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Mu Zeta
Oct 17, 2002

Me crush ass to dust

Enos Cabell posted:

Thanks, read too many contradictory comments in user reviews and got myself all confused.

Putting together a small PC for my dad, haven't built an AMD machine since my old Opteron 165 / NForce2 PC years ago.



Oooooh, there is a very slight chance that your b350 motherboard won't work with the 2400g out of the box. If it's been left on the shelf since 2017 then it might not have the bios update. At this point I would get a b450 board at the least to make sure it's compatible.

e: i think you updated it. Looks good.

Mu Zeta fucked around with this message at 23:43 on Nov 12, 2019

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Mu Zeta
Oct 17, 2002

Me crush ass to dust

Whitest Russian posted:

I'm mostly trying to decide if I want to get some decent Ryzen sale during Black Friday/Cyber Monday or if I should wait for Zen 3 to be released in early 2020 supposedly.

If I was waiting for Zen 3 I'd be reading reviews and user experiences for at least 3-4 months after release before purchasing. New architecture is always more expensive and AMD stated they plan to beef up the pricing next year since they are doing so well. They also always have numerous bugs to work out. Frankly the Ryzen 3000 launch was a confusing clusterfuck and I fully expect it to happen again. No need to be a guinea pig, let others tear their hair out trying to make new poo poo work.

I'd just wait to see if there are any black friday deals and if not, just get a 3000 system anyway since they are pretty stable now.

Whitest Russian
Nov 23, 2013

Mu Zeta posted:

If I was waiting for Zen 3 I'd be reading reviews and user experiences for at least 3-4 months after release before purchasing. New architecture is always more expensive and AMD stated they plan to beef up the pricing next year since they are doing so well. They also always have numerous bugs to work out. Frankly the Ryzen 3000 launch was a confusing clusterfuck and I fully expect it to happen again. No need to be a guinea pig, let others tear their hair out trying to make new poo poo work.

I'd just wait to see if there are any black friday deals and if not, just get a 3000 system anyway since they are pretty stable now.

Most of those problems were because of a New Architectural. It shouldn't be as clustherfucky since AMD is just refining it's process.

Doh004
Apr 22, 2007

Mmmmm Donuts...

Stickman posted:

I know you said that you're not interested in cutting costs, but you could save nearly enough for another drive:

CPU Cooler: Stock is fine for your workload. There's also no reason to use an expensive low-profile cooler in a Node 304 since you have clearance for any air cooler. If you want an aftermarket cooler, a Gammaxx400 is much cheaper and would likely perform better.

Memory: 16GB is a massive overkill for NAS/plex (as is 3000MHz). 4GB would be fine, but dropping to 2x4 would save you $33.

SSD: 128/256GB would likely be sufficient for the SSD depending on what you're planning on using it for. The 240GB Corsair MP510 is $44 and the 512GB HP ex920 is $64.

That's up to $130. You could save a bit more switching to a Ryzen 1600 + ASRock B450, though you'll only have four sata ports instead of six. If you have a Microcenter nearby you can save an additional $30 with the motherboard/cpu combo (and maybe more if they agree to price-match the B450's newegg price).

I'm not a NAS/plex expert, but I suspect you could drop down to a cheaper Pentium/Athlon processor if you're using a gpu for transcoding. I've seen Xeon+ECC RAm configurations recommended before, but I'm not familiar enough with the options to make recommendations - hopefully someone can chime in.

Finally, be aware that many of the white-label drives support TLER (time-limited error recovery), but it needs to be re-enabled each boot.

Hey thank you for this! This is super helpful. Yeah, I was mostly going off of what I was already familiar with but can definitely descope the build a bunch. I've always wanted to go with an AMD, just haven't really had the opportunity. Lemme throw something together as I wouldn't mind having the option for more than 4 sata ports as the case *can* hold 6. Will I realistically need more than that? No.

orange juche
Mar 14, 2012



Whitest Russian posted:

I'm mostly trying to decide if I want to get some decent Ryzen sale during Black Friday/Cyber Monday or if I should wait for Zen 3 to be released in early 2020 supposedly.

A Zen 2 build is a straight upgrade from a 6600k, in cores, IPC, and clock speed.

https://www.logicalincrements.com/

Look at this to get a rough idea of parts and performance for your respective spending that you deem appropriate, We can help you refine a build from there.

Llamadeus
Dec 20, 2005

Whitest Russian posted:

I'm mostly trying to decide if I want to get some decent Ryzen sale during Black Friday/Cyber Monday or if I should wait for Zen 3 to be released in early 2020 supposedly.
It'll be more like mid to late 2020, early 2020 is confirmed for Zen 2 APU/mobile.

MikeC
Jul 19, 2004
BITCH ASS NARC

Whitest Russian posted:

I'm mostly trying to decide if I want to get some decent Ryzen sale during Black Friday/Cyber Monday or if I should wait for Zen 3 to be released in early 2020 supposedly.

What exactly is your build targetting? It is hard to give generalized advice. I mean if you want to spend money then sure, now is as good a time as any but your requirements are a bit vague.

Whitest Russian
Nov 23, 2013

MikeC posted:

What exactly is your build targetting? It is hard to give generalized advice. I mean if you want to spend money then sure, now is as good a time as any but your requirements are a bit vague.

Basically gaming at 1440p, ideally over 120fps. I think I'm going to hold onto my 1080TI until the next generation Nvidia cards come out.

This is also the memory kit that I have. Is it worth updating for Ryzen?

BIG HEADLINE
Jun 13, 2006

"Stand back, Ottawan ruffian, or face my lumens!"

Whitest Russian posted:

Most of those problems were because of a New Architectural. It shouldn't be as clustherfucky since AMD is just refining it's process.

Also, Zen 3's design is 'done' for all intents and purposes. It's Zen 4 that's still in the pipe, and immaterial for anyone who's looking to build in the next 6-12 months since Zen 4 will use a new socket. 2021-22 should be interesting - AMD's tested and working design vs. whatever Jim Keller's whipping up for Intel in exchange for the dump trucks of money they gave him.


Not ~really~? But decent DDR4-3600 is pretty damned cheap right now (compared to where it *was* >.>) and plays very nicely with Ryzen 2 chips.

Stickman
Feb 1, 2004

Whitest Russian posted:

Basically gaming at 1440p, ideally over 120fps. I think I'm going to hold onto my 1080TI until the next generation Nvidia cards come out.

This is also the memory kit that I have. Is it worth updating for Ryzen?

There are a few games that are starting to have frame rate stability issues with 4c/4t processors, but most are still just fine and the 6600k is pretty much king of 4c/4t. In order to see any performance boost you'll need to cpu-limited, which for newer games at 1440p means you'll probably need to turn down some settings to boost frame rate, even with a 1080 Ti. Even then, single-core performance hasn't improved that much since the 6600k, so you'll only see a small performance boost for most games. Your ram should also be fine: 3200 is still the sweet spot for price/performance+compatibility and there's very little real-world performance difference between ram in the 3000-3600 range.

Unless you're running into frame pacing issues in a particular game and you know that 4c/4t is the cause, I wouldn't bother upgrading now.

jeff8472
Dec 28, 2000

He died from watch-in-ass disease

Enos Cabell posted:

Thanks, read too many contradictory comments in user reviews and got myself all confused.

Putting together a small PC for my dad, haven't built an AMD machine since my old Opteron 165 / NForce2 PC years ago.



The Node 302 will accommodate a full ATX power supply. Could save ~$25, but the SFX power supply will leave a little extra room to work inside.

Stickman
Feb 1, 2004

Enos Cabell posted:

Thanks, read too many contradictory comments in user reviews and got myself all confused.

Putting together a small PC for my dad, haven't built an AMD machine since my old Opteron 165 / NForce2 PC years ago.



Looks pretty good! I'd get an Inland Premium or Adata su800 over the WD Blue, though. They're both a step up in performance and a step down in cost!

If you'd like a cheaper option and you're sure he won't want a discrete gpu at some point, the $150 ASRock Deskmini A300 is tiny and includes a motherboard and 300W psu. It uses 260-pin laptop memory, though, so a comparable build would look something like:

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 2400G 3.6 GHz Quad-Core Processor ($119.00 @ Amazon)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3000 Memory ($85.98 @ Amazon)
Storage: Inland Premium 1 TB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive ($104.99 @ Amazon)
Case/Motherboard/CPU: ASRock Deskmini A300 ($149.99 @ Amazon or @ Newegg)
Total: $459.96

The 2400G's stock cooler will fit if you remove the fan shroud!

Butt Ghost
Nov 23, 2013

I really, really need to get a new pc.

I want a build that can emulate ps3 titles, is capable of ray tracing and upscales to 4K. That resolutions seems to be the direction games will be going once next gen hits.

Someone sent me this, and the price is fine. I can get a new monitor later if I need to. I just wanna know if this looks solid and if anything should be changed.

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/TztDx6

As far as I’m aware the rtx line is the only one capable of ray tracing. However Ryzen cpus seem to be capable of ps3 emulation for cheaper. But I’m not sure how much of a performance hit I’ll take for that or how future proof it is. I’ll pay more if it means my rig is significantly more sustainable.

Red Dad Redemption
Sep 29, 2007

ItBreathes posted:

Reserved, I guess. I have a few changes to add but just editing that took 2 hours, so I'll do it later. Feedback on the OP greatly appreciated.

E: Ah gently caress the tag. Mod?

First and foremost, thanks for keeping the thread going - it’s an amazingly valuable resource!

But also a question: Are you planning on pulling over the quick picks? I’ve always found that useful as a starting point, and my guess is that it’s been helpful over the years to others as well.

orange juche
Mar 14, 2012



Butt Ghost posted:

I really, really need to get a new pc.

I want a build that can emulate ps3 titles, is capable of ray tracing and upscales to 4K. That resolutions seems to be the direction games will be going once next gen hits.

Someone sent me this, and the price is fine. I can get a new monitor later if I need to. I just wanna know if this looks solid and if anything should be changed.

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/TztDx6

As far as I’m aware the rtx line is the only one capable of ray tracing. However Ryzen cpus seem to be capable of ps3 emulation for cheaper. But I’m not sure how much of a performance hit I’ll take for that or how future proof it is. I’ll pay more if it means my rig is significantly more sustainable.

If you need something capable of PS3 emulation, go buy a PS3. They're like $50-60 at Gamestop or whatever. Emulation of newer consoles (anything newer than PS2 or OG XBOX, Dolphin is a weird case because Gamecube and Wii were not an especially high-powered system) is always going to be problematic/hacky, and the amount of hardware and asspain required to make it work is not worth the cash outlay.

If you're doing 4K gaming at high/ultra quality, a 9900K is not going to give you an appreciable edge over a 3900X build. What is going to be key is the 2080TI. Gimme a bit to look at it, and I'll see if I can't save you a bit of money. I'll repost in about an hour or 2.

quote:

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 9 3900X 3.8 GHz 12-Core Processor ($499.99 @ Best Buy)
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-D15 82.5 CFM CPU Cooler ($89.95 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Gigabyte X570 AORUS ELITE ATX AM4 Motherboard ($190.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LPX 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3600 Memory ($74.98 @ Amazon)
Storage: Sabrent Rocket 2 TB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive ($249.98 @ Amazon)
Storage: Seagate BarraCuda Pro 4 TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($127.46 @ Amazon)
Video Card: PNY GeForce RTX 2080 Ti 11 GB XLR8 Gaming Overclocked Edition Video Card ($1095.00 @ Walmart)
Case: Fractal Design Meshify C ATX Mid Tower Case ($89.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: Corsair RM (2019) 650 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply ($94.98 @ Newegg)
Monitor: LG 27UD68P-B 27.0" 3840x2160 60 Hz Monitor ($349.00 @ B&H)
Custom: SA Mart Key ($25.00)
Total: $2887.32
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2019-11-12 23:54 EST-0500

Edit: Here's my updated build for you, saved you $120 while moving to 3600MHz RAM, and upgrading the SSD to a Sabrent Rocket 2TB, and expanding your secondary HDD to a 7200RPM 4TB drive.

Buy a Windows 7 key off SA-Mart for $25 and then use it to install Windows 10, or carry over your existing Windows key as long as you're not going to continue using the old PC, and have wiped the OS from your old PC. There's a process for upgrading a W7 key to a Windows 10 key, but it's not exactly widely known, Google or some other thread wizard like Stickman may know, I'm not 100% on the process but it will save money on the OS license.

Like Stickman said downthread, you can save significantly more than I have on your CPU by cutting back to a 3600 or something, as 4k60 does not put a whole lot of load on the CPU. CPU matters a hell of a lot more at 1080p/1440p and 144hz than 60hz.

Bringing it down to a Ryzen R5 3600 brings the cost down to $2581, which is more money you can reinvest in the build elsewhere, or you can pocket it.

Also, do not get hung up on future proofing your PC, it is impossible to do so. Consoles still have a problem of they can only draw so much power before players complain about heat and failing consoles because they cram them in entertainment centers, and that limit is about ~220W total system power draw, so I wouldn't count on consoles blowing out PCs suddenly next year.

quote:

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 3600 3.6 GHz 6-Core Processor ($194.00 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-D15 82.5 CFM CPU Cooler ($89.95 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Gigabyte X570 AORUS ELITE ATX AM4 Motherboard ($190.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LPX 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3600 Memory ($74.98 @ Amazon)
Storage: Sabrent Rocket 2 TB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive ($249.98 @ Amazon)
Storage: Seagate BarraCuda Pro 4 TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($127.46 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Asus GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER 8 GB STRIX GAMING Advanced Video Card ($784.99 @ Best Buy)
Case: Fractal Design Meshify C ATX Mid Tower Case ($89.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: Corsair RM (2019) 650 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply ($94.98 @ Newegg)
Monitor: Acer Predator Z1 31.5" 2560x1440 165 Hz Monitor ($499.99 @ Amazon)
Custom: SA Mart Key ($25.00)
Total: $2422.31
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2019-11-13 00:25 EST-0500

Edit 2: If you decide to go with a 1440p monitor, you can get the above build, with a much higher refresh rate monitor and GSYNC which is awesome for gaming. Freesync does the exact same thing but NVidia GPUs are still spotty on working with it, even though they ostensibly support it.

orange juche fucked around with this message at 06:27 on Nov 13, 2019

Fantastic Foreskin
Jan 6, 2013

A golden helix streaked skyward from the Helvault. A thunderous explosion shattered the silver monolith and Avacyn emerged, free from her prison at last.

Nude Hoxha Cameo posted:

First and foremost, thanks for keeping the thread going - it’s an amazingly valuable resource!

But also a question: Are you planning on pulling over the quick picks? I’ve always found that useful as a starting point, and my guess is that it’s been helpful over the years to others as well.

Nah, the problem with the old thread was that they were out of date and getting people to start in the wrong place, and no one really wanted to be responsible for keeping them up (I figure, given that no one else wanted to make a new OP). A 3600,16gb of ram, and one of the PSUs mentioned in the OP are going to go in nearly every system, but everything else is build/budget dependent, and the best choice part wise can change daily, depending on prices.

Considering we've been operating for over a year with the recs in the OP being bad, I figured we'd do just as well just going off the template while not having to periodically explain that the OP is out of date.

If anyone cares to make and keep current such a list I'm happy to link in the OP / let them poach the rest of it for a new thread, though I'm going to be making some additions / revisions later this week.

Whitest Russian
Nov 23, 2013

Stickman posted:

There are a few games that are starting to have frame rate stability issues with 4c/4t processors, but most are still just fine and the 6600k is pretty much king of 4c/4t. In order to see any performance boost you'll need to cpu-limited, which for newer games at 1440p means you'll probably need to turn down some settings to boost frame rate, even with a 1080 Ti. Even then, single-core performance hasn't improved that much since the 6600k, so you'll only see a small performance boost for most games. Your ram should also be fine: 3200 is still the sweet spot for price/performance+compatibility and there's very little real-world performance difference between ram in the 3000-3600 range.

Unless you're running into frame pacing issues in a particular game and you know that 4c/4t is the cause, I wouldn't bother upgrading now.

I am getting some framerate issues with Doom. I'm guessing that The Master Chief Collection is also going to struggle a bit if it ever comes out.

MikeC
Jul 19, 2004
BITCH ASS NARC

Whitest Russian posted:

I am getting some framerate issues with Doom. I'm guessing that The Master Chief Collection is also going to struggle a bit if it ever comes out.

That doesn't quite make sense. We are talking 2016 Doom? The 6600k should crush that game to the tune of 100fps. What kind of stuff are you running in the background? Do you have a lot of bloatware?

orange juche
Mar 14, 2012



Whitest Russian posted:

I am getting some framerate issues with Doom. I'm guessing that The Master Chief Collection is also going to struggle a bit if it ever comes out.


Try turning off "Razer Chroma support" in the keyboard and mouse settings in Doom 2016. Apparently there's something fucky with that setting in particular that causes it to introduce extreme frame time and pacing issues in Doom 2016.

Even if you don't have a Razer keyboard or mouse, that setting can cause weirdness.

Stickman
Feb 1, 2004

Butt Ghost posted:

I really, really need to get a new pc.

I want a build that can emulate ps3 titles, is capable of ray tracing and upscales to 4K. That resolutions seems to be the direction games will be going once next gen hits.

Someone sent me this, and the price is fine. I can get a new monitor later if I need to. I just wanna know if this looks solid and if anything should be changed.

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/TztDx6

As far as I’m aware the rtx line is the only one capable of ray tracing. However Ryzen cpus seem to be capable of ps3 emulation for cheaper. But I’m not sure how much of a performance hit I’ll take for that or how future proof it is. I’ll pay more if it means my rig is significantly more sustainable.

orange juche posted:

If you need something capable of PS3 emulation, go buy a PS3. They're like $50-60 at Gamestop or whatever. Emulation of newer consoles (anything newer than PS2 or OG XBOX, Dolphin is a weird case because Gamecube and Wii were not an especially high-powered system) is always going to be problematic/hacky, and the amount of hardware and asspain required to make it work is not worth the cash outlay.

If you're doing 4K gaming at high/ultra quality, a 9900K is not going to give you an appreciable edge over a 3900X build. What is going to be key is the 2080TI. Gimme a bit to look at it, and I'll see if I can't save you a bit of money. I'll repost in about an hour or 2.

Just to add on here: if you're gaming on a 60Hz monitor there's not going to be an appreciable difference between a 9900k, a 3900x, a 3700x, a 3600, or even a 2600, regardless of resolution. A 2600 is more than capable of driving any current game at >60fps and when it starts affecting performance you can drop in a 4700x or something. I'd probably still go with at least a 3600 on a larger budget, but there's no significant gaming difference between a 3600, 3700x, and 3900x right now.

E: If you haven't tried a 1440p/144Hz IPS *sync monitor, I'd check one out at your local Best Buy/Frys/Microcenter. 1440p is much easier to target and I personally prefer running games at 90-120Hz over the extra resolution.

Stickman fucked around with this message at 06:04 on Nov 13, 2019

nnnotime
Sep 30, 2001

Hesitate, and you will be lost.
I finally decided to build a new PC after 5 years. I'm looking for a good full tower case recommendation. My current case is a Thermaltake Armor Revo Full Tower:

Article with pictures of my dated Armor Revo case:
https://www.eteknix.com/thermaltake-armor-revo-full-tower-chassis-review/3/

What I liked about the Armor Revo case was the following:

* The power buttons, fan control and USB 3.0 ports on the top front of the case;
* Having a tall case since I sit the computer on the floor next to my chair, under the table. Made it easy to reach the case controls mentioned above;
* Lots of room inside the case;
* Has mounts for large fans. I have found the large fans keeps the case pretty quiet compared to builds with smaller fans;
* Easy to get screws off for the side panels, using big thumb screws
* A number of built in dust-covers for the fans;

What I did _not_ like about the Armor Revo case was the following:

* It would not fit the Corsair dual-fan hydro radiator 2x140mm. I thought from measurements the cooler and fans would fit but to no avail. I had to give the cooler to a friend and buy a non-stock CPU fan instead;
* The front of the case has gimmicky steel flaps. I had to take one flap off since I kept hooking my chair into the flap and pulling off the case front cover. All the flaps do are add unnecessary weight and get in the way of any peripherals installed in the front (for which I did not have many: just the DVD drive);
* The top of case does not have any dust filters for the fans. I had to order custom fan dust-covers from a South-African company named DemciFlex (website: https://www.demcifilter.com/). But at least the custom dust covers I ordered were nice and have soft magnetic edges that let them stick almost anywhere over the fans on the case;
* The side panel 140mm fan has an embedded dust cover that cannot easily be removed for cleaning.

Another negative for many is that the Armor Revo case is also heavy at 25 lbs without anything installed in it, but that didn't bother me too much.

TL:DR: Basically I'd like to find a tall case like the Armor Revo, ideally made of aluminum, with the controls and ports in the top front of the case for easy access.
And the case should also fit any of the popular liquid-cooling radiators and fans for the CPU. For the GPU I'm fine just using stock fan-cooling.

The only upgrades going forward on the computer would be replacing graphics cards every 2 to 3 years. That's all I did with my build from 5 years ago, was upgrade the graphics card two times, and install an extra 1 TB SSD.

Stickman
Feb 1, 2004

Do you need the ODD bay and giant HDD stack? Because the Fractal Design R6/Meshify S2 (which come in a variety of flavors) or the Cooler Master H500P Mesh are fantastic cases with excellent airflow and plenty of room, and putting them up on a small platform to would help reduce dust a bit, too!

Mu Zeta
Oct 17, 2002

Me crush ass to dust

Yall realize the 2080 ti costs over $1,000 right? Like, just the video card alone.

$1,000.

nnnotime
Sep 30, 2001

Hesitate, and you will be lost.

Stickman posted:

Do you need the ODD bay and giant HDD stack? Because the Fractal Design R6/Meshify S2 (which come in a variety of flavors) or the Cooler Master H500P Mesh are fantastic cases with excellent airflow and plenty of room, and putting them up on a small platform to would help reduce dust a bit, too!
Thanks, as those are nice selections. Last time I was building a PC I did not like the CoolerMaster and Fractal Design's case selections, but that was five years ago. Since then both companies have improved their case-product lines.

Your link to the H500P appeared to be for one of the Fractal cases (copy/paste error). Is this the correct link you meant for the H500P?
https://www.coolermaster.com/catalog/cases/mid-tower/mastercase-h500p-mesh-white/

My brief scan of the full tower cases for both Fractal Design and Cooler Master gave many appealing choices. Cooler Master has many more nice options these days!

nnnotime fucked around with this message at 07:10 on Nov 13, 2019

Stickman
Feb 1, 2004

That's the one, whoops! If you definitely want to stick to taller cases, you might also like the Phanteks Enthoo Pro, Thermaltake Core X71, or Be Quiet! Dark Base 900 (you'd want to remove the door on that one).

Stickman fucked around with this message at 17:15 on Nov 13, 2019

wormil
Sep 12, 2002

Hulk will smoke you!
Changed my mind about updating the video card and am going to add a 1660 Super. Any brands to avoid? Any brands preferred? Or just buy whatever is on sale?

Stickman
Feb 1, 2004

You can't really go wrong per se, but I'd probably avoid Zotac since their support has a terrible reputation and single-fan cards since they'll be hotter and louder. The MSi Ventus doesn't have a zero-rpm mode to stop the fans at idle, if you care about that feature. The EVGA SC Ultra has a weird giant stack of thermal transfer pads on the vram (but it still seems to perform okay) and the Gigabyte has plastic backplate (but it's thermals are still fine). The MSi Gaming X and the triple-fan Gigabyte are good, but pricier.

Kazzah
Jul 15, 2011

Formerly known as
Krazyface
Hair Elf
I'm midway through upgrading my PC; I've picked a new graphics card, and I'm looking for a new CPU that won't bottleneck it too badly. This is for gaming; while I'm not going past 1080p and 60fps for the moment, I really want to be able to turn things up. I'm in Australia, so everything sucks and is expensive; I'm willing to spend up to $500ish. What's my best option? I'd prefer not to replace the motherboard, but that's negotiable. Full details here: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/YGVNq3

Khablam
Mar 29, 2012
RIGHT OR WRONG, I CAN’T HELP BUT EXPRESS MYSELF LIKE A BRATTY CHILD. DON’T LISTEN TO ME.

Krazyface posted:

I'm midway through upgrading my PC; I've picked a new graphics card, and I'm looking for a new CPU that won't bottleneck it too badly. This is for gaming; while I'm not going past 1080p and 60fps for the moment, I really want to be able to turn things up. I'm in Australia, so everything sucks and is expensive; I'm willing to spend up to $500ish. What's my best option? I'd prefer not to replace the motherboard, but that's negotiable. Full details here: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/YGVNq3
As discussed on this page, graphical options and resolution will rarely cause you CPU issues.
Are you having issues?
Your options are a 6700k, or a 7700k. See what your used prices look like in your area.
You can't overclock either, but you need the k-chip for the base frequency jump.

orange juche
Mar 14, 2012



Mu Zeta posted:

Yall realize the 2080 ti costs over $1,000 right? Like, just the video card alone.

$1,000.

Yep. And if you want to push 4k at 60+ fps while not cutting quality, it is literally the only game in town, 2080S is 30% slower than a TI, you'll be stuck at around 45-50FPS with a 2080S. Going down to 1440p can get you to around 80-100 fps at high/ultra quality in most games with a 2080 super. Really you can go all the way to a 2060 super and get acceptable framerates at 1440p but you're probably gonna be turning some things down.

E: for the record I'm not talking about regular 1440p when I'm referencing framerates, but ultrawide 3440x1440, which is a good amount more pixels.

orange juche fucked around with this message at 12:51 on Nov 13, 2019

bus hustler
Mar 14, 2019

Stickman posted:

That's the one, whoops! If you definitely want to stick to taller cases, you might also like the Phanteks Enthoo Pro, Thermaltake Core X71, or Be Quiet! Dark Base 900 (you'd want to remove on door on that one).

I have the Enthoo Pro and I really, really like it. I was surprised at how big it was compared to my previous Antec, but it's been a real breeze to work on/with and is available with no bullshit windows and LEDs which is harder to find. Just a heads up some of my front ports didnt work out of the box (2-3 of a 1-2-3-4 layout which is bizarre) and they sent me a new USB assembly and I've been too lazy to install it since i never plug in much anyway. The process was not the easiest but also not the hardest via email. They first tried to claim that my purchase from the "Zac Efron store" was not eligible for service, but I bought from Amazon, not the star of High School Musical, so not sure. I just replied "The Actor??" with a picture from HSM and they approved my claim.

bus hustler fucked around with this message at 13:03 on Nov 13, 2019

Mu Zeta
Oct 17, 2002

Me crush ass to dust

You might have purchased from a third party but was shipped from Amazon. They do that a lot and try to hide it. Zac efron store is a really good name.

Hackan Slash
May 31, 2007
Hit it until it's not a problem anymore

Krazyface posted:

I'm midway through upgrading my PC; I've picked a new graphics card, and I'm looking for a new CPU that won't bottleneck it too badly. This is for gaming; while I'm not going past 1080p and 60fps for the moment, I really want to be able to turn things up. I'm in Australia, so everything sucks and is expensive; I'm willing to spend up to $500ish. What's my best option? I'd prefer not to replace the motherboard, but that's negotiable. Full details here: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/YGVNq3

For this and the other person who asked, if you're not chasing frames I think a 6600k is still fine?

I had a 6600k and only upgraded it because I couldn't hit a steady 144hz with all the setting turned down, but even then I was well north of 60. Once you start getting gpu bound it matters even less.

bus hustler
Mar 14, 2019

Mu Zeta posted:

You might have purchased from a third party but was shipped from Amazon. They do that a lot and try to hide it. Zac efron store is a really good name.

Oh yeah but this was sold and shipped by Amazon. I did go check it out though, it's a real amazon store! I'm not sure... it has any relation to the real Zac. All's good though, it was just a bit of engrish back and forth, a little less automated than some of the really big manufacturers.

Overall very happy with the case, tons of room and I am _not_ a cable management guy but this build looks super clean. poo poo happens but I cannot see ever really needing to rebuy a case unless I have super specific needs. I'm an ATX convert after seeing how much easier it is to route cables/air.

canepazzo
May 29, 2006



Have been meaning to upgrade the CPU as my 6700k is getting a bit old. I play on a 1440p/144hz monitor, on a 1080ti. RAM is 16gb 3200Mhz. GPU should still last me for a bit, I think. Not planning to move to 4k any time soon.

Is the Ryzen 5 3600 the best value for an upgrade at the moment?

Thanks.

TheFluff
Dec 13, 2006

FRIENDS, LISTEN TO ME
I AM A SEAGULL
OF WEALTH AND TASTE

canepazzo posted:

Have been meaning to upgrade the CPU as my 6700k is getting a bit old. I play on a 1440p/144hz monitor, on a 1080ti. RAM is 16gb 3200Mhz. GPU should still last me for a bit, I think. Not planning to move to 4k any time soon.

Is the Ryzen 5 3600 the best value for an upgrade at the moment?

Thanks.

The 3600 is generally the best value you can get right now, but it should be said it's not necessarily a huge upgrade from a 6700K. In games that are bound by single-thread performance you'll get maybe 10-15% better FPS or something on that order (see GN's review for some numbers - they don't have a 6700K but the 7700K is close-ish, especially if you've overclocked the 6700K). On the other hand, in games that are bound by multi-thread performance, like Assassin's Creed Origins, it's easily 50% higher framerate. So, if it's worth upgrading or not depends on what you play.

Also, a 3600 won't get you all the way to 144fps in current AAA titles. You'll get over 100fps easily and over 120 in many titles, but usually not the full 144. If you have a variable refresh rate monitor this really doesn't matter at all though.

So to sum it up, a 3600 is a great purchase in general, but the answer to the question "is it right for you" is a somewhat unhelpful ~it depends~.

canepazzo
May 29, 2006



TheFluff posted:

The 3600 is generally the best value you can get right now, but it should be said it's not necessarily a huge upgrade from a 6700K. In games that are bound by single-thread performance you'll get maybe 10-15% better FPS or something on that order (see GN's review for some numbers - they don't have a 6700K but the 7700K is close-ish, especially if you've overclocked the 6700K). On the other hand, in games that are bound by multi-thread performance, like Assassin's Creed Origins, it's easily 50% higher framerate. So, if it's worth upgrading or not depends on what you play.

Also, a 3600 won't get you all the way to 144fps in current AAA titles. You'll get over 100fps easily and over 120 in many titles, but usually not the full 144. If you have a variable refresh rate monitor this really doesn't matter at all though.

So to sum it up, a 3600 is a great purchase in general, but the answer to the question "is it right for you" is a somewhat unhelpful ~it depends~.

Thanks - so what CPU would I be looking at for an actual, tangible upgrade then?

TheFluff
Dec 13, 2006

FRIENDS, LISTEN TO ME
I AM A SEAGULL
OF WEALTH AND TASTE

canepazzo posted:

Thanks - so what CPU would I be looking at for an actual, tangible upgrade then?

If you're after single threaded performance there's unfortunately not much that makes sense other than the 9700K or 9900K, and both of those are pretty dang expensive. The higher core count Ryzens don't really have all that much better single thread performance than the 3600.

I'd say that if you're getting >100fps in the games you play currently, you can hold off on upgrading for at least a year or so, or until you start playing games where you get thread-limited. If you're playing asscreed though and it's chugging along at 70fps, a 3600 is still a good buy even though it won't do all that much for you in some other titles. A 9700K/9900K would be splurging - they're great CPU's, just expensive.

Enos Cabell
Nov 3, 2004


Stickman posted:

Looks pretty good! I'd get an Inland Premium or Adata su800 over the WD Blue, though. They're both a step up in performance and a step down in cost!

If you'd like a cheaper option and you're sure he won't want a discrete gpu at some point, the $150 ASRock Deskmini A300 is tiny and includes a motherboard and 300W psu. It uses 260-pin laptop memory, though, so a comparable build would look something like:

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 2400G 3.6 GHz Quad-Core Processor ($119.00 @ Amazon)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3000 Memory ($85.98 @ Amazon)
Storage: Inland Premium 1 TB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive ($104.99 @ Amazon)
Case/Motherboard/CPU: ASRock Deskmini A300 ($149.99 @ Amazon or @ Newegg)
Total: $459.96

The 2400G's stock cooler will fit if you remove the fan shroud!

Thanks for the feedback! I went ahead and updated the SSD to the Inland. The Deskmini is pretty tempting, but he's set on the extra USB ports and I may end up kicking down a spare 1080 in the future so want to keep my options open.

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Huge_Midget
Jun 6, 2002

I don't like the look of it...
On the topic of cases, is there a go to full tower case that comes with at least six 3.5” HDD bays and a modern front I/O panel with USB Type C? It will be an air cooled setup, and if it had a 5.25” external bay that would be icing on the cake, but not necessary.

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