New The PC Build Thread

Exaelea said:
To each their own but.. ( I prefer a minimum of 1200TBW for a 1TB ssd or more)

600TBW on a 1tb drive is low/entry level .
1200TBW on a 4tb ssd? thats rather bad. Plenty of 1tb drives with that or more. Reminds me of that horrible 1TB Crucial nvme ssd on wootware and progenix with only 80TBW.... wouldnt even last me a year.

Edit: .. but if you want to go cheap, by all means go for the lower spec drives and test them every few months to make sure they dont k@k out on you unexpectedly.
Click to expand...

1200TBW for a 1TB ssd or more) What would you recommend?
 
InTheWild said:
Hi everyone, I was hoping to get some advice on a PC build. I'm currently using a MacBook Air M1 for software dev. It's fine speed wise, but the 256gb drive is absolutely killing me. I can't get rid of it altogether, as I need Xcode to build the iOS apps. So will retain the MacBook for travel and iOS builds.

Basically what I want to do, is to build a similar desktop speed wise (with some more RAM obvs), and then do my day-to-day dev on Ubuntu. I haven;t built a PC in 15 years, so VERY out of the touch on CPUs, MBs, etc.

Can anyone suggest me a CPU/MB/RAM & drive combo which should at least and more cover the M1 MacBook performance? It will not be used for any gaming. Purely dev, running a few docker containers and possibly a VM or two.

So yeah, thinking at least 32gb RAM, and then a 1gb storage drive.

Much appreciated in advance :)
Click to expand...
The M1 is getting a bit long in the tooth by now, so there are plenty of options out there that could meet or exceed the performance. You probably want to pick a CPU with integrated graphics since it sounds like you would probably not want to pay more for discrete graphics. Getting one that also includes a cooler would save you more.

The fifth generation AMD Ryzen CPUs can hit this mark, although you could always go for the latest ones as well. Potential candidates would be:

6 Core: Ryzen 5 8500G https://www.wootware.co.za/amd-100-...0ghz-6-core-zen-4-socket-am5-desktop-apu.html
8 Core: Ryzen 7 8700G https://www.wootware.co.za/amd-100-...1ghz-8-core-zen-4-socket-am5-desktop-apu.html

On the Intel side a lot of people would advise you to stay away from the previous two generations of CPUs. With the current generation the Core Ultra 5 245K would do the job, although it does not have an included cooler and at a TDP of 159W you would need to provide something decent, although it does give good performance. https://www.wootware.co.za/intel-bx...-lga1851-desktop-cpu-cooler-not-included.html

Here is a comparison of the performance: https://www.cpubenchmark.net/compar...Apple-M1-8-Core-3200-MHz-vs-AMD-Ryzen-5-8500G

Your decision will then inform your motherboard choice. You can then check for Linux compatibility, although I have not usually had a problem with this except for waiting for updates for very recently released chipsets.

There are some forum members who are more up to date with current CPUs you may be able to provide better insights.
 
Rayne said:
You can buy a cheaper chassis. And cheaper mobo. Not really recommended.

That's an mATX chassis and ATX mobo btw (won't fit).
Click to expand...

Thanks really like the case look and wife approves so half the battle is won
 
L-Dog said:
Thanks really like the case look and wife approves so half the battle is won
Click to expand...
I agree. Lovely case. Fork out an extra 1k for an mATX B650 then though.

EDIT: My bad. I'm half asleep. Change the mobo to the MSI 650 wifi. You are good to go then.
 
Last edited:
L-Dog said:

Looking for the best bang for buck pc, any suggestions how I can save a bit ?
Click to expand...
I know some say evetech after sales service isn't great

The upgrade kits does stretch the Rands

Would rather spend more of the budget going 64gb and better cpu instead of fancy board

What is the cpu utilisation like on current system


If gonig for a chip like 8400G / 8700G that is 35/65w tdp i really don't see the point of wasting budget on too pricey a board

Sure if going for the high TDP chips it may matter more or if you think you may upgrade to one later

If the utilisation isn't pegged budget boards can work

Maybe it iis just me
Maybe i'm wrong , just don't see the point is spending too much on certain items for certain builds

The one area i can't fault someone for spending a bit more, powersupply cause if they go really cheap ones often they take other items with them
 
leon.davibe said:
I know some say evetech after sales service isn't great

The upgrade kits does stretch the Rands

Would rather spend more of the budget going 64gb and better cpu instead of fancy board

What is the cpu utilisation like on current system


If gonig for a chip like 8400G / 8700G that is 35/65w tdp i really don't see the point of wasting budget on too pricey a board

Sure if going for the high TDP chips it may matter more or if you think you may upgrade to one later

If the utilisation isn't pegged budget boards can work

Maybe it iis just me
Maybe i'm wrong , just don't see the point is spending too much on certain items for certain builds

The one area i can't fault someone for spending a bit more, powersupply cause if they go really cheap ones often they take other items with them
Click to expand...

32gb is plenty. If you work with large video or CAD files more will be better but the typical desktop 32 is the sweet spot especially with the new SSD drives being able to load the ram at a much faster rate.

I'd rather make sure I get a MB that has enough bandwidth on the PCIe lanes so that there are no periferals needing to share bandwidth or having slow lanes etc.
 
B-1 said:
32gb is plenty. If you work with large video or CAD files more will be better but the typical desktop 32 is the sweet spot especially with the new SSD drives being able to load the ram at a much faster rate.

I'd rather make sure I get a MB that has enough bandwidth on the PCIe lanes so that there are no periferals needing to share bandwidth or having slow lanes etc.
Click to expand...
System gets more hungry
And naturally usage patterns

My wife doean't even game, she does multitask a lot and 32 is barely enough

The in-use + cache files touch 32gb
So yea she doesn't need 64gb but 32gb isn't enough

Dumping cache files on SSD to free up ram and shufhle that data up and down as needed brings stutters and delays

Some aim for havjng enough for n use ram

I aim for enough to cover cache too with some free on tol of that

3 of the 4 pc users in the house is on 64gb and see a difference

Only my usage patterns is less so make do with less
 
garyc said:
The M1 is getting a bit long in the tooth by now, so there are plenty of options out there that could meet or exceed the performance. You probably want to pick a CPU with integrated graphics since it sounds like you would probably not want to pay more for discrete graphics. Getting one that also includes a cooler would save you more.

The fifth generation AMD Ryzen CPUs can hit this mark, although you could always go for the latest ones as well. Potential candidates would be:

6 Core: Ryzen 5 8500G https://www.wootware.co.za/amd-100-...0ghz-6-core-zen-4-socket-am5-desktop-apu.html
8 Core: Ryzen 7 8700G https://www.wootware.co.za/amd-100-...1ghz-8-core-zen-4-socket-am5-desktop-apu.html

On the Intel side a lot of people would advise you to stay away from the previous two generations of CPUs. With the current generation the Core Ultra 5 245K would do the job, although it does not have an included cooler and at a TDP of 159W you would need to provide something decent, although it does give good performance. https://www.wootware.co.za/intel-bx...-lga1851-desktop-cpu-cooler-not-included.html

Here is a comparison of the performance: https://www.cpubenchmark.net/compar...Apple-M1-8-Core-3200-MHz-vs-AMD-Ryzen-5-8500G

Your decision will then inform your motherboard choice. You can then check for Linux compatibility, although I have not usually had a problem with this except for waiting for updates for very recently released chipsets.

There are some forum members who are more up to date with current CPUs you may be able to provide better insights.
Click to expand...
Thanks! Yeah the Ryzen 5 8500G looks good and decent enough price.
 
L-Dog said:

Looking for the best bang for buck pc, any suggestions how I can save a bit ?
Click to expand...
Slightly less cause of the CPU I mean it's R700 difference for the 9600X I know people say don't go for it as the 7600X is almost as fast, but it's R700 for a more power efficient CPU, if it was like R1400 maybe the difference would be enough. But R700 sure that's 14% more for a chip that's only really 10% better, but it is a lot more power efficient apparently.
Also you could look at a smaller case to make the difference, I did swap it to a mATX B650
 
Lupus said:
Slightly less cause of the CPU I mean it's R700 difference for the 9600X I know people say don't go for it as the 7600X is almost as fast, but it's R700 for a more power efficient CPU, if it was like R1400 maybe the difference would be enough. But R700 sure that's 14% more for a chip that's only really 10% better, but it is a lot more power efficient apparently.
Also you could look at a smaller case to make the difference, I did swap it to a mATX B650
Click to expand...

Thanks my wife really likes the case so that is one thing I do want to change. Assume I might also need to add a few fans ?

Someone also mentioned the Mobo is PCI 4 and GPU PCI 5 will this not bottelneck the system ?

The I see there is a R 200 price dif between full and smi modular PSU, does this make a big difference ?
 
L-Dog said:
Thanks my wife really likes the case so that is one thing I do want to change. Assume I might also need to add a few fans ?

Someone also mentioned the Mobo is PCI 4 and GPU PCI 5 will this not bottelneck the system ?

The I see there is a R 200 price dif between full and smi modular PSU, does this make a big difference ?
Click to expand...
Not a massive difference at the moment for the pci speeds.
Yeah you should require some fans for that case, but it is pricey for what it is.
Regarding semi and fully the power cables for the cpu and motherboard are generally attached on semi vs not on fully modular.
 
L-Dog said:
Someone also mentioned the Mobo is PCI 4 and GPU PCI 5 will this not bottelneck the system ?
Click to expand...

Nope that mb has a dedicated pcie lane for the GPU and that card will just about saturate pcie 3 so 4 is more than good enough.
 
That is the only difference on semi yeah. In general you want fully modular in mini/micro but because you are going to use the CPU/PWR anyway that not being modular is fine.

Yes you need fans. And thermal paste if you don't have it already.

Wootware does not have a huge selection of fans. The Antec's I picked are quiet and low profile (thin vs thick).
 
Lupus said:
Not a massive difference at the moment for the pci speeds.
Yeah you should require some fans for that case, but it is pricey for what it is.
Regarding semi and fully the power cables for the cpu and motherboard are generally attached on semi vs not on fully modular.
Click to expand...

OK thanks will add a few 120mm fans. Assume the mesh pannel is probably better than the glass panel or does one just put a fan at the front and top ?
 
L-Dog said:
OK thanks will add a few 120mm fans. Assume the mesh pannel is probably better than the glass panel or does one just put a fan at the front and top ?
Click to expand...
PSU goes front in this case.

You can put up to 3x intake 120's side or bottom (there is a rail for side in this case). 1x reverse back and up to 3x reverse on top.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top
Sign up to the MyBroadband newsletter
X