New PC Build - Some tips and possibly help required.

mark2160p

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Hello, I normally build a new PC for myself every 5-6 years.

Ive always been short on money, so previously only built low to med spec machine. Finances are a little better, so will be investing more this time round.

Current Spec
MSI 1150 Mobo
Intel 5 Processor LGA1150 3.5ghz Quad Core
HyperX 8gb Ram
Nvidia 960 GFX Card
500gb & 1tb SSDs and 320gb HDD
Blu-ray Drive

Proposed spec

Tower CaseCorsair Carbide ATX Case
Power Supply750W Corsair PSU
MotherboardMSI MPG Z490 GAMING EDGE WIFI ATX Motherboard
CPUIntel 10 Core i9 10850K 5.2Ghz 10 Core Processor
MemoryCorsair Vengeance LPX 32GB (2x16GB) DDR4 DRAM 3200MHz
Graphics CardGigabyte GeForce 3060 (may change to different variant depending when stocks are available and normal prices)
HDD1 (M2)Kingston 1TB A2000 M2 NVMe SSD
HDD2 (SSD)WD Green 1TB Internal PC SSD - SATA III
HHD3 (HD)Seagate BarraCuda 2TB Desktop Hard Drive


Ive bought the towercase and PSU already. And will buy the other parts after xmas. I will post some questions and queries, but if you see any urgent oddities with the set-up or would like further info, let me know
 
The first question is memory. Based on reviews and a bit of research 3200mhz seemed to be the ‘go-to’ default. However all mobos I’ve looked at seem to only manage 2933mhz without overclocking.

Im not really into overclocking, so is 2933 the max I can go?
 
Why three different drives, all medium capacity? That's an unusual setup.

Memory controllers are on the CPU, so your choice of CPU will determine your official supported memory speeds.
 
Why three different drives, all medium capacity? That's an unusual setup.

Memory controllers are on the CPU, so your choice of CPU will determine your official supported memory speeds.
I will Probably stick to the M2 drive for now the other 2 were just possibilities to store videos/ photos on slower drives.

So if I went for cpu listed it will run memory at 3200 ok? As in without the need for overclocking as stated one ebuyer site?

thanks in advance
 
So if I went for cpu listed it will run memory at 3200 ok? As in without the need for overclocking as stated one ebuyer site?

No, Intel states that the maximum supported memory speed for that CPU is 2933

I've not kept up with individual CPU launches so I couldn't tell you which supports what, but a quick check suggest something like the Ryzen 5000 models officially support DDR4-3200 speeds.
 
Thanks for the info
 
The reported memory speed is always lower even on AMD platform, all memory is overclocked when using the XMP profiles of the motherboard, its normal to overclock memory just using XMP or DOCP profiles, no need to worry :thumbsup:

As for system specs AMD is generally considered the best value at the moment, maybe something like this as a option System Builder
 
just out of curiosity - what's the intended use of this machine? it would probably make dishing out advice a bit more easier :D

ie. if it's gaming - invest heavily in gpu... etc.

cheers
f.
 
The reported memory speed is always lower even on AMD platform, all memory is overclocked when using the XMP profiles of the motherboard, its normal to overclock memory just using XMP or DOCP profiles, no need to worry :thumbsup:

As for system specs AMD is generally considered the best value at the moment, maybe something like this as a option System Builder
Thanks. May look into AMD.
 
just out of curiosity - what's the intended use of this machine? it would probably make dishing out advice a bit more easier :D

ie. if it's gaming - invest heavily in gpu... etc.

cheers
f.
It’s for gaming and some music production.

however, when I say gaming, I’m happy to get to say PS5 / XBox SX level. So 4K @30fps + at Medium to high settings. I was thinking nvidia 3060 level (when back in stock and prices are not over inflated)
 
[apologies seemed to have double powered and edited only on one]

Thanks... It’s for gaming (leasurly) and some music production. Possibly VR as got a hand me down Vive headset.

however, when I say gaming, I’m happy to get to say PS5 / XBox SX level. So 4K @30fps + at Medium to high settings. I was thinking nvidia 3060 level (when back in stock and prices are not over inflated)
 
Now updated pc part picker with alternative AMD solution

Looks good, only changes I would make are don’t get the Corsair cooler, either go for a decent air cooler or get a 240 AIO (Arctic Liquid are getting good reviews and I”m thinking about trying one myself) also don’t buy the GPU from Overclockers (Overchargers) as they are awful and won’t have stock even if they say they have.
 
Haha cheers @CARLOS There is no way I’m buying from overchargers. I think pc part picker defaulted to them, as they are the only place to have stock. IIRC the link was about £100 above rrp too. Definately the component I will leave until last, in hope stock will start to normalise.

with regards to cpu cooler... I’ve always been impressed with PC Partpickers knowledge in what can fit and work together, so opted for 1 x 120 for now, as per recommendation. However, my case has 2 x120 screw holes ready for fans to be installed on the top panel of the case.

ideally when I saw the screw holes my original intention was to install a 240x120 double fan exhaust. ( like kraken) so the hot air could be expelled from the top.

I can only assume as the cooler fans are encased/mounted onto a radiator, that the holes on the top of my casewould not align?

i can always provide pics if you like to help me make a judgement call
 
Haha cheers @CARLOS There is no way I’m buying from overchargers. I think pc part picker defaulted to them, as they are the only place to have stock. IIRC the link was about £100 above rrp too. Definately the component I will leave until last, in hope stock will start to normalise.

with regards to cpu cooler... I’ve always been impressed with PC Partpickers knowledge in what can fit and work together, so opted for 1 x 120 for now, as per recommendation. However, my case has 2 x120 screw holes ready for fans to be installed on the top panel of the case.

ideally when I saw the screw holes my original intention was to install a 240x120 double fan exhaust. ( like kraken) so the hot air could be expelled from the top.

I can only assume as the cooler fans are encased/mounted onto a radiator, that the holes on the top of my casewould not align?

i can always provide pics if you like to help me make a judgement call

Yeah that case is a bit tight for space and according to the specs it will only fit a 120mm radiator Carbide Series™ 100R Mid-Tower Case (corsair.com) so you are limited, I would personally either go for a bigger case or just use a air cooler, a decent air cooler will cool better than a 120mm AIO in most situations
 
Ah ok fair enough. But I’ve bought the case already.

I’d rather not buy another case if possible. I bought the 100r, as it was the only case i could find at the time, to have the 5.25 ODD drive spaces within a reasonable price.

Appreciate in the digital world we live in, optical drives are pretty much a thing of the past. I’m a bit old school and do a lot of DVD burning, have loads of PC games on disc and also like to watch Blu-rays too.

I think your air cooling option is better option for me. The YouTube builds I’ve watched (to help answer my question) also were using air cooling too. The CM Hyper 212 Being the most common option. In all honesty, as you probably guessed based on my parts, I’m not going to be overclocking my rig.
 
Last edited:
Hello again...

I've now got my motherboard. I went for the ASUS ROG Strix B550-E Gaming, as i was quite impressed with the features you get for the money. It was literraly only £7 more the the F model.

I was planning to get the AMD Ryzen 3800x CPU but now tempted with the newer 5800x model.

The motherboard says i "may" have to update the BIOS for the new 3rd gen CPUs to post. In preparation, I have downloaded the latest (non-beta) bios update 1401 (08/12/2020) and used the renamer tool to convert the file as SB550EG.CAP

I like the idea, that you can flash the BIOS via USB... So just have a couple of questions, if i do decide to go for 5800x.

First of all, I havent got my other parts yet (Memory/GPU), so is there any way, at this point in time, of finding out if the current BIOS is ready for the Vermeer/Zen3 CPUs?

If not, I assume the common sense approach, is to build the PC when I have all the parts and see if it posts. If it doesnt post, then look to flash the BIOS?

Again thanks in advance for your help.

Mark
 
Hello again...

I've now got my motherboard. I went for the ASUS ROG Strix B550-E Gaming, as i was quite impressed with the features you get for the money. It was literraly only £7 more the the F model.

I was planning to get the AMD Ryzen 3800x CPU but now tempted with the newer 5800x model.

The motherboard says i "may" have to update the BIOS for the new 3rd gen CPUs to post. In preparation, I have downloaded the latest (non-beta) bios update 1401 (08/12/2020) and used the renamer tool to convert the file as SB550EG.CAP

I like the idea, that you can flash the BIOS via USB... So just have a couple of questions, if i do decide to go for 5800x.

First of all, I havent got my other parts yet (Memory/GPU), so is there any way, at this point in time, of finding out if the current BIOS is ready for the Vermeer/Zen3 CPUs?

If not, I assume the common sense approach, is to build the PC when I have all the parts and see if it posts. If it doesnt post, then look to flash the BIOS?

Again thanks in advance for your help.

Mark

No way of seeing which bios without a video output so I would just either wait or bite the bullet and do the flash update.
 
No way of seeing which bios without a video output so I would just either wait or bite the bullet and do the flash update.
Thanks Carlos. Thought as much.

after building, I will switch on and attempt to post. If I get a blank screen I will do the flash bios update.
 
You may want to check if you need a working CPU to update the bios, this was true of the asus Z470 mobos
 
You may want to check if you need a working CPU to update the bios, this was true of the asus Z470 mobos
I won’t need a working cpu as my motherboard has a usb flash bios
 

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