Peace of mind - please check!

[David8882]

Hi all,

First post here so apologies if anything is left unclear etc.

Long story short, I'm looking at the PC build below to replace my current AMD A10-7700K & GTX 760 Ti rig that's gone haywire. (Yes, I now realise the A10 has in-built graphics...)
The most intensive usage will likely be some amateur video editing on Lightworks and medium graphics settings on Warhammer Total War 2. Would be nice to be reasonably future-proof but I'm not fussed about ultra settings on anything.

Please advise! I'm not massively tech savvy so am a bit unsure when it comes to cooling in particular.

This is already pretty much at my budget limit (coming in at £937) but all thoughts welcome.

Many thanks!

David

Processor (CPU)	Intel® Core™ i5 Six Core Processor i5-9400F (2.9GHz) 9MB Cache (both cheaper and better than the i5-8400!?)
Motherboard	ASUS® PRIME Z370-P II: ATX, LGA1151, USB 3.1, SATA 6GBs
Memory (RAM)	16GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 2666MHz (2 x 8GB)
Graphics Card	6GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 1660 - HDMI, DP - GeForce GTX VR Ready!
1st Storage Drive	2TB SEAGATE BARRACUDA SATA-III 3.5" HDD, 6GB/s, 7200RPM, 256MB CACHE
1st M.2 SSD Drive	256GB ADATA SX6000 Pro PCIe M.2 2280 (2100 MB/R, 1200 MB/W) (Win10 goes here)
DVD/BLU-RAY Drive	NOT REQUIRED
External DVD/BLU-RAY Drive	8x Slim USB 2.0 External DVD-RW
Power Supply	CORSAIR 550W VS SERIES™ VS-550 POWER SUPPLY (quote calculator reckons this build will use 313W but peace of mind for another ~£5 over the 450W...)
Processor Cooling	PCS FrostFlow 100 V2 Series High Performance CPU Cooler
Thermal Paste	COOLER MASTER MASTERGEL MAKER THERMAL COMPOUND (experiences with xbox 360s have made me wary of poor thermal paste/heating issues)
Extra Case Fans	2x 120mm Black Case Fan (configured to extract from rear/roof)
Sound Card	ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Wireless/Wired Networking	WIRELESS 802.11N 300Mbps/2.4GHz PCI-E CARD (we get about ~30Mbps download here)
USB/Thunderbolt Options	MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Operating System	Genuine Windows 10 Home 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence [KK3-00002]
Windows Recovery Media	Windows 10 Multi-Language Recovery Image - Unlimited Downloads from Online Account
Office Software	FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft® Office® 365 (Operating System Required) (will use current 2016 license)
Anti-Virus	NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE (will use current Norton license)
Browser	Google Chrome™
Warranty	3 Year Standard Warranty (1 Month Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)

 

[Oussebon]

Just to answer this:

Intel® Core™ i5 Six Core Processor i5-9400F (2.9GHz) 9MB Cache (both cheaper and better than the i5-8400!?)

1) PCS pricing can vary, possibly depending on the deals they got themselves when sourcing components. Sometimes faster RAM is cheaper than slower RAM...
2) The 9400F has no onboard graphics. That improves the bang for buck. Until your GPU dies or maybe dies and you can't troubleshoot ofc...
3) it is better than the 8400 by the smidgest of smidges.

But I don't think this is the best build for the budget at all.

I assume you went with the cheapest case? Going with the cheapest case isn't the best choice, as it can impact cooling and future upgrade options. If you're spending £10 adding extra fans to the cheap case, don't, just buy a better case that has more fans and/or better airflow through design anyway, as well as more space for upgrades

Intel's CPUs are poor value at the moment, thanks to supply shortages that have driven up prices. Also AMD's CPUs are very competitive in performance these days, and prices have been driven down by the new CPU generation they're announcing very soon. AMD's motherboards should support this next gen of CPUs, and also offer more features at a given price point, so are more futureproof.

They also come with decent enough stock coolers, unlike Intel's CPUs where you really do want to get an aftermarket one.

These savings can go towards a better GPU and case. or you could stick to the 1660 and pocket the difference (spec below is £899 with a 1660)

Case
FRACTAL FOCUS G BLACK GAMING CASE (Window)
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 5 2600 Six Core CPU (3.4GHz-3.9GHz/19MB CACHE/AM4)

World War Z & Division 2: Gold Edition FREE w/ select AMD Ryzen CPUs!
Motherboard
Gigabyte B450 AORUS ELITE: DDR4, USB 3.1 - RGB Ready
Memory (RAM)
16GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 2933MHz ~ (2 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
6GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 1660 Ti - HDMI, DP - GeForce GTX VR Ready!
1st Storage Drive
2TB SEAGATE BARRACUDA SATA-III 3.5" HDD, 6GB/s, 7200RPM, 256MB CACHE
1st M.2 SSD Drive
256GB ADATA SX6000 Pro PCIe M.2 2280 (2100 MB/R, 1200 MB/W)
DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
24x DUAL LAYER DVD WRITER ±R/±RW/RAM
Power Supply
CORSAIR 550W VS SERIES™ VS-550 POWER SUPPLY
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre UK Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
STANDARD AMD CPU COOLER
Thermal Paste
STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Wireless/Wired Networking
WIRELESS 802.11N 300Mbps/2.4GHz PCI-E CARD
USB/Thunderbolt Options
MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS
Operating System
Genuine Windows 10 Home 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence [KK3-00002]
Operating System Language
United Kingdom - English Language
Windows Recovery Media
Windows 10 Multi-Language Recovery Image - Unlimited Downloads from Online Account
Office Software
FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft® Office® 365 (Operating System Required)
Anti-Virus
BullGuard™ Internet Security - Free 90 Day License inc. Gamer Mode
Browser
Microsoft® Edge (Windows 10 Only)
Warranty
3 Year Standard Warranty (1 Month Collect & Return, 1 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Delivery
STANDARD INSURED DELIVERY TO UK MAINLAND (MON-FRI)
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 8 to 11 working days
Price: £952.00 including VAT and Delivery

Unique URL to re-configure: https://www.pcspecialist.co.uk/saved-configurations/amd-am4-pc/pF7ghja4c8/

 

[Flo]

Don't forget about the silver warranty. It's only £5 extra. I would also get the 2600x as it isn't much more expensive and comes with faster core clock and better cooler.

 

[David8882]

Thanks guys for your replies! Much appreciated

Guess the silver warranty is worth throwing on there just in case.

Your suggested build looks good - my only changes would likely be swapping the dvd drive to an external version (for use with our laptops/future PCs, unless you have any particular advise there?) and I'd rather save the difference between a GTX 1660 and the Ti version (total of £913 inc VAT).

Regarding the 2600X vs 2600, it doesn't look like it's much faster (using cpu.userbenchmark.com) and assuming the cooling in the new build is sufficient, think I'd rather save the cost difference.

Cheers again

 

[Oussebon]

using cpu.userbenchmark.com

Never use userbenchmark. The data on there is utterly meaningless. Like a broken clock, it might be right twice a day...

By all means once you have a PC, run userbenchmark on it for fun, as it's quite a fun benchmark to use, but the data's worse than useless; it's dangerously misleading.

Same goes for other sites that claim to compare CPUs size by side like CPUboss, GPUboss, gamedebate.

Your suggested build looks good - my only changes would likely be swapping the dvd drive to an external version (for use with our laptops/future PCs, unless you have any particular advise there?)

I wondered if you might have picked an external USB DVD drive for this reason. Your plan sounds fine to me!

I'd rather save the difference between a GTX 1660 and the Ti version (total of £913 inc VAT).

Sounds fine too. Total War would benefit from the 1660 ti even at 1080p, but a 1660 should still handle medium-high, more towards high I'd think.

Regarding the 2600X vs 2600, it doesn't look like it's much faster (using cpu.userbenchmark.com) and assuming the cooling in the new build is sufficient, think I'd rather save the cost difference.

The performance difference in video encoding can be something like 7-8%.

The price difference is £26 or ~3% of the total build.

I'd probably have advocate sticking with the 2600x, since one of your uses is video editing, not just gaming. The better included cooler is just a bonus.