[SOLVED] Baby's First Rig (Need Help!)

[bambisaur]

I'm building a budget gaming rig (1.5k AUD). I use my PC for light gaming (Overwatch, Valorant, CSGO, GTA5) and art programs (Clip Studio Paint, Photoshop). Would appreciate some advice on my current list! Open to alternatives (if available in Australia).
PCPartPicker Part List

Type|Item|Price
:----|:----|:----
CPU | Intel Core i5-10400 2.9 GHz 6-Core Processor | $275.00 @ Umart
CPU Cooler | Cooler Master Hyper 212 RGB Black Edition 57.3 CFM CPU Cooler | $69.00 @ Centre Com
Motherboard | Asus PRIME B460M-A Micro ATX LGA1200 Motherboard | $135.00 @ Umart
Memory | G.Skill Trident Z RGB 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3600 CL18 Memory | $145.20 @ Newegg Australia
Storage | Samsung 970 Evo 500 GB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive | $139.99 @ Amazon Australia
Storage | Seagate BarraCuda 1 TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive | $65.00 @ Centre Com
Video Card | MSI GeForce GTX 1660 6 GB VENTUS XS OC Video Card | $339.00 @ Computer Alliance
Case | In Win 101 ATX Mid Tower Case | $92.00 @ I-Tech
Power Supply | Gigabyte P-B 650 W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply | $99.00 @ BudgetPC
| Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts |
| Total | $1359.19
| Generated by PCPartPicker 2020-09-24 13:48 AEST+1000 |

 

[sizzling]

The motherboard only supports RAM speeds up to 2933mhz. With 10th gen Intel you need a Z490 to run faster speeds. If you can wait I would see what AMD announce on the 8th October. I personally would look at AMD options in this price range, no issues getting support for 3600mhz RAM on cheaper motherboards.

 

[bambisaur]

The motherboard only supports RAM speeds up to 2933mhz. With 10th gen Intel you need a Z490 to run faster speeds. If you can wait I would see what AMD announce on the 8th October. I personally would look at AMD options in this price range, no issues getting support for 3600mhz RAM on cheaper motherboards.

Thank you for the reply. I'm not really familiar with all these, but I heard that Intel lasted longer than AMD. Is this true? I'd prefer sticking with the CPU that would last the longest and requires the least amount of upgrades over time.

 

[Archaic59]

I'm building a budget gaming rig (1.5k AUD). I use my PC for light gaming (Overwatch, Valorant, CSGO, GTA5) and art programs (Clip Studio Paint, Photoshop). Would appreciate some advice on my current list! Open to alternatives (if available in Australia).

Some changes to consider for a better build-
https://au.pcpartpicker.com/list/Gndgdm

 

[geofelt]

Your list will work, but, I think not best.
My thoughts:

GTX1660 is a good card.
One rule of thumb is to budget 2x the cost of the processor for the graphics card.
You are about 1:1.

I might suggest a better balance would be a i3-10100 and use the savings for a stronger graphics card.
Both the i3-10100 and I5-10400 will turbo up to the same 4.3 level.
The main difference is 8 threads vs. 12.
Few games can make effective use of more than 4-6 threads.
Both processors come with a perfectly adequate cooler so no need for an aftermarket unit.

B460 is a good chipset. But a cheaper H410 will likely do the job also.
Here is the difference:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LGA_1200

Intel does not depend on fast ram for performance. 2666 speed will be fine.
And, while g.skil trident is excellent ram, you are paying for the heat spreader and rgb bling.

I suggest you drop the HDD. Instead, buy a 1tb m.2 pcie ssd.
Samsung 970 evo is tops in performance and warranty.
An alternative would be intel 660P.
You can always add storage later if you run out of 1tb.

 

[Mxrcoz]

Get a better power supply, Gigabyte power supplies aren't that good and reliable. Get something like at least 80 plus gold or silver. Corsair, EVGA and super flower are good brands based on my opinion

 

[sizzling]

Thank you for the reply. I'm not really familiar with all these, but I heard that Intel lasted longer than AMD. Is this true? I'd prefer sticking with the CPU that would last the longest and requires the least amount of upgrades over time.

There is nothing to suggest one would last longer than the other.

 

[bambisaur]

Some changes to consider for a better build-
https://au.pcpartpicker.com/list/Gndgdm

Thank you very much, I've taken up the SSD and a gold power supply

 

[bambisaur]

Your list will work, but, I think not best.
My thoughts:

GTX1660 is a good card.
One rule of thumb is to budget 2x the cost of the processor for the graphics card.
You are about 1:1.

I might suggest a better balance would be a i3-10100 and use the savings for a stronger graphics card.
Both the i3-10100 and I5-10400 will turbo up to the same 4.3 level.
The main difference is 8 threads vs. 12.
Few games can make effective use of more than 4-6 threads.
Both processors come with a perfectly adequate cooler so no need for an aftermarket unit.

B460 is a good chipset. But a cheaper H410 will likely do the job also.
Here is the difference:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LGA_1200

Intel does not depend on fast ram for performance. 2666 speed will be fine.
And, while g.skil trident is excellent ram, you are paying for the heat spreader and rgb bling.

I suggest you drop the HDD. Instead, buy a 1tb m.2 pcie ssd.
Samsung 970 evo is tops in performance and warranty.
An alternative would be intel 660P.
You can always add storage later if you run out of 1tb.

I've dropped the HDD and went for a 1tb SSD instead. You're right about adding storage in the future Thank you very much!

 

[bambisaur]

Get a better power supply, Gigabyte power supplies aren't that good and reliable. Get something like at least 80 plus gold or silver. Corsair, EVGA and super flower are good brands based on my opinion

I've changed from gigabyte and went for a 80+ gold. Thanks for the heads up!

 

[bambisaur]

There is nothing to suggest one would last longer than the other.

I went for the AMD, thanks!

 

[sizzling]

I went for the AMD, thanks!

What system did you go with in the end?

 

[bambisaur]

Here is the updated build. Changing from Intel to AMD and dropping the HHD allowed me more spending liberties. I went for the Ryzen 5 2600, but only because I'm unsure of which version to pick (would appreciate feedback on whether there is a more suitable, cheaper option).

I could have gone for the Tomahawk, but I assumed that since its almost parallel to the Asus (excluding the fact that the Tomahawk supports overclocking), I personally preferred the aesthetics of the Asus (Tomahawk was too silvery for me). Besides, I'm a rather light gamer, and I'm fine with lower speeds. However, I'm open to changing to Tomahawk if there are significant advantages that I'm not seeing other than overclocking.

I didn't realise how excessive the G-Skill RAM was in the beginning so I downgraded to Corsair; seemed reliable. Also changed to the 1TB Crucial SSD as someone else recommended.

As for the GPU, it seemed that Gigabyte and MSI were on par, although after some research MSI seemed more reliable. Despite this, the reviews on PcPartPicker made Gigabyte seem just as good. The aesthetics of the GPU itself also look way better (I wasn't a fan of the orange looking tube sticking out the front of the MSI one). However, I'm inexperienced with what makes a GPU good; I'd appreciate if someone pointed out any major flaws with the Gigabyte one.

A friend of mine recommended the new PSU. I've taken up you guys' advice and looked for a gold certified one, is 550W sufficient for my build?

The case was also chosen for aesthetic purposes, I think it's beautiful but I read that it was lacking in the airflow department, so I purchased two cheap but high quality fans (judging by the reviews).

I'm a total noob at PC building, I'm lost as to what makes a PC part "good". but thanks to your suggestions I've been able to learn a bit more. Now, I'm just worried about whether these parts are compatible, or if they have severe flaws. I'm open to any suggestions or changes. Thanks so much!

PCPartPicker Part List

Type|Item|Price
:----|:----|:----
CPU | AMD Ryzen 5 2600 3.4 GHz 6-Core Processor | $209.00 @ Centre Com
Motherboard | Asus ROG STRIX B450-F GAMING ATX AM4 Motherboard | $189.00 @ Austin Computers
Memory | Corsair Vengeance RGB Pro 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 CL16 Memory | $125.00 @ Umart
Storage | Crucial P1 1 TB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive | $149.00 @ PC Byte
Video Card | Gigabyte GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER 6 GB GAMING OC Video Card | $379.00 @ Computer Alliance
Case | NZXT H510 ATX Mid Tower Case | $113.30 @ Newegg Australia
Power Supply | Cooler Master MWE Gold 550 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply | $127.66 @ Amazon Australia
Case Fan | be quiet! Pure Wings 2 87 CFM 120 mm Fan | $14.90 @ Amazon Australia
Case Fan | be quiet! Pure Wings 2 87 CFM 120 mm Fan | $14.90 @ Amazon Australia
| Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts |
| Total | $1321.76
| Generated by PCPartPicker 2020-09-25 18:00 AEST+1000 |

 

[bambisaur]

And I forgot to mention, I'm still looking for a sleek 144hz monitor that I expect to pay around $100-300AUD for, which is why I haven't breached the $1.5k budget yet. Unfortunately, it seems most good options or sold out, so I'm playing the waiting game atm.