Quick check before I buy

[Jtalk4456]

OK peeps lightning round build judgment.

Current

Unknown full Atx case (definitely keeping

Corsair 750w psu ~5 yrs old

12 gb ddr3 unknown speed

Some mobo and 4th Gen i5 frankensteined out of an Asus pre-built tower from staples along with 1 tb generic Hdd

What I'm currently getting to upgrade with:

https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/1HRUL1AS260IT?ref_=wl_share

I'm definitely doing more mobo research since they change alot and I haven't used @LukeSavenije 's mobo tier list yet. I'm not sure if I should go ahead and get a new psu and a new 2tb Hdd. What do you think of the rest?

[5x5]

Change the board to a Tomahawk Max - similar price, much better board.

 

Also, what exactly is your PSU model? If it's a Corsair CX750, change that as well

[Dissitesuxba11s]

You might need a GPU? Maybe more fans?

[Fasauceome]

2 minutes ago, 5x5 said:

Also, what exactly is your PSU model? If it's a Corsair CX750, change that as well

Since it's 750 watts, it can't be a green label CX because they came in X00 wattages. It's likely a TX or something if it's a classic model which would mean it's still probably good.

[LukeSavenije]

Just now, 5x5 said:

Corsair CX750

well... i mean, it's not as bad as the other cx's of that time

 

i'll let @sowon drag you into keyboard land

 

for the motherboard it'd do, but there's much better for the price, or you can get something cheaper, 860 is generally too high priced currently

 

and non-rgb ram is cheaper, but you probably know that

[brob]

You should be able to get a 1TB Intel 660p or Crucial P1 NVMe drive for less than the 860 Evo.

 

According to the comments about the motherboard on Amazon, it needs a BIOS update to run the 3600. Consider getting a motherboard that either does not need the update or can be updated without a cpu.

 

A gpu is necessary as the neither the cpu or motherboard have one.

 

The model psu is important in determining the advisability of keeping it.

 

@Fasauceome, there were 750W green label CX models, didn't last too long. https://www.hardocp.com/article/2015/01/21/corsair_cx750_750w_power_supply_review/#.VME2uks5AuU, http://www.jonnyguru.com/blog/2015/03/02/corsair-cx750m-750w-power-supply/

[5x5]

6 minutes ago, Fasauceome said:

Since it's 750 watts, it can't be a green label CX because they came in X00 wattages. It's likely a TX or something if it's a classic model which would mean it's still probably good.

It can - the green CXs were CX400 ( a seasonic model), CX430, CX500, CX600 and CX750/850 (which are also GS rebrands from even before)

[LukeSavenije]

3 minutes ago, 5x5 said:

CX750/850

the 750 and 850 were different platforms actually, something based off a cwt platform

[5x5]

1 minute ago, LukeSavenije said:

the 750 and 850 were different platforms actually, something based off a cwt platform

Yeah, they were GS rebrands IIRC - which is even older. Not necessarily better, though

[LukeSavenije]

2 minutes ago, 5x5 said:

Yeah, they were GS rebrands IIRC - which is even older. Not necessarily better, though

well, yes

 

but at least it's dc-dc, that's what i wanted to say

 

but yeah, depending on what it is op might want to swap it

[St.Nick]

I'll voice the unpopular opinion then. Just get the x570 Aorus Elite for the 180 it goes for on many sites over a b450 board. As far as price goes that board is REALLY excellent And get some Trident Z Neo 3600 cl16 memory over the corsair vengeance pros. I have seen it go for as low as 120 and better ram is more performance on zen 2. I'd prioritize that over a 150 dollar keyboard personally. The reason I am saying x570 is also that btw, out of the box it and the new processors combined do get you better support for higher memory clocks and more headroom for tighter timings.

[Jtalk4456]

9 hours ago, Jtalk4456 said:

Some Extra Details now that I'm home:

Spoiler

Also PSU is CX750M

9 hours ago, Dissitesuxba11s said:

You might need a GPU? Maybe more fans?

already got one, and games I play aren't demanding enough to warrant a new one, plus that's out of budget

I'm gonna figure out what the case is specifically and get an overview of fans for everyone so I can see if it's enough

9 hours ago, LukeSavenije said:

1. i'll let @sowon drag you into keyboard land

2. for the motherboard it'd do, but there's much better for the price, or you can get something cheaper, 860 is generally too high priced currently

3. and non-rgb ram is cheaper, but you probably know that

1. I'm too poor to let sowon drag me there. I'm gonna do more research on that right before the final buy though.

2. I'll be taking a look at the mobo tier list tomorrow. The problem is i really don't need a lot. So looking at a lot of mobos, it's hard to really discern a value difference between most of them.

3. Yes I know XD but they're still reasonably cheap for what I'm getting I think. I'm really not an "RGB guy" but I can't deny those look great and aren't THAT much more expensive than normal

9 hours ago, brob said:

1. You should be able to get a 1TB Intel 660p or Crucial P1 NVMe drive for less than the 860 Evo.

2. According to the comments about the motherboard on Amazon, it needs a BIOS update to run the 3600. Consider getting a motherboard that either does not need the update or can be updated without a cpu.

3. The model psu is important in determining the advisability of keeping it.

1. There are certainly cheaper SSD's but I've always been told that the evos are the cream of the crop in performance and longevity. Would going to other brands still be worth it, have I been over hyped for the evos?

2. hmmm... good point. OK new task, find a reasonable mobo that can run a 3rd gen ryzen without bios update

3. what do you think? do I need to cough up the money for a new one?

9 hours ago, St.Nick said:

I'll voice the unpopular opinion then. Just get the x570 Aorus Elite for the 180 it goes for on many sites over a b450 board. As far as price goes that board is REALLY excellent And get some Trident Z Neo 3600 cl16 memory over the corsair vengeance pros. I have seen it go for as low as 120 and better ram is more performance on zen 2. I'd prioritize that over a 150 dollar keyboard personally. The reason I am saying x570 is also that btw, out of the box it and the new processors combined do get you better support for higher memory clocks and more headroom for tighter timings.

why do i need to pay more for x570 though? I looked at the different chipsets and found no reason with my use case for me to upgrade. That's a hefty price difference, assuming I can find it at that price you say, which I've not seen yet.

I'll give you that ram is better, both in looks and performance. Sadly it's $50 more though, and again my workload simply doesn't demand it.

I think this is a good time to give more info on what I'm needing. 

 

Primary function:

some light vr

lots of web browsing (potential for 200+ tabs at a time cuz that's just how I roll)

modded minecraft

 

Secondary Functions:

Eventually learn to do light programming, web design and a few other things as part of my networking and ops degree i'm currently working on.

store crap until i learn enough to build a home server and configure it all

not break

 

Technically my current config, although old and dusty, handles all my work tasks with relative ease for its age. As far as I've read, there simply is no extra feature in a higher chipset that would benefit me in the minor workloads I perform. Maybe in the future as I grow my skills I'll need more lee-way but for now b450 seems to be more than capable. feel free to correct me if you find something I can use. Also a 200 mobo is simply out of budget range. I don't have an exact budget, but I'm keeping it as low as possible by using the existing case, hdd, psu (unless otherwise persuaded), and dvd drive (yes i intend to use it). Basically I'm upgrading just enough that it's technically a new computer, because the current parts are slowly starting to slow and have issues. Since I'm going to school online, I can't risk being without a computer right now, so I'm breathing enough life in to give it a good 5 more years and by then I'm building my first new pc from scratch in a custom desk I'll have built by then.

Thinking about the mobo bios updates I'm wondering if I should just go for zen 2000 series. I don't NEED the 3000 series, that was just a want and the prices weren't too different. Any thoughts?

[St.Nick]

Well, the 3000 series does offer better IPC and thus performance. As for why you NEED X570, right now (almost) nobody does. But the keyword is right now, I am honestly just gonna parrot the cause that Jayz champions. The absolute minimum needed for a budget build might seem appealing now, but if your sinking close to a thousand into a system the extra 100~150 bucks that a newer platform costs in the long run will give your system more lifetime. I don't think you need to drop the 'future proofing' buzzword since it's absolutely a marketing trick but even at the low end a slightly higher pricepoint will help keep your system upgradeable.

 

Since AM4 seems to be around for a while longer an x570 board probably will handle the 4000 series too once that hits and better ram has been a trend with Ryzen since then 1000 series. So spending that little bit more now will see you end up with a good board for the next round of processors and maybe even the one after that while the B450 will probably not last another round of upgrades and 3000 mhz memory will just leave processor performance unused right now. And if you want to upgrade it later your gonna have to replace all your ram. Is it  absolutely needed for what you do right now?

 

Probably not and buying what you need right now is totally a good option too and might be fine for your use case. I just felt it deserved a mention that it is an option you could consider. Your workload and wants might chance and leaving yourself upgradeability is never really a bad thing if you see yourself continuing to be a PC user for the forseeable future. Ultimately it's up to you to decide what you want, but being able to see all options and making an informed decision is never a wrong thing imho.

[LukeSavenije]

2 hours ago, Jtalk4456 said:

 

Also PSU is CX750M

you might just want to swap that

 

2 hours ago, St.Nick said:

NEED X570

you don't....

 

to quote buildzoid here: if you don't think you need x570, you probably don't

[VEXICUS]

Hey @Jtalk4456 long time no see...

I'll recommend something like this instead...

 

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 3600 3.6 GHz 6-Core Processor  ($195.89 @ OutletPC) 
Motherboard: MSI B450-A PRO ATX AM4 Motherboard  ($84.89 @ OutletPC) 
Memory: Crucial Ballistix Sport AT 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 Memory  ($69.99 @ Amazon) 
Storage: Intel 660p Series 1.02 TB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive  ($94.99 @ Amazon) 
Power Supply: BitFenix Formula Gold 550 W 80+ Gold Certified ATX Power Supply  ($69.99 @ Newegg) 
Total: $515.75
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2019-08-27 04:01 EDT-0400

 

PSU link - https://www.newegg.com/bitfenix-formula-gold-series-bp-fm550ulag-7r-550w/p/N82E16817376010

 

If you want RGB RAM, then swap the above kit with this one. https://pcpartpicker.com/product/pMn8TW/oloy-warhawk-rgb-16-gb-2-x-8-gb-ddr4-3200-memory-md4u083216bcda

[brob]

10 hours ago, Jtalk4456 said:

1. There are certainly cheaper SSD's but I've always been told that the evos are the cream of the crop in performance and longevity. Would going to other brands still be worth it, have I been over hyped for the evos?

 

Very true. However the model listed is SATA III. The M.2 ssd I suggest looking into are NVMe and therefore faster than SATA III, significantly so.,

 

10 hours ago, Jtalk4456 said:

2. hmmm... good point. OK new task, find a reasonable mobo that can run a 3rd gen ryzen without bios update

 

MSI B450 Gaming Pro Carbon AC, MSI B450 Gaming Plus, MSI B450 Tomahawk, MSI B450-A Pro all have BIOS Flashback feature. There are some B450 motherboards that do not need a BIOS update, have to check manufacturers website. Also most motherboards manufactured after the release of Zen 2 cpu will ship with updated BIOS, one does have to verify with merchant.

 

10 hours ago, Jtalk4456 said:

3. what do you think? do I need to cough up the money for a new one?

 

I would replace a 5 year old CX750M. You don't need to get 750W, a good 550W will do a good job. My first choice would be the RM550X (2018). If that exceeds budget, consider the TX550M.

[Guest]

20 hours ago, St.Nick said:

I'll voice the unpopular opinion then. Just get the x570 Aorus Elite for the 180 it goes for on many sites over a b450 board. As far as price goes that board is REALLY excellent And get some Trident Z Neo 3600 cl16 memory over the corsair vengeance pros. I have seen it go for as low as 120 and better ram is more performance on zen 2. I'd prioritize that over a 150 dollar keyboard personally. The reason I am saying x570 is also that btw, out of the box it and the new processors combined do get you better support for higher memory clocks and more headroom for tighter timings.

You do not need to pay out for expensive 3600MHz CL16 ram. A good 3000MHz - 3200MHz CL15/CL16 will do fine. Even at $120 it is still around double the price of a 3000MHz kit.

[St.Nick]

52 minutes ago, lee32uk said:

You do not need to pay out for expensive 3600MHz CL16 ram. A good 3000MHz - 3200MHz CL15/CL16 will do fine. Even at $120 it is still around double the price of a 3000MHz kit.

That's certainly true. But considering the vengeance pro RGB he has in his parts picker list I kind of assumed he wanted fancy rgb ram. That kit is 85~90 for the 3000 mhz cl15 ram. At which point the 30 bucks to go up to 3600 cl16 is a lot more reasonable.

As for @LukeSavenije, Thats pretty much what I said too. You do not NEED it at all, but if your budget does include a 150 dollar keyboard it makes more sense to me to save there and get one of the nice x570 boards that your. B450 is still a step and a half down from x570 and a generation older, since AMD committed to support AM4 through to the end of 2020, x570 is probably gonna survive another gen of CPU's. It might be nice to have a board that's as solid for x570 as the tomahawk was for b450 by then. It's a choice everyone needs to make, but a lot of people mindlessly parrot the get a b450 tomahawk (max) without even offering the suggestion. Hence why I foreworded it with 'I'll voice the unpopular opinion'. I watched buildzoids videos too and he was practically praising the Aorus elite's vrms up into the sky for the price it goes for and the ASUS TUF got no less praise. It would be a shame if people do not even look at the fact that x570 has 2 really really solid boards in it's low end and not even consider the potential upside. I also was off the opinion that an older board might be better but seeing just how good the entry boards were changed my mind on that. It's always good to tell people their options isn't it?

[Guest]

24 minutes ago, St.Nick said:

That's certainly true. But considering the vengeance pro RGB he has in his parts picker list I kind of assumed he wanted fancy rgb ram. That kit is 85~90 for the 3000 mhz cl15 ram. At which point the 30 bucks to go up to 3600 cl16 is a lot more reasonable.

You can still get RGB kits for around 70 odd from the likes of Geil, TeamGroup and OLOy etc. If you want Corsair or G.Skill then it is nearer the 80 - 90 mark. The kit in the op's spec is perfectly fine if he likes that ram. No real need to spend more.

 

 

[Jtalk4456]

11 hours ago, LukeSavenije said:

you might just want to swap that

I'll take a peek at the psu tier list and come up with some options

10 hours ago, VEXICUS said:

Hey @Jtalk4456 long time no see...

I'll recommend something like this instead...

 

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 3600 3.6 GHz 6-Core Processor  ($195.89 @ OutletPC) 
Motherboard: MSI B450-A PRO ATX AM4 Motherboard  ($84.89 @ OutletPC) 
Memory: Crucial Ballistix Sport AT 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 Memory  ($69.99 @ Amazon) 
Storage: Intel 660p Series 1.02 TB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive  ($94.99 @ Amazon) 
Power Supply: BitFenix Formula Gold 550 W 80+ Gold Certified ATX Power Supply  ($69.99 @ Newegg) 
Total: $515.75
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2019-08-27 04:01 EDT-0400

 

PSU link - https://www.newegg.com/bitfenix-formula-gold-series-bp-fm550ulag-7r-550w/p/N82E16817376010

 

If you want RGB RAM, then swap the above kit with this one. https://pcpartpicker.com/product/pMn8TW/oloy-warhawk-rgb-16-gb-2-x-8-gb-ddr4-3200-memory-md4u083216bcda

1. How's it going?

2. I've never really heard anything good or bad about crucial, but I see them in lists alot. Do they have good longevity?

3. That ssd is more expensive than the one in my cart. It is nvme, so I might look into that, but I'm more worried about longevity than performance.

5. Didn't know BitFenix made psus. I'll compare that to the tier list and come back with that and other options for comparison

6. Gotta be honest, that ram looks terrible to me. Just the color to me is not good. I don't care too much about RGB, I just had the other set RGB because it was only a few bucks more, but if it savessignificant money I can and will live without RGB. I really should just to save money anyways.

3 hours ago, brob said:

 

Very true. However the model listed is SATA III. The M.2 ssd I suggest looking into are NVMe and therefore faster than SATA III, significantly so.,

 

 

MSI B450 Gaming Pro Carbon AC, MSI B450 Gaming Plus, MSI B450 Tomahawk, MSI B450-A Pro all have BIOS Flashback feature. There are some B450 motherboards that do not need a BIOS update, have to check manufacturers website. Also most motherboards manufactured after the release of Zen 2 cpu will ship with updated BIOS, one does have to verify with merchant.

 

 

I would replace a 5 year old CX750M. You don't need to get 750W, a good 550W will do a good job. My first choice would be the RM550X (2018). If that exceeds budget, consider the TX550M.

1. I'll echo above the longevity is the most important. Nvme is overkill for me. I'd love it, but it's a want not a need. As long as I have an ssd that lasts I'm fine. How's the longevity on the ones you mentioned

2. I'll take a peek at those and the tier list later after work

3. Yep definitely need to do a dive in the tier list

34 minutes ago, lee32uk said:

You can still get RGB kits for around 70 odd from the likes of Geil, TeamGroup and OLOy etc. If you want Corsair or G.Skill then it is nearer the 80 - 90 mark. The kit in the op's spec is perfectly fine if he likes that ram. No real need to spend more.

 

 

This thread is my first time ever seeing oloy stuff. Are they a decent brand?

[brob]

9 minutes ago, Jtalk4456 said:

1. I'll echo above the longevity is the most important. Nvme is overkill for me. I'd love it, but it's a want not a need. As long as I have an ssd that lasts I'm fine. How's the longevity on the ones you mentioned

The 1TB Intel 660p has a write endurance of 200TB. That works out to over 54GB+ written every day for ten years. Few consumer systems will come close to that sort of activity.

[LukeSavenije]

10 minutes ago, Jtalk4456 said:

I've never really heard anything good or bad about crucial

crucial=micron

 

11 minutes ago, Jtalk4456 said:

Didn't know BitFenix made psus

they let it do by cwt in this case, the manufacturer that also made the cx, rmx and hx for example.

[VEXICUS]

7 hours ago, Jtalk4456 said:

I'll take a peek at the psu tier list and come up with some options

1. How's it going?

2. I've never really heard anything good or bad about crucial, but I see them in lists alot. Do they have good longevity?

3. That ssd is more expensive than the one in my cart. It is nvme, so I might look into that, but I'm more worried about longevity than performance.

5. Didn't know BitFenix made psus. I'll compare that to the tier list and come back with that and other options for comparison

6. Gotta be honest, that ram looks terrible to me. Just the color to me is not good. I don't care too much about RGB, I just had the other set RGB because it was only a few bucks more, but if it savessignificant money I can and will live without RGB. I really should just to save money anyways.

• It's going just fine.
• Crucial = Micron
• 1tb Intel 660p has a write endurance of 200tb. It is significantly faster than the one that you have in your list. Also, it has twice the storage for a few bucks more.

• You missed point 4, I guess.
• Formula gold is a pretty good unit. It comes in tier A+ in the PSU tier list. 

• Go with the crucial ram that I mentioned above if you don't want any oloy stuff. That crucial ram is pretty colour neutral and will fit most of the builds just fine.

[Jtalk4456]

3 hours ago, VEXICUS said:

• It's going just fine.
• Crucial = Micron
• 1tb Intel 660p has a write endurance of 200tb. It is significantly faster than the one that you have in your list. Also, it has twice the storage for a few bucks more.

• You missed point 4, I guess.
• Formula gold is a pretty good unit. It comes in tier A+ in the PSU tier list. 

• Go with the crucial ram that I mentioned above if you don't want any oloy stuff. That crucial ram is pretty colour neutral and will fit most of the builds just fine.

Crap I didn't even know there was a ssd tier list!

[VEXICUS]

7 minutes ago, Jtalk4456 said:

Crap I didn't even know there was a ssd tier list!

Yeah, it does exist.