Build Recommedation for a Humble PC Gaming Simpleton - $2k Budget Excluding Peripherals

LBilly Herrington on 31/10/2020 - 19:38

Hi All,

First things first - I know pretty much nothing about PCs, the synergy between parts along with all other finite detail there is to know about generally building PCs. Suffice to say that I'll be leaning on all of you absolute PC Wizards (Such as Scrimshaw) out there.

With Black Friday less than a month away I've been thinking about going all out on a new PC, and I'll be keen on one that's future proof and capable of 1440p gaming @ 60+ FPS. Currently the most intense game I play is AC Odyssey, but outside of that I don't play any AAA titles. My most played game is Mordhau and I'll probably get back on the Dota 2 bandwagon eventually also (Which my current PC runs fine anyway). I've also taken up streaming as a hobby, so there will be a bit more tax on the CPU there!

I'm by no means looking to drop an absolute bomb to get a maxxed out system, but like many people I'm keen on getting the best value / most efficient pairing of parts for a system that can achieve what I wrote above. Understand that this is a harder propisition to put forward given the very recent announcement of the latest AMD product line, but I figured that I may end up getting last-gen parts that have dropped in price. I've added in a quick poll to gauge everyone's opinions on this subject (Allowing changes in votes as more info/benchmarks etc will be released over time).

If I were to take a crack at a build myself, the below is what I'd run with based on some research (All prices are AUD per PC Part Picker::

DRAFT SYSTEM SPECS:

PCPartPicker Part List

Type Item Price
CPU *AMD Ryzen 5 3600 3.6 GHz 6-Core Processor $318.00 @ Skycomp Technology
CPU Cooler *Cooler Master Hyper 212 RGB Black Edition 57.3 CFM CPU Cooler $67.20 @ Device Deal
Motherboard Asus ROG STRIX B550-F GAMING (WI-FI) ATX AM4 Motherboard $295.00 @ Skycomp Technology
Memory *G.Skill Trident Z RGB 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3600 CL18 Memory $149.00 @ Centre Com
Storage *Crucial P1 1 TB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive $153.00 @ Centre Com
Storage *Seagate BarraCuda 4 TB 3.5" 5400RPM Internal Hard Drive $139.00 @ PC Byte
Video Card MSI GeForce RTX 2070 SUPER 8 GB GAMING X TRIO Video Card $778.00 @ Austin Computers
Case Thermaltake View 31 TG ATX Mid Tower Case $135.00 @ PLE Computers
Power Supply *Corsair RM (2019) 850 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply $198.00 @ Device Deal
Operating System Microsoft Windows 10 Home 32/64-bit -
Monitor Dell S2721DGF 27.0" 2560x1440 165 Hz Monitor -
Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts
Total $2232.20
*Lowest price parts chosen from parametric criteria
Generated by PCPartPicker 2020-10-31 19:30 AEDT+1100

A couple of points to note here:

  • Actual budget will be $2,000 excluding monitor, mouse and keyboard (Black Friday pricing will be better than the above for some parts)

  • The Thermaltake View 31 TG ATX Mid Tower Case was an impulse buy from Amazon AU as it was like $84… That was two years ago and it's still in the box (Courtesy of OzBargan of course: https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/449229)

  • I've nominated some RGB parts solely because I have an RGB case, but I don't actually care about RGB that much (And I know that you pay a premium for RGB). If anything my preference is green lighting

  • I have a Windows 7 CD which I'll upgrade to 10 via the free upgrade (I have an external USB CD drive for this - But if that's not an option I'll just pay for it)

  • The majority of parts have been chosen based on PC Part Picker ratings… so not a huge amount of research done there to say the least

  • No surprise with the monitor with the most recent deal being https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/574900. Worth nothing also that I'm keen on having a 3x monitor set-up, but I'm unsure on what other monitors to choose (24" / 27", 1080p / 1440p - Unsure)

  • I'm also looking for recommendations on a mouse and mechanical keyboard. I've never had a mechanical keyboard before so I'm unsure of what switches I'd like most - I assume I'd need to go in store and get a feel first, but I'd be after one that isn't incredibly loud, but still has a nice tactile feel. As for a mouse I don't have large hands so I use a palm grip

  • My current GPU is a Gigabyte GTX 1660 SUPER OC 6GB GDDR6 which I'm happy to keep using if it's best to wait given the new GPU releases, so I'd drop gaming resolution down to 1080p

If I've missed detail that's important let me know!

Looking forward to everyone's recommendations here.

Thanks all!

Poll Options expired

  • 11
    Build a PC using latest generation GPUs
  • 0
    Build a PC using last generation GPUs
Gaming Computer Desktop Computer

Comments

  • Diverse on 31/10/2020 - 19:59
    +2

    I basically have the same build as you except I have a B450 board.

    Unless you don't need a new PC urgently, I would probably just buy the new-gen GPU.

    Keyboard wise I opted for black keys for stiffness. Currently using Ducky One 2. There are probably some decent picture guides to give you a fair idea what each key feels and sounds like.

    Mouse I use palm grip, currently using the Steel Series Rival 100. You really can't go wrong with the Logitech G Pro, Steelseries Rivals 310 or Zowie ZA/FA.

    With the 2070S and above, I would opt for 1440p at least. Honestly just choose whatever size, I prefer 24" so I stuck with that.

    • Billy Herrington on 31/10/2020 - 21:03
      +1

      Appreciate the comment mate - Good to know my initial draft build is relatively on point!

      Is the B450 motherboard future proof? i.e - Will it work with the upcomming generation of AMD CPUs?

      I'll sus out the keyboard and mice that you mentioned also. A mate bought steel series in the past and never had in problems.

      • Diverse on 31/10/2020 - 21:08
        +2

        I agree, it's basically bang for buck parts with a good GPU.

        B450 and X470 has no support for the new AMD CPUs until January 2021. I would probably opt for the B550 as you have regardless.

        I would stay away from Steelseries keyboard - not the biggest fan of mine G6v2 - I liked the simple keyboards but this one gave out too quickly.

        • Billy Herrington on 31/10/2020 - 21:10
          +1

          Good stuff! Thanks again for your input here - Much appreciated

      • JaceDives on 01/11/2020 - 13:19

        X570 is

  • huertano on 31/10/2020 - 20:14
    +2

    Having done 2 and 3 monitor setups, with a mix of 1080p, 1440p and 4k. I'd put in a recommendation for a 1440p ultrawide, and another monitor if you need it. Of course it would depend on the kind of work/gaming you do but I've never been more pleased by replacing all my funky monitor setups with just one.

    • Billy Herrington on 31/10/2020 - 21:04

      Never thought about going down the ultrawide route… I should probably look up some YT videos on it I suppose. Presumably that Xioami 34" one is probably a good one to look at? Good shout on the ultrawide replacing multiple monitors - Is it easy to split windows on the one monitor though?

      • huertano on 31/10/2020 - 21:59

        Couldn't say much about the Xiami, although it seems popular. I have the X34P Acer, perfect for me. I use keyboard and mouse shortcuts to resize windows, otherwise stuck with the 4 quadrants on KDE (linux) when dragging windows to the corners.

  • MagicMushroom on 31/10/2020 - 20:41
    +1

    Techfast build + some diy is the best price-performance wise.

    • Billy Herrington on 31/10/2020 - 21:01

      Fair point! As I'm not in a rush though I'll be waiting for Black Friday to see how the deals look

  • JownehFixIT on 31/10/2020 - 21:30
    +1

    My only thought, and you've already mentioned it, is that a new gen GPU might be worth waiting for especially if you're in no rush. With RTX 3070s going for $809+, and performing better than a 2080 ti (is that right?), it just seems like a no-brainer.

    No idea if the cheapest possible 3070 is as good as the more expensive ones. But could be a plan considering that's hardly any more money than the 2070 super on the list.

    • Billy Herrington on 01/11/2020 - 00:35
      +1

      After seeing that Inno3d deal from earlier thats sound advice.

      I'm considering just loading up on all parts except the GPU.

  • garetz on 31/10/2020 - 23:45
    +1

    wait for new gen ryzen and new gen amd gpus, will cost about the same with a 10-30% bump in performance.

  • [Deactivated] on 01/11/2020 - 07:04
    +1

    if your budget is 2K excluding peripherals then there's few 2 cents I could probably throw your way as I just did another recalculation of my new system which I have yet to pull the trigger:

    • CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 5600X (to be released in 4 days as I write this post and yes this may push the budget to 2K but I say worth it, otherwise keep it to Ryzen 5 3600)
    • CPU Cooler: imo i don't think you need this as they already come with stock cooler (Wraith Stealth); perhaps this will help reduce the cost.
    • MoBo: stick to B550; i think you're on the money here.
    • RAM: why CL18? imo 3200MHz CL16 will be sufficient and this should also help reduce the cost (just slightly).
    • NVMe SSD: MX500 is great but I have also heard great things about Kingston A2000 and its TLC and has newer technology. Another candidate to consider is AData SX8100.
    • GPU: I strongly feel that you are better off playing wait-and-see games (just a bit) for NVidia 3070 or Radeon RX 6800. If you can get 3070 for $800 or RX6800 for $820 then it's the deal you should grab.
  • Billy Herrington on 01/11/2020 - 10:58

    Hi Mate,

    Thanks for your response. Regarding your points:

    -CPU: Noted. Assuming that here will be a drop in price for the 3600, but if it's not large enough then I'll look at the 5600X

    -Cooler: Sounds good. If the stock cooler does the job then no worries

    RAM: To be honest I just chose what was highest reviewed on PCPP so I'm actually not sure what CL even means lol, but good to know

    SSD: Noted I'll look into those

    GPU: Waiting for the latest GPUs seems like the play here, but I am curious to see how much last gen will drop!

    Thanks again for your input

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