ConsolePeasantry :
WOW! My friend recommended Tomshardware because he mentioned it was useful when you were in doubt. But I never thought it would this active! What I mean by that is, I just posted this thread yesterday and I already have 6 reads and you have come up with such an elaborate answer! Honestly, I never expected such an answer from this website! Not only did you provide and reasoning for the 6 whole PC builds you have provided(including yours, your dad's and your wife's), you've also given certain tips for my future PC builds! I am absolutely stunned by the amount of time you have taken just to write an answer for this random guy on the internet. So thank you for all the work you have put in just to help me!
Anyways, let me get to the point.
You're very welcome! We're always glad to help anyone out here at Tom's. Thanks also for the time reading and checking out my builds! On to your follow-up q's:
ConsolePeasantry :
1) Yes, I'm aware that I hadn't listed my PSU and my case. That's my bad for doing so. Thanks for taking it into consideration and listing it in the builds provided.
No worries
I assumed you were buying everything from scratch.
ConsolePeasantry :
2) Is it okay if I buy a power supply that cheaper but is also 520W? Yes, I know you have mentioned that I should probably get a high-quality PSU but what if it's also by SeaSonic, just a different model?(Yes I know this is making me sound like a cheapskate.)
You must be referring to the
Seasonic S12II-520. If so, both the
Seasonic S12II-520 and the
Seasonic M12II-520 EVO are
generally almost the same, both have the same quality, components, amp/wattage, fan, rated operating temps, and warranty, with just
one obvious difference:
its cables.
The
M12II Series have
fully-modular cables (i.e.,
all included cables are detached from the PSU's body, so, you'll only plug in the actual cables that you will need); while the
S12II Series have
non-modular cables (i.e.,
all included cables are attached to the PSU's body, so, you'll need to tie/hide the other unused cables and connectors somewhere inside your case).
There is also
a minor difference as to the number of connectors in a given cable (but this might be updated from time to time without prior notice from the manufacturer). For example:
PCIE (6+2pin):
M12II-520 has 2 cables (with 1 connector each);
S12II-520 has 1 cable with 2 connectors on it
SATA:
M12II-520 has 2 cables (one with 4x SATA, one with 2x SATA);
S12II-520 has 2 cables (with 3x SATA each)
Molex:
M12II-520 has 2 cables (one with 3x Molex, one with 2x Molex):
S12II-520 has 1 cable with 4x Molex on it
You can get the Seasonic S12II version you are really tight on the budget and wouldn't mind finding creative ways to hide the cables you don't need inside your case (for better airflow, less clutter, and more aesthetics). But if the price difference between the M12II and the S12II is just a few bucks, I would highly recommend getting the M12II instead.
SeaSonic - 520W 80+ Bronze Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($54.99 @ Amazon)
SeaSonic - S12II 520W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($49.98 @ Newegg)
ConsolePeasantry :
3) How long would I be able to use the Ryzen's stock cooler?
The Ryzen stock cooler that comes with the
Ryzen 5 1400 I previously suggested is the
Wraith Stealth. It is a
basic CPU cooler (much like the Intel's stock cooler, but, subjectively, more aesthetically-pleasing). With the
Ryzen 5 1400's low TDP of 65W, the
Wraith Stealth can
do its job on stock speeds (but would
most likely struggle to keep temps low when the CPU is overclocked). Note that other higher/better CPUs (such as the Ryzen 5 1500X, the Ryzen 5 1600, and th Ryzen 7 1700 -- all having the same 65W TDP) comes with a higher version of the CPU cooler, which is the Wraith Spire (http://www.relaxedtech.com/reviews/amd/wraith-max-and-wraith-spire-cooler/1).
If you don't intend to extremely overclock such CPU, then, the
Wraith Stealth can be used for a very long time.
ConsolePeasantry :
4) Would I be able to upgrade to an Intel CPU?
Not sure if I got this question correctly (pertaining to the Ryzen build being able to upgrade to an Intel CPU?).
If you go for the
Ryzen platform (using the
Ryzen 5 1400 in Option 3 of my previous reply), which is an AMD CPU on an AMD AM4-socket motherboard, then, the
upgrade path would be any of the Ryzen 5 or Ryzen 7 CPUs on that same AM4 motherboard as suggested. AMD would
most likely keep that AM4-socket platform for a
long time (as it was just released this year), so, expect newer CPUs in the future to be compatible with that same AM4 motherboard.
If you go for the
Intel platform (using the
i5-7500 in Options 1 and 2 on my previous reply), then, the
upgrade path would only logically be (as of this date) an i7-7700 (locked/non-OC'able). Note that in the said two options, I opted to use a
B250-chipset motherboard* (which
does not support OC'ing) to pair with your
non-OC'able i5-7500. Though, you
can still get the "K" version (OC'able) of the i7-7700 (i.e., the i7-7700K), for higher performance and opportunity for OC, but, you might want to revert back to your original motherboard selection in your opening post, the
Z270-chipset motherboard* (which
does support OC'ing).
*
Note: These 200-series Intel motherboards (having an LGA1151-socket) would be succeeded by the 300-series mobos with the
same LGA1151 socket (consequently releasing newer CPUs: the
Coffee Lake 8th-generation) some time in the next months ahead. As of this date, we
cannot tell if upgrading from an i5-7500 you initially-preferred to such 8th-gen LGA1151-socket CPUs would be a good choice (both
in performance gains over price and
in compatibility with 200-series mobos).
ConsolePeasantry :
5) If I were a fan of the Green Team (Nvidia) or wanted an alternative to the RX 580/480/570/470, would a GTX 1050ti be good? I mean if I wanted to save even more( this time not counting the GPU's $/frame ), I think a GTX 1050ti would an ok choice as I heard it's quite a good budget GPU.
The
GTX 1050 Ti is a good
entry/mid-level gaming GPU for 1080p/60Hz, especially if you are on a tight budget. But,
it is far from (huge gap in) performance from the RX 470/570/480/580 and GTX 1060/1070/1080/Ti GPUs, hence, the
reason for the higher costs of the GTX 1060 compared to the GTX 1050 Ti (about
~$100 difference from the
most expensive GTX 1050 Ti to the
least expensive GTX 1060).
As of the current available GPUs (Nvidia's 1000-series and AMD's 500-/400-series), when compared in speed/performance, would
more-or-less be in this ranking (from best to worst), using your preferred GTX 1050 Ti as baseline/reference:
Nvidia GTX 1080 Ti -->
+ 300% better than the GTX 1050 Ti
Nvidia GTX 1080 -->
+ 225% better than the GTX 1050 Ti
Nvidia GTX 1070 -->
+ 160% better than the GTX 1050 Ti
AMD RX 580 / Nvidia GTX 1060-6GB -->
+ 85% to 90% better than the GTX 1050 Ti
AMD RX 480 -->
+ 75% better than the GTX 1050 Ti
Nvidia GTX 1060-3GB / AMD RX 570 -->
+ 65% to 70% better than the GTX 1050 Ti
AMD RX 470 -->
+ 50% better than the GTX 1050 Ti
Nvidia GTX 1050 Ti --> Baseline @ 100%
Nvidia GTX 1050 / AMD RX 560 -->
- 10% to 15% worse than the GTX 1050 Ti
AMD RX 460 -->
- 25% worse than the GTX 1050 Ti
AMD RX 550 / GT 1030 -->
- 45% to 50% worse than the GTX 1050 Ti
Source: http://gpu.userbenchmark.com/
If you wish to play
AAA games in max. settings on
1080p resolution, even a
GTX 1060/RX 580 would
not reach
constant 60fps. So,
if decreasing in-game settings for higher frame rates is acceptable to you, then, the
GTX 1050 Ti would be '
okay' (esp. if you play non-GPU-demaning games).
If you plan on gaming at
1440p (or
1080p/120++Hz), then consider the
GTX 1070 as the minimum for such AAA games on max. settings.
ConsolePeasantry :
That's all I have to say. Again, thanks for answering my questions and I greatly appreciate what you have done for me!
Again, you're very welcome!
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