[deleted]

[Magus]

[deleted]

[Juular]

Oooh, that's a long-ass post ...

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Is FreeSync still AMD-Only?

Nope. Nor GSync are nVidia-only anymore.

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Ryzen 5 doesn't need the 360 so much.

It doesn't need 240mm AIO either, slap some 30$ air cooler on it and it's done, but R5 3600X would be just okay even with stock cooler.

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I've never worked with AMD products before. Is there anything I should be made aware of in advance? Any overclocking advice?

Well, latest AMD gen. CPUs are pretty straightforward to work with. You'll likely need to OC the RAM but it's as simple as settings a few values in BIOS and seeing if it'll crash under load, if it will then dial it back, if it will not then raise the OC. As of GPU, you can get RX5700 (non-XT) and flash it with -XT BIOS to unlock power limiter, it'll be pretty much on the level of RX5700 XT which is already overkill for 1080p 144Hz gaming, that's pretty straightforward way to save ~50$. As of motherboard choice, you don't need X570 or PCIe 4.0, just get a good B450 board.

 

Now to the parts list ... both your part lists are private. So i've compiled my own suggestion on the basis of your contemplating, this build is more than enough for a new gamer. I'd assume you're in US since all that 'shooting at cans with kids and pets running amok' lol. I've also spilled some lights in there (not really sure for what aesthetics you were aiming really from your description), it's not that expensive and i guess the kid would appreciate it.

 

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 3600 3.6 GHz 6-Core Processor  ($185.99 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 RGB Black Edition 57.3 CFM CPU Cooler  ($29.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: MSI B450 TOMAHAWK MAX ATX AM4 Motherboard  ($114.99 @ B&H)
Memory: G.Skill Trident Z RGB 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3600 Memory  ($79.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Inland Premium 1 TB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive  ($104.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: PowerColor Radeon RX 5700 8 GB RED DRAGON Video Card  ($349.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Rosewill SPECTRA D100 ATX Mid Tower Case  ($69.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Enermax Revolution D.F. 650 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply  ($79.98 @ Amazon)
Monitor: AOC C24G1 24.0" 1920x1080 144 Hz Monitor  ($144.99 @ Amazon)
Keyboard: Tecware Phantom RGB Wired Gaming Keyboard  ($45.99 @ Amazon)
Mouse: Corsair Harpoon RGB Wired Optical Mouse  ($17.99 @ Best Buy)
Total: $1224.88
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2019-11-30 15:52 EST-0500

 

[Magus]

[deleted]

[Magus]

[deleted]

[Juular]

First off, you need to quote me so i can see if you've replied.

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want to take advantage of Gen 4

You wouldn't, nothing needs it now (or in observable future) other than that overpriced SSD you've selected, you don't need it, get smth like ADATA SX8200 Pro or Corsair MP510, you can grab 1TB one for the price of 500GB PCIe 4 one, and these are fastest PCIe 3 SSDs on market, definitely faster than 970 Evo and as fast as 970 Pro. As of PCIe 4 SSDs, the only thing that will be different are burst read speeds that will be highner for ~2GB, all other metrics are practically the same. Neither GPUs benefit from PCIe 4, you'll be fine with PCIe 3 for the time being. But if you want X570 it's your choice, but i don't recommend getting more expensive board than that ASUS TUF.

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I'll probably keep the cooling I have since I tend to appreciate overbuilt cooling.

Again, it's your choice, you don't need it for gaming as i said. But EVGA CLC AIOs are quite cheap so why not.

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I was kinda unsure on power supply. Seems like people really like SeaSonic these days, but when I got into the nitty-and-gritty of reviews it seemed like it really just came down to people's personal brand loyalties

Yep, pretty much. All that hail for Seasonic is just a power of marketing which is quite confusing for me, PSU is like the least subjective part in the whole PC, don't choose PSU by brand. There's thread that might help you to choose a PSU and take a grasp on them overall. As of my PSU recommendation, it's in my build, Enermax Revolution D.F (same OEM as on Bitfenix Whisper M which is very respectable PSU too), or Corsair RMx (it's better than RM). You don't need 750W for this build, in fact, 650W are plenty for any gaming build with single GPU and desktop CPU.

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Also, when comparing monitors, I know most of the ones touting "1ms" pixel response on IPS panels are probably measured in the monitor's maximum "overdrive" setting. I really wish they weren't allowed to use overdrive to measure pixel response because as someone that won't use overdrive all it does is make it more difficult to get information for comparisons. Ultimately the 1ms they're reporting doesn't mean anything to me because I know it's basically fudged. I'm wanting for when they have <1ms pixel response on IPS without overvolting the pixels.

Oh, you're not gonna get a good picture in high motion situations without overdrive at all, usually, middle-something setting will be alright, not too much overshoot and almost no ghosting. Now for the display panels, TN panels are fastest in pixel response time but they're worse in literally all other metrics than IPS and VA panels so i don't see the point in buying TN displays in these days. For a newbie gamer some cheap VA display (there's cheap IPS ones too, like AOC 24G2 but it's hard to catch in stock) would be just as good, or you can get more expensive IPS (there's a series of LG Ultragear displays, they're very affordable), they're better at pixel response than VAs, or some good VA display like Samsung HG70 or MSI MAG271 which are just as good as IPS displays and have deeper blacks (it's an advantage of VA panels overall). Personally, i have that same display (AOC C24G1), it's decent, blacks are way better than on my previous IPS panel, really noticeable in darker games, in night scenes, you're not navigating through fog anymore, you're actually seeing stuff. But it might be too slow for very fast paced games like competitive shooters, but i don't play them much (and i guess it's not the case with your build either as you say that their internet connection is very crappy). Either way, it's slowness are only noticeable when pixels are switching from dark to bright and vice versa, like there's some trailing\ghosting, it's nothing too obstructive but noticeable if you know what to look for so it may be actually good enough for online shooters too since they're quite bright all the time.

 

Now to your builds :

- CPU & motherboard : If you intent to pay 600$ total for the platform alone then go for Intel, i9 9900k with good board like Gigabyte Z390 Elite \ Pro (WiFi) would be noticeably faster in games and you wouldn't need to upgrade it for long time. AMD on the other hand shines with budget builds, R5 3600(X) is all you need for gaming and it's very cheap, it also lets you to upgrade the CPU to next generations when they'll come out in contrast with Intel. TLDR: Don't buy Ryzen 3700\3800\3900 for gaming.

- Cooling : If you really want an AIO i can't blame you, it looks better than a piece of aluminum hanging off your motherboard.

- SSD: I've addressed the SSD already, get Team MP34, Inland Premium, Sabrent Rocket, ADATA SX8200 Pro or Corsair MP510, they're all equally as fast (because they're virtually the same SSDs really, same controller which is the core of SSD) and extra 2GB\s burst write speeds on PCIe 4 SSDs don't worth the money even for workstation builds not to say for gaming one.

- GPU: RX570 is quite budget choice really, GTX1660 Super \ Ti would be way more appropriate choice for 1080p 144Hz display, but RX5700 wouldn't hurt either, flash it with -XT BIOS and it will be even faster.

- Case & fans : I think you've selected this case because it's red, but i recommend to go for Phanteks P400A version, it has (way) better airflow and there's also RGB version of it to spice things up and it's cheaper than getting separate RGB fans. Also, these 3x 120mm RGB fans on P400 Digital will go well with 360mm AIO, replace AIO's fans with these and move AIO's fans to the top exhaust.

- PSU : i've addressed them too already, i recommend Enermax Revolution D.F. 650W

- Display : Again, more info above. I recommend either VA AOC C24G1 (deeper blacks) or IPS AOC 24G2 (less trailling).

- Peripherals : this is quite subjective stuff but i recommend either Corsair K68 or HyperX Alloy FPS RGB for keyboard, don't see any reason to pay for K95 which uses the same switches and slightly different design. And Corsair Harpoon or Logitech G203 for mouse, don't buy Razer products (their thin mousepads with adhesive base are good tho).