[SOLVED] First major PC build ever. How do things look so far? Multipurpose PC [Gaming, Art, Streaming]

[KTCalamity]

Building my first major PC. Other one kicked the bucket. Getting into gaming more but im also a freelance illustrator that would like to live stream commissions. Im not a pro gamer nor looking to be but I would like to build a computer that can handle graphic and memory intensive games as well as heavy illustration programs and streaming.

A multipurpose computer.

My preferred budget is 1500CAD but i dont think thats possible. So around ~$2000 to get the job i want done. If it lasts as long as my other desktop then its well worth the dough spent on it.

I'd really appreciate some more experienced and knowledgeable folk than myself to have a look at what I've got so far? Pointers, recommendations, etc. Here's the link below if you'd like to the PCpicks system builder

System Builder Link

The list is still in the works. I have to look at perhaps a new CPU than listed if the shop close by cant for whatever reason update the BIOS.
Still doing some research on more cooling systems. Still researching separate cooling systems and if required, and still a little squinty at the PSU. Im thinking 650W should be more than enough but the nervous voice in my brain is saying should be safer with 700W. Maybe that is creeping up on over kill though.

Ryzen CPU a fine choice for those jobs or should I think about the i7 intel stuff? I heard Ryzen is a better multitasker is why I went for it.

Monitor not a concern so I didnt list it.

The system will have to deal with a variety of graphic intensive games (nothing 4k worthy but still), wacom tablet software [currently using intuos pro medium but upgrading to cintiq in the near future], CS2, SAI, Autodesk Sketchbook Pro, Corel. Live streaming while I have some of these programs open and working is a must as well. Something my stand-in msi leopard pro is having a hard time with. May perhaps in the nearish future also need GIS but i suppose i could always have a different system for that. Oof optical drives phased out i see. yikes. okay.

 

[Hellfire13]

Here is how to get Windows cheap...
https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/get-windows-10-free-or-cheap,5717.html
There is no difference in performance even if you activate later on...
https://www.howtogeek.com/244678/you-dont-need-a-product-key-to-install-and-use-windows-10/

Only MSI MAX boards are guaranteed to come with 3rd gen. BIOS updated as they launched alongside those processors with bigger BIOS cache.

Modified your build with better parts...

PCPartPicker Part List

Type|Item|Price
:----|:----|:----
CPU | AMD Ryzen 7 3700X 3.6 GHz 8-Core Processor | $428.50 @ Vuugo
CPU Cooler | Noctua NH-U9S 46.44 CFM CPU Cooler | $74.95 @ Newegg Canada Marketplace
Memory | G.Skill Ripjaws V 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3600 CL16 Memory | $109.99 @ Memory Express
Storage | Crucial P2 500 GB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive | $92.99 @ Newegg Canada
Storage | Seagate Barracuda Compute 2 TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive | $74.75 @ Vuugo
Video Card | Zotac GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER 8 GB MINI Video Card | $679.99 @ Best Buy Canada
Case | Phanteks Eclipse P300 ATX Mid Tower Case | $89.99 @ Canada Computers
Power Supply | Corsair TXM Gold 650 W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-modular ATX Power Supply | $144.99 @ Amazon Canada
Custom| MSI Tomahawk Max AMD B450 AM4| $279.00
| Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts |
| Total | $1975.15
| Generated by PCPartPicker 2020-05-30 02:22 EDT-0400 |

 

[KTCalamity]

Is there a particular reason for the SSD? I had been initially looking 1TB worth since I currently have a smaller SSD and while I love it, it doesnt have nearly enough space for the programs i wanted to run on it.

 

[Hellfire13]

Is there a particular reason for the SSD? I had been initially looking 1TB worth since I currently have a smaller SSD and while I love it, it doesnt have nearly enough space for the programs i wanted to run on it.

Not really. In that case, you can add the HDD later on to keep it withing budget...

PCPartPicker Part List

Type|Item|Price
:----|:----|:----
CPU | AMD Ryzen 7 3700X 3.6 GHz 8-Core Processor | $428.50 @ Vuugo
CPU Cooler | Noctua NH-U9S 46.44 CFM CPU Cooler | $74.95 @ Newegg Canada Marketplace
Memory | G.Skill Ripjaws V 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3600 CL16 Memory | $109.99 @ Memory Express
Storage | Sabrent Rocket Q 1 TB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive | $169.99 @ Amazon Canada
Video Card | Zotac GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER 8 GB MINI Video Card | $722.70 @ Vuugo
Case | Phanteks Eclipse P300 ATX Mid Tower Case | $89.99 @ Canada Computers
Power Supply | Corsair TXM Gold 650 W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-modular ATX Power Supply | $144.99 @ Amazon Canada
Custom| MSI Tomahawk Max AMD B450 AM4| $279.00
| Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts |
| Total | $2020.11
| Generated by PCPartPicker 2020-05-30 12:53 EDT-0400 |

 

[KTCalamity]

Ah, I see. Well thanks for the recs and tips! Will look into these parts. handy links too. It's still not too too over budget, so still doable.

 

[geofelt]

I have some suggestions and questions:

1. Love a ssd for windows. I might suggest a 1tb intel 660p nvme drive for about the same proce.
What is the HD going to be used for? A HDD is best used for bulk storage such as videos or backups.
I might omit it until the 1tb ssd gets filled up.
It is easy to add storage later.

2. I find the use of an ITX motherboard in a full ATX case a bit strange. Is there a reason?

3. ryzen needs fast ram for performance. Can you consider 3600 speed?

4. I think the 3700X comes with a perfectly good cpu cooler.

 

[KTCalamity]

I have some suggestions and questions:

1. Love a ssd for windows. I might suggest a 1tb intel 660p nvme drive for about the same proce.
What is the HD going to be used for? A HDD is best used for bulk storage such as videos or backups.
I might omit it until the 1tb ssd gets filled up.
It is easy to add storage later.

2. I find the use of an ITX motherboard in a full ATX case a bit strange. Is there a reason?

3. ryzen needs fast ram for performance. Can you consider 3600 speed?

4. I think the 3700X comes with a perfectly good cpu cooler.

1. The HDD was going to be used for the bulk storage as you say. Where finished works go, recordings, photography and reference files, and just programs i dont see as a priority for loading quickly. But i do see your point, yes.

2. Honestly I just like the extra space in my cases plus seeing the decent reviews (was looking at in the beginning for recommendations for parts on what I wanted out of the computer, and what can go with what parts). As for the case in particular it was one of the mid tower cases at the local shop that I liked the most for the price. Seemed to have good ventilation and airflow, good amount of space to upgrade or reorganize in the future, and it mentioned it had an air filter to help battle dust. So not a huge technical reason or anything like that.

3. I did wonder about that. I care a lot about successful function so I dont mind spending the little extra to make it so. I just dont need a super pro gaming computer is all.

It's something i have to admittedly learn more about. As I do recall seeing that the ryzen should be overclocked or it takes a hit to the performance. But prior to reading that I was under the impression that overclocking wasn't necessarily a good thing to do? So there's quite a few aspects I need to learn more about haha

4. So you think it might be a touch overkill to have a separate one?

 

[geofelt]

1. Good usage for a HDD. Do you have a plan for External backup?

2. Looks count so I have no problem with any case you like.

3. Ryzen of any flavor does not overclock well. About 4.3 is the max.
Running at stock is a reasonable thing to do.
The value in ryzen is the large numbers of cheap threads.
If you can keep them fully occupies, ryzen is great.
Mostly, apps depend on fast single thread performance.
That is one reason I favor Intel. Intel K suffix processors will all run near 5.0 or better.
I might have opted for a I5-10600K

4. No reason to spend anything on an aftermarket cooler.

 

[RodroX]

This is what I would do:
PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 3700X 3.6 GHz 8-Core Processor ($428.50 @ Vuugo)
Motherboard: Asus TUF GAMING X570-PLUS ATX AM4 Motherboard ($415.99 @ Amazon Canada)
Memory: Team T-FORCE VULCAN Z 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 CL16 Memory ($79.99 @ Newegg Canada)
Storage: Crucial MX500 1 TB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($159.99 @ Amazon Canada)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1 TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($54.99 @ Newegg Canada)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER 8 GB BLACK GAMING Video Card ($749.00 @ Canada Computers)
Case: Cougar MX330-G ATX Mid Tower Case ($74.98 @ Amazon Canada)
Power Supply: Corsair CXM 650 W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-modular ATX Power Supply ($124.99 @ Best Buy Canada)
Case Fan: ARCTIC ACFAN00119A 56.3 CFM 120 mm Fan ($9.99 @ Memory Express)
Case Fan: ARCTIC ACFAN00119A 56.3 CFM 120 mm Fan ($9.99 @ Memory Express)
Total: $2108.41
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2020-05-30 14:08 EDT-0400

As for Windows 10 iyou can downloaded free form Microsoft and use it without activating, get updates an all. If you wana get a key/serial, then you can do what Hellfire13 posted in here.

I rather have a X570 board right now, if I can afford it.

Cheers

 

[KTCalamity]

1. Good usage for a HDD. Do you have a plan for External backup?

2. Looks count so I have no problem with any case you like.

3. Ryzen of any flavor does not overclock well. About 4.3 is the max.
Running at stock is a reasonable thing to do.
The value in ryzen is the large numbers of cheap threads.
If you can keep them fully occupies, ryzen is great.
Mostly, apps depend on fast single thread performance.
That is one reason I favor Intel. Intel K suffix processors will all run near 5.0 or better.
I might have opted for a I5-10600K

4. No reason to spend anything on an aftermarket cooler.

1. Yup. Already have a decent large external backup that I've already stored a copy of my desktop files on that cant just be synched up through software accounts. And it's lying in wait for when i need to bring over files from this laptop onto the new build as well.

3. right. I've only ever used intel in the past as well....but I have noticed it starts to hiccup if i make it multitask more. Though gonna be honest not 100% sure if its directly related or if something else was potentially struggling instead.

I heard something of that sort as well [threads] which is why i was looking at ryzen more. since very often i may have, for example, OBS, Twitch, SAI, and the Isle open all at the same time. Sometimes a writing doc as well, going between slow points in game. The art files are....pretty large in memory consumption when they're going (3000+ canvas sizes 400dpi with 75+ layers always pushes the memory load into the orange warning zone).
And I wasn't sure if intel could handle all of that at once and perform well for each of those things. I could be misinterpreting what I've been reading though. If it can handle gaming, live streaming, recording, and large art works at once I wouldnt mind at all in considering intel again.

4. thats fair

 

[Hellfire13]

I heard something of that sort as well [threads] which is why i was looking at ryzen more. since very often i may have, for example, OBS, Twitch, SAI, and the Isle open all at the same time. Sometimes a writing doc as well, going between slow points in game. The art files are....pretty large in memory consumption when they're going (3000+ canvas sizes 400dpi with 75+ layers always pushes the memory load into the orange warning zone).
And I wasn't sure if intel could handle all of that at once and perform well for each of those things. I could be misinterpreting what I've been reading though. If it can handle gaming, live streaming, recording, and large art works at once I wouldnt mind at all in considering intel again.

Intel will handle it fine, but for the price you will pay to get your hand on one of those equivalent chips, you will eventually end up overshooting the budget by a mile. Also, Ryzen can handle multitasking and production work a tad better if you compare the benches.
Not to mention, this generation Intel boards are pretty offshoot on power delivery on stock settings.

I rather have a X570 board right now, if I can afford it.

You end up compromising on SSD speed and RAM speed relevant to the mentioned workload as well as a lower quality PSU just to fit in a x570 board which will give you nothing extra other than PCIe4 (which is miles away from being used). That is not really recommended.
The extra VRM and power delivery are nice to have but not really required unless you are pushing extreme clocks.
And it still overshoots the budget quite a bit.

 

[KTCalamity]

3. Ryzen of any flavor does not overclock well. About 4.3 is the max.
Running at stock is a reasonable thing to do.

So just this part here. Been doing a touch more reading and i do see the ryzen stuff doesn't like to be fiddled with all that much.
but I did see this on the PCMR builds site:

"Do not forget to overclock the memory, as every memory always runs at JEDEC 2133 MHz by default. Especially on AMD Ryzen computers as they would take a massive hit in performance without the overclock. Depending on the motherboard, the memory overclock may be called DOCP (Direct Over Clock Profile), EOCP (Extended Over Clock Profiles), or XMP (eXtreme Memory Profile). "

A case of misunderstanding/misinterpreting what I'm reading...? You folk are being extraordinarily patient with me, thanks haha.

 

[Hellfire13]

So just this part here. Been doing a touch more reading and i do see the ryzen stuff doesn't like to be fiddled with all that much.
but I did see this on the PCMR builds site:

"Do not forget to overclock the memory, as every memory always runs at JEDEC 2133 MHz by default. Especially on AMD Ryzen computers as they would take a massive hit in performance without the overclock. Depending on the motherboard, the memory overclock may be called DOCP (Direct Over Clock Profile), EOCP (Extended Over Clock Profiles), or XMP (eXtreme Memory Profile). "

A case of misunderstanding/misinterpreting what I'm reading...? You folk are being extraordinarily patient with me, thanks haha.

Thats an old standard you are reading. Subsequent AGESA microcode releases and Ryzen 3rd gen. memory controller updates have raised those standards with latest BIOS iterations. Ideally the memory should run fine at stock speeds out of the box, you just need to enable XMP in BIOS, which you can google or simply follow the motherboard manual.

1866/ 2133/ 2400/ 2667Mhz (by JEDEC)
For AMD Ryzen Gen3 (R5/R7/R9)
2667/2800/2933/3000/3066/3200/3466/3600/3733/3866/4000/4133 by A-XMP OC mode
https://www.msi.com/Motherboard/B450-TOMAHAWK-MAX/Specification

 

[KTCalamity]

Thats an old standard you are reading. Subsequent AGESA microcode releases and Ryzen 3rd gen. memory controller updates have raised those standards with latest BIOS iterations. Ideally the memory should run fine at stock speeds out of the box, you just need to enable XMP in BIOS, which you can google or simply follow the motherboard manual.

1866/ 2133/ 2400/ 2667Mhz (by JEDEC)
For AMD Ryzen Gen3 (R5/R7/R9)
2667/2800/2933/3000/3066/3200/3466/3600/3733/3866/4000/4133 by A-XMP OC mode
https://www.msi.com/Motherboard/B450-TOMAHAWK-MAX/Specification

Ahhh i see! thank you!