Question Helping a friend put together a new Ryzen system.... need guidance/help for a reasonably budget-oriented start

[King_V]

So, there is a friend of mine with a very out of date system whose motherboard finally died. Given that it's an FX processor, well, time to move on to Ryzen.

For the time being, she's been doing without a PC, gathering up funds. However, relatively soon, she wants to put something together, as the gaming itch is getting tough to resist.

Here is the list of what she currently has.
https://pcpartpicker.com/user/renaissancemom/saved/L9yk6h

Please note:

• Wi-Fi for network connectivity will be required - I assume built in to whatever motherboard is selected would be better than a separate wifi card?
• NOT interested in overclocking
• Plans to re-use:
  • drives (though I'm guessing a larger SSD might be needed these days
  • PSU (purchased new in Jan 2015)
  • Video card and Monitor (for now)
    • EVENTUALLY she'll be going with a 2560x1080 FreeSync screen, and a more powerful video card to go with that (waiting to see what Navi has to offer when it comes out). For the time being, though, the existing monitor and video card will be used.
  • OS
    • Note that the plan is for Win10. The Win7 OS was never updated to Win10 on her system. I'm not sure if she can use the key from it to get a full Windows install or not, so any guidance/suggestions there would be helpful.

My thoughts are in the Ryzen 5 2600 direction, and probably 2x8GB in the high 2000s or low 3000s MHz. I recall from the article here that the higher the resolution goes, the more diminishing returns the faster RAM gives for gaming with Ryzen. Also, plug and go preferred, don't want to have to manually tweak things if it can be avoided.

Ryzen platform preferred, but an Intel setup can give better performance for less money, she's open to it. All suggestions welcome, both for the build and clarification on whether the existing OS license can be used to install Win10 fresh... and to ask me for any other details that I might've missed.

 

[ElectrO_90]

Not including PSU/GPU/SSD
You didn't list make/spec of PSU so no way to know if its any good.
I buy my keys online never had a problem - $10 or so (others say not to)
Although you can just download Windows 10 and not have a key just means it's not activated.
As for windows 7, I think you missed the FREE upgrade years ago, I could be wrong

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD - Ryzen 5 2600 3.4 GHz 6-Core Processor ($164.39 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: Gigabyte - B450 AORUS PRO WIFI (rev. 1.0) ATX AM4 Motherboard ($120.71 @ OutletPC)
Memory: G.Skill - Ripjaws V Series 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 Memory ($90.98 @ Newegg)
Total: $376.08
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2019-05-05 15:54 EDT-0400

 

[King_V]

The PSU is in the list shown just as "XFX - Core Edition 750 W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply" - but clicking on it shows the part number as "PRO750W (P1-750S-NLB9)"

I'm EXTREMELY loath to recommend one of those super-cheap key places, but that's just me.

 

[DMAN999]

If I'm not mistaken as long as you have a Valid Retail Windows 7 key, Windows 10 will still accept it if you input when installing Win 10.
Apparently this works for some people but not others and no one really knows why that is.

 

[King_V]

Oh, while I'm on this - I made the following assumption: "wifi built in to whatever motherboard is selected would be better than a separate wifi card."

Is that actually true, or is a non-Wifi motherboard and an add-in wi-fi card better? Or does it not matter either way?

 

[mdd1963]

If I'm not mistaken as long as you have a Valid Retail Windows 7 key, Windows 10 will still accept it if you input when installing Win 10.
Apparently this works for some people but not others and no one really knows why that is.

One would certainly want to update to WIn10 first before swapping any hardware...

Not sure it's going to like a mainboard swap later, however...especially if this was an OEM/prebuilt system. (your Win7 OEM license/legal activation sort of hinges on that mainboard, as an OEM/prebuilt system is not really intended as a 'lifetime OS license' for future upgrades, etc..)

 

[King_V]

I know she assembled this one herself - not a prebuilt. And, unfortunately, the deceased nature of the current MB means that upgrading it now is a no-go.

 

[DMAN999]

^ Once Win 10 is installed and registered/licensed you can link it to your Microsoft account.
That will allow for hardware upgrades including a MB upgrade and keeps your licensing active.

 

[King_V]

I think the AORUS might be overkill - there is no intent to ever go with a multi-GPU setup. That thing has what appears to be three PCIe x16 slots.

EDIT: er, I see the second and third one are marked as x4 and x1 respectively. I'm a little surprised they're full-size slots....