Its that time again, Calavera computer upgrade advice thread!

[Calavera]

I do still have one question about the ram. For $11.50 more I can get DDR4 3600 instead of DDR4 3200. Should I or will it realistically not give me any noticeable performance improvements?

You won’t notice it. Plus that 3600 you referenced has higher timings than the 3200, meaning it won’t be as efficient. So in theory, the speeds will be nearly the same. Save the $11.

Will do. Thanks for all the help from everybody. I really appreciate it. I can never just build a PC on my own without getting some feedback and advice from others and you all have been very helpful. Thanks!

[pixel]

I can never just build a PC on my own without getting some feedback and advice from others and you all have been very helpful. Thanks!

It's always a good idea to ask around before buying new PC parts. Making a rash decision on components can be a real headache to deal with after the fact. My kludgy LGA 1151 bastard PC is a living testament that research and patience are true virtues.

I second a NVMe M.2 SSD, these things are awesome. The only downside is the density vs. price, because the receipt grows by each gigabyte. Like melan said, they are bonkers for a boot drive but addictive when it comes to find space for games and programs.

[Calavera]

I second a NVMe M.2 SSD, these things are awesome. The only downside is the density vs. price, because the receipt grows by each gigabyte. Like melan said, they are bonkers for a boot drive but addictive when it comes to find space for games and programs.

I haven't looked into them much besides just loading up the page and seeing how much they are. If I'm looking at the right kind they don't seem too terribly expensive.

Intel 660p Series M.2 2280 1TB PCIe NVMe 3.0 x4 3D2, QLC Internal Solid State Drive

That is $120 for 1TB which is far cheaper than I was expecting. Right now I'm using an SSD as my boot drive. One I bought years ago when I put together my current PC. It is only 111GB! If the one I posted is actually a good one and compatible with my motherboard I may consider picking one up. 1TB would be plenty for the OS plus many games.

[Calavera]

I think I'm pretty happy with my current selection except for the motherboard. It is the cheapest X570 board there is. I've read some people who say it is OK and some people say it is terrible. I've seen a few different people say the board won't work well or at all with more than two sticks of ram. I really didn't want to cheap out on the motherboard with this build but all those X570 boards are so damn expensive! I've been looking at this board

ASUS Prime X570-P Ryzen 3 AM4 with PCIe Gen4, Dual M.2 HDMI, SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.2 Gen 2 ATX Motherboard

It is around $30 more than the ASRock board but if that extra $30 will get me a substantially better board I'll do it. I don't want to have problems down the road because I went with the cheapest motherboard available.

*edit
Forget that board I notice it is being sold by a third party seller with shitty ratings. Apparently straight from NewEgg the board is $149.99 which would make it an easy choice over the ASRock board but of course it is out of stock.

I've also considered this board
MSI MPG X570 GAMING EDGE WIFI Gaming Motherboard AMD AM4 SATA 6Gb/s M.2 USB 3.2 Gen 2 HDMI ATX

This one is $200 effing dollars! But seems to have good reviews. If I have to get that one I suppose I will but damn this is getting expensive! All the other components I am fine with but the motherboard is giving me shit! If I knew for sure what Bios version that first B450M board I posted came with I might just buy that. It is only $65! When I first started I thought I didn't want to cheap out on the motherboard so I'd spend around $100 or so on one. Ha! That was wishful thinking. I don't really know what I should do now. I've got the money to do it but obviously I don't want to spend more than I have too. Right now the CPU,Mobo and GPU are all about the same price each!

Maybe I could find a cheaper PSU to save $20 or so. This is the one I was planning on getting.
Raidmax Vortex Power RX-735AP-V 80 Plus Bronze $59.99

I originally picked that one when I was planning on keeping the R9 290X since it is a power hog. I'm not sure what size PSU I should go with but I did a quick look at others and didn't see any decent ones for much less.
*edit
According to the Newegg PSU calculator it is estimating under 400w. So 500W should be good enough I'd think.
RAIDMAX Cobra RX-500AF-B 500W ATX 12V v2.3/EPS 12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Power Supply This one is $40 vs $60 so if it is good enough for what I need why spend the extra $20? I don't know much about the different certifications PSUs have now such as this one being 80 Plus Bronze. I assume that is good enough but really have no idea.

[melancholy]

Put the B450 out of your mind. You will severely limit that processors capabilities if you cheap out there. Might as well get a second gen Ryzen because the B450 will not use the features of the third gen. Just come to grips that the X570 is your only option if your going with the 3600x and search your soul for which X570 is right.

As for the PSU, 500 should be fine. So you can save money there. You can also save money by just going with a small NVMe as your boot drive and couple it with whatever drives are in your current computer. And if you really need to pinch pennies, you could even just buy a single 8gb RAM stick now and buy a second one of the same model a few months from now. It’s not like you’ll use more than 8gb in most applications.

[Calavera]

It has been done, the order has been placed.

[melancholy]

It has been done, the order has been placed.

Well? You gonna tell us what you got?

[Calavera]

It has been done, the order has been placed.

Well? You gonna tell us what you got?

I ended up just getting a better motherboard for my i5-3570k so I can overclock it from 3.4 to 3.6. Kidding!

GIGABYTE GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER DirectX 12 GV-N166SGAMING-6GD 6GB 192-Bit GDDR6 PCI Express 3.0 x16 ATX Video Card

MSI MPG X570 GAMING EDGE WIFI Gaming Motherboard AMD AM4 SATA 6Gb/s M.2 USB 3.2 Gen 2 HDMI ATX Expensive as shit I know but oh well. I always cheap out on the motherboard and since I plan on this system lasting for many years I got this one. Plus it was only like $40 more compared to the cheapest one. I consider this highly expensive but some motherboards are like $700! What kind of madman is buying those?

AMD RYZEN 5 3600X 6-Core 3.8 GHz (4.4 GHz Max Boost) Socket AM4 95W 100-100000022BOX Desktop Processor

G.SKILL Ripjaws V Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) 288-Pin DDR4 SDRAM DDR4 3200 (PC4 25600) Desktop Memory Model F4-3200C16D-16GVKB

RAIDMAX HYBRID 2 RX-530SS 530W ATX12V V2.2/ EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready Modular Power Supply, New Version with Build-in LED Fan On/Off Switch Basically the same PSU I have currently but this one is 530 instead of 630. It has served me well these past years so I got the same kind. The only thing is that motherboard has an 8+4 CPU power connector. I looked around and basically no PSU has that connection. Looking into it more it seems using the 8-pin is fine as the extra 4 is for extreme overclocking.

Well what do you think?

[melancholy]

Did you not get an M.2? You really still should consider getting one, even if it’s a $40 120GB drive just for booting Windows. It seriously makes a heck of a difference over SATA.

[Dr. Zoidberg]

He can always get the M.2 at a later date.

Well what do you think?

It looks good. You should be gaming well on it for years to come.

It will also be good for PS3 & Wii U emulation.

[Calavera]

Did you not get an M.2? You really still should consider getting one, even if it’s a $40 120GB drive just for booting Windows. It seriously makes a heck of a difference over SATA.

No I didn't get one. I probably will down the road. I really didn't want to spend anymore than I already have atm but will probably get one in the future. I was looking at this one.

Intel 660p Series M.2 2280 1TB PCIe NVMe 3.0 x4 3D2, QLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)

$125 for 1TB really doesn't seem like that bad of a price. I'd rather wait and get that one so I'd have plenty of room to install some games on it. Right now though I'm pretty happy with the speed of my SSD for Windows and even my regular old hard drive for playing games.

It looks good. You should be gaming well on it for years to come.

It will also be good for PS3 & Wii U emulation.

I'm hoping it will last me many years. Honestly my current setup still does pretty good but I was having to lower some graphical setting for really demanding games. Since I'm only gaming in 1080p the 1660 super should be a beast and do 60fps with everything cranked up.

Is PS3 emulation finally to a playable level? I haven't checked on it in awhile. That would be great though. I've already been emulating the Wii U on my current PC and except for Zelda BOTW most games run full speed. It does max the CPU out when running it though. I'll probably end up giving BOTW a try with my new setup. I've also recently picked up RDR2. I haven't played it yet, now I am going to wait until my new setup arrives and play it with that so I can max everything out.

Wait, this isn't a thread from 10 years ago?

I wasn't messing around this time! Only 3 days from the first post to the time I ordered, a new record! Hopefully we don't ever lose our usernames and posts. I wouldn't want this piece of history to get lost!

[Skynet]

[Dr. Zoidberg]

Is PS3 emulation finally to a playable level?

Yeah it is. It's come a long way in the past year.

I've also recently picked up RDR2. I haven't played it yet, now I am going to wait until my new setup arrives and play it with that so I can max everything out.

RDR2 is one of the most demanding games on PC, due to it not being well optimized. You won't be playing it on Ultra, even at 1080p.

It still looks great on mostly high settings though.

[Skynet]

I play it on 1080p with medium, some high settings on my 1070. Some minor things are set to low.

[Dr. Zoidberg]

I've seen YT videos of it running at a mix of high & medium with Cal's setup or similar. I can't find the exact videos I was watching a few weeks ago but here's another one.

[Calavera]

RDR2 is one of the most demanding games on PC, due to it not being well optimized. You won't be playing it on Ultra, even at 1080p.

It still looks great on mostly high settings though.

What?! You guys said it was a good card! Forget that then! I've just cancelled my order for the 1660 Super. I don't even want it if it can't play RDR2 on ultra! I've instead decided to go with this

NVIDIA TITAN RTX

Sure it was more than 10x what the 1660 Super was but I want a card that can play everything! I had to sell my car to afford it but it will be worth it for the graphics to look slightly better than what they would on a 1660 Super!

In all seriousness though a lot of new games don't really look much different on medium,high and ultra. Not like it was in the old days. I remember when running a game on low looked like an N64 game but on high it looked more like a Dreamcast game. There used to be a HUGE difference. Now you have to look close and be like, oh yeah that mountain in the background does look a bit better and the reflection from that puddle does look a little better on ultra.

I guess I should run some benchmarks with my current PC before the new one comes so I can compare numbers because that is always fun to do. What are some good CPU and GPU benchmarking programs nowadays? I know I could just google it but why not just ask here Off the top of my head I'm thinking of 3DMark and Cinebench. I've never used Cinebench before but have heard of it in several youtube videos.

[Dr. Zoidberg]

I think 3DMark and Cinebench are still the main testing tools. There are a couple of other ones as well.

[Calavera]

I think 3DMark and Cinebench are still the main testing tools. There are a couple of other ones as well.

Ok cool, I always like to run benchmarks on a new PC just because About the power supply question I asked earlier, do you know if that is true about the 8pin+4pin CPU connector? That you only need the additional 4 if you plan on doing some hardcore overclocking? I am pretty sure that is right,no PSUs I looked at even had an 8+4.

[Dr. Zoidberg]

Yeah, you wouldn't need both plugged in. You get 140w with the 4 pin and 280w with 8 pin, so you could use the 4pin with your CPU.

[Calavera]

Yeah, you wouldn't need both plugged in. You get 140w with the 4 pin and 280w with 8 pin, so you could use the 4pin with your CPU.

Ah ok, very interesting. The motherboard,ram and CPU are scheduled to arrive today. I only ordered them 24 hours ago! Those items shipped from a place in Indiana that is only about 90 miles from me. The GPU and PSU however shipped from California. Anyways if I can just use the 4 pin then I could hook it up with my current power supply. It has an 8-pin connector aswell but I of course have that cable removed and will have to go hunting for it if I need it. If the 4-pin will run it fine then I'll have to hook it up. I obviously won't be overclocking with just the 4-pin. Actually I don't think I'll really need to overclock at all. I usually like to try and squeeze the most out of my CPU and GPU but I think both will be more than powerful enough at stock clocks right now. Maybe in the future I'll overclock a little but there seems little reason to do it now.