Daily Driver Computer Thoughts?

blueonion on 26/01/2024 - 21:34

Hey all,

It's probably been about 10 years since my last computer build and i'd love to get some advice.

Current setup:
- Intel i5-2500K
- Gigabyte GA-Z68XP-UD3 motherboard
- silent pc case
- water cooled cpu
- GTX 750 passive cooled

Main use is work, youtube, media. I've been finding that facebook messenger and other sites are loading just that little bit slower now, and i think it's time for an upgrade. Not looking to play games so it's a modest upgrade… so i'm thinking about the following:

case: Fractal Design FD-C-POS1A-01 Pop Silent Black Solid Mid-Tower ATX Case
motherboard: MSI B550-A Pro AM4 ATX Motherboard
cpu: Ryzen 5 5500
ram: 32gb Corsair Vengeance 3200mhz
psu: Thermaltake smart BM3 750w
graphics: Asus Dual-rx6600
cpu cooling: not sure yet, but some liquid cooler

I'm not up to speed with the latest so i've kinda chosen these components based on budget + hoping to keep the pc relatively silent so chose the gpu and psu with the smart fan that turns on/off as required.

Thoughts? Keen to get some suggestions and advice. Thanks

Computing Computer Desktop Computer

Comments

  • CrispyChrispy on 26/01/2024 - 21:51
    +1

    Do you need the GPU if you aren't playing games? Are you doing any creative work that would require one? An air cooler will be more than sufficient if you're not gaming or doing anything too intensive.

    • The-Real Team Doge on 27/01/2024 - 22:03
      +1

      Yeah they could grab a G class Ryzen APU which would do well.

  • randomusername2017 on 26/01/2024 - 21:53
    +11

    Daily Driver

    Doesn't sound like it'd be roadworthy…

  • AustriaBargain on 26/01/2024 - 21:59

    Why not a Mac if you aren't playing games anyway?

    • brendanm on 26/01/2024 - 22:14
      +3

      Probably because iOS sucks.

      • Wiadro on 26/01/2024 - 22:21
        +5

        macOS you mean?

        • brendanm on 26/01/2024 - 22:27

          I dunno, whatever it is those newfangled things use. Kids these days.

          • OMGJL on 27/01/2024 - 05:28

            @brendanm: macOS is first released in 2001

            iOS is first released in 2007

            kid what days?

    • JIMB0 on 26/01/2024 - 23:01
      +3

      The hardware is great if you've got the scratch, it's just a shame it doesn't run windows or have a number pad.

      • [Deactivated] on 27/01/2024 - 21:32
        -1

        Mine is always in clamshell mode, with external keyboard and monitor. MacOS > Windows.

    • ihfree on 26/01/2024 - 23:06
      +1

      Mac isn't a bad choice for what you want - especially with the "relatively silent" requirement. Working in a room with just my MBP was strange with no noise.

      You'll also have a decent space saving over a ATX or mATX mobo.

  • scrimshaw on 26/01/2024 - 22:33
    +3

    If you've been putting up with a 2500k and a GTX 750 you most likely will not need a RX 6600, unless you have developed an interest in gaming or AI.

    You can actually continue using that GTX 750, assuming that it still works and it has the display outputs you want.

    Liquid cooler is overkill for Ryzen 5 5500 — this is AMD's lowest end 6 core processor (which is basically a Ryzen 5 5600G with the integrated graphics cores chopped off), it runs quite cool with basic air cooling and you most likely won't need to buy a third party cooler.

    that being said the Ryzen 5 5600G is the more sensible choice since it comes with integrated graphics, meaning you can leave out the GTX 750 out of your build entirely.

  • Emphasise on 26/01/2024 - 22:53

    You wouldn't need a water cooler for that cpu, the stock fan is perfectly fine. If you want to spend a bit more then a reasonably priced cooler like Coolermaster Hyper 212 for $50 will perform better. But even that's stretching because you're not gaming, although it would be quieter than the stock fan.

    • Namesareapain on 27/01/2024 - 12:07

      ThermalRight tower coolers are the better (and cheaper) choice than the Hyper 212 these days.

    • A-mak on 27/01/2024 - 18:06

      Not only that, but if by "liquid cooling" they mean an AIO cooler; that's probably why his current PC is slowing down.

      @OP AIO coolers lose their liquid over time and there is no way to top them up. Stick with a solid air cooler, I'd go for the deepcool AK400 if $50 is the budget or deepcool 620 if it's double.

  • bmerigan on 26/01/2024 - 22:55
    +1

    Odd choices.
    The average person, even the average gamer does not need water cooling. High maintenance, high risk, high cost.
    You definitely don't need 32GB of memory, 16 is fine. 32GB is power-user stuff.
    PSU doesn't need to be any higher than 600W.
    Something you didn't mention is storage, which makes the biggest difference to usable speed. I'd say a 1TB or 2TB NVME SSD. Kingston KC3000 are one of the fastest per dollar.

    • OMGJL on 27/01/2024 - 05:26
      +5

      32GB is power-user stuff.

      Windows takes about 3 GB itself now, (it will swap some into virtual memory when running out of memory for more crucial task, but less swapping is better)

      Chrome takes like 100-150MB per tab let alone with extensions, some with more content takes more.

      More apps are developed using Electron which is basically a Chrome Browser Wrapper, and that will easily consume 600MB+ (namely Discord, MS Teams)

      Bigger Work app or Games easily take 5-10GB depends, plus Word/Excel/Outlook,

      whilst 16GB is "just enough" for what I stated above, but it'll soon be a problem.

      after DDR4 getting 2DPC (2 dimm per channel) is no longer recommended as it distort the RAM's signal leading to instability, using different RAM module or IC will make it worse, and it's pretty hard to buy 2 kit of the same at different time, because manufacturer mix chips all the time under the same product code.

      I'd say get 32GB and forget about 16GB altogether.

    • Namesareapain on 27/01/2024 - 12:09

      An AIO cooler would not be high maintenance nor high risk, just complete overkill for such a low end CPU.

      • bmerigan on 28/01/2024 - 22:20

        I don't know, I just assume that a contained system of water inside my computer is not going to go 6 years without me having to fiddle with it (or it leaking)

  • freefall101 on 26/01/2024 - 23:04
    +3

    Unless you're gaming I'd just grab a cheap refurb SFF machine.

  • mitt on 27/01/2024 - 00:05

    Wow I had almost exactly the same build up until about 2 years ago. My inner penny pincher wouldn't let me upgrade until it actually started giving me problems. Same hardware but no watercooling. The system I built as a replacement was very similar to the one you proposed too, though I delayed the GPU upgrade a bit due to the mining craze sending prices stupid.

    I had an asrock rx6600 & the fans power down completely when just browsing so its silent when idle. Just upgraded it a 6800 as I actually game sometimes. For the cpu cooler I would go with a bigass tower cooler rather than a liquid cooler. A big tower cooler with the fan run at minimum speed results in less noise than almost any AIO I have dealt with. Less chance of a fault too.

    Now, all that aside, if all you do is office work/browsing & are focused on noise/budget, go with one of the refurbished mini-pcs that often comes up here. 8th gen or newer. Something like one of these https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/817249

  • OMGJL on 27/01/2024 - 05:18
    +2

    Not looking to play games

    why don't you ditch the R5 5500 CPU and the RX6600 GPU, and get a r5 5600g instead?

    doesn't need the graphics power as you not playing games anyway.

  • blueonion on 27/01/2024 - 13:03

    Thanks for everyone's input and thoughts.

    Seems like the consensus is:

    • go for a 5600g integrated graphics
    • keep the stock fan and go with a more ventilated case

    As for the comment re hard drive, I've got an existing Samsung 970 evo SSD that I'll reuse.

    Any recommendations for a mid tower? I chose this one because the size allows me to put my Brother printer on top of the tower and fit it all under my desk.

    The only reason I chose water cooling was to try reduce CPU fan noise, but I'm probably just not up to date with things as I remember a long time ago, CPU fans were very very noisy.

    • scrimshaw on 27/01/2024 - 13:57
      +1

      Silent cases such as Fractal Design Pop Silent gives you noise dampening, but sacrifices air flow. The noise of fans from components inside is muffled because the front of the case is closed, but the obvious downside is that you're also blocking off air intake from the front. See review

      The Fractal Design Pop Air is a decent case, although in terms of mechanical design (and looks, which is subjective) I believe the Meshify 2 is a tad better. If you find those cases too expensive, I would recommend buying the Fractal Design Meshify 2 Lite, which is the cheaper version of the original Meshify 2. It gets a Highly recommended review on TechpowerUp

      CPU fan noise: if that really bothers you I'd upgrade the stock cooler to a cheap Tower-style cooler with 120mm fans, such as the Thermalright Spirit or Assassin, but I suspect the stock AMD fan will be more than sufficient as you aren't a gamer and won't really be stressing the CPU to the point where it needs to spin at 100% constantly.

    • mitt on 27/01/2024 - 14:57

      Stock cpu fans can be noisy mostly because they are smaller than most after market ones. An after market dual tower cooler with 120 or 140mm fans will be similar in noise profile to a watercooling AIO, but without the extra complexity adding to cost/probability of failure. If you want quiet but dont want to go to huge lengths for silent, get an overspecced cooler with the biggest fans you can fit (usually dual 140mm tower coolers) then run the fans super slow.

    • OMGJL on 27/01/2024 - 16:31

      I recommend you to buy a 4 heat pipe 120mm fan tower cooler, something like this https://www.centrecom.com.au/cooler-master-hyper-212-spectru…
      Doesn't have to be this store or this particular item, anything similar is good. Sub $40, and with some fan curve settings you can make it near silent. Stock cooler is a big ooof to me

  • OldSchoolHarry on 27/01/2024 - 13:31
    +3

    Just get a used OptiPlex from ebay for couple hundred dollars unless you need dedicated GPU.

  • wots on 27/01/2024 - 14:12
    +3

    Have you considered a laptop - use it hooked up to your monitor? You'll have portability when you need it, even if it's only occasionally.

  • cheesecactus on 27/01/2024 - 14:12
    +3

    Why not get a laptop? Then get a cheap usb c hub to connect all your monitors and peripherals. Gives you the flexibility to pick it up and go if you want.

  • gizmomelb on 31/01/2024 - 11:00

    what is your work app?

    I switched to using an Intel N100 mini PC as my daily work pc as it uses bugger all power and is totally silent - my main work apps are web-based O365 outlook/word/excel, MS Teams and other web based apps. The same PC is being used now and I also use it for my nightly web browsing, email and youtube (1440p but it handles 4K video hardware decoding, I have a second N100 running libreelec and connected to my 4K tv and surround sound). Then the pc is on overnight while it handles usenet or torrent downloads.

    this one is back on sale at $230 after discount on amaon, is currently the cheapest intel N100 16GB model I can see.

    https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B0CCD9J7KN

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