The PC building Thread

[gorfias]

Holy hell that video was a faff and a half. Looks neat though, tiny form factor PCs always had my attention. Makes me regret buying a full ATX MOBO for my most recent build, should've gone Micro or Mini

It can be done! I just know my big fat old hands won't be doing it anytime soon.


I keep getting mATX boards for my builds as they're always on sale. Then I put them in a mid size towers.

 

[Elvis Starburst]

It can be done! I just know my big fat old hands won't be doing it anytime soon.


I keep getting mATX boards for my builds as they're always on sale. Then I put them in a mid size towers.

*Heavy breathing* Oh baby.

I always get mid-towers, full towers are just maddening when I only use 1 GPU and such. Just got the Be Quiet! Pure Base 500 yesterday and slapped my current build in there. Thing is definitely silent, I'll give it that! Temps seem to be holding steady too, which is great. Just needs some high static pressure fans on the front and you're good

 

[Phoenixmgs]

Special! I want one now!

It can be done! I just know my big fat old hands won't be doing it anytime soon.

I wouldn't be surprised if mini PCs become commonplace pretty soon with APUs getting better along with external GPUs being an option. I'm sure to get the most out of your gaming, you'll always need the typical desktop PC but for 90+% of people, either an APU or external GPU will be even better options than they are now in the very near future.

Phoenix up there says that Microcenter is cheaper, but I know that the last couple of times I've PC built I wasn't getting better prices from Microcenter or Fry's (all the ones I remember looking for, retail was actually more expensive) for the parts I wanted than from Newegg. And it's easier to find/wait for sales on Newegg with their emailed newsletters.

I was pretty surprised myself as Newegg is my goto as well. The Crucial SSD is like $30 cheaper at Micro Center though it's out of stock at my Chicago store, it could be in stock at other locations. And, the fact that I can drive up there and get the stuff right away along with also returning stuff in-person if needed is rather convenient.

 

[gorfias]

*Heavy breathing* Oh baby.

I always get mid-towers, full towers are just maddening when I only use 1 GPU and such. Just got the Be Quiet! Pure Base 500 yesterday and slapped my current build in there. Thing is definitely silent, I'll give it that! Temps seem to be holding steady too, which is great. Just needs some high static pressure fans on the front and you're good

Thing looks great!

I got this one as it is what Microcenter sales people were pushing. No place to put an optic drive but nowadays, seldom used. I got an external for $12 for when I ever need it.

 

[Elvis Starburst]

Thing looks great! View attachment 104

It's pretty slick~ Does its job of being quiet. Some high static pressure fans on the front definitely benefits it. I am having a bit of trouble figuring out where to go with fan placement, as my GPU isn't getting a direct flow of air down below. The middle fan ends up blowing halfway across it because the front only has 3 mounting spots for 120mm fans (But the full height of it for 140mm, oddly enough). And unless I remove the hard drive cage I can't get full airflow down below the GPU since the cage blocks a 120mm fan from going there. I could get some 140mm ones, but even Noctua says their 120mm fans can do a better job. My GPU is about 7-10'C higher than my CPU on average, probably in part due to this. Though I have heard Noctua has some 140mm adapters for the 120mm fans, so I'll be doing some digging to see if that'll work!

 

[gorfias]

It's pretty slick~ Does its job of being quiet. Some high static pressure fans on the front definitely benefits it. I am having a bit of trouble figuring out where to go with fan placement, as my GPU isn't getting a direct flow of air down below. The middle fan ends up blowing halfway across it because the front only has 3 mounting spots for 120mm fans (But the full height of it for 140mm, oddly enough). And unless I remove the hard drive cage I can't get full airflow down below the GPU since the cage blocks a 120mm fan from going there. I could get some 140mm ones, but even Noctua says their 120mm fans can do a better job. My GPU is about 7-10'C higher than my CPU on average, probably in part due to this. Though I have heard Noctua has some 140mm adapters for the 120mm fans, so I'll be doing some digging to see if that'll work!

Mine runs a bit hotter than the CPU as well. I will write, mine looks cool but is noisy as heck! Headphones help.

 

[Dirty Hipsters]

Anyone had suggestions for a good power-supply?

The one I wanted is currently both overpriced and out of stock everywhere.

 

[Gordon_4]

9th Gen i5 9400
MSI B365 PRO-VH Motherboard
Cooler Master N300 ATX
Corsair Vengeance LPX 32GB
Samsung 970EVO Plus 250GB
CM MWE Bronze 550Watt PSU
MS Win10 Pro
WD Red 10TB (x2)
MSI GeForce GT 1030 2GB

I’m planning for this to be a Plex Media Server. Bar some utility items like a DVD/BluRay drive and special docking unit for hard drives these are the important specs.

Most of the content will be supplied at 1080p, but some of it is in 4K. There will be two 4K displays drawing from it at any given time, one through Cat6E and the other through wifi.

I’ll also be using it as a workhorse to rip and convert media without tanking my desktop’s performance.

So, I ask my smarter brethren; is it good enough?

 

[SupahEwok]

Anyone had suggestions for a good power-supply?

The one I wanted is currently both overpriced and out of stock everywhere.

Make sure that the brand you buy from is well-known and not a Taiwanese knock-off, but other than that, I don't think there's a real orthodoxy on brands. I've done great with my SeaSonic, which at the time I got it was a highly recommended brand, but I found some other people a couple of years ago trashing it and saying they had a terrible experience with one. It's been my observation that that's the way with all the major brands, if you cast a wide net.

There's three general principles that I've gone by which have served me well:

1) Buy a PSU with 50% more power than your parts added together, because parts have power usage spikes beyond what they're normally listed for, and that will provide a safe overheard for that never to be an issue.
2) Look for 80+ certification. The certification is about power efficiency, but in general, a Bronze level or better certification means that the PSU had to have enough care put into its design and manufacture to attain certification that it has a good level of build quality.
3) Do not buy used no matter how good the deal.

 

[Dirty Hipsters]

Make sure that the brand you buy from is well-known and not a Taiwanese knock-off, but other than that, I don't think there's a real orthodoxy on brands. I've done great with my SeaSonic, which at the time I got it was a highly recommended brand, but I found some other people a couple of years ago trashing it and saying they had a terrible experience with one. It's been my observation that that's the way with all the major brands, if you cast a wide net.

There's three general principles that I've gone by which have served me well:

1) Buy a PSU with 50% more power than your parts added together, because parts have power usage spikes beyond what they're normally listed for, and that will provide a safe overheard for that never to be an issue.
2) Look for 80+ certification. The certification is about power efficiency, but in general, a Bronze level or better certification means that the PSU had to have enough care put into its design and manufacture to attain certification that it has a good level of build quality.
3) Do not buy used no matter how good the deal.

Yeah, all of this I basically know.

I always get 80+ gold rated, fully modular (makes cable management easier), and I'm looking for 650w (power consumption estimate for current build is about 430w).

Thing is, I've always bought EVGA power supplies (for the 10 year warranty) and never had a single problem with them, but I'm not sure about what other brands are good while not being horrendously overpriced right now.

 

[Elvis Starburst]

Yeah, all of this I basically know.

I always get 80+ gold rated, fully modular (makes cable management easier), and I'm looking for 650w (power consumption estimate for current build is about 430w).

Thing is, I've always bought EVGA power supplies (for the 10 year warranty) and never had a single problem with them, but I'm not sure about what other brands are good while not being horrendously overpriced right now.

I was about to mention the pricing chart on the PSU listing on your original post build, saying it hasn't really gone up THAT much to not make it still be worth it. But, yeah, forgot about the out of stock problem. Hrm.
I don't like them for personal reasons, but Corsair's PSUs are a popular choice? Probably can't go too wrong with those. But, man... looking on the US PcPartPicker site, power supplies have just vanished everywhere. Fuggin hell. They're in stock here on Newegg Canada, but they aren't very cheap at $175 Canadian on average.

MSI GeForce GT 1030 2GB

I was gonna ask why this thing in particular is the potato of the build. But online specs show it's 4k capable, so, egg on my face. Was also gonna recommend the 9600, but benchmarks show the 9400 is only 5-10% behind on average, so... It'd probably be fine then?

 

[Dirty Hipsters]

Just finished ordering my parts, this is the final build:

System Builder

pcpartpicker.com

Thankfully pcpartpicker prices are not accurate to what I paid. Ended up getting the PSU for $115 (still overpriced), the case for $100, the processor for $178, the GPU for $399, and the SSD for $109.

All in all the build is costing me about $1180 plus tax.

Definitely overpaid on the ram, and PSU, but everything else is roughly in line with the standard prices. Of course under normal circumstances I'd try to get everything on sale, but we all know there's no sales coming anytime soon.

I'll have everything by May 30th at the latest.

 

[Phoenixmgs]

9th Gen i5 9400
MSI B365 PRO-VH Motherboard
Cooler Master N300 ATX
Corsair Vengeance LPX 32GB
Samsung 970EVO Plus 250GB
CM MWE Bronze 550Watt PSU
MS Win10 Pro
WD Red 10TB (x2)
MSI GeForce GT 1030 2GB

I’m planning for this to be a Plex Media Server. Bar some utility items like a DVD/BluRay drive and special docking unit for hard drives these are the important specs.

Most of the content will be supplied at 1080p, but some of it is in 4K. There will be two 4K displays drawing from it at any given time, one through Cat6E and the other through wifi.

I’ll also be using it as a workhorse to rip and convert media without tanking my desktop’s performance.

So, I ask my smarter brethren; is it good enough?

I'm just wondering what the point of the video card is. It sounds like you're not hooking up the TVs via video connection so needing a DisplayPort or HDMI 2.0 port for 4K@60 isn't needed or if it is, you can find a mobo with one.

 

[Gordon_4]

I was about to mention the pricing chart on the PSU listing on your original post build, saying it hasn't really gone up THAT much to not make it still be worth it. But, yeah, forgot about the out of stock problem. Hrm.
I don't like them for personal reasons, but Corsair's PSUs are a popular choice? Probably can't go too wrong with those. But, man... looking on the US PcPartPicker site, power supplies have just vanished everywhere. Fuggin hell. They're in stock here on Newegg Canada, but they aren't very cheap at $175 Canadian on average.



I was gonna ask why this thing in particular is the potato of the build. But online specs show it's 4k capable, so, egg on my face. Was also gonna recommend the 9600, but benchmarks show the 9400 is only 5-10% behind on average, so... It'd probably be fine then?

I'm just wondering what the point of the video card is. It sounds like you're not hooking up the TVs via video connection so needing a DisplayPort or HDMI 2.0 port for 4K@60 isn't needed or if it is, you can find a mobo with one.

Plex can make use of a GPU for hardware transcoding, which is useful when and if it has to either downrate or convert the video on the fly to something the front end device can recognise. I do fully appreciate however I may be misremembering how this sort of thing works and the GPU - budget ***** type that it is - won't actually be required.

 

[Elvis Starburst]

Just finished ordering my parts, this is the final build

Sweet looker!

Though I wanted to ask something out of curiosity. I know I recommended the 3600X initially due to its low price gap from the 3600 for slightly better performance. But now the price gaps for them kinda skyrocketed (It was a $15 or so difference at the time of recommendation). Was curious as to what price you paid for the 3600X in the end?

I ask because I did some further research (And meant to message you sooner) and found that the 3600 was more than acceptable in benchmarks than I initially found before my recommendation, with lower TDP as well. So if you were looking to save some money that could've been a way to do it due to the sudden price jump. Big time derps on my part there. But if it's still within reasonable levels on your part, then carry on, don't mind me!

 

[Dirty Hipsters]

Sweet looker!

Though I wanted to ask something out of curiosity. I know I recommended the 3600X initially due to its low price gap from the 3600 for slightly better performance. But now the price gaps for them kinda skyrocketed (It was a $15 or so difference at the time of recommendation). Was curious as to what price you paid for the 3600X in the end?

I ask because I did some further research (And meant to message you sooner) and found that the 3600 was more than acceptable in benchmarks than I initially found before my recommendation, with lower TDP as well. So if you were looking to save some money that could've been a way to do it due to the sudden price jump. Big time derps on my part there. But if it's still within reasonable levels on your part, then carry on, don't mind me!

I got the ryzen 5 3600x for $178 at microcenter, so I got a pretty decent deal (would have been better if they also had the motherboard I wanted in stock).

Right now the normal 3600 is going for between $172 and $199 most places, so in terms of price the 3600 wasn't a much better value, plus I would have had to pay for shipping.

 

[Elvis Starburst]

I got the ryzen 5 3600x for $178 at microcenter, so I got a pretty decent deal (would have been better if they also had the motherboard I wanted in stock).

Right now the normal 3600 is going for between $172 and $199 most places, so in terms of price the 3600 wasn't a much better value, plus I would have had to pay for shipping.

Awesome! Looking online, yeah, seems you got a sweet price for it. Benchmarks show the temps and power draw aren't too much higher, especially with a good cooler. So less than a $10 difference to the lowest price for 4-6% better performance is not bad at all. The SeaSonic also reviews nicely too.

You did good with this build, can't wait to see how it all comes together. Post pics, of course!

 

[Dirty Hipsters]

Awesome! Looking online, yeah, seems you got a sweet price for it. Benchmarks show the temps and power draw aren't too much higher, especially with a good cooler. So less than a $10 difference to the lowest price for 4-6% better performance is not bad at all. The SeaSonic also reviews nicely too.

You did good with this build, can't wait to see how it all comes together. Post pics, of course!

Now just fingers crossed everything actually arrives. The PSU was on back order from Amazon so that's going to take the longest. It should be back in stock on May 19th, so I should have everything by like the 25th at the latest.

 

[Elvis Starburst]

Now just fingers crossed everything actually arrives. The PSU was on back order from Amazon so that's going to take the longest. It should be back in stock on May 19th, so I should have everything by like the 25th at the latest.

When I ordered my case it was on back order, but it got sent a few days earlier than the back order stock date showed. So who knows, you might get lucky and have it sent earlier!

 

[Dirty Hipsters]

I've received everything except the PSU and SSD. Now we play the waiting game.

...
...

Waiting game sucks.

Btw, do any of you use support brackets for your GPUs? Worth it?