[SOLVED] To Build or Buy; All Around PC Specs

[versionmanager]

I would like to play games like Division 2, Battlefield 5 and future games which require greater horsepower from the Graphics card and CPU. Videos on YouTube cite bench-marked components for different tiered gaming machines. To buy a well rounded Home/Gaming PC is confusing. I need for PC to also surf the web and process novice pictures and videos.

I like the Ryzen CPU but which one/generation? Still would look at an an Intel i5 or i7 though.
What separates a 1660, 2070, etc Graphics cards? I see 1440 references on cards and don't understand how 4K fits into this. FPS? Will the 1440 visual become obsolete in the near future?
The case doesn't need to be flashy.
Is an SSD used for the OS and APPs exclusively? Why not a data SSD? What about onboard m2 SSDs?
What constitutes a weak motherboard?
What model and series graphics card and RAM do I need in this type of machine to achieve the secondary purpose shown above?
Do these rigs come with Windows 10 or do I need to foot the bill on this?

Instead of building the rig (which i am able to do with more study or convincing, I intend to buy from NewEGG or any alternative vendor suggested by you.

Any thoughts on the build below:
SkyTech Archangel Gaming Desktop - Ryzen 5 3600, GeForce RTX 2060, 16 GB DDR4, 500 GB SSD, RGB Fans (ST-Arch3.0-0056-NE)
https://www.newegg.com/skytech-st-arch3-0-0056-ne-archangel/p/N82E16883289049

The Build strategy referenced in the forum seems outdated but maybe I missed something? The feedback on the forum is immense and meaningful, however. Thanks in advance.

 

[R_1]

I'll try as best as I can. in order asked or mentioned.
about 50% faster the 2070 is. results for the gist only, the general idea:
https://gpu.userbenchmark.com/Compare/Nvidia-RTX-2070-vs-Nvidia-GTX-1660/4029vs4038
1080, 1440 and 4 k are all resolutions the card needs to draw depending on the screen. the monitor you are using will determine the resolution. you would not want the GPU to render a 4k scene when your display can only ever display 1/4 of those pixels as is the case on 1080 which is exactly 1/4 the pixels of a 4k . by the same token you would not want to display a low resolution 1080p game on a 4k display. the GPU and the monitor need to be copacetic, working along the same lines.
I still play on 1080p, FWIW.

for the SSD's nowadays its your choice, when the drives were new and small, 64-240GB the limited space meant that you could ONLY put the OS and a few games on it. now 1tb drives are available and the size issue is not what it once was. I prefer a speedy largish (over 512GB) SSD and a huge HDD (3x3TB) for my storage needs. your needs will vary but if you can afford a 1TB SSD I suggest you go that route. SSD's have a couple varieties, SATA interface and M.2 interface. SATA drives are slow and some M.2 drives are SATA. the fastest m.2 SSD's have the term NVME attached, Non-Volitile Memory Express, NVMEs drive can be as much as 6 times faster than a SATA SSD, and SATA SSD's can be 3-4 times faster than a HDD. all that being said you are only going to notice the difference in speed an NVME drive gives over an SATA under certain workloads, for most daily driving tasks the SATA drives are fine for most people. when you have two NVME drives is where the speed really shines through and NVME struts its stuff, drive operations between NVME drives is a beautiful thing.

"what constitutes a weak Motherboard?" poor diet and lack of exercise.
seriously though any motherboard you consider should have the ports you will need, USB 3, PCIe slots, M.2 slots etc. the Voltage Regulation is of concern when heroic overclocking is involved, if you only intend to overclock the RAM, its not much of an issue, for CPU overclocking you want proper cooling on the VRM. the VRM is around the CPU socket and there should be some sort of a heatsink on these circuits before doing any CPU overclocking. if you wish to overclock the CPU I suggest a higher end chipset like the x570/550 for a third generation Ryzen CPU. get the latest generation you can on the CPU. if you get a third generation ryzen get a 5 series chipset based motherboard. if you get a 1 or 2 generation ryzen you can get a 4 series chipset based motherboard. the 4 series can take a 3rd gen ryzen, so there will be upgrade paths, the 5 series boards are new and SHOULD be able to upgrade to newer chips as they are released.

for a current CPU's the standard is DDR4 RAM. the CPU will dictate which RAM to use as the memory controller circuitry is embedded into the CPU. for the third series ryzen look to 3600Mhz ram or better. ryzen loves all the bandwidth you can give it. as to the GPU it will depend on your screen as described above. what is the resolution and refresh of your display? you will need a card that can happily handle that workload.

if you build a Rig you will need to buy windows (or run without a license until you can afford it) prebuilt systems will have windows installed already.

of you can turn a screwdriver you can assemble you own PC. a Phillips screwdriver, and some patience are all that is required. read the manuals, watch some assembly videos on YouTube to get the idea of what is involved and what goes where. the Forums and ambassadors like me are here to help with anything you may need. I do not like pre-built PC as they are built to a price point often containing substandard PSU's, crippled motherboards (features removed), etc.

the archangel units for example, I'm not a fan of that case. the front ventilation is hindered to look pretty. 80 plus bronze rated PSU, but which one? is it a good unit? will it need replacement in a month? the images also show that ONE RAM stick is installed, single channel memory will cripple the bandwidth that ryzen loves. to enable dual channel you need two matching sticks of RAM sold in a set for the best performance, you cannot simply add another stick and expect it to work like a matched set. the chassis is a full ATX case but the motherboard is mATX, three expansion slots are not usable. I would suggest a full ATX board a Full ATX case.
I hope this has been helpful and hoping you build yourself here is a few words on grouding I have prepared.

Assembly grounding:
plug in the power supply to the wall. you can touch an unpainted part of the PSU (insert an unpainted unfinished screw into the PSU mounting holes and touch the screw as a grounding point) once you have grounded yourself you can now touch and assemble the parts of the PC.
if you move your feet, or shuffle in your chair, reground yourself again.
install the CPU into the motherboard and the RAM into the slots.
if you move your feet, or shuffle in your chair, reground yourself again.
install the cooler to the CPU. install the motherboard into the case.
secure the motherboard down with the screws, make sure you remove any unwanted/needed mounts before securing the motherboard.
unplug the PSU and ground yourself again. install the PSU into the case and secure with the 4 mounting screws.
plug in the power cord and ground yourself again from now on after grounding, unplug the power supply cord from the wall.
if you move your feet, or shuffle in your chair, plug in the cord, reground yourself and unplug again.
connect the power supply to the motherboard by the 24 pin and the AUX CPU power connector, install the GPU if one is selected, and install the drives with the supplied mounts in the case. connect the front panel connections to the case according to the manuals.
if you move your feet, or shuffle in your chair, plug in the cord, reground yourself and unplug again.
if there are any other peripherals, like wifi cards or sound card install and secure now. verify all power cables are connected to the motherboard and the GPU if needed.
the system can now be booted and the BIOS adjusted if needed (refer to motherboard manual) then an OS installed. when you are sure the system will need no more working/tinkering you can install the side panel and close the case. you have now assembled a PC.
end canned rant

 

[versionmanager]

I'll try as best as I can. in order asked or mentioned.
about 50% faster the 2070 is. results for the gist only, the general idea:
https://gpu.userbenchmark.com/Compare/Nvidia-RTX-2070-vs-Nvidia-GTX-1660/4029vs4038
1080, 1440 and 4 k are all resolutions the card needs to draw depending on the screen. the monitor you are using will determine the resolution. you would not want the GPU to render a 4k scene when your display can only ever display 1/4 of those pixels as is the case on 1080 which is exactly 1/4 the pixels of a 4k . by the same token you would not want to display a low resolution 1080p game on a 4k display. the GPU and the monitor need to be copacetic, working along the same lines.
I still play on 1080p, FWIW.

for the SSD's nowadays its your choice, when the drives were new and small, 64-240GB the limited space meant that you could ONLY put the OS and a few games on it. now 1tb drives are available and the size issue is not what it once was. I prefer a speedy largish (over 512GB) SSD and a huge HDD (3x3TB) for my storage needs. your needs will vary but if you can afford a 1TB SSD I suggest you go that route. SSD's have a couple varieties, SATA interface and M.2 interface. SATA drives are slow and some M.2 drives are SATA. the fastest m.2 SSD's have the term NVME attached, Non-Volitile Memory Express, NVMEs drive can be as much as 6 times faster than a SATA SSD, and SATA SSD's can be 3-4 times faster than a HDD. all that being said you are only going to notice the difference in speed an NVME drive gives over an SATA under certain workloads, for most daily driving tasks the SATA drives are fine for most people. when you have two NVME drives is where the speed really shines through and NVME struts its stuff, drive operations between NVME drives is a beautiful thing.

"what constitutes a weak Motherboard?" poor diet and lack of exercise.
seriously though any motherboard you consider should have the ports you will need, USB 3, PCIe slots, M.2 slots etc. the Voltage Regulation is of concern when heroic overclocking is involved, if you only intend to overclock the RAM, its not much of an issue, for CPU overclocking you want proper cooling on the VRM. the VRM is around the CPU socket and there should be some sort of a heatsink on these circuits before doing any CPU overclocking. if you wish to overclock the CPU I suggest a higher end chipset like the x570/550 for a third generation Ryzen CPU. get the latest generation you can on the CPU. if you get a third generation ryzen get a 5 series chipset based motherboard. if you get a 1 or 2 generation ryzen you can get a 4 series chipset based motherboard. the 4 series can take a 3rd gen ryzen, so there will be upgrade paths, the 5 series boards are new and SHOULD be able to upgrade to newer chips as they are released.

for a current CPU's the standard is DDR4 RAM. the CPU will dictate which RAM to use as the memory controller circuitry is embedded into the CPU. for the third series ryzen look to 3600Mhz ram or better. ryzen loves all the bandwidth you can give it. as to the GPU it will depend on your screen as described above. what is the resolution and refresh of your display? you will need a card that can happily handle that workload.

if you build a Rig you will need to buy windows (or run without a license until you can afford it) prebuilt systems will have windows installed already.

of you can turn a screwdriver you can assemble you own PC. a Phillips screwdriver, and some patience are all that is required. read the manuals, watch some assembly videos on YouTube to get the idea of what is involved and what goes where. the Forums and ambassadors like me are here to help with anything you may need. I do not like pre-built PC as they are built to a price point often containing substandard PSU's, crippled motherboards (features removed), etc.

the archangel units for example, I'm not a fan of that case. the front ventilation is hindered to look pretty. 80 plus bronze rated PSU, but which one? is it a good unit? will it need replacement in a month? the images also show that ONE RAM stick is installed, single channel memory will cripple the bandwidth that ryzen loves. to enable dual channel you need two matching sticks of RAM sold in a set for the best performance, you cannot simply add another stick and expect it to work like a matched set. the chassis is a full ATX case but the motherboard is mATX, three expansion slots are not usable. I would suggest a full ATX board a Full ATX case.
I hope this has been helpful and hoping you build yourself here is a few words on grouding I have prepared.

Assembly grounding:
plug in the power supply to the wall. you can touch an unpainted part of the PSU (insert an unpainted unfinished screw into the PSU mounting holes and touch the screw as a grounding point) once you have grounded yourself you can now touch and assemble the parts of the PC.
if you move your feet, or shuffle in your chair, reground yourself again.
install the CPU into the motherboard and the RAM into the slots.
if you move your feet, or shuffle in your chair, reground yourself again.
install the cooler to the CPU. install the motherboard into the case.
secure the motherboard down with the screws, make sure you remove any unwanted/needed mounts before securing the motherboard.
unplug the PSU and ground yourself again. install the PSU into the case and secure with the 4 mounting screws.
plug in the power cord and ground yourself again from now on after grounding, unplug the power supply cord from the wall.
if you move your feet, or shuffle in your chair, plug in the cord, reground yourself and unplug again.
connect the power supply to the motherboard by the 24 pin and the AUX CPU power connector, install the GPU if one is selected, and install the drives with the supplied mounts in the case. connect the front panel connections to the case according to the manuals.
if you move your feet, or shuffle in your chair, plug in the cord, reground yourself and unplug again.
if there are any other peripherals, like wifi cards or sound card install and secure now. verify all power cables are connected to the motherboard and the GPU if needed.
the system can now be booted and the BIOS adjusted if needed (refer to motherboard manual) then an OS installed. when you are sure the system will need no more working/tinkering you can install the side panel and close the case. you have now assembled a PC.
end canned rant

I grabbed chunks of detail still of interest to have you look at closer.

the GPU and the monitor need to be copacetic, working along the same lines.
I still play on 1080p, FWIW - Isn't there a sweet spot where you can poise for the transition to 4K when buying a graphics card or is this too far off for games?

resolution and refresh of your display - I play on an 80" Samsung UHD TV. I will easily compromise crispness for screen size. So far playing Division 2 on a connected XBOX works great

NVMEs drive can be as much as 6 times faster than a SATA SSD - Isn't this horsepower needed for the newer games to avoid any possible latency or will a Sata SSD still be fine for the time being? Does a m.2 attach to the motherboard? If an m.2 is now a requirement, would a slot now become a spec needed on a motherboard?

you need two matching sticks of RAM - What about 4 X 8GB or 4 X 16 sticks of dual channel memory sticks ? Overkill?

refer to motherboard manual) then an OS installed - I am a Windows guy. On a build, one must get a copy of Windows 10, right?

verify all power cables are connected to the motherboard and the GPU if needed- Does one 'overbuy' a power supply just to be safe? Does the motherboard need to feed ports for both 2.0 and 3.0 USBs? Is 3.0 backwards compatible to 2.0 devices?

Can an XBOX handheld type controller be used instead of a key board and mouse?

How do you make sure that you have adequate number of supply (wires) or motherboard (outlets) to support all internal abd external attachments? E.G. phones and Backup hard drives?

I will look for opinions on other cases after more research. What fan specs would you suggest?

Where do you buy parts from?

I see many folks posting dream builds. Should their feedback be leveraged to arrive at a solution as to not reinvent the wheel?

I intend to build and appreciate the time you have spent on explaining this degree of detail. Also I will follow your steps to avoid electrical discharge during the build process.

 

[R_1]

in order asked
not really, you need the power you need.

the NVME SSD's are fast but when gaming are only needed when loading levels or launching the game. M.2 drives use SATA bandwidth and when an drive is installed to the motherboard, no cables direct connection to board, a pair of SATA ports are usually disabled. its a give and a take kinda situation. NVME drives can be added to add on PCIe cards if you need more M.2 slots but carded M.2 drives are usually not bootable, storage only. almost every new board will have m.2

not overkill but the sets will need to be matched. typically 2 larger sticks are faster than 4 sticks, thus the suggestion is to replace RAM instead of adding more that and matching can be problematic outside of a factory.

you can get windows 10 from microsoft for free and use it as a trial, after the trial the software is FULLY functional but has a watermark in the corner of the screen, you can activate it later or when you build.

if you are planning to upgrade and know what you will want you can get a PSU with more wattage from the outset. yes the 5V rails feed the USB ports. yes backwards compatibility is in effect.

yes the drivers can be an issue but controllers can be used for games if you wish, I prefer the speed and accuracy of the keyboard and mouse combo.

get a quality PSU, never skimp on a PSU.

Noctua makes the best fans IMHO

wherever is cheapest honestly, typically newegg or amazon.

you can, it depends on your budget and needs. you can start with one of those builds and customize the parts as you see fit.

 

[versionmanager]

Awesome feedback. Thank you.

 

[versionmanager]

This is another PC offered by NewEgg. It has an Intel i7 chip but a Mid tower case. Thoughts?
https://www.newegg.com/abs-ali438/p/N82E16883360017