New build - £700 budget (some salvage)

hurfdurf · 14 May 2017 at 12:19

Hi everyone.

Haven't built a pc for over 7 yearsish! My PC is beginning to slow down, can't play the latest games, can't handle my 34" super wide monitor plus small secondary monitor, etc etc.

After some small research I have figured out that I could use my old CX400 Corsair PSU as well as my old sata hdd to put windows 10 on (currently running widows 7)

I would love a smaller PC and I was browsing and found this ex demo pc. Its a brilliant size and has what appears to be plenty of spec for me, and I could sell the HDD or use them myself as storage.

https://www.overclockers.co.uk/ex-demo-titan-hadron-intel-core-i5-6600k-gaming-pc-fs-18e-ep.html

How ever, one small problem, I have to have an optical or toslink audio out to connect to my DAC that I use for music and such.

Any advice would be much appreciated!

stulid · 14 May 2017 at 13:23

You could add an audio card to it that has toslink.

Or you can get a 3.5mm to toslink/optical converter (but that would give you only 2 channels which would be from which port you plug it into)

hurfdurf · 14 May 2017 at 14:20

stulid said:
You could add an audio card to it that has toslink.

Or you can get a 3.5mm to toslink/optical converter (but that would give you only 2 channels which would be from which port you plug it into)

I could but it's already a little over budget and I was thinking of going the build it myself route, save some money on the stuff I don't need, and get a 1070 instead of 1060.

stulid · 14 May 2017 at 14:29

My basket at Overclockers UK:

1 x Kolink Satellite Micro-ATX Cube Case - Black= £26.99
1 x Gigabyte GA-AB350M-Gaming 3 AMD B350 (Socket AM4) DDR4 Micro ATX Motherboard= £87.95
1 x Team Group Vulcan T-Force 16GB (2x8GB) DDR4 PC4-24000C16 3000MHz Dual Channel Kit - Grey (TLGD416G30= £119.99
1 x AMD Ryzen 5 Quad Core 1500X 3.70GHz (Socket AM4) Processor - Retail= £179.99
1 x Asus Radeon RX 580 Dual 8192MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card= £239.99
1 x Alpenfohn Ben Nevis CPU Cooler - 120mm= £21.95

Total: £689.16
(includes shipping: £12.30)

That with your HDDs and PSU would let you game at top settings on a 1080P monitor.

But again no optical out (you tend not to find them on cheap boards for the cost saving).

Then of course there is the age of your PSU, I would get a new one such as a Superflower Golden 450W.

hurfdurf · 14 May 2017 at 14:36

Thank you Stulid! It does indeed seem like what I need can be done cost effectively.

I have no idea about the differences between an AMD processor Vs an Intel one so didn't even look at AMD's offerings. How does that graphics card compare to a low/mid end 1070?

stulid · 14 May 2017 at 14:38

A GTX1070 is a faster card, a GTX1060 6GB is equivalent to a GTX480/580 8GB card.

The Ryzen 1500X pretty much beats a 7600K in all tasks - https://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/AMD/Ryzen_5_1500X/ - plus you are getting a newer socket thus more longevity.

ExoMale · 14 May 2017 at 14:39

hurfdurf said:
Hi everyone.

Haven't built a pc for over 7 yearsish! My PC is beginning to slow down, can't play the latest games, can't handle my 34" super wide monitor plus small secondary monitor, etc etc.

After some small research I have figured out that I could use my old CX400 Corsair PSU as well as my old sata hdd to put windows 10 on (currently running widows 7)

I would love a smaller PC and I was browsing and found this ex demo pc. Its a brilliant size and has what appears to be plenty of spec for me, and I could sell the HDD or use them myself as storage.

https://www.overclockers.co.uk/ex-demo-titan-hadron-intel-core-i5-6600k-gaming-pc-fs-18e-ep.html

How ever, one small problem, I have to have an optical or toslink audio out to connect to my DAC that I use for music and such.

Any advice would be much appreciated!

if you can afford this then it would be stupid to keep your cx psu as the 550w provided is 10x better.

hurfdurf · 14 May 2017 at 14:46

ExoMale said:
if you can afford this then it would be stupid to keep your cx psu as the 550w provided is 10x better.

I could but it doesn't seem wise now that it's clear I can get something better suited to my needs that could also be more powerful and cheaper!

stulid said:
A GTX1070 is a faster card, a GTX1060 6GB is equivalent to a GTX480/580 8GB card.

The Ryzen 1500X pretty much beats a 7600K in all tasks - https://www.techpowerup.com/reviews/AMD/Ryzen_5_1500X/ - plus you are getting a newer socket thus more longevity.

I think I might spend the extra and get a 1070? Is that doable with this Ryzen build?

pastymuncher · 14 May 2017 at 15:13

I would look at replacing your psu. It was launched in late 2008 and replaced Dec 2010/Jan 2011 so even going by the best case it's 6 1/2 years old. Taking into account that it only had 360w on the 12v rail when new and less than that now due internal components degrading I would be retiring it for testing purposes and buying a more efficient modern psu.

ExoMale · 14 May 2017 at 15:13

hurfdurf said:
I could but it doesn't seem wise now that it's clear I can get something better suited to my needs that could also be more powerful and cheaper!

I think I might spend the extra and get a 1070? Is that doable with this Ryzen build?

well yeah that is a good point, but you should still have that 550w over any cx range unless its for a htpc build.

hurfdurf · 14 May 2017 at 15:28

Ah ok, I'll factor in a new PSU into the budget!

stulid · 14 May 2017 at 15:35

Also note the boards without VRM cooling (those little heatsinks around the CPU socket) should be avoided. There are cheaper boards available but suck.

hurfdurf · 14 May 2017 at 17:47

stulid said:
Also note the boards without VRM cooling (those little heatsinks around the CPU socket) should be avoided. There are cheaper boards available but suck.

https://www.overclockers.co.uk/msi-...am4-ddr4-micro-atx-motherboard-mb-31z-ms.html

I can't say I know what VRM cooling is or what it does, but this mobo seems to be the same socket for the processor in your build but with the optical audio out, would that one be OK?

I am guessing I have to have a micro atx board to fit in the small case?

stulid · 14 May 2017 at 17:54

That one looks ok.

And yeah small board for a small case.

Also - Clearance: VGA - 280mm, CPU Cooler 165mm, PSU - 220mm (with VGA card under 190mm), 140mm (with VGA card over 190mm)

So some limits on gfx card+psu

edit - one thing with gigabyte is you get the best support, some of the stuff ive seen them do for people is above and beyond normal.

hurfdurf · 14 May 2017 at 19:29

Ignore

hurfdurf · 14 May 2017 at 19:51

Just been talked out of the graphics card, making some changes.

hurfdurf · 14 May 2017 at 19:52

My basket at Overclockers UK:

1 x Team Group Dark T-Force 8GB (2x4GB) DDR4 PC4-24000C16 3000MHz Dual Channel Kit - Black/Grey (TDKED48= £74.99
1 x Corsair Carbide Series Air 240 High Airflow PC Case - Black (CC-9011070-WW)= £94.99
1 x AMD Ryzen 5 Six Core 1600X 4.00GHz (Socket AM4) Processor - Retail= £259.99
1 x MSI B350M Mortar AMD 350 (Socket AM4) DDR4 Micro ATX Motherboard= £88.99
1 x Asus Radeon RX 580 Dual 8192MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card= £239.99

Total: £770.65
(includes shipping: £11.70)

This is my build so far, what are peoples thoughts? I kept the Graphics Card but went for a bigger processor.

I have this PSU, sorry, I made a mistake and am now home to check, Corsair CX500M ATX Power Supply. Its only about a year old from a competitor when my old one started making a funny crackling noise.

http://www.corsair.com/en-gb/cx-ser...500-watt-80-plus-bronze-certified-modular-psu

Couple of questions, do I need another CPU fan? Is everything compatible? Is 8 Gigs of ram ok for now to upgrade later when I have more money?

stulid · 14 May 2017 at 19:57

Yes you need a cooling fan/heatsink.

Case says -
Maximum CPU Cooler Height
120mm

Or stick a water cooler in.

Make sure its AM4 compatible.

ExoMale · 14 May 2017 at 20:03

Still better with the 480 if you can get the ones(if in stock) for less than that 580, save you a few quid and you will still ideally want a better power supply, you could have a 2000w model if it's cx range as pointed out a lot on the forums it will not be great in the long run, the cx range is the 2nd lowest(actually not sure if VS is lowest or cx) and poorer range from corsair, mean it will do and power it, but if you want a very good system you need a very good power supply.

hurfdurf · 14 May 2017 at 20:16

stulid said:
Yes you need a cooling fan/heatsink.

Case says -
Maximum CPU Cooler Height
120mm

Or stick a water cooler in.

Make sure its AM4 compatible.

Thanks for all your help so far.

Hows this?

My basket at Overclockers UK:

1 x Team Group Dark T-Force 8GB (2x4GB) DDR4 PC4-24000C16 3000MHz Dual Channel Kit - Black/Grey (TDKED48= £74.99
1 x Corsair Carbide Series Air 240 High Airflow PC Case - Black (CC-9011070-WW)= £94.99
1 x AMD Ryzen 5 Six Core 1600X 4.00GHz (Socket AM4) Processor - Retail= £259.99
1 x MSI B350M Mortar AMD 350 (Socket AM4) DDR4 Micro ATX Motherboard= £88.99
1 x Asus Radeon RX 580 Dual 8192MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card= £239.99
1 x Raijintek AM4 Brackets= £0.00
1 x Raijintek Pallas 140mm Low Profile CPU Cooler= £38.99
1 x Kingston 64GB DataTraveler SE9 G2 USB 3.0 Flash Drive (DTSE9G2/64GB)= £28.99

Total: £839.23
(includes shipping: £12.30)

Edit: Ignore the pen drive, I just need one.