboard (AMD has supported old motherboards for many CPU generations, where every generation or two Intel requires you to purchase a new motherboard. However, I think AMD is at the end of their AM4 socket ... I would expect their new socket to also be compatible with the next 3 or 4 generations of CPUs)
4. RAM (8GB is passable, 16 GB should be plenty and should run about $100. Careful to match your RAM speeds to the processor)
5. SSD (This is my recommendation because I'm a Samsung shill. It's also really fast @ 3.3GB/sec and it's 25% off for the next few days. 500GB might be enough if you want to save $60, but I would spring for the 1TB. Most gamers consider 1TB to be the "minimum")
6. CPU & CPU Cooler (if not included) (Important, but plays a distant second to the GPU)
7. GPU (Intel processors and some AMD processors have built-in GPUs that are acceptable for older games and maybe newer games at 1080p)

Plus all the peripherals you asked about.

The case, power supply, and storage drives (HDD/SDD) are items that, if you buy good ones, will last many years through many builds. Because of that, I recommend the mid or even a full sized case to ensure there's enough room for future components. It may be tempting for some to see how small of a gaming PC they can build, but they can be difficult to upgrade. The case I linked above is excellent. I gave one to my son for xmas this year. They're on sale because most people don't want a white case, and because they released a newer version - but a case doesn't get outdated in the same way a graphics card does.

For the power supply, I like to get 80 PLUS Gold or better:

Frankly, I don't know why they went with Titanium instead of Palladium ... but whatever.

I also like to get a higher Wattage rating than I think I need. A 750W power supply is no less efficient supplying 400W than a 450W power supply. It might even last longer. Typically, you shouldn't buy a power supply until you know what the rest of your hardware is, but for sure, 750W will last through a budget system and all its myriad upgrades over the years.

Power supplies can be non-modular, semi-modular, and fully modular. Non-modular supplies are cheaper, fully modular supplies allow you to only have the cables you actually need. Semi-modular strikes a balance, but I'd rather have a non-modular power supply built with high quality components than a cheap fully modular power supply. Don't cheap out on the thing that delivers electricity!

Seasonic, if you can find any, makes great power supplies. Other good brands are: EVGA, Corsair, Cooler Master, Thermaltake, and Antec. Power supplies have been in short supply since the pandemic started, but you should be able to find one of these. I ended up getting mine at Best Buy because they were in stock.


Once you've got the foundation of the system, you can debate on Intel vs AMD. I'm biased towards AMD not because I dislike Intel, but because historically AMD always had cheaper processors for the same performance at the low-end. That's kind of changed recently with AMD taking the performance crown (for the next few months).


If your son isn't looking to do 4k gaming or anything, I'd recommend starting with a CPU with integrated graphics. This means you only have to buy a (cheap) CPU and no discrete GPU. The AMD part also includes a competent CPU cooler.
AMD makes the best integrated graphics, so for now the 3400G is the winner, though there should be some new ones coming out soon. This was a $140 part when I bought mine around October, but now they're over $200 because reasons. Still a great part that lets you hold off on buying that $800 GPU you really want.


So let's say you just want to get your foot in the door with an iGPU:
Case - $70
Power Supply - $74
SSD - $150
Motherboard - ~$100 (should have built in sound and ethernet. If you want built-in wifi, you'll spend more and the wifi isn't usually upgradeable)
CPU/CPU Cooler/GPU - $210
RAM - ~100 (this is a pretty decent set, but RAM should be researched once the motherboard and CPU are selected. For instance, I don't think that 3400G will support PC3600 RAM at those speeds)

So, about $700 plus tax and shipping, plus a nice mechanical keyboard with n-key rollover and a gaming mouse for another $200 or so, and a monitor for $250 (rtings recommends this monitor for 1080p). You know, for some reason I didn't include monitors above in the "items you might have forever" - but I guess the issue I was trying to avoid was giving a kid a 1440p monitor, but hardware that can only drive 1080p. If you feel like there's room, you could throw a little extra cash at the monitor on something from this or another list.

A complete, basic setup from scratch then is looking like about $1150 or so plus tax and shipping.
(If you don't want to go the iGPU route, and just want to build it once, see if you can get a Ryzen 5600X somewhere for as close to the $300 retail price as possible, and then see about an RTX 3060ti for the GPU for as close to the $400 retail price as possible. Inventory is a birch and a half right now, and I was lucky to get the processor I got a month after I ordered it. Barring this, scour the net for a used Ryzen 3600X ... but I'm not sure what to suggest for the GPU. Everyone is buying GPUs right now.)


To upgrade this system, you would just buy a discrete GPU. Probably in the $300-600 range. Upgrading the CPU should not be necessary for a long time.


You can probably source a lot of items from Craigslist since it's after Christmas, just be careful about what the actual value of these items are ... are they about to be a generation behind? A guy recently listed a Samsung 860 Evo SSD on Facebook for $150 because he paid $300 for it, but never opened it. Unfortunately, they sell for $110 new today and use an outdated interface. He just didn't know they're literally 6 times slower than the $150 m.2 drive I linked you to, and only good for older systems.


Really, I just scratched the surface here, and didn't even address some of the items on the list. If you want me to zoom in on an thing or two, I'd be happy to give my two cents on those as well. Also, please excuse my "ADD brain". Let me know if I missed some segues and got you lost.