First PC, need some advice

[Nyterind]

Greetings overclockers,
After a few weeks of research, I'm close to purchasing all the hardware for my first PC build, but I could use some help in finalizing my decision.

Budget:
£600-700

Purpose:

1. Some 3D works,
2. Some Illustrator/Photoshop editing,
   
3. Video editing
   
4. Gaming. Aiming for 1080p (1440p wouldn't hurt if the budget allows), Stable 60+fps As long as it looks and plays distinctively more smooth than a PS4, I'm happy. If you have any recommended builds for strict 1080p high settings, 60+Fps that coincide with my preferences below, I'd be happy to see them.

Note that none of these will be used extensively, or together. (No more than 4 hours a day).

Preferences:
Reliable, long term, and fairly quiet; A little hum and small mechanical whirs are fine, not loud and obstructive.

Current search reults for build:

Motherboard- MSI B450 TOMAHAWK MAX ATX AM4 £105.21
Processor- AMD Ryzen 5 2600 3.4 GHz 6-Core £134.99
Video Card- MSI GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER 6 GB VENTUS XS OC £207.79
Memory- Corsair Vengeance LPX 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 CL16 £58.48
Internal Hard Drive- Western Digital Caviar Blue 1 TB 3.5" 7200RPM £34.38
Solid State Drive- Western Digital Blue 500 GB M.2-2280 £51.99
Mid Tower Case Corsair SPEC-05 ATX £44.99
Power Supply EVGA BR 500 W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX £57.40
CPU Cooler- CRYORIG H7 49 CFM £34.99

Total: £730.22


I still need to include a monitor, and an operating system. That would most likely add a minimum of £200.

Uncertainties:
1. Am I going overboard for my needs with any of the parts?
2. What is safe to buy used/what to avoid buying used?
3. Are the prices currently higher due to Covid? I can wait a little, if prices are going to dip/go on sale soon?
4. I care 0 about how the case looks, so long as I can fit everything in, and have good airflow. I have no qualms with tossing away a side panel. Drilling holes into it doesn't bother me either.
5. I'm not buying an optical drive, would that be a problem for the operating system?
6. Regarding the SSD, since the HDD will include 1TB of storage anyway, which would be more than plenty for me, is it ok to go for an SSD with lower storage space? I've seen Kingston 250ish gb, but some reviews say it causes random freezing. And does lower storage space on an SSD have any affect on performance vs a higher storage?


I'm open to well explained suggestions/advice/alternatives
For the sake of your sanity, be warned that I ask many questions.
For the sake of my sanity, please only reply if you have good knowledge on this subject.
Your time is much appreciated.

 

[mickyflinn]

Why 2600 over 3600 guessing cost ?

KOLINK OBSERVATORY LITE MESH ARGB MIDI TOWER GAMING CASE - BLACK has 4 fans £55

M2 drive 1tb for windows and games.

You don't need a optical drive for Windows you can download it put it on a usb drive to instsll.

Keys can be had for £10

Teamgroup 16gb 3200mhz his cheaper.

Cpu cooler rajec leto would look nice with the case above and is £27. Performs yhe same as the cryoirg.

If you don't want a nice case then just get a cheap one and Muller it .

 

[Nyterind]

Thanks for the reply,

2600 over 3600 for price, correct. £30ish difference.
Apologies for the prices on my list not showing, a moderator removed them.

The Kolink Mesh case, I'm struggling to understand why with 4 fans + flashy lights, it is still so affordable?
Would noise levels increase considerably due to the fans?

I was thinking of splitting the storage between HDD (For games) and SSD (For windows+general). With the storage I stated above, it adds up to £86.
Is there a good reason for using just an M2 1tb SSD like you suggested? Cheapest I could find is £90 so price isn't a problem, but I did read that SSD have less of a life-span.

Raijintek Leto RGB LED slim? You've saved me a few quid

Let's say I dialed down the resolution requirements strictly to 1080p high/ultra settings and stable 60 and above fps for games that are not like RDR2/Cyberpunk etc, which parts could I change to and save money, whilst still aiming for reliable, long term, and quiet?

 

[mickyflinn]

The koolink case Includes fan hub and remote control for RGB lighting and fan speed, its just a good budget case.

Really you want windows and games on the ssd for fastest loading times. M2 nvme is just plug in so no messy cables

Mechanical hard drive for pictures, etc.

Personally I wouldn't cut back on the gpu 4gb of vram just don't cut it. If you want more for your money then go 2nd hand but comes with risks.

 

[Nyterind]

I'm a little confused about what you said regarding the GPU.
MSI GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER 6 GB VENTUS XS OC
Does the 6GB not represent the Vram? Or does 2gb get used up somehow? (So many words and numbers to look at....)

 

[mickyflinn]

I'm a little confused about what you said regarding the GPU.
MSI GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER 6 GB VENTUS XS OC
Does the 6GB not represent the Vram? Or does 2gb get used up somehow? (So many words and numbers to look at....)

Yes it does have 6 gb of Vram.

I ment don't get a another gpu with 4gb of vram it really is the minimum and can easily be used up.

 

[EsaT]

2600 over 3600 for price, correct. £30ish difference.

And then paying 50+ % more than necessary in CPU cooler?
https://www.overclockers.co.uk/arctic-freezer-34-cpu-cooler-120mm-hs-077-ar.html

As long as it looks and plays distinctively more smooth than a PS4, I'm happy

Just don't upgrade to PS5 if you want to think PC built as good.
Unlike low end parts already as new old consoles coming ones aren't going to use potato parts...

 

[Journey]

After a few weeks of research, I'm close to purchasing all the hardware for my first PC build, but I could use some help in finalizing my decision.

I'll give you the worst help ever, wait until AMD announce when the new Ryzen 4000 (or whatever they may call them) on the 8th October. You might find due to the need for Photoshop/Illustrator that they are much better than the older CPU's, as they are poorly optimised programs sadly.

Other than that I'd avoid getting a spinning HDD unless it is large capacity, much better of getting a large SSD even if that means forgoing the NVMe option for now, 2TB SATA SSD's are starting to hit the £150 mark and 1TB ~£75, your two drives as listed will cost you nearly £90.

The PSU is over priced for what it is as well, there has been a shortage so supply and demand has forced prices upwards, but you can get a much better Seasonic model for around the same cost. I'd also recommend a lower end B550 board than the B450 Tomahawk, do you need WiFi at all?

Looking at the RAM, prices are dropping daily and you can get 32GB of 3200MHz RAM for ~£75 which is worth it over the almost £60 of the 16GB you have listed, you can never have enough RAM for Adobe apps (IMO).

Ermm.. that is all for now. If you want I'll put my suggestions list together for you at some point once you'v replied.

 

[Nyterind]

Yes it does have 6 gb of Vram.

I ment don't get a another gpu with 4gb of vram it really is the minimum and can easily be used up.

Got it, thanks.

And then paying 50+ % more than necessary in CPU cooler?
https://www.overclockers.co.uk/arctic-freezer-34-cpu-cooler-120mm-hs-077-ar.html


Just don't upgrade to PS5 if you want to think PC built as good.
Unlike low end parts already as new old consoles coming ones aren't going to use potato parts...

Yup. My lack of knowledge shows in this department. I went with top reviews/ratings for the GPU cooler. If the quality and noise levels for the Arctic- freezer is not much higher than the Raijintec Leto or the Cryorig, I'm going for it.

I won't be touching a ps5! I do hope it won't make me jealous of it though. PC Budgeteers must stay strong.
The point of building a new PC is to have the variety of features and tools a gaming console can't provide, whilst still having good enough of a gaming experience.

I'll give you the worst help ever, wait until AMD announce when the new Ryzen 4000 (or whatever they may call them) on the 8th October. You might find due to the need for Photoshop/Illustrator that they are much better than the older CPU's, as they are poorly optimised programs sadly.

Other than that I'd avoid getting a spinning HDD unless it is large capacity, much better of getting a large SSD even if that means forgoing the NVMe option for now, 2TB SATA SSD's are starting to hit the £150 mark and 1TB ~£75, your two drives as listed will cost you nearly £90.

The PSU is over priced for what it is as well, there has been a shortage so supply and demand has forced prices upwards, but you can get a much better Seasonic model for around the same cost. I'd also recommend a lower end B550 board than the B450 Tomahawk, do you need WiFi at all?

Looking at the RAM, prices are dropping daily and you can get 32GB of 3200MHz RAM for ~£75 which is worth it over the almost £60 of the 16GB you have listed, you can never have enough RAM for Adobe apps (IMO).

Ermm.. that is all for now. If you want I'll put my suggestions list together for you at some point once you'v replied.

Wouldn't the new to be announced Ryzen 4928 be drastically more costly since it's a new product? I'm no stranger to having a few issues here, here, here, now, and then too, so I should be able to deal with a few hiccups with the adobe programmes. If it's just for those programmes specifically, my limited knowledge goes against the new to be announced Ryzen 4274.
If you meant the prices for other CPUs will drop after the new Ryzen is announced, then sure, I could wait.

How long can I expect a 1tb SSD for ~£75 to last? Cheapest decently rated 1tb SSD I could find was £95. I'm probably not looking in the right places.

I figured the PSU was a little too much, most pre-pandemic posts that I surfed through listed them to be much cheaper.

Wifi, yes please.

If we can find a way to reduce the overall current price, I can (Kind of) see how a 32gb RAM could be a good purchase at around that price. But I won't be using adobe programmes extensively.

A suggested build would be much appreciated

 

[DublinDude]

I've noticed a lot of people advising folk to wait till Oct 8th etc. That is not the date of release but the date of announcement. Am I right ?

 

[EsaT]

How long can I expect a 1tb SSD for ~£75 to last? Cheapest decently rated 1tb SSD I could find was £95.

Bottom models use likely QLC Flash.
Which is basically semi analog storage needing to distinguish between 16 charge states to avoid errors.
Meaning there's only little room for cell charge degradation/interference and effect of wear worsens situation faster.
(TLC has 8 charge states)
Wouldn't trust them in more writes needing use.
Also QLC's actual native write speed after running out of cache takes curb stomping from old "spinning rust".

I've noticed a lot of people advising folk to wait till Oct 8th etc. That is not the date of release but the date of announcement. Am I right ?

Even if actual sales day is later, you can bet prices of Zen2s start heading down.

 

[Nyterind]

Bottom models use likely QLC Flash.
Which is basically semi analog storage needing to distinguish between 16 charge states to avoid errors.
Meaning there's only little room for cell charge degradation/interference and effect of wear worsens situation faster.
(TLC has 8 charge states)
Wouldn't trust them in more writes needing use.
Also QLC's actual native write speed after running out of cache takes curb stomping from old "spinning rust".

Even if actual sales day is later, you can bet prices of Zen2s start heading down.

General details of SSDs do not include whether they are QLC or TLC, so this is definitely good to know. Thanks for the explanation.

Zen 2s include AM4 right? Would the price drop be significant? I'm fine with waiting.

Question regarding windows activation keys- This one is going to be real stupid, but I'm more comfortable asking.
What does it mean by having to 'activate the windows' using a key you purchased. Does buying and installing Windows 10 not instantly activate it?

 

[EsaT]

Zen 2s include AM4 right? Would the price drop be significant? I'm fine with waiting.

AM4 is AMD's DDR4 platform with release in month Zen3 also using it.
(MSI has confirmed BIOS support for Zen3 for their B450 boards)
In last year few months after releases of Zen2 models, prices of 2018's Zen+ dropped like third with 8 core dropping to level of six core Zen2.

Especially with this kind budget better buy Windows license from web.
Paying official Microsoft's prices is like paying for getting raped:
You would literally pay to Microsoft for becoming their unpaid alpha tester for known to be buggy patches.
(they "modernized" development by firing majority of their own testers half dozen years ago)

 

[Nyterind]

Especially with this kind budget better buy Windows license from web.
Paying official Microsoft's prices is like paying for getting raped:
You would literally pay to Microsoft for becoming their unpaid alpha tester for known to be buggy patches.
(they "modernized" development by firing majority of their own testers half dozen years ago)

I burst out laughing reading that description.
You've all been a massive help, I am grateful for it. I'll patiently wrestle take care of my Lapotatop until the last half of October, and make my decision then.

 

[Grafter67]

Respectfully, buy an x box series banana S or whatever they call them for 25 yoyos a month including gamepass and EA games and cope with your lapotato for work type stuff.

Edit, stick more ram and/or an ssd in laptop. That way you can pretend to work while playing.

 

[Nyterind]

Can just about cope with my laptop for work. 4gb ram. Intel core I3-4005U 1.7Ghz. (Asus x555L, if that means anything to anyone...) Almost 5 years old.
3 tabs open and I'm pondering over life each time I switch between them.
I'm staying away from the new gen of consoles. It's time I joined the PC world, (Mods, pun unintended).

 

[Grafter67]

Can just about cope with my laptop for work. 4gb ram. Intel core I3-4005U 1.7Ghz. (Asus x555L, if that means anything to anyone...) Almost 5 years old.
3 tabs open and I'm pondering over life each time I switch between them.
I'm staying away from the new gen of consoles. It's time I joined the PC world, (Mods, pun unintended).

I'm not up on laptops, but putting in extra ram and swapping the hard drive for an ssd will do the trick for roughly £100.

This is a high end pc overclocking forum, so I'm not going to argue against PC's obviously, but your wallet or credit card will feel the pain.

 

[EsaT]

I burst out laughing reading that description.

Nothing to laught at in how Windows is developed nowadays.
https://www.theregister.com/2018/10/23/microsoft_windows_10_crisis/
https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/201...shipping-windows-updates-its-developing-them/
It shouldn't even be called as Windows, but Wintoys the way user interface has been raped by toyphone fad.

And I used to curse Bill Gates.
Now I miss the times when he was at Microsoft's helm with Windows being actually developed for PC.

Can just about cope with my laptop for work. 4gb ram. Intel core I3-4005U 1.7Ghz. (Asus x555L, if that means anything to anyone...) Almost 5 years old.
3 tabs open and I'm pondering over life each time I switch between them.

4GB was little already decade ago.
5 years ago was it unacceptable.
Adding another 4GB would be easy:

 

[Nyterind]

I'm not up on laptops, but putting in extra ram and swapping the hard drive for an ssd will do the trick for roughly £100.

4GB was little already decade ago.
5 years ago was it unacceptable.
Adding another 4GB would be easy:

I didn't know it was possible. I do feel tempted to try it, but the laptop is getting pretty old. It's likely to fail me in a number other areas.

 

[EsaT]

I didn't know it was possible. I do feel tempted to try it, but the laptop is getting pretty old. It's likely to fail me in a number other areas.

That dual core is definitely unfit for any real work except emails, web browing and word processing.
But even for those 8GB would be pretty much required.