First build would like to stay under $1,200 (with tax) - tips please

Gibby328

This is my build so far. I am not certain on a few things and was hoping for some advise. I would like to be able to play video games. Been awhile but I used to play boarderlands and COD.

https://www.microcenter.com/site/content/custom-pc-builder.aspx#selector_15

• Motherboard- Not sure if I can hardwire for Ethernet yet given the location. Is it best to get one with WIFI built in or should I get a internal PCIe wifi adapter? I would like it to support WIFI6 if I get one.

• Video Card - I would like to get back into gaming and not have bottom of barrel so it would last without breaking the bank.

• Hard Drive - 2.5"HHD, M.2 HHD, Harddrive. To me these are all the same. except m.2 is a lot faster than others. What other reasons should I load my computer with multiple types rather just getting a big m.2? Was thinking of getting another 1TB harddrive.

My monitor, keyboard and mouse are god for now.
Any advise would be great!

Ian

Greetings. The link you shared did not properly send over your selections. If you could please click the "Share" tab on that page, and then copy the URL section there or the text section there and post it here, we'd be glad to look over it.

Gibby328

https://www.microcenter.com/site/content/custom-pc-builder.aspx?load=a434794d-bf86-4954-8235-e5a7b657570f
Thank you

Ian

Gibby328 said:

This is my build so far. I am not certain on a few things and was hoping for some advise. I would like to be able to play video games. Been awhile but I used to play boarderlands and COD.

https://www.microcenter.com/site/content/custom-pc-builder.aspx#selector_15

• Motherboard- Not sure if I can hardwire for Ethernet yet given the location. Is it best to get one with WIFI built in or should I get a internal PCIe wifi adapter? I would like it to support WIFI6 if I get one.

• Video Card - I would like to get back into gaming and not have bottom of barrel so it would last without breaking the bank.

• Hard Drive - 2.5"HHD, M.2 HHD, Harddrive. To me these are all the same. except m.2 is a lot faster than others. What other reasons should I load my computer with multiple types rather just getting a big m.2? Was thinking of getting another 1TB harddrive.

My monitor, keyboard and mouse are god for now.
Any advise would be great!

Motherboard WiFi is just fine, but the board selected did not have WiFi. I would suggest to add in a PCI card such as https://www.microcenter.com/product/484841/asus-pce-ac51-ac750-wireless-dual-band-pci-express-adapter for additional $30. For some reason our builder page was being picky and not allowing me to add this.

Video card - based on your budget and other parts and to leave some wiggle room on price, for now I changed what you had to a RX 5700 which a decent upgrade over the 1660 for the price difference. If you still have left over money in your budget, you could try going up to a 2060 Super / RX 5700 RT which are typically at the $400 price point.

Hard drive - m.2 is great for boot speeds and your most-used programs, typically the higher price keeps people away from buying larger-sized models. The boot / load times of games wouldn't be much different at all on a m.2 vs a SATA 2.5" SSD, if any. I would say most people run at least one m.2 or 2.5" SSD, and then just a standard 1tb/2tb+ 3.5" drive. 

Here is what I have updated the build list to, it comes out to a little under $1100 before taxes so still under budget and a little wiggle room available:

Configure Your PC: https://www.microcenter.com/site/content/custom-pc-builder.aspx?load=28951614-f9bf-42d1-9548-2f58a4496a29

CPU: (1) AMD Ryzen 5 3600 Matisse 3.6GHz 6-Core AM4 Boxed Processor with Wraith Stealth Cooler ($159.99 EACH)

Motherboard: (1) MSI B450 Tomahawk Max AMD AM4 ATX Motherboard ($114.99 EACH)

RAM: (1) Corsair Vengeance LPX 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3200 PC4-25600 CL16 Dual Channel Desktop Memory Kit CMK16GX4M2D3200 - Black ($74.99 EACH)

Case: (1) NZXT H510 Tempered Glass ATX Mid-Tower Computer Case - Black ($69.99 EACH)

Power Supply: (1) EVGA 500 Watt 80 Plus ATX Non-Modular Power Supply ($49.99 EACH)

Video Card: (1) MSI RX 5700 Overclocked MECH Dual-Fan 8GB GDDR6 PCIe 4.0 Video Card ($334.99 EACH)

M.2 SSD: (1) Crucial P1 1TB SSD 3D QLC NAND M.2 2280 PCIe NVMe 3.0 x4 Internal Solid State Drive ($109.99 EACH)

Operating System: (1) Microsoft Microsoft Windows 10 Home 32/64-Bit - USB ($139.99 EACH)

Total: $1,054.92 + $29.99 for https://www.microcenter.com/product/484841/asus-pce-ac51-ac750-wireless-dual-band-pci-express-adapter

Gibby328

Thanks TSIanL! 
After what you told me about how people use m.2 decided to go with Inland 256GB and WD - Blue Mainstream 1TB 7200RPM for the Hard Drive. I was wondering why did you pick that Video Card? I am learning and just want to know looks good just did not find much reviews so wanted your insight. MSI RX 5700 Is out of stock in my Overland Park store.  Would you recommend  EVGA - GeForce RTX 2060 Super SC Black Overclocked Dual-Fan 8GB GDDR6 PCIe 3.0 Video Card? looks solid, good reviews, rebate, and with moving SSD around I can get spend under $400 on a video card.
TIA

Ian

Gibby328 said:

Thanks TSIanL! 
After what you told me about how people use m.2 decided to go with Inland 256GB and WD - Blue Mainstream 1TB 7200RPM for the Hard Drive. I was wondering why did you pick that Video Card? I am learning and just want to know looks good just did not find much reviews so wanted your insight. MSI RX 5700 Is out of stock in my Overland Park store.  Would you recommend  EVGA - GeForce RTX 2060 Super SC Black Overclocked Dual-Fan 8GB GDDR6 PCIe 3.0 Video Card? looks solid, good reviews, rebate, and with moving SSD around I can get spend under $400 on a video card.
TIA

You're welcome. Typically I look at benchmarks at various games. There are plenty of benchmarking / review websites online, so it's just finding the right card in the right price range. The 2060 Super would be just fine if there aren't any RX 5700s available, its benchmarks are nearly identical overall compared to the 5700.