1st PC build - newbie looking for thoughts/advice before buying

[Ali3ta1r]

Hey all,

Right, I believe this is the Mecca of places to come for one seeking some expert advice on a build I've put together. And prior to parting with the best part of £1000 I'd like to ensure there's no oversights been made by myself (a first time builder/computer novice).

So the purpose of this set-up is to act as a workstation/office during the day (emails & Office, no heavy duty stuff) but a solid gaming rig in the evenings with scope for upgrades and future proof.

Points of note...
1. Monitors: I own 2 x AOC I2769VM 27" LED Monitor with Speakers, the dual set-up is needed for the day-job and I want both monitors running in HD (hence the Displayport - HDMI adapter).
2. Bluetooth: I choose the Gigabyte GC-Wb867D-I as I understand it has Bluetooth capabilities and that's good for running Spotify to my BOSE speaker.
3. Sound/Speakers: This is something I might look at once I've saved up some £ (if needed).
4. Memory: I don't download much, hence why there's no HDD. Something I thought about adding later (if needed).
5. Optical Drive: I can't think of the last time I used a CD.

So below is the tower I'd like to hook it up my monitors too, and the order I (hesitantly) am looking to place:

Tower
CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 1600 3.6GHz 6-Core Processor
CPU Cooler: Cryorig H7 SINGLE TOWER HEATSINK WITH 120MM FAN
Adapter: AM4 BRACKET FOR H7 COOLER (TYPE B)
Motherboard: Asus - STRIX B350-F GAMING ATX AM4 Motherboard
Memory: VENGEANCE LPX 16GB (2X8GB) DDR4 PC4-21300C16 2666MHZ
Storage: Samsung 960 EVO 250GB
Video Card: GEFORCE GTX 1050TI STRIX 4096MB GDDR5 PCI-EXPRESS GRAPHICS CARD
Case: Phanteks Eclipse P400S Black
Power Supply: SeaSonic - FOCUS Plus Platinum 550W 80+ Platinum Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply
Wireless Network Adapter: Gigabyte GC-WB867D-I PCI-Express x1 802.11a/b/g/n/ac Wi-Fi Adapter
Thermal Compound: Arctic Silver - 5 High-Density Polysynthetic Silver 3.5g Thermal Paste
Dual Screen Adapter: StarTech Displayport to HDMI

So can anyone with a little bit more experience than myself offer their expert advise if there's anything I'm missing to complete my build? Any changes to the above set-up that would improve it? My budget probably has another £100 if needed.

Really appreciate your time reading this and looking forwards to the expert feedback.

~Alistair

 

[southernorth]

Hey all,

Right, I believe this is the Mecca of places to come for one seeking some expert advice on a build I've put together. And prior to parting with the best part of £1000 I'd like to ensure there's no oversights been made by myself (a first time builder/computer novice).

So the purpose of this set-up is to act as a workstation/office during the day (emails & Office, no heavy duty stuff) but a solid gaming rig in the evenings with scope for upgrades and future proof.

Points of note...
1. Monitors: I own 2 x AOC I2769VM 27" LED Monitor with Speakers, the dual set-up is needed for the day-job and I want both monitors running in HD (hence the Displayport - HDMI adapter).
2. Bluetooth: I choose the Gigabyte GC-Wb867D-I as I understand it has Bluetooth capabilities and that's good for running Spotify to my BOSE speaker.
3. Sound/Speakers: This is something I might look at once I've saved up some £ (if needed).
4. Memory: I don't download much, hence why there's no HDD. Something I thought about adding later (if needed).
5. Optical Drive: I can't think of the last time I used a CD.

So below is the tower I'd like to hook it up my monitors too, and the order I (hesitantly) am looking to place:

Tower
CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 1600 3.6GHz 6-Core Processor
CPU Cooler: Cryorig H7 SINGLE TOWER HEATSINK WITH 120MM FAN
Adapter: AM4 BRACKET FOR H7 COOLER (TYPE B)
Motherboard: Asus - STRIX B350-F GAMING ATX AM4 Motherboard
Memory: VENGEANCE LPX 16GB (2X8GB) DDR4 PC4-21300C16 2666MHZ
Storage: Samsung 960 EVO 250GB
Video Card: GEFORCE GTX 1050TI STRIX 4096MB GDDR5 PCI-EXPRESS GRAPHICS CARD
Case: Phanteks Eclipse P400S Black
Power Supply: SeaSonic - FOCUS Plus Platinum 550W 80+ Platinum Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply
Wireless Network Adapter: Gigabyte GC-WB867D-I PCI-Express x1 802.11a/b/g/n/ac Wi-Fi Adapter
Thermal Compound: Arctic Silver - 5 High-Density Polysynthetic Silver 3.5g Thermal Paste
Dual Screen Adapter: StarTech Displayport to HDMI

So can anyone with a little bit more experience than myself offer their expert advise if there's anything I'm missing to complete my build? Any changes to the above set-up that would improve it? My budget probably has another £100 if needed.

Really appreciate your time reading this and looking forwards to the expert feedback.

~Alistair

My basket at Overclockers UK:

• 1 x Asus B350 Motherboard & Ryzen 3/5 Processor Gaming Bundle **WITH FREE GAMES** = £297.94
  • CPU:AMD Ryzen 5 Six Core 1600 3.60GHz (Socket AM4) Processor - Retail
  • Motherboard:Asus ROG Strix B350-F AMD B350 (Socket AM4) DDR4 ATX Motherboard
• 1 x Samsung 960 EVO Polaris 250GB M.2 2280 PCI-e 3.0 x4 NVMe Solid State Drive= £115.99
• 1 x Phanteks Eclipse P400 Midi Tower Case - Black Window= £63.95
• 1 x Gigabyte GeForce GTX 1060 G1 Gaming 6144MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card= £269.99
• 1 x Seasonic Focus Plus 550W 80 Plus Gold Modular Power Supply= £84.95
• 1 x Team Group Vulcan T-Force 16GB (2x8GB) DDR4 PC4-24000C16 3000MHz Dual Channel Kit - Grey (TLGD416G30= £179.99

Total: £1,026.01 (includes shipping: £13.20)

• Ryzen likes fast RAM, so have added a faster set.
• Swapped PSU to save £10. You could save another £10 by getting a non-modular SuperFlower 550w Platinum.
• Swapped in a GTX 1060 instead of a 1050ti, decent performance jump here. This card has a decent cooler, and Gigabyte offers UK RMA for fast returns.
• Removed CPU cooler and thermal paste, as the 1600 already comes with a decent cooler with paste pre-applied.
• You could save an extra £20 going for a cheaper ASUS motherboard, but this won't look as nice in the windowed case.

Have left out the other items as I assume you're getting those elsewhere.​

 

[orbitalwalsh]

South's pretty much nailed it on the head.
Would normally suggest Gigabytes Gaming 3 , mainly due to as mentioned gigabyte RMA and reps on here . Both are highly recommended boards but you do get 2 free games with Asus , which could be used to sell or keep ?
And you mentioned you had GIgabyte before hand

Heads up, Riotoro have their PSU unit out now or soon. Basically it's the focus model but rebranded. It was meant to have 7 year warranty instead of the OEMs 19 but seems that's changed

https://www.kitguru.net/components/power-supplies/zardon/riotoro-enigma-850w-g2-power-supply-review/

If OCUK does stock them, it's become big !
There Distributor hasn't got them in yet which is a shame , colour looks naff though

 

[Ali3ta1r]

Thanks guys, knew I was in the right place. Just a note, I don't think I am going to go with a glass side-panel so the looks don't matter. Unless of course you would advise otherwise?

I agree and see the merit on not having the CPU cooler & thermal paste, but a few questions to clarify some other points:

1. Would the 850W Riotoro PSU be overkill on this rig? Or is it a case of never being able to have too much?
2. I was advised elsewhere to upgrade to a Ryzen 5 1600X as already having an aftermarket cooler the £15 would offer a 5-10% performance jump. Would you agree with this?
3. The same person also advised that 16gb of RAM is not necessary right now, and to wait for RAM prices to come down. Suggesting instead I went with "Corsair - Vengeance LPX 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR4-2400 Memory". Again, good idea? I see you mention Ryzen "likes fast ram". In basic terms, how so? And if I went with the 1600X does that advice still stand?
4. I read Seasonic make the best PSU units, so I don't mind paying the extra £10 if the quality is there.

Much appreciated guys, really respect you taking the time to advise a layman like myself.

Thanks
~Ali

 

[southernorth]

Thanks guys, knew I was in the right place. Just a note, I don't think I am going to go with a glass side-panel so the looks don't matter. Unless of course you would advise otherwise?

I agree and see the merit on not having the CPU cooler & thermal paste, but a few questions to clarify some other points:

1. Would the 850W Riotoro PSU be overkill on this rig? Or is it a case of never being able to have too much?
2. I was advised elsewhere to upgrade to a Ryzen 5 1600X as already having an aftermarket cooler the £15 would offer a 5-10% performance jump. Would you agree with this?
3. The same person also advised that 16gb of RAM is not necessary right now, and to wait for RAM prices to come down. Suggesting instead I went with "Corsair - Vengeance LPX 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR4-2400 Memory". Again, good idea? I see you mention Ryzen "likes fast ram". In basic terms, how so? And if I went with the 1600X does that advice still stand?
4. I read Seasonic make the best PSU units, so I don't mind paying the extra £10 if the quality is there.

Much appreciated guys, really respect you taking the time to advise a layman like myself.

Thanks
~Ali

1. 850w is a bit much, as your PC might use only 300w when under full load. 550w is fine.

2. The 1600x offers a performance jump as you can overclock higher, 10% is perhaps a bit far though. You can also just overclock the standard 1600.

3. RAM prices are indeed terrible. But I would still recommend 16GB now as prices aren't meant to decrease until the middle of next year. More games are starting to use 8GB+ now, and the extra RAM helps with multi-tasking. Ryzen benefits from fast RAM through a key feature of the Zen architecture called 'Infinity Fabric'. Basically, higher mhz RAM (with low CL latency) creates higher fps in games, and better app performance. It scales up with speeds.

4. Seasonic do indeed make some of the best PSU's at the moment. 10 year warranty, highly efficient, fully-modular and very well reviewed units. They aren't the only option, but are a very good choice.


Something else I should mention - if you buy that SSD from basically anywhere but Overclockers you get a free copy of Assassin's Creed Origins:
http://www.samsung.com/uk/offer/assassinscreedorigin/


So you get 2 free AAA games from ASUS and 1 from Samsung. Nice deal.

 

[orbitalwalsh]

Phanteks p300... It has a smaller glass case and is £54 odd... Trust me, when you build it, you'll want to see it !
It's really annoying when you have a case you can't see your expensive gear in

 

[Quartz]

Video Card: GEFORCE GTX 1050TI STRIX 4096MB GDDR5 PCI-EXPRESS GRAPHICS CARD

I agree that you should have a better GPU than that.

You should also get yourself a larger SSD or a secondary HDD. Game installs can be quite large these days. Something you might like to consider is buying yourself a gaming monitor, so you end up with three monitors. I have three in PLP layout and it's awesome.

Dual Screen Adapter: StarTech Displayport to HDMI

If sound is not required, you might prefer a DVI to HDMI adapter or cable.