Review Review on a 290 CHF (~$320) build without GPU

[Vikko151]

Hello folks,

I am already back on another topic concerning my friend who wants to get a better build (I'm alright with him. You'll see it later). So, a few months ago, I gave him my old computer which got those components:

CPU: Intel® Core™ i7-4790, 4 Cores, 8 Threads, 3.6GHz
GPU: NVIDIA GTX 970
RAM: G-SKILL 4x4GB 1600MHz DDR3
MBD: ASUS H97-PLUS
PSU: FSP HEXA+ 500W
SSD: Kingston A400 480GB

...and this build is, I would say, meh. My friend got a 1080p screen and gets hard bottlenecks between it's RTX 2060 and i7-4790 like I got previously (It hardly gets over 60 FPS in The Finals and other modern games), despite it's computer got optimized, has got a low quality PSU (It has been discussed in Tom's Hardware here), and the RAM is still OK, but can't be overclocked due to the fact there's 4 sticks and also because the CPU isn't overclockable. It's a 10 years old computer too, so it gots it's age...

So, to be able to make it's performances better, I decided to suggest him some components, so he can build a better PC. The only thing that worries me, is if the build really does the matter. Because, indeed, it's more recent despite it's price, but I don't know if it's really a good jump, or if he'd have to change things quickly. So, here's the build in question, and it's intentions:

My friend's intentions:

• Is simply a casual gamer: Plays simpler games.
• Looks for a good performance-price ratio.
• Is a newbie in informatic, can't easily find solutions to performances issues.
• Doesn't want something over 300 CHF (~330 CHF), which I find very tight.

The build I suggest him:

• CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 3600, 6-Core, 12 Threads, 3.6GHz - 77.90CHF ($85, and yes, Zen 3 is dirt cheap in Switzerland. -_-)
• GPU: ? - I'll let him decide what GPU does he wants
• RAM: Corsiar Vengeance LPX 3200MHz 16x2 GB (I'll take the second stick for a future build, and pay the half of the price: 31.70 CHF) - 63.40 CHF ($70)
• MBD: Gigabyte B550 Aorus Elite ATX - 83.80CHF ($92)
• PSU: Cooler Master MWE 80 PLUS Certified - 64 CHF ($70)
• SSD: Kingston A400 480GB - Taken from the older computer.
• OS: Windows 10, mabye Windows 11, but he got a genuine key linked to it's Microsoft account.
• Case: Corsair Carbide R175 - I got one I never used, so I'll give it to him

Total: 289.10 CHF (~$320), among them 257.40 CHF ($278) will be payed by my friend.

So, do you think this is a good jump, or should I look for something more consequent? I'm excited to see your reviews!

@Vikko151

 

[35below0]

Splitting RAM kits is not a good idea. Sticks that aren't part of a kit often do not get along.
That's one issue.

Another is the size of the SSD. It's quite small, but for a tiny budget, what can you do. A 1Tb drive would be much better and not too expensive

Finally, there is no budget left for a GPU, which is ok. Under 500, you can only build iGPU PCs.

Split the RAM if you must, but it would be wiser to buy a 2x8Gb kit for 16Gb total.
Otherwise the build is good for the needs and budget. You can't beat the CPU.

 

[Vikko151]

Splitting RAM kits is not a good idea. Sticks that aren't part of a kit often do not get along.
That's one issue.

Another is the size of the SSD. It's quite small, but for a tiny budget, what can you do. A 1Tb drive would be much better and not too expensive

Finally, there is no budget left for a GPU, which is ok. Under 500, you can only build iGPU PCs.

Split the RAM if you must, but it would be wiser to buy a 2x8Gb kit for 16Gb total.
Otherwise the build is good for the needs and budget. You can't beat the CPU.

Hello @35below0,

Thanks for the answer! So, you don't advise me to use an individual stick, but instead 2 sticks of 8 GB. So, yea, that's what we call Dual Channel memory. I always thought it was a way to process for one single sticks, which indeed causes reduced performances.

Well, I can go with a 2x8 GB kit, although it's in overall more expensive. I'm sure that the 15 CHF (16.40) supplement that he would have to pay won't break the bank.

Concerning the SSD, yea, the Kingston A400 isn't the best one, but not my problem, since it's not my computer nor my money being spent. But...

A 1Tb drive would be much better and not too expensive.

Do you mean a 1TB HDD or a 1TB SSD? I got a 1TB HDD at home, but I also heard SSDs are becoming almost cheaper than their ancestors, the HDDs. So, if he would have to go with a 1TB SSD, I'd be ready to find something to complete the whole thing. I got time to talk about with him today, so I'll discuss about with him.

Anyway, thanks you very much for your help. If there's anything else wrong, don't hesitate to tell me.

@Vikko151

 

[35below0]

I always thought it was a way to process for one single sticks, which indeed causes reduced performances.

Well, I can go with a 2x8 GB kit, although it's in overall more expensive. I'm sure that the 15 CHF (16.40) supplement that he would have to pay won't break the bank.

No, that's not the problem. The problem is that when you buy a kit of 2 or 4 sticks, you buy 2 or 4 sticks that have actually been tested and confirmed to work.
If you take sticks of identical spec RAM, they still refuse to work together or cannot work at more than default speed.

People do buy extra RAM for their computers, and most of the time it either does not work or does not support the speed it's rated at. The best way to upgrade RAM, unfortunately is to take the old RAM out and put the new one in.

If you and your friend split a kit, you both get a stick of RAM almost guaranteed to cause problems if it's ever mixed with other sticks of RAM. If you're sure you will only ever use a single stick then it's ok.
In that scenario, buying a 2x8 kit would only have the advantage of running in dual channel and running faster.
But you are hinting you will use your half of the kit in a future build. You may regret mixing that 16gb stick with another one, but if your plan is to run a signle 16 Gb then no problem.

Do you mean a 1TB HDD or a 1TB SSD? I got a 1TB HDD at home, but I also heard SSDs are becoming almost cheaper than their ancestors, the HDDs. So, if he would have to go with a 1TB SSD, I'd be ready to find something to complete the whole thing. I got time to talk about with him today, so I'll discuss about with him.

I was thinking of a 1Tb SSD.

Your friend already has an SSD so he should use it. But it's size is too small.

I suggest he uses that drive for Windows, and buy a new 1Tb drive for games and everything else.

As for using a HDD, those are unfortunately much more expensive in Europe than in the US. They may be slow but they're not that slow and offer tons of storage.

Here is what i would recommend:
OS drive - Kingston A400
Games and personal stuff drive - Crucial P3 - https://www.crucial.com/products/ssd/crucial-p3-ssd
possible HDD (2-6Tb) - Toshiba P300 - https://www.toshiba-storage.com/products/toshiba-internal-hard-drives-p300/

Anyway, thanks you very much for your help. If there's anything else wrong, don't hesitate to tell me.

No problem. Happy to help.

 

[Vikko151]

No, that's not the problem. The problem is that when you buy a kit of 2 or 4 sticks, you buy 2 or 4 sticks that have actually been tested and confirmed to work.
If you take sticks of identical spec RAM, they still refuse to work together or cannot work at more than default speed.

People do buy extra RAM for their computers, and most of the time it either does not work or does not support the speed it's rated at. The best way to upgrade RAM, unfortunately is to take the old RAM out and put the new one in.

If you and your friend split a kit, you both get a stick of RAM almost guaranteed to cause problems if it's ever mixed with other sticks of RAM. If you're sure you will only ever use a single stick then it's ok.
In that scenario, buying a 2x8 kit would only have the advantage of running in dual channel and running faster.
But you are hinting you will use your half of the kit in a future build. You may regret mixing that 16gb stick with another one, but if your plan is to run a signle 16 Gb then no problem.


I was thinking of a 1Tb SSD.

Your friend already has an SSD so he should use it. But it's size is too small.

I suggest he uses that drive for Windows, and buy a new 1Tb drive for games and everything else.

As for using a HDD, those are unfortunately much more expensive in Europe than in the US. They may be slow but they're not that slow and offer tons of storage.

Here is what i would recommend:
OS drive - Kingston A400
Games and personal stuff drive - Crucial P3 - https://www.crucial.com/products/ssd/crucial-p3-ssd
possible HDD (2-6Tb) - Toshiba P300 - https://www.toshiba-storage.com/products/toshiba-internal-hard-drives-p300/


No problem. Happy to help.

Hello @35below0,

Thanks for the tips. But I learned something about my friend: He told me that actually, when he bought the SSD, there was a quantity discount, and so, he got 2 disks, among them 1 that he never used for... Well, I'm not inside his head, so not my problem . Since the disks are the same, I don't if could just use a RAID 0 system instead, so he can get a1TB storage with better performances. If I would be him, I'd buy a 1TB SSD like I did for my computer, but better use what we've got and not letting it waiting uselessly in a cellar for years.

Else, thanks for the help about the RAM sticks. Actually, I've got that problem once with an older computer, which has got 2x8GB HyperX Fury 1600MHz DDR3 and 1x8GB Patriot 1600MHz DDR3. Guess what? The computer hasn't got as good performances as expected (for the old times, indeed), but when I removed the Patriot stick since I thought it was useless, it became faster. This is now taking a lot of sense...

Another point I shall mention: anyone who wants to RAID 0 increases a lot it's chance to lose data. It's a thing to consider while using RAID 0, but my friend uses Google Drive to store it's personal data, and the overall is of... I don't know... some megabytes? So, I don't if it would be smarter to RAID 1, as he could get one volume which is easier to manage, and an extra layer of security, if the performance increase of RAID 0 is ridiculous.

Again, thanks for your help, and have a nice day.

@Vikko151