Easy to use, beginner friendly parts recommendations needed

[Casual Cube]

Hey guys. 

 

My little brother is in Calgary, Canada, I work abroad in the mideast. He's been saving up for some time now and I was supposed to help him build his new PC. I wont be making it to him in time. We will try video calling so I will instruct him, I've done it once before with a friend but my brother isnt tech savvy or handy at all with electronics so it will be challenging.

 

I think some really easy to use packaged parts are required. Like a Power supply with clearly labeled cables (maybe even one that comes with the case), the case may be premium enough have enough fans pre-installed and separates the screws for him with labels etc. (I will take recommendations for all of these if you guys have any).

Most importantly, an AM4 CPU cooler that uses the default latch mechanic and preferably doesn't involve unscrewing the bracket from the motherboard and involves more points of difficulty/failure. All help is appreciated guys! Ty

 

I'm recommending him an MSI B450-M Gaming motherboard with a 2400G, single slot graphics, his monitor is sub-1080p so it's not that intensive even.

 

 

~~~(Post was also put up on the AMD subreddit. Need help.)~~~

 

Edit: After some looking, I could only find AMD's own aftermarket wraith coolers to use the latch mechanism which I still think is the best route to go

[LukeLinusFanFic]

Both a 2400g and a dedicated GPU?

(Sorry for going off topic)

[LukeSavenije]

i mean... the wraith that comes with the 2400g should have a "standard" mounting so to say

 

i highly recommend to throw everyone that tries to recommend a 212 evo out of the window

[dgsddfgdfhgs]

20 minutes ago, Casual Cube said:

Like a Power supply with clearly labeled cables (maybe even one that comes with the case), the case may be premium enough have enough fans pre-installed and separates the screws for him with labels etc. (I will take recommendations for all of these if you guys have any).

better get case & psu separately.

eg corsair cx450m is semi-modular , great for learning with flat cables

 

and not to get a too small case, any case shall be fine, let him pick one he likes

[LukeSavenije]

10 minutes ago, dgsddfgdfhgs said:

corsair cx450m is semi-modular , great for learning with flat cables

but the cx450 is still electrically better and normally cheaper... the cxm's are double forward

[Bananasplit_00]

22 minutes ago, LukeSavenije said:

i highly recommend to throw everyone that tries to recommend a 212 evo out of the window

Yep, and anyone who recommends a BeQuiet cooler can be bundled up with them. The hyper 212 is awful to mount even if you are experienced and the BeQuiet mounting system is super involved and fiddly

[LukeSavenije]

Just now, Bananasplit_00 said:

and anyone who recommends a BeQuiet cooler can be bundled up with them

hm... that's a first time i hear that one...

[Casual Cube]

46 minutes ago, LukeLinusFanFic said:

Both a 2400g and a dedicated GPU?

(Sorry for going off topic)

the 2400G is so that he has a backup gpu in case anything might happen to the dedicated. Also dont want to make it tricky for him with yet another component required being mandatory to boot. Might also stay with just that if its enough for his needs, it is an old low res monitor after all.

 

33 minutes ago, LukeSavenije said:

i mean... the wraith that comes with the 2400g should have a "standard" mounting so to say

 

i highly recommend to throw everyone that tries to recommend a 212 evo out of the window

The lowest of  their coolers require you to remove the two brackets and install it directly onto the plate. Also I agree about EVO, they may have been champions in budget and all time but you have to be crazy to think their installation method is easy or if they even hold up today aside their competitions.

 

30 minutes ago, dgsddfgdfhgs said:

better get case & psu separately.

eg corsair cx450m is semi-modular , great for learning with flat cables

 

and not to get a too small case, any case shall be fine, let him pick one he likes

Perhaps youre right about going separate, quality will be better, the flat cables should be easy to handle for him and also his case, hes still looking for nice ones. He likes that thermaltake cube case but I'm pushing him to something really roomy so that he has space to work comfortably.

 

Thanks for all the responses so far guys. Still looking though 

[celerystruct]

7 hours ago, Casual Cube said:

The lowest of  their coolers require you to remove the two brackets and install it directly onto the plate.

I think he can handle removing the brackets to install the wraith spire. IMO the brackets and latching of the wraith prism are harder than screwing in the wraith spire..

[Casual Cube]

1 hour ago, celerystruct said:

I think he can handle removing the brackets to install the wraith spire. IMO the brackets and latching of the wraith prism are harder than screwing in the wraith spire..

I agree, the issue however is the screwing in of the stock cooler because you're essentially point a screw driver at the pcb and putting force. I myself have had to do this a number of times and the first few times, I had scratched up the pcb below

[BobbyPdue]

When my friend wanted me to build him a computer I sent him all the parts and he was on his own.  He figured it out eventually and he's been building computers since.  

 

I'm not saying you should send your brother some parts and wish him good luck, but he's going to need to learn how to put a computer together and buying parts specifically because they are easy to install rather than good performance/value isn't worth missing a life lesson for.  My friend was empowered after building his first computer and hopefully it helped him become the awesome guy he is today.  

 

Arm your brother with the tools he needs to build the computer himself and then help him when he asks for it. 

 

[celerystruct]

6 minutes ago, Casual Cube said:

I agree, the issue however is the screwing in of the stock cooler because you're essentially point a screw driver at the pcb and putting force. I myself have had to do this a number of times and the first few times, I had scratched up the pcb below

Just tell him to not apply too much pressure. You don't need to press down as you screw anyway since you want it just wrist tight.

 

I don't know what exactly led you to scratch the pcb while putting on coolers but I don't think your brother will make the same mistake. The wraith cooler is fairly small and doesn't even require that much pressure to install.

[Casual Cube]

10 hours ago, celerystruct said:

Just tell him to not apply too much pressure. You don't need to press down as you screw anyway since you want it just wrist tight.

 

I don't know what exactly led you to scratch the pcb while putting on coolers but I don't think your brother will make the same mistake. The wraith cooler is fairly small and doesn't even require that much pressure to install.

The screws for the wraith stealth require some even pressure, or else they don't make contact with the threads to go in. This is the only part I fear, after that its fine because it will simply lock itself when its done being tightened and wont let you spin it further.

10 hours ago, celerystruct said:

Just tell him to not apply too much pressure. You don't need to press down as you screw anyway since you want it just wrist tight.

 

I don't know what exactly led you to scratch the pcb while putting on coolers but I don't think your brother will make the same mistake. The wraith cooler is fairly small and doesn't even require that much pressure to install.

You make a very valid point. I think I have to agree with you wholeheartedly, I think just the fact that I don't see my brother often means I don't want to bring him any issues or reason to be sad. Just the overprotective older brother in me trying to be watchful I guess. Lets go with your approach. If he breaks something, I'll just buy him a replacement. It sounds much better to me if he learned what he was doing, for himself so that he could also feel empowered

[celerystruct]

On 7/4/2019 at 12:50 AM, Casual Cube said:

The screws for the wraith stealth require some even pressure, or else they don't make contact with the threads to go in.

Not so much pressure that his screw will slip out and scratch the board beyond repair but we can just agree to disagree on this point.

 

If you're really that worried about him screwing it up then find a old office pc or something for cheap and have him take it apart and put it back together for practice so he gets a feel for how to handle things.