PJ's Computer
2021 November
PJ Buys and Builds a Computer
PJ purchased parts to build a computer during the Black Friday sales of 2021. Assembly and trouble-shooting took place about week later. Below is his description of his build and review of his components (copied from PC Part Picker dot com). I've copied the text and photos from the website in the hope that this website will outlast PC Part Picker. Link to the PCPartPicker page is below:
Description
Edit: Oh my god this was featured from the 23rd to the 25th and I didn't even know it! That's the coolest Christmas present I've ever gotten, for sure.
My first gaming/editing/general use computing setup I built a month or so ago thanks to Black Friday sales. Originally I had intended (like everyone else) to build something with a 5600X and a 3070/3060 Ti in it, but unfortunately 2021 happened so this eventually turned into an overspecced 5600G build.
I already had the monitors, webcams, and audio stuff, and bought the power supply previously for testing the 2 9800 GTs in a different system. The case was purchased used for $10 with 1 dead fan and other random dust, etc. The HDDs were from a relative and, if nothing else, provide additional noise confirmation that it works. The 9800 GTs are there as rubber duck mounts and pretty much nothing else. I have "IGFX Multi-Monitor" enabled in the BIOS and set to the integrated graphics so everything still performs decently.
The Razer peripherals were a nice pre-birthday gift and are a nice replacement to a Logitech K350, a G300s, and a piece of paper.
Performance: * Windows (10) boots in just a few seconds, and coming from an HDD-powered system, it feels like night and day. * Scores 10,659 points in Cinebench R23 with temps staying under 72°C with PBO set to "Auto". * Manges 4.1-2 GHz all-core boost drawing about 100W of power. * 1068 points FurMark with Asus's GPU overclocking thingTM in the BIOS set to the maximum. link
Issues: * Nearly broke the CPU incorrectly by fitting it in poorly then ripping it free from the socket. I got lucky, thankfully, and didn't break any pins. * Had some issues with BIOS Flashback because I assumed the port to use was the one next to the button, instead of the 1st USB 2 port. My fault, but still annoying. I'll check the I/O shield next time next. * 24-pin power didn't fit neatly in the cable management thing NZXT does, so I looped it around. Uglier, but it works. * There's a RAM clearance issue with the CPU cooler fan and the 1st RAM slot. I am only using 2 sticks, so it's not a problem, and you can always put the fan on the other side, but it's definitely something to note with this particular combination. * I disconnected the hard drives because they were too noisy.
Overall I'm pretty proud of this, and hope that some time I'll be able to put in an actual GPU in it (not decorative ones), & maybe upgrade a monitor. (Dec 31st I did)
Edit Dec 26th 2021:
Took out the rubber duck mounts temporarily because they were also noisy.
Edit Dec 31st 2021:
Managed to borrow a GTX 1080 which amazingly lucky, and thus comes back a rubber duck mount. Also replaced the remaining default case fan (which was acting up) with a crappy fan that at least doesn't need percussive maintenance.
Added a free 240 GB SSD from Micro Center because for a short time, I actually had access to one and tried to get a graphics card (unsuccessfully).
Part Reviews and Costs
CPU: $238.99
AMD Ryzen 5 5600G 3.9 GHz 6-Core Processor
Blazing fast with enough power to race through pretty much anything you would need to do on a computer, and the integrated graphics make it competent enough for light 1080p gaming.
CPU Cooler: $27.99
Yes, it's got a lot of hype around it and that's partially why I got it. Not that that hype is entirely misplaced, though. It's incredibly quiet, keeps my 5600G cooler than 75 degrees Celsius, and the ARGB looks pretty. While I've heard that the mounting system can be a bit tricky for Intel systems, I managed to get everything working (barring my own user error) on AM4 with pretty much no issue.
Motherboard: $161.99
Asus TUF GAMING B550-PLUS (WI-FI) ATX AM4 Motherboard
This is a great budget-ish board if you want a simple grayish-black color scheme. It manages to cram as many useful features as it can into this. Decent I/O, great VRMs if I feel the need for an upgrade sooner or later. BIOS Flashback saved me an RMA to get it updated for my 5600G. The BIOS is easy to navigate and is generally useful. Only complaints are no built-in I/O shield, and the RGB lights on the bottom right corner of the board stay on even after the computer is shut down. I had to download Aura to get them to stay off, and while there might be another solution, it would need to be clearer to me since nothing else worked.
Memory: $117.99
Klevv CRAS X RGB 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR4-3600 CL18 Memory
These reached their advertised speeds with no issue whatsoever, and the RGB looks nice. The diffusion could use a little work, but it's fairly hard to notice and doesn't really stand out. It still looks great and syncs with other software with no problem.
Storage: $0
Inland 240 GB 2.5" Solid State Drive
It was free from Micro Center, and that's about how much I'd pay for it normally. Nothing amazing, better than a hard drive, but still rather slow and small capacity. Maybe good for StoreMI? I haven't tried yet.
Storage: $80
Intel 660p Series 1.02 TB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive
Grabbed this on sale for $80 and coming from and old HDD, it's crazy how much better this is. Sure, it's QLC NAND, but me, an average user, is never going to notice the difference, especially when the performance delta between spinning rust is so great. Windows (10) loads in seconds, and I may never want to use a hard drive ever again.
Video Card: $0 (borrowed from neighbor, thanks Ryan)
PNY GeForce GTX 1080 8 GB Founders Edition Video Card
It's perhaps not the newest kid on the block now, but it's still ridiculously fast at 1080p. More than enough for my current needs.
Case: $10 from garage sale
NZXT S340 Elite ATX Mid Tower Case
I originally got this used in an extremely used (read: dirty) condition for $10, but with all critical components intact. I personally like the aesthetics of it, and the airflow is suitable for my single APU needs. The only complaints I have are the screws holding onto the metal side panel (but that could just be because it's used), the fact that there's not any front bays (coming from an old PC, that extra modularity was nice), and that my 24-pin cable wasn't able to fit neatly through the cable management pop-out.
Power Supply: $83.99
SeaSonic FOCUS 750 W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-modular ATX Power Supply
For $70, this was a steal (until the 850W model went on sale for the same price). It's whisper quiet as to be not noticable, the black cables are easy to work with (mostly), and the SeaSonic quality and 7 year warranty are good for peace of mind. I don't mind that it's not fully modular, except that the PCIe power cables just rub in my face that I don't have a decent graphics card :(. .
Case Fan: $39.22
Phanteks FSK 84.5 CFM 140 mm Fans 3-Pack
As long as you plan on daisy-chaining the RGB in these and don't mind a not unpleasant quiet whoosh, these fans are a steal. The lighting is bright enough and works seamlessly with Aura Sync, and they move plenty of air.
Monitor: $0
Acer S230HLAbii 23.0" 1920x1080 Monitor
Not the best looking monitor I've ever seen, but it looks good enough for a second screen. No DisplayPort though, and the TN just doesn't match up to any IPS panel I've seen. For something I paid next to nothing for, it's fine.
Monitor: $25
Acer R240HY bidx 23.8" 1920x1080 60 Hz Monitor
As of this review, the listed price on Amazon is ~$280. Obviously if you're looking to buy one of these new, there's better options for the price. But if you're not paying more than $30 for this or so, it's definitely worth it if you need it. It looks great within the constraints of 1080p 60 Hz, and for even a primary display, it looks great.
Mouse: $0 (gift)
Razer Mamba Elite Wired Optical Mouse
A larger mouse if you personally like that, with satisfying buttons (and not too many of them). The lighting on it is bright and if it's not your thing, can be turned off. It feels great in the hand, and being able to save profiles for various uses to the mouse is nice too.
Webcam $0
It works out of the box, with a decent enough microphone. Only 720p, but as long as you don't overhype your expectations for this, it is serviceable.
Custom: $0
Altec Lansing VS4121 2.1 Computer Speaker System, 3 piece
Still works/sounds great with easy to change volume and bass/treble dials. That being said, I mostly connect headphones through the right channel.
Custom: $0
For when you need your mousepad to light up too. I mean yes, it's nice. But would I buy it for myself? Probably not. I don't really see how it's worth this much more than a normal mousepad.
Custom: $0
Coming from an old, crusty Logitech K350, this is so much better. It's noisy for sure, but that's not a concern for me. Lighting is vibrant and I can't see myself going back to another membrane now save for laptops. Also, the volume wheel is going to be a thing I demand on all keyboards now. Is it out of my price range? Yes. Do I regret this? No.
Custom: $0
Western Digital 160GB SATA Western Digital Caviar SE 7200RPM 8MB WD1600JS
Loud, slow, and heavy. But it didn't really cost me anything so I guess it's all right. I wouldn't trust this for much longer. Why do I still have this?
Custom: $0
Sony F-V320 Uni-Directional Vocal Microphone with Built-In On/Off Switch
A decent sounding mic, with awful gain. Hold it close to your face, or don't use it.
*******
Total Cost: Just under $800.