$1000 PC for a friend

[ATFink]

I am helping a friend design a build for him for $1000 (not the kind of guy that'll turn me into the "I need help" hot-line). The build will be in the USA.

 

The hard drive will be recycled from his old dell box (it is SATA, he doesn't care for an ssd, and only wants a few games... for now). If you think you can beat my build and include an ssd, that would be appreciated, but keep in mind I would need a new windows key if I want to install it on the new hard drive (unless I'm dumb and there's a way to migrate the OS to a new drive... if there is please explain or link me to a place where this has already been discussed).

 

He finds the aesthetic of the build very important, so if you cut back on the beauty of the build, there better be at least a decent reason other than "It saves money"... It'll have to be a lot of money and not compromise aesthetics entirely. Obviously if you can find a better value product (priced somewhat similarly, or not if there is good reason) that'd be a good enough reason to change a component like the case, ram (stick with G. Skill since they have the best ryzen support as far as I'm aware... I will probably reject any intel build unless there is a REALLY good reason to use intel, yes the budget is a good reason), or GPU.

 

He will use several multi-threaded applications, or so he says (not sure of what they are, so I'm taking him at his word). This makes AM4 a good option IMO.

 

He will also do some gaming. I think my second paragraph made this point obvious... just reiterating it.

 

Sometimes either the ethernet or wifi goes down at our apartment (rarely, but when it does it lasts a while), so a wifi card is necessary to switch between the connections as required.

 

His monitor is a 60 Hz 1080p screen, and he does not plan to upgrade this screen for a while. I would have gone for a better GPU if 1080p @ 60Hz was not the target. He'll upgrade the monitor with a better GPU down the line.

 

He does not want to upgrade the system for a long time after it is initially built. This another reason why I think AM4 is a great option... you know, since LGA 1151 is a dead platform since cannonlake (and future generations) will not be developed on it. It is also why I chose an AMD GPU. AMD has a history of great support for there old GPUs (relative to the only other option, nVidia) since I delved into building computers 3 and 1/2 years ago. I'm very open to GPU suggestions. I would wait for rx 580 pricing, but I have a feeling clearance rx 480s will make for much better deals and cost less (open to rx 570 if it is cheaper and matches build aesthetic). Prices for the rx 5x0 series is still pretty blank on PCPartPicker.

 

There is a hard price cap at $1050. Not a dollar over unless that dollar (or those very few) bring a lot of performance to the table. Narrow improvement will be outright rejected if they go over $1050. I really don't want to see $1000 broken though.

 

 

This is what I came up with:

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/9HXxjc

 

CPU: AMD RYZEN 7 1700 3.0GHz 8-Core Processor  ($319.99 @ Amazon) 
Motherboard: ASRock X370 Taichi ATX AM4 Motherboard  ($198.99 @ SuperBiiz) 
Memory: G.Skill TridentZ Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3200 Memory  ($134.99 @ Newegg) 
Video Card: Asus Radeon RX 480 4GB Dual Video Card  ($188.99 @ SuperBiiz) 
Case: Phanteks ECLIPSE P400S TEMPERED GLASS ATX Mid Tower Case  ($89.99 @ Amazon) 
Wireless Network Adapter: Gigabyte GC-WB867D-I PCI-Express x1 802.11a/b/g/n/ac Wi-Fi Adapter  ($29.99 @ SuperBiiz) 

 

Other: SeSonic M12II Fully Modular 620 Watt PSU (w/$20 rebate) ($39.90) 

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?item=N82E16817151095

 

Total: $1002.84

 

Any suggestions, modifications, or comments that will add to the value of the build or share knowledge about the reasoning behind components in the build would be greatly appreciated.

 

Please be extra specific if discussing the logic behind the ram/mobo selection, as verifying what ram works well with which mobo is a topic with much confusion right now. I know I don't know everything, but I do know samsung's dies are good, and G. Skill's Tridentz lineup uses just that. FlareX is pricey, so good luck making it work if you choose to use that.

[Alesek]

there is a way of transferring OS from one drive to another - just clone it. But the way you are trying to do it, taking his old hdd and showing it in the new pc, will not work. You will have to reinstall windows anyways

[tom_w141]

@ATFink

 

1st off great build, there isn't much I'd change except maybe double checking the RAM serial here: http://rymem.vraith.com 

 

Regarding the OS I'd absolutely recommend clean install because of driver issues when moving from (assuming intel quad core or before) to an AMD 8 core.

 

You can potentially do this for free depending on the type of key you have:

 

OEM Key from Kinguin for example ~$30 these types of key tie themselves to the motherboard.

 

Retail Key $100+ these are consumer keys and can be moved from pc to pc, you will have to request it from Microsoft but they will do it for a retail key (they wont for an OEM key).

 

Worst case scenario is you need a new key but Kinguin as I suggested will achieve this within budget and OEM keys are legit they are just 1 time use only.

 

[muffinhombre]

I want a 1k pc I got this,not sure what I should change : https://pcpartpicker.com/list/4N6LCy