Question New pc build, expert advice requested!

845H

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Hi guys, after umming and arring for the last couple of months I've decided I'll have far better choice with a gaming pc for games old and new rather than get a playstation or xbox.

This is my drawn up spec so far after about a month of research.


I have'nt got storage down as I already have a samsung evo plus 970 nvme that I'm going to use.

My aim is to use this with my plasma tv in the living room for games at 1080p ultra settings locked at 60fps using some kind of gaming lapboard like the roccat sova or corsair k63. I'm not interested in 1440p or 4k and not likely to be unless I buy a gaming monitor in the future which is unlikely as I have no where to put one! I'm not interested in overclocking, just want as small and quiet a pc as possible. I'm looking to play retro games via emulation but more importantly want wicked performance for games like Doom 2016 and Eternal, GTA 5, the resident evil remakes, the tomb raider games, gears of war, Halo remasters etc. I also want to get into some other fps titles like Battlefield and COD which I havent touched for over a decade!

First question, is the rtx 2060 gpu overkill for my aim? At the beginning of my research I was looking at a digital foundry video which suggested the gtx 1060 was a 1080p killer. Since then I've seen other videos suggesting the 1660 ti and now rtx 2060. Could I save some money and get the 1660 ti instead?

second questions, is the 4 core 3300X going to be more future proof than the similarly priced 6 core Ryzen 2600? I've read some stuff about games being more optimised for 6+ cores soon due to the new consoles about to come out and therefore 4 cores will not cut it for newer games in the near future.

Third question, should I add some fans to my setup? I'm worried more fans equals more noise and also very confused about air flow, gpu fan types, heat exhaustion etc.

Fourth question, I've heard mixed things about PSUs. Some say the internal supplied node 202 psu is sufficient and some swear by going for a seperaete sfx gold or platinum rated 500-600w+ PSUs. I dont think I can really stretch to this so the internal psu in the node 202 is my preference.

*edit* I should also add that I dont have much rack space which is why I'm going for the node 202 as I want to have it in the horzontal setup, I dont have any vertical space.

Thanks in advance!
 
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For 1080p 60Hz I'd step it down to the 1660ti. It'll save a good chunk of money and should have no bother for the next few years. I'm running an RX 5700 for 1080p 144Hz and the 2060 Super is just above that in terms of performance.

The 3300X should also be more than fine for 1080p gaming. If you did want to consider a 6 core then you could put the money saved on the gpu into a 3600. I don't think it costs much more than the 3300X currently?

I can't help with the psu but with regards to the retro gaming I'd really recommend building an XP machine. I did this myself using high end parts from the era for about £40. The best thing about it is that all the games just work without any issues that can arise from emulation.
 
What 1660 ti card to go for nwo then, I wonder?

Maybe I will go for the 3600 but I kinda wanted proof of the additional cores being required within the next year or 2, maybe I can't get the answer I need right now?

I havent got the space for an XP machine but the kinda emulation I mean is classic console gaming like nes all the way through to ps3.
 
It might be worth considering a blower style cooler for your GPU as that should exhaust all the heat from the GPU out it's rear IO shield and not put it back into the case. They tend to be less efficient than custom coolers when airflow is not such an issue but in your case I think the blower might be better.

There is an article guru3d did for Borderlands 3 where it shows scaling per core:


It definitely seems to show that 6 cores is providing a noticeable improvement over 4 cores. I imagine this will continue to be even more useful going forward although given that the new consoles will be 8 core parts I suspect that a lot of optimisation will be done for that core configuration going forward.

However whether it would be better to save some money now on a 4 core part and then buy an 8 core part a year or so down the line once that configuration is more commonplace.......... I guess if you don't want to do a bit of a rebuild in a years time then stretching for a 6 core now makes sense. Otherwise I would probably say get a 4 core now and then look to get an 8 core in a year or so if you feel it's warranted. Might be useful in that case to see if your motherboard is expected to be compatible with the new Ryzen 4000 series once it is released.

That case looks pretty neat though. I remember JayzTwoCents doing a build in it a while back which was interesting.
 
Maybe I will go for the 3600 but I kinda wanted proof of the additional cores being required within the next year or 2, maybe I can't get the answer I need right now?

Yeah that's a tricky one. The 3300X has really good gaming performance because of the internal structure. All of the cores are on one CCX where as they are split between 2 CCX's in the other 3000 chips which causes some latency. The new 4000 series is expected to have the same layout as the 3300X. The thing to remember though is that the 3300X is a budget option and does only have 4 cores. Core count is expected to be more important after the new consoles launch with 8 cores. If it were my money I'd be getting the 3600 but that's just personal preference. Out of interest what is the price difference between the 2?
 
About 30-40 quid difference between a Ryzen 3 3300x and Ryzen 5 3600, like you say I am making a similar amount of saving by downgrading to a 1660 ti rather than a RTX 2060 so it IS possible I guess . .

Do I need to worry about the quality of ram I buy, I've read a bit about timing etc but not sure what it all means Am I right that not all 3200mhz ram are created equal?
 
You should be saving about £100 by dropping from a 2060 Super to a 1660ti :smashin:

With the RAM stick with a decent brand like Corsair, G-Skill, etc. The nicer B-die stuff is way more expensive. 16gb of 3200mhz should be around £75-80.
 
It might be worth considering a blower style cooler for your GPU as that should exhaust all the heat from the GPU out it's rear IO shield and not put it back into the case. They tend to be less efficient than custom coolers when airflow is not such an issue but in your case I think the blower might be better.

I'm not sure there are any 1660 ti cards with a blower style fan tbh. I've heard that the gtx's run cooler than the radeon equivliants so might not be something to be worried about. I guess I could add some fans if it became an issue but I really dont want to have to crack open the pc again once its all built, that'd be a real pain!
 
I'm not sure there are any 1660 ti cards with a blower style fan tbh.

Yeah, it looks like PNY did make one but I can't seem to find one available from a retailer to buy. I don't think it will matter too much. If you aren't overclocking it then it should be fairly cool anyway.

Plus I understand not wanting to crack it open again. Apparently it can be a bit of a tight fit to squeeze everything in so only doing cable management once is definitely appealing.
 
It's really not that difficult to crack it open (node 202) once you get the technique right, I've done it many a times - most recently modified it to install a water cooler.

As for the OP's question regarding GPU ventilation, although blower style is preferred (so they say and I see the logic to it) I wouldn't get too hung up on it. There is ventilation along the bottom for dual fans in the GPU chamber, my not so scientific tests showed it doesn't matter if the fans are set to intake or outtake, the air will find a way to get in or out either way. Having said that my GPU has passive cooling only so I suppose with active cooling you would want the air to flow in the same direction (intake) otherwise the case fans will be fighting against the GPU fans for air.
 
Thanks, I guess I'll try and look for the best 1660ti in that case. What spec is your node 202 just out of interest and how hot did it run before you installed the water cooler?

I think I'll still plump for the 3300x and then upgrade to the highest cpu I can afford at the time in a couple of years although I suspect a GPU upgrade to something like a 2070 or 2080ti will probably serve me better by that time. Depends if more cores will turn out to be more important or not.

Does anyone know how often you should check and/or clean out/replace the thermal paste under your CPU?
 
Does anyone know how often you should check and/or clean out/replace the thermal paste under your CPU?

I've never done this personally! I do keep an eye on CPU temps while gaming though. But so far I've never had to reapply thermal paste (touches wood), even after 5+ years of the same CPU.
 
Thanks, I guess I'll try and look for the best 1660ti in that case. What spec is your node 202 just out of interest and how hot did it run before you installed the water cooler?

My use case scenario is somewhat different to yours: HTPC in horizontal orientation inside an enclosed cabinet. As you can see the odds are stacked against it in terms of thermals, not to mention the case itself!

Primary goal was 4K movie playback, quiet operation and low temps in a room with lower than average noise floor. CPU and Motherboard are the oldest here purchased back in 2013 with GPU and Water Cooling being more recent additions:

Node 202
Corsair SF450 Fully Modular PSU
8GB Corsair Vengeance Pro 2133Mhz DDR3
Asus Z87I Plus C2
Intel i5 4670K
Gigabyte GT 1030 Silent Low Profile
Cooler Master ML120L RGB

The CPU was running at around 52°C at idle with the previous Cryorig C7, it now hovers around 41°C at idle with the water cooler, 46°C under load.
The passive GPU has a single fan underneath it exhausting air and runs 40°C at idle, 50°C under load.

Both CPU and GPU are running stock. The Node 202 is not designed for OCing.;)

If I get some time later I might take a couple of pics and put it up for your perusal....
 
Here you go:

1.jpg2.jpg3.jpg4.jpg5.jpg6.jpg7.jpg

Outside of the AV cabinet you could drop those temps by at least 5°c
 
Its now dawning on my that whilst I am slowly building my budget towards a decent gaming machine . . . . I simply will not have any spare time that I'll need to build the bloody thing!

Does anyone know if someone on AVforums performs a PC building service? Ideally in London.
 
The build is the fun part. At most should take a couple of hours. Surely you could afford that, no?
 
As of this month my 20 month old has been waking up at 8am and going to bed at 11pm with one 2.5hr nap inbetween!

. . . . so no, not really mate :laugh::laugh::laugh:

I have suggested drugs for him to my wife but she's annoyingly risk adverse!
 
Does anyone know how easy is it to add wireless stuff to a motherboard if it doesnt have any?

I noticed the cheapest B550 board is £109 which is tempting but no bluetooth or wifi seems insane in this day n age. I'm pretty sure I'll always have it under my tv near my router so ethernet is not an issue but would still be nice to have wifi. I will be using bluetooth Xbox controllers though . . . .
 
buy a usb wifi dongle for a tenner - couldnt be easier.
Agree. A Bluetooth dingle will be a similar price for using an xbox one controller etc
 
Won't they be slower than on board ones?
 
You could also look at PCI cards for around the same price. I think they tend to be better.
 
I dont think there are B550 boards in my price range that will accommodate an extra pci slot in a node 202.

I guess I'll get a board with wireless built in, will save hassle later but the costs keep mounting up . . . .

Do I need to be awary of ram specs, or will any pair of 8gb 3200mhz do?
 
Ah, if you're going for that case, yes, you're going to be constrained.
 

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