First build advice

[GreenMadman]

Hello, I'm planning my first build and I'm looking for some advice.

 

First part : According to two psu calculators, the recommended wattage for my build is 500W. First off, I was planning to get a 650W psu to be on the safe side, however, if I can find a 750W psu for a lower price, is it better to get that one, or should I just stick with 650? I don't plan on upgrading my system for at least 5 years, probably longer. And second, I checked the psu tier list, and found that the Cooler Master MWE Gold and Sama Armor Gold are ranked as high end psus. However, I have also found multiple posts bashing these them as being old and bad. Are those people correct and should I look for another choice, or is the list well trusted?

 

Second part : I was looking to get a case for ~$50 and the one that seems best is the Fractal Design Focus G for $63. Is it a good enough case, or should I get something more in the lines of a Cooler Master HAF Advanced 912 for $130? The HAF is within my budget, I'm just wondering whether it's worth spending the extra money for it, as in space and air flow (I do like its aesthetics more though). Also, is there any point in installing additional fans in the case? They are dirt cheap so it's no problem, I'm just curious as to what others do.

 

Thank you very much to everyone who reads all this, especially to those who also reply, much love to all of you!

[AMDryz3n]

For power supplies, a higher rated 80+(I.e. gold over bronze) psu of lower wattage will be more reliable than a higher wattage lower rated one.
 

I can’t speak much on behalf of cases, other than higher end cases are generally easier to build in, but it’s up to you. 

[Fasauceome]

19 minutes ago, GreenMadman said:

According to two psu calculators,

power supple calculators are rather useless. Tell us your pecs and we'll give a more accurate idea.

 

19 minutes ago, GreenMadman said:

I checked the psu tier list, and found that the Cooler Master MWE Gold and Sama Armor Gold are ranked as high end psus. However, I have also found multiple posts bashing these them as being old and bad. Are those people correct and should I look for another choice, or is the list well trusted?

The list is a decent guideline for PSU quality. If you were to look into being more precise, you'd have to improve your understanding of power supplies by quite a lot to be able to pick through the available information on power supplies.

[Worstcaster]

I have a Focus G and build it with a MasterWatt 550W.  My PSU died recently and when replaced was identified as the source of an annoying coil whine I has had since the PC was built.  (I thought it was the graphics card since it was used).  That being said one failure is not necessarily mean the entire product stack is bad.  My PSU was in the budget tier.  I think the MWE is rated much higher in the tier.

 

As for the case, I really like the Focus G.  The cable management is decent.  If have a Dark Rock Pro cooler in the build which is huge and fits in the case.  It comes with 2 white LED fans in the front.  I added one to the back for exhaust.  Be careful with the front acrylic because it is easy to scratch it.  It doesn't have a power supply shroud, but I just DIY'd one a few minutes ago.  (The paint is drying.  I will post that in the case mods section tomorrow after I get home from work.)  The space between the PSU and the MOBO is tight so you may want to run your front audio cable through before installing the mobo.  The lower case management is the trickiest thing.   I use zip ties to attach some of the cable to the drive cage and neaten them up a bit.  

 

Below are some pictures if that helps.

[Shark With A Laser]

10 hours ago, GreenMadman said:

Second part : I was looking to get a case for ~$50 and the one that seems best is the Fractal Design Focus G for $63. Is it a good enough case, or should I get something more in the lines of a Cooler Master HAF Advanced 912 for $130?

Depending on your component selection you might be better off putting that extra $80 into a better CPU or GPU.

[Boyohan]

A high tier PSU usually have 10 year warranty so I would say get 80+ Gold or better and you can always reuse your PSU if you upgrade in 4-5 years. I am a big fan of Corsair PSU and their RMi / HXi / AXi all have 10 year warranty (a lot of other brands also have 8-10 year warranty). If you spend a little bit more on a PSU today it can save you money in the long term.

 

It is basically the same story on choosing a case.

If you spend more on a case today it can be reused and save you money in the long term.

Cheap cases can get you bad airflow or lousy build quality (or both).

A few fans is always a good idea. 2 intake and 1-2 exhaust fans.

Get a nice case which includes fans from a respectable brand.

[GreenMadman]

19 hours ago, AMDryz3n said:

For power supplies, a higher rated 80+(I.e. gold over bronze) psu of lower wattage will be more reliable than a higher wattage lower rated one.

I'm pretty much only looking at 80+ gold psus, but some 750W are priced the same as 650W ones, so I was wondering if it makes sense to go for higher wattage or not. 

 

19 hours ago, fasauceome said:

power supple calculators are rather useless. Tell us your pecs and we'll give a more accurate idea.

 

The list is a decent guideline for PSU quality. If you were to look into being more precise, you'd have to improve your understanding of power supplies by quite a lot to be able to pick through the available information on power supplies.

If I don't look at a calculator, how else can I decide? The build will probably be : Ryzen 5 3600 + aftermarket cooler, AMD 5700 or Nvidia 2060 super, 16GB 3000MHz ram, B450 Tomahawk, 500GB ssd, 2TB hdd. To be honest, psus don't really interest me at all, so learning more about them isn't something I'm too keen on doing, and right now I don't have the time to get into it. As such, I have to get outside opinions to make my decision. Thanks for backing up the list!

 

19 hours ago, Worstcaster said:

As for the case, I really like the Focus G.  The cable management is decent.  If have a Dark Rock Pro cooler in the build which is huge and fits in the case.  It comes with 2 white LED fans in the front.  I added one to the back for exhaust.  Be careful with the front acrylic because it is easy to scratch it.  It doesn't have a power supply shroud, but I just DIY'd one a few minutes ago.  (The paint is drying.  I will post that in the case mods section tomorrow after I get home from work.)  The space between the PSU and the MOBO is tight so you may want to run your front audio cable through before installing the mobo.  The lower case management is the trickiest thing.   I use zip ties to attach some of the cable to the drive cage and neaten them up a bit.

That looks really nice, good work! I'm curious now, is the psu shroud necessary, or is more of a aesthetic choice?