First build in over 10 years.

evansax10

Prominent
Sep 11, 2017
4
0
510
So my last build was in 2006. I put gaming down a few years later after getting married. Now that I got divorced I can get back into old hobbies my Ex didn't care for. This is a budget build because currently going through a divorce. I did get a lot of help from a PC gaming group on Facebook. But I did a lot of research into each component myself.

($119.99) ZOTAC GeForce GTX 1050
($104.99) AMD RYZEN 3 1200 4-Core 3.1 GHz
($65.99) G.SKILL Ripjaws V Series 8GB 288-Pin DDR4
($49.99) ASRock A320M-DGS AM4 AMD MOTHERBOARD
($29.99) EVGA KR 80+ BRONZE 500W power supply
($26.99) Rosewill - Black Gaming ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Three Fans Included
($28.00) Western Digital WD RE4 WD2503ABYX 250GB 7200 RPM 64MB Cache
1 x (-$5.00) DISCOUNT FOR PROMOTION CODE-$5.00
1 x (-$59.99) DISCOUNT FOR AUTOADD #195397-$59.99

TOTAL:430.13

I think I did ok. I received $70.00 worth of discounts and I also got rocket league for free. I had to cheap out on the hard drive a little bit but that will get me by until I can afford a better one, This PC will be for gaming and web browsing only. I keep my music on my phone and I do not store movies.

I will pick up a cheap HDTV from Walmart and see about getting windows for cheap if I can.

Just want to see what everyone thought.

 
Solution
Above is a GUIDE only. May want to PRINT it, then think it through (such as having USB sticks, e-mail etc).

*ANOTHER OPTION to consider is to look for a pre-built system then add a GTX1050 or GTX1050Ti. Sometimes you can get lucky with a deal.

Not sure if this is for the HDTV in living room, but if it's for a desk then use a MONITOR.

I debated recommending the Intel G4560 (dual-core with hyperthreading, about $30 cheaper), but decided against it. The AM4 platform should be around a lot longer so buying an R7-1700 (or newer version ?) or similar may be cheap and easy later.

There's also more untapped potential once games become better threaded on average and code is optimized to the RYZEN architecture. ROTR got 30% boost at times due...

evansax10

Prominent
Sep 11, 2017
4
0
510


Thanks man. I will look at reviews and make my decision on the power supply. I only with with the EVGA because it was marked down from $60.00. I also used one in my last build and it seemed to do ok. I will look at that Seasonic now.
 


http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/id-2547993/psu-tier-list.html
 
1) RYZEN CPU's need good bandwidth for DDR4 memory (google). You want at least 2x4GB 2666MHz (up to 3200MHz in Dual Channel) properly setup as DUAL CHANNEL (whatever the motherboard recommends for two-stick placement).

If you get a single stick you get HALF the bandwidth.

2) CPU - at some point you should overclock it. In the beginning I'd keep stock settings to setup things.

3) *Windows 10 64-bit. You need a license, but you can use KINGUIN to find an inexpensive license ($25USD or so). You then need to create W10 Install Media on your own (AFAIK) from the Microsoft site:
https://www.microsoft.com/en-ca/software-download/windows10

a) insert 8GB (or larger) USB stick, or DVD-DL
b) download the above tool and run it
c) choose that matches (W10 Home 64-bit)
d) start (will DOWNLOAD then create so could take 30min or more)
e) build PC
f) test with MEMTEST86 before Windows install (for full pass) www.memtest86.com
g) insert W10 install media
h) *type in KEY when prompted (or buy key later and add. I think you have 30 days before you are restricted in what you can do)
i) type in EMAIL + PASSWORD (for Microsoft login account. You can SKIP this if you don't have an account yet such as "myname at MSN dot com"
j) let Microsoft Updates finish
k) motherboard support site for software (fan software and use to setup fan profile, audio, other?)
l) BIOS UPDATE (if newer.. if you have any MEMORY errors during MEMTEST86 then apply the latest BIOS update to see if that fixes things)
m) install programs, setup e-mail, copy over saves files etc
n) *eventually BACKUP once you have a secondary drive (i.e. Acronis True Image or similar. Can probably still get a FREE version of that for manual backup for WD HDD or Seagate..

LATER get an SSD to CLONE that 250GB HDD over to.. then a 2TB or similar HDD for storage, backups etc)

o) OVERCLOCK when it makes sense. Probably need a better CPU cooler.
 
Above is a GUIDE only. May want to PRINT it, then think it through (such as having USB sticks, e-mail etc).

*ANOTHER OPTION to consider is to look for a pre-built system then add a GTX1050 or GTX1050Ti. Sometimes you can get lucky with a deal.

Not sure if this is for the HDTV in living room, but if it's for a desk then use a MONITOR.

I debated recommending the Intel G4560 (dual-core with hyperthreading, about $30 cheaper), but decided against it. The AM4 platform should be around a lot longer so buying an R7-1700 (or newer version ?) or similar may be cheap and easy later.

There's also more untapped potential once games become better threaded on average and code is optimized to the RYZEN architecture. ROTR got 30% boost at times due to this (Intel's compiler BTW is not optimized towards AMD yet).

Just FYI, but there are some gains to be had (you may not get the same results depending on settings and GPU):
http://www.gamersnexus.net/hwreviews/3002-amd-r3-1200-review-line-between-fine-and-exciting/page-4

WD2 jumped up 15%. So again, with Ryzen code optimizations, more usage of the FOUR CORES (well threaded games) and a little overclock you'll get closer to eliminating the CPU bottleneck.

Here's a video of an R3-1200 + GTX1050Ti (roughly 25% faster than GTX1050 and has 4GB VRAM not 2GB)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LZknFkWZNaU

TWEAKING game settings makes a big difference on frame rate, but I thought you might want to see this video as a ROUGH idea. SHADOWS OF MORDOR is a fun game if you haven't played it, and runs VERY WELL. I would force on Adaptive VSYNC then tweak so you maintain 60FPS at least 90% of the time:

NVidia CP-> manage 3d settings-> add game -> (adaptive VSYNC) -> save
 
Solution

evansax10

Prominent
Sep 11, 2017
4
0
510


Tons of helpful info. Thank you so much. I already ordered this stuff and its on the way. Once I get paid could I order another 8gb stick of ram? That way i can keep the one I ordered and still have duel channel.
 
Change the board to a b350 if you can, as it will give more longevity to the build. You can get a more powerful am4 chip after a couple of years and overclock it for more performance. Depending on the number of RAM slots on the board, you can keep/replace the RAM, but since the Ryzen chipsets are dual channel, running dual channel will be always optimal.
 

evansax10

Prominent
Sep 11, 2017
4
0
510


I was debating this when I bought the board. I don't plan on over clocking and it put me right at bugdet. Now that I'm doing more research it seems over clocking is something I might get into eventually. I'll live with this board and if I ever get the urge to overclock I'll buy something else.