[SOLVED] Opinion on my build?

[Thanasis247]

So this my first time building a PC. The set up I went with is:
Motherboard: Asrock B450M-Pro 4
CPU: Ryzen 5 1600
GPU: Palit GTX 1660 Ti Dual OC 6GB
RAM: 16GB(2X8) Corsair 3000MHz
Storage: 1TB Western Digital Blue HDD & Crucial BX500 120GB SSD
PSU: Corsair VS 550
and Case: Aerocool Aero 300 FAW Edition
My budget and the cost of this build was around 650 euros. Any advice for future reference(and perhaps future improvements) are more than welcome. All opinions are respected and appreciated.

 

[ConanLock]

A strong build hardware wise. The PSU is probably on the weak side. Wattage is enough, but the build quality itself represents that of an upgraded day-to-day/office PSU, and not of a gaming PSU. For the time being, it's alright, but you could maybe make that the next upgrade - to something like a CX or better, depending on budget.
What resolution and refresh rate (Hz) is your monitor? The GPU is a pretty strong one, and so in the future could handle a CPU upgrade to something like a Ryzen 3600.

It's a pretty upgradeable system, to the point that maybe 4 or so years down the line, you could upgrade CPU, GPU, and RAM, and it will perform like a brand new PC again. All in all, apart from the current PSU, it's a very strong performing build.

 

[Thanasis247]

A strong build hardware wise. The PSU is probably on the weak side. Wattage is enough, but the build quality itself represents that of an upgraded day-to-day/office PSU, and not of a gaming PSU. For the time being, it's alright, but you could maybe make that the next upgrade - to something like a CX or better, depending on budget.
What resolution and refresh rate (Hz) is your monitor? The GPU is a pretty strong one, and so in the future could handle a CPU upgrade to something like a Ryzen 3600.

It's a pretty upgradeable system, to the point that maybe 4 or so years down the line, you could upgrade CPU, GPU, and RAM, and it will perform like a brand new PC again. All in all, apart from the current PSU, it's a very strong performing build.

Hi thanks for your reply. Unfortunately there was no budget for a better PSU. My monitor's resolution is 1920x1080 and 60Hz

 

[sizzling]

Hi thanks for your reply. Unfortunately there was no budget for a better PSU. My monitor's resolution is 1920x1080 and 60Hz

Saying there was no budget for the psu is a rookie mistake and compromises are best made elsewhere. We all learn and have all made build mistakes, this is just intended as help for the future. The psu is often quoted as the most important part of the pc, it supplies everything with power and needs to be stable and reliable. It is the one component that if it dies can damage other components or if it supplies ‘dirty’ power can reduce the life of other components. PSU’s in gaming pc’s usually have a hard life, they are put under high load for long periods of time (gaming sessions).

Your psu is not the worst but is below average quality wise. It’s definitely good advice to consider upgrading.

 

[Thanasis247]

Saying there was no budget for the psu is a rookie mistake and compromises are best made elsewhere. We all learn and have all made build mistakes, this is just intended as help for the future. The psu is often quoted as the most important part of the pc, it supplies everything with power and needs to be stable and reliable. It is the one component that if it dies can damage other components or if it supplies ‘dirty’ power can reduce the life of other components. PSU’s in gaming pc’s usually have a hard life, they are put under high load for long periods of time (gaming sessions).

Your psu is not the worst but is below average quality wise. It’s definitely good advice to consider upgrading.

Compromises such as?

 

[PC Tailor]

Hello my friend!

Compromises such as?

I understand everyone has a budget, it is often less about compromises and more about waiting till you can get better quality.

As with any advice I give in a matter like this, if you cannot afford a good PSU now, then wait until you can.

See point 1 here for a bit more detail: https://forums.tomshardware.com/thr...when-selecting-parts-for-a-custom-pc.3510178/

The CX Corsair series are probably the most budget friendly but still decent enough quality PSU you can get, and can probably pick one up for $60 ish, it's not the best quality, but it's good quality at least.

 

[sizzling]

Compromises such as?

That depends. An example might be putting off buying the SSD or separate cooler (if you intend to get one) until the next pay day. Others might be dropping down the gpu or delaying the build till next payday. I have just looked up the price of the VS550 at one of my favourite websites, a psu of much better quality is only £10 more.

 

[j121]

if you can get be quiet system Power b9 450w in your country its a good option. Be Quiet is good quality and should be about same price as the corsair vs 550. 450 w is enough for that
build.

 

[Thanasis247]

That depends. An example might be putting off buying the SSD or separate cooler (if you intend to get one) until the next pay day. Others might be dropping down the gpu or delaying the build till next payday. I have just looked up the price of the VS550 at one of my favourite websites, a psu of much better quality is only £10 more.

I don't think upgrading the GPU in the future is the same as changing your PSU tho.

 

[ConanLock]

There is not much point in dwelling over it now you have got it, but it is probably the next thing you should look into upgrading, rather than going for a performance related upgrade.
At 1080p 60Hz, the CPU is a good choice, it can easily drive the 60FPS needed, in most games, to meet the monitors best performance.

To sum it up, for future upgrades, in order of what you should do first: (my opinion only)
PSU - Seasonic Focus Plus, Corsair CX, EVGA SuperNova, etc depending on budget.
CPU - Example Ryzen 3600
Storage - In the future, you might like a bigger and faster SSD to store more games on, and decrease their load times.
GPU - as games become more graphically intensive, a new GPU a few generations down the line will keep it going as it is in today's games.
Monitor - once you have a new GPU and CPU, you could get a 4k high refresh rate monitor to experience it all in better picture quality.

And the list goes on. If Ryzen 4000 series continues on AM4 socket, you could upgrade the CPU again, RAM. Like I said before, the system has huge upgradability potential. It just depends on how long you are going to keep it for.

 

[sizzling]

I don't think upgrading the GPU in the future is the same as changing your PSU tho.

True, but a high quality psu should last you 2-3 gpu upgrades in the future. It helps reduce the chance of failure with possible damage to the gpu, reduces the chance of stability issues be they immediate or after time when the psu components deteriorate and helps all components last longer. Personally I’d rather a good quality psu and sacrifice 1 or 2 game settings or possibly look at cheaper gpu models or AMD options.

 

[Thanasis247]

True, but a high quality psu should last you 2-3 gpu upgrades in the future. It helps reduce the chance of failure with possible damage to the gpu, reduces the chance of stability issues be they immediate or after time when the psu components deteriorate and helps all components last longer. Personally I’d rather a good quality psu and sacrifice 1 or 2 game settings or possibly look at cheaper gpu models or AMD options.

Hmmm, I get your point. I feel like PSU is something I can upgrade within the next year while GPU ideally I'd like it to last for years.

 

[Thanasis247]

if you can get be quiet system Power b9 450w in your country its a good option. Be Quiet is good quality and should be about same price as the corsair vs 550. 450 w is enough for that
build.

Thank you for your suggestion bud. Be Quiet are rare to find around and the store I bought all the components from didn't supply them.

 

[Thanasis247]

There is not much point in dwelling over it now you have got it, but it is probably the next thing you should look into upgrading, rather than going for a performance related upgrade.
At 1080p 60Hz, the CPU is a good choice, it can easily drive the 60FPS needed, in most games, to meet the monitors best performance.

To sum it up, for future upgrades, in order of what you should do first: (my opinion only)
PSU - Seasonic Focus Plus, Corsair CX, EVGA SuperNova, etc depending on budget.
CPU - Example Ryzen 3600
Storage - In the future, you might like a bigger and faster SSD to store more games on, and decrease their load times.
GPU - as games become more graphically intensive, a new GPU a few generations down the line will keep it going as it is in today's games.
Monitor - once you have a new GPU and CPU, you could get a 4k high refresh rate monitor to experience it all in better picture quality.

And the list goes on. If Ryzen 4000 series continues on AM4 socket, you could upgrade the CPU again, RAM. Like I said before, the system has huge upgradability potential. It just depends on how long you are going to keep it for.

When building the system I was thinking the same. An upgrade on the PSU soon and I picked the 1600 over the 2600 with the mindset of upgrading to 3600 in the future. On the other hand monitor and gpu I feel like they're quite long term upgrades.

 

[ConanLock]

On the other hand monitor and gpu I feel like they're quite long term upgrades.

I agree, it will be at least 3 years before you want to get new ones, with GPU taking priority over monitor. 3 years ago, the 1660 Ti equivalent was the 1060 6GB, and it is still going strong today, so if advances in game graphics continue as they have done recently, it could be potentially 4-5 years before you feel the need to get a new one.

 

[j121]

ok be quiet is good quality still with ok price at least here in sweden. In germany they are even cheaper. I used alot of evga and coolermaste Before but probably going to start using only be quiet in future.
you will probably be ok with that psu its not the worst.

 

[PC Tailor]

ok be quiet is good quality still with ok price at least here in sweden. In germany they are even cheaper. I used alot of evga and coolermaste Before but probably going to start using only be quiet in future.
you will probably be ok with that psu its not the worst.

Just be wary a good brand does not mean good PSU, be quiet still make some poorer units, like the lower pure powers and the straight power 9. Some of the system power 9s aren't as good either, but typically low wattage.

EVGA make plenty of poor units as do Cooler Master.

 

[j121]

most be quiets probably are ok quality. not that i know everything about all their models or know everyting about psus. straight Power really is bad quality? for that price it should be good.
i just tried system Power 9 400 w and it seems like good quality my only problem with it is the self Power test that blows the fan full speed at boot. Do you know if the pure Power does that to?

I used to use evga 500 w for budget builds and i thought they was ok for that but i think they use more than one manufacturer , the newer ones i bought is louder and got plastic covering the fans the older units was better at least they worked for me.

 

[Shektron]

most be quiets probably are ok quality. not that i know everything about all their models or know everyting about psus. straight Power really is bad quality? for that price it should be good.
i just tried system Power 9 400 w and it seems like good quality my only problem with it is the self Power test that blows the fan full speed at boot. Do you know if the pure Power does that to?

You can use this, it's a good resource for PSU's:

https://linustechtips.com/main/topic/1045610-new-psu-tier-list/?tab=comments#comment-12402695

I wouldn't go below Tier B for your system, so a CX550 might be a better option, or a System Power 9 that's more than 400 watts.

 

[j121]

ok thanks but the system Power 9 still seems a step up from the cheaper coolermaster and evga psus. Doesent the b rating mean 400 w and up? then its on the b list.
so the system Power 9 500 or 600 w got better parts than the 400 w?
Do you know if the pure Power use the fan full speed at boot ?

 

[PC Tailor]

I used to use evga 500 w for budget builds

The generic 80+ or non-rated PSUs from EVGA are poor quality, and can cause multiple problems.

most be quiets probably are ok quality

Most of them are to be fair, they are a better manufacturer, but In many parts (especially in the UK) you can expect to pay twice as much for a be quiet unit when you can pick up a Seasonic prime for the same which is usually better quality and less cost. Be Quiet! make a range of quality PSUs.

The straight Power 9 are pretty standard not good, and the lower wattage versions of some of the pure powers are not great. As for the System Power 9, it's better, but still budget, and I always myself aim above that budget level - as they're usually decent enough, but still not fantastic. Usually the Corsair CX is typically a better price in many parts, but that's location dependant.

so the system Power 9 500 or 600 w got better parts than the 400 w?

In a way yes, but the 600W still uses low quality bulk caps and the performance deteriorates when there are imbalanced loads across the rails, so I'd always much sooner go the CX series.

 

[j121]

ok thanks , im gonna put my trust into be quiet since there budget still is better than other budget options and price is ok here. any of you know if be quiet use that Power on test blowng full speed on most of their psus? i got in this be quiet 400 w and that is the only let down from it otherwise than that very quiet.

 

[PC Tailor]

ok thanks , im gonna put my trust into be quiet since there budget still is better than other budget options and price is ok here. any of you know if be quiet use that Power on test blowng full speed on most of their psus? i got in this be quiet 400 w and that is the only let down from it otherwise than that very quiet.

You may be best placed asking this on your own thread as we risk (and maybe already have) sidetracked OPs original thread. On the forum others will be able to help you.

When building the system I was thinking the same. An upgrade on the PSU soon and I picked the 1600 over the 2600 with the mindset of upgrading to 3600 in the future. On the other hand monitor and gpu I feel like they're quite long term upgrades.

I can see this point, I guess i view it a little differently, especially considering PSUs (the best) can offer 10+ year warranties now (Like the Seasonic FOCUS Plus series) - but the VS will be fine for now, just it is recommended to ugprade sooner rather than later, as they're not really built for gaming or heavy load rigs in mind, and ultimately myself and many others on the forums have had lots of bad experiences with the VS series! And the PSU is seriously, the most important part of your system.

At the basis of it, you've got a good rig. I think @ConanLock got it pretty good on the start. Depending on what you want it for, you may find 120GB SSD fill up quickly and the PSU has already been mentioned. Regardless, happy gaming!

 

[Maru777]

I'm just going to leave this here

Pick parts. Build your PC. Compare and share.

pcpartpicker.com

I've found it invaluable. If in the future you decide a component is lacking and decide to upgrade that component, the website will tell you if it is compatible with the rest of your parts, and what the best price is from a selection of reputable online sellers.