mATX gaming build suggestions?

Mr G · 11 Nov 2018 at 12:25

Looking at building a small mATX gaming PC for my daughter this coming black Friday. Both of us sat down and scoured the net looking at various reviews and we've come up with a spec for casual gaming and college work but also with the possibility of future upgrades.

Here's the spec so far:

AMD Ryzen 3 2200G
AMD Radeon RX 570 4/8GB
16GB 3000MHz DDR 4 Memory
Asrock B450M Pro4
Crucial BX 120GB SSD - OS/Apps
1TB Toshiba HDD - Games

Not sure on the case and the PSU at this moment, we did look at the Thermaltake Level 20 VT and the Corsair 280X but stumped on a decent quality PSU... so choices, choices!

This is where we need you guys to jump in and give us your thoughts on where to move next... is this WIP spec right? What should we change?

Prices are going to drop so budget will be around the £600 quid mark.

tamzzy · 11 Nov 2018 at 13:01

if you're going to get a gpu, then the 2200g is possibly wasted - you don't need the igpu, really tbh
also, better to get a bigger ssd now, a separate hdd is easily added on later should there be need for more storage.

Mr G · 11 Nov 2018 at 13:09

tamzzy said:
if you're going to get a gpu, then the 2200g is possibly wasted - you don't need the igpu, really tbh
also, better to get a bigger ssd now, a separate hdd is easily added on later should there be need for more storage.

I have to agree with you when we where comparing all the prices and the specs, this is why we want suggestions where we can cut down on the unnecessary and create the best bang for the buck.

tamzzy · 11 Nov 2018 at 13:27

this is probably around something i'd get. with black friday coming round, build should be closer to your £600 budget.
iirc, gibbo said ram should be closer to the £600 mark, and the ssd was previously sold at ~£50ish. (cpu may get discounted too :confused:

)
but that being said, the rx570 8gb is a good price right now, sub-£160 for rx570 8gb
you get free shipping, so buying piecemeal shouldn't be an issue if you want to wait for best prices i guess

My basket at Overclockers UK:

1 x TeamGroup 480GB L5 Lite SSD 2.5" SATA 6Gbps 3D NAND Solid State Drive= £65.99
1 x Team Group Vulcan T-Force 16GB (2x8GB) DDR4 PC4-24000C16 3000MHz Dual Channel Kit - Grey (TLGD416G30= £119.99
1 x MSI Radeon RX 570 ARMOR OC 8192MB GDDR5 PCI-Express Graphics Card= £158.99
1 x Kolink Aviator M RGB Micro-ATX Gaming Case - Black= £36.95
1 x AMD Ryzen 5 Quad Core 1400 3.40GHz (Socket AM4) Processor - Retail= £112.99
1 x Asrock B450M Pro4 (Socket AM4) DDR4 MATX Motherboard= £79.99
1 x be quiet! System Power 9 500W 80 Plus Bronze Power Supply= £54.95

Total: £642.15 (includes shipping: £12.30)

Mr G · 11 Nov 2018 at 20:34

Prices are going to plummet I believe, especially with the memory.

We looked at the Ryzen 3 1200 exceptionally cheaper but lacks SMT unlike the Ryzen 5's.

Mr G · 12 Nov 2018 at 08:18

Been looking around the net and found the Asrock B450M Pro 4 for £59.99 and a Kingston SUV500/480GB SSD for £49.99, leaving the memory and CPU till last as undecided on this option as yet.

I can grab a Ryzen 3 1200 for £74.99, RX 580 might be a great alternative to a 570 and are dropping in price daily for what I've seen so far.

tamzzy · 12 Nov 2018 at 09:05

I'd get the ryzen 1400 instead at minimum, as it's a quad core with multi thread. 1200 doesn't have multithreading.

Mr G · 12 Nov 2018 at 09:32

tamzzy said:
I'd get the ryzen 1400 instead at minimum, as it's a quad core with multi thread. 1200 doesn't have multithreading.

This is what I'm waiting on, prices will dictate our next move. We've already seen memory kits of 16GB 2666MHz as low as £99 already, so prices are tumbling and great to see memory falling!

Already purchased the SSD and Motherboard as the price was excellent.

tamzzy · 12 Nov 2018 at 13:40

Mr G said:
This is what I'm waiting on, prices will dictate our next move. We've already seen memory kits of 16GB 2666MHz as low as £99 already, so prices are tumbling and great to see memory falling!

Already purchased the SSD and Motherboard as the price was excellent.

Gibbo said that their 3000mhz kit will be £100

Mr G · 12 Nov 2018 at 13:59

Yeah did see this although need to add shipping as I don't qualify for free shipping unfortunately for me.

orbitalwalsh · 12 Nov 2018 at 14:08

if your clutching at £££ , saves £10

My basket at Overclockers UK:

1 x Gigabyte 120GB SSD 2.5" SATA 6Gbps Solid State Drive= £19.99
1 x Toshiba 1TB P300 7200RPM Performance Hard Drive (HDWD110UZSVA)= £36.95

Total: £56.94 (includes shipping: £0.00)

lot forget about StoreMI and what makes budget Ryzen+B450 such a good combo . Install Windows to OS and activate Store MI and you've got a good large hybrid - least better then Intel Optane and SSHD options

you could also run @tamzzy list on the 400w version

My basket at Overclockers UK:

1 x be quiet! System Power 9 400W 80 Plus Bronze Power Supply= £44.99

Total: £44.99 (includes shipping: £0.00)

quick word with bequiet and will be roughly 68-80% under load

I ran Vega 56 on there Power 10 500w and meant to use 550w plus - all depends on quality of unit as well

tamzzy · 12 Nov 2018 at 14:24

Mr G said:
Yeah did see this although need to add shipping as I don't qualify for free shipping unfortunately for me.

250 posts and 180 days. You're nearly there

Mr G · 12 Nov 2018 at 14:29

tamzzy said:
250 posts and 180 days. You're nearly there

Yeah, I though the rules changed on this and it's a 1000 post's now?

Anyway, I've already taken the plunge and bought the Asrock B450M Pro 4 for £59.99 and a Kingston SUV500/480GB SSD for £49.99.

Gibbo mentioned wait and see this Thursday at 2pm... apparently AMD has owned black Friday? I have been let down in the past by such announcements.

My PC is complete and won't be upgrading anytime soon, however good pricing will determine a good spec for my daughters PC as we've challenged the £600 budget.

Just need the CPU, memory and GPU... PSU and Case will come second after this.

tamzzy · 12 Nov 2018 at 14:46

Mr G said:
Yeah, I though the rules changed on this and it's a 1000 post's now?

That's for members market.
Free shipping is 250 posts/180 days or 100 posts/1 year.

Mr G said:
Gibbo mentioned wait and see this Thursday at 2pm... apparently AMD has owned black Friday? I have been let down in the past by such announcements.

No harm waiting and seeing. From that thread, I gathered it wasn't going to be Vega 56/64, so it's likely to be some of their lower cards...which is what you're looking at. So it's a win/win.

Mr G said:
Just need the CPU, memory and GPU... PSU and Case will come second after this

Yeah, although you can run a mid range card on a 400/450w psu, it doesn't leave much room to maneuver for upgrade. Unless your budget is fully stretched, 500/550w psu always makes more sense.

Mr G · 12 Nov 2018 at 14:53

tamzzy said:
That's for members market.
Free shipping is 250 posts/180 days or 100 posts/1 year.

No harm waiting and seeing. From that thread, I gathered it wasn't going to be Vega 56/64, so it's likely to be some of their lower cards...which is what you're looking at. So it's a win/win.

Yeah, although you can run a mid range card on a 400/450w psu, it doesn't leave much room to maneuver for upgrade. Unless your budget is fully stretched, 500/550w psu always makes more sense.

That's good to know... not too far off 250 posts now!

Will be interesting to see what these prices will be and certainly not skimping on a PSU.

Ryzen 5 1400 for under £100?

tamzzy · 12 Nov 2018 at 21:08

Mr G said:
Ryzen 5 1400 for under £100?

it's been on sale for £90 before, so i don't see why not...

Mr G · 13 Nov 2018 at 08:47

tamzzy said:
it's been on sale for £90 before, so i don't see why not...

What about the 1600? 1400 would be sweet if below that suggested.

https://www.overclockers.co.uk/be-q...0w-80-plus-silver-power-supply-ca-11p-bq.html

Any good?

orbitalwalsh · 13 Nov 2018 at 09:17

Mr G said:
What about the 1600? 1400 would be sweet if below that suggested.

https://www.overclockers.co.uk/be-q...0w-80-plus-silver-power-supply-ca-11p-bq.html

Any good?

http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Story6&reid=525

im a big bequiet fan but also another contender - slightly longer warranty - personally easier to deal with bequiet

https://www.overclockers.co.uk/bitfenix-formula-series-550w-80-plus-gold-power-supply-ca-22y-bx.html

https://www.tomshardware.co.uk/bitfenix-whisper-series-550w-psu,review-33721-11.html

also Toms review of the PP10 but 600w version

https://www.tomshardware.co.uk/be-quiet-pure-power-10-600w-psu,review-33932-11.html

Mr G · 13 Nov 2018 at 09:20

orbitalwalsh said:
http://www.jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Story6&reid=525

im a big bequiet fan but also another contender - slightly longer warranty - personally easier to deal with bequiet

https://www.overclockers.co.uk/bitfenix-formula-series-550w-80-plus-gold-power-supply-ca-22y-bx.html

https://www.tomshardware.co.uk/bitfenix-whisper-series-550w-psu,review-33721-11.html

also Toms review of the PP10 but 600w version

https://www.tomshardware.co.uk/be-quiet-pure-power-10-600w-psu,review-33932-11.html

Which would you consider if on a budget, I can increase budget wiggle room if required as I don't want to skimp in this area.

orbitalwalsh · 13 Nov 2018 at 10:16

Mr G said:
Which would you consider if on a budget, I can increase budget wiggle room if required as I don't want to skimp in this area.

prob formula unless you need it silent ?