Any thoughts or room for improvement/better cost-effectiveness on my build?

[mqmqmq]

Budget (including currency): $1500-1700 AUD

Country: Australia

Games, programs or workloads that it will be used for: Any and all games I take a interest in. No programs. No workloads.

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): 

Buying ASAP. 144hz and 1440p.

I'm looking for a way to drop the price a little bit. I would change the graphics down to a 3060 ti, but the only ones in stock are all going to $900 aud, and I managed to find a 3070 going to $970 aud, at which point I think that extra $70 is worth it for the extra performance. Originally I was going to buy a 5700xt that was going for $600, but that went out of stock, and the ones in stock are $700. I think the 3070 has far better performance than the 5700xt, and I'm looking to build a pc that gets 144hz 1440p at mostly max settings on any game I play. And I'm aiming to use this build for at least 5 years, so I think 3070 might be better for future games that come out. 

 

https://au.pcpartpicker.com/list/b8FHbh

[boggy77]

you've already dropped the price quite a bit by compromising on the motherboard and psu.

 

PCPartPicker Part List

Type	Item	Price
CPU	AMD Ryzen 5 3600 3.6 GHz 6-Core Processor	$305.80 @ Newegg Australia
Motherboard	MSI B450M PRO-VDH MAX Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard	$98.78 @ JW Computers
Memory	Team T-FORCE VULCAN Z 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 CL16 Memory	$106.00 @ PC Byte
Storage	Team EX2 1 TB 2.5" Solid State Drive	$123.20 @ Newegg Australia
Video Card	Inno3D GeForce RTX 3070 8 GB iChill X3 Video Card	$970.00
Case	Fractal Design Focus G Mini MicroATX Mini Tower Case	$83.60 @ Newegg Australia
Power Supply	EVGA GD (2019) 600 W 80+ Gold Certified ATX Power Supply	$105.00 @ BPC Technology
	Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts
	Total	$1792.38
	Generated by PCPartPicker 2021-01-23 00:43 AEDT+1100

 

[Hairless Monkey Boy]

You'll need a 650W PSU for the 3070. An NVME drive will be better value vs the 2.5" drive. Only the case can really be cheaped any more.

 

PCPartPicker Part List

Type	Item	Price
CPU	AMD Ryzen 5 3600 3.6 GHz 6-Core Processor	$305.80 @ Newegg Australia
Motherboard	ASRock B450M Pro4-F Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard	$99.00 @ Mwave Australia
Memory	Kingston HyperX Fury 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 CL16 Memory	$108.00 @ Umart
Storage	Crucial P1 1 TB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive	$129.00 @ Centre Com
Video Card	Inno3D GeForce RTX 3070 8 GB iChill X3 Video Card	$970.00
Case	Fractal Design Focus G ATX Mid Tower Case	$80.30 @ Newegg Australia
Power Supply	BitFenix Whisper M 650 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply	$139.00 @ Scorptec
	Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts
	Total	$1831.10
	Generated by PCPartPicker 2021-01-23 00:47 AEDT+1100

 

[VEXICUS]

There you go....

 

 

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 3600 3.6 GHz 6-Core Processor  ($305.80 @ Newegg Australia) 
Motherboard: MSI B450M PRO-VDH MAX Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard  ($98.78 @ JW Computers) 
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LPX 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3000 CL15 Memory  ($92.00 @ Umart) 
Storage: Kingston A2000 1 TB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive  ($144.00 @ Centre Com) 
Video Card: MSI GeForce RTX 3070 8 GB VENTUS 3X OC Video Card  ($999.00 @ Centre Com) 
Case: Fractal Design Focus G Mini MicroATX Mini Tower Case  ($83.60 @ Newegg Australia) 
Power Supply: BitFenix Whisper M 650 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply  ($139.00 @ Scorptec) 
Total: $1862.18
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2021-01-23 00:53 AEDT+1100

[Biomecanoid]

26 minutes ago, mqmqmq said:

Budget (including currency): $1500-1700 AUD

Country: Australia

Games, programs or workloads that it will be used for: Any and all games I take a interest in. No programs. No workloads.

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): 

Buying ASAP. 144hz and 1440p.

I'm looking for a way to drop the price a little bit. I would change the graphics down to a 3060 ti, but the only ones in stock are all going to $900 aud, and I managed to find a 3070 going to $970 aud, at which point I think that extra $70 is worth it for the extra performance. Originally I was going to buy a 5700xt that was going for $600, but that went out of stock, and the ones in stock are $700. I think the 3070 has far better performance than the 5700xt, and I'm looking to build a pc that gets 144hz 1440p at mostly max settings on any game I play. And I'm aiming to use this build for at least 5 years, so I think 3070 might be better for future games that come out. 

 

https://au.pcpartpicker.com/list/b8FHbh

You don't need 1TB SSD.  SSD is just for windows. I once installed windows 10 in a 64gb SSD and i could fit all the essential program a computer needs to operate normally + had free space. 

 

Its better to buy 128gb SSD for windows + 1 or 2TB HDD for games. Games nowadays are HUGE and eat GB very quickly 

[Biomecanoid]

6 minutes ago, Biomecanoid said:

You don't need 1TB SSD.  SSD is just for windows. I once installed windows 10 in a 64gb SSD and i could fit all the essential program a computer needs to operate normally + had free space. 

 

Its better to buy 128gb SSD for windows + 1 or 2TB HDD for games. Games nowadays are HUGE and eat GB very quickly 

https://ssd.userbenchmark.com/Samsung-860-Evo-250GB/Rating/3949

 

https://hdd.userbenchmark.com/Seagate-Barracuda-2TB-2016/Rating/3897

 

Round up to about the same price for the 1TB SSD you had before ( just a tad cheaper ) but twice the available space

[Hairless Monkey Boy]

4 minutes ago, Biomecanoid said:

https://ssd.userbenchmark.com/Samsung-860-Evo-250GB/Rating/3949

 

https://hdd.userbenchmark.com/Seagate-Barracuda-2TB-2016/Rating/3897

 

Round up to about the same price for the 1TB SSD you had before ( just a tad cheaper ) but twice the available space

Don't link to userbenchmark. Here is the build:

 

PCPartPicker Part List

Type	Item	Price
CPU	AMD Ryzen 5 3600 3.6 GHz 6-Core Processor	$305.80 @ Newegg Australia
Motherboard	ASRock B450M Pro4-F Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard	$99.00 @ Mwave Australia
Memory	Kingston HyperX Fury 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 CL16 Memory	$108.00 @ Umart
Storage	Kingston A2000 250 GB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive	$57.00 @ Skycomp Technology
Storage	Western Digital Caviar Blue 1 TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive	$56.00 @ Centre Com
Video Card	Inno3D GeForce RTX 3070 8 GB iChill X3 Video Card	$970.00
Case	Fractal Design Focus G ATX Mid Tower Case	$80.30 @ Newegg Australia
Power Supply	Corsair CX (2017) 650 W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply	$127.60 @ Newegg Australia
	Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts
	Total	$1803.70
	Generated by PCPartPicker 2021-01-23 01:13 AEDT+1100

 

[Biomecanoid]

3 minutes ago, HairlessMonkeyBoy said:

Don't link to userbenchmark. Here is the build:

 

PCPartPicker Part List

Type	Item	Price
CPU	AMD Ryzen 5 3600 3.6 GHz 6-Core Processor	$305.80 @ Newegg Australia
Motherboard	ASRock B450M Pro4-F Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard	$99.00 @ Mwave Australia
Memory	Kingston HyperX Fury 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 CL16 Memory	$108.00 @ Umart
Storage	Kingston A2000 250 GB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive	$57.00 @ Skycomp Technology
Storage	Western Digital Caviar Blue 1 TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive	$56.00 @ Centre Com
Video Card	Inno3D GeForce RTX 3070 8 GB iChill X3 Video Card	$970.00
Case	Fractal Design Focus G ATX Mid Tower Case	$80.30 @ Newegg Australia
Power Supply	Corsair CX (2017) 650 W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply	$127.60 @ Newegg Australia
	Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts
	Total	$1803.70
	Generated by PCPartPicker 2021-01-23 01:13 AEDT+1100

 

userbenchmark is important because I have chosen the faster drives I could for the price range. That's why you should get the exact models

 

Seagate ST2000DM006 Barracuda 2TB

 

Samsung MZ-76E250B 860 Evo 250GB

[Hairless Monkey Boy]

2 minutes ago, Biomecanoid said:

userbenchmark is important because I have chosen the faster drives I could for the price range. That's why you should get the exact models

The 860 EVO is both slower, and more expensive than the A2000 in my build, and the speed of the HDD is frankly irrelevant, but you linked the 64MB cache version when the 256MB cache version is currently cheaper... so.... Userbenchmark is very much not important.

[Biomecanoid]

16 minutes ago, HairlessMonkeyBoy said:

The 860 EVO is both slower, and more expensive than the A2000 in my build, and the speed of the HDD is frankly irrelevant, but you linked the 64MB cache version when the 256MB cache version is currently cheaper... so.... Userbenchmark is very much not important.

And you linked the 1TB drive while I linked the 2TB drive plus the A2000 is NVME that's why its faster, I have chosen sata because the original MB of the OP the B550M Pro4 did not have NVME slots ( at least didn't say so online ) userbenchmark is usually more or less correct.

[Hairless Monkey Boy]

You linked 

4 minutes ago, Biomecanoid said:

And you linked the 1TB drive while I linked the 2TB drive

You linked a 2TB Seagate drive with 64MB cache. There exists a 2TB Seagate drive with a 256MB cache, and it's cheaper.

 

These two:

PCPartPicker Part List

Type	Item	Price
Storage	Seagate Barracuda 2 TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive	$89.00 @ Austin Computers
Storage	Seagate Barracuda Compute 2 TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive	$88.00 @ I-Tech
	Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts
	Total	$177.00
	Generated by PCPartPicker 2021-01-23 01:44 AEDT+1100

 

[WhitetailAni]

30 minutes ago, Biomecanoid said:

userbenchmark is important

userbenchmark is crap and should be tossed into the Cracks of Doom.

[Biomecanoid]

16 minutes ago, ragnarok0273 said:

userbenchmark is crap and should be tossed into the Cracks of Doom.

It just gives you a general idea, as you can not have all the hardware at home to test them yourself

[WhitetailAni]

Just now, Biomecanoid said:

It just gives you a general idea, as you can not have all the hardware at home to test them yourself

It has a habit of misleading people.

Hence why I despise it and want it to die.

[Biomecanoid]

30 minutes ago, ragnarok0273 said:

It has a habit of misleading people.

Hence why I despise it and want it to die.

Cast it into the fire of mount DOOM !!!

[mqmqmq]

Budget (including currency): $1500-$1900 AUD

Country: Australia

Games, programs or workloads that it will be used for: Any games

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): 

PCPartPicker Part List

Type	Item	Price
CPU	AMD Ryzen 5 3600 3.6 GHz 6-Core Processor	$304.70 @ Newegg Australia
Motherboard	Gigabyte B550M H Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard	$100.00
Memory	Patriot Viper 4 Blackout 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3600 CL17 Memory	$109.99 @ Amazon Australia
Storage	Team EX2 1 TB 2.5" Solid State Drive	$122.10 @ Newegg Australia
Video Card	Inno3D GeForce RTX 3070 8 GB iChill X3 Video Card	$970.00
Case	Phanteks Eclipse P300A Mesh ATX Mid Tower Case	$89.10 @ Newegg Australia
Power Supply	Gigabyte P-B 650 W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply	$85.00 @ Computer Alliance
	Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts
	Total	$1780.89
	Generated by PCPartPicker 2021-01-23 19:52 AEDT+1100

I have had someone say that this motherboard doesn't have a VRM heatsink, and that they strongly recommend a motherboard with one. What is a VRM heatsink? How important is it? 

 

[SupaKomputa]

That board is decent. If you don't overclock it, you may not need a vrm heatsink.

If youre concern about it, add an aftermarket heatsink should do the trick.

[Analog]

3 hours ago, mqmqmq said:

I have had someone say that this motherboard doesn't have a VRM heatsink, and that they strongly recommend a motherboard with one. What is a VRM heatsink? How important is it? 

 

 

That motherboard is alright if you are using the computer for normal day-to-day tasks and do not plan to overclock. The VRM heatsinks are the big slabs of metal that manufacturers put on the power delivery that surrounds the CPU socket in order to keep it cool under load. 

 

See example of heatsink:

 

 

If you plan on upgrading the processor later on to one that has more cores, I strongly recommend getting a better board. 

 

 

[Sriyashas]

You probably should bet a better power supply

 

[LogicalDrm]

*** Threads merged ***

 

Please keep this in one thread.