Designing my first build. Looking for advice and reviews

mmoroski
mmoroski ✭✭
Photogenic Name Dropper First Comment
edited April 2021 in Help Choosing Parts

Hi guys! I haven't started my first build, mainly because I want to secure a good GPU before purchasing all the other parts. I have a list below with the setup for my first rig, and I wanted to see if anyone could give me any critiques or tell if this is a good review. Specifically looking at the actual hardware choices, like motherboard and CPU. My budget is a little above $1500, which is about where this build hits me, so I am not trying to do much upgrading, if at all. More or less looking to see if I can find a better balance and get more bang for my buck, or maybe just find something at a cheaper cost that does the job just as well:

GPU: RTX 3070, $499

CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 3700X, $329

RAM: Crucial Ballistix 2x8GB (3600MHz), $93.99

Motherboard: ASUS ROG Strix B550-F, $203

Power Supply: Corsair CX 650 W (Bronze Series), $77

SSD: SK Hynix Gold P31 PCle NVMe Gen 3 (500GB), $75

Case: Cooler Master TD500 Black Mesh, $104

CPU Cooler: NZXT Kraken x53 240mm, $135

Total: $1,515.99

Total cost might be a little lower if I only have a chance at getting a 3060ti, but they are the only GPU's I'm looking at right now. Only other thing would be someone recommended getting a hard drive on top of it for storing games that don't really require that fast SSD speed. Any reviews or recommendations would be appreciated!

Comments

  • Hello @mmoroski and thanks for posting on the Microcenter Community Forum. Your build looks good.

    Other MC Admins on the forum may have other suggestions. But I'd recommend to go with a 650 Watt power supply. Take a look a the Powerspec 650 watt PSU sku# 402404 or the EVGA SuperNova 650 GT Sku# 12746. Nvidia recommends 650 watt PSU for the 3070.

    You could save money on your cooler. The Ryzen 7 3700x should come with a stock cooler, the wraith prism cooler. Its not a bad cooler.

    You could also save some money with going with the ASUS B450-f ROG Strix motherboard sku# 205138 over the B550-F board you've selected.

    Just somethings to think about. Also you'll want to add the cost for your Operating System (Windows)

  • @TSTDavey I appreciate your input. In terms of the motherboard, what exactly is the main tradeoff when downgrading to the B450-F ROG Strix board? Obviously you are saving money, but I'm curious behind that recommendation. I'm not the most familiar with motherboards and what the main variables are that people look for in a board.

  • @mmoroski its a give or take with either board. You would be fine with either. If you go with the B550-f (wifi) motherboard, than you'll have a built in wifi card and the b550 can support up to 2 graphic cards installed.

    The B450 may not have a built in wifi card, but it can support up to 3 graphic cards installed. So its a give or take, they're pretty much the same board.

  • @mmoroski both motherboards support crossfirex which is like SLI, Scalable Link Interface. So B450 can support up to 3 of the same GPU and B550 can support 2 of the same GPU via the crossfirex technology. Sorry I should have mentioned that in my above explanation.

  • @TSTDavey I see your point, and understand why the B450-F might be the way to go. It sounds like I would have to also get a Wifi dongle on top of the board, but the cost of that is more than made up for with the money saved using this downgrade. Really appreciate the help!

  • @mmoroski yes the B450 will require a usb wifi dongle or you can always get a PCIe wifi card later. The B450 does have the Ethernet port for internet, so if you could, just hard wire your system with an ethernet cable (ex., 50 ft) to your router until you really need or want to go with wifi. Internet connections are better hardwired than wifi anyway.

    Just some thoughts. Take it easy and good luck on the build.

  • hey if you dont mind me asking what type of games are you looking to play on that? i am also building my first pc and i play warzone so im looking for good fps was just wonder what type of games you play for that build 
  • @bnalen This is my first rig so i am new as well. But I wanted to be able run games like Apex Legends and Valorant, while also try titles like Horizon Zero Dawn. I am more of a learning novice in this field, so there isn't a ton of advice I can personally offer. I guess my main thing I could say is know what your overall budget is, and put more capital into your GPU and CPU, which are the most important parts. But I've also heard other recommendations, such as 2x8GB RAM kits running at least 3200MHz, but 3600MHz being a better point. If you just do research online, there are so many knowledgeable people and sources to use that can help with your situation.

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