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3 comments of this product found across Reddit:
maxproandu /r/pchelp
1 point
1970-01-20 09:46:26.776 +0000 UTC

Some solid choices!

We recently had two clients build systems very close to this, and then their pre-build list they made some choices not as future proof or thought out as we generally suggest.

Having said that, there are some rules we lay out for our clients entertaining the thought of building their first PC that help them both make solid decisions.

The first rule is to set a budget, regardless of funds. Even with deep pockets, laying out your spending reduces the likelihood of making tactical errors.

$800 is quite achievable, although the majority of our clients build on AM4 to gain a cost based performance advantage.

Second, choose a case. What you pick is what you'll be living with for time, so you do you. We advise our clients to go with something well ventilated, with horizontal motherboard installation (far easier to work on).

Phanteks Eclipse P300A is an excellent choice! Here's an example of what our clients find to be the most beneficial case available:

Thermaltake Core V21 SPCC Micro ATX, Mini ITX Cube Gaming Computer Case Chassis, Small Form Factor Builds, 200mm Front Fan Pre-installed, CA-1D5-00S1WN-00 Black

It's a horizontal form factor which made assembly easier and fixing errors quicker.

Third, time to pick a graphics card. If you're not building around this single component, you're going to make mistakes in your build. It's team Nvidia and team AMD. Without getting into a lot of details, we profess AMD with the rise of RDNA2.

Your ASRock RX 6600 XT Challenger D 8GB OC is indeed an excellent choice! Here's what our clients have invested in working with your budget:

MSI Gaming Radeon RX 6650 XT 128-bit 8GB GDDR6 DP/HDMI Dual Torx 3.0 Fans FreeSync DirectX 12 VR Ready OC Graphics Card (RX 6650 XT MECH 2X 8G OC))

The newer chipset and current price with instant coupon has made it extremely attractive.

The fourth item on the list is a processor. Intel and AMD. Regardless of choice, we advise our clients to avoid the latest/greatest to avoid the new problems that come with it. The Core i3-12100F is a great starting point with the build on the LGA1700 platform, has upgrades will consistently get cheaper and cheaper. Once again, AMD is our suggested go to:

Intel Core i3-12100F vs AMD Ryzen 5 5500

This is also where we highly suggest our clients to avoid an AIO on a first-time build, or at least starting out with the build. One of the largest mistakes builders make with an AIO is not having an air cooler in the closet or under the bed in case something fails or testing is required. It's an inexpensive investment, and you can always add the AIO, and all of its headaches, after the fact. And the ID-COOLING FROSTFLOW X 240/280 series has definitely been one of those headaches. Our clients generally start out with this model, air cooler, and work up to a proper AIO, or sometimes loop, when the time comes:

Thermalright Peerless Assassin 120 SE CPU Air Cooler, Dual Tower 6 Heat Pipe, Dual 120mm TL-C12C PWM CPU Fan, AGHP Technology

And then the majority of cases, especially with the properly vented case, the Assassin 120 will outperform most three fan AIOs. And when AIO time comes, purchase one with an external pump that's not built into the block.

Cooler Master MasterLiquid ML360 SUB-Zero, AIO CPU Liquid Cooler Powered by Intel Cryo Cooling Technology, Thermoelectric Cooling (TEC) Pump, 360mm Radiator for Intel LGA 1200 (MLZ-D36M-A19PK-12)

We have a team member that taught thermodynamics at the Air Force Academy for nearly 30 years, and finds this to be the only AIO assembly that should even be considered.

Now fifth, find a motherboard. Although your case will dictate the form factor, we advise Micro ATX. Unless you need all of those extra slots, a full ATX is asking for trouble. Motherboards are the single most complicated part of your PC, and it's best to only get the features you'll need. Your choice in an ASUS Prime H670-PLUS D4 is solid, and was the board chosen by our two clients for their builds. And if you're not running ethernet, remember you'll need to invest in a PCIe Wi-Fi/Bluetooth card.

Sixth: RAM and storage. When it comes to RAM there's a host of reasons to currently make 32GB the minimum. And with four slots you can always add two more matching sticks later, but two 16GB sticks are best. RAM is often the least investment in a build, but that lack can cause the most issues. The same goes for NVMe SSDs. They've come down in cost but builders will go with smaller name brands without research.

And not only is the day of "gamer16" at an end in 2023, our faith in Corsair RAM, which used to be our go-to, has diminished greatly over the last two years as the quality and compatibility of their DDR4 has been more than questionable. Outside of Samsung, Taiwan and Korea are doing much better and making memory chips using more traditional methods that are far more stable and compatible.

As a bonus, there's a simple and inexpensive "fix" you can build into your system. Simply add a cached 128GB SATA SSD and use it as a disconnected, fully functional and updated, bootable drive. If problems arise, you'll just remove your main SSD, plug in your backup SATA SSD, and diagnose. If it's a hardware or or other software issue. Issue. It's a cheap investment.

Has for an NVMe PCIe SSD, you've got Gen4x4 support directly from the CPU, and it's best to try to utilize that. But be careful, all Gen4x4 are not created equal! Some are actually converted Gen3x4s, and you can always tell by the read/write speeds. As a minimum on Gen4x4, you're looking for minimum read/write speeds of approximately 5,000/4,500MB/s.

Here are parts our clients commonly use that have excellent performance:

G.Skill RipJaws V Series 32GB (2 x 16GB) 288-Pin SDRAM DDR4 4000 (PC4-32000) CL18-22-22-42 1.40V Dual Channel Desktop Memory Model F4-4000C18D-32GVK

Silicon Power DDR4 32GB (16GBx2) Turbine 3200MHz (PC4 25600) 288-pin CL16 1.35V UDIMM Desktop Memory Module RAM - Low Voltage (SP032GXLZU320BDA)

ADATA Legend 840 1TB PCIe Gen4 x4 NVMe 1.4 M.2 Internal Gaming SSD Up to 5,000 MB/s (ALEG-840-1TCS)

Silicon Power 128GB SSD 3D NAND A55 SLC Cache Performance Boost SATA III 2.5" 7mm (0.28") Internal Solid State Drive (SU128GBSS3A55S25AH)

Seventh on the list is the power supply unit or PSU. Like RAM, more is better. But you best do research. We like your choice in Thermaltake Smart 600W, and should work well with your setup. Both of the clients went with the PS-SPD-0700NPCWUS-W 700W version, but it's currently out of stock at Amazon.

And there you have it! Please let us know if you have any questions.

MaxProAndU Team

maxproandu /r/computers
2 points
1970-01-20 10:47:54.178 +0000 UTC

You got a laundry list of requests, so we'll give you some tips that we give our clients.

It's basically best to build your own, but these rules work just as well for someone who is looking to buy a pre-built.

Regardless of the intent, there are some rules we lay out for our clients entertaining the thought of building/buying their first PC.

The first rule is to set a budget, regardless of funds. Even with deep pockets, laying out your spending reduces the likelihood of making tactical errors. If you're conscious about every item purchased, you'll have vested more time and thought into what you'll be using.

Second, choose a case. What you pick is what you'll be living with for time, so you do you. We advise our clients to go with something well ventilated, with horizontal motherboard installation (far easier to work on, less continuity problems). Here's an example:

Thermaltake Core V21 SPCC Micro ATX, Mini ITX Cube Gaming Computer Case Chassis, Small Form Factor Builds, 200mm Front Fan Pre-installed, CA-1D5-00S1WN-00 Black

Third, time to pick a graphics card. If you're not building around this single component, you're going to make mistakes in your build. It's team Nvidia and team AMD. Without getting into a lot of details, we profess AMD. Here's their best and what's most popular:

XFX Radeon RX 7900XT Gaming Graphics Card with 20GB GDDR6, AMD RDNA 3 RX-79TMBABF9

XFX Speedster SWFT309 Radeon RX 6700 Gaming Graphics Card with 10GB GDDR6 HDMI 3xDP, AMD RDNA 2 RX-67XLKWFDV

The fourth item on the list is a processor. Intel and AMD. Regardless of choice, we advise our clients to avoid the latest/greatest to avoid the new problems that come with it. Once again, AMD is our suggested go to:

AMD Ryzen™ 7 5800X3D 8-core, 16-Thread Desktop Processor with AMD 3D V-Cache™ Technology

AMD Ryzen 7 5800X 8-core, 16-Thread Unlocked Desktop Processor

AMD Ryzen 7 5700G 8-Core, 16-Thread Unlocked Desktop Processor with Radeon Graphics

AMD Ryzen™ 5 5500 6-Core, 12-Thread Unlocked Desktop Processor with Wraith Stealth Cooler

Thermalright Peerless Assassin 120 SE CPU Air Cooler, Dual Tower 6 Heat Pipe, Dual 120mm TL-C12C PWM CPU Fan, AGHP Technology

Now fifth, find a motherboard. Although your case will dictate the form factor, we advise Micro ATX. Unless you need all of those extra slots, a full ATX is asking for trouble. Motherboards are the single most complicated part of your PC, and it's best to only get the features you'll need. For our application so far:

GIGABYTE B550M DS3H AC (AM4 AMD/B550/Micro ATX/Dual M.2/SATA 6Gb/s/USB 3.2 Gen 1/PCIe 4.0/HMDI/DVI/DDR4/Motherboard)

Sixth: RAM and storage. When it comes to RAM there's a host of reasons to currently make 32GB the minimum. And with four slots you can always add two more matching sticks later. RAM is often the least investment in a build, but that lack can cause the most issues. The same goes for NVMe SSDs. They've come down in cost but builders will go with smaller name brands without research.

As a bonus, there's a simple and inexpensive fix to increase system performance while saving unnecessary wear-and-tear on your NVMe. Simply add a cached 128GB SATA SSD and use it exclusively for the Windows Page File system. Now PF has its individual pipeline to use without compromising the primary drive. Here are parts our clients commonly use:

G.Skill RipJaws V Series 32GB (2 x 16GB) 288-Pin SDRAM DDR4 4000 (PC4-32000) CL18-22-22-42 1.40V Dual Channel Desktop Memory Model F4-4000C18D-32GVK

Silicon Power Gaming Series DDR4 32GB (16GBx2) 3200MHz (PC4 25600) 288-pin CL16 1.35V UDIMM Desktop Memory Module RAM Metallic Grey

SAMSUNG 980 PRO SSD 2TB PCIe NVMe Gen 4 Gaming M.2 Internal Solid State Hard Drive Memory Card, Maximum Speed, Thermal Control, MZ-V8P2T0B

PNY CS2140 2TB M.2 NVMe Gen4 x4 Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) - M280CS2140-2TB-RB

Silicon Power 128GB SSD 3D NAND A55 SLC Cache Performance Boost SATA III 2.5" 7mm (0.28") Internal Solid State Drive (SU128GBSS3A55S25AH)

Seventh on list is power supply unit or PSU. Like RAM, more is better. But you best do research. Generally we have clients go with at least a 600W PSU, with these two being the most common:

MSI MPG A1000G PCIE 5 & ATX 3.0 Gaming Power Supply - Full Modular - 80 Plus Gold Certified 1000W - 100% Japanese 105°C Capacitors - Compact Size - ATX PSU

Thermaltake Toughpower GX2 80+ Gold 600W SLI/Crossfire Ready Continuous Power ATX 12V V2.4/EPS V2.92 Non Modular Power Supply 5 Year Warranty PS-TPD-0600NNFAGU-2

And there you have it! Please let us know if you have any questions.

MaxProAndU Team

ethansky /r/NewMaxx
1 point
1970-01-20 07:57:56.963 +0000 UTC

Any recommendations on cheap 120GB SSDs? I'm transitioning some Raspberry pis in my lab away from SD cards and onto SSDs. 120GB/128GB is good enough for my use case, so I need more physical SSDs than aggregate storage, if that makes sense. The cheaper the better since I would have to buy four SSDs ($10-$15/each) and then four SATA to USB adapters (~$11/each), so around 100$ for this project.

I looked at the SSD buying flowchart for the entry-level SATA SSDs and these are among the cheapest ones (at the time of writing) on Amazon that caught my eye:

Among that list, are there any that I should or shouldn't go with? The Patriot SSDs look appealing since they're the cheapest, but I'm find with spending a couple more dollars if one of the slightly more expensive ones are better than the cheaper ones.

I am also open to other budget SSD recommendations, as long as they are around that $15 or less price point.