HP Sleeper Gaming PC Build

[fergusonnn]

So I think I've gotten sick of using my Macbook for gaming (bleh, I know, but money and all that) and want to look at having a more permanent at-home setup.  Most of it will be playing games such as GTA5, CS:GO, Battlefield 4 & BF1 and Starcraft II, as well as photo editing and the like.  I want to save money where I can but maximize performance... now for the sleeper part.  I have an old HP Pavillion tower (a4313w) with an old AMD processor and such that I've used as a home server for a while, but I've gotten a different computer to use as a home server/police scanner stream server now, so I want to see if I can use this case as a "sleeper" gaming PC, at least until I can afford a decent case.  The mobo inside is listed as a micro ATX mobo, so I assume it is an OEM micro ATX case, hopefully means that swapping parts won't be as bad..  So far on the list I have

Motherboard: ASRock AB350M Pro4 mATX mobo, $79
CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 1600X 6-core
RAM: 32GB DDR4 2400MHz (undecided brand, but probably 2x16GB for time being)
GPU: ZOTAC GeForce GTX 1080 mini
PSU: Undecided
SD/HDD setup: Single 512GB SSD boot/game drive with dual HDD's in probably RAID 1 for data/storage of photos/music
Monitor: Unknown at this time, planning on dual screens.
RGB LEDs: Definitely, in some manner.
(List changed 06/17 for Ryzen setup and mini GPU)

My main concern is if the i5 will bottleneck the GTX 1080, if I should step down to a 1070 or even a 1060 to save cost and prevent bottlenecking, I would (mostly for cost), and of course the swapping into the HP case.  Any tips and tricks would be appreciated.  Photos of said case below..

http://i.imgur.com/BMx6qWi.jpg

[LHJKO]

get a ryzen 5 1600

[fergusonnn]

Just now, Vernw3 said:

get a ryzen 5 1600

I'm gonna look into a Ryzen setup as well, but I'm a little more worried about the stability of Ryzen for the immediate future.  I know they've gotten most of the bugs worked out so far.

[Damascus]

4 minutes ago, fergusonnn said:

I'm gonna look into a Ryzen setup as well, but I'm a little more worried about the stability of Ryzen for the immediate future.  I know they've gotten most of the bugs worked out so far.

"Echoing intensifies"

Get an R5 1600.  Better than the 7600k at every thing

[fergusonnn]

1 hour ago, Damascus said:

"Echoing intensifies"

Get an R5 1600.  Better than the 7600k at every thing

 

I'll look into it, since it's the new kid on the block, I may give it a try.  With that being said, what's the difference in the A320 and the B350 chipsets?  Looking at the equivalent mATX mobo's from ASRock (which are cheaper too which is nice) they are set up similar, lacking a second x1 slot but moving the other x1 slot above the 3.0 x16 slot, so all three can be used if you have the need for cards for each.  I think the only difference is OC capability on the B350 chipset.

[fergusonnn]

Well, two random guys on the internet convinced me to try the Ryzen setup.  Being the new guy, it may be worth a shot.  If something happens between now and build time, then the equivalent i5 7600K and Z270M setup will still be a possibility.  Now to look at the rest of... well, everything.

I think my main issue at this point is going to be a PSU that will support the AB350M and the GTX 1080 mini.

[Damascus]

9 hours ago, fergusonnn said:

PSU that will support the AB350M and the GTX 1080 mini.

Any reasonably priced tier 1 or 2 power supply will do.  Min 500W and you're good to go.  My setup will soon be a power hungry 1070 + r7 1700 with a 550 G2 from evga (tier one, fully modular)

 

9 hours ago, fergusonnn said:

I think the only difference is OC capability on the B350 chipset.

Please don't get 320, 350 is usually max 10 bucks more and the ability to OC is one of ryzen strongest assets.

 

Also A320 has pcie lanes locked if I remember correctly. 

[Damascus]

Psu tier list, even a tier 3 will do well honestly.

 

[Wolfie2554]

Hey fergusonnn, have you done anything on this build? I have a similar case with the same internal layout wanting to do a sleeper build.

 

For the PSU, I would recommend a modular or semi-modular PSU to cut down on unneeded cables. I bought a SFX PSU for the PSU cables and the optical drive cables to not bump into each other. 

 

I haven't done anything with mine because I'm having some planning issues with what I really want to do, which is liquid cool the graphics card with a NZXT  G10 bracket.