PC Rookie working on my first build ever!

[TheBeardedGentleman]

Hello everyone! I've been a subscriber to the LTT Youtube for a few years now, and also the NCIX channel before that. I've been wanting for a very long time to build my own PC but have always had other priorities. Well the time has come for the PC cherry to be popped! Anyway, here's the basics on the necessities of the build and my goals with it.

 

First off, my background. I started up a Youtube channel about 2 years ago that I wanted to start growing and I started working on recording videos. Unfortunately, my PC I've had for the last couple years (a cheap pre-built from Best Buy because my older PC died completely, leaving me without any kind of PC) is barely capable of running anything (Pentium CPU with 4GB of RAM). I worked at Best Buy for about a year and a half and had a great time getting more familiar with the PC building landscape, but unfortunately my living situation and vehicle came first and my time at BB ended before I could really gather any parts up. Well now I'm back on my feet, and the itch has just gotten way too intense to not scratch. 

 

As for what I want out of this build. I primarily just want to be able to more easily edit videos and get my Youtube channel rolling forward again. I know with the APU I'm a bit limited to get started, but my plan is to pick up a GPU around Black Friday and then possibly upgrade the CPU early next year in tax season. So I've tried to have a pretty straight forward upgrade path that will also keep me settled in the short term. I know It doesn't have a TON of horsepower, but honestly, anything would be light years better than what I'm accustomed to with this old ancient and slow hardware I've been using. I also do want to do some gaming with it and possibly streaming, but I am completely OK with needing to stick to lower resolutions while still on the APU for those. My big games I want to run are Cities: Skylines (heavily CPU/RAM dependant from what I've heard), Euro Truck Simulator (just looks like something that would be great fun on streams once I get a fanbase going), and other slightly older racing sims. I don't have a large itch for FPS shooter games, but I might play once in a while if I find a title I like that looks like fun.

 

So here's what I've got picked out. Hopefully a PC Part Picker list links well. I'll also list the components below as well.

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/PnYfhy

 

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 2400G

Mobo: Gigabyte AB350 Gaming 3 (just purchased during the recent Newegg sale)

RAM: Wanting a 2x8GB configuration. This is where I need help and advice! Trying to match up stuff from PCPP with the QVL on the Gigabyte site is a little confusing to me. I don't have a massive budget, but I don't mind good quality RAM for a reasonable price. Plus I plan on expanding it in the future to possibly a 4x8 configuration to be heavier on the workload side of things.

Storage: I currently have a SanDisk 240GB SSD penciled in here, but I've noticed sales can come and go frequently. When time comes to buy my SSD, I'll make a final choice based on price/availability at that time. I also already have a 1TB WD Blue from when I attempted to recover my old PC and found a dead motherboard. I'll reformat it and use it for mass storage in this buld.

Case: Phanteks P300 (also purchased yesterday on sale for $49 on Amazon). I also picked up a 3-pack of Thermaltake Riing LED fans to populate the 3 spots in this case that don't come with fans. For the price, I figured I might as well go ahead and get them so I'm ready to go in terms of airflow, and not start off with only the one rear exhaust and deal with possible warmth issues.

PSU: Corsair CX550M. I've always liked this PSU. Good price, 80+ Bronze, modular cables, and no ketchup and mustard.

 

So I'm here looking for some feedback on how I've done in terms of selecting parts, and honestly the biggest thing I need help with is finding RAM that is confirmed to be compatible. I wouldn't mind something with red LED's (black and red is the theme I've settled on) but it's not necessary. I just want a good speed if possible, as I've heard a lot about how much Ryzen thrives on fast RAM and also something that will be acceptable for future expansion and beefing up of this system in the future.

 

Thanks in advance for the feedback, and please don't feed me directly to the wolves if I'm made any errors in posting here or in my choices! Thanks!

[ZeouLs]

Keep in mind you might need to update your BIOS because of the second gen ryzen. You can contact AMD support for that and they send you a cpu kit which you can use to update the bios and send them back.

[NelizMastr]

The parts are looking good to me. The B350 board might not have the right BIOS version yet to support the 2400G, so make sure it does before installing a CPU on the board. Memory problems aren't as big of a deal anymore these days. Most memory kits will work without a problem.

[Streetguru]

14 minutes ago, TheBeardedGentleman said:

 

You're spending way too much on an APU PC, usually around $400 for one, save the rest of your money for a next gen GPU in a few short months.

Don't think the R5 is really worth it, just upgrade to like Ryzen 3000 next year with a 6 core from the R3 chip, it'll still be fine for 60hz gaming.

B450 motherboards are coming very soon, likely to be a bit better than B350

And you should buy a case that actually has airflow.
 

PCPartPicker part list: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/3cB7vn
Price breakdown by merchant: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/3cB7vn/by_merchant/

CPU: AMD - Ryzen 3 2200G 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($94.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: ASRock - AB350M Pro4 Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard  ($74.49 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: G.Skill - Ripjaws V Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3000 Memory  ($149.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital - Blue 250GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive  ($68.87 @ OutletPC)
Case: Deepcool - TESSERACT SW RED ATX Mid Tower Case  ($32.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: Cooler Master - MasterWatt 550W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($48.59 @ SuperBiiz)
Total: $469.92
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2018-07-20 04:40 EDT-0400
 

 

[TheBeardedGentleman]

I've been watching that. According to NewEgg, their inventory of that board should all be Ryzen 2000 Ready. I'll make sure I verify before I get to the point where I'm installing stuff and avoid any nasty surprises.

 

EDIT: Watching the whole B350/Ryzen 2000 possible issues. 

[TheBeardedGentleman]

I should mention that I leaned more towards the 2400G just to have a bit more horsepower just in case it takes me longer than expected to upgrade the CPU. Most of what I've been reading has mentioned that for video editing workloads, the hyperthreading (pardon my lingo, I believe that's an Intel term but you know what I mean) has its advantages and would be a longer term solution as well if I decide to only add a GPU in the near term and run longer before upgrading CPU if the need dictates.

 

And of course it figures literally the day after I buy the motherboard on sale ($75 factoring in the mail in rebate) they begin launching B450. I wanted to grab something now as I plan on getting the remainder of my parts within the next month, and was hoping to avoid any teething issues with the new boards just in case, simply due to my inexperience just in case something happened.

[Streetguru]

3 minutes ago, TheBeardedGentleman said:

 

The performance gap isn't worth $50 IMO, that money is better spend on your GPU in a few months if the main focus is gaming.

 

 

[Mr. Chicken Sandwich]

I am also trying to decide between the 2200g and 2400g.

 

I don't game anymore, but I'd like the option to if things change.

 

Ignoring the Vega 8 vs 11 between the two, is there much difference for an "office use" PC?

[Streetguru]

4 hours ago, Mr. Chicken Sandwich said:

 

Not unless you really need the extra performance from SMT.

[Mr. Chicken Sandwich]

Well, anything is an upgrade over my E8400, 4GB RAM

[TheBeardedGentleman]

I will mention that my primary want for this PC is actually for video editing and getting my Youtube channel back off the ground. Sure, game capture could be a part of that, and possibly trying out some Twitch or Youtube streaming, but gaming is initially going to be secondary in relation to video editing and rendering. If anything, gaming will start becoming more of my priority once I add a GPU, but once that happens, I definitely plan on wanting to stream a lot more. So that's why the SMT is catching my eye with the 2400G.