Medical Emergency PC Build

[poorkidbuild]

Budget (including currency): 900 USD

Country: USA

Games, programs or workloads that it will be used for: Rocket league, GTAV, Apex, and CS:GO (Mostly surf lol)

Other details (existing parts lists, whether any peripherals are needed, what you're upgrading from, when you're going to buy, what resolution and refresh rate you want to play at, etc): List I was thinking about will be provided, monitor needs to be included in price, upgrading from old Alienware gaming laptop, I can wait a few months if needed, I need to wait at least one month as I plan to build it once we move into a new house,  as long as I can get 1080p, high settings, 60fps I'll be fine. 

 

I had a medical emergency (broke C1 and C2 and a shoulder in a car accident) where my system where I was planning on spending 4K is now lost. I still need a system as I will no longer be going outside for, well, anything. Spending the next few months in the swiss alps (on the peloton, not actually) and hopefully at a new setup.

 

**CPU** | [AMD Ryzen 3 3100 3.6 GHz Quad-Core Processor](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/ndwkcf/amd-ryzen-3-3100-36-ghz-quad-core-processor-100-100000284box) | $123.81 @ Amazon 
**Motherboard** | [MSI B450 TOMAHAWK MAX ATX AM4 Motherboard](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/jcYQzy/msi-b450-tomahawk-max-atx-am4-motherboard-b450-tomahawk-max) | $124.99 @ Best Buy 
**Storage** | [Crucial P1 1 TB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/pxKcCJ/crucial-p1-1tb-m2-2280-solid-state-drive-ct1000p1ssd8) | $102.99 @ Amazon 
**Video Card** | [Gigabyte GeForce GTX 1650 SUPER 4 GB WINDFORCE OC Video Card](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/MdFKHx/gigabyte-geforce-gtx-1650-super-4-gb-windforce-oc-video-card-gv-n165swf2oc-4gd) | $169.99 @ Amazon 
**Case** | [Corsair 275R Airflow ATX Mid Tower Case](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/sY9tt6/corsair-275r-airflow-atx-mid-tower-case-cc-9011181-ww) | $84.99 @ Amazon 
**Power Supply** | [EVGA BQ 500 W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-modular ATX Power Supply](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/8P7CmG/evga-bq-500w-80-bronze-certified-semi-modular-atx-power-supply-110-bq-0500-k1) | $62.89 @ Amazon 
**Monitor** | [Asus VG248QG 24.0" 1920x1080 165 Hz Monitor](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/hy4BD3/asus-vg248qg-240-1920x1080-165-hz-monitor-vg248qg) | $204.98 @ Newegg 
 | *Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts* |
 | **Total** | **$874.64**

[poorkidbuild]

Also, I am able to add 200 dollars to the budget IF NEEDED. If I can get what I'm asking for for under, you guys are amazing, if not, add an extra little spice and I will consider. Thanks you all!

[Bombastinator]

C1 & c2?! Ohshit! Those are the two top vertebrae that support your skull.  You nearly became a quadrapalegic! (Unless of course you did in which case even more ohshit!)  

 

what you are building is a fairly fast 4/8 1080p system.  Not that different from an intel 7800 system. I’m not super fond of these right now.  It’s a good bit faster than my current system but whether or not either will be able to play games at all in the future is a bit up in the air.   It will play those games you mentioned fine though.

 

A system of the power you describe shouldn’t cost $900.
In the interests of bringing down costs a bit on the system you described:

gpu

The 1650 is not especially cheap. It’s main trick is that it’s extremely power efficient so it doesn’t need pcie power connectors. This means it can run in old or prebuilt boxes with no power comnectors.  This is not what you have. There is a premium for this.  Considering the size of your PSU and that you have no need of the other special tricks of nvidia which almost entirely have to do with non gaming stuff, a rx570 is just as fast or faster, is available for less money, but DOES need a power connector.  It’s less power efficient, but it’s cheaper, and you’re buying a PSU that has a power cable anyway, so there may be some money there.  570s are also old.  Could pick one up used and save even more. Taking a quick poke at eBay I’m seeing them for well under a hundred bucks. The 1650 does tricks you can’t use and have no reason to pay for. 
PSU

I don’t know how good that PSU is. It might be fine.  I don’t know.  I’m not a PSU guy. Such exist here.  PSU quality is all about reliability. The good ones take longer to fail (they all eventually fail) and is likely to do less damage to the rest of the system when it does (PSUs that fail often take at least part of the system with them) 

there is a PSU tierlist on this site that might help

MEMORY

I’m not seeing a memory choice at all.  Gonna need some memory.  Ryzen2 likes its memory fast

MOTHERBOARD

Thats a pretty good if not very new motherboard.  Not cheap.  Has a lot of VRM.  More than you need for a 3100.  Planning a cpu upgrade in 2021?  Might need one.  That whole thing is up in the air atm.  It will depend on the devs for games yet unwritten.  If there’s no upgrade coming something a550 might make more sense.  A lot less VRM, but it’s VRM anything 3600 or smaller won’t use anyway. Might find $30+ that way.

 

I could try building you a better $900 system, but for the games you describe you don’t really need it. At least right now.  Video cards in general and what will be needed in 2021 all depends on what is in the new consoles so predicting the future, a normally near impossible task, is unusually difficult.  There’s a certain argument for build small and cheap because 2021 may be totally different. I don’t know whether to try to build you a 3600 system or not.  I don’t know if even THEY will work after the new console games come out.  There was a take apart of a PS5 recently that shows the cpu to be what might be what amounts to a 2700 with liquid metal TIM.  I’ve heard speed estimates though which imply it can’t be a 2700 though. I just don’t know. 

Edited October 9, 2020 by Bombastinator

[poorkidbuild]

8 hours ago, Bombastinator said:

C1 & c2?! Ohshit! Those are the two top vertebrae that support your skull.  You nearly became a quadrapalegic! (Unless of course you did in which case even more ohshit!)  

 

what you are building is a fairly fast 4/8 1080p system.  Not that different from an intel 7800 system. I’m not super fond of these right now.  It’s a good bit faster than my current system but whether or not either will be able to play games at all in the future is a bit up in the air.   It will play those games you mentioned fine though.

 

A system of the power you describe shouldn’t cost $900.
In the interests of bringing down costs a bit on the system you described:

gpu

The 1650 is not especially cheap. It’s main trick is that it’s extremely power efficient so it doesn’t need pcie power connectors. This means it can run in old or prebuilt boxes with no power comnectors.  This is not what you have. There is a premium for this.  Considering the size of your PSU and that you have no need of the other special tricks of nvidia which almost entirely have to do with non gaming stuff, a rx570 is just as fast or faster, is available for less money, but DOES need a power connector.  It’s less power efficient, but it’s cheaper, and you’re buying a PSU that has a power cable anyway, so there may be some money there.  570s are also old.  Could pick one up used and save even more. Taking a quick poke at eBay I’m seeing them for well under a hundred bucks. The 1650 does tricks you can’t use and have no reason to pay for. 
PSU

I don’t know how good that PSU is. It might be fine.  I don’t know.  I’m not a PSU guy. Such exist here.  PSU quality is all about reliability. The good ones take longer to fail (they all eventually fail) and is likely to do less damage to the rest of the system when it does (PSUs that fail often take at least part of the system with them) 

there is a PSU tierlist on this site that might help

MEMORY

I’m not seeing a memory choice at all.  Gonna need some memory.  Ryzen2 likes its memory fast

MOTHERBOARD

Thats a pretty good if not very new motherboard.  Not cheap.  Has a lot of VRM.  More than you need for a 3100.  Planning a cpu upgrade in 2021?  Might need one.  That whole thing is up in the air atm.  It will depend on the devs for games yet unwritten.  If there’s no upgrade coming something a550 might make more sense.  A lot less VRM, but it’s VRM anything 3600 or smaller won’t use anyway. Might find $30+ that way.

 

I could try building you a better $900 system, but for the games you describe you don’t really need it. At least right now.  Video cards in general and what will be needed in 2021 all depends on what is in the new consoles so predicting the future, a normally near impossible task, is unusually difficult.  There’s a certain argument for build small and cheap because 2021 may be totally different. I don’t know whether to try to build you a 3600 system or not.  I don’t know if even THEY will work after the new console games come out.  There was a take apart of a PS5 recently that shows the cpu to be what might be what amounts to a 2700 with liquid metal TIM.  I’ve heard speed estimates though which imply it can’t be a 2700 though. I just don’t know. 

I was lucky and hit right in the spot to where I will completely recover with no side effects besides maybe some restricted movement in my neck. Thank you taking the time to respond! Got it for the GPU, never knew about used PC parts market. Am I able to trust it? What if the parts are malfunctioning? And for the PSU, I am definitely going to take a look at that list! Very helpful. I should have mentioned the memory, I already had some from a system my friend wanted to fix and I was the only one of his close friends who knew how to upgrade systems/fix them. He wanted new fancy RGB RAM, so I put that in and asked what he wanted to do with his 3000mhz 8GB kit of corsair RAM, and he just said I could keep it. Is that a good amount? Or should I invest in two more sticks for 16GB? I never have more than 5 chrome tabs open, so I should be fine. I also never multitask games/chrome so I thought it should be enough. For the motherboard, I’ve built with it before and oh boy it is such a dreamy motherboard. Amazing BIOS, easy everything let me tell you. I found a cheaper MSI Mobo I can go with, but I will stick with MSI as I am SUPER familiar with it. And I just don’t like console, never have. Plus all my GTA memory would be lost. :( Overall, this was super helpful and in depth. I want to thank you for taking the time to do this! :) 

[Bombastinator]

1 hour ago, poorkidbuild said:

I was lucky and hit right in the spot to where I will completely recover with no side effects besides maybe some restricted movement in my neck. Thank you taking the time to respond! Got it for the GPU, never knew about used PC parts market. Am I able to trust it? What if the parts are malfunctioning? And for the PSU, I am definitely going to take a look at that list! Very helpful. I should have mentioned the memory, I already had some from a system my friend wanted to fix and I was the only one of his close friends who knew how to upgrade systems/fix them. He wanted new fancy RGB RAM, so I put that in and asked what he wanted to do with his 3000mhz 8GB kit of corsair RAM, and he just said I could keep it. Is that a good amount? Or should I invest in two more sticks for 16GB? I never have more than 5 chrome tabs open, so I should be fine. I also never multitask games/chrome so I thought it should be enough. For the motherboard, I’ve built with it before and oh boy it is such a dreamy motherboard. Amazing BIOS, easy everything let me tell you. I found a cheaper MSI Mobo I can go with, but I will stick with MSI as I am SUPER familiar with it. And I just don’t like console, never have. Plus all my GTA memory would be lost. Overall, this was super helpful and in depth. I want to thank you for taking the time to do this!

Used Market:

eBay is eBay. Got to look at seller rep etc.  it’s unlikely people will do bitcoin mining with 570s which makes things a bit simpler.  Make sure the card works correctly as soon as it arrives, etc..  this means testing the card to not only make sure it runs but that it’s actually a 570. (Verify memory size etc).  As far as malfunctions go it’s like anything else used.  You accept the product as working or you don’t.  If it breaks later that’s on you.

 

re: ram

got to make sure it the right kind.  For a ryzen2 build the stuff needs to be ddr4.  3000mhz is about as slow as I’d willingly run on ryzen2 but it will work. 8gb is also on the low end.  Also there’s the only-one-stick single channel issue.  Memory speed, memory size, and stick count could combine to cause significant problems with machine speed.  It will work though.   You could try it and change it later if you wanted. Bird in the hand and all that. 

[poorkidbuild]

13 minutes ago, Bombastinator said:

Used Market:

eBay is eBay. Got to look at seller rep etc.  it’s unlikely people will do bitcoin mining with 570s which makes things a bit simpler.  Make sure the card works correctly as soon as it arrives, etc..  this means testing the card to not only make sure it runs but that it’s actually a 570. (Verify memory size etc).  As far as malfunctions go it’s like anything else used.  You accept the product as working or you don’t.  If it breaks later that’s on you.

 

re: ram

got to make sure it the right kind.  For a ryzen2 build the stuff needs to be ddr4.  3000mhz is about as slow as I’d willingly run on ryzen2 but it will work. 8gb is also on the low end.  Also there’s the only-one-stick single channel issue.  Memory speed, memory size, and stick count could combine to cause significant problems with machine speed.  It will work though.   You could try it and change it later if you wanted. Bird in the hand and all that. 

Awesome! So I might look around for things on Ebay, if I can't find anything I'll just buy something new like a 580 or 570. The RAM is dual stick if that's what you were talking about, and you're right, I would love newer ram with more Mhz.

[Bombastinator]

9 minutes ago, poorkidbuild said:

Awesome! So I might look around for things on Ebay, if I can't find anything I'll just buy something new like a 580 or 570. The RAM is dual stick if that's what you were talking about, and you're right, I would love newer ram with more Mhz.

2x4gb?  That will help some.  

[poorkidbuild]

6 minutes ago, Bombastinator said:

2x4gb?  That will help some.  

Yep! It's not the ugly green ones, it's the ones with the black casing.

[Bombastinator]

4 minutes ago, poorkidbuild said:

Yep! It's not the ugly green ones, it's the ones with the black casing.

Means nothing.  What color a memory heat sink is painted mess near nothing. The bit you’re looking at that is colored isn’t even the memory.  It’s a heat sink/protector for the memory.  It’s just a hunk of aluminum.

[poorkidbuild]

6 minutes ago, Bombastinator said:

Means nothing.  What color a memory heat sink is painted mess near nothing. The bit you’re looking at that is colored isn’t even the memory.  It’s a heat sink/protector for the memory.  It’s just a hunk of aluminum.

I was thinking about replacing the 1650 and just flat out going with a 1660 for 210. Worth it or just risk it and go used?

[Bombastinator]

22 minutes ago, poorkidbuild said:

I was thinking about replacing the 1650 and just flat out going with a 1660 for 210. Worth it or just risk it and go used?

You need to pay attention to monitor type. If your monitor is 1080p@60, it doesn’t make sense to try to drive more unless you update the monitor.  

[HunterH1012]

PCPartPicker Part List

Type	Item	Price
CPU	AMD Ryzen 5 3600 3.6 GHz 6-Core Processor	$160.00
Motherboard	Gigabyte B450M DS3H Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard	$72.98 @ Amazon
Memory	GeIL EVO SPEAR Phantom Gaming 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 CL16 Memory	$54.99 @ Newegg
Storage	Team GX2 1 TB 2.5" Solid State Drive	$79.99 @ Newegg
Video Card	MSI Radeon RX 5600 XT 6 GB MECH OC Video Card	$259.99 @ B&H
Case	Deepcool MATREXX 50 ADD-RGB 4F ATX Mid Tower Case	$79.99 @ Newegg
Power Supply	EVGA BR 450 W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply	$49.94 @ Office Depot
Monitor	VIOTEK GFV22CB 22.0" 1920x1080 144 Hz Monitor	$129.99 @ Amazon
	Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts
	Total (before mail-in rebates)	$907.87
	Mail-in rebates	-$20.00
	Total	$887.87
	Generated by PCPartPicker 2020-10-09 11:54 EDT-0400

There is a $20 discount at micro center for the 3600 plus $20 off when you bundle it with specific mobos

[HunterH1012]

Just now, Le monke said:

PCPartPicker Part List

Type	Item	Price
CPU	AMD Ryzen 5 3600 3.6 GHz 6-Core Processor	$160.00
Motherboard	Gigabyte B450M DS3H Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard	$72.98 @ Amazon
Memory	GeIL EVO SPEAR Phantom Gaming 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 CL16 Memory	$54.99 @ Newegg
Storage	Team GX2 1 TB 2.5" Solid State Drive	$79.99 @ Newegg
Video Card	MSI Radeon RX 5600 XT 6 GB MECH OC Video Card	$259.99 @ B&H
Case	Deepcool MATREXX 50 ADD-RGB 4F ATX Mid Tower Case	$79.99 @ Newegg
Power Supply	EVGA BR 450 W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply	$49.94 @ Office Depot
Monitor	VIOTEK GFV22CB 22.0" 1920x1080 144 Hz Monitor	$129.99 @ Amazon
	Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts
	Total (before mail-in rebates)	$907.87
	Mail-in rebates	-$20.00
	Total	$887.87
	Generated by PCPartPicker 2020-10-09 11:54 EDT-0400

There is a $20 discount at micro center for the 3600 plus $20 off when you bundle it with specific mobos

Plus the 5600 xt is wayyyyyyyyyyyyyyy better than the 1650 super

[poorkidbuild]

10 hours ago, Bombastinator said:

You need to pay attention to monitor type. If your monitor is 1080p@60, it doesn’t make sense to try to drive more unless you update the monitor.  

I was thinking about a 75hz monitor at 1080p.  Do you agree with Le monke?

[poorkidbuild]

10 hours ago, Le monke said:

PCPartPicker Part List

Type	Item	Price
CPU	AMD Ryzen 5 3600 3.6 GHz 6-Core Processor	$160.00
Motherboard	Gigabyte B450M DS3H Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard	$72.98 @ Amazon
Memory	GeIL EVO SPEAR Phantom Gaming 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 CL16 Memory	$54.99 @ Newegg
Storage	Team GX2 1 TB 2.5" Solid State Drive	$79.99 @ Newegg
Video Card	MSI Radeon RX 5600 XT 6 GB MECH OC Video Card	$259.99 @ B&H
Case	Deepcool MATREXX 50 ADD-RGB 4F ATX Mid Tower Case	$79.99 @ Newegg
Power Supply	EVGA BR 450 W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply	$49.94 @ Office Depot
Monitor	VIOTEK GFV22CB 22.0" 1920x1080 144 Hz Monitor	$129.99 @ Amazon
	Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts
	Total (before mail-in rebates)	$907.87
	Mail-in rebates	-$20.00
	Total	$887.87
	Generated by PCPartPicker 2020-10-09 11:54 EDT-0400

There is a $20 discount at micro center for the 3600 plus $20 off when you bundle it with specific mobos

Thank you!

[Bombastinator]

8 minutes ago, poorkidbuild said:

I was thinking about a 75hz monitor at 1080p.  Do you agree with Le monke?

@Le monke did a 3600 build. I don’t see anything wrong with it myself for what it is. My issues are more conceptual. I am not sure that a 3600 will be useful into 2022 for any random game.  Same goes for the gpu.  If you want to spend $900 on a computer though it’s a decent way to do it.  For all I know it may game into 2025.  I was merely pointing out that if you want to do a 3100 build it should cost a lot less than $900.  I do think a 3700 build will definitely  last into 2025 assuming gpu updates as needed.  They’re hard to do for $900 though and there would need to be functionality sacrifices. 

[poorkidbuild]

7 minutes ago, Bombastinator said:

@Le monke did a 3600 build. I don’t see anything wrong with it myself for what it is. My issues are more conceptual. I am not sure that a 3600 will be useful into 2022 for any random game.  Same goes for the gpu.  If you want to spend $900 on a computer though it’s a decent way to do it.  For all I know it may game into 2025.  I was merely pointing out that if you want to do a 3100 build it should cost a lot less than $900.  I do think a 3700 build will definitely  last into 2025 assuming gpu updates as needed.  They’re hard to do for $900 though and there would need to be functionality sacrifices. 

Awesome, well I think I'm going to go ahead and just do a 1660 Ventus XS OC with the 3100. Total with Mobo is around 815. If the 3600 drops in the next few weeks, given the fact the new CPUs came out (though they're ridiculously expensive), I'll go ahead and buy the 3600. If not, I'll go for the 3100. 

[Bombastinator]

10 minutes ago, poorkidbuild said:

Awesome, well I think I'm going to go ahead and just do a 1660 Ventus XS OC with the 3100. Total with Mobo is around 815. If the 3600 drops in the next few weeks, given the fact the new CPUs came out (though they're ridiculously expensive), I'll go ahead and buy the 3600. If not, I'll go for the 3100. 

Again things Nvidia has you may not need, but will pay for anyway.  Also there is the whole monitor vs. gpu thing. You don’t need more GPU than you have monitor.  If you can wait a bit though, waiting is preferred.  The gpu situation is something of a swirling morass right now. Build lists like that are generally good for only a couple of days.  Things have been changing very quickly as of late. Particularly prices.