Major Rebuild - Mixed Use - Maybe Micro ATX? - Spec Check / Advice Please!

GM2

GM2

GM2

Associate
Joined
14 Oct 2008
Posts
411
Location
Location: Location:
Main machine Mobo and GFX have started to play up (USBs dead, can only run 1 screen etc) and so time for a major update.

All I'm looking to keep are:

1 x Samsung 256GB SSD 830 Series SATA 6Gb/s Solid State Drive - (MZ-7PC256B/WW)
2 x Western Digital Caviar Blue 750GB SATA 6Gb/s 32MB Cache - OEM (WD7500AZEX)
1 x Corsair Enthusiast Series TX550M High Performance 550W '80 Plus Bronze' Modular Power Supply (CP-9020001-UK)
1 x 2TB SATA HDD​

So, I need: CPU, MOBO, GFX, RAM & Case.


Use:
Mainly for internet and Office, but also some Photoshop.

But my kids (teenagers) also use it for homework projects, Photoshop, some video editing and, of course, gaming. They're not major gamers but Battlefield, COD, PUBG and Fortnite gives you an idea.


Case:
If possible and not too much of a compromise, I'd ideally like a Micro ATX case. But current case is a Midi Tower and another would be OK.

I'd prefer something not flash / plain black, but happy to have a window etc, if the rest of the case is a better solution. Needs to house the 3x HDD plus SSD. Ideally front & rear USB C (but at least one).

Or, happy to leave the case choice for now and concentrate on the other components, and then ask a case specific question on the Case board.


Mobo:
I've spec'd a standard ATX board, but would obviously need to choose a Micro ATX if fitting it all in a smaller case is feasible and sensible! Any suggestions similar to the B450 Max?


Budget:
No fixed budget in mind, but the spec below gives you a pretty good idea of roughly where I'd like to be, plus a case.

I realise the CPU comes with a reasonable cooler, but should I look at upgrading? I'm expecting this to be quick enough for anything I or the kids want, but may look at a mild overclock.




My basket at Overclockers UK:
Total: £560.06 (includes shipping: £11.10)​
​


All comments / suggestions much appreciated!

Many thanks!
 
 
Thanks. Is there anything special about that particular GFX or RAM, or are they just good examples, but others fine too?

Also, will the case takes 3x 3.5" HDD plus a SSD? If not, any other thoughts?!

Many thanks
 
GM2 said:
GFX
Click to expand...
cheap for a 1660, and a good cooler - it's £220 elsewhere - so quite a deal

GM2 said:
RAM
Click to expand...
just an example. personally i'd rather get the crucial ballistix LT 3200c16 ram - not on sale at ocuk

GM2 said:
will the case takes 3x 3.5" HDD plus a SSD?
Click to expand...
3 hdds!? time to enter the 2019 and ditch em mate :p
full ssd systems are all the rage these days :D

if that's your requirements then only the siverstone will fulfil it
alternatively, get a 2tb hdd and ditch your 2x 750gb of spinning rust - and you can have a new hdd with warranty and 500gb more space

My basket at Overclockers UK:
Total: £663.60 (includes shipping: £11.70)
​
 
I have a lot of photos - tens of thousands - and so as part of a 'back-up' strategy have always run two mirrored disks, just in case one ever failed :), as well as keeping external and remote copies, although often these slip a few weeks behind. I'm currently looking at cloud options for back-up, which will go a long way to providing a better solution than mirrored drives. They are already all on Google Photos, although the quality for those is reduced, but good enough for 99% of them.

I could go for the SilverStone, nice looking case and USB-C, which would costs pretty much the same in total as your basket, but keeping the multiple HDDs:

My basket at Overclockers UK:
Total: £661.25 (includes shipping: £12.30)
​

Although this case doesn't come with fans, so would need those.

Also, the case is described as being an 'inverted motherboard tray design' - anyone had any experience with this?
 
If that's your use scenario then not much to change then.
For fans, just get the bitfenix triple fan pack for a tenner...great value for decent enough fans
 
Thanks for the fan recommendation.

Any thoughts on this:

GM2 said:
Also, the case is described as being an 'inverted motherboard tray design' - anyone had any experience with this?
Click to expand...

Still not decided on where to go with the case yet.
 
OK, so RAM, CPU & MOBO all ordered. Thanks for your help so far @tammzy

Still not quite decided on GPU. Toying with a Vega, but will probably end up at 1660.
 
Oh, and no idea on a case either really.

The MOBO doesn't have a front USB-3, so does that make getting a case with front USB-3 a total waste of time, or is there an easy way to connect it up another way, without spending ££ on an extra card?

The Kolink Citadel won't take all the drives. The Silverstone Lucid looks nice, but won't really be on show and so is expensive, especially if the USB-3 is redundant as well.
 
np, sorry i can't be of more help for the case.
(fwiw i know the fractal arc mini r2 can have 6 3.5" drives - but they're long end-of-life)
 
Using a case filter of
  • microATX
  • Front USB 3.2 Type-A
  • 3+ 3.5"
  • 1+ 2.5"
on a well known site which helps choose different components, it brings up a lot of options, but 'only' 22 are priced. Still quite a few to chose from. Anyone have any opinions??

These go from £30 to just under £100.

4Nb4MaG.png
 
tamzzy said:
these are all cases that are 4-6 years old. lol.
Click to expand...

Well someone needs to update their case options than! Oh well.

And thanks for the P400 suggestion, but with a microAXT card, I was hoping to find something a bit smaller.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom