Suggestions for my build and some additional questions.

xrvsaki

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Sep 19, 2017
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Hello, i'm looking to build a new desktop for myself and was wondering if my specs are alright for a budget build.

Specs:
Galax GTX 1060 6gb EXOC White
Ryzen 3 1200 4/4 3.1-3.4ghz
Tecware Edge TG ATX Black/White
Asrock AB350M Pro4 mATX
Seasonic M12II Evo, 520watts, PSU, 80PLUS bronze, full modular
Kingston HyperX Fury Black 8gb Dual 2400 ddr4 HX424C15FBK2/8
WD Caviar Blue 1TB
120gb Kingston UV400, SSD, SATA

Also if someone would be able to answer some of my questions, it'll be appreciated.
1. Is 520 watts enough for my build? What if my case has 5 120m fans, and i overclock my Ryzen to 3.8 at 1.3v?
2. My mobo only has 2 chasis fan headers, i can connect the rest of the fans to my PSU through a molex-to-4pin adapter right?
3. If the ram i chose isn't listed on my mobo's memory QVL, would it still work at the designated speed?
4. Is there a specific way to setup my drives to be like, my SSD would be for my OS then my HDD for storage?
5. If my area suffers from blackouts 1-2 times per month, what would help me better, an AVR or a Surge Protector?

TIA.
 
Solution
" Would the 3gb version be a better fit to me?"
Only you can decide and it sounds like you have.
"because it's the graphic settings that eats VRAM right?"
Yes more data to render means more RAM used
Great. Sounds like you have decided on the SSD and the 3GB. enjoy the system.

R_1

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Looks good, maybe get some faster RAM, Ryzen loves it some fast RAM.
1 plenty
2 yes. or a fan hub
3 yes the QVL is a list of modules that have been pretested. it is not end all be all list of RAM that will work on the board, just pre-tested modules.
4 that is the usual way, OS and applications on SSD, HDD for mass storage and game installs
5 a UPS will keep the system running during momentary power outtages, and during full power failure will shut down the system safely after a set period. a surge protector is still victim to blackouts and brownouts and is only helpful in the event of a surge.
 
replace the processor for at least ryzen 5 1400
and that psu from seasonic is a bit outdated by todays standards (old platform) ,
maybe some evga 450/550 B3 (made by super flower)
or corsair CX 450M/550M instead (new revision is good)
if you want seasonic you can go for new seasonic focus 550w (but it´s a bit more expensive)
or evga GS made by seasonic ...
 

xrvsaki

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Sep 19, 2017
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Thanks for your answers man, I have another question for you about the case fans, I'm looking onto buying this Deepcool Fan Hub it connects to a 4pin on a mobo, while this Silverstone Fan Hub i think connects via SATA on a PSU? I'm not sure, but my question is, If i plug the fanhub via on the mobo, will the fans spin as fast as compared if it was connected via PSU? Is it a bad idea to draw fan power on the mobo? Should i be powering my case fans by PSU? Thanks again.
 

xrvsaki

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Sep 19, 2017
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Hello, sadly, my budget only allows me to get the Ryzen 3 1200, i've read some reviews on it and if overclocked to 3.8, it can match up the performance of an R5 1400. About the PSU, i've heard the CX series of the Corsair is actually worse in the PSU Tier List compared to the Seasonic M12ii since it uses high quality japanese capacitors. Do you really think i should drop the M12ii? It's fairly within my budget and it's also fully modular and 80+ Bronze as well. Thanks.
 
well i would personally not buy it any more , frankly i´m a bit surprised that it is still holding on the market ,
evo is a facelift of an old S12II platform with some inovations
( and this platform is with us almost 10 years i believe )
it is not a bad power supply by any means ,
you will not go wrong with it , if you can have it for a good price you can buy it with no worries ...

yes CX line was very bad in the past ( revisions with green paint job )
but now the newest 4th revision is based on RM platform (grey/white painting)
and they are a lot better than the old ones ...
 

skitszo

Honorable
lot of memory issues with ryzen.... make sure what you get is on this list.
http://www.asrock.com/mb/AMD/AB350M%20Pro4/index.us.asp#Memory


never said what your budget was....


PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD - Ryzen 3 1300X 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($128.09 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: ASRock - AB350M Pro4 Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard ($74.49 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: ADATA - XPG Z1 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2400 Memory ($127.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: SK hynix - SL308 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($77.88 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: EVGA - GeForce GTX 1060 6GB 6GB SC GAMING Video Card ($274.89 @ OutletPC)
Case: Cooler Master - N200 MicroATX Mini Tower Case ($45.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: Antec - EarthWatts Platinum 550W 80+ Platinum Certified ATX Power Supply ($75.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Total: $805.32
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-09-19 11:21 EDT-0400
 

xrvsaki

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Sep 19, 2017
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Is this the CX550M the 4th revision that is based on the RM that you were talking about? Is this alot better than the M12ii Evo? Thanks.
 

xrvsaki

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Sep 19, 2017
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Hello, i checked the memory qvl of my board, the ram that i chose has the module HX424C15FBK2/8, looking at the memory qvl, we can see that these modules are included;

HX424C15FBK4/32
HX424C15FBK4/16
HX424C15FBK4/64

So the modules are about the same and i think the only difference is that Asrock used larger memory versions of the one that i chose, since mine is only 2x4gb. Can we safely assume that the memory i chose would work with my mobo?
 

R_1

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of the two the Silverstone looks like the winner to me, it takes a SATA power (12v) so that it can then power up to 8 fans. 8x1.5V=12. the Fan header on the motherboard can only provide so much amperage and is designed for one fan. un-powered hubs like the Deepcool require the motherboard to feed all 4 fans(1.5vx4=6v) which may be problematic. the fan header on the Silverstone will pass through the fan speed settings from that port to all the fans connected to it if the fans can be speed controlled (4 pin fans) if you connect a 3 pin fan to the Silverstone hub (or any 4 pin header) it will run at the full rated speed, no PWM.
some motherboards can provide the power, but they have tons of headers. a powered fan header is the safe choice and is my suggestion.
 

R_1

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Yes.
the QVL is simply a list of factory tested modules and since they are tested they are sure to work. its more a certification from the board maker. it is not a list of the only working RAM, just the modules the maker had on hand and tested with.
get from the same models as tested and you should be fine. I did not see any modules larger than 16GB on the QVL.
 

xrvsaki

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Sep 19, 2017
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Thank you very much for the explanation, the Deepcool is a lot cheaper than the Silverstone one, also my case would only have 4 fans (2 front intake, 1 back/1 top exhaust) and 1 cpu fan, so the 8fanhub would probably overkill for me, how about if i connect the Deepcool to a 4pin-to-molex adapter so i can power the hub with my PSU? would that work alright?
 

R_1

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yes the fans will only run at full speed but molex will have the power to run all 4 fans.
 

xrvsaki

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Is it a bad thing if the case fans are always running at full speed? Thanks again.
 

R_1

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not bad, Loud. whether loud is a bad thing is up to you. going through molex you can find fans that are thermally controlled if you want some speed controls. higher temp, higher RPMs and lower.
 


yes it is , i would not say better , they are more or less on par ,
but the CX is based on more modern platform and it doesn´t have so loud fan under load as 520 evo .
 

xrvsaki

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Sep 19, 2017
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Hello again, I have some follow up questions on my build, if anyone could answer, it would be awesome.

The current mobo that i'm planning to get is the Asrock AB350M Pro4 which is an mATX, i was wondering if i should get the full ATX version instead, which is the Asrock AB350 Pro4. Is there any significant difference between the two? will getting the ATX version lessen the heat of my mobo since it's not cramped up in space unlike using a mATX? The difference between the two boards is roughly $12 if converted in my country.

The PC case that im going to use is the Tecware Edge TG (Mid Tower)

Here's what it looks like when an ATX board is used, compared to a mATX board

Also, when it comes to assembling the build, Do i just need to touch the metal parts of my PC case from time to time to ground myself before i start assembling and not damage any of my parts?

TIA.
 

R_1

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ATX through its size alone allows more. more PCIe. more SATA ports. more USB headers. more options.
if more more more more is worth 12 bucks to you go for it. I like having a spare PCIe slot. I like tons of SATA connections. I like expansion possibilities.

My view is if your case demands mATX then get a mATX board, otherwise get a big board. mATX in an ATX case is like painting yourself in a corner all this room left unused, unavailable, wasted. the case just looks better with a big board IMHO.
 

xrvsaki

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Sep 19, 2017
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Thank you so much R-1 for your input, do you happen to have any idea about grounding yourself before assembling pc parts?

 

R_1

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1 mount power supply into the case.
2 find a bare metal (unpainted) area in the chassis or on the PSU to ground yourself at- ground point. if you cannot find unpainted metal scratch the paint
3 plug in the power supply to the wall via a properly grounded outlet
4 touch the ground point. you are now grounded. if you move your feet, ground again. shuffle in chair, ground again. a minute passes, ground again. ground often.
5 after grounding you can touch and mount the rest of the parts in the chassis.
6 do not connect power to anything until you
6a ground yourself
6b unplug the power supply
7 Connect power cable to Motherboard and drives (if needed)
8 plug in the power to the PSU and ground yourself.
9 finish the build

now you have a dedicated ground point on the system you can use it whenever you need to touch any of the parts in the system, just touch there first.

buy a grounding strap when you buy the parts
put on wrist bracelet with the metal button touching your skin
connect other end/clip to an unpainted bare metal part of the PSU or Chassis. you are now grounded while the power is connected
 

xrvsaki

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Sep 19, 2017
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Hi again, but how would i know if my outlet is properly grounded? Here is a picture of my outlet, also what is this "ground point" exactly on my PSU? Is it the top part? i can just touch the top part of my PSU? Thank you again.
 

R_1

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three prong is grounded, positive, negative, ground. the ground is the one that looks like the letter D. the two plugs that resemble the omega Ω are the others.

ground point, a place in the chassis where you can ground yourself by touching bare metal. there is no dedicated ground point, you may need to make one by scratching some paint to expose metal use that as the permanent ground point. paint is an insulator and touching a painted section will not ground you. when you attach the power cable to the PSU it is grounded, covered in insulating paint but grounded. you can scratch paint off the PSU (preferably where it cannot be seen) and use the exposed bare metal as a ground point. only scratch the paint if there is no exposed bare metal on the PSU.
the bare unpainted area is your ground point. touch it while its plugged into the wall and you are grounded.

 

xrvsaki

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Sep 19, 2017
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Thank you R_1, you're really a lifesaver.

Also 1 more thing, i've been reading reviews and such about the 3gb vs 6gb version of the 1060 card, and it seems like there's not much difference. I was thinking of instead of getting the 6gb version, i would just get a 3gb one and that would enable me to change my SSD into a 250gb Samsung 850 EVO. Do you think it's worth it? The difference between the 3gb and the 6gb card here in my country is roughly $60.
 

R_1

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now there's not much difference but tomorrow (as games progress new titles will require more) the RAM difference will be apparent. the 6gb is a future proofing of a sorts. buying the 3GB means you will need to replace the card sooner. that's all. if the SSD and the lack of babysitting it is worth more now then get the larger SSD.


babysitting the SSD explanation: SSD's require 10% free space to remain fast. small drive fill quickly and require constant maintenance in the form of file deletions and file transfers to maintain speed. a 250 would lessen the babysitting
 

xrvsaki

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Sep 19, 2017
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hmm but what if i'm not the type of guy who likes having graphics at max 24/7, i'm pretty happy with just playing on 1080p 60fps+ with textures on atleast high, i don't really mind turning shadows and the other settings to low or medium, Would the 3gb version be a better fit to me? because it's the graphic settings that eats VRAM right? I've also read reviews on the samsung SSD and it's killing it with all the 5 stars and such and how it is a beast ssd.