Budget gaming/ content creation rig

[Gaijin]

Looking to get some fresh eyes on this rig. I live in Ireland so I'm looking for something from a UK & Ireland online store or somewhere that ships here at least, like mainland European Amazon stores.

 

I'm looking to build a very budget gaming rig this Black Friday/ Cyber Monday. I'm pretty set on using a 3400G, because I want the 8 threads for content creation software like Blender. They seem to be cheaper than 2400Gs too. Will see during BF/CM.

 

I have a preference for horizontal motherboard builds, so the case would have to at least look good horizontally (so no feet). I'm looking at the Coolermaster q300 series

https://cclonline.com/category/405/PC-Components/Cases/search/cooler-master-q300/

 

 but I'm wondering if there's another recent budget solution that will sit flat. I know this series has thermal issues, I'll probably set the intake from back to front, there will be cold outside air blowing in from the back.

 

Eventually it will be an Ubuntu and Windows dual boot system but I'm starting out with a 500gb ssd for Windows, 2.5" or nvme. This will eventually be my secondary boot, which best case scenario will have less lanes, PCIe 2 speeds I believe, so about 2000MB/s? While still running one drive it's fine to put it in the second nvme slot right, or swap them when the time comes? Thinking about going with this one.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Kingston-A2000-SA2000M8-500G-NVMe/dp/B07VXCFNVS/ref=mp_s_a_1_6?keywords=500gb+ssd+nvme&qid=1573657487&sr=8-6

 

I also have a preference for using m-atx or m-itx boards. I'm currently looking at these four,

https://www.amazon.co.uk/ASROCK-B450M-STEEL-LEGEND-SPDIF/dp/B07MV9BMNY/ref=mp_s_a_1_12?keywords=b450&qid=1573657004&sr=8-12

 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/ASRock-B450-Gaming-M-ITX-Retail/dp/B07FVVNDFX/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?keywords=b450+itx&qid=1573657111&sr=8-1

 

https://cclonline.com/product/262407/B450-I-AORUS-PRO-WIFI/Motherboards/Gigabyte-B450-I-AORUS-Pro-AMD-AM4-B450-Motherboard-Mini-ITX-Gigabyte-LAN-Integrated-Graphics-/MBD2576/

 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/MSI-B450M-TITANIUM-Motherboard-Processors/dp/B07FQCSVYC/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?keywords=mortar+titanium&qid=1573656804&sprefix=mortar+ti&sr=8-1

 

but really want the MSI Mortar Titanium. There may be some OCing happening on the system eventually, so I don't know. I will need a board that can USB flash the BIOS.
Where are these rumoured B550 boards?? They were rumoured to be hitting in November. I'm not a fan of ports I consider legacy, like dvi, taking up space that could go to contemporary ports like DisplayPorts. Motherboard would need USB BIOS flash, as I believe that the 3400G, despite being Zen+ architecture, requires a BIOS update. I need WiFi and Bluetooth, and this has been the biggest hurdle in finding the perfect motherboard for me; maybe there are decent plug-in solutions? I'm surprised by how few m-atx B450 boards have wifi and Bluetooth.

 

The intent is to use this configuration until at least Q2 next year, before swapping out the APU for 16 threads and a mid spec GPU in time for the new console generation; or if B450 is a no go for next year's Ryzen CPUs, maybe a dedicated streaming PC/ secondary rendering rig. Can a capture card with a short PCIe connector be slotted into a long one, if I have to go mITX?

 

RAM wise I'm just going to go with 16GB of 3200MHz, probably Patriot Vipers. https://cclonline.com/product/298871/PVS416G320C6K/Desktop-Memory/Patriot-Viper-Steel-Series-16GB-2-x-8GB-PC4-25600-3200MHz-1-35V-CL16-DDR4-Destop-Memory-Dual-Channel-Kit-in-Gunmetal-Grey/RAM4284/

But should I be looking for something with XMP 2.0, whatever difference that makes? Some OC would be nice here, I believe most b450's can do 3466.

 

I will need a screen and webcam too, currently thinking about an EleqtriQ, iiyama, or similar. Colour accurate, 1080p or 1440p at most, non-curved, as high a refresh rate as possible, and a decent implementation of Freesync (from my research some monitors have very narrow refresh rates where FS actually works). Looking for a dependable monitor, loved my times with Korean monitors back in the day and would love a similar value proposition but not looking to play the dead pixel lottery.

 

Using a PSU calculator put me well under 500 watts but I'm probably better off with that if I end up with a 3700x/5700 equivalent build eventually right? Might end up using a USB C equivalen too. Probably going to go with this PSU, looking to avoid the ketchup and mustard look;

https://cclonline.com/product/257207/100-BR-0500-K3/Power-Supplies/EVGA-500-BR-500W-80-PLUS-Bronze-Certified-ATX-Power-Supply-Unit-PSU-3-Year-Warranty/PSU1585/

 

I like bang for buck builds and cheap chinese stuff so feel free to suggest AliExpress stuff or similar, for a mechanical keyboard and a mouse, maybe even a webcam, with some kind of background removal would be great. Not an expert in this area myself.

Any help would be appreciated, thanks in advance.

 

[brob]

Are you familiar with pcpartpicker.com? The site has options for Ireland, UK, Germany, etc. In addition to basic part compatibility checking the site calculates power requirement based On manufacturer power specs.

[Gaijin]

Yup I know of it, but it doesn't give information like if the board has bad vrms, or the nvme has no dram, that sort of thing. I'm more looking for that kind of information, I follow r/amdhelp on Reddit and I'm looking to avoid joining them

[Gaijin]

No takers on my questions in the op? Well, here's what I got so far, BF was a bit of a bust where I'm from so no crazy deals.

 

RAM: 16gb 3200Mhz Crucial Ballistix Sport, heard they'll overclock decently being AES micron die so hopefully B550 comes out soon and is rated for higher than 3466.

 

SSD: Western Digital sn500 500GB

 

PSU: EVGA 500 BR 500W 80+ bronze non-modular power supply