Gaming PC Builds

[Olafson]

Thats why we neeed competition.

[Marceaux]

ITS HERE AT LAST! RYZEN 3000 IS OUT NOW!!!! (Cant wait to order my R7 3700x in a few days for my bday!)

Also which is better, RTX 2060 Super or RX 5700 XT? Both are $400. Cant make up my mind...

[Marceaux]

ITS HERE AT LAST! RYZEN 3000 IS OUT NOW!!!! (Cant wait to order my R7 3700x in a few days for my bday!)

Also which is better, RTX 2060 Super or RX 5700 XT? Both are $400. Cant make up my mind...

After looking at tons of benchmarks it seems clear the RX 5700 XT is quite a bit better then the 2060 super. And is pretty much equal to a 2070 super... For $399...

[MrTiki]

5700 XT and 5700 are both looking like amazing value already, and considering that it's just with the first set of drivers, it's only going to get better from there.
Can't wait to see what AIB partners release, as with better cooling and lower noise from non-blower fans they'll be amazing cards.

I've also heard there's more performance to be had from the Zen 2 processors as there was something holding them back which was negated by disabling a single core or something like that.

So glad we've got real competition in higher end components after all this time.

[Marceaux]

5700 XT and 5700 are both looking like amazing value already, and considering that it's just with the first set of drivers, it's only going to get better from there.
Can't wait to see what AIB partners release, as with better cooling and lower noise from non-blower fans they'll be amazing cards.

I've also heard there's more performance to be had from the Zen 2 processors as there was something holding them back which was negated by disabling a single core or something like that.

So glad we've got real competition in higher end components after all this time.

I know its really amazing tbh. I cant wait for the Sapphire Nitro+ 5700 XT. Should be a fucking monster!

[William]

Are there any drawbacks to AMD GPU's? I do want to upgrade and can probably sell my 1060 to a friend who wants to build a PC.

and on that note, have any of you all used Kinguin's suspiciously cheap windows 10 keys?

[Marceaux]

Are there any drawbacks to AMD GPU's? I do want to upgrade and can probably sell my 1060 to a friend who wants to build a PC.

and on that note, have any of you all used Kinguin's suspiciously cheap windows 10 keys?

Right now the only real drawback from the RX 5700 XT etc is that the temps are kind of high (still safe and within limits) and the card is somewhat loud. But that is only because of the blower fan design on the default card. Very soon 3rd party companies will release their own version of the RX 5700 with dual fans/triple fans and much better heatsinks etc for the cooling solution which will also make the card much quieter. The 3rd party cards will also be overclocked etc right out of the box so they will be better then the default cards. But that being said the default cards are still very good gpu's.

I would personally buy a RX 5700 XT over a RTX 2070 Super because the performance is almost identical and the card is $100 cheaper. And its important to note that the RX 5700's have been out for just a few days now and as drivers update etc the cards will become even better/faster then they are today.

And I highly recommend going with a Sapphire brand variant for any AMD GPU as they are widely regarded as the best AMD GPU vendor and they always maximize performance and stability.

As far as Kinguin goes i have heard mixed things but mostly that the windows keys work just fine. They also offer buyer protection that pretty much guarantees you get what you pay for or your money back etc. I plan to buy one of their windows keys myself here soon, but honestly you do not really even NEED to buy a key. My watermark doesn't even show half the time and when it does i dont even see it anymore.

[William]

With the sale going on right now over the Ryzen 2000 series, what's the best budget build I could make for my friend?

and noob question but how do you bootleg windows and what are the drawbacks?

[Marceaux]

With the sale going on right now over the Ryzen 2000 series, what's the best budget build I could make for my friend?

and noob question but how do you bootleg windows and what are the drawbacks?

Here is my suggested build assuming you sell him your 1060. I tried to cram in as many high end parts and features as possible while also keeping budget in mind.

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/RLVdsZ

And from my experience the only drawback from not paying for a windows key is a light watermark in the bottom right of your screen that only shows up half the time.
As far as getting windows without buying it up front:


When it asks for a key you can click where it says "I dont have a product key" and it will still install windows and let you use it just like normal except it will have a watermark in the corner of your screen saying Activate Windows. But regardless if you activate it or not Windows will operate just fine and normally without a key.

[Nero_]

imagine not cracking windows in 2019

[MrTiki]

Spoiler

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/RLVdsZ

[close]

Yeah that's pretty solid for a cheap build, although personally I'd make a few adjustments:

You can definitely lose the case fans, your temps won't be high anyway on a stock 2600
You can get away with a cheaper power supply (500W is plenty) unless William's friend is planning on getting a 2080 anytime soon; the 2600 has such a low TDP especially with stock cooler and 1060s aren't exactly power intensive either
With a 2600, particularly with on a cheaper B450 you'll struggle get to RAM working at high speeds, so no sense spending that much on it

$100 saved (and no pesky mail in rebates):
https://pcpartpicker.com/list/L6D3q4

Also always shop around for parts, and you may well be able to get 2600s going for cheap on eBay soon as people who bought them as placeholders upgrade to Zen 2

[Marceaux]

I am pretty positive the steel legend will easily support 3200mhz as its one of the higher quality b450 matx boards. I also made sure to pick an AMD certified ram kit to ensure it hits those high speeds. Although you are right there are probably some cheaper options and i actually just found this kit that looks like a great deal. https://www.newegg.com/geil-16gb-288-pin-ddr4-sdram/p/N82E16820158583 it is also AMD certified.

And yeah can probably do without the fans but 3 rgb fans from a good brand for under $40 is hard to pass on imo and it will help his thermals overall.

The only thing i actually dislike/disagree about your suggested changes is the power supply. I have heard some terribly tragic things about Rosewill psu's. And if there is one thing i would never go cheap on it is the PSU, considering it can destroy and ruin the entire system. I would only go with EVGA/Seasonic psu's as they are known to use the highest quality parts possible and have outstanding reliability. I Also only chose 650w because it was only $5 more then the 500w unit and according to pcpartpicker it was the cheapest EVGA or Seasonic Bronze+ semi modular option. Also the all black cables look very nice and clean.

Will also told me on steam his budget is like $700 so i went ahead and used all of it.

If i were to change the build as it stands ide go with that Geil ram kit i listed above and upgrade the cpu to a 2600x. And the price would actually be a little lower then my initial suggested build.

[William]

Thank you for your builds! I think right now I'm trying to figure out if he wants to do a 2200g for integrated graphics with the goal of upgrading later, or if he just wants to future proof it and get a GPU with a 2600.

An RX 580 should be plenty of gaming performance right? I say that because the price jump between 580's and the new nvidia/AMD cards are huge in comparison to the budget. I might just hold onto my 1060 as it will still be a while before 3rd parties make their own GPU's and sales start hitting

[Marceaux]

Thank you for your builds! I think right now I'm trying to figure out if he wants to do a 2200g for integrated graphics with the goal of upgrading later, or if he just wants to future proof it and get a GPU with a 2600.

An RX 580 should be plenty of gaming performance right? I say that because the price jump between 580's and the new nvidia/AMD cards are huge in comparison to the budget. I might just hold onto my 1060 as it will still be a while before 3rd parties make their own GPU's and sales start hitting

RX 580 is great. I currently use a Sapphire Nitro+ RX 580 and it handles anything i have thrown at it just fine. However my cpu is bottlenecking my gpu and i am on a 2200G. That being said if you plan to go integrated graphics just buy the Ryzen 5 2400G. Its worth the extra money more then you can imagine. And the integrated graphics will actually be great for a starter PC. And the cpu will be better long run when he adds a gpu.

Heres an updated build with an apu instead and almost bare minimum price while maintaining quality.
https://pcpartpicker.com/list/3hzNRJ

[Marceaux]

Just ordered this ram kit, was going to get the Geil one but i found this white kit on sale also. Should look amazing in my build and now i can use my Crucial ballistix 4x4 kit for my next pc build after i get my 3700x later this month! If they ever restock....
https://www.newegg.com/team-16gb-288-pin-ddr4-sdram/p/N82E16820331285?Item=N82E16820331285