First PC Build

[ab777]

I'm currently doing an IT networking/security course and I need a PC for the labs. I'd like to build one from scratch so i'll be needing everything. I've been a Mac user for the past 10 years so I need a bit of advice. The stated minimum requirements are:

64bit 2.6Ghz dual core CPU
16GB ram
Motherboard with Intel (R) Virtualisation technology

I don't plan on using it for any gaming at the moment so I don't need a great video card, however the option to upgrade that in the future would be nice.

Can anyone recommend anything? Ideally i'd like to keep the budget as low as possible.

 

[mickyflinn]

Which software will you be using and what is the labs ?

 

[ab777]

I'd say the most resource consuming software will be Windows Server on VirtualBox.

 

[Biz.Kid09]

What is your budget for this?

A decent PC, especially if you need to run vrtual machines etc will probably be around 600-700. Could an option be a second hand server? you can get plenty of cores and ram. Just connect to it from your mac?

 

[ab777]

600-700 would be fine. Ideally under £800 with a monitor, keyboard and mouse but I’m flexible.

Looking around I’ve seen the i5-10400 and the Ryzen 5 3600. Are these two the kind of things I should be looking at? I’d rather get the best CPU and RAM for my budget and save on the GPU. I can always update that at a later date should I start playing any games.

 

[Biz.Kid09]

600-700 would be fine. Ideally under £800 with a monitor, keyboard and mouse but I’m flexible.

Looking around I’ve seen the i5-10400 and the Ryzen 5 3600. Are these two the kind of things I should be looking at? I’d rather get the best CPU and RAM for my budget and save on the GPU. I can always update that at a later date should I start playing any games.

My basket at Overclockers UK:

• 1 x Team Group Vulcan Z T-Force 32GB (2x16GB) DDR4 PC4-25600C16 3200MHz Dual Channel Kit - Grey= £109.99
• 1 x AMD Ryzen 5 3600 Six Core 4.2GHz (Socket AM4) Processor - Retail= £218.99
• 1 x WD Blue SN550 1TB NVME M.2 2280 PCIe Gen3 Solid State Drive (WDS100T2B0C)= £94.99
• 1 x Lian-Li Lancool II Mesh performance Midi-Tower Case - Black= £74.99
• 1 x Asrock B450 Pro4 (Socket AM4) DDR4 ATX Motherboard= £79.99
• 1 x Bitfenix Formula Series 450W 80 Plus Gold Power Supply= £59.99
• 1 x BenQ 24" GL2480E 1920x1080 TN 75Hz 1ms Widescreen LED Backlit Gaming Monitor (9H.LHXLB.FBE)= £99.95
• 1 x Logitech MK120 Keyboard and Mouse Desktop Set (920-002552)= £17.99
• 1 x MSI GeForce GT 710 SILENT "Low Profile" 1024MB GDDR3 PCI-Express Graphics Card= £44.99

Total: £829.89 (includes shipping: £28.02)​

​

You can save a bit on the 3600 as its available for £180 in other places. But all in all, solid PC. You don't need anyhting great monitor wise for labs, just something simple and same with the keyboard and mouse.

Ryzens dont have built in graphics so picked the cheapest one OCUK have.

 

[DeltaJesus]

Ryzens dont have built in graphics so picked the cheapest one OCUK have.

I'd recommend some oldish second hand one over a gt710, you can get something like an Rx 460 with a 2 year warranty for basically the same price, it won't be as quiet as a 710 but it won't be any louder than the CPU cooler. There's the environmental benefit of reusing instead of creating more ewaste and you'll actually be able to play some less demanding games unlike with the 710 which is worse than Intel's 6th gen integrated GPUs.

Other than that fully agree with the above, I've done some similar ish stuff with my 3600x and it's been plenty powerful, only thing that limited me was the 16gb of RAM, so 32 makes sense in this case imo.

 

[ab777]

My basket at Overclockers UK:

• 1 x Team Group Vulcan Z T-Force 32GB (2x16GB) DDR4 PC4-25600C16 3200MHz Dual Channel Kit - Grey= £109.99
• 1 x AMD Ryzen 5 3600 Six Core 4.2GHz (Socket AM4) Processor - Retail= £218.99
• 1 x WD Blue SN550 1TB NVME M.2 2280 PCIe Gen3 Solid State Drive (WDS100T2B0C)= £94.99
• 1 x Lian-Li Lancool II Mesh performance Midi-Tower Case - Black= £74.99
• 1 x Asrock B450 Pro4 (Socket AM4) DDR4 ATX Motherboard= £79.99
• 1 x Bitfenix Formula Series 450W 80 Plus Gold Power Supply= £59.99
• 1 x BenQ 24" GL2480E 1920x1080 TN 75Hz 1ms Widescreen LED Backlit Gaming Monitor (9H.LHXLB.FBE)= £99.95
• 1 x Logitech MK120 Keyboard and Mouse Desktop Set (920-002552)= £17.99
• 1 x MSI GeForce GT 710 SILENT "Low Profile" 1024MB GDDR3 PCI-Express Graphics Card= £44.99

Total: £829.89 (includes shipping: £28.02)
​

You can save a bit on the 3600 as its available for £180 in other places. But all in all, solid PC. You don't need anyhting great monitor wise for labs, just something simple and same with the keyboard and mouse.

Ryzens dont have built in graphics so picked the cheapest one OCUK have.

Thanks for that! It's really helpful. Would you recommend the Ryzen over the i5 then?

I've had a look at what you have suggested as a base and due to not being UK based I can get some parts a bit cheaper.

How does this all sound?

Ryzen 5 3600
Corsair 163301 Vengeance LPX 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR4 3200 MHz C16 XMP 2.0 High Performance Desktop Memory Kit
MSI B450 TOMAHAWK MAX Motherboard ATX, AM4, DDR4, LAN, USB 3.2 Gen2, TYPE-C, M.2, RGB Mystic Light Sync, HDMI, DVI-D, AMD RYZEN 1st, 2nd and 3rd Gen Ready
MSI NVIDIA GEFORCE GT 710 2GD3H LP Graphics Card '2GB DDR3


I can get these parts for around £150 less than the equivalent you have suggested.

Then i'd be looking at the SSD, monitor and keyboard/mouse you recommended.

 

[Biz.Kid09]

Thanks for that! It's really helpful. Would you recommend the Ryzen over the i5 then?

I've had a look at what you have suggested as a base and due to not being UK based I can get some parts a bit cheaper.

How does this all sound?

Ryzen 5 3600
Corsair 163301 Vengeance LPX 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR4 3200 MHz C16 XMP 2.0 High Performance Desktop Memory Kit
MSI B450 TOMAHAWK MAX Motherboard ATX, AM4, DDR4, LAN, USB 3.2 Gen2, TYPE-C, M.2, RGB Mystic Light Sync, HDMI, DVI-D, AMD RYZEN 1st, 2nd and 3rd Gen Ready
MSI NVIDIA GEFORCE GT 710 2GD3H LP Graphics Card '2GB DDR3


I can get these parts for around £150 less than the equivalent you have suggested.

Then i'd be looking at the SSD, monitor and keyboard/mouse you recommended.

Ryzen definitely, more cores.

Those choices for ram and motherboard are all good. The graphics card point as mentioned here;

I'd recommend some oldish second hand one over a gt710, you can get something like an Rx 460 with a 2 year warranty for basically the same price, it won't be as quiet as a 710 but it won't be any louder than the CPU cooler. There's the environmental benefit of reusing instead of creating more ewaste and you'll actually be able to play some less demanding games unlike with the 710 which is worse than Intel's 6th gen integrated GPUs.

Other than that fully agree with the above, I've done some similar ish stuff with my 3600x and it's been plenty powerful, only thing that limited me was the 16gb of RAM, so 32 makes sense in this case imo.

Is very valid, if you want to buy new though and have no intention on gaming then just grab a silent card to use for display output.

Best of luck with the build, let us know if you need any help.

Do you need to use Windows as your OS or are you going to do it "properly" and go for Linux.....

Good luck with your course also!

 

[ab777]

It will be windows initially . Seems the graphics card is a bit of an issue.

The used rx 460s for sale at the moment seem to be going for around £100. Is it worth paying the extra for a 1650s and not having to worry about upgrading it at a later time?

 

[Biz.Kid09]

It will be windows initially . Seems the graphics card is a bit of an issue.

The used rx 460s for sale at the moment seem to be going for around £100. Is it worth paying the extra for a 1650s and not having to worry about upgrading it at a later time?

Hah, no worries. Can your course supply you with a server or windows license?

erm, with latest gen graphics cards coming out now and AMD soon then I’d say wait for the second hand market to adjust. I am wary you need something now however. A 1650 isn’t terrible but I wouldn’t want to spend too much on one.

 

[DeltaJesus]

It will be windows initially . Seems the graphics card is a bit of an issue.

The used rx 460s for sale at the moment seem to be going for around £100. Is it worth paying the extra for a 1650s and not having to worry about upgrading it at a later time?

You can definitely get them cheaper than that, like I said there are 2gb ones for £50 pretty easily available