[SOLVED] Question regarding building a new PC

FoxInFlames

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Well, i've been deciding on making a new build, and these are my specs and targets, can someone tell me if this will be enough or i could improve somewhere?
[sorry for the long text]
The build:-
GPU:-
Radeon RX 6600 XT [from gigabyte, the OC gaming version]
[please don't tell me to go for the 3060Ti, it's prices are sky high here and the only thing near the price of the 6600 XT from Nvidia's side is a 2060, for the price of which i can buy a bag of chips along with the AMD]

CPU:-
AMD Ryzen 5 3600

RAM:-
2 X Crucial Ballistix 3200 MHz 8 GB

MOBO:-
ASrock B450M Steel Legend
[Micro ATX]

PSU:-
Corsair CV450

OS drive:-
Crucial P1 500 GB

SSD:-
Crucial BX500 1 Tb

Fans:-
Arctic P12 120mm
[these for the top and bottom, the chassis i'm buying already has 2 X 180mm fans at the front]

CPU cooler:-
CORSAIR Hydro H60 AIO
[120mm, will apply fan at the rear]

My target:-
Minimum 60 fps on AAA titles at 1080p ultra (the higher the better), and 144 Hz on lighter games like esports.
Maybe max temperature of CPU and GPU lower than say 70 degree celsius?

Raytracing not needed, might like it if could get playable fps on minecraft with it tho, not necessary in any way

Also a few questions (hope you don't mind : p)
1. The 6600XT here is the OC version and has 3 fans, might i have sufficient headroom for overclocking?

2. I don't know about overclocking the CPU, can it be done with this MOBO and AIO cooler?

3. Will this be a much better build than a 1650 mobile + i5 9300H? [my current one]

4. Are AMD drivers as bad as they say? I mean, i used a Radeon HD 6450 before my current laptop and it worked fine with Overclocking to reach playable fps at nfs most wanted (the newer one) at 1366X768, which was (then) enough for me.

5. What will be better? 2 X 8 [3200MHz] or 4 X 4 [3200MHz] of RAM?

6. Newegg's PC Power Supply calculator said i need somewhere a bit lower than 340W [excluding the lights etc.], is the headroom sufficient? [110 watts higher]

7. Might GPU prices get better this year?

Currently i can go about about 65 USD higher than this build here atmost (the price right now is perfect for me, atleast in these mad times).
 
Solution
The 6600XT here is the OC version and has 3 fans, might i have sufficient headroom for overclocking?

In general, XT top end cards don't OC very well. They are the same as lower cards, but already pushed to the top of what the chip can do. Pushing them even farther can happen, but don't expect miracles. As a general rule I also don't suggest people to buy something and expect to OC it. Be prepared to accept what it can do stock, as you might not win the silicon lottery. You also generally can't OC a card and make it perform 25% better. Unless you are doing exotic things like changing the cooling, 5-10% gains in the core clock are all you can reasonably expect. And if frame rates are directly tied to core clock speed that...

4745454b

Titan
Moderator
The 6600XT here is the OC version and has 3 fans, might i have sufficient headroom for overclocking?

In general, XT top end cards don't OC very well. They are the same as lower cards, but already pushed to the top of what the chip can do. Pushing them even farther can happen, but don't expect miracles. As a general rule I also don't suggest people to buy something and expect to OC it. Be prepared to accept what it can do stock, as you might not win the silicon lottery. You also generally can't OC a card and make it perform 25% better. Unless you are doing exotic things like changing the cooling, 5-10% gains in the core clock are all you can reasonably expect. And if frame rates are directly tied to core clock speed that means going from 60 to 66FPS. For me this isn't worth the increase in temps, Vcore, etc.

I don't know about overclocking the CPU, can it be done with this MOBO and AIO cooler?

First, why are you buying a 4 series board with a 3 series CPU? You could have a bios issue though I'd expect boards to all be updated by now. But you'll also have the odd issue of bios size and CPUs that can work on that board. A 5 series board would be a better choice. I don't mean to be rude, but I wouldn't get that AIO cooler. More so if you want to OC.

https://www.guru3d.com/articles_pages/corsair_h60_review,11.html

Honestly you should be looking at a quality air cooler, or a 240mm AIO cooler AT LEAST. They will serve you better.

Will this be a much better build than a 1650 mobile + i5 9300H?

Considering your on a laptop, yes. Should work better by a lot.

Are AMD drivers as bad as they say? I mean, i used a Radeon HD 6450 before my current laptop and it worked fine with Overclocking to reach playable fps at nfs most wanted (the newer one) at 1366X768, which was (then) enough for me.

A long time ago ATI, which was bought by AMD, had issues with their drivers. I've been using ATI and then AMD cards for a long time. I had the 9700pro. x1800XT, 5750, etc. (not a fanboy, I've also owned and ran the 8800GS, GTX460, etc.) AMD cards handle multi monitor setups better, and tend to hold their performance longer. But I honestly wouldn't worry about drivers from either side at this point. Random driver issues can pop up at any time, but are usually fixed in a month or less. AMD drivers are bad is mostly just a hold over from a forgotten time.

What will be better? 2 X 8 [3200MHz] or 4 X 4 [3200MHz] of RAM?

Less sticks is better.

Newegg's PC Power Supply calculator said i need somewhere a bit lower than 340W [excluding the lights etc.], is the headroom sufficient?

Your PSU isn't very good either. And I'm worried you are wanting to plug in 300W of parts into a lower end 450W PSU and then OC the parts. That can increase the power draw, by a lot if you aren't careful with what you are doing. A quality 450W can run what you are talking about. But I wouldn't be OCing anything. Move to a 550W if you want to be increasing the Vcores.

As for prices I'm not sure when or even if they will ever get better. I fear massive changes need to happen before prices drop.
 
Solution

FoxInFlames

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In general, XT top end cards don't OC very well. They are the same as lower cards, but already pushed to the top of what the chip can do. Pushing them even farther can happen, but don't expect miracles. As a general rule I also don't suggest people to buy something and expect to OC it. Be prepared to accept what it can do stock, as you might not win the silicon lottery. You also generally can't OC a card and make it perform 25% better. Unless you are doing exotic things like changing the cooling, 5-10% gains in the core clock are all you can reasonably expect. And if frame rates are directly tied to core clock speed that means going from 60 to 66FPS. For me this isn't worth the increase in temps, Vcore, etc.
Well, I'll drop overclocking then, i guess, the card is good enough for me as is anyways.

First, why are you buying a 4 series board with a 3 series CPU? You could have a bios issue though I'd expect boards to all be updated by now. But you'll also have the odd issue of bios size and CPUs that can work on that board. A 5 series board would be a better choice. I don't mean to be rude, but I wouldn't get that AIO cooler. More so if you want to OC.
I checked the specifications of the board and it said they support the 3600 (or Matisse, as the codename), so i thought it might just be enough. Also, for the AIO, sure, actually looked for 240mm first, the MSI coreliquid mag 240r, would that be good enough?

As for a 5 series board, how about the b550m steel legend then? It won't raise the prices....much

Your PSU isn't very good either. And I'm worried you are wanting to plug in 300W of parts into a lower end 450W PSU and then OC the parts. That can increase the power draw, by a lot if you aren't careful with what you are doing. A quality 450W can run what you are talking about. But I wouldn't be OCing anything. Move to a 550W if you want to be increasing the Vcores.
Point taken, let's see if i could get a higher PSU and under my budget as is, or maybe drop overclocking.

Also, how many years of gaming at atleast high presets (with slightly lowered AA?) Can I expect from the build? Considering i get that MAG and the B550m, and maybe a 550W PSU...
 

FoxInFlames

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A'ight, i made some new changes regarding it, can some tell if that'll make it a better one than before?

1. Dropped overclocking

2. Shifted from the Corsair H60 to the Arctic freezer 50 (that big colorful one, if that's helpful)

3. Due to it's abysmal height, chose a new chassis and since the ballistix didn't clear the ram clearance, shifted to Corsair vengeance LPX 3200Mhz (2 sticks, 8 gigs each)

4. Chose a 500W PSU and not a 450W one.

Will this be better?
 
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FoxInFlames

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I'm not familar with that cooler.
I actually saw some reviews of it online, they say it's near the top end air coolers in terms of capabilities, here's a benchmark image i found.

Arctic-Freezer-50-CPU-Cooler-Review-40.jpg

Arctic-Freezer-50-CPU-Cooler-Review-41.jpg

Louder ain't a problem for me if it's cooler, should i go for it?
 

4745454b

Titan
Moderator
Here's a review of the 450.

https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/corsair-vs450-power-supply,6076.html

The cons are low efficiency, outdated platform and protections that aren't set correctly. It's not a fire starter, but personally I'd look around and see what else is out there.

I saw that review, as the CPU wattage goes up the performance goes down. It does well against those coolers, but I'm not sure how well it does against other coolers. The only one I really know is the D15. It seems ok, but again, personally I'd keep looking. Honestly I simply don't like the looks of it. You should be good to use it if it fits the budget and you like it. But I would never run it.
 

FoxInFlames

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Tbh I'm kinda crunching number and falling slightly over my ideal budget, so the max i can go for is a VS500, though if i could cut corners here and there a bit, i could go for a vs600, but i certainly can't go for those RGB ones, CX or something :/

Anyways, thanks for the help, I'll have a peek around again.
 

4745454b

Titan
Moderator
All of those units are tier C or B in my book. They aren't dumpster or "firestarter" PSU, but they aren't that great either. It's what you use when you are building an office machine anusing IGP, not a GPU. RGB isn't anything you need either. Where are you? What is available in your budget?
 

4745454b

Titan
Moderator
Something like these work.

https://www.newegg.com/super-flower-leadex-iii-sf-550f14hg-550w/p/1HU-024C-00008

https://www.newegg.com/super-flower-leadex-iii-bronze-sf-550r14he-550w/p/1HU-024C-00016

https://www.newegg.com/corsair-rmx-series-rm550x-cp-9020197-na-550w/p/N82E16817139269

https://www.newegg.com/be-quiet-pure-power-series-pure-power-11-500w/p/1HU-004H-000E5

https://www.newegg.com/seasonic-core-series-core-gm-550-550w/p/N82E16817151243

https://www.newegg.com/corsair-tx-m-series-tx550m-550w/p/N82E16817139210

These are all great PSUs, at least I think they still are, and would serve you well. I get however that you don't live in the USA and due to all those wonderful covid issues buying parts is very costly now. If you have you, get the CV. There is a lot worse out there. And sometimes you have to do the best you can.