Question AMD Ryzen APU with Vega Graphics For World of Warcraft and Music Production...???

[Tiger_Bite_Kid]

I am not a 'hardcore' PC gamer. I only play PC games casually. When I do play video games on a PC its usually World of Warcraft.

I am a newbie to PC building and I made it a goal of mine to try and build a PC that will be mainly used for music production tasks...but that can also handle world of warcraft proficiently and efficiently. I just started doing research into parts and on how to build a PC.

I know there are other variables to consider such as monitor specs, ram speed/storage, hard drive speed/format, power supply wattage and overclocking abilities but my main thing is...

1. Small Form Factor.

I hate towers and really big PC's that take up a lot of desk space. I need to delegate desk space for all of my music production gear. That means trying to build a small form factor PC with a CPU/APU that has very good/high quality integrated graphics and that has 'NO' on board graphics card and all while being built/mounted on to a mini itx motherboard.

2. Medium to modestly high spec that can handle video games such as World of Warcraft in medium to high video settings/quality.

Some questions...

Can the AMD Ryzen series APU/CPU that comes with the 'integrated' VEGA graphics...handle World of Warcraft fine without a 'dedicated' graphics card...?

Should I switch to Intel Core-I series instead...? Does intel even make a Core-I series that has integrated graphics...? The only one I know of that came with integrated graphics was the Core-I series that came with Intel HD Graphics that Apple used in their Mac Minis.

Will the lowest spec AMD Ryzen with Vega graphics be 'do-able' for the tasks I outlined above...or...should I just 'man up' and get the highest spec model in the AMD Ryzen Vega series...?

Whats the best bang-for-your-buck spec CPU that has integrated graphics, currently out on the market...? Is the AMD Ryzen series pretty much my only choice for a graphics integrated CPU going into a home PC build...?

Sorry for all the nagging questions. I am a newbie when it comes to DIY PC builds.

 

[Eximo]

I should think so. Back in 2012 or so I got one of AMDs e350 motherboards to try out as an HTPC. It was able to play WoW at low/medium settings at 1164x862. I think that entire board had a TDP of 18W. (It was just for fun though, I had/have a gaming PC for that)

Ryzen 5 2400G has essentially an RX550 (with your system memory in place of GDDR5). No other integrated solution comes close.

Almost all of the consumer core series chips have integrated graphics. There were some early exceptions, and the occasional chip with the graphics disabled. The 'powerful' integrated Intel graphics, Iris Pro, are usually limited to BGA (soldered) components. There were a few older models from the very rare 5th generation broadwell chips.

None of the desktop parts currently offer anything beyond Intel's standard HD620 and HD630 level graphics. Which is fine for even a little gaming, but nowhere near as powerful as Ryzen APUs.

I'll sit down and try a small form factor build here in a bit. They take a while to get everything crammed in there.

I almost forgot. Intel totally partnered with AMD and has Vega graphics integrated onto a few of their chips. Pretty sure it is just NUCs that have them so far. That might actually suite your purpose, but they are hellishly expensive.

 

[Eximo]

Intel Hades Canyon with integrated Vega G or Vega GH graphics: https://www.amazon.com/Intel-Machine-NUC8i7HVK-Radeon-Graphics/dp/B07BR5GK1V

These are kits, so you have to supply drives and memory and an OS. Or select some of those other options.

 

[Eximo]

Hmm, as usual prioritizing size starts taking a toll on cost. What were you wanting to spend overall?

This is a somewhat cheap version, the case has a still decent sized footprint. You can swap out for the R3 2200G if that difference is worth it to you. And more storage can be added.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD - Ryzen 5 2400G 3.6 GHz Quad-Core Processor ($149.89 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: Gigabyte - B450 I AORUS PRO WIFI Mini ITX AM4 Motherboard ($119.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: Corsair - Vengeance LPX 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 Memory ($119.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Samsung - 970 Evo 250 GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive ($77.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Silverstone - SG05B-USB3.0 (Black) Mini ITX Desktop Case w/300 W Power Supply ($110.00 @ Amazon)
Operating System: Microsoft - Windows 10 Home OEM 64-bit ($98.89 @ OutletPC)
Total: $676.75
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2019-02-13 17:43 EST-0500

There are more expensive cases that really condense it down and even some slim towers that are not much larger than a thick hard back book. $150-200+ on just the case though. And you still have to get SFX power supplies on top of that. And you need more expensive slim coolers and things.

 

[Tiger_Bite_Kid]

Thanks for the part list. I really needed that as a basis to see what kinds of parts will fit together.

 

[Tiger_Bite_Kid]

Also forgot to mention...a motherboard with USB C 3.1 gen 2 or Thunderbolt 3 would be 'best'/optimal since I am a music producer and need a HIGH SPEED connection for recording and music playback with a Thunderbolt 3 or USB C type Audio Interface.

 

[Tiger_Bite_Kid]

250gb for a operating system SSD is kind of low for me since I have a HUGE library of VST's, samples and music for music production.

I figured 500gb M.2 SSD would be best/optimal since my current hard drive is already pretty much MAXED OUT and its a 256gb SSD.

 

[Tiger_Bite_Kid]

Also forgot to mention...I am trying to build a PC with the 'bare minimum' specs that will 'allow' me to perform all my tasks/games as mentioned above in the original post.

Is it possible to get away with a $500 budget for a bare bones PC build that will allow me a medium to modest video quality for world of warcraft and a somewhat high performance for music production...?

 

[Tiger_Bite_Kid]

Also forgot to mention...I know that a case and power supply combo is usually going to be a lot cheaper than buying both separately...So a case and power supply combo would be best/optimal.

My only gripe with these case/power supply combos is...The manufacturer usually 'cheaps out' on the power supply to save costs and therefore I am a little hesitant to go this route because a cheap power supply usually leads to a lot of PC failures and headaches down the road, especially for gaming.

For music production...power supply quality isn't so much of a bottleneck or issue as long the power supply has enough wattage to run all of the PC's parts at max ratings during music production. For music production...its usually ram space/speed, hard drive speed and CPU processing power that is the bottleneck/issue.

 

[computerjoe314]

Also forgot to mention...I know that a case and power supply combo is usually going to be a lot cheaper than buying both separately...So a case and power supply combo would be best/optimal.

My only gripe with these case/power supply combos is...The manufacturer usually 'cheaps out' on the power supply to save costs and therefore I am a little hesitant to go this route because a cheap power supply usually leads to a lot of PC failures and headaches down the road, especially for gaming.

For music production...power supply quality isn't so much of a bottleneck or issue as long the power supply has enough wattage to run all of the PC's parts at max ratings during music production. For music production...its usually ram space/speed, hard drive speed and CPU processing power that is the bottleneck/issue.

You should probably be fine with something that's around $500.
I wouldn't recommend a case and power supply combo because the cheap power supplies are low quality and often die quickly, maybe killing components with it.

About your thing with thunderbolt or USB type C, many modern motherboards have a type C port on them or a header for one. Thunderbolt is usually only found on more expensive motherboards.

Hope this helps!

 

[Eximo]

Silverstone is actually fairly well known for their power supplies, one of the few high end choices for SFX supplies as well. On low power systems I have no qualms with using them. I have a much older version of a Silverstone Sugo with a built in 250W or 300W? Runs an i3-4130T and GT1030 (formerly GTX950), SSD, and two 3TB disks, just fine for many years now.

With the feature list you are asking for, $500 would be impossible. The 500GB SSD is going to set you back. Thunderbolt particularly is not cheap, means going over to Intel, and you'll likely want a GPU for any gaming. Type-C is still relatively rare on desktops for some reason and speed varies. 10Gbps is rare, more commonly 5Gbps which is essentially USB 3.0.

Could certainly skimp out on the processor a little for an R3, but that is only saving about $50 and you lose SMT and a little graphics performance. That would at least cover the increased SSD cost.

If you don't mind Linux, this is a ~$500 build:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD - Ryzen 3 2200G 3.5 GHz Quad-Core Processor ($91.99 @ Walmart)
Motherboard: Gigabyte - B450 I AORUS PRO WIFI Mini ITX AM4 Motherboard ($119.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: Corsair - Vengeance LPX 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 Memory ($119.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Intel - 660p Series 512 GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive ($73.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Silverstone - SG05B-USB3.0 (Black) Mini ITX Desktop Case w/300 W Power Supply ($110.00 @ Amazon)
Operating System: Microsoft - Windows 10 Home OEM 64-bit ($98.89 @ OutletPC)
Total: $614.85
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2019-02-14 12:07 EST-0500