[SOLVED] Building for a friend, WDYT?

[DMan16]

Hello everyone!
I'm a big fan of these forums, helped me out a LOT in the past, so I decided to finally post a question as well.
A friend asked me for help with her new PC - budget gaming PC ~1000$. She's new to gaming and isn't looking for the ULTRA settings and newest AAA games, but I'd still like her to enjoy them as much as possible.
I'm a fairly ok when it comes to building PC rigs - not a complete amateur - but I always like to double-check myself with others.
Disclaimer: we live in a country where importing parts is not recommended because of the high tax on electronics, so I need to work with what's in the stores here...

Here's what I have so far:

• CPU: Intel Core i5 9600KF 3.7Ghz 9MB Cache (~261$)
• CPU cooler: Arctic Freezer 7 Pro Rev.2 (~33$)
• GPU: ASUS TUF GTX 1660 SUPER GAMING OC (~348$)
• MOBO: Gigabyte B365M DS3H (~101$)
• RAM: G.Skill Aegis 2x8GB 2666Mhz DDR4 CL19 (~81$)
• SSD: Samsung 860 EVO M.2 250GB (~70$)
• PSU: Antec 500W VP500P (~66$)
• Case: Sharkoon VS4-S ATX - includes a 120mm fan in the front (~45$)
• Exhaust fan: Arctic P12 120mm fan in the back (~11$)

Overall = 1016$.

I'm not used to building on such a low budget, so I think I may have gone overboard with some components. I would like to lower the price if possible w/o compromising the gameplay and overall performance quality.
First, what are you're thoughts?
Second, I do have some ideas for "improvements" that I'm not sure about and would like your POV:

1. Is the CPU cooler too fancy and I should switch it for something cheaper like the Arctic Alpine 12?
2. Switch the RAM to G.Skill Value 2x8GB DDR4 2400Mhz CL15 (lower MHZ but better CL - ~6$ difference)?
3. Is the SSD too much by being M.2 and should I switch it to Samsung 860 EVO 500GB SSD SATA 3 (~106$) for more storage (she's planning on getting more storage later on if need be)
4. Is the PSU good enough? I'm not used to non-80+ standards, so wanted to make sure it won't... you know... explode or something.
5. Is the GPU an overkill and should I go for the Single/Dual fanned non-OC 1660S (cuz the MOBO can't OC + ~20$ less)?

I want to make her a build that will last a few years and will run at medium+ settings for most games.

Thank you for anyone who helps! Much appreciated!

 

[SkyNetRising]

What currency is that? AUD? CAD?

You could lower cost by changing to i5-9400 instead or going AMD Ryzen R5 3600.

1. Cpu cooler is not too fancy. It's quite basic actually.
2. Ram change not significant.
3. There's no performance difference between 860 evo M.2 and 2.5" models. It's the same hardware.
4. Seasonic S12II 520 would be better.
5. Dual fan non OCed 1660 Super would be fine.

 

[RodroX]

Hi, and welcome to the forum.

You gave us a lot of data, but if you would just tell whats the country in question (where in the world are you building this PC), we will have all the info to give a better advice.

From what you posted soo far, it seems you wana go the intel way. And to be honest I think pickign a "K" CPU with a non-overclockable motherboard seems a very bad idea (and yes I know the "K" part stock frecuencies are higher than the non-k).

Also why going with a Core i5?, when we all know today it does not make any sense, anymore. Its a dead platform after all.
I would go with a Ryzen 5 1600AF/2600 CPU and a good B450 motherboard; or I would just get the Core i5 9600 (non-k part) or even better (if you can get a decent price) the Core i7 9700/F (this last one does a lot more sense as long as youre building the PC soon, because there are new CPUs launching later this year) .

As for the CPU cooler it all depends on the CPU of choice, and I don't think the Core i5 9600K is the best choice.

The money you save on the CPU could be put towards a better PSU, but once again I don't know if you can get brands like Corsair, EVGA or Seasonic where you live.

 

[Wolfshadw]

Just to reiterate, the OP stated:

...so I need to work with what's in the stores here...

If possible, do a price comparison with a 2nd generation AMD Ryzen 5 CPU and motherboard with an AM4 socket and B450 chipset. It that comes up lower than your Intel CPU/Motherboard/CPU cooler, then I'd suggest going that route.

-Wolf sends

 

[Glown11]

Hello everyone!
I'm a big fan of these forums, helped me out a LOT in the past, so I decided to finally post a question as well.
A friend asked me for help with her new PC - budget gaming PC ~1000$. She's new to gaming and isn't looking for the ULTRA settings and newest AAA games, but I'd still like her to enjoy them as much as possible.
I'm a fairly ok when it comes to building PC rigs - not a complete amateur - but I always like to double-check myself with others.
Disclaimer: we live in a country where importing parts is not recommended because of the high tax on electronics, so I need to work with what's in the stores here...

Here's what I have so far:

• CPU: Intel Core i5 9600KF 3.7Ghz 9MB Cache (~261$)
• CPU cooler: Arctic Freezer 7 Pro Rev.2 (~33$)
• GPU: ASUS TUF GTX 1660 SUPER GAMING OC (~348$)
• MOBO: Gigabyte B365M DS3H (~101$)
• RAM: G.Skill Aegis 2x8GB 2666Mhz DDR4 CL19 (~81$)
• SSD: Samsung 860 EVO M.2 250GB (~70$)
• PSU: Antec 500W VP500P (~66$)
• Case: Sharkoon VS4-S ATX - includes a 120mm fan in the front (~45$)
• Exhaust fan: Arctic P12 120mm fan in the back (~11$)

Overall = 1016$.

I'm not used to building on such a low budget, so I think I may have gone overboard with some components. I would like to lower the price if possible w/o compromising the gameplay and overall performance quality.
First, what are you're thoughts?
Second, I do have some ideas for "improvements" that I'm not sure about and would like your POV:

1. Is the CPU cooler too fancy and I should switch it for something cheaper like the Arctic Alpine 12?
2. Switch the RAM to G.Skill Value 2x8GB DDR4 2400Mhz CL15 (lower MHZ but better CL - ~6$ difference)?
3. Is the SSD too much by being M.2 and should I switch it to Samsung 860 EVO 500GB SSD SATA 3 (~106$) for more storage (she's planning on getting more storage later on if need be)
4. Is the PSU good enough? I'm not used to non-80+ standards, so wanted to make sure it won't... you know... explode or something.
5. Is the GPU an overkill and should I go for the Single/Dual fanned non-OC 1660S (cuz the MOBO can't OC + ~20$ less)?

I want to make her a build that will last a few years and will run at medium+ settings for most games.

Thank you for anyone who helps! Much appreciated!

Normally for a budget build I'd use Ryzen, but since you're using Intel, ok
1. imo CPU Coolers that are <$50 are not too fancy. Any cooler that has been reviewed by a lot of youtubers/reviewers should be good enough.
2.* if you're using the 1660 super, just use the 2666mhz one
** if you're using the 2060, just use the 2400mhz
3.this is based on my opinion, but just use a 120GB m.2 SSD or NVMe for boot, and either a HDD or SSHD. I know Hard Drives are slow, but they are MUCH cheaper. A 500GB or 1TB should be plenty
4.* Use the Corsair CX550, it has 80+ bronze cert. If u want a cheaper option there's always cheaper brands
** Use either a CX600 or CX650
5. Using a 1660 super a little 'weird'. You can use the inno3d rtx 2060, It's cheap and it's a rtx, you can always use a different brand.

 

[DMan16]

Wow! thanks for all the answers!

What currency is that? AUD? CAD?

You could lower cost by changing to i5-9400 instead or going AMD Ryzen R5 3600.

1. Cpu cooler is not too fancy. It's quite basic actually.
2. Ram change not significant.
3. There's no performance difference between 860 evo M.2 and 2.5" models. It's the same hardware.
4. Seasonic S12II 520 would be better.
5. Dual fan non OCed 1660 Super would be fine.

I converted the currency to USD. I'd prefer to stick to Intel (very unprofessional, I know 😀 ).
For the SSD I think I'll just switch it to the 500GB SATA 3 option.
For the PSU I think I will change it to that - I REALLY did not like the Antec not being 80+.
For the GPU I'll switch it as well.
Thanks!

Hi, and welcome to the forum.

You gave us a lot of data, but if you would just tell whats the country in question (where in the world are you building this PC), we will have all the info to give a better advice.

From what you posted soo far, it seems you wana go the intel way. And to be honest I think pickign a "K" CPU with a non-overclockable motherboard seems a very bad idea (and yes I know the "K" part stock frecuencies are higher than the non-k).

Also why going with a Core i5?, when we all know today it does not make any sense, anymore. Its a dead platform after all.
I would go with a Ryzen 5 1600AF/2600 CPU and a good B450 motherboard; or I would just get the Core i5 9600 (non-k part) or even better (if you can get a decent price) the Core i7 9700/F (this last one does a lot more sense as long as youre building the PC soon, because there are new CPUs launching later this year) .

As for the CPU cooler it all depends on the CPU of choice, and I don't think the Core i5 9600K is the best choice.

The money you save on the CPU could be put towards a better PSU, but once again I don't know if you can get brands like Corsair, EVGA or Seasonic where you live.

I live in Israel. Getting an i7 is out of the question cuz it's not in the price range (430$+). I still prefer i5 over i7 in a budget build because I prefer using the rest of the budget on better GPU/PSU.
The PSU brands we do have are Asus, Antec, SeaSonic, and Corsair. Besides, as I said, she won't be using it for games on ultra settings - medium/high at best.
Thanks!

Just to reiterate, the OP stated:





If possible, do a price comparison with a 2nd generation AMD Ryzen 5 CPU and motherboard with an AM4 socket and B450 chipset. It that comes up lower than your Intel CPU/Motherboard/CPU cooler, then I'd suggest going that route.

-Wolf sends

Unfortunately, we don't have the B450 chipsets here - H310, B360/365, Z390, X299 is all we got here (super weird - I know...)
As for the AMD Ryzen 5, we got the 3600 (235$) and 3600x (261$).
I know it sounds kinda unprofessional, but I'd still prefer to go with Intel 😀
Thanks!

Normally for a budget build I'd use Ryzen, but since you're using Intel, ok
1. imo CPU Coolers that are <$50 are not too fancy. Any cooler that has been reviewed by a lot of youtubers/reviewers should be good enough.
2.* if you're using the 1660 super, just use the 2666mhz one
** if you're using the 2060, just use the 2400mhz
3.this is based on my opinion, but just use a 120GB m.2 SSD or NVMe for boot, and either a HDD or SSHD. I know Hard Drives are slow, but they are MUCH cheaper. A 500GB or 1TB should be plenty
4.* Use the Corsair CX550, it has 80+ bronze cert. If u want a cheaper option there's always cheaper brands
** Use either a CX600 or CX650
5. Using a 1660 super a little 'weird'. You can use the inno3d rtx 2060, It's cheap and it's a rtx, you can always use a different brand.

The CPU cooler costs ~40$, but in my country all the electronics cost ~50% more so...
I think for the SSD I'll just go for a single 500GB SATA3 SSD - don't want to strain the budget too much... If I can, I will do as you suggested (120 NVME+SSHD).
I do believe I will change the PSU, but I doubt it'll need a 550 one - should I try a SeaSonic 500W or a Corsair 450W (with 80+)?
Thanks!

 

[geofelt]

You could build as is, but I have a few thoughts:

A balanced gamer will budget about 2x the cost of the processor for the graphics card.
You are sort of ok by that metric.
If she plays mostly fast action games, then a cheaper processor like a i5-9400 and a stronger graphics card might be a better balance.

If she plays mostly cpu centric games like sims, mmo and strategy games, then a 9600Kf is good, but I would pair it with a Z370/Z390 motherboard to get the most out of the processor.
You could back off on the graphics card for such games.

On coolers, a i5-9400 will come with an adequate cooler.
The af freezer cooler with a 92mm fan is no better than the stock cooler.
If using a 9600K, you will want a decent cooler. At the least a 120mm tower cooler like the cm hyper line.
On ram, intel does not depend on ram speed. value ram is fine.
lower timings at the same speed are better.
But, ram prices are relatively low so I don't know that higher speed would save you much.

Love a ssd for any build.
240gb is minimum, but with ssd prices down, try to get 500gb.
Samsung 860 evo is very good quality. M,2 is a size format, you could do either m.2 or 2.5"
But, if the motherboard has a m.2 pcie slot, look at the Intel 660P nvme device which will be relatively cheap:
https://www.newegg.com/intel-660p-series-512gb/p/0D9-002V-003Y7

500w for a psu is about right.
http://www.realhardtechx.com/index_archivos/Page362.htm
But I think you can do better on the psu.
It seems to be a tier 5 unit on this list:

PSU Tier List [OLD]

Credit to @Starelementpokeand @Energycore for helping out with this long-awaited refresh of the old PSU tier list by Aniallation (who previously went several months without logging in), leaving the old list in need of help. This is simply an update of the list that was flawed in creation by the P...

linustechtips.com

Seasonic is always good.

You get fair value from a modestly overclocked graphics card.
Overclocking graphics cards is entirely separate from overclocking a cpu.
I might also avoid the cards with fancy coolers or rgb that just add cost.

 

[RodroX]

So in Israel theres no AMD B450 motherboards on sell? wow that sucks.

Anyways, I guess if you can't find the Ryzen 5 2600 (which should be way cheaper than the Core i5 9600K) and a B450 AMD motherboard, then I guess the Core i5 is the only way to go.

As for the PSU if you can get Seasonic or Corsair the that would be what I would choose, and atleast 500 watts (550 watts would be the best bet). As for playing games at ultra, medium or high it doesn't really matter for the PSU. You should check how much power does the GPU needs, or what kind of PSU they recommend and add some watts over that, just to be on the safe side.

And I will ditch out the nvme SSD, if I can get a cheaper SATA one. For a budget gaming PC you don't need more than a SATA SSD + HDD, thats what I would aim for.

Finally if youre on a budget, make sure you pick a nice GPU but dont waste money on RGB. Get a card with a decent cooler and good performance.

 

[Glown11]

remember to stay at home fam

 

[DMan16]

So this is the updated build:

• CPU: Intel Core i5 9400F 2.9Ghz 9MB Box (~219$)
• CPU cooler: from CPU box
• GPU: ASUS DUAL GTX 1660 SUPER Advanced EVO (~333$)
• MOBO: Gigabyte B365M DS3H (~101$)
• RAM: G.Skill Aegis 2x8GB 2666Mhz DDR4 CL19 (~81$)
• SSD: Samsung 860 EVO Series 500GB SATA 3 (~106$)
• PSU: SeaSonic 550W Bronze 80+ PSU S12III (~94$)
• Case: Sharkoon VS4-S ATX - includes a 120mm fan in the front (~45$)
• Exhaust fan: Arctic P12 120mm fan in the back (~11$)

Overall = 990$!

Thanks everyone for helping me out!

 

[SkyNetRising]

• PSU: SeaSonic 550W Bronze 80+ PSU S12III (~94$)

Get either SeaSonic S12II 520W or S12II 620W instead.
S12III models have rather bad reviews.

 

[DMan16]

Get either SeaSonic S12II 520W or S12II 620W instead.
S12III models have rather bad reviews.

Thanks! Changed it to SeaSonic 520W S12II 80+! (We don't have the 620 version... 😑 )