Hi looking for advice/help on my first build.

sinkorswim

sinkorswim

sinkorswim

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Hi new to the forum and will be trying to do my first build. Already have all the peripherals plus 2 x HDD's and was wondering if people could give comments and suggestions on what I am thinking for my build. Not build a PC before, would welcome comments/advice, on a budget but also like it to be future proof to last so I can upgrade in the future.

Would ideally like to get the price around £800, however need to add 3 more aRGB fans for the case (preferably white).

Looking at the Cooler Master SickleFlow 120 V2 ARGB Black 3N1 Pack (£39.95). Also, possibly a different CPU cooler. All opinions appreciated.

Unsure how to daisy chain the fans to run them off the motherboard software. In fact it is the fan installation that has me confused. Would like recommendations for 3 argb case fans (2 top fans and one exhaust). Also, a little unsure about the clearance for the CPU cooler with the RGB ram?

Went a little OTT on the PSU as I want it to be future proof when changing out components later.

AMD Ryzen 3 3300X 3.8 GHz Quad-Core Processor

Scythe Mugen 5 PCGH Edition 43.03 CFM CPU Cooler

Thermal Compound Arctic Silver 5 High-Density Polysynthetic Silver or Artic MX4

MSI MAG B550 TOMAHAWK ATX AM4 Motherboard or the ASUS Prime X570-P ATX

Crucial Ballistix RGB 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3600 CL16 Memory

Western Digital Blue SN550 500 GB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive

MSI Radeon RX 570 8 GB ARMOR OC Video Card or the Asus ROG RX 570 8gb GPU.

Case Cooler Master MasterBox TD500 Mesh White w/ Controller ATX

Corsair TXM Gold 650 W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-modular ATX Power Supply


thanks in advance. :)
 
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Gray2233 said:
Do you intend to keep your CPU for any length of time, or is it a stand in until the 4000 series chips launch?

If you do intend to keep it I'd spend the extra on at least a 3600.
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Hi I intend to keep it for at least a year or 2 also want to keep my budget to around £800 which I am currently at but still need to add 3 case fans.
 
Gray2233 said:
Yeah, it looks like a fair chunk of your budget is focused on aesthetics at the expense of actual performance.

Aesthetics are fine when you've the budget for them, in your situation I'd consider a different/cheaper case option that comes with some RGB fans pre-fitted. Look at non-rgb memory as you're likely to save a fair bit in that area too. The Mugen 5 is an excellent HSF but when it could mean the difference between a 3300X and a 3600, I'd go towards the 3600, it's easy enough to switch the stock HSF out down the line.

Edit: The case you're looking at comes with 3 RGB fans prefitted, why do you need another pack of 3?
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Hi totally understand, the case comes with 3 decent aRGB fans preinstalled but I could change to non RGB ram no problem. Choose that ram for the clearance on my cooler. Open to any recommendations. Thanks

edit

I want two fans for the top of the case and one for the back to make sure I have maximum airflow. Also the fans I am looking at have a MMF of 160,000 hours. Would rather have the fans installed at the beginning so not harder to do them later without removing the motherboard. The fans I am looking at are £39.95 for 3.

Just checked and the non rgb RAM costs more, unsure why
 
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ExRayTed said:
Hi and welcome :)

If you're planning on upgrading the GPU at a later date to either Ampere or Big Navi then I'd suggest waiting for reviews to see the actual power draw before buying. I've heard estimates from 650w to 850w will be needed so I'd be wary of only ordering a 650w. Also you won't need the thermal paste, the cooler comes with it, besides, arctic silver isn't actually that good. Have a look here if you really want to replace the included paste - https://www.guru3d.com/articles-pages/guru3d-thermal-paste-roundup-2019,1.html
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Gray2233 said:
I'd be looking at something like this for £800 - 900 with the intent of upgrading the GPU in a year or so:

My basket at Overclockers UK:
Total: £868.84 (includes shipping: £0.00)
​

I'd never normally recommend the 3600XT, but it's only £10 difference from the 3600 at the moment on the OCUK store.

That memory is a cracking price though.

You're looking at going a bit overkill with airflow, 3 front and 1 rear will be absolutely fine.

The RX580 is b-grade and only comes with a 3 month warranty, I'd consider what @Plec suggested and look at the second hand market for a bargain. That said, OCUK are open to negotiation with b-grade items, so you might be able to get them to drop the price closer to £100.
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Hi thanks for that I will check it out.

Plec said:
This - you'll just be generating more noise.

Psst @Gray2233 - he needs a SSD :) (edit: knew you would spot it!) - but @sinkorswim if you downgraded your case (black aesthetic), lose a fan or two - you could almost have it all - and only need a simple GPU upgrade in a few months time when wanted...
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I will have the NVMe for my OS and programs and I already have 2 x 3tb HDD's. Will look at SDD's later thanks.
 
Plec said:
This - you'll just be generating more noise.

Psst @Gray2233 - he needs a SSD :) (edit: knew you would spot it!) - but @sinkorswim if you downgraded your case (black aesthetic), lose a fan or two - you could almost have it all - and only need a simple GPU upgrade in a few months time when wanted...
Click to expand...

Any recommendations for a case with front fans pre installed then I just need to buy one rear exhaust fan?
 
Plec said:
Fits your RGB brief, all the fans you need and can be had for £60 - and OcUK sometimes price match on large builds orders:

My basket at Overclockers UK:
​
Click to expand...

That looks like it could fit the bill and plenty of dust covers. How are the fans in that case regarding performance and noise?

Just checked and other reviews are not that great. I need a case easy to build in as its my first build.
 
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Plec said:
For £60 it's a lot of case, cooling and RGB for the money - what are your main concerns from reviews?

But, as @ExRayTed rightly stated - case taste is subjective so pick what best suits you - but budget will usually limit your choice with your added criteria.



Above is always an option - and would cut costs again - motherboard and case.

Another case for choice - *note it's mATX:

My basket at Overclockers UK:
​
Click to expand...

Many people say the fans are not great and the build quality is bad? Really dont know just did a quick search. Reading the review above, says it can hold up to 5xHDD's? I can see one on the bottom and maybe attach on to the top of the housing.

To be honest, want to get the hardware parts of my build correct first as that is the most expensive, will definitely just get one rear fan now to cut down on costs.

edit

was talking about the aerocool case. ;)
 
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Plec said:
Build quality is relative - but rear flimsiness is mentioned in reviews (i think - can't remember) - but it's the quality you would expect for a £60 case with 4 included RGB fans - it's swings-and-roundabouts to a degree. Once it's built, and unless you fiddle a lot, the slight flimsiness will be be forgotten. The fans will cool - but as to the relative silence that will depend on your curve and ear.

Unless you up your budget, perhaps ignore RGBs and adjust your fan limit to 3 (they will suffice) - you would be looking at something similar to this (i personally think it looks sleek/classy for a moderately priced mesh case):

My basket at Overclockers UK:
​

Review - https://www.tomshardware.com/uk/reviews/lian-li-lancool-ii-mesh-performance-review
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Yeah thanks just looking at that case and like the look of it, also has room for 3 x HDD's thanks
 
Plec said:
Build quality is relative - but rear flimsiness is mentioned in reviews (i think - can't remember) - but it's the quality you would expect for a £60 case with 4 included RGB fans - it's swings-and-roundabouts to a degree. Once it's built, and unless you fiddle a lot, the slight flimsiness will be be forgotten. The fans will cool - but as to the relative silence that will depend on your curve and ear.

Unless you up your budget, perhaps ignore RGBs and adjust your fan limit to 3 (they will suffice) - you would be looking at something similar to this (i personally think it looks sleek/classy for a moderately priced mesh case):

My basket at Overclockers UK:
​

Review - https://www.tomshardware.com/uk/reviews/lian-li-lancool-ii-mesh-performance-review
Click to expand...

Juat tried to order and it is out of stock. That case would be ideal, and space for another HDD
 
Hi everyone, thanks for all the advice. Have this in my basket so far. Some of the things are on back order but I dont mind the wait. Gone from RGB to all black. Adding a liquid cooler so have more clearance to add more ram later, instead of getting an aircooler then changing

Ryzen 3300x £119.99 (don't want to spend too much on CPU as I will be upgrading to a 4th gen next year)
Lian Li Mesh £74.99 (stock due next month)
Cooler master Master liquid ML280 (from amazon, only rgb is on the pump block) £119.90 or NZXT Kraken X63 £134.99
WD Blue SN550 500GB £69.99 (unsure if I should pay the extra £40 for a 1TB or wait for PCie 4.0 prices to drop and add one of them later? I have plentry of HDD storage)
Teammaster 32bg RAM £82.99
Corsair RM750w 80+ Gold £99.95
MSI MAG B550 Tomahhawk £159.95

Still unsure about graphics card so would like recommendations. Not really a big gamer so would like to keep the cost down as long is it is a good match with the system. Can upgrade later.

Thanks again for all your help
 
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Sparx said:
I'd go for the 1TB WD SN550 personally, storage gets filled fast typically.

GPU wise, depends what sort of games do you play? And what monitor/resolution you play at?

You could go proper 1080p budget and get a 1650 Super for about £150... Bit better with 1660 Super for £200 odd. Anything better I'd be tempted to start looking in the used GPU market for a 2060, 2070 Super, 5600 XT, 5700 XT etc... Lots of good cards popping up used at decent prices, with Nvidia's 30 series launching in 2 weeks. Depends on your games and expectations?

Also if you're trying to keep costs down, why are you spending £120-140 on an overkill AIO? Any of these air coolers will do great for cooling a Ryzen CPU for much less (£35-45) :p

https://www.overclockers.co.uk/arct...duo-white-cpu-cooler-2-x-120mm-hs-074-ar.html
https://www.overclockers.co.uk/scythe-scmg-5100-mugen-5-rev.b-cpu-cooler-hs-046-sy.html
https://www.overclockers.co.uk/alpenfohn-brocken-3-cpu-cooler-140mm-hs-05a-al.html
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I am just thinking ahead when I do upgrade the CPU. so that would be the only thing I need to upgrade. Not really into games but just want something that works well with my system. As for budget I don't want to pay £200+ for a CPU when I know I will be swapping it out next year.

I was going to add the mugen 5 originally but decided for the extra £60 it would future proof my system more. Will check out the GPU you mentioned. thanks
 
OK thanks I will just go back to the Mugen 5. Just need to look at a GPU.

edit

Just checked and the mugen 5 only has a single fan, it is cheaper but I want the dual fan for £59.99 so it is push pull, is this an error on the site?
 
Just wondering does the B550 MAG have an aRGB and RGB pin header? Cant seem to find the info just wondering for later. Also would mystic light run an Asus product?

Just finalizing my build. Thanks again for the help everyone.

Edit

Also added a GTX 1660 so ended up a little over budget but a lot better spec. Will Just need to update the CPU at a later date.

Edit looking at the second hand market for a GPU but the prices are still really high.
 
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Was just wondering for the price difference is it worth getting 3600mhz ram? Then I can add another 2 sticks later.

Nearly got my complete build ready to order. Just not sure if I should wait till the new CPU's and GPU's are released to see if the prices drop a lot?
 
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