[SOLVED] $700 light Gaming and Solid Streaming Build?

[Muckster]

HOLD UP. I'm really sorry and I do appreciate all the work you guys did helping me with this, but I just heard from the wife... this isn't for the Sims 2, it's for the The Sims 3, a more demanding game released in 2010.

She wants to run the following expansion packs:
Pets
Generation
Seasons
Town Life
Outdoor living
Master Suite
Late NIght
High End Loft
Ambitions
University Life
Island paradise

Diesel Stuff
70s,80s,90s stuff

I installed it along with Windows 10 on the NUC which had a 32 GB HD (32GB eMMC onboard storage). I'm familiar with SSD, bu not sure where eMMC fits in. Very slow to load at every turn and no way to really play the game. Again, it was unplayable on the nuc, but the point is, it doesn't need a huge HD. I upgraded the Nuc to 8GB, but the rest was stock from the factory as follows:

• Intel Celeron J3455
• Intel HD Graphics 500
• Microsoft Windows 10 Home x64 preinstalled
• 32GB eMMC onboard storage
• 2GB DDR3L-1600 module preinstalled

So again, I still want the rock solid streaming, but maybe it's not worth the extra money to make it runs The Sims 3 smoothly. Same everything as in the original OP, but this time with The Sims 3. I might end up deciding it's just not worth spending the extra money on the hardware to get this one game running well, or (if the wife says) I might be willing to spend a little more than $700. The worst thing I could do was spend way more on a streaming rig than necessary only to have it not run The Sims 3 very well.

Anyway, so sorry for this mistake and still thankful for the builds, but could we start again?

Thank you!


--- old OP before edit ---
I just lost my intel nuc to some kind of power surge. ( NUC6CAYH , upgraded to 8 gb mem)

Primarily I've used this nuc for streaming online (since 2017). Honestly, it's always kinda sucked. Netflix always stalls a bit when I first bring up the page and the cursor has to warm up before it responds. This might have been partly because of the wireless keyboard mouse combo I was using and/or something to do with the nuc USB port I was using. I never was really able or willing to lock down the problem.

But this time around, I'd like to build it myself, preferably in a small case, maybe micro ATX? At times this PC will be moved to the my home office to be used for light excel/word work. Primarily it's used for streaming on an 32 HDTV (Samsung UN32EH5000 32-Inch), but I don't really care about playing at Ultra HD. Pretty much whatever netflix normally streams on is fine with me.

The secondary purpose is I'd like to play "The Sims 2" with some expansion packs without any issue. This game was released in 2002. I'm not really sure if it's more CPU or GPU hungry but it takes along time to load up and frame rate can be chuggy on inadequate hardware.

I actually posted about this build two months ago and got some good feedback but I ended up passing on it. Now with my dead nuc, I need to act and I know AMD has some new offerings so I'm hoping for a fresh recommendation.

Again, here's what's I'm looking for:
• Very solid streaming with quick loading of Netflix home page. Just watching in TV's native resolution.
• Very solid hardware for running "The Sims 2" with expansion packs (released 2002)
• Prefer a smaller case/form factor.

Budget: Let's say $700 which includes the cost of Windows 10 OEM ($100), but you could talk me up or down if there's a sweet spot for "bang for the buck". Please let me know if this budget is overkill for my needs.

Thanks for your advice!

Thank you for your advice!

 

[WildCard999]

The stock Wraith cooler has a ring bracket on top of the cooler that's purely cosmetic. If you remove it it should fit comfortably into the socket, at least from what I've read from those who have used the 2400G & Chopin.

One last thing, the Chopin is a very small case, try to plan out your wiring a bit or you may find yourself having to take it apart multiple times.

 

[WildCard999]

I'd go option 1, if the wraith cooler is too loud then replace it with the Noctua.

 

[Muckster]

Hi, been using the build for a couple weeks now. In the rare case someone checks back on this thread, I thought I'd give a little feedback.

Final Build:

CPU AMD Ryzen 5 2400G 3.6 GHz Quad-Core Processor
Motherboard Asus ROG Strix B450-I Gaming Mini ITX AM4 Motherboard
Memory Team T-FORCE VULCAN Z 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 Memory
Storage Intel 660p Series 512 GB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive
Case In Win Chopin HTPC Case w/150 W Power Supply
Operating System Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM 64-bit

The small Chopin case was great. I originally installed the M.2 SSD on the bottom side of the mainboard but it wasn't recognized, but when I swapped the location to the top of the mobo, it saw it right away. Install was smooth. For those installing Windows 10 OEM, the option to use an "offline account" was no longer there and so you're required to setup a M$ account or give our your phone number. This really pi$$es me off because I paid $100 for this copy of M$ and they STILL want to gather my personal information. This really slowed my install as I tried to find a work around. Eventually, I entered a bogus phone number (all 5's) and while I was toying with it, it eventually let me move on without setting up an account. It didn't happen right away, so I'm not sure what triggered it... multiple attempts, time passing... not sure. But it let me move forward without even setting up an "offline account". Still, after full install, there's a "!" warning in the notification area for the sole reason of me not having a M$ account.

Anyway, streaming and website loading is totally solid now. Stock AMD cpu cooler is quiet enough and fits just right once you take the shroud off. Cable management was easy enough. I didn't need to tuck anything under the mobo, but probably could have. The case seemed to have some plates that can be popped/bent out if necessary.

Running Sims 3 smoothly was a big criteria for this build, but I'd have to give it at most a "B". I'm running the game at 1600 x 900 with most settings at medium and others between medium and high. Most of the time it runs fine, but sometimes it freezes for a few seconds while the graphics processing catches up. This happens consistently when going from the Street Level to the "world/bird's eye view" level and then it often chugs or freezes for a few seconds while stuff loads in after moving to a new area. So, not smooth, but certainly playable. I just don't think EA ever tried or even ever cared about making the game run well with multiple expansion packs.

Too many LED's for my taste on this mobo. Besides internal lights, there were even lights on the back line-in ports throwing rainbow colors on the wall. Also, when PC is "off" all kinds of LEDs shining through. A few tweaks in the bios and I was able to turn them all off except for POWER on and HDD activity.

Even though Sims doesn't run as smooth as I'd hope, I'm happy with the build. Quiet. Compact little case. Looks good.

Thanks for everyone's help, especially Wildcard.