First build

[Transistorbrains]

Hey guys, new to the forum here. I am an engineering student that would like a sanity check/suggestions on my first build. Also, since it is my first build, if you have any tips for me, I’m all ears.

 

1. Budget & Location

I am based in the United States, and prices listed are in USD. My aim is to stay at or below $1000. I can go above if we can get significantly better performance for not much more. Also, even though I have it listed here (because I do need to purchase it), I am not actually including a Windows license in this budget.

2. Aim

I want to build a rig that I can do my engineering schoolwork on at home (mostly SolidWorks). While at school, I can use their computers, but they would get a little upset with me if I took those home...

I would also like to do some relatively light gaming (probably the most demanding game in my steam library is RIME). Lastly, I plan on getting back into AI development (tensorflow/Keras, and OpenCV) at some point down the line (though not immediately). As such, sticking to intel/nvidia would probably be better as they have been working very hard at supporting that kind of development.

3. Monitors

I have a single 1080p 144hz monitor at the moment. I don’t plan on upgrading anytime soon (space is tight). Don’t get me wrong, I would love an ultrawide or a second monitor (have three at work), just can’t do it right now.

4. Peripherals

Peripherals are not included in the budget. I already have keyboard, mouse, and monitor.

5. Why are you upgrading?

Part of it is that I have had this urge to build a pc that I have been trying to avoid for months now. I also run a Mac at home, and while I have no intention of giving that up, I would like a dedicated machine for each major group of operating systems. I am using a Raspberry Pi for Linux, obviously already have a mac for OSX, so that just leaves a Windows machine.

 

With the holidays coming up, I plan on waiting on Black Friday/cyber Monday deals before making any final purchasing decisions.

 

This is the build I was able to come up with (not sure how to insert the build right into the post)

 

[dizmo]

Thanks for actually putting in the proper work for your post! Very helpful.

You'll likely get tons of different opinions, just take them all with a grain of salt; there are thousands of different ways to build a computer in your price range, and many are the "right" choice. That's half of the frustration/fun!

 

As for your build, personally I'd:

• Take a look at the Ryzen 5 3600
• Get a proper tower cooler, they're significantly better; the Noctua U14S is usually very reasonably priced
• I'd get a larger SSD; at the current pricing, there's really no reason to get anything less than 1TB
• If you can, get the 2070 Super, or take a look at the 5700 XT
• Get a better case. Cheaping out on the case is seen as fine by some, but they're made of much cheaper, softer, thinner metal so unless you never plan on moving it, it can result in some unpleasant situations
• Get a better PSU; take a look at the PSU tier list

This what I'd do:

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 3600 3.6 GHz 6-Core Processor  ($194.00 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-U14S 82.52 CFM CPU Cooler  ($63.75 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Gigabyte B450 AORUS ELITE ATX AM4 Motherboard  ($109.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LPX 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 Memory  ($59.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: HP EX920 1 TB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive  ($114.97 @ Amazon)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda Compute 2 TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($49.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: PowerColor Radeon RX 5700 XT 8 GB Red Devil Video Card  ($439.99 @ Amazon)
Case: NZXT H510 ATX Mid Tower Case  ($69.98 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: Corsair RM (2019) 650 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply  ($84.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $1187.65

 

$15 more, but you have a 1TB NVME drive, better PSU, better cooler, significantly better case and a faster video card.

You can use Windows for free (you just can't change your desktop) and then pay for it later.

Welcome to the forum.

[Wh0_Am_1]

PCPartPicker Part List

Type	Item	Price
CPU	AMD Ryzen 5 3600X 3.8 GHz 6-Core Processor	$234.37 @ Amazon
Motherboard	ASRock X570 Phantom Gaming 4 ATX AM4 Motherboard	$148.99 @ Amazon
Memory	Patriot Viper 4 Blackout 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 Memory	$59.99 @ Amazon
Storage	HP EX900 250 GB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive	$36.99 @ Amazon
Storage	Seagate Barracuda 3 TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive	$79.99 @ Adorama
Video Card	MSI GeForce RTX 2070 8 GB Video Card	$424.99 @ Newegg
Case	Rosewill CHALLENGER S ATX Mid Tower Case	$43.99 @ Amazon
Power Supply	EVGA 650 W ATX Power Supply	$52.85 @ Amazon
Operating System	Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM 64-bit	$98.99 @ Amazon
	Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts
	Total (before mail-in rebates)	$1196.15
	Mail-in rebates	-$15.00
	Total	$1181.15
	Generated by PCPartPicker 2019-11-12 02:27 EST-0500

Alternative build

P.S. all you need to do to get your builds to organize like this is paste the PCPartPicker link and the LTT forums will automatically display the build

[Jurrunio]

PCPartPicker Part List

Type	Item	Price
CPU	AMD Ryzen 5 3600 3.6 GHz 6-Core Processor	$194.00 @ Amazon
Motherboard	MSI B450 TOMAHAWK MAX ATX AM4 Motherboard	$114.99 @ Amazon
Memory	Team T-FORCE VULCAN Z 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3000 Memory	$49.99 @ Newegg
Storage	ADATA Ultimate SU800 1 TB 2.5" Solid State Drive	$91.99 @ Amazon
Storage	Seagate Barracuda Compute 2 TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive	$49.99 @ Amazon
Video Card	MSI GeForce RTX 2070 8 GB Video Card	$424.99 @ Newegg
Case	Cougar MX330 ATX Mid Tower Case	$42.99 @ Amazon
Power Supply	Rosewill Capstone 550 W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-modular ATX Power Supply	$44.99 @ Newegg
Case Fan	ARCTIC Arctic F12 74 CFM 120 mm Fan	$7.78 @ Amazon
Case Fan	ARCTIC Arctic F12 74 CFM 120 mm Fan	$7.78 @ Amazon
Case Fan	ARCTIC Arctic F12 74 CFM 120 mm Fan	$7.78 @ Amazon
Case Fan	ARCTIC Arctic F12 74 CFM 120 mm Fan	$7.78 @ Amazon
	Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts
	Total (before mail-in rebates)	$1060.05
	Mail-in rebates	-$15.00
	Total	$1045.05
	Generated by PCPartPicker 2019-11-12 02:39 EST-0500

Solidworks is mostly a CPU hog, until you get to commercial grade of models it doesnt really care what GPU you have. Physics calculation is what stresses the CPU, and where the 6 thread 9600k will lose to the 12 thread 3600. There's no overclocking headroom with a cooler as weak as the L9i either (which I have no idea why you put in there in the first place, so many better options when the case can hold much taller ones)

 

SSDs are more durable with more empty space. dont know why would Samsung manage to sell SSDs at capacity per $ this low.

 

Case with more modern design, with more intake vents positioned in the front rather than everywhere like old cases do.

 

A PSU that's good, not the EVGA Nuke1 bomb

 

2060S is slightly slower than the 2070, but more than cheap enough to justify the choice. 

[Flying Sausages]

19 hours ago, Jurrunio said:

PCPartPicker Part List

Type	Item	Price
CPU	AMD Ryzen 5 3600 3.6 GHz 6-Core Processor	$194.00 @ Amazon
Motherboard	MSI B450 TOMAHAWK MAX ATX AM4 Motherboard	$114.99 @ Amazon
Memory	Team T-FORCE VULCAN Z 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3000 Memory	$49.99 @ Newegg
Storage	ADATA Ultimate SU800 1 TB 2.5" Solid State Drive	$91.99 @ Amazon
Storage	Seagate Barracuda Compute 2 TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive	$49.99 @ Amazon
Video Card	MSI GeForce RTX 2070 8 GB Video Card	$424.99 @ Newegg
Case	Cougar MX330 ATX Mid Tower Case	$42.99 @ Amazon
Power Supply	Rosewill Capstone 550 W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-modular ATX Power Supply	$44.99 @ Newegg
Case Fan	ARCTIC Arctic F12 74 CFM 120 mm Fan	$7.78 @ Amazon
Case Fan	ARCTIC Arctic F12 74 CFM 120 mm Fan	$7.78 @ Amazon
Case Fan	ARCTIC Arctic F12 74 CFM 120 mm Fan	$7.78 @ Amazon
Case Fan	ARCTIC Arctic F12 74 CFM 120 mm Fan	$7.78 @ Amazon
	Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts
	Total (before mail-in rebates)	$1060.05
	Mail-in rebates	-$15.00
	Total	$1045.05
	Generated by PCPartPicker 2019-11-12 02:39 EST-0500

Solidworks is mostly a CPU hog, until you get to commercial grade of models it doesnt really care what GPU you have. Physics calculation is what stresses the CPU, and where the 6 thread 9600k will lose to the 12 thread 3600. There's no overclocking headroom with a cooler as weak as the L9i either (which I have no idea why you put in there in the first place, so many better options when the case can hold much taller ones)

 

SSDs are more durable with more empty space. dont know why would Samsung manage to sell SSDs at capacity per $ this low.

 

Case with more modern design, with more intake vents positioned in the front rather than everywhere like old cases do.

 

A PSU that's good, not the EVGA Nuke1 bomb

 

2060S is slightly slower than the 2070, but more than cheap enough to justify the choice. 

Why don't you go RX 5700XT?

[Jurrunio]

26 minutes ago, OlympicAssEater said:

Why don't you go RX 5700XT?

20 hours ago, Transistorbrains said:

AI development (tensorflow/Keras, and OpenCV)

All 3 use Nvidia but not AMD

[Transistorbrains]

I apologize it took a little bit to reply. Life got a little busy, you know how it is. Anyways, based off your suggestions, this is what I am thinking now:

 

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/qDbmgJ

 

23 hours ago, Jurrunio said:

All 3 use Nvidia but not AMD

^^This. Nvidia has been very heavily working on winning over the data science crowd. It's not that AMD doesn't want their business, it's that they haven't done nearly as much

 

On 11/12/2019 at 12:25 AM, dizmo said:

You can use Windows for free (you just can't change your desktop) and then pay for it later.

I had honestly forgotten about that, but figured if I was going to shell out the cash to build a rig anyways, might as well get the license (plus the constant reminders can get irritating).

 

On 11/12/2019 at 12:31 AM, Jurrunio said:

which I have no idea why you put in there in the first place, so many better options when the case can hold much taller ones

Honestly wasn't sure what to look for there, all I knew was that Noctua was a good brand. Good thing I went to you guys for advice before just blindly purchasing parts, huh?

 

 

[Queen Chrysalis]

On 11/11/2019 at 11:25 PM, dizmo said:

Thanks for actually putting in the proper work for your post! Very helpful.

You'll likely get tons of different opinions, just take them all with a grain of salt; there are thousands of different ways to build a computer in your price range, and many are the "right" choice. That's half of the frustration/fun!

 

As for your build, personally I'd:

• Take a look at the Ryzen 5 3600
• Get a proper tower cooler, they're significantly better; the Noctua U14S is usually very reasonably priced
• I'd get a larger SSD; at the current pricing, there's really no reason to get anything less than 1TB
• If you can, get the 2070 Super, or take a look at the 5700 XT
• Get a better case. Cheaping out on the case is seen as fine by some, but they're made of much cheaper, softer, thinner metal so unless you never plan on moving it, it can result in some unpleasant situations
• Get a better PSU; take a look at the PSU tier list

This what I'd do:

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 3600 3.6 GHz 6-Core Processor  ($194.00 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-U14S 82.52 CFM CPU Cooler  ($63.75 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Gigabyte B450 AORUS ELITE ATX AM4 Motherboard  ($109.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LPX 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 Memory  ($59.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: HP EX920 1 TB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive  ($114.97 @ Amazon)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda Compute 2 TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($49.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: PowerColor Radeon RX 5700 XT 8 GB Red Devil Video Card  ($439.99 @ Amazon)
Case: NZXT H510 ATX Mid Tower Case  ($69.98 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: Corsair RM (2019) 650 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply  ($84.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $1187.65

 

$15 more, but you have a 1TB NVME drive, better PSU, better cooler, significantly better case and a faster video card.

You can use Windows for free (you just can't change your desktop) and then pay for it later.

Welcome to the forum.

You can get keys that work for like $1.50 on ebay from grey market sellers.  You just have to activate it like right away.  been using one for lke 2 years now with no issues.  ALso, I'd go for the 660p.  I know linux did his video on QLC blah blah blah.. The caching software work wonders.  It loads games as fast as a 970 evo and newegg regularly puts out promo codes to sell it for $85.  

[Jurrunio]

13 minutes ago, Transistorbrains said:

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/qDbmgJ

You can get 3000MHz kit for $50 and 3200MHz for $55 I think, wont pay $80 when there's not even RGB LEDs

 

Also the case, that's a design I'd buy from 2010, not 2015, not 2019 for sure.

 

[Transistorbrains]

Yeah, I liked the Cougar MX330 suggested by OlympicAssEater, but couldn't find it when I was looking on pcpartpicker

[Transistorbrains]

Honestly, I have a powermac G5 case laying around that I would love to use for this, but I don't feel like modding it at the moment.