Productivity and Gaming PC

elbyrneo

Hi there, would massively appreciate advice. Have been browsing the forum for a month now and researching / learning as much as possible. Still a complete noob but enjoying the research all the same!

1. What is your budget? [€700, 950 with monitor]

2. What will be the main purpose of the computer? [Gaming/Internet/General Productivity / Work . Games - not sure, with young kids my PS3 gathered dust and I didn't bother with a PS4. Would like to be able to switch from work to games - its a dual purpose PC - and be able to play at high settings at least - GTA V and flight sims initially.

3. Do you need a copy of Windows? [No]

4. Can you use any parts from an old computer? [No - Phenom II X955 with DDR3 and a GTS450 - def time to move on! Will sell for peanuts or give away to family]
5. Do you need a monitor? [Yes- right now have a BenQ G2225HD 21"7. Assume this is pretty poor and needs to be upgraded (or i could use 2nd monitor i guess for work. Will use this initially and spend ca. 250 on something better - would like 25" or bigger, ideally IPS 1440p, but probably dreaming on that budget and no doubt 1080p just fine for my needs, just looking for best bang for buck here]

5a. If yes, what size do you need. [25" or bigger]

5b. If no, what resolution is your current monitor and do you plan to upgrade in the near future? [Per above]

6. Do you need any of these peripherals? [No.]

7. Are you willing to try overclocking? [Yes]

8. How can you pay? [Any way required]

9. When are you purchasing? [End Nov latest]

10. If you need help building it, where are you based? [Leixlip but want to build myself, part of the fun]

Below is what I have come up so far as a baseline to start chopping down a bit where possible. Willing to look at adverts/CEX/Donedeal for alternate options and bargains (e.g. GTX970 used cards seem good value, probably paying too much for a case which will be hidden under a desk) but do want to buy CPU and Power Supply and Motherboard brand new. Part of the fun will be to see if i can research some good bargains.

Would greatly appreciate feedback and also advice / direction on a bargain monitor!

PCPartPicker part list: https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/list/F3qchq
Price breakdown by merchant: https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/list/F3qchq/by_merchant/

CPU: AMD - Ryzen 5 1500X 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor (£149.98 @ Amazon UK)
Motherboard: MSI - B350 PC MATE ATX AM4 Motherboard (£76.06 @ Ebuyer)
Memory: Crucial - Ballistix Sport LT 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR4-2400 Memory (£72.99 @ Alza)
Storage: Crucial - MX300 275GB 2.5" Solid State Drive (£79.31 @ Amazon UK)
Storage: Seagate - Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (£53.50 @ Aria PC)
Video Card: EVGA - GeForce GTX 1050 Ti 4GB SC GAMING ACX 2.0 Video Card (£148.98 @ Amazon UK)
Case: Corsair - 270R ATX Mid Tower Case (£49.99 @ Corsair UK)
Power Supply: Corsair - CXM (2015) 450W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply (£48.87 @ Box Limited)
Case Fan: CRYORIG - QF120 Silent 44.0 CFM 120mm Fan (£8.99 @ Overclockers.co.uk)
Total: £688.67
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-10-28 19:54 BST+0100

ancapailldorcha

Ryzen benefits from higher RAM frequencies, OP so getting something in the higher 2,000's range might be a better idea if it wouldn't stress your budget. Also, that SSD was recommended to me for my build. I ordered it about 10 days ago and the estimated delivery date is the 4th November so be prepared for a bit of a wait there.

K.O.Kiki

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD - Ryzen 5 1500X 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor (£149.94 @ Aria PC)
Motherboard: Asus - PRIME B350-PLUS ATX AM4 Motherboard (£77.23 @ Amazon UK)
Memory: Corsair - Vengeance LPX 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR4-2666 Memory (£68.99 @ Ebuyer)
Storage: Crucial - MX300 275GB 2.5" Solid State Drive (£79.99 @ Aria PC)
Storage: Seagate - Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (£53.50 @ Aria PC)
Video Card: Zotac - GeForce GTX 1060 3GB 3GB Mini Video Card (£179.99 @ Overclockers.co.uk)
Case: Corsair - 270R ATX Mid Tower Case (£49.99 @ Corsair UK)
Power Supply: Corsair - Builder 500W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply (£45.82 @ Corsair UK)
Case Fan: CRYORIG - QF120 Silent 44.0 CFM 120mm Fan (£8.99 @ Overclockers.co.uk)
Monitor: AOC - G2460VQ6 24.0" 1920x1080 75Hz Monitor (£128.80 @ Aria PC)
Total: £843.24
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-10-29 15:02 GMT+0000

Asus Prime B350-Plus is the recommended ATX B350 mobo.
Couple of other small changes. Managed to fit a GTX 1060 3Gb into budget.

elbyrneo

K.O.Kiki wrote: »

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD - Ryzen 5 1500X 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor (£149.94 @ Aria PC)
Motherboard: Asus - PRIME B350-PLUS ATX AM4 Motherboard (£77.23 @ Amazon UK)
Memory: Corsair - Vengeance LPX 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR4-2666 Memory (£68.99 @ Ebuyer)
Storage: Crucial - MX300 275GB 2.5" Solid State Drive (£79.99 @ Aria PC)
Storage: Seagate - Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (£53.50 @ Aria PC)
Video Card: Zotac - GeForce GTX 1060 3GB 3GB Mini Video Card (£179.99 @ Overclockers.co.uk)
Case: Corsair - 270R ATX Mid Tower Case (£49.99 @ Corsair UK)
Power Supply: Corsair - Builder 500W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply (£45.82 @ Corsair UK)
Case Fan: CRYORIG - QF120 Silent 44.0 CFM 120mm Fan (£8.99 @ Overclockers.co.uk)
Monitor: AOC - G2460VQ6 24.0" 1920x1080 75Hz Monitor (£128.80 @ Aria PC)
Total: £843.24
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-10-29 15:02 GMT+0000

Asus Prime B350-Plus is the recommended ATX B350 mobo.
Couple of other small changes. Managed to fit a GTX 1060 3Gb into budget.

Thanks a mill especially on the mobo and gpu pointers. I was reasonably on the right track then overall but important tweaks!

elbyrneo

K.O.Kiki wrote: »

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD - Ryzen 5 1500X 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor (£149.94 @ Aria PC)
Motherboard: Asus - PRIME B350-PLUS ATX AM4 Motherboard (£77.23 @ Amazon UK)
Memory: Corsair - Vengeance LPX 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR4-2666 Memory (£68.99 @ Ebuyer)
Storage: Crucial - MX300 275GB 2.5" Solid State Drive (£79.99 @ Aria PC)
Storage: Seagate - Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (£53.50 @ Aria PC)
Video Card: Zotac - GeForce GTX 1060 3GB 3GB Mini Video Card (£179.99 @ Overclockers.co.uk)
Case: Corsair - 270R ATX Mid Tower Case (£49.99 @ Corsair UK)
Power Supply: Corsair - Builder 500W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply (£45.82 @ Corsair UK)
Case Fan: CRYORIG - QF120 Silent 44.0 CFM 120mm Fan (£8.99 @ Overclockers.co.uk)
Monitor: AOC - G2460VQ6 24.0" 1920x1080 75Hz Monitor (£128.80 @ Aria PC)
Total: £843.24
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-10-29 15:02 GMT+0000

Asus Prime B350-Plus is the recommended ATX B350 mobo.
Couple of other small changes. Managed to fit a GTX 1060 3Gb into budget.

Close to pulling trigger on this build. Am stretching the budget a little more to squeeze in ryzen 5 1600 and either a GTX 1060 6gb or an rx580, and maybe a 144hz 1080p monitor with freesync.

Only reason considering amd rx580 8gb is that it would work well with a 24" 144hz freesync monitor. Gsynch too dear. Think gtx1060 6gb better card (and more readily available) but can't afford a g-synch monitor.

But then wondering is it worth the extra expense- 1080p for say the likes of GTAV- Prob won't be hitting higher than 75fps so why bother with 144hz and freezync, and maybe 75hz with gtx1060 is fine ?

K.O.Kiki

Nothing wrong with getting a 1080p 144Hz Freesync & getting a GTX 1060 6Gb.

Just because you can't use the Freesync doesn't mean you should deprive yourself of the benefits of high-refresh gaming

TerrorFirmer

I would go for Ryzen 1600 over 1500X. The 1500X costs more than Intel's i3-8350 and is considerably slower, though Intel boards at the moment are more pricey. 1600 is the best starting point for a Ryzen build really.

I also agree that people get too obsessed with freesync/gsync. Don't worry about it. A standard 1080p 75hz monitor is perfectly fine with the specs you're looking at. My own monitor's freesync though I've an Nvidia card, it's not an essential feature. Had a g-sync monitor myself before and I wouldn't be in a rush to throw stacks of cash at another.

This whole graphics generation is a total mess, cards have stagnated for years in the mid-range performance wise but prices have not dropped.

Finally RX580 prices are coming back down a bit but the 8GB RX580 is more expensive than the 6GB GTX1060.

elbyrneo

Trying to get a bargain on DDR4. Having researched am fine with 2400mhz for what I need. Found this https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B01M0QPJ6O/ref=mp_s_a_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1511212596&sr=8-2&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65&keywords=ADATA+XPG+Z1&dpPl=1&dpID=41ABslcxzhL&ref=plSrch

8gb single stick for 40/GBP. Am I missing something - seems really good value? Will buy two if they are as good value as I think...Seem to have good reviews.

elbyrneo

elbyrneo wrote: »

Trying to get a bargain on DDR4. Having researched am fine with 2400mhz for what I need. Found this https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B01M0QPJ6O/ref=mp_s_a_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1511212596&sr=8-2&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65&keywords=ADATA+XPG+Z1&dpPl=1&dpID=41ABslcxzhL&ref=plSrch

8gb single stick for 40/GBP. Am I missing something - seems really good value? Will buy two if they are as good value as I think...Seem to have good reviews.

They sold out quick, back to 80gbp each now......

elbyrneo

Thanks for the help all. Thought I would post what I ended up buying over the course of the last few days as I enjoyed reading people's posts when they actually put through their orders and ultimately built their pcs.

Was fun. Delivery charges not included in all the below, used parcel motel for UK purchases where it worked out cheaper.

CPU: got the Ryzen 5 1600 from overclockers.co.uk. Was reduced to (and still is) 158.99gbp. Way better than anywhere else I could see.

MOBO: went with ASUS PRIME AMD B350-Plus DDR4 AM4 ATX. Got it for 92.96 euro from laptopsdirect.ie. Was cheaper than Amazon UK prices (they were 90 odd sterling) and cheaper than the Overclockers mobo plus cpu bundle offer. Wanted an asrock post reading reviews but availability was limited so settled on Asus, hopefully bios updates will be ok.

Gpu: went with
Zotac GeForce GTX 1060 Graphics Card 6G Amp Edition. Best price I could get and that was actually available was Amazon France for 267.44/euro including delivery. Was really hard to find any bargains here but think this was a good deal. Dual fan compared to the zotac mini that I would have paid even more from amazon uk (In sterling) so happy with that.

Ssd: wanted an m.2 but pricey. In the end got a black Friday special crucial 240gb bx300 https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/r.html?C=38VLIQ1P7ES9H&K=2CB10R8B8TDHN&M=urn:rtn:msg:20171128101513fb9368644b2c4d5da3eb83494d90p0eu&R=1H0DNKGGW6QG7&T=C&U=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.co.uk%2Fdp%2FB0742BC3DQ%2Fref%3Dpe_3187911_189395841_TE_dp_1&H=IJAOVWR0JWASQROUGPJCAOO6ZCOA&ref_=pe_3187911_189395841_TE_dp_1 for 61.99gbp. Happy with that.

HDD: got a Toshiba p300 3TB drive for 69.97/gbp. Maybe could habe done better value wise here? Good reviews but not sure on brand??
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/r.html?C=38VLIQ1P7ES9H&K=2CB10R8B8TDHN&M=urn:rtn:msg:20171128120017d4de78543a37427aa20bc68e29d0p0eu&R=1H0DNKGGW6QG7&T=C&U=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.co.uk%2Fdp%2FB0151KM6F0%2Fref%3Dpe_3187911_189395841_TE_dp_2&H=QYAU10TIGKYCOGWANWDW4SJTXHOA&ref_=pe_3187911_189395841_TE_dp_2

Monitor: splashed a bit extra for a 1080p 144hz monitor but think I got a good deal from laptopsdirect.ie. Acer 24" xf240h for 201.96/eur. https://www.laptopsdirect.ie/acer-xf240hbmjdpr-16_9-fhd-freesync-1ms-led-dvi-dl-hdmimhl-displayport-spea-um.fx0ee.001/version.asp

Power supply. Decided bronze 450W would be enough and best I could find was laptopsdirect.ie - 44.97euro for the EVGA 450 BT 450W. www.laptopsdirect.ie/-100-bt-0450-k3/version.asp. Amazon UK had no great deals that I could see.

Case - was sooo tired at this stage I was lazy and went with corsair 100r for 47.01/gbp. I prob could have done better but went with a brand i knew. https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/r.html?C=38VLIQ1P7ES9H&K=2CB10R8B8TDHN&M=urn:rtn:msg:20171128165644d84f357406f24907a09bb85357d0p0eu&R=1H0DNKGGW6QG7&T=C&U=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.co.uk%2Fdp%2FB00RORBQNW%2Fref%3Dpe_3187911_189395841_TE_dp_1&H=2YTAGTTBQQLJYYWZAVVVFN2G1ISA&ref_=pe_3187911_189395841_TE_dp_1

RAM: still looking. In a post above this i found a great bargain on ram but was cancelled due to pricing error by Amazon grrrrrrrr. So still on the hunt and found nothing of great value at all of late. RAM IS dear! Will be happy with 8gb for now and have four slots on the mobo so 2x4gb will do. If anyone sees a bargain let me know!!

Have yet to tot up the euro and GBP totals (afraid to!)

Deliveries land over the next week or so, may struggle and post some questions for advice!! Will give it a go sure.

elbyrneo

elbyrneo wrote: »

RAM: still looking. In a post above this i found a great bargain on ram but was cancelled due to pricing error by Amazon grrrrrrrr. So still on the hunt and found nothing of great value at all of late. RAM IS dear! Will be happy with 8gb for now and have four slots on the mobo so 2x4gb will do. If anyone sees a bargain let me know!!

On the RAM front , am a bit confused. Should I get single or dual rank? Sometimes a 2x4gb deal is more expensive than a single 4gb pack..
..what should I be looking out for?

SickBoy

elbyrneo wrote: »

On the RAM front , am a bit confused. Should I get single or dual rank? Sometimes a 2x4gb deal is more expensive than a single 4gb pack..
..what should I be looking out for?

https://youtu.be/PnN0_zvzSo0

elbyrneo

SickBoy wrote: »

https://youtu.be/PnN0_zvzSo0

That video is comparing the benefit of having a single stick of ram v 2 sticks - so say 2 sticks of 4gb v 1 stick of 8gb.

But is single rank v dual rank ram not different??

K.O.Kiki

elbyrneo wrote: »

That video is comparing the benefit of having a single stick of ram v 2 sticks - so say 2 sticks of 4gb v 1 stick of 8gb.

But is single rank v dual rank ram not different??

It's not a thing to worry about IMO

elbyrneo

Parts have arrived or en route now, happy days. The wife not overly enamoured with the size of the case, its the Corsair R100 and is a bit bigger than I thought, was the one thing I didn't research that much.

I went with an atx board, maybe should have went mATX but too late

Options are put the case in a drawer (but not good for airflow?), live with it, or just buy another case and sell this one.

Any recommendations for a budget friendly compact ATX case? Or not really such a thing and I should have went mATX?

Grahamer666

Corsair 460x though they are quite expensive or go with what i have. Fractal Design Meshify C.

elbyrneo

Grahamer666 wrote: »

Corsair 460x though they are quite expensive or go with what i have. Fractal Design Meshify C.

Cheers. The fractal looks a really nice case but it's not a significant difference in size (ATX is ATX i guess!) so i think will just live with the Corsair r100.

Still looking for that bargain on ddr4, 2666mhz maybe, then I'm sorted.

TerrorFirmer

elbyrneo wrote: »

RAM: still looking. In a post above this i found a great bargain on ram but was cancelled due to pricing error by Amazon grrrrrrrr. So still on the hunt and found nothing of great value at all of late. RAM IS dear! Will be happy with 8gb for now and have four slots on the mobo so 2x4gb will do. If anyone sees a bargain let me know!!

Really? After you posted that link I bought 4 of them for my own rig, and they were delivered no problem!!

Grahamer666

elbyrneo wrote: »

Cheers. The fractal looks a really nice case but it's not a significant difference in size (ATX is ATX i guess!) so i think will just live with the Corsair r100.

Still looking for that bargain on ddr4, 2666mhz maybe, then I'm sorted.

Phanteks P300 is another ATX case that would be smaller than most.

K.O.Kiki

elbyrneo wrote: »

Parts have arrived or en route now, happy days. The wife not overly enamoured with the size of the case, its the Corsair R100 and is a bit bigger than I thought, was the one thing I didn't research that much.

I went with an atx board, maybe should have went mATX but too late

Options are put the case in a drawer (but not good for airflow?), live with it, or just buy another case and sell this one.

Any recommendations for a budget friendly compact ATX case? Or not really such a thing and I should have went mATX?

Airflow is fine as long as it can go in-and-out without restriction.
I'd keep the case tbh, but if you must go smaller:
https://skinflint.co.uk/?cat=gehatx&xf=1002_35~9691_ATX~9709_ATX&asuch=&bpmin=&bpmax=&v=e&hloc=uk&plz=&dist=&mail=&sort=t&bl1_id=30 (up to 35L)

elbyrneo

Lads, have spent pretty much the whole day trying to set up PC. Didn't have ram as of this morning so went and connected everything, installed into case, and had it ready to go. Didnt power it up at any stage.

Picked up ram this afternoon and installed and powered up for the moment of truth.

Nada. Mobo lights up but cpu fan and case fans show no sign of life. Not even a beep :-(

Took out of case, removed parts down to just the bare bones to narrow down fault. Even with just cpu fan and 24 and 8 pin connectors, dead as a dodo, other than the mobo leds. 2 months of research and ordering and bargaining so a tad disappointed! Might be a bad mobo, more likely a bad installer.

Anyway wondering if anyone fancies a challenge and is near the leixlip area or I could travel of course. A tray of your choice of beer for efforts, and cash bonus and eternal gratitude if anyone can sort the installation for me.
Obviously someone who has parts that can swap in / out to narrow down the problem needed.

Thanks!!

elbyrneo

Small update.

I have a spare pc. Phenom ii am3. I took out the 24 and 4 pin psu connections from the motherboard. And inserted the new psu 24 pin and one of the 4 pins.

Powered on and nothing.

Replaced the old psu 24 pin and 4 pin back just to make sure the fan is spinning away.

So possibly a power supply issue. I guess next step is to connect the old psu to the new mobo to see, but the old psu only seems to have a 4pin and not 8 pin so not sure if will be an accurate test. Will give it a go anyway I guess.

elbyrneo

elbyrneo wrote: »

Small update.

I have a spare pc. Phenom ii am3. I took out the 24 and 4 pin psu connections from the motherboard. And inserted the new psu 24 pin and one of the 4 pins.

Powered on and nothing.

Replaced the old psu 24 pin and 4 pin back just to make sure the fan is spinning away.

So possibly a power supply issue. I guess next step is to connect the old psu to the new mobo to see, but the old psu only seems to have a 4pin and not 8 pin so not sure if will be an accurate test. Will give it a go anyway I guess.

So hooked up the old psu 24 pin and 4 pin to the mobo and same issue. Mobo lights but cpu fan doesn't show any signs of life.

Which means psu not the issue? At this stage want to just pay someone to help, yes that's a plea!!

TerrorFirmer

Ryzen is a pin design, so it's far easier to damage the CPU compared to Intel design - that's an obvious point to check, that the CPU is installed correctly and undamaged.

The 2nd is that it could be a faulty motherboard though the odds would be far narrower on that (not impossible though). PSU seems unlikely though it's strange that your new PSU will not power the old PC.

Be hard to find someone at this stage with the necessary spares - personally I've a lot of spare Intel CPUs and some boards but zilch on the Ryzen front!

elbyrneo

TerrorFirmer wrote: »

Ryzen is a pin design, so it's far easier to damage the CPU compared to Intel design - that's an obvious point to check, that the CPU is installed correctly and undamaged.

The 2nd is that it could be a faulty motherboard though the odds would be far narrower on that (not impossible though). PSU seems unlikely though it's strange that your new PSU will not power the old PC.

Be hard to find someone at this stage with the necessary spares - personally I've a lot of spare Intel CPUs and some boards but zilch on the Ryzen front!

Thanks had to give it a break and get organised for Christmas, else the wife would divorce me. The cpu pins are perfect and i was very careful slotting in with the gold triangle aligned.

Maybe its best to drop into a repair store but just don't know how good they are and if experienced with am4 ryzens etc. Any one have recommendations? Dont mind travelling a bit from dublin/kildare if reputable. It could be something simple for all I know.