old laptop to new pc First Desktop Build for Workstation/Light Gaming; replacing ~Decade old low-end laptop [Scientist in Training]

[SimulatedHuman]

Budget (including currency): $1000-$1500

Country: USA

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

• Programming (mostly python, but someday C/C++);
• Data analysis/processing (mostly just .csv and plain text files, no AI/ML), may generate plots etc
• Simple Physical simulations (including classical/quantum mechanics)
• Small vector graphics work;
• Multiple tabs web-browsing (5-40), often concurrently with the above
• Light gaming (such as Dwarf Fortress, Binding of Isaac, Supreme Commander, retro-emulation); perhaps one day something more graphically intensive but no need for high graphic settings, my eyes are not demanding (such as No Man's Sky)

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):

• First desktop ever, replacing a 6-7 year old low-end HP laptop (~$500 at the time, with an Intel core i3, 6 GB RAM, 1 TB HDD; likely integrated graphics)
• Goal: balance of performance, cooling, power efficiency and portability* with the goal of being a relatively long lasting build (5-10 years before considering hardware upgrade)
• Supportive of 1-2 monitors with side-by-side applications (say webrowser and text editor etc) with sufficient resolution
• Operative system: Linux, likely Ubuntu (1 year experience with the OS); may try Arch when more experienced.
• Aiming to purchase parts in 1 week's time (if not the full selection); aiming for late August in case 1-week's time does not work.

 

* Likely to move cross country 1-2 times per year for extended time (~1 month, west coast to east coast); ambient temperatures averaging ~100F (37C) in summer with some days as hot as 115F (46C), but do not wish to break the bank on utility bills. Thus aiming for a mATX form factor such that the tower can be taken on carry-on luggage while having decent airflow and being spacious enough to build for the first time.

 

Current part list with use of PC part picker to detect compatibility issues, inclusive of monitor. GPU could (maybe should) be dropped) as I never had any and based on research GPU supply/demand may skewer prices and have no clue what makes a good GPU. RGB not needed/desired.

 

PCPartPicker Part List: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/R9mKqm

• CPU: Intel Core i7-12700K 3.6 GHz 12-Core Processor  ($376.99 @ Best Buy)
• CPU Cooler: be quiet! Dark Rock 4 CPU Cooler  ($74.90 @ Amazon)
• Motherboard: Asus PRIME B660M-A D4 Micro ATX LGA1700 Motherboard  ($132.99 @ Amazon)
• Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws V 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR4-3200 CL16 Memory  ($109.99 @ Newegg)
• Storage: Samsung 970 Evo Plus 1 TB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive  ($114.99 @ Amazon)
• Storage: Seagate Barracuda Compute 4 TB 3.5" 5400RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($67.98 @ Amazon)
• Video Card: Asus GeForce GT 1030 2 GB Video Card  ($95.81 @ Amazon)
• Case: Lian Li LANCOOL 205M MicroATX Mid Tower Case  ($89.99 @ Amazon)
• Power Supply: Corsair SF 750 W 80+ Platinum Certified Fully Modular SFX Power Supply  ($149.99 @ Amazon)
• Monitor: LG 24MK400H-B 24.0" 1920x1080 75 Hz Monitor  ($154.99 @ Amazon)

Total: $1368.62
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2022-05-21 10:57 EDT-0400

 

Checked prices on MicroCenter which has somewhat close locations such that shipping can be avoided:

• CPU + Motherboard bundle: Intel Core i7-12700K, ASUS B660M-A Prime DDR4 --> $459.98
• CPU Heatsink: be quiet DARK ROCK PRO 4 CPU Cooler --> $109.99
• RAM: G.Skill Ripjaws V 32GB 2 x 16GB) DDR4-3200 --> $116.99
• PSU: Corsair SF750 750 Watt 80 Plus Platinum SFX --> $184.99
• SSD: Samsung 970 EVO Plus SSD 1TB M.2 NVMe Interface --> $109.99
• HDD: Seagate BarraCuda 4TB 5400RPM SATA III 6Gb/s 3.5" --> $67.99
• Case: Lian Li LANCOOL 205M Mid-Tower Chassis Micro ATX --> $59.99
• GPU: ASUS NVIDIA GeForce GT 730 Low Profile Passive Cooled 2GB GDDR5 PCIe 3.0 --> $79.99
• Monitor: LG 24MP400 24" Full HD 1920 x 1080) 75Hz LED --> $129.99

 

Total without taxes: $1,319.89 (with taxes: $1400)

 

Please advise and criticize my selection, so I can better improve the build and make this a nice workstation with the potential of entertainment during the off-time. Thank you for taking the time to read through the post; do let me know if more details are warranted.

[Pixelfie]

I would change the GPU to an RX 6400. AMD GPU's are MUCH better with Linux than Nvidia. Not only that but this one is significantly better than a 1030 or 730, it's about as fast as a GTX 1650 (3x as fast) as long as you run PCIe 4.0, which you do in this case. It's also newer so it will receive more driver updates which would help with the goal of using it 5-10 years. I wouldn't be surprised if the 1030 would stop receiving updates in like 2 years, and the 730 already stopped receiving them. Also I recommend changing the SSD to this as it's cheaper and not slower. Other than that looks pretty good.

[brob]

Consider using a locked i7-12700(F) since B660 motherboards don't allow for CPU OC.

 

I would suggest a case better designed for moving around. And, since budget permits a better GPU.

 

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: Intel Core i7-12700F 2.1 GHz 12-Core Processor  ($302.99 @ Newegg) 
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-U12S redux 70.75 CFM CPU Cooler  ($49.95 @ Amazon) 
Motherboard: Gigabyte B660I AORUS Pro DDR4 Mini ITX LGA1700 Motherboard  ($249.99 @ Newegg) 
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws V 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR4-3200 CL16 Memory  ($109.99 @ Newegg) 
Storage: ADATA XPG GAMMIX S7 1 TB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive  ($89.99 @ Amazon) 
Storage: Western Digital Blue 4 TB 3.5" 5400RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($64.98 @ Amazon) 
Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon RX 6500 XT 4 GB EAGLE Video Card  ($209.99 @ Amazon) 
Case: Lian Li TU150 Mini ITX Desktop Case  ($158.35 @ Amazon) 
Power Supply: Cooler Master V SFX Gold 650 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular SFX Power Supply  ($104.99 @ Newegg) 
Monitor: LG 24MK400H-B 24.0" 1920x1080 75 Hz Monitor  ($154.99 @ Amazon) 
Total: $1496.21
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2022-05-21 11:45 EDT-0400

[Somerandomtechyboi]

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/Mtc74s

¯\_ (ツ) _/¯ 

[SimulatedHuman]

Thank you for all the feedback. Pixelfie initial comments were reassuring for a first-time builder and give some initial points for improvement. The suggested build by Somerandomtechyboi looks nice and affordable (even more so than my original proposal), although I ultimately decided to undertake the ITX route.This would further ease of transport and the case shown by brob appears to be accessible/easy to work with (the perceived difficulty of building an ITX made me propose mATX in the original post). I am patient and would be fine to take the time assembling the unit. Thus, I am essentially reproducing the build suggested by brob, with a few changes. I do have one main concern:

1. Cooling/air flow - the case appears to be good on the airflow and has support 120mm fans, but comes with none; would it be beneficial to include some? I do not wish to be "frying" the electronics during operation.

The indicated changes with additional comments/questions; perhaps I am being nitpicky and apologize if that is so:

1. CPU: I noticed the choice of the Somerandomtechyboi and brob to indicate the F version of the CPU, which removes the overclocking option (which I was not considering), but removes the integrated graphics feature (current pricetag difference is $27). Although I am likely going with a dedicated graphics card, I am wondering if the integrated graphics would be useful to have in any capacity (any speed gains for particular programs/use cases?) other than providing a backup in case the GPU fails.
2. PSU: I am likely to stick with the Corsair 750w 80+ Platinum. The price tag differs from Cooler Master V SFX Gold 650 W 80+  by ~15$ on Newegg. The added efficiency may be marginal, but given the choice of form factor and likely hot ambient temperatures for operation I get the impression it may run cooler. Additionally, saw some review comments the Cooler Master randomly ramping up in speed generating noise and then quieting down once more; not sure how much noise this would be.
3. The SDDs proposed by Somerandomtechyboi and brob appear to be fast, but saw some reviews regarding their reliability; thus will likely stick with Western Digital Black SN750 SE 1 TB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive suggested by Pixelfie

Some curiosities:

1. GPU: I am looking at about a $50-$30 price difference between the Gigabyte Radeon RX 6500 XT 4 GB EAGLE Video Card and PowerColor Radeon RX 6400 4 GB ITX Video Card. Simply curious about the difference, although likely to go with the former card (6500)
2. Removed HDD for the time being, as I am not sure if knocking it around during transport will compromise the data reliability and my current data usage is < 500 Gb of storage; thus 1 TB SSD + 4 TB HDD may be overkill

The overall pricetag has increased to about $1550 which is fine with me at the moment and thus will wait a few more hours to allow more comments/response feedback before locking down the components.

[brob]

I personally like the idea of an iGPU just in case something happens with the GPU. But it isn't necessary and usually other parts of a build could use the budget.

 

The Corsair PSU is excellent. Again. It comes down to budget allocation.

 

If the reviews were talking about "endurance", as opposed to "reliability", it shouldn't be a concern. 

 

Adding a few fans is rarely a bad idea.