Looking to replace/rebuild my gaming PC
-
My current system is getting a bit long in the tooth, and the hardware is starting to act flaky (not always waking up from sleep, stupidly loud fan noises, not rebooting properly).
Current system:
- 4th generation i5. K-series, IIRC.
- 8 GB RAM
- Not sure what motherboard, but nothing fancy.
- 256 GB SSD
- 1 TB ancient spinny disk that I'm amazed has survived this long
- Radeon R290(?) GPU
The peripherals/monitors are fine, as those are much more recent. It's the core system, including case, power supply, and internals that are suffering. I don't need top of the line, but my priorities are
- quiet
- enough power to drive 2x 1920x1080 displays at 60 Hz/full quality for older games while watching streaming video. Not doing COD or other super-low-latency stuff, but more MMOs and other similar games.
- An optical drive (I still have a bunch of DVDs that need to get ripped)
- Storage--the SSD is mostly full and I've got a bunch of media and games on the
- desktop form factor. I've got laptops, but they don't have the grunt to drive multiple screens while gaming.
Question: is it worth building one from scratch these days?
If not: any particular brands of desktop?
If so: AMD or Intel? NVIDIA or AMD? 16GB ram? Any favored case brands?I'm in the beginning of the process right now, so suggestions are welcome. Except no Linux or Macs.
-
I built my last 4 computers from scratch - when I built my last 2 PCs I used https://www.logicalincrements.com/ to find parts, although I heard some of my friends say https://pcpartpicker.com/ is equally good.
I personally prefer Nvidia and Intel as I've had some issues with AMD in the past that has left a sour taste in my mouth whenever I even begin to consider purchasing one of their products, and I am still using my Coolermaster HAF X case.
-
@Benjamin-Hall said in Looking to replace/rebuild my gaming PC:
Storage--the SSD is mostly full and I've got a bunch of media and games on the
I put 512gb SSD in my last build, and 1tb may be getting affordable.
What do you tend to keep on the spinning rust? Although a NAS is a larger investment than just a new sata HD, it removes a noise source from your desktop and allows you to access the files from other devices as long as those devices are on your wifi.
-
@PleegWat the spinning rust drive has media (videos mainly) and games. With a big enough SSD I could put the games on the main drive. An external drive is good enough for the video, since I mainly do streaming stuff nowadays.
-
Depends on what you really want.
With some patient searching it's possible to find a decent H97 or Z97 board (bonus: no stupid blinkenlights) that, unless you're also having other mystical crashes, is the likely cause for the issues you mention (as far as my crystal ball can see).
+ You save a good amount of $$$ (relatively speaking).
- You might not, because something else is broken, perhaps the last thing imaginable after a series of patience-testing purchases of old shit. Still a considerable saving, but at expense of not having all nice & shiny new stuff
For a new build I'd suggest checking out the current "people's choice": MSI B450 Tomahawk + Ryzen 5 2600X. Don't worry about the noise, the new bundled coolers are quite capable; they finally fixed that after a decade of going "la-la, I can't hear you", because they indeed could not (thank you, thank you, I'll be here all week). Throw, let's say, 2x8GB 3200 Kingstons on it.
Your coal-powered cyclotron R9 290 is probably capable of running all your stuff and, unless it's the one that's borked, does not need immediate replacing. But if it does, a 1660 Ti is the medium budget, with RX 580 8 GB being the next lowest choice.
Do remember that not so long ago me and some other folks helpy helpertoned @Choonster here, who hasn't been seen posting since :>
...
@Benjamin-Hall said in Looking to replace/rebuild my gaming PC:
more MMOs and other similar games.
Begone, heretic!
-
I'll put in another vote for PCPartPicker. I'll bet it's even more useful in the US where you're not limited to what's available in Soviet Canuckistan
-
Current thoughts:
PCPartPicker part list: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/mrmxw6
Price breakdown by merchant: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/mrmxw6/by_merchant/CPU: AMD - Ryzen 5 2600X 3.6 GHz 6-Core Processor ($179.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: MSI - B450 TOMAHAWK ATX AM4 Motherboard ($114.88 @ OutletPC)
Memory: Corsair - Vengeance LPX 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 Memory ($99.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Intel - 660p Series 1 TB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive ($109.89 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Sapphire - Radeon RX 580 8 GB NITRO+ Video Card ($209.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Corsair - Air 540 ATX Mid Tower Case ($115.53 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: Corsair - CXM (2015) 450 W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($49.90 @ OutletPC)
Total: $880.17
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2019-04-22 15:30 EDT-0400
-
Looks solid.
If you want to make it quieter than I would suggest an all in one water cooling setup. They drastically reduce the noise level from the CPU fan and are a breeze to install if you are already building the PC from scratch.
-
- Air 540 is huge. You won't believe how vastly, hugely... well, it can accommodate multi-rad build with SLI (and probably still have place for all your parts on the other side).
- There might be 80+ Gold available not for much more money than that #earthwormjimday
- $200 seems awfully lot for that one. I thought they slashed the prices.
-
@Applied-Mediocrity said in Looking to replace/rebuild my gaming PC:
Air 540 is huge. You won't believe how vastly, hugely... well, it can accommodate multi-rad build with SLI (and probably still have place for all your parts on the other side).
Yeah, it is essentially a full tower case, just wide instead of tall.
-
@Dragoon said in Looking to replace/rebuild my gaming PC:
Looks solid.
If you want to make it quieter than I would suggest an all in one water cooling setup. They drastically reduce the noise level from the CPU fan and are a breeze to install if you are already building the PC from scratch.
I second that, however, be careful with the cheapest water coolers. Fans are the least appealing part of water setup, so producers often put in really cheap ones. You can always replace them with something like Noctua, but that drives up the price.
-
@Dragoon said in Looking to replace/rebuild my gaming PC:
@Applied-Mediocrity said in Looking to replace/rebuild my gaming PC:
Air 540 is huge. You won't believe how vastly, hugely... well, it can accommodate multi-rad build with SLI (and probably still have place for all your parts on the other side).
Yeah, it is essentially a full tower case, just wide instead of tall.
I'm reasonably ok with large (I have a large mid-tower currently and plenty of desk room). I want something that's easy to work inside of. My big complaint with my current one is that it's a pain to route cabling and the thing's too tall for the PSU cables to reach gracefully except by the shortest route. I wish there were more without the clear side--I don't need to look at the blinkenlights that everyone feels are necessary. I also want something decently sound-proof.
Any particular favorite brands for cases? I've yet to find one I like, and it sucks not being able to handle them in person.
-
@Benjamin-Hall I'm still sad that Antec never upgraded their P183 case past v3.
It looks like they have a P101 "Silent" now but I haven't properly vetted that one for my own long-overdue build...
-
@JBert Aaand it looks like they just cheapened the P101 compared to my prevous case: it has foam rather than "sandwich" panels, the bottom filter can only be pulled out from the back, etc.
I might want to look into Fractal or NZXT next, I've heard good things about them but never owned one.
-
@JBert My big difficulty is finding one with an external 5.25" bay...all the "fancy" ones with good cable management don't have those anymore.
-
Current list:
PCPartPicker part list: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/yGKhfH
Price breakdown by merchant: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/yGKhfH/by_merchant/CPU: AMD - Ryzen 5 2600X 3.6 GHz 6-Core Processor ($179.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: MSI - B450 TOMAHAWK ATX AM4 Motherboard ($114.88 @ OutletPC)
Memory: Corsair - Vengeance LPX 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 Memory ($99.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Intel - 660p Series 1 TB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive ($109.89 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: MSI - Radeon RX 580 8 GB ARMOR OC Video Card ($179.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Rosewill - Stryker M ATX Mid Tower Case ($59.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: Corsair - TXM Gold 550 W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($53.98 @ Newegg)
Total: $798.71
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2019-04-22 18:46 EDT-0400
-
@Benjamin-Hall said in Looking to replace/rebuild my gaming PC:
finding one with an external 5.25" bay
What do you mean with this? That the 5.25" bay "docks" onto the case and can be easily pulled out?
Or are you simply talking about a DVD drive being reachable without having to open some kind of huge door?
(Mental note to self: look up for my next case, the P183 case's door had a second pair of hinges so that you could flip it flush with the side of the case and leave it there)
-
@JBert said in Looking to replace/rebuild my gaming PC:
@Benjamin-Hall said in Looking to replace/rebuild my gaming PC:
finding one with an external 5.25" bay
What do you mean with this? That the 5.25" bay "docks" onto the case and can be easily pulled out?
Or are you simply talking about a DVD drive being reachable without having to open some kind of huge door? (Also something I might want to look up for my next case, the P183 case's door had a second pair of hinges so that you could flip it flush with the side of the case and leave it there)
Meaning that it's accessible from the outside or even just there at all. Most of them only have 3.5" and 2.5" drive bays.
Consider this one:
There's not even a hole in the outside for the DVD drive (which is necessary in my case). Many of them are like that these days once you get above the "budget" models.
-
Decided to get myself a late birthday present and pull the trigger on the build. Now I just have to figure out what stuff to transfer over and make myself a USB installer for windows...and probably call microsoft support to authorize the key.
-
My current case is: "Cooler Master HAF X <some version number I don't recall>". It has been a great case, but I have had to make sure that my PSU has extra long cables to make sure they reach.
-
@Benjamin-Hall For that much, I'd get (and did get) a 32 core Xeon with 96GB of ram. :-)
Yours has a nicer video card though.
-
@Captain I was unable to find any 32-core Xeon that costs $400.
-
@Dragoon said in Looking to replace/rebuild my gaming PC:
HAF X
I used to call it SHKAF (from Russian: шкаф - cupboard). For lulz we once tried to fit a budget mATX inside and it almost did. A cupboard is what it pretty much is
-
@Applied-Mediocrity said in Looking to replace/rebuild my gaming PC:
@Dragoon said in Looking to replace/rebuild my gaming PC:
HAF X
I used to call it SHKAF (from Russian: шкаф - cupboard). For lulz we once tried to fit a budget mATX inside and it almost did. A cupboard is what it pretty much is
Add a Raspberry Pi and you could have had a pretty decent Yo Dawg joke.
-
@JBert said in Looking to replace/rebuild my gaming PC:
Add a Raspberry Pi and you could have had a pretty decent Yo Dawg joke.
Put the whole lot in a server room…
https://www.amazon.com/NZXT-H500-Computer-CA-H500B-B1-Black/dp/B07C3DWCDC
