More Performance/Dollar or a better System all around?

[adm0n]

Hello,

I'm helping a friend build a system (located in germany). Right now he is mainly playing LoL, Total War and AoE2, but he might be a bit limited by his current setup. He'll use is computer mainly for gaming, Maybe a bit of programming, but nothing heavy.

 

He found a website (https://www.hardwaredealz.com/bester-gaming-pc-fuer-unter-1000-euro-gamer-pc-bis-1000-euro), which recommends a heavily performance per dollar oriented system build. While spending 1000€ and getting a 2070 super is awesome, there are a lot of compromises as well. Rebuild in PCpartpicker

PCPartPicker Part List

Type	Item	Price
CPU	AMD Ryzen 5 3600 3.6 GHz 6-Core Processor	€196.89 @ Mindfactory
Motherboard	MSI B450M PRO-VDH MAX Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard	€75.00 @ Amazon Deutschland
Memory	G.Skill Aegis 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3000 Memory	€66.90 @ Amazon Deutschland
Storage	Intel 660p 512 GB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive	€55.00 @ Amazon Deutschland
Video Card	KFA2 GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER 8 GB EX (1-Click OC) Video Card	€526.89 @ Mindfactory
Case	KOLINK STRONGHOLD ATX Mid Tower Case	€49.90 @ Amazon Deutschland
Power Supply	be quiet! Pure Power 11 500 W 80+ Gold Certified ATX Power Supply	€60.00
	Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts
	Total	€1030.58
	Generated by PCPartPicker 2019-10-02 16:34 CEST+0200

The total, if you buy at the right places, would be 1004€ (not 1030€)

I would rather invest a bit more in other components and came up with the following build, which shuffels the 100€ of savings for the GPU into other components.

 

PCPartPicker Part List

Type	Item	Price
CPU	AMD Ryzen 5 3600 3.6 GHz 6-Core Processor	€196.89 @ Mindfactory
Motherboard	MSI B450 TOMAHAWK ATX AM4 Motherboard	€105.00
Memory	G.Skill Ripjaws V Series 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 Memory	€76.90 @ Amazon Deutschland
Storage	Crucial MX500 500 GB 2.5" Solid State Drive	€65.96 @ Amazon Deutschland
Video Card	Gigabyte GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER 8 GB WINDFORCE OC Video Card	€422.90 @ Alza
Case	KOLINK STRONGHOLD ATX Mid Tower Case	€49.90 @ Amazon Deutschland
Power Supply	Corsair TXM Gold 650 W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-modular ATX Power Supply	€80.00
	Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts
	Total	€997.55
	Generated by PCPartPicker 2019-10-02 16:36 CEST+0200

The 2060 Super could also be replaced by a radeon 5700 (XT) depend on his preferences. The case is also not the best, but it is up to him to find a case, that he likes, so you guys don't need to judge that.
 

I feel safer recommending the latter setup, but what about you guys?

 

 

[Princess Luna]

8 minutes ago, adm0n said:

I feel safer recommending the latter setup, but what about you guys?

Well the latter looks like the better one, 660p vs MX500 I may prefer the 660p personally... It still is NVMe after all but wouldn't that be too little storage for him?

 

Is this a gaming focus build? The RX 5700XT might stand out as a better pick if he won't be using CUDA and NVENC.

[adm0n]

12 minutes ago, Princess Luna said:

Well the latter looks like the better one, 660p vs MX500 I may prefer the 660p personally... It still is NVMe after all but wouldn't that be too little storage for him?

The 660p uses QLC Flash, which makes it pretty bad as soon as the chache is used up. When it's empty it is better, but the fuller it gets the worse it gets.

Latencies are all over the place.
https://www.anandtech.com/show/13078/the-intel-ssd-660p-ssd-review-qlc-nand-arrives/3

Edit: actually I think I retract that. At least the for the 1TB models, the 660p looks to be a bit better.

 

The mx500 is also not the ideal solution. I'd rather have a smaller samsung 970 evo as system driver and then something else for mass storage. But it would be a bit more expensive that way.

12 minutes ago, Princess Luna said:

Is this a gaming focus build? The RX 5700XT might stand out as a better pick if he won't be using CUDA and NVENC.

It is. I'm also considering it. But that is a choice he has to make, as they are in the same price range.