3400G or wait a while and get 3600+discrete graphics

[droopypets]

Budget (including currency): sub 500 us dollars

Country: US 

Games, programs or workloads that it will be used for: gaming and basic office work 

 

Hi guys, looking to build my first pc and am wanting to keep it in a tight budget so my current build includes a Ryzen 5 3400g because I can keep it under 500 while still keeping most games playable with decent fps without the cost of a discrete gpu. I've been wanting to build a new PC for a while to make to move to PC gaming from console and I'm starting a new job soon so it seemed like a good time to finally do it. My plan right now is to build a rig with a 3400g and upgrade with a fairly good graphics card a bit down the line. Is this a good plan or is it worth it to save up the extra ~200 dollars to go with a 3600 and a budget graphics card like a rx 570 or 580? I also know that the 4th gen ryzen chips are supposed to come out in a month, should that have any bearing on my decision here? 

 

[Dedayog]

For a full build under $500,  I would recommend a 3400G for esports.

 

If you need to play AAA games, then 3100 or 3300X with discrete graphics.  

[Nathanpete]

Absolutely wait, anyone who is making a new build or upgrading their CPU or GPU should hold off for a month or more. The Ryzen 4000 desktop APUs are now available in up to 8c/16t options, but are still Zen 2, not Zen 3. Anyway the 4600G (6c/12t) and the 4300G (4c/8t) is currently OEM only, but should be coming to the DIY market eventually. Or you can do a little searching and see if you can buy it as a tray CPU very soon. That means when it arrives it will have no cooler, and no fancy box, but otherwise it will still be the same 6c/12t 4600G. 

Despite the fact that the 4600G looks like a 3600 with some vega graphics, it is not. It is a monolithic design instead of a chiplet design, bc this is taken straight from laptops. Laptops need the CPU to be as small as possible for cooling reasons, so the chiplet design in the 3600 is not used bc that takes up extra space. 

[droopypets]

9 minutes ago, BlueScope819 said:

Can you link a PCPP list? I would recommend waiting for next gen Ryzen CPUs, grab a 4600 and slap in a really basic graphics card that you then upgrade later.

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 3400G 3.7 GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($148.94 @ Amazon) 
Motherboard: ASRock B450M PRO4 Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard  ($82.99 @ Newegg) 
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws V 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3600 CL19 Memory  ($56.99 @ Newegg) 
Storage: Western Digital Blue 500 GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive  ($64.98 @ Amazon) 
Case: NZXT H510 ATX Mid Tower Case  ($69.98 @ Amazon) 
Power Supply: EVGA BR 500 W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply  ($66.89 @ Amazon) 
Total: $490.77
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2020-08-15 16:25 EDT-0400

 

This is what I'm currently looking at. 

[Nathanpete]

Just now, droopypets said:

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 3400G 3.7 GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($148.94 @ Amazon) 
Motherboard: ASRock B450M PRO4 Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard  ($82.99 @ Newegg) 
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws V 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3600 CL19 Memory  ($56.99 @ Newegg) 
Storage: Western Digital Blue 500 GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive  ($64.98 @ Amazon) 
Case: NZXT H510 ATX Mid Tower Case  ($69.98 @ Amazon) 
Power Supply: EVGA BR 500 W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply  ($66.89 @ Amazon) 
Total: $490.77
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2020-08-15 16:25 EDT-0400

 

This is what I'm currently looking at. 

Not a bad list. But as in my last comment I would recommend looking to see if you can get your hands on a 4400G as a tray CPU (the day after the announcement a company in Hong Kong was already posting benchmarks because they had their hands on a tray since before the announcement. Somebody on the internet, maybe in another country, has it as a tray CPU ready for sale, but actually finding them and paying them could be a hassle. You could buy a 3400G, then buy a 4400G when it comes to the DIY market, but I'm not sure if the B450 is still compatible with it. I would think it would be since it is Zen 2 based, but IDK. 

[droopypets]

16 minutes ago, Dedayog said:

For a full build under $500,  I would recommend a 3400G for esports.

 

If you need to play AAA games, then 3100 or 3300X with discrete graphics.  

I would immediately only care only about basic esports type gaming, but would like to eventually play AAA games. Would a 3400g be a good CPU to eventually upgrade with a fairly good discrete graphics card in a year or so? or would I find myself having to upgrade both my cpu and gpu?

[droopypets]

13 minutes ago, BlueScope819 said:

Looks good besides the case (airflow isn't great) but the CPU is up for debate.

Yeah, I've heard mixed reviews on the airflow with this case, but dang it looks so clean imo. Would the airflow issues be a problem given this is a pretty basic system?

10 minutes ago, Nathanpete said:

Not a bad list. But as in my last comment I would recommend looking to see if you can get your hands on a 4400G as a tray CPU (the day after the announcement a company in Hong Kong was already posting benchmarks because they had their hands on a tray since before the announcement. Somebody on the internet, maybe in another country, has it as a tray CPU ready for sale, but actually finding them and paying them could be a hassle. You could buy a 3400G, then buy a 4400G when it comes to the DIY market, but I'm not sure if the B450 is still compatible with it. I would think it would be since it is Zen 2 based, but IDK. 

Hmm, that sounds like an intriguing idea, but may be a bit more trouble than I can handle since I'm so new at all this. I will likely be waiting at least a month to actually buy, so the market will likely be very different with the gen 4 out so may have more thinking to do with that happens. 

[Nathanpete]

Just now, droopypets said:

I would immediately only care only about basic esports type gaming, but would like to eventually play AAA games. Would a 3400g be a good CPU to eventually upgrade with a fairly good discrete graphics card in a year or so? or would I find myself having to upgrade both my cpu and gpu?

With a discrete GPU upgrade down the line, it will be great. Now if u were using like a 3200G or heavens a 3000G you would need an upgrade, but you should be just fine if you purchase the above list now.