[SOLVED] First Complete build advice?

[ChaseTheCrusader]

Approximate Purchase Date: within the next month

Budget Range: 2,000 usd before shipping

System Usage from Most to Least Important: communication via discord, gaming, surfing the internet, digital art

Are you buying a monitor: I was planning to hook to a tv, but will consider otherwise if recommended

Do you need to buy OS: Yes

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: no preference

Location: Seattle wa

Parts Preferences: n/a

Overclocking: Maybe

SLI or Crossfire: Maybe

Your Monitor Resolution: 1920x1080?

Additional Comments: This will be my first computer build and i’m not super well versed with tech, but i learn best by making things, so please pardon my ignorance?

And Most Importantly, Why Are You Upgrading: All I have is a laptop at the moment and would like to expand to something easier to upgrade

I really appreciate any tips

 

[siaan312]

so before I send a pcpartpicker listing for a good 2000$ pc, here's a couple things to consider.

SLi and Crossfire are dead, so, no you won't use them.

As for whether to use a tv or a monitor, this depends on what tv you have.
TV's have very high latency, and are not suitable for competitive gaming (and just a drag for casual gamers.)
Either get a tv that has a low latency mode (sometimes labeled as game mode, gaming mode, Low latency mode, or just becomes enabled when you tell it the device is a computer.) or a normal monitor
But the difference is between 10milliseconds (1/100 of a second) and 90 milliseconds (9/100 of a second)
It's noticeable side by side, but for the casual it might be okay.

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/3LfMvf
Sadly prices for the cpu and gpu don't show up.
The cpu should cost 449$ and the gpu 699-750$ depending on exact model.
But, with scalper pricing on ebay, that goes way up. (because both of these are really new, people use bots to buy out all the stock from the store's then resell them on ebay for a higher price, sometimes twice as much.)
because of that you might need to wait a while to get any reasonable pricing
But in general, this whole build should cost around 1950$.
You can change it in lots of ways, like get a gray market windows key for 5$ instead of 110$, change from a small ssd and a hard drive to just a medium ssd, change to intel (bad idea nowadays, but you could) or change the gpu to amd's big navi when it releases next couple of weeks.

 

[ben001]

I would consider a few changes if 1920x1080 is going to be your preferred resolution. You also might get a deal on Black Friday, especially on gaming monitors and leaning towards big navi might be a sensible move, but RTX 3070 looks reasonable at the moment. I also heard, Intel's rocket-lake is going launch around Q1 2021, which could allow Intel to increase their market share.
Anyways, you may have a look.

PCPartPicker Part List

Type|Item|Price
:----|:----|:----
CPU | AMD Ryzen 5 5600X 3.7 GHz 6-Core Processor |-
Memory | G.Skill Ripjaws V Series 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR4-3200 CL16 Memory | $109.99 @ Newegg
Storage | Team GX2 512 GB 2.5" Solid State Drive | $46.99 @ Amazon
Storage | Sabrent Rocket Q 1 TB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive | $119.98 @ Amazon
Power Supply | Phanteks Revolt Pro 1000 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply | $159.99 @ Newegg
| Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts |
| Total | $436.95
| Generated by PCPartPicker 2020-11-08 05:26 EST-0500 |

 

[g-unit1111]

so before I send a pcpartpicker listing for a good 2000$ pc, here's a couple things to consider.

SLi and Crossfire are dead, so, no you won't use them.

Actually that's not entirely true - only the 3090 is capable of SLI but that's well above the means and cost most people can afford or even really need for a gaming system. And if you can afford 3090 in SLI then you've got some serious money to burn.

I would do something like this:

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 5800X 3.8 GHz 8-Core Processor ($429.99)
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-U12S 55 CFM CPU Cooler ($59.95 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Asus ROG STRIX B550-F GAMING (WI-FI) ATX AM4 Motherboard ($204.95 @ Amazon)
Memory: G.Skill Trident Z Neo 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR4-3600 CL16 Memory ($173.98 @ Newegg)
Storage: Intel 660p 1 TB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive ($139.91 @ Amazon)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce RTX 3080 10 GB XC3 ULTRA GAMING Video Card ($799.99)
Case: Phanteks Enthoo Pro M TG ATX Mid Tower Case ($99.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: SeaSonic FOCUS Plus Gold 550 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply ($99.99 @ Best Buy)
Total: $2008.75
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2020-11-08 22:58 EST-0500

 

[siaan312]

Actually that's not entirely true - only the 3090 is capable of SLI but that's well above the means and cost most people can afford or even really need for a gaming system. And if you can afford 3090 in SLI then you've got some serious money to burn.

I would do something like this:

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 5800X 3.8 GHz 8-Core Processor ($429.99)
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-U12S 55 CFM CPU Cooler ($59.95 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Asus ROG STRIX B550-F GAMING (WI-FI) ATX AM4 Motherboard ($204.95 @ Amazon)
Memory: G.Skill Trident Z Neo 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR4-3600 CL16 Memory ($173.98 @ Newegg)
Storage: Intel 660p 1 TB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive ($139.91 @ Amazon)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce RTX 3080 10 GB XC3 ULTRA GAMING Video Card ($799.99)
Case: Phanteks Enthoo Pro M TG ATX Mid Tower Case ($99.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: SeaSonic FOCUS Plus Gold 550 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply ($99.99 @ Best Buy)
Total: $2008.75
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2020-11-08 22:58 EST-0500

I know the 3090 has SLi support, but as a thing that Nvidia endorses, it's practically dead.
There are like, 10 supported current gen games and even those don't scale very good.

Nvidia will probably put the SLi connector on their top card for a couple more generations, since it doesn't really cost them much, and there's always that guy who will get it.

 

[g-unit1111]

I know the 3090 has SLi support, but as a thing that Nvidia endorses, it's practically dead.
There are like, 10 supported current gen games and even those don't scale very good.

Nvidia will probably put the SLi connector on their top card for a couple more generations, since it doesn't really cost them much, and there's always that guy who will get it.

Oh yes, we have definitely had our share of "blow your entire savings account on the most expensive PC possible" types in the last few years, LOL.

 

[siaan312]

Oh yes, we have definitely had our share of "blow your entire savings account on the most expensive PC possible" types in the last few years, LOL.

Always funny to see the 1 guy trying to help, and the 5 others saying: troll kid stole moms credit card

 

[Flayed]

Here is a build list of stuff you can actually buy today which will be fine for 1080p gaming:
PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 3600 3.6 GHz 6-Core Processor ($194.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: Scythe Mugen 5 Rev. B 51.17 CFM CPU Cooler ($46.59 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: MSI B550M PRO-VDH WIFI Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard ($113.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws V 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3600 CL16 Memory ($78.98 @ Newegg)
Storage: Crucial P1 1 TB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive ($94.49 @ Adorama)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER 6 GB VENTUS XS OC Video Card ($259.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Phanteks Eclipse P300A Mesh ATX Mid Tower Case ($51.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: SeaSonic FOCUS Plus Gold 650 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply ($106.09 @ Amazon)
Total: $947.10
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2020-11-09 16:02 EST-0500

 

[Zerk2012]

I would go a good bit different.
500GB M.2 drive for the OS and programs, 1TB SSD for games and a 2 TB HDD for your work and overflow games. 32GB of memory so you should never need to add more.

PCPartPicker Part List

Type|Item|Price
:----|:----|:----
CPU | Intel Core i7-10700K 3.8 GHz 8-Core Processor | $369.99 @ Newegg
CPU Cooler | be quiet! Dark Rock Pro 4 50.5 CFM CPU Cooler | $89.90 @ Amazon
Motherboard | MSI MAG Z490 TOMAHAWK ATX LGA1200 Motherboard | $189.99 @ Amazon
Memory | G.Skill Ripjaws V Series 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR4-3200 CL16 Memory | $116.99 @ Newegg
Storage | Western Digital SN750 500 GB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive | $62.99 @ Amazon
Storage | ADATA Ultimate SU800 1 TB 2.5" Solid State Drive | $104.99 @ Amazon
Storage | Seagate Barracuda Compute 2 TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive | $54.99 @ Newegg
Video Card | EVGA GeForce RTX 3070 8 GB FTW3 GAMING Video Card | $550.00
Case | Corsair 275R Airflow ATX Mid Tower Case | $79.99 @ Newegg
Power Supply | Corsair RMx (2018) 850 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply | $144.99 @ Best Buy
Operating System | Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM 64-bit | $108.78 @ Other World Computing
| Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts |
| Total | $1873.60
| Generated by PCPartPicker 2020-11-09 18:17 EST-0500 |

If you wish to light up the inside of the case these work fairly well.
https://www.amazon.com/Phanteks-Digital-RGB-Strip-Combo-PH-NELEDKT_CMBO/dp/B07XV5TT1F/ref=sr_1_1?crid=LQ6K6CQA4WO8&dchild=1&keywords=phanteks+rgb+strip&qid=1604963545&refinements=p_89hanteks&rnid=2528

Their almost the same ones I use.

https://imgur.com/IHdk5FV

View: https://imgur.com/IHdk5FV

Tip install the motherboard, hook up the CPU power cables before installing the CPU cooler.

 

[geofelt]

I would consider a good monitor as the first big choice.
Look for a wider, larger monitor, with a ips type panel.
Wider gives you more immersive gaming and it allows two web pages side by side.
IPS type panels will have a wider 178/178 viewing angle.
D o not begrudge the price for a great monitor.
It will be with you for several generations of builds.
This gigabyte 34" curved unit looks impressive to me at $400.
https://www.newegg.com/p/N82E16824012017

For gaming, the graphics card is arguably the most important component.
Budget about 2x the cost of the processor for the graphics card.
A i5-10600K is a great gaming processor @$275 It has 12 threads and will run at a clock of 5.0. Most games depend on the single thread clock.
The value of the i7-10700K and 10900K comes from more threads, 16 and 20 respectively.
But, games rarely use more than 4-6 threads effectively.
Here is a review of the 10600K:
https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/intel-core-i5-10600k-cpu-review/5
The newly announced ryzen 5000 series are impressive in that regard, but are very hard to buy. If you can find a 5600X@300, I would buy that.

On graphics, by my 2/1 budget metric, look for a $600 graphics card.
Preferably one of the new 3000 series cards like the 3070 if you can find one to buy.


Plan on a ssd for windows and games.
you can put a lot of games on a 1tb m.2 pcie ssd.
Samsung and Intel would be my choices there.
Defer on the HDD unless you will be storing large video files.
You can always add one later.

Buy a case you love. It will be with you for a long time.
I look for a case with good front intake capability. two 140mm or 3 120mm intake fans. That is enough to cool anything.
If all of the front intake is filtered, your parts will stay clean.
The mesh front cases are good for this.

Use a good twin tower air cooler like the noctua NH-D15s.
It is just as efficient as a 240 aio liquid cooler but will cost less, run quieter, be more reliable, and will not ever leak.

Lastly,
MY build process:

Before anything, while waiting for your parts to be delivered, download
and read, cover to cover your case and motherboard manual.
Buy a #2 magnetic tip philips screwdriver.
I find it handy to buy a power switch like this for testing.
https://www.ebay.com/p/4in1-PC-Powe...or-Computer/631889283?iid=142232821294&chn=ps

1. I assemble the critical parts outside of the case.
That lets me test them for functionality easily.
A wood table or cardboard is fine.
2. Plug in only the necessary parts at first. Ram, cpu, cooler, psu.
Do not force anything. Parts fit only one way.
Attach a monitor to the integrated motherboard adapter if you have one, otherwise to the graphics card.

1. If your motherboard does not have a PWR button, momentarily touch the two pwr front panel pins with a flat blade screwdriver.
2. Repeatedly hit F2 or DEL, and that should get you into the bios display.
3. Boot from a cd or usb stick with memtest86 on it. memtest will exercise your ram and cpu functionality.
4. Install windows.
5. Install the motherboard cd drivers. Particularly the lan drivers so you can access the internet.

Do not select the easy install option, or you will get a bunch of utilities and trialware that you don't want. Drivers only.

1. Connect to the internet and install an antivirus program. Microsoft defender is free, easy, and unobtrusive.
2. Install your graphics card and driver if you tested with integrated graphics.

You will need to remove the graphics card later to install your motherboard in the case.
As a tip when screwing the motherboard into the posts, give the screw a small counterclockwise turn until you feel a click.
That lets you know that the screw will engage properly.
Make a note of how the graphics card latches into the pcie slot.
The mechanism will be hidden under the card and may be difficult to work if you have not previously checked how.

1. Update windows to currency.
2. Only now do I take apart what I need to and install it in the case.
3. Now is the time to reinstall your graphics card.

 

[g-unit1111]

Always funny to see the 1 guy trying to help, and the 5 others saying: troll kid stole moms credit card

Oh yes we've had our fair share of those too, LOL.

 

[larsv8]

As said, 2k is overkill for 1080p unless you are playing at like 360 fps.

With that budget, you could get a nice 1440 / 144 monitor and a good coresponding system.

 

[g-unit1111]

As said, 2k is overkill for 1080p unless you are playing at like 360 fps.

With that budget, you could get a nice 1440 / 144 monitor and a good coresponding system.

Yeah I'd actually agree with this, because with the quality of components you can get today, you can spend less on the system and get a decent monitor, and actually come out ahead in the deal. And going AMD means that you will get a motherboard that will be able to handle the 5000 series and beyond. Maybe something like ~$1600 for the tower and OS license, and then that gives you $400 for a solid monitor. I would shoot for something like this:

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 3700X 3.6 GHz 8-Core Processor ($304.99 @ B&H)
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-U12S 55 CFM CPU Cooler ($59.95 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: MSI MAG B550 TOMAHAWK ATX AM4 Motherboard ($179.99 @ Adorama)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance RGB Pro 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR4-3200 CL16 Memory ($140.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Crucial P1 1 TB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive ($94.49 @ Adorama)
Video Card: MSI Radeon RX 5700 XT 8 GB GAMING X Video Card ($404.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Phanteks Enthoo Pro M TG ATX Mid Tower Case ($99.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: Corsair RM (2019) 650 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply ($114.99 @ Corsair)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM 64-bit ($108.78 @ Other World Computing)
Total: $1509.16
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2020-11-10 00:32 EST-0500

Then that gives you $500 for monitor / keyboard / mouse.