[SOLVED] Help me spec a PC build (haven't built one in 10 years!)

[jeremy.woolf1]

Hi everyone

Long time since I've done any of this.. So much so that I don't think I'll be building this myself, but instead I'll spec the parts (with your help) and order it from PC specialist (UK website).

Items I already have:

-Monitor
-Keyboard and mouse
-2 x storage HDDs
-PCI sound card for my amp and speakers - this needs to go back into my new PC - https://www.rme-audio.de/hdsp-9632.html

I work from home, so my computer is for:

-Work - emails/spreadsheets/internet
-Watching movies/streaming
-Occasional gaming on basic games like Portal

What I'd like:

-As fast as possible for work, internet, etc.
-Smooth playback on movies/streaming
-Very low noise case and fans - I've currently got some extra resistors on my case fans, I could potentially move them across.

So I need to decide:

-Motherboard
-CPU
-RAM
-GPU
-SSD for windows
-PSU
-Network adapter
-Quiet case/quiet case fans/CPU cooler

So the first question I think is...AMD or Intel? When I last built my PC, I went for Intel. Happy to move over to AMD if there's justification for doing so?

Sorry to post such a vague first post. I'm reading up where I can, but it's difficult to know where to start if you haven't done any of this in so long.

Budget...I'd say around £800, or around $1000.

Thanks

Jeremy

 

[jeremy.woolf1]

Ah ok great. The LPX ram is 34mm high so all looks good.

Looks like the final list is in then

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 3600 3.6 GHz 6-Core Processor (£169.98 @ Aria PC)
CPU Cooler: be quiet! Dark Rock 4 CPU Cooler (£54.28 @ Amazon UK)
Motherboard: MSI B450 TOMAHAWK MAX ATX AM4 Motherboard (£89.99 @ Box Limited)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LPX 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 Memory (£65.20 @ CCL Computers)
Storage: Samsung 970 Evo 1 TB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive (£124.98 @ Ebuyer)
Video Card: Palit GeForce GTX 1050 Ti 4 GB KalmX Video Card (£155.99 @ Amazon UK)
Case: Fractal Design Define C ATX Mid Tower Case (£74.98 @ Amazon UK)
Power Supply: Corsair RMx (2018) 750 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply (£100.98 @ AWD-IT)
Wireless Network Adapter: Gigabyte GC-WB1733D-I PCIe x1 802.11a/b/g/n/ac Wi-Fi Adapter (£21.59 @ Amazon UK)
Total: £857.97
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2019-12-28 23:47 GMT+0000

 

[jeremy.woolf1]

Any other thoughts or good to go?

Out of interest, if I do start gaming a bit more, how much will I suffer with the 1050 Ti GPU? What difference will it make in games? Will I still be able to run the latest games at high settings, just not very high? And I'll get a reasonable FPS?

 

[Phaaze88]

It depends on the game. You're going to have to try it and see.
I'd imagine the really detailed titles won't run too well on high.

 

[jeremy.woolf1]

Ok thanks. What about turning down GPU fan speeds when I'm not gaming - is that possible?

There are also some graphics cards that have a single larger fan instead of two smaller fans - eg. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Palit-GeFo...07PNK24GX/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8

You'd think that those are quieter but I guess there's no way of knowing until it's fitted... although I guess I could return it if it's too noisy. Can't do that many times though

 

[Phaaze88]

Ok thanks. What about turning down GPU fan speeds when I'm not gaming - is that possible?

Sure. You can set your own fan curve with Msi Afterburner or EVGA Precision X.

There are also some graphics cards that have a single larger fan instead of two smaller fans - eg. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Palit-GeFo...07PNK24GX/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8

Yeah... no way to know for sure until you install one, but generally speaking, that single fan card would likely run even warmer = making the fan run harder - well, depending on how you have your fan curve set too.

 

[jeremy.woolf1]

That sounds ideal...so hopefully an MSI or EVGA card with the right software + the case I've chosen would make it almost silent except when gaming.

Does that software let you reduce the fan speeds from the default under low loads? I'm thinking that it might be more for people who want to keep their GPUs cooler (ie. run fans faster) as opposed to people letting them get hotter!

Edit: Just reading about this software more - can the fan profiles/curves be set on all GPUs to only come on when the GPU reaches a certain temp? Or would that just be some GPUs?

 

[Phaaze88]

Does that software let you reduce the fan speeds from the default under low loads? I'm thinking that it might be more for people who want to keep their GPUs cooler (ie. run fans faster) as opposed to people letting them get hotter!

You have full control, up until critical temps, where vbios will override and basically give you the bird...

Edit: Just reading about this software more - can the fan profiles/curves be set on all GPUs to only come on when the GPU reaches a certain temp? Or would that just be some GPUs?

Some models by default, are already set to 0rpm until they reach a specific temp, like 60-65C.
My Gigabyte gpu is like that. Except for POST, the fans stay off - idling at like 45C, totally fine - until I open Afterburner, due to the fan profile I've set.

 

[jeremy.woolf1]

Very interesting...sounds like that could work nicely for me. What cards would you recommend say £150 - £200? (Up to around $250)

Is there anyway to identify cards that are quieter than others? (ie. you've already said 2 fans instead of 1)

 

[RodroX]

Very interesting...sounds like that could work nicely for me. What cards would you recommend say £150 - £200? (Up to around $250)

Is there anyway to identify cards that are quieter than others? (ie. you've already said 2 fans instead of 1)

Read and watch lots of reviews, thats my best advice. Youre lucky we are in that time of the year where the main reviewers do they "best gpu of 2019", you should really look at tomshardware best gpu guide too. Then you can watch youtube reviewers like Hardware Unboxed, GamerNexus, Biwit, Jay2Cents, Paul's Hardware, etc.

 

[jeremy.woolf1]

Thanks mate, will do!

 

[Phaaze88]

If you haven't already:

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YjAQIH1yKGY

 

[Vic 40]

That is about general series,not particular pieces. Just need to look what specific gpu you fancy and see if there is a review about it. In most reviews they have a page about power consumption and noise.

 

[jeremy.woolf1]

Thanks guys, will look into this today.

I'm also swaying towards a slightly different motherboard now:

The Carbon AC over the Tomahawk Max
https://pcpartpicker.com/product/t7...atx-am4-motherboard-b450-gaming-pro-carbon-ac

I do need a good wifi card and bluetooth...this has both built in, so I wouldn't need the separate Gigabyte card. I would think that built in wifi is more reliable that a separate card although they're both Intel 9260. The Carbon AC also has better onboard audio (which I could end up using) and 2 M2 slots.

The only issue is that bios might not be ready Ryzen 5 3600. I could use the flash bios button if needed though...although I've also read some people had problems with that.

Thoughts on this?

 

[Vic 40]

The only issue is that bios might not be ready Ryzen 5 3600. I could use the flash bios button if needed though...although I've also read some people had problems with that.

Thoughts on this?

Board looks good,just do the steps as intended and bios flashback should work fine.

 

[jeremy.woolf1]

I've got to say I'm struggling with GPU research...for example MSI have 29 variants of the 1660 card...makes no sense to me!

https://www.msi.com/Graphics-Cards#?tag=GeForce^®-RTX-2070-SUPER™

 

[Vic 40]

What price/budget are you looking in?

 

[jeremy.woolf1]

Ok so here's what I've learned...

The 1650 Super or 1660 Super are probably the cards to go for, in terms of performance and value. There are cheaper AMD cards, like the 570/580 and 590 but they consume much more power so will run hotter which wouldn't be great in my quiet system. There's also the 5500 and 5500 XT, but at the moment I think they're a bit of an unknown quantity?

So I guess I just need to decide how much I need to spend now..

From what I've read, the extra 2GB of GDDR6 with the 1660s may well be worth the difference for future games...so the 1660s will be more future proof.

There are still a lot of the variants of the 1660s, with the only difference I can see being the core clock speed. Can't I just buy the cheaper one and then overclock it? Or is it the complexities and hassle involved that stops people doing that?

 

[jeremy.woolf1]

What price/budget are you looking in?

Around £200 I guess..didn't really want to spend that much in the first place, but since I'm so close now to having a decent gaming PC, I better not skimp on the GPU..

Haven't properly gamed in a few years due to work and my old PC but actually quite looking forward to being able to play games like Red Dead if I can..

 

[jeremy.woolf1]

Ok so here are two potentially good options...

Graphics card - The world leader in display performance | MSI Global

www.msi.com

£190 vs £247

Both have a "fan off" function at low load, but the more expensive one is apparently one of the quietest cards as well..

https://www.techpowerup.com/review/msi-geforce-gtx-1660-super-gaming-x/34.html

Do you think the performance benefits would be noticeable? I have no idea what difference an extra 6 Gbps memory speed means..!

 

[Vic 40]

These Palit ones seem too be pretty quiet and do well,
Palit GeForce GTX 1660 Super 6 GB GamingPro OC Video Card vs. Palit GeForce GTX 1660 Super 6 GB StormX OC Video Card - PCPartPicker
review for the two fan,
Palit GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER GamingPRO OC review - Graphics card acoustic levels

The one fan i assume has a pretty same cooler as the gtx 1650 and here are accoustic levels for the latter one,
EVGA GTX 1660 SUPER SC Ultra Review - Dominic is Disappointed! - YouTube
min 5.45.

From what i've read between the two MSI options is the "Armor" the loudest. So the extra money you will find back in the cooler design. Can of course play with fan settngs in for instance MSI Afterburner. See that a gpu won't go over 75C and at what noise levels.

 

[jeremy.woolf1]

Hmm so the Armor is no good then. The 2 fan palit is also loud.. And I imagine the single fan one would be even louder as the single fan needs to work harder /spin faster than the two fan version.

What do you think of the MSI super gaming x? Will there be noticeable performance differences to the other 1660s models?

 

[Phaaze88]

Hmm so the Armor is no good then. The 2 fan palit is also loud.. And I imagine the single fan one would be even louder as the single fan needs to work harder /spin faster than the two fan version.

What do you think of the MSI super gaming x? Will there be noticeable performance differences to the other 1660s models?

Gaming X is one of their premium models; really can't go wrong with that one.

 

[Vic 40]

Do realize that these gpu's have 0 fan mode,so under i think 60C or 65C they might be silent,and some noise in a game shouldn't matter if you play with a headset on.

 

[jeremy.woolf1]

Everything I've read points me towards the 1660 super. The 1660 super gaming x also has a different fan and heatsink design to the others, which help keep it quiet and cooler. Factory settings are fans off when less than 60c. The Asus version spins the fans at 55 degrees and the EVGA doesn't say.

This shows the EVGA as pretty loud.. https://www.anandtech.com/show/15010/the-nvidia-geforce-gtx-1660-super-review-feat-evga/15

And this shows the MSI card as very quiet! https://www.techpowerup.com/review/msi-geforce-gtx-1660-super-gaming-x/34.html

I also looked at the 3 fan version from Gigabyte...the alternate spinning fan idea sounds interesting, but it's slightly noisier than the MSI card at load.

https://www.techpowerup.com/review/gigabyte-geforce-gtx-1660-super-gaming-pro-oc/34.html

The 1660 Gaming X (not super) has the same fan etc, but 6Gbps less memory speed and GDDR5 instead of GDDR6. Difference in price is about £27 so the Super looks worth the difference.

I think that's a decision then....I didn't want to spend this much but I'm sure I won't regret it. It should be nice and quiet at low load, and then take on any games when I need it

Build now looks like this...

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 3600 3.6 GHz 6-Core Processor (£172.00 @ Amazon UK)
CPU Cooler: be quiet! Dark Rock 4 CPU Cooler (£54.28 @ Amazon UK)
Motherboard: MSI B450 GAMING PRO CARBON AC ATX AM4 Motherboard (£119.99 @ Box Limited)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LPX 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 Memory (£71.98 @ SmartTeck.co.uk)
Storage: Samsung 970 Evo 1 TB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive (£124.98 @ Ebuyer)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 1660 Super 6 GB GAMING X Video Card (£245.71 @ More Computers)
Case: Fractal Design Define C ATX Mid Tower Case (£74.98 @ Amazon UK)
Power Supply: Corsair RMx (2018) 750 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply (£102.97 @ Laptops Direct)
Total: £966.89
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2019-12-30 20:29 GMT+0000

Things I still need to look into:

-Case fans
-Hard drive space - I know game files are large. Will it make much/any difference to gameplay/loading times to save games on a spare WD 1tb 7200rpm drive?

My hard drive layout would then be:

970 evo 1tb - boot drive + personal files, photos, movies, etc
WD 1TB - backup of personal files, photos, movies, etc
Additional WD 1TB - Games drive

Would that configuration work well?

 

[jeremy.woolf1]

I'm just re-visiting the CPU cooler as well. The Dark Rock 4 is most likely overkill for me, even with mild overclocking.

Are there any CPU coolers as quiet or quieter that aren't so big and/or expensive?

I'm just thinking about the build and it would be easier to work with a smaller cooler, if possible, but not if I have to sacrifice noise levels.

It seems like all the quietest coolers are the largest...I know that's to be expected but I'm hoping there are others that are smaller but maybe not as high performing temperature wise.

All the quietest coolers in these reviews are huge!

https://www.tweaktown.com/reviews/9223/scythe-fuma-2-cpu-cooler-review/index6.html