Advice on new build please.....

[andrewstevens556]

Please feel free to pick apart this design spec....aiming on a relatively simple office PC that can also cover some gaming too.

Have an extra spare 1tb HDD or two here already I can add to the build too, whilst external storage is covered by a Synology NAS so this build shouldn't need too much space.

Am I better with 1 x 16gb RAM or 2 x 8gb please?
Samsung SSD overspec? Should I drop down to Adata?


Many thanks in advance!


Case
CORSAIR CARBIDE SERIES™ 275R TEMPERED GLASS GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 5 3600 Six Core CPU (3.6GHz-4.2GHz/36MB CACHE/AM4)
Motherboard
ASUS® PRIME B450-PLUS (DDR4, USB 3.1, 6Gb/s) - RGB Ready!
Memory (RAM)
16GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 2400MHz (1 x 16GB)
Graphics Card
6GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 1660 - HDMI, DP - GeForce GTX VR Ready!
1st Storage Drive
NOT REQUIRED
1st M.2 SSD Drive
500GB SAMSUNG 970 EVO PLUS M.2, PCIe NVMe (up to 3500MB/R, 3200MB/W)

Choose from 6 Incredible Ubisoft Titles FREE with select SAMSUNG SSDs!
DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
NOT REQUIRED
Power Supply
CORSAIR 550W TXm SERIES™ SEMI-MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
PCS FrostFlow 100 V2 Series High Performance CPU Cooler (AMD)
Thermal Paste
STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
Sound Card
ONBOARD 8 CHANNEL (7.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Wireless/Wired Networking
WIRELESS 802.11N 300Mbps/2.4GHz PCI-E CARD
USB/Thunderbolt Options
MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 6 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Operating System
Windows 10 Home 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Windows Recovery Media
Windows 10 Multi-Language Recovery Image - Unlimited Downloads from Online Account
Office Software
FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft® Office® 365 (Operating System Required)
Anti-Virus
BullGuard™ Internet Security - Free 90 Day License inc. Gamer Mode
Browser
Google Chrome™
Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 8 to 10 working days
Price: £919.00 including VAT and Delivery

 

[VenatoS]

RAM: 2x8GB - 3200Mhz
Processor Cooling: Atleast get a Hyper 212
PSU: 750 RMx

Rest looks good for time being.
What resoution would u game on?

 

[SpyderTracks]

I would agree with above and:

dropping the m2 to an Adata won’t noticeably impact performance all that much, they’re still outrageously fast.

I would up the WiFi card to the next one in the list, not much more expensive but supports all modern standards.

 

[andrewstevens556]

RAM: 2x8GB - 3200Mhz
Processor Cooling: Atleast get a Hyper 212
PSU: 750 RMx

Rest looks good for time being.
What resoution would u game on?

Thanks. Any particular reasons for each?

The configurator won't let me go any higher than 2 x 8gb 3000mhz (£19 more) - 3200mhz isn't an option.
Nor will it let me add Hyper 212 processor cooling - next options up are all liquid cooling, something I was really looking to avoid.
Is the PSU upgrade for futureproofing? It's a £26 extra which isn't huge, but I wasn't sure what I would gain.

I would agree with above and:

dropping the m2 to an Adata won’t noticeably impact performance all that much, they’re still outrageously fast.

I would up the WiFi card to the next one in the list, not much more expensive but supports all modern standards.

Dropping the SSD down to Adata saves £54. I've always been drawn to Samsung as the name in SSDs for reliability and Adata is a bit of an unknown name to me so would welcome your thoughts a bit further.

Thank you for the tip on the wifi card - £10 extra and well worth it for the upgrade. Must admit I rather glossed over wifi card so that's a good move to flag up.

 

[andrewstevens556]

Reading through a few posts of other people's proposed builds for some extra tips.....

- Almost all suggest the Adata drive so they must be pretty popular/reliable
- Again almost all go for 3200mhz RAM - I see I need to be in "AMD Ryzen Extreme Computers" section rather than Workstation to get this option. (adds £24 over 2400mhz)
- @Oussebon often seems to suggest specs sticking with the standard AMD cooler, and also the VS-550w (or sometimes TXm) PSU too (something also only accessible via Extreme section, not Workstation strangely). Also adds GPU to 1660 Super rather than standard 1660 for just £16 more. I think Oussebon would have something to say about the case choice too sadly - I liked the minimalist, clean design of the 275R.

 

[VenatoS]

Thanks. Any particular reasons for each?

The configurator won't let me go any higher than 2 x 8gb 3000mhz (£19 more) - 3200mhz isn't an option.
Nor will it let me add Hyper 212 processor cooling - next options up are all liquid cooling, something I was really looking to avoid.
Is the PSU upgrade for futureproofing? It's a £26 extra which isn't huge, but I wasn't sure what I would gain.

Go for the extreme section then if you can afford it.
The Hyper 212 Will perform MUCH better than standard cooler & really is super cheap.
The Faster RAM will be noticeable & the price to performance ratio is a no brainier.
If you do really plan to game on this PC for a while you will need to future proof it with a good PSU so you can supply power to new better GPU's which you will inevitable upgrade to.

 

[Oussebon]

Am I better with 1 x 16gb RAM or 2 x 8gb please?

2 x 8gb. And the fastest RAM reasonably available (3200MHz, maybe 3600MHz depending on price)

- Again almost all go for 3200mhz RAM - I see I need to be in "AMD Ryzen Extreme Computers" section rather than Workstation to get this option. (adds £24 over 2400mhz)

Yes. PCS need to work on the naming of those things... the 'extreme' is a hangover from them still selling Ryzen 1st gen alongside FX series junk. Whereas now it's the mainstream AMD offering. Anyway, you found it

- @Oussebon often seems to suggest specs sticking with the standard AMD cooler, and also the VS-550w (or sometimes TXm) PSU too

VS is appropriate for budget systems, but where the rest of the build is already nicely balanced and there is still the cash I'd indeed recommend TXm. I don't think I'd recommend RMx here - yes it's only £25 more than TXm, but you can creep the budget like that on everything (3600MHz RAM is only ~£25 more than 3200MHz ... X470 mobo, and while you're at it why not X570 PLUS which is a great board... and on it goes). If you were going for a deliberately very quiet system then I'd recommend RMx without hesitation. But for a general PC, I'd draw the line at the already 7 year warrantied, gold rated, and modular TXm series.

You can buy RMx but I wouldn't go out of my way to recommend spending £100 on a PSU in a reasonably modest ~£1000 build.

I think Oussebon would have something to say about the case choice too sadly - I liked the minimalist, clean design of the 275R.

You think right. Fractal don't know any word other than minimalist. How does the Meshify C look to you? It's excellent for airflow, black with tempered glass like the 275R and £20 more.

I'd question whether the Hyper 212 is worth buying with an AMD CPU. Because you can save £30 with the stock cooler. Or spend £15 more and get a much better 240mm AIO cooler anyway. Thanks to the AMD stock coolers being decent by the standards of stock coolers, a cheap air cooler is less of a knock-out win than with an Intel system where, thanks to the stock coolers being weak and unpleasantly loud, an after market CPU cooler is all but a necessity.

Dropping the SSD down to Adata saves £54. I've always been drawn to Samsung as the name in SSDs for reliability and Adata is a bit of an unknown name to me so would welcome your thoughts a bit further.

Adata is a very well known name in storage and memory - their RAM took a world record in overclocking earlier in 2019. And they're known in flash memory and SSDs for a while. Their SX6000 reviews well.

ADATA XPG SX6000: Benchmarking A ~$50 USD 128GB NVMe SSD On Linux Review - Phoronix

www.phoronix.com

ADATA SX6000 Pro 1 TB NVMe Review

Priced at a stunning $110, the ADATA SX6000 Pro 1 TB is one of the most affordable NVMe drives on the market, and a heatsink is included, too, to help avoid thermal throttling. In our performance testing, we see decent performance that's within a few percentages of other, more expensive M.2 SSDs.

www.techpowerup.com

It's not about the brand in my book as much as it's about the product. Intel make Optane ultra low latency SSDs, but they also do the 660p (and those silly optane memory modules). Samsung does the EVO, but it also does the QVO. Adata do some trash-tier SSDs but they also do the SX6000. Western digital's Blue SSD was poor until it was refreshed with 3D NAND and the WD Blue 3D is actually rather good.

So what's the spec looking like now? Can you post up a refreshed edition?

 

[andrewstevens556]

2 x 8gb. And the fastest RAM reasonably available (3200MHz, maybe 3600MHz depending on price)

Yes. PCS need to work on the naming of those things... the 'extreme' is a hangover from them still selling Ryzen 1st gen alongside FX series junk. Whereas now it's the mainstream AMD offering. Anyway, you found it

VS is appropriate for budget systems, but where the rest of the build is already nicely balanced and there is still the cash I'd indeed recommend TXm. I don't think I'd recommend RMx here - yes it's only £25 more than TXm, but you can creep the budget like that on everything (3600MHz RAM is only ~£25 more than 3200MHz ... X470 mobo, and while you're at it why not X570 PLUS which is a great board... and on it goes). If you were going for a deliberately very quiet system then I'd recommend RMx without hesitation. But for a general PC, I'd draw the line at the already 7 year warrantied, gold rated, and modular TXm series.

You can buy RMx but I wouldn't go out of my way to recommend spending £100 on a PSU in a reasonably modest ~£1000 build.

You think right. Fractal don't know any word other than minimalist. How does the Meshify C look to you? It's excellent for airflow, black with tempered glass like the 275R and £20 more.

I'd question whether the Hyper 212 is worth buying with an AMD CPU. Because you can save £30 with the stock cooler. Or spend £15 more and get a much better 240mm AIO cooler anyway. Thanks to the AMD stock coolers being decent by the standards of stock coolers, a cheap air cooler is less of a knock-out win than with an Intel system where, thanks to the stock coolers being weak and unpleasantly loud, an after market CPU cooler is all but a necessity.

Adata is a very well known name in storage and memory - their RAM took a world record in overclocking earlier in 2019. And they're known in flash memory and SSDs for a while. Their SX6000 reviews well.

ADATA XPG SX6000: Benchmarking A ~$50 USD 128GB NVMe SSD On Linux Review - Phoronix

www.phoronix.com

ADATA SX6000 Pro 1 TB NVMe Review

Priced at a stunning $110, the ADATA SX6000 Pro 1 TB is one of the most affordable NVMe drives on the market, and a heatsink is included, too, to help avoid thermal throttling. In our performance testing, we see decent performance that's within a few percentages of other, more expensive M.2 SSDs.

www.techpowerup.com

It's not about the brand in my book as much as it's about the product. Intel make Optane ultra low latency SSDs, but they also do the 660p (and those silly optane memory modules). Samsung does the EVO, but it also does the QVO. Adata do some trash-tier SSDs but they also do the SX6000. Western digital's Blue SSD was poor until it was refreshed with 3D NAND and the WD Blue 3D is actually rather good.

So what's the spec looking like now? Can you post up a refreshed edition?

Wow! Thank you for that advice.

I'm not 100% on the Meshify C - not quite as slim and streamlined/understated as the 275R but I can see the logic of function over form.

Spec now:


Case
FRACTAL MESHIFY C BLACK GAMING CASE (Window)
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 5 3600 Six Core CPU (3.6GHz-4.2GHz/36MB CACHE/AM4)
Motherboard
ASUS® PRIME B450-PLUS (DDR4, USB 3.1, 6Gb/s) - RGB Ready!
Memory (RAM)
16GB Corsair VENGEANCE RGB PRO DDR4 3200MHz (2 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
6GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 1660 SUPER - HDMI, DP - GeForce GTX VR Ready!
1st Storage Drive
NOT REQUIRED
1st M.2 SSD Drive
512GB ADATA SX6000 Pro PCIe M.2 2280 (2100 MB/R, 1500 MB/W)
DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
NOT REQUIRED
Power Supply
CORSAIR 550W TXm SERIES™ SEMI-MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
STANDARD AMD CPU COOLER
Thermal Paste
STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Wireless/Wired Networking
WIRELESS INTEL® Wi-Fi 6 AX200 2,400Mbps/5GHz, 300Mbps/2.4GHz PCI-E CARD + BT 5.0
USB/Thunderbolt Options
MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Operating System
Windows 10 Home 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Windows Recovery Media
Windows 10 Multi-Language Recovery Image - Unlimited Downloads from Online Account
Office Software
FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft® Office® 365 (Operating System Required)
Anti-Virus
BullGuard™ Internet Security - Free 90 Day License inc. Gamer Mode
Browser
Google Chrome™
Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 8 to 10 working days
Price: £934.00 including VAT and Delivery

Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/amd-am4-gen3-pc/3ZnYBRwQjw/

 

[Oussebon]

The 275R's streamlined look is achieved by not having as many holes for the air, in short. That's the trade.

There are occasional attempts to get around the "How do we make a case with a sheer front and sides without harming airflow?" problem and the answer usually attempted afaik is a chimney configuration (airflow bottom > top, versus front > back). Should work especially well because hotter rises, right? Except the results are generally quite middling in practice.

Fractal do well with their R5, Define S, and R6, which have normal airflow config, sheer fronts, and vents at the sides of the front bezels, but those cases are not compact, they're ~11kg of steel.

Spec should do you very well

 

[andrewstevens556]

Thank you. Yes, I guessed that was rather the case - a smooth smart front with no vents doesn't quote allow the well designed air throughflow. The Meshify is a pretty reasonable compromise though.

Appreciate the explanation.

Looking again the R6 is quite a tempting option - £28 more but a smart front as you say. Quite a bit larger too - only 2.5cm higher and 1.5cm wider, but 15cm deeper.....and as you say likely quite a chunk heavier!!

 

[Oussebon]

The R6 is a good option if you want a reasonably quiet, well-ventilated system and don't mind the case being a bit more mid-range in size rather than compact. I'm happy wioth my R4 other than needing to move it quite a bit because of where it lives and needing to get at the bits round the back. The dept is annoying in that context. But you might not have that issue. If the size is fine for you, it's a great case

 

[andrewstevens556]

Nearly placed the order now. Still toying between the Meshify and R6 but it'll probably make little difference either way - both have plus and minus points. Tower goes under the desk so isn't really taking up valuable space.

Thank you all for your help.


Case
FRACTAL DEFINE R6 BLACK QUIET MID-TOWER CASE
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 5 3600 Six Core CPU (3.6GHz-4.2GHz/36MB CACHE/AM4)
Motherboard
ASUS® PRIME B450-PLUS (DDR4, USB 3.1, 6Gb/s) - RGB Ready!
Memory (RAM)
16GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 3200MHz (2 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
6GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 1660 SUPER - HDMI, DP - GeForce GTX VR Ready!
1st Storage Drive
NOT REQUIRED
1st M.2 SSD Drive
512GB ADATA SX6000 Pro PCIe M.2 2280 (2100 MB/R, 1500 MB/W)
DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
NOT REQUIRED
Power Supply
CORSAIR 550W TXm SERIES™ SEMI-MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
STANDARD AMD CPU COOLER
Thermal Paste
STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Wireless/Wired Networking
WIRELESS INTEL® Wi-Fi 6 AX200 2,400Mbps/5GHz, 300Mbps/2.4GHz PCI-E CARD + BT 5.0
USB/Thunderbolt Options
MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Operating System
Windows 10 Home 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Windows Recovery Media
Windows 10 Multi-Language Recovery Image - Unlimited Downloads from Online Account
Office Software
FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft® Office® 365 (Operating System Required)
Anti-Virus
BullGuard™ Internet Security - Free 90 Day License inc. Gamer Mode
Browser
Google Chrome™
Warranty
3 Year Silver Warranty (1 Year Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 10 to 12 working days
Welcome Book
PCSpecialist Welcome Book - United Kingdom & Republic of Ireland
Price: £945.00 including VAT and Delivery

 

[andrewstevens556]

EDIT: Looks like my earlier quote from Tuesday accidentally included RGB RAM rather than standard...so have made a bit of a saving there. Couldn't understand why earlier when I was doing the config again there looked to be so little difference in price between the 3200 and 3600mhz RAM.

3200 RGB to 3600 standard was only £9 extra so seemed cheap.
Little did I realise I have the RGB so dropping from 3200 RGB down to standard 3200 was a £15 saving.

3200 standard to 3600 is £24 extra


R6 case case has dropped £3 in price so is now only £25 more than Meshify.