New build advice

[Fluffington81]

Hi all

Got myself some new components following black Friday sales based on some really helpful advice a few months back (thank you Temp Name), however I have a little left over cash and would like some advice on what to spend it on. Essential I'm looking at either a new PSU or GPU, or both depending on price. Budget £300/400.

I mainly play World of Warcraft (now and then), Football Manager and Destiny 2.

Here is my current build:

uk. pcpartpicker . com /list /YBGXk6 (not allowed to post links)

Thanks

[Thunderball]

What kind of PSU do you have now? If the PSU is not a problem a 5700 XT seems like an obvious choice.

https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/product/...d-11293-01-20g

Otherwise stuff you play is not very GPU heavy, you might just wait.

[Kagthul]

You can, however, simply post the build in the post so people dont have to tab back and forth.

There's a little "T" button at the top of the build. Hit that, copy/paste, and delete the two links at the top.

Viola:

Current Build:
PCPartPicker Part List: https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/list/YBGXk6

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 3600 3.6 GHz 6-Core Processor (£173.58 @ Aria PC)
Motherboard: MSI B450 TOMAHAWK MAX ATX AM4 Motherboard (£89.98 @ Amazon UK)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LPX 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3000 Memory (£59.99 @ Box Limited)
Storage: Samsung 860 Evo 500 GB 2.5" Solid State Drive (£59.99 @ Box Limited)
Video Card: Asus Radeon RX 480 8 GB Video Card
Case: Fractal Design Define R5 (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case (£129.31 @ Amazon UK)
Total: £512.85
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2019-12-02 21:53 GMT+0000

I'd recommend an RX 5700 (non-XT if you're only at 1080p) and a Seasonic 500+W PSU.

Something like this:

PCPartPicker Part List: https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/list/FXCJyk

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 3600 3.6 GHz 6-Core Processor (£178.97 @ CCL Computers)
Motherboard: MSI B450 TOMAHAWK MAX ATX AM4 Motherboard (£89.98 @ Amazon UK)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LPX 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3000 Memory (£59.99 @ Box Limited)
Storage: Samsung 860 Evo 500 GB 2.5" Solid State Drive (£59.99 @ Box Limited)
Video Card: MSI Radeon RX 5700 8 GB MECH OC Video Card (£299.92 @ Amazon UK)
Case: Fractal Design Define R5 (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case (£161.00 @ Amazon UK)
Power Supply: SeaSonic M12II EVO 520 W 80+ Bronze Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply (£55.47 @ Scan.co.uk)
Total: £905.32
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2019-12-02 21:57 GMT+0000

For just ~30 quid more you could also grab a 5700XT:

https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/product/...00xt-8gbd6-3dh

[Starfals]

Are cheap PSU even a bad idea? Cuz all of the ones i got were like 15-30$ tops. Just 1 time i got a cooler master one with a brand name and some bronze rating. I know its about power efficiency but that aside, do they break more or what?

[Thunderball]

It's a bad idea.

PC CPUs are AC-to-DC switching power supplies, supplying 12V, 5V and 3.3V DC outputs. They work by periodically switching power devices on and off. This a rather efficient method of voltage regulation, but like any has some disadvantages that have to be rectified to some extent by the design of PSU.

1) Platform and control scheme. Switching power supplies are rather complex as they require controller ICs to operate power devices. There are also different methods of deriving secondary voltages (12V is the primary voltage). Most PSU manufacturers dont design platforms for their own PSUs, so they are forced to adopt an OEM design or pay a third party to design it. More complex platforms also feature more components aswell as more advanced components. Platform is the primary factor determining the quality of PSU although build quality of the unit and quality of components may vary in the PSUs based on the same platform, giving different results.

2) Platform features and efficiency. The stuff you hear most often about here is DC-DC converters vs linear regulator for secondary voltages and 80 Plus rating. First one is how the PSU derives secondary voltages (5V and 3.3V). LDO (which is a linear regulator) just steps the voltage down. Advantages are that it's cheap, disadvantages are that it generates more heat and prevents the PSU to be able to supply the full rated power through 12V line, which is primary in any modern computer. 80 Plus is a rating system for efficiency (input power vs maximum rated output power).

3) Protections. Good PSUs have a set of built-in protections to prevent components exceeding their operational parameters. This includes over-temperature, over-current, over/under-voltage, short circuit, etc. If any of those are not present and a corresponding events happens you risk damaging or destroying the PSU or/and any other part.

4) Capacitors. Any switching power supply requires caps to prevent inrush currents from destroying components. Capacitors are a primary reason for PSUs limited service life, and obviously shitty caps give up earlier.

So here how it affects you:

- Lack of protections leading to problems of catastrophic proportions. That's pretty obvious.
- Capacitors failing because they're shitty or/and because they're subjected to high temperatures during operation leading to PSU failure or
- Increase in voltage ripple which might have not been good in the first place due to bad design and/or subpar parts used, leading to reduced service life of your components. First components that suffer are typically storage devices, that do not feature their own capacitor arrays.
- Higher electricity bills due to low efficiency, and noise levels. This is pretty minor obviously.

[Kagthul]

Are cheap PSU even a bad idea?

Yes, mortifyingly bad. Particularly on a gaming rig where you might actually be stressing the PSU.

Cuz all of the ones i got were like 15-30$ tops. Just 1 time i got a cooler master one with a brand name and some bronze rating. I know its about power efficiency but that aside, do they break more or what?

Yes, they break down quite a bit more frequently because they use cheap wiring, cheap capacitors, cheap PCBs, etc. They often dont provide the rated power, either, and overheat easily.

Its the one component that can literally take every other component with it if it packs it in.

Dont skimp on the PSU.

Besides, its not like you cant get affordable GOOD PSUs.

[Temp name]

Are cheap PSU even a bad idea? Cuz all of the ones i got were like 15-30$ tops. Just 1 time i got a cooler master one with a brand name and some bronze rating. I know its about power efficiency but that aside, do they break more or what?

They're a great idea if you don't mind them dying and taking your PC with them.

PSUs are the worst place to save money, since if it's bad, it both can and will take your entire PC with it.

For the OP: I'd go with this:
PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 3600 3.6 GHz 6-Core Processor (£175.98 @ Aria PC)
Motherboard: MSI B450 TOMAHAWK MAX ATX AM4 Motherboard (£89.99 @ CCL Computers)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LPX 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3000 Memory (£59.99 @ Box Limited)
Storage: Samsung 860 Evo 500 GB 2.5" Solid State Drive (£59.99 @ Box Limited)
Video Card: PowerColor Radeon RX 5700 XT 8 GB Video Card (£339.99 @ Amazon UK)
Case: Fractal Design Define R5 (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case (£133.13 @ Amazon UK)
Power Supply: SeaSonic S12II 620 W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply (£55.47 @ Scan.co.uk)
Total: £914.54
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2019-12-03 06:55 GMT+0000

It's pretty similar to Kagthul's, but it seems the prices have dropped on the case since he made it, so I got the gpu upgrade he was talking about for 9 pounds instead of 30, though that won't be much of a help if you already bought the case (Also I got a 100w more on the PSU for the same price, but that isn't needed)

[Fluffington81]

Thank you all for all the replies.

Regarding the PSU, my current one is a Corsair CX750 so preferable I would like a modular PSU like the one I currently have. I don't mind spending a little bit more to get a decent PSU so what would you guys recommend for about the £100 mark?

[Temp name]

Thank you all for all the replies.

Regarding the PSU, my current one is a Corsair CX750 so preferable I would like a modular PSU like the one I currently have. I don't mind spending a little bit more to get a decent PSU so what would you guys recommend for about the £100 mark?

If it's a 2018 or 2019 model, the CX series is perfectly acceptable.
If you want to buy something else though:
https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/product/...ply-ssr-550pd2
https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/product/...ply-ssr-550gd2

Are both pretty good, or if you want to stick with 750w, you can get this, though it's a bit over 100:
https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/product/...pply-ssr-750fx