The PC Build Thread

[rash1233]

Good day,

I'm in the process of building a gaming PC, I don't really have a budget but I did a list of items i think can run for the next coming 4 years or so.

I cannot afford to buy all these items at once, so every month I make sure I buy one of these components.

If everything goes as I projected, the PC should be running by end of September [Yeah, I kow it's a very long time]

And how much frames per RGB can I get on this build? [I got this joke from here]

Any advice? And also, I really like RGB

Items I currently have
--------------------------
PSU - CoolerMaster V1200 1200W 80+ Platinum [I don't really need that much power but it was on special on Evetech and it was the same price as Corsair 850w]
SSD - WD 500GB M.2 2280 SATA3 SSD
HDD - WD Blue 4TB 3.5" SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Internal Hard Drive

Items I still need to buy
--------------------------
Motherboard - MSI MPG B550 Gaming Plus AMD AM4 ATX Gaming Motherboard
- The motherboard has 1(Gen 1, Type C), 2(Gen 1, Type A) front connectors, which is a big deal to me because my case of choice has exactly these front ports.
- The bord has 2 x M.2 Slot and 6 x SATAIII which is also a big win because I can put more HDDs/SSDs

CPU - AMD Ryzen 5 3600 Hexa-Core 3.6GHZ AM4 CPU
- According to my research findings, this is one of the most used entry level gaming PC CPU
- It's not the best and it's not the worst.
- It's not cheap and it's not expensive

RAM - Corsair Dominator Platinum RGB 16Gb x 2 kit Ddr4-3200 32Gb
- This don't come cheap but they are the most recommended gaming RAMs

Chasis - Phanteks P500A
- Huge space and those RGB are things to die for.
- One of the coolest chasis I have ever seen in 2020/21

CPU Cooler - Cooler Master MAM-T4PN-218PC-R1 MasterAir Tower Based Air Blower CPU Cooler
- Expensive because of the ARGB but totally worth it.
- Checked the reviews and the feedback was not bad

GPU - Asus GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER ROG Strix Gaming
- 2 x HDMI and 2 x DP, I use two monitors everyday and when I get this I might add a third one.

Any advice and suggestion is welcome

I would recommend saving up for everything and buying all the components together. This way you'd know if something is faulty and you can return it. I think Wootware has a 30 day period where a component can be exchanged if it's faulty, else you might have to pay for shipping or go through the warranty process.

 

[eddybsb4u]

What type of games are you planning to play? And at what resolution? If your budget allows, a RTX 3060 - RTX 3070 should be better if you planning on using it for the next four years. Pricing/availability should hopefully be better in 4-6 months as well. Otherwise the GTX 1660 Super will be fine for e-sport titles.

What type of games are you planning to play?

I will be playing these latest titles
- Call of Duty
- Battlefield
- GTA V
- FIFA
- Dirt 5

And at what resolution?

- I'm expecting 1080

If your budget allows, a RTX 3060 - RTX 3070 should be better if you planning on using it for the next four years.

- I really can't afford RTX 3060 unless it's a second hand and I'm not a fan of second had computer equipments, people usually sell them because they are close to dying

 

[UrBaN963]

What type of games are you planning to play?

I will be playing these latest titles
- Call of Duty
- Battlefield
- GTA V
- FIFA
- Dirt 5

And at what resolution?

- I'm expecting 1080

If your budget allows, a RTX 3060 - RTX 3070 should be better if you planning on using it for the next four years.

- I really can't afford RTX 3060 unless it's a second hand and I'm not a fan of second had computer equipments, people usually sell them because they are close to dying

I understand your hesitation on second hand parts. Just remember, times are tough right now, a lot of people are selling parts to cover expenses.

www.carbonite.co.za is a fairly safe place to buy used goods.

Also, for the above games, you're going to want the best GPU you can get your hands on. A 1660 will play those games fine, but something better will be a noticeably better experience.

 

[eddybsb4u]

16gb (2x8) lpx or ballistix ram. Money saved will be enough to get a better gpu

I really like this idea, and since i'm very low on cash, I think I will use your advice. Thanks a lot, I just checked now and I can get 16Gb (2x8Gb) Ballistix for R1500

 

[eddybsb4u]

I understand your hesitation on second hand parts. Just remember, times are tough right now, a lot of people are selling parts to cover expenses.

www.carbonite.co.za is a fairly safe place to buy used goods.

Also, for the above games, you're going to want the best GPU you can get your hands on. A 1660 will play those games fine, but something better will be a noticeably better experience.

OK, I will check Carbs again and see if I can find something.

For such a build you recommend that I get the RTX 3060?

 

[UrBaN963]

OK, I will check Carbs again and see if I can find something.

For such a build you recommend that I get the RTX 3060?

Honestly I would get the GPU once you've got the rest as GPU prices right now - even the second hand market - are insanely high. Cards that were selling for R1,500-R2,000 are going for R4,000-R4500.

A 3060 would be great, or a Radeon 6700XT. I wouldn't buy any 1000-series card except the 1080Ti. But they're all old and out of warranty now.

 

[eddybsb4u]

I would recommend saving up for everything and buying all the components together. This way you'd know if something is faulty and you can return it. I think Wootware has a 30 day period where a component can be exchanged if it's faulty, else you might have to pay for shipping or go through the warranty process.

I totally understand what you mean, I also thought the same thing. And the same thing happened to me before where I bought a PSU from Incredible Connection and never tested it and when I finally got all the components I found out that it was dead and I had to buy another one.

To be honest with you I can't manage to save up and get all the components together. I can only afford to buy one component a month.

Funny thing with money is that when you have it in the bank account something always come up that needs you to use that money you have been saving for that dream gaming PC, it has happened to me many times.

 

[eddybsb4u]

Honestly I would get the GPU once you've got the rest as GPU prices right now - even the second hand market - are insanely high. Cards that were selling for R1,500-R2,000 are going for R4,000-R4500.

A 3060 would be great, or a Radeon 6700XT. I wouldn't buy any 1000-series card except the 1080Ti. But they're all old and out of warranty now.

I also thought that they GPU should be the last item, the reason was that I might need at least two months to get the money together. Thanks for the advice. GPU will be the last component. I'm going for RTX 3060 but if things don't go my way I will have to settle for less, 1660 for the next few months.

 

[Neoprod]

I also thought that they GPU should be the last item, the reason was that I might need at least two months to get the money together. Thanks for the advice. GPU will be the last component. I'm going for RTX 3060 but if things don't go my way I will have to settle for less, 1660 for the next few months.

Hopefully by the time you get around to it, there'll be more value to be found. Tech prices are disgusting at the moment and GPU's are the worst.

Aim for a high refresh monitor when deciding what you're spending on the GPU \ monitor - it makes FPS games much better. 1080p 144hz monitors are at least getting cheaper.

And avoid the Rog Strix type products (all OEM's have a "no expense spared" product line - they don't offer good value to someone looking to save some money).

 

[nelis]

Hopefully by the time you get around to it, there'll be more value to be found. Tech prices are disgusting at the moment and GPU's are the worst.

Aim for a high refresh monitor when deciding what you're spending on the GPU \ monitor - it makes FPS games much better. 1080p 144hz monitors are at least getting cheaper.

And avoid the Rog Strix type products (all OEM's have a "no expense spared" product line - they don't offer good value to someone looking to save some money).

Yes agree to pay R5K-10K more for a RTX3080 now is crazy

 

[Neoprod]

Yes agree to pay R5K-10K more for a RTX3080 now is crazy

The 3060 is ~20-25% slower than the Ti but ends up more expensive (the Ti itself was only offering decent, not great, value). Then the Ti ends up with its face on a milk carton because Nvidia can make more money selling lower quality silicon to people with no other options. That's the kind of deal we're expected to swallow nowadays.

I'd rather play older games from my Steam backlog, thank you very much.

 

[livw88]

I also thought that they GPU should be the last item, the reason was that I might need at least two months to get the money together. Thanks for the advice. GPU will be the last component. I'm going for RTX 3060 but if things don't go my way I will have to settle for less, 1660 for the next few months.

You could still buy a brand new Palit RTX 3060 Ti at the end of Jan 2021 from Wootware for R9,999, now the "plain" RTX 3060 is going for R12,000+ (instead of about R8,000 as it should). I'm also in the market for a new GPU as my GTX 1060 6GB is starting to show it age in new titles. The last thing you want is to build a new gaming rig and then have to upgrade a component 12 months later, so delay the GPU as much as possible until things get back to normal.

 

[eddybsb4u]

You could still buy a brand new Palit RTX 3060 Ti at the end of Jan 2021 from Wootware for R9,999, now the "plain" RTX 3060 is going for R12,000+ (instead of about R8,000 as it should). I'm also in the market for a new GPU as my GTX 1060 6GB is starting to show it age in new titles. The last thing you want is to build a new gaming rig and then have to upgrade a component 12 months later, so delay the GPU as much as possible until things get back to normal.

How much would you sell your 1060 for?

 

[Gtx Gaming]

I also thought that they GPU should be the last item, the reason was that I might need at least two months to get the money together. Thanks for the advice. GPU will be the last component. I'm going for RTX 3060 but if things don't go my way I will have to settle for less, 1660 for the next few months.

Yeah rtx 3060 decent and in stock, pretty happy with mine.

Bit my warzone is corrupt have to probably download the game again.

 

[ponder]

Any advice and suggestion is welcome

Besides what people said so far,
Check MB specs as 2x m.2 slots occupied might use up more pci lanes affecting gpu so 2 of them makes little sense in such a scenario.
Dump rgb as you pay more for it and gain zero performance.
Get cheaper ram & cooler and use savings towards gpu.
Wait a few days and see what intel 11series offers, maybe mb/cpu works out cheaper/faster...
P500A? Won't a P400A do?
Try and spend your money towards getting maximum performance vs price, a time will come when you'll appreciate an extra 10fps more than a shiny case & unicorn rainbow leds...

 

[eddybsb4u]

Yeah rtx 3060 decent and in stock, pretty happy with mine.

Bit my warzone is corrupt have to probably download the game again.

But the RTX 3060 is very expensive for me, we are talking about R12k at lowest

 

[UrBaN963]

But the RTX 3060 is very expensive for me, we are talking about R12k at lowest

As was said earlier, all graphics cards are extremely expensive right now due to the lack of parts. In a few months things should hopefully be better which will bring prices down again.

 

[eddybsb4u]

Besides what people said so far,
Check MB specs as 2x m.2 slots occupied might use up more pci lanes affecting gpu so 2 of them makes little sense in such a scenario.
Dump rgb as you pay more for it and gain zero performance.
Get cheaper ram & cooler and use savings towards gpu.
Wait a few days and see what intel 11series offers, maybe mb/cpu works out cheaper/faster...
P500A? Won't a P400A do?
Try and spend your money towards getting maximum performance vs price, a time will come when you'll appreciate an extra 10fps more than a shiny case & unicorn rainbow leds...

Check MB specs as 2x m.2 slots occupied might use up more pci lanes
- That I didn't see on the specs so I hope I wont be suprised

Dump rgb as you pay more for it and gain zero performance.
- Lol, I'm an RGB fanboy, honestly I can't deal with just a black case with nothing motivating. You should see those boys at night when all the lights are off, lovely.



Get cheaper ram & cooler and use savings towards gpu.
- This one I totally agree, which cheap cooler would you suggest that can keep temperature at an acceptable degrees?
- For GPU are you also voting for RTX 3060?

Wait a few days and see what intel 11 series offers, maybe mb/cpu works out cheaper/faster...
- Ok, I agree, I can buy the case while waiting for the 11 series

P500A? Won't a P400A do?
- Bigger space, actually buying for long term use, I want to buy something that even in 5 years time I will still look at it and be happy.

Try and spend your money towards getting maximum performance vs price, a time will come when you'll appreciate an extra 10fps more than a shiny case & unicorn rainbow leds...
- Lol, I will never get tired of looking at those shiny case & unicorn rainbow leds

I really appreciate your advice, it really means a lot.

 

[eddybsb4u]

As was said earlier, all graphics cards are extremely expensive right now due to the lack of parts. In a few months things should hopefully be better which will bring prices down again.

Ok, let me give it until August/September for the GPU.

 

[ponder]

Check MB specs as 2x m.2 slots occupied might use up more pci lanes
- That I didn't see on the specs so I hope I wont be suprised

You'll have to download the MB manual and verify.

Dump rgb as you pay more for it and gain zero performance.
- Lol, I'm an RGB fanboy, honestly I can't deal with just a black case with nothing motivating. You should see those boys at night when all the lights are off, lovely.

Each to their own.

Get cheaper ram & cooler and use savings towards gpu.
- This one I totally agree, which cheap cooler would you suggest that can keep temperature at an acceptable degrees?
- For GPU are you also voting for RTX 3060?

One of those coolermaster hyper 212 etc type coolers will be fine.
Seeing as you said you'll be playing at 1080p an rtx3060 is not really needed, a 1660 super will be fine. amd 6700xt will probably be better but don't worry about that now as you're buying the gpu last.

I really appreciate your advice, it really means a lot.

You're welcome & only a pleasure. Btw would you be interested in some 80's disco balls and smoke machines...?