£700-£800 general PC build

ScrewFumbler

ScrewFumbler

ScrewFumbler

Associate
Joined
3 Jan 2020
Posts
6
Hi,

Can anyone review the following basket I have put together and suggest any changes?
My current PC purchased back in 2011 is on it's last legs. The 1GB Radeon 6700 is randomly playing up and it is probably a sign I need to upgrade the hardware before trying to do a Win 7 to Win 10 upgrade.

In addition to the items in the basket is there anything else I need to consider. I have tools galore, but not done a PC build before. Thermal Paste needed, or does it come with the CPU and stock cooler? Additional fans or cable kits?

I'm not stuck on the case or the power supply. They just seemed relatively cheap, and the PSU comes with a 3 year guarantee. How much power should I need? Current PSU is 500W, but it isn't modular and unlikely is gold rated.
I would re-use the ThermalTake current case, but the USB ports are 2.0 and one no longer works. If there is a cheap way to overcome that, I'm happy to do that - saves money and the environment.

I like to play a game now and again - but as you can probably work out they haven't been the most recent (except Fortnite, which seems to work on anything) so running the latest games at 4k is not an expected requirement. I also want to edit video occasionally from my Olfi action cam, but I can't see this being a regular requirement.

Thanks

My basket at Overclockers UK:
Total: £786.08 (includes shipping: £13.20)​
​
 
stretch a bit more:
get the ryzen 3600 elsewhere and you'll bring the build price to £820 inc shipping
get a 5700xt instead (1.5x the performance of the 590)
sata 3 ssd isn't that much slower than an nvme ssd in most real world usage
better psu with longer warranty (though it is non-modular)
matx case with a psu shroud to hide the unused cables

My basket at Overclockers UK:
Total: £834.41 (includes shipping: £12.60)
​
 
 
Thanks for the advice.
Is the Mortar Max any worse / better than the Tomahawk?
Good thing I didn't choose the NVMe drive - I had misread the Samsung as 1TB, not 500GB. I currently run a 256GB SSD and a couple of TB HDDs for data. Moving up to a 500GB SSD and similar HDD setup (probably just swap them over) will work for me, but your suggestion of the Gigabyte SSD is much kinder to the wallet.

The Graphics card is a hard decision. 1.5x performance seems nice, but at a +£150 hit...

Thinking about the case I may swap out the card reader in the existing case for one with USB ports. That saves money on a new case.
 
ScrewFumbler said:
Is the Mortar Max any worse / better than the Tomahawk?
Click to expand...
same. just a different form factor (micro atx) and a fiver cheaper

ScrewFumbler said:
The Graphics card is a hard decision. 1.5x performance seems nice, but at a +£150 hit...
Click to expand...
well it depends on your perspective, really.
yes it costs more, but with 1.5x the performance, it's likely to last longer in between upgrades
your choice really - the 590 is a good deal nonetheless
 
With Big Navi on schedule for later this year, I think it is best to take a lower end videocard, and then hold to wait for it.

Rather invest on 8-core/16-thread Ryzen 7 with X570 board, than a miserable 6-core/12-thread with B450 board.
 
Ooops, I hadn't spotted the 2x tomahawk. Thanks.
The £150 is the difference between then 590 and the 5700. I've got less justification for not buying the 5700 if I only buy one board...

How do I work out how much power I need from the PSU? I'm assuming that 500W is just not enough, but both of you are specifying a 550W. The reason I ask is that I have just found an unopened, sitll in the cellophane, Corsair CX500 in the loft. It was a warranty replacement for the original which blew - but which I had replaced with a cheap no-name while waiting for the return. It is only Bronze rated and I would prefer Gold, but if it works...Although it may be a bit old as it has a floppy adapter (even I struggle to remember them).
 
ScrewFumbler said:
Ooops, I hadn't spotted the 2x tomahawk. Thanks.
Click to expand...
hah oops :P

ScrewFumbler said:
I've got less justification for not buying the 5700 if I only buy one board...
Click to expand...
unsure if that statement is really true if we look at total build cost
ScrewFumbler said:
Total: £786.08 (includes shipping: £13.20)
Click to expand...
- less your second mobo = 695
tamzzy said:
Total: £834.41 (includes shipping: £12.60)
Click to expand...

still a £150 (well, £139 if we're nit picking) difference, which is why i thought you already spotted the second mobo lol

ScrewFumbler said:
How do I work out how much power I need from the PSU?
Click to expand...
manual calculation is the best way to do it - you'll need to use max draw figures

3600 = 90w
5700xt = 230w
everything else = 40w

so total power draw if your computer is running everything = 360w
ergo a 500-550w psu is fine
 
ScrewFumbler said:
How do I work out how much power I need from the PSU? I'm assuming that 500W is just not enough, but both of you are specifying a 550W. The reason I ask is that I have just found an unopened, sitll in the cellophane, Corsair CX500 in the loft. It was a warranty replacement for the original which blew - but which I had replaced with a cheap no-name while waiting for the return. It is only Bronze rated and I would prefer Gold, but if it works...Although it may be a bit old as it has a floppy adapter (even I struggle to remember them).
Click to expand...


The CX500 is a budget psu built down to a price and has poor quality internals. Just because it says it's a 500w unit doesn't mean that it can deliver that much on the all important 12v rail. The old CX series is a prime example of this and depending on which revision it is it will have either 408w or 456w on it's 12v rail. The Bitfenix Formula series 550w that tamzzy has suggested is a quality psu that can deliver all of it's 550w across it's triple 12v rails. It's also gold rated compared to the CX500 being either not 80+ certified at all, 80+ white (basic) or 80+ bronze depending on the version.

Personally I would go with tamzzys build with it's more powerful GPU and better quality psu.
 
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