Buildapc @lemmy.world pm_me_your_happiness @lemmy.one 1y ago

Absolute beginner here, a little overwhelmed. Can someone take a look at this build and tell me how to improve it? Trying to keep it sub $1000

EDIT: Here's what I ended up going with: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/j3VDbK

I decided to stick with the stock cooler for now, if I need to upgrade later then I will. I was going to downgrade the CPU to the 5600 as recommended to save some money, but the prime day sale kicked in and the X ended up being cheaper. I also switched to the 980 Pro rather than the Evo 970, once again courtesy of our capitalist overlord's Bezos day. I managed to snag a new RX 6700 XT for $310 on Amazon a few days ago, but it's shipping from Portugal so we'll see if that sticks.

Really appreciate all the advice, yall made it a lot less intimidating.

33 comments

Honestly the build looks perfectly fine to me. Some considerations: if you want to save some money, you can swap out the 5600X for the 5600. The 5600 is a bit weaker, but it's much cheaper. Also, you don't necessarily need a cooler. You can use the stock cooler, which works pretty well. Having a 3rd party cooler is obv better, but if you don't plan to push your cpu extremely hard, I don't really think you'll notice a difference
- I’ll look into the 5600, I appreciate it. I’ll stick with the stock cooler as well, I can always pick one up later if it needs it. Thanks!
  
  Another minor thing to think of: the 5600X/non-X are AM4, meaning that if you ever want to upgrade in the future, it'll be a bit more difficult (you'd have to replace your CPU, RAM, and mobo). If you don't plan to upgrade soon, then it's not really that big of an issue.
  
  Basically, each mobo is grouped into generations lasting roughly 5 years or so for AMD (3 or so years for Intel). If you want to upgrade your cpu, you'd have to replace cpu and mobo at once, if your mobo is outdated.
  
  Your mobo generation (AM4) just ended. Whether or not it's worthwhile to spend a bit more money to buy the newer mobo (AM5) really depends on how often you plan to upgrade your cpu. If you plan to upgrade frequently, like every 3 or so years, it may be more worthwhile to spend a bit more to buy the newest generation, so that when you do upgrade, you can reuse your mobo. If you don't plan to upgrade frequently (5 or longer years), then you should buy AM4, since by the time you want to upgrade, the newest generation will be outdated anyways and you'd have to buy a new mobo regardless of which generation you buy now
  
  Futureproofing is a bit of a finicky topic and people have long debates over when or how you want to futureproof, so if this seems too complicated, it's perfectly fine to just ignore this. Your build is well-balanced and should work well. Just giving a bit of food for thought
Honestly that looks like a pretty solid build. Only real suggestion i have is try searching around for used parts in your area on craigslist, facebook marketplace and such. With a little luck and some negotiation skills, you could score some nicer parts for less money
- Do you know which parts are fine to get used? I’m worried about picking up a part on it’s last legs, like a gpu that was used for mining
  
  I’ve had good results with used CPUs and used ram. Never bought a used case or cooler, but those should be fine. I would stay away from a used mobo personally because if it doesn’t work right, you may not even notice it at first.
  
  I would not do a used PSU at all, but that’s just my preference.
  
  Honestly, depending on your savings, a used GPU can still be quite a good deal. While it is true that a GPU used for mining or such could be on its last legs, you can do a lot to extend its life such as slightly undervolting and underclocking it. If it's a difference of $50 or more, i think it's worth it
Build looks solid.

My one note for you, though, is that your case's max CPU cooler height is reported to be 155mm; and on your CPU cooler's Amazon page, it purports to be exactly 155mm in height.

It should fit, but it's going to be tight. :P
- Good catch, I didn’t even know to look at that. I think I’m going to stick with the stock cooler for now, and upgrade later if I need it.
If your mobo supports pci 4.0 for the nvme SSD, is it better to look at the Sabrant Rocket for 5 bucks more instead of Samsung Evo? Not sure if the performance difference is too noticeable. But If the mobo supports it, maybe consider it.
- I ended up going with the Samsung 980 Pro. Prime day sale had it for $50
- I’ll look into that; it’s clear I have a lot more to learn about PCs. And I’m a software dev lol
Honestly, I think you did a pretty good job overall with managing cost/parts.

Do agree with the others saying the 5600 is a better buy than thr 5600X (the difference is stock boost clocks, and X moniker cpus also have XFR boost, whoch bumps clocks by 100Mhz, neither are really worth the cost difference between the models)
- I think I’m going to end up going with the 5600 after all the recommendations. Appreciate it!
  
  I have built about four machines running on AM4/R5 5600, they still crush at 1920x1080p and can handle discord/game multitasking.
  
  The 5800x3d cpu is under $280 on Amazon today. Well worth it if you're going am4 to just go ahead and buy once and cry once to max out your utility of the platform. It's a great CPU. Really shines on poorly cpu optimized games like almost anything made in unity.
Can you save a few dollars going with a 5600 over a 5600x? I think they were very similar in performance.

Check out the DeepCool line of coolers too, I have one ony 5800x and it does a bang up job.
- I’ll check out the differences between the 5600, thanks!
  
  I think I’m going to stick with the stock cooler for now, I’ll upgrade that as needed.
  
  That's another good way to save money, the stock cooler will be fine I'm sure.
It looks solid, but an AM5 build will have more longevity for the board and ram. Itll cost a bit more now, but I was able to find something similar to what you have now on AM5 and still under 1,000

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/ZTbKPX

Edit: since you don't need a cooler, you could probably get a 6750XT as well
- With an AM5 build, wouldn’t I need to upgrade a few of the other components as well?
  
  Edit: nvm opened the link and saw the build. I’ll need to spend some time considering this lol
  
  One option to consider if you want to save on am AM4 build would be to get used from people that are upgrading to AM5. I wouldn't really recommend AM4 for a new build. But good luck!
Sapphire is a good brand but pcpartpicker tells me that you can save 20-40+ bucks getting an XFX or Asrock 6700xt.
- Are those solid manufacturers as well? I saw that sapphire was recommended so just stuck with that.
  
  XFX is good too, no personal experience with Asrock GPU.

33 comments