I may have built a pc at the worst time..

[sauce-c]

So, my first build ever is a little over a month old now. Which means I built it just before Ryzen.... and the 580... and now I feel like my timing may have left me with a poorly chosen build. However, I still believe this is a solid build, maybe just not the best bang for your buck with new releases. My target for this build was around $800 and I finished a bit over that mark with the addition of an HDD that I didn't plan on getting right away. Sales and rebates kept me close to budget though (The most savings came from getting the RX480 for $190)

 

What do you guys think? Feel free to let me know the good, the bad, and the ugly based on my parts choices, its fun to hear other peoples opinions!

 

CPU: Intel Core i5 7500

MOBO: ASRock H270 Pro4

RAM: Corsair Vengeance DDR4 2400 2x4

GPU: XFX Radeon RX480 8GB

PSU: EVGA 600B

STORAGE: Crucial Mx300 SSD 275GB | WD Blue 1TB

CASE: Corsair 270R

 

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/krVcvV

 

Also, none of this could have been done without LTT, so a huge thanks to them and this entire community.

[Skiiwee29]

You can flash your 480 to be a 580. Very nice looking build to. Only recommendation I would have is to get some sleeved extension cables to hide the ketchup and mustard cabling and putting the GPU power through the back instead of up from under. 

 

 

[Billiam617]

There is always newer better  stuff coming out.  As long as your happy with the build. 

[sauce-c]

1 minute ago, legacy99 said:

You can flash your 480 to be a 580. Very nice looking build to. Only recommendation I would have is to get some sleeved extension cables to hide the ketchup and mustard cabling and putting the GPU power through the back instead of up from under. 

 

 

I'm going to wait at least like... a month to see what results people are having with that.

1 minute ago, Billiam617 said:

There is always newer better  stuff coming out.  As long as your happy with the build. 

Good point, I am lol

[AnnoyedShelf]

If there were a bad time to build a new PC, it would be all the time.  You can't just keep waiting forever.  Your build is great and you shouldn't worry about the absolute newest stuff coming out all the time. 

[Cracklingice]

Move the fan on the top to an intake at front IMO.  It's doing little good where it is located.  2 front intake, 1 rear exhaust would likely function much better. 
Or if you have 2 purp and 1 blue, move the two purp to the front and 1 blue to the rear.  Front in, back out.

I wouldn't worry about the specs, not much you can do to change it and the 7500 is a reasonable chip for a bit longer.

[sauce-c]

1 minute ago, AnnoyedShelf said:

If there were a bad time to build a new PC, it would be all the time.  You can't just keep waiting forever.  Your build is great and you shouldn't worry about the absolute newest stuff coming out all the time. 

And I totally get that, I think it's just frustrating because it was literally within a matter of weeks, which then I start reading "the i5 is dead" Oh well! 

[Cracklingice]

5 minutes ago, sauce-c said:

I'm going to wait at least like... a month to see what results people are having with that.

Good idea.  The extra voltage thru the core can't be that great for it.  Also unless your GPU is a custom board that never had an issue with the pcie slot power draw that the reference design has, that's going to mean even more pcie slot draw.

 

Also, in addition to moving the fans, I'd cover up the top opening to reduce dust in the PC.

[sauce-c]

3 minutes ago, Cracklingice said:

Move the fan on the top to an intake at front IMO.  It's doing little good where it is located.  2 front intake, 1 rear exhaust would likely function much better. 
Or if you have 2 purp and 1 blue, move the two purp to the front and 1 blue to the rear.  Front in, back out.

I wouldn't worry about the specs, not much you can do to change it and the 7500 is a reasonable chip for a bit longer.

I definitely plan on doing something along those lines with the fans, I only have the one on top for now because of the overhang on my desk that traps the hot exhaust air, I think you can see it in my last pic. I think that top fan might help a bit with that.

[Cracklingice]

5 minutes ago, sauce-c said:

I definitely plan on doing something along those lines with the fans, I only have the one on top for now because of the overhang on my desk that traps the hot exhaust air, I think you can see it in my last pic. I think that top fan might help a bit with that.

Actually, running in negative pressure will probably pull hot air in from the back.  Running positive with the two in front will push air thru all the holes at the back of the case, esp if you cover the top.  This will push the hot air trapped around the GPU out the slots below and around it.  As long as the front of the PC isn't in there then you're fine.  If the entire PC is under that overhang then you should set up some form of air circulation either via having a ceiling fan on or a small desk fan blowing air across the overhang back part.  Maybe set it on the right side to bounce air behind the monitor.  That way you're pushing cool air into the overhang so the hot air by the PC comes out.

But that comes from someone with their PC on the floor tucked under the desk with little airflow.  yolo?  It's the crap box linked in my sig.

[sauce-c]

2 minutes ago, Cracklingice said:

Actually, running in negative pressure will probably pull hot air in from the back.  Running positive with the two in front will push air thru all the holes at the back of the case, esp if you cover the top.  This will push the hot air trapped around the GPU out the slots below and around it.  As long as the front of the PC isn't in there then you're fine.  If the entire PC is under that overhang then you should set up some form of air circulation either via having a ceiling fan on or a small desk fan blowing air across the overhang back part.  Maybe set it on the right side to bounce air behind the monitor.  That way you're pushing cool air into the overhang so the hot air by the PC comes out.

Huh... good to know, still pretty new to all this. Thanks for the advice, I only have like another week with this desk so I doubt i'll make any changes specifically for this situation right now, but I will move that top fan to the front. 

[Sanctorum]

You got an 8GB RX 480 for $190, that's a great price and the 580 doesn't invalidate that. Heck, 4GB RX 580s are selling for $10-15 more than that. As for CPU, sure you could have got an R5 1400/1500X for the same price and had 4 extra threads, but the i5 still kills R5 in gaming, so it's not like it's obsolete. Only thing I'd change is that god awful stock Intel cooler. If anything in your system is lacking(other than stock cooler of course), it'd be the PSU since it's not the greatest quality and has those ugly cables. Maybe get some cheap cable extensions for the GPU and mobo 24 pin, maybe the CPU as well but it's less necessary since it's mostly out the way.

[sauce-c]

13 minutes ago, Sanctorum said:

You got an 8GB RX 480 for $190, that's a great price and the 580 doesn't invalidate that. Heck, 4GB RX 580s are selling for $10-15 more than that. As for CPU, sure you could have got an R5 1400/1500X for the same price and had 4 extra threads, but the i5 still kills R5 in gaming, so it's not like it's obsolete. Only thing I'd change is that god awful stock Intel cooler. If anything in your system is lacking(other than stock cooler of course), it'd be the PSU since it's not the greatest quality and has those ugly cables. Maybe get some cheap cable extensions for the GPU and mobo 24 pin, maybe the CPU as well but it's less necessary since it's mostly out the way.

I am 100% changing the CPU cooler, for asthetics and the fact that mine has coil wine. Also, good to know the i5 will treat me better for gaming, for the near future at least. NewEgg had a sale+rebate going on for the 480, plus a free copy of DOOM, extremely grateful for that lol. 

 

You're the second one to suggest cable extensions, from where? CableMod?

[yenic]

Run your games or programs, if they run well for you just enjoy it. Swapping out parts will not help you enjoy the software you're running on it.

 

I'm a lot older than you I'm sure, as such I have more money and I usually go for higher end hardware- but you have a really nice looking system there. I think you did a great job and there's nothing wrong with that hardware.

 

Think of it this way: you skipped a lot of Ryzen teething issues. Let guys like me with money to waste work out the bugs. Build another system in a couple years or whenever it feels slow or you need more power. You'll get a much smoother Ryzen experience by that point, and Intel will have their Ryzen response out by then too.

 

I just placed my order today for a new system today, and few to no people are going to broadcast the cold boot issues, random restarts and bluescreens they may get with their new shiny Ryzen system. It's a new architecture on a new platform on a new node. You don't know what headaches you're missing out on.

 

Nothing is really "better", everything is a trade off. You skipped an exciting time with Ryzen but also skipped some PITA.

 

Hope this helps. Don't get hardware envy, I stop looking at hardware news for the most part after I build a new system. I just placed my order for my first new system today since 2009... https://pcpartpicker.com/list/6TMCVY

 

Don't worry be happy! Ryzen will be much better and a smoother experience next time and Intel will have awesome new stuff then too.

[sauce-c]

1 minute ago, yenic said:

Run your games or programs, if they run well for you just enjoy it. Swapping out parts will not help you enjoy the software you're running on it.

 

I'm a lot older than you I'm sure, as such I have more money and I usually go for higher end hardware- but you have a really nice looking system there. I think you did a great job and there's nothing wrong with that hardware.

 

Think of it this way: you skipped a lot of Ryzen teething issues. Let guys like me with money to waste work out the bugs. Build another system in a couple years or whenever it feels slow or you need more power. You'll get a much smoother Ryzen experience by that point, and Intel will have their Ryzen response out by then too.

 

I just placed my order today for a new system today, and few to no people are going to broadcast the cold boot issues, random restarts and bluescreens they may get with their new shiny Ryzen system. It's a new architecture on a new platform on a new node. You don't know what headaches you're missing out on.

 

Nothing is really "better", everything is a trade off. You skipped an exciting time with Ryzen but also skipped some PITA.

 

Hope this helps. Don't get hardware envy, I stop looking at hardware news for the most part after I build a new system. I just placed my order for my first new system today since 2009... https://pcpartpicker.com/list/6TMCVY

 

Don't worry be happy! Ryzen will be much better and a smoother experience next time and Intel will have awesome new stuff then too.

1st. Thank you

 

2nd. Great point on no one highlighting the MANY headaches that come with newly released tech, I honestly didn't even think about that. Knowing that, I probably would have stuck with my i5 just because I'm not in a position to deal with those headaches right now. 

 

I'm excited to see how your build turns out, especially seeing how the cooler looks, that's one of the ones I've been eyeing. 

[Sanctorum]

Just now, sauce-c said:

I am 100% changing the CPU cooler, for asthetics and the fact that mine has coil wine. Also, good to know the i5 will treat me better for gaming, for the near future at least. NewEgg had a sale+rebate going on for the 480, plus a free copy of DOOM, extremely grateful for that lol. 

 

You're the second one to suggest cable extensions, from where? CableMod?

For cooler, you should grab a Be Quiet Pure Rock Slim, should only be about $20 and that thing is whisper quiet. Otherwise, Cryorig M9i or Raijintek Aidos are good alternatives to the Pure Rock(Slim).

 

As for cable extensions, CableMod, Phanteks, Rosewill, and Silverstone are all pretty decent. I just checked Newegg quickly and found this for you;

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16812162032&cm_re=cable_extension-_-12-162-032-_-Product

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16812162041&cm_re=24pin_cable_extension-_-12-162-041-_-Product

CPU and motherboard extensions in white. You can get all black or black/white instead if you'd prefer. I'm assuming you're going for a black/white theme obviously lol.

and GPU extension;

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA0AJ2EV2683&cm_re=cable_extension-_-12-162-035-_-Product

Pretty sure it's a single 8 pin for your 480 so one of these will be fine.

 

So, you could get cable extensions and a nice cooler for around $50 total and it'll finish the system off beautifully.

[yenic]

 

14 minutes ago, sauce-c said:

1st. Thank you

 

2nd. Great point on no one highlighting the MANY headaches that come with newly released tech, I honestly didn't even think about that. Knowing that, I probably would have stuck with my i5 just because I'm not in a position to deal with those headaches right now. 

 

I'm excited to see how your build turns out, especially seeing how the cooler looks, that's one of the ones I've been eyeing. 

No problem. I'll be sure to post my build. The only bit I'm missing is the motherboard which is supposed to land on May 1st. I'm not expecting everything to be perfect with it, but it should be done around the 3rd or 4th.

 

One other thing, Intel is releasing Coffeelake 6-core CPUs, which will likely have better clocks than AMD has and thus probably really great for gaming.. and those will be here in August and work with Z270. You're in good shape, CL is going to be great, have Intel reliability and engineering and also give Ryzen a serious run for its money.. especially in gaming where I suspect it's going to win across the board.

 

So there's always dropping that in. Not sure if the news about Coffeelake in the August timeframe is widely known, I have a friend who has a lot of money invested into Intel, thus keeps up on all this much better than most people I know, and he told me that's what he understands.

 

And your video card is great, I like my 1060 Founders Edition only because I got a sale price on it.. but the 480 is great and the 580 is really the same thing, just a late model 480 renamed, because new 480s like yours are better chips than the ones that were first reviewed. Just better silicon over time which is normal. Wouldn't lose any sleep over that. The important part to most right now (moar coars), if sources are correct, will land in August so good call on Z270. Z170 people are probably going to miss out on that.

[sauce-c]

7 minutes ago, Sanctorum said:

For cooler, you should grab a Be Quiet Pure Rock Slim, should only be about $20 and that thing is whisper quiet. Otherwise, Cryorig M9i or Raijintek Aidos are good alternatives to the Pure Rock(Slim).

 

As for cable extensions, CableMod, Phanteks, Rosewill, and Silverstone are all pretty decent. I just checked Newegg quickly and found this for you;

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16812162032&cm_re=cable_extension-_-12-162-032-_-Product

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16812162041&cm_re=24pin_cable_extension-_-12-162-041-_-Product

CPU and motherboard extensions in white. You can get all black or black/white instead if you'd prefer. I'm assuming you're going for a black/white theme obviously lol.

and GPU extension;

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA0AJ2EV2683&cm_re=cable_extension-_-12-162-035-_-Product

Pretty sure it's a single 8 pin for your 480 so one of these will be fine.

 

So, you could get cable extensions and a nice cooler for around $50 total and it'll finish the system off beautifully.

I'm loving the LTT forums more and more every day, thank you for digging up all that for me. $50 is much less than I thought it would cost me for all, looks like I'll be able to check that off the list pretty soon. 

I'm split between air coolers styled like the Cryorig M9i or ones styled like the Cryorig C7.

2 minutes ago, yenic said:

 

No problem. I'll be sure to post my build. The only bit I'm missing is the motherboard which is supposed to land on May 1st. I'm not expecting everything to be perfect with it, but it should be done around the 3rd or 4th.

 

One other thing, Intel is releasing Coffeelake 6-core CPUs, which will likely have better clocks than AMD has and thus probably really great for gaming.. and those will be here in August and work with Z270. You're in good shape, CL is going to be great, have Intel reliability and engineering and also give Ryzen a serious run for its money.. especially in gaming where I suspect it's going to win across the board.

 

So there's always dropping that in. Not sure if the news about Coffeelake in the August timeframe is widely known, I have a friend who has a lot of money invested into Intel, thus keeps up on all this much better than most people I know, and he told me that's what he understands.

 

And your video card is great, I like my 1060 Founders Edition only because I got a sale price on it.. but the 580 is a bit of a joke. Wouldn't lose any sleep over there. The important part to most right now (moar coars), if sources are correct, will land in August so good call on Z270.

Interesting to hear about the new CL CPU's, that will be extremely exciting when they're released. 

[Nicnac]

You have a very solid build there. Don't worry about it, actually it's always a bad time to buy components since you can always wait a few weeks or months more to get something better/cheaper and new parts are just released so quickly. I feel the same sometimes when I upgrade stuff even. As someone said you can flash your 480 to a 580 but performance increases are marginal. Enjoy your machine!