First PC Build (mATX)

[LordVetinari]

Morning all from the UK. I am looking to build my first PC from scratch; previously I have only upgraded computers swapping out parts here and there or repairing them so I'm not a complete noob but a) most of that I did years ago and b) this will be my first one completely from scratch.

 

I have listed pretty much everything out below, but could do with any comparability issues being pointed out or I am more than open to suggestions on better kit or 'bang for buck' options.

 

Budget (including currency): £900 (ish)

Country: UK

Games, programs or workloads that it will be used for: 1080p gaming (shadow of tomb raider/red dead 2 etc) and some 3d CAD work.

Current parts list: (definitely needs to be mATX)

 

Ryzen 7 3700x

 

Sapphire Radeon Rx 5600 xt pulse

 

AsRock B550m steel legend motherboard (I definitely want forward comparability with the next series chips)

 

Gigabyte WB1733D-I 1733Mbps PCI Express WiFi

 

HyperX Fury Bundle 16GB (2x 8GB) 3200MHz DDR4 RAM

 

Intel SSD 760p Series 256GB M.2-2280 SSD

or:

Adata XPG Spectrix S40G RGB 256GB M.2-2280 SSD

(boot drive)

 

Seagate BarraCuda 1TB SATA III 3.5" HDD (secondary drive) 

 

Be Quiet! Pure Rock 2 Air Tower CPU Cooler

 

PSU : Cooler Master MWE Gold 650W 80 PLUS Gold Certified ATX Power Supply Unit (HK)

or:

Antec NeoECO Gold ZEN 600W 80+ Gold PSU

 

I already have:

Case: Cougar MG-120G mATX (max PSU 160mm, max cooler height 175mm, max gpu length 330mm)

 

2x Corsair AF140's

 

2x be quiet! Silent wings 2 120s

 

I think that's everything...

 

 

 

 

[Avocheeseado]

PCPartPicker Part List

Type	Item	Price
CPU	AMD Ryzen 7 3700X 3.6 GHz 8-Core Processor	£289.29 @ Amazon UK
Motherboard	ASRock B550M Steel Legend Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard	£132.00 @ Technextday
Memory	Corsair Vengeance LPX 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 CL16 Memory	£54.58 @ Amazon UK
Storage	Kingston A2000 1 TB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive	£101.27 @ More Computers
Video Card	EVGA GeForce RTX 2060 6 GB KO GAMING Video Card	£276.32 @ Amazon UK
Power Supply	Corsair TXM Gold 550 W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-modular ATX Power Supply	£69.98 @ Amazon UK
	Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts
	Total	£923.44
	Generated by PCPartPicker 2020-08-16 11:16 BST+0100

This would be good. 

I chose the RTX 2060 over the RX 5600XT because, it performs slightly better in the games you plan to play and in some others. It also has the NVENC encoder which could help with your 3D CAD work.

I have included one pretty fast NVMe drive and if that gets all used up, you can always add in another M.2 Drive as that motherboard has 3 slots.

You will not need the WiFi card if you can use Ethernet. The processor also comes with a decent cooler, and again, you can upgrade this down the line if you don't think it is adequate.

[LordVetinari]

3 hours ago, Avocheeseado said:

PCPartPicker Part List

Type	Item	Price
CPU	AMD Ryzen 7 3700X 3.6 GHz 8-Core Processor	£289.29 @ Amazon UK
Motherboard	ASRock B550M Steel Legend Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard	£132.00 @ Technextday
Memory	Corsair Vengeance LPX 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 CL16 Memory	£54.58 @ Amazon UK
Storage	Kingston A2000 1 TB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive	£101.27 @ More Computers
Video Card	EVGA GeForce RTX 2060 6 GB KO GAMING Video Card	£276.32 @ Amazon UK
Power Supply	Corsair TXM Gold 550 W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-modular ATX Power Supply	£69.98 @ Amazon UK
	Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts
	Total	£923.44
	Generated by PCPartPicker 2020-08-16 11:16 BST+0100

This would be good. 

I chose the RTX 2060 over the RX 5600XT because, it performs slightly better in the games you plan to play and in some others. It also has the NVENC encoder which could help with your 3D CAD work.

I have included one pretty fast NVMe drive and if that gets all used up, you can always add in another M.2 Drive as that motherboard has 3 slots.

You will not need the WiFi card if you can use Ethernet. The processor also comes with a decent cooler, and again, you can upgrade this down the line if you don't think it is adequate.

Thanks, some good looking options there.

 

Does the GPU only using a PCI 3.0 over 4.0 not make that much difference then?

 

With the new CPUs and GPUs due to come out soon they will be the last parts I buy so I can hopefully get a deal.

 

Also is a 550w PSU enough? The graphics cards recommend a minimum 500w - I maybe used to older, cruddier PSUs but is degradation not as much of a worry anymore? (Plus I don't trust manufacturers recommendations much....) 

 

 

Edited August 16, 2020 by LordVetinari
All about PSU's

[Avocheeseado]

5 hours ago, LordVetinari said:

Thanks, some good looking options there.

 

Does the GPU only using a PCI 3.0 over 4.0 not make that much difference then?

 

With the new CPUs and GPUs due to come out soon they will be the last parts I buy so I can hopefully get a deal.

 

Also is a 550w PSU enough? The graphics cards recommend a minimum 500w - I maybe used to older, cruddier PSUs but is degradation not as much of a worry anymore? (Plus I don't trust manufacturers recommendations much....) 

 

 

550w should be plenty. If you are really concerned, then you can go for a 650w one but it might cost quite a bit more. Your PC at full load will only draw about 300w

It isn't too big of a deal if the GPU isn't PCIe 4.0. The 2060 is still better for your needs.

I would wait for the new CPUs and GPUs, yes. So you can either get the old parts for cheaper or the new ones for the same price.

[LordVetinari]

1 minute ago, Avocheeseado said:

550w should be plenty. If you are really concerned, then you can go for a 650w one but it might cost quite a bit more. Your PC at full load will only draw about 300w

It isn't too big of a deal if the GPU isn't PCIe 4.0. The 2060 is still better for your needs.

I would wait for the new CPUs and GPUs, yes. So you can either get the old parts for cheaper or the new ones for the same price.

Thanks, much appreciated.

[Avocheeseado]

1 minute ago, LordVetinari said:

Thanks, much appreciated.

Glad I could help

[SavageNeo]

6 hours ago, Avocheeseado said:

PCPartPicker Part List

Type	Item	Price
CPU	AMD Ryzen 7 3700X 3.6 GHz 8-Core Processor	£289.29 @ Amazon UK
Motherboard	ASRock B550M Steel Legend Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard	£132.00 @ Technextday
Memory	Corsair Vengeance LPX 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 CL16 Memory	£54.58 @ Amazon UK
Storage	Kingston A2000 1 TB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive	£101.27 @ More Computers
Video Card	EVGA GeForce RTX 2060 6 GB KO GAMING Video Card	£276.32 @ Amazon UK
Power Supply	Corsair TXM Gold 550 W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-modular ATX Power Supply	£69.98 @ Amazon UK
	Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts
	Total	£923.44
	Generated by PCPartPicker 2020-08-16 11:16 BST+0100

This would be good. 

I chose the RTX 2060 over the RX 5600XT because, it performs slightly better in the games you plan to play and in some others. It also has the NVENC encoder which could help with your 3D CAD work.

I have included one pretty fast NVMe drive and if that gets all used up, you can always add in another M.2 Drive as that motherboard has 3 slots.

You will not need the WiFi card if you can use Ethernet. The processor also comes with a decent cooler, and again, you can upgrade this down the line if you don't think it is adequate.

5600Xt performs better than most rtx 2060. thought that performs better but runs very louad sicne htat cooler is hsit. Everybodu in the forums agree that never get that gpu.

 

[Avocheeseado]

1 minute ago, SavageNeo said:

5600Xt performs better than most rtx 2060. thought that performs better but runs very louad sicne htat cooler is hsit. Everybodu in the forums agree that never get that gpu.

 

Not sure about everybody, but yes. it isn't the best cooler. It has gone up in price now so the Gigabyte OC is cheaper. Not sure about the cooler on that card though. But when the new GPUs come out, all 2060s should reduce in price so he can get one of those then or a 3060.

[Guest]

Assuming you need wifi I would go with the B550M Mortar MAX as it has wifi 6 for an extra £18. The Steel Legend is fine though if you don't.

 

 

PCPartPicker Part List

Motherboard: MSI MAG B550M MORTAR WIFI Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard  (£150.98 @ Box Limited) 
Total: £150.98
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2020-08-16 17:29 BST+0100

[LordVetinari]

6 minutes ago, lee32uk said:

Assuming you need wifi I would go with the B550M Mortar MAX as it has wifi 6 for an extra £18. The Steel Legend is fine though if you don't.

 

 

PCPartPicker Part List

Motherboard: MSI MAG B550M MORTAR WIFI Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard  (£150.98 @ Box Limited) 
Total: £150.98
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2020-08-16 17:29 BST+0100

WiFi isn't a necessity, but a nice to have. I have read the aftermarket cards are better than built in modules on mATX boards, but again milage seems to vary. 

 

I would quite like Bluetooth though for my set of Bluetooth headphones. But a little usb dongle would cover that I guess.

 

Setup will be in an office room and I will largely be using headphones so noise isn't a huuuge issue but quieter is better.

[LordVetinari]

On 8/16/2020 at 5:22 PM, Avocheeseado said:

Glad I could help

The Asus TUF B550m plus gaming mobo (with WiFi) is currently only £150 - seems to have good reviews.

 

Is it any good?

[Avocheeseado]

18 hours ago, LordVetinari said:

The Asus TUF B550m plus gaming mobo (with WiFi) is currently only £150 - seems to have good reviews.

 

Is it any good?

I think the MSI MAG b550M Mortar Wifi would be a better option.

[LordVetinari]

On 8/20/2020 at 2:32 PM, Avocheeseado said:

-snip-

 

On 8/16/2020 at 5:36 PM, lee32uk said:

-snip- 

Thanks for all the help guys. Just to break with the seeming tradition of very few builds in this section actually getting built here's a few pics of my completed build which went together without a hitch and posted first time. Only thing left are peripherals and a monitor. (And an OS!)

 

I made some changes to my original plans:

 

I went with a Ryzen 5 3600xt. I think my original build suffered from some mission creep and the R5 will be sufficient for my need which will be more gaming than productivity. The XT because I do want to have a play with over clocking. This will get an upgrade in a few years with whatever the fastest chip is that will fit in the AM4 at that point.

 

I was going to go for the Corsair TXM but they basically disappeared from stores while we were discussing this to the point where a national retailer only had one floor model in the country. I kinda wish I had gone with a semi modular PSU but it's fine.

 

The GPU is a Zotac 1070ti mini second hand from eBay, snagged for £170. I was going to wait for the 3060 but wanted to get up and running sooner. Plus see what AMD come up with. I will upgrade this next year when drivers etc have matured.

 

The MSI mortar was an open box deal so only cost £140.

 

The RAM was chosen for seemingly well reported overclocking abilities. Also dat RBG. 

 

The cooler - yeah RBG again, but also in the same tier as the be Quiet! Unit I was looking at. (May actually be higher)

 

I also got the extra 500gb SSD because it was a flash deal on Amazon and only £40.

 

I think in total the cost has been about £950ish including extras on fan splitters, SATA cables, fancy fan mounts, thermal paste and an ESD strap. I just need to sort that PCIE cable out so it comes in from the bottom.

 

The case front will be modded as the air flow isn't great. Will go for a bit of a Star Wars theme I think.

 

 

[Avocheeseado]

can you stop reacting to my posts @BiG StroOnZ

[Avocheeseado]

your welcome @BiG StroOnZ

[BiG StroOnZ]

25 minutes ago, Avocheeseado said:

 

Spoiler

 

your you're welcome  @BiG StroOnZ

 

Sorry, but I like to give credit where credit is due. But if it bothers you, I'll leave your posts alone.