CPU

Mother Board

GPU

8GB of RAM

1TB HDD for way more storage space then a console. You could drop the storage space to match a console and save a bit of money, but we won't do that.

PSU Cheaper/lower wattage for this build is possible, but it's better not to skimp

Disk drives are dying out and everything is going digital. Even consoles are showing massive growth in direct game purchases and downloads from PSN/XBL. But here it is if you want one.

Here's a few cases 1 2 3 4. Pick your case based on style, USB ports, whatever. All of those are 30 dollars or less and are mATX, meaning smaller form factor.

So now peripherals. Need a monitor? No you don't, plug it in to your TV. HDMI just like a console and consoles don't come with displays. You might have a monitor already.
Controller/input devices? PCs can use the old controllers you have laying around. Here's a keyboard and mouse recommendation anyway if you want one or don't already own them since most people own a computer for stuff outside gaming. That costs around half the price of an OEM console controller and KB+M is a more accurate input method. Controllers are a comfort thing and are best suited for driving games, but point and click with a high DPI sensor is much more intuitive and accurate than a controller with bad input filtering and clunky auto aim. Microsoft tried cross platform and keyboard and mouse destroyed gamepad/controller players. The only real cross platform right now is Rocket League because controllers are the better input method for driving so it's equal footing. But if you're playing Rocket League on PC, you load in faster. You'll be sitting on an empty field while you wait for other players to connect before the countdown and stuff starts, kinda neat. Also, that one I recommended has a button to change DPI/sensitivity on the fly, no need to bother with settings menus. Seamlessly go from sniping to roaming to driving. The keyboard is back lit and has a few color options.

Operating system? GNU/Linux is free and is getting more and more gaming support every day. It's not as hard as people make it out to be. Get a basic/user friendly distro like Ubuntu and all you really have to do is install. If you're a masochist, a developer, or a masochistic developer get a tougher distro like Gentoo. Funny thing as well, games with Linux support run better on Linux since it's such a great operating system on the software level. SteamOS is also free. Want Windows? Download the OS and put it on a disk or flash drive, install it on the new computer and enter the product key. Where do you get a product key? Don't buy it from a big box retail store for 100 bucks or likely more, you're getting gypped. You can buy 100% legit product keys online. r/microsoftsoftwareswap sells them for 20-25$ and the keys are straight from Microsoft

Also, all of those listings are from Amazon and are Amazon Prime eligible (for the other guy that replied to you that wants to complain about rebates/shipping/living next to a MicroCenter). You can find a lot of those parts cheaper and/or with free shipping. I recommend NewEgg. So you can do even better than the price I'm about to give you (which also means you can get better hardware for better performance):

Here's the itemized list with the prices: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/QBVRNG

$448.51 total for a PC that is massively better than current gen consoles. Drop the unnecessary DVD drive and the keyboard+mouse combo and the PC itself comes in at $402.93.

So... brand new parts from a large online retailer with a great support system. You can get even better deals on the parts if you checked other great online retailers like NewEgg. Ten years ago consoles absolutely made sense, but now leaps in hardware design have made better hardware cheaper and the tables have turned.

Does that "come close without cheating"?

Here's a few more kickers now that we have the hard price set:

AMD and Nvidia are about to launch a new line of GPUs, meaning current prices will drop (better performance at lower cost on that build I just gave you) and AMD is specifically focusing on lower/mid range market with higher performance and efficiency. It's going to be great for mainstream gaming rigs.

PC gaming is usually cheaper over time because Intel/Nvida/AMD don't charge development fees (they can't), neither can EVGA/ASUS or whoever makes the parts, neither can Microsoft. Steam takes a cut, but so do stores like GameStop. Stuff like that is why Steam can have massive sales consoles can only dream of and the developers can still profit from a sale. The only reason PC games are 60 dollars like their console equivalents is because it's the standard and they can "get away with it" (especially if you're Microsoft trying to expand Windows 10 and not alienate XBox), but they can make the same or more per sale at a lower cost.

PCs also have the largest game library of any platform and the massive free to play library that comes with it as well. And it's really free, not 'pay 50 a year for a subscription and get to play a game for a month' free

PC is, in theory, forever backwards compatible. Want to play CoD4? Don't shell out the money for Infinite Warfare, just install CoD4 and play on the servers PC still hosts. Games that came out upwards of 10 years ago can still be installed and run with no issue.

You don't have to double spend. No buying a console and a computer for work/school. Put your 300 dollar home computer and 400 dollar console prices together and you made a huge leap in budget to built a killer PC. You also get a much more versatile platform capable of running much more stuff and you get so much more control over your experience.

Hey there,

hope I can help you a bit in the following. The selection of devices you have in mind is already very good, I'd say, all those machines are great in their own right. So I imagine that it is hard to choose between them... Since you are a developer, and since you didn't say anything about GPU-heavy tasks like gaming, video editing etc. being a thing, I think we can do without a comparison of GPU power here, but I can still do that later on in case you want me to, for video editing, gaming etc. purposes.

I think as a very first step, it makes sense to take a look at the Geekbench scores of the respective devices, so that you can get an idea about the performance difference between them. I'll also include the current MacBook Pros 15" 2019 in the comparison. Here we go (higher is better):

MacBook Pro 13" 2018, 2.7 GHz Intel Core i7-8559U Quad Core:

5141 Points (Single-Core Score)

17783 Points (Multi-Core Score)

source: https://browser.geekbench.com/macs/433

-----

MacBook Pro 15" 2019, 2.6 GHz Intel Core i7-9750H Hexa Core:

5260 Points (Single-Core Score)

23068 Points (Multi-Core Score)

source: https://browser.geekbench.com/macs/445

MacBook Pro 15" 2019, 2.3 GHz Intel Core i9-9880H Octa Core:

5435 Points (Single-Core Score)

28396 Points (Multi-Core Score)

source: https://browser.geekbench.com/macs/446

MacBook Pro 15" 2019, 2.4 GHz Intel Core i9-9980HK Octa Core:

5589 Points (Single-Core Score)

29854 Points (Multi-Core Score)

source: https://browser.geekbench.com/macs/453

-----

iMac 27" 2019, 3.7 GHz Intel Core i5-9600K Hexa Core:

5796 Points (Single-Core Score)

22990 Points (Multi-Core Score)

source: https://browser.geekbench.com/macs/439

iMac 27" 2019, 3.6 GHz Intel Core i9-9900K Octa Core:

6293 Points (Single-Core Score)

33961 Points (Multi-Core Score)

source: https://browser.geekbench.com/macs/438

-----

iMac Pro 27" 2017, 3.2 GHz Intel Xeon W-2140B Octa Core:

5072 Points (Single-Core Score)

31359 Points (Multi-Core Score)

source: https://browser.geekbench.com/macs/426

-----

As you can infer from the scores above, there are significant performance differences between the individual devices. The MBPs 15" have more physical cores than the 13" models - 6-Core i7 or 8-Core i9 in the 15" models vs. 4-Core i7 in the 13" model - and thus have a much higher Multi-Core speed. The Multi-Core Score is especially relevant, as most modern applications are designed to make use of multiple cores all at once. Thus, a higher Multi-Core Score directly translates into better general performance for the most part. The Hexa-Core i7 in the MBP 15" 2019 base model is a clear step up from the Quad Core i7 of the 13" model. The i9 Octa Core chips in turn are both a step up from Hexa Core i7 even, though between the two i9 chips of the MBP 15" 2019 there isn't much difference, so if you can get a model with 2.3 GHz i9 cheaper, I would rather get that.

The iMac 27" 2019 with i9 Octa Core chip is a step up from the i5 Hexa Core for the same reason, 8-Core i9 vs. 6-Core i5, thus far superior Multi-Core performance. The iMac 27" 2019 with i9 chip even outpaces the iMac Pro 27" 2017 with Octa Core by a slight margin, this is important to remember due to the fact that the regular iMac 27" 2019 with i9 chip can be bought for less money than the base model iMac Pro.

All in all, I think it's clear that the i9 chips are the top notch performers by far, no other CPU in the lineup can touch the performance of the i9 chips even remotely. The i9 in the iMac 27" 2019 being the best performer of them all.

Now, the matter of RAM: If you opt for a MacBook Pro, I would opt for 32 GB RAM (15" models) or 16 GB RAM (13" models) if you want to future-proof them, maxing out the RAM absolutely doesn't hurt in any shape or form, it enhances the longevity of the devices in question, and ensures that you will not experience slowdowns related to a lack of RAM. The RAM in the current MBPs 13" and 15" is soldered in, sadly, so you can't replace or extend it later on. Your decision at the time of purchase is the final one for the lifetime of the device, so I'd say better safe than sorry in this case, as there is no way to fix a lack of RAM later on with these machines.

A definite advantage of the iMac 27" 2019 is that its RAM is user-serviceable and that you can therefore easily upgrade it yourself. The iMac 27" 2019 supports up to 128 GB RAM (4 x 32 GB RAM modules). It has 4 RAM slots, meaning 4 RAM modules in total will fit in. A higher amount than 128 GB RAM won't work due to a limitation in the logic board.

The iMac 27" 2019 needs RAM that matches the following specification:

PC4-21300 DDR4 2666 MHz, 260-pin

Here are some examples of RAM modules that work flawlessly in the iMac 27" 2019:

• https://www.amazon.com/Timetec-Compatible-27-inch-Display-PC4-21300/dp/B07MH3KHLY/
  
• https://www.amazon.com/CORSAIR-Vengeance-Performance-260-Pin-CMSX32GX4M2A2666C18/dp/B01BGZEVHU/
  
• https://www.amazon.com/Crucial-Single-PC4-21300-SODIMM-260-Pin/dp/B071KP8CGJ/
  
• https://www.amazon.com/OWC-2666MHz-PC4-21300-OWC2666DDR4S64P-macmini18/dp/B07PTRZSHB/
  
  Take the Crucial RAM sticks I linked to, for example: 16 GB RAM = $64... 4 x $64 = $256. Same RAM upgrade from Apple: $1000. And yes, as long as you remain within the specification above, you get the exact same RAM technically that you would also get from Apple, no technical difference whatsoever. You'll get around $750(!!!) back.
  
  The RAM upgrade is extremely easy to do, take a look:
  
  
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PuXKiFyzRzs
  
  The ability to upgrade the RAM yourself in the iMac 27" 2019 is a huge plus, as you've just seen. The iMac Pro 27" 2017 also has user-serviceable RAM. Sounds great? Well, you were rejoicing too early... The RAM in the iMac Pro isn't soldered in, so the theoretical option to extend it yourself exists. But it's mostly theoretical, as you have no easy way to physically access the RAM in the iMac Pro. Extending the RAM yourself in an iMac Pro requires a partial disassembly of the device, including unglueing the screen from the device body and taking the logic board out. The procedure is a mess, take a look:
  
  
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_fBVy26FNbE
  
  Furthermore, the ECC-RAM that the iMac Pro needs is fairly expensive compared to the RAM the iMac 27" 2019 needs, even if you buy third party RAM.
  
  As for ports: The iMacs come with more classical ports, among them USB-A, SD-Card reader, and Ethernet. They have a clear advantage here if you need any of the aforementioned ports regularly, because if you have equipment that uses those ports and own a MacBook Pro which only has USB-C, you won't get around using a dongle regularly. The iMacs have a better mixture of legacy ports and future-proof USB-C ports, while the MacBook Pros went all in with USB-C.
  
  -----
  
  Which machine would I buy if I were in your shoes? I think I'd buy the iMac 27" 2019 with i9 chip, it's the most powerful machine out of the bunch in terms of processing power, it has the same screen as the iMac Pro, the same ports as the iMac Pro (well, it has two USB-C ports less, but still...), and most importantly, you can upgrade the RAM easily in this machine and save tons of money that way. Make sure you configure in an SSD at the time of purchase, though, a Fusion Drive just doesn't do this machine justice. Add the 512 GB SSD to it at the bare minimum. The iMac Pro is IMHO not worth it compared to the iMac 27" 2019 with i9 chip, as it's a bit slower, has far less accessible (and more expensive) RAM, and is on top of that more expensive by itself already.
  
  In case you opt for a MacBook Pro, I'd opt for an i9 model here as well if I were in your shoes, as the i9 chips are much more powerful than the others. Less upgradable machines and worse port selection compared to the iMacs (be prepared for dongle life...), you also lose the gorgeous 27" 5K display... You gain mobile, though. If the "mobile" factor isn't of extremely high importance to you, I'd head straight for an iMac, you get far more bang for your buck in this case.

/u/paulatreides0, /u/jetjaguar124, u/WeAreAwful

This is not my best guide, but it is a guide. Refinements welcome.
I wish I knew where to post the refined version, because it seems wasted
on the ephemeral DT.

PC building notes, 2019 Q3

Introduction

This post is a a "guide" to PC building in late 2019. It is incomplete
in two senses. First, I make no special claims to authority or objectivity.
I'm just an enthusiast. I have only personally tested a fraction of the parts
listed below. Second, I am writing this before the Intel 10th-gen refresh
and before the release AMD's flagship 3950X. Those new parts may impact some
of the advice given below.

This guide is extremely opinionated. I will simplify and exaggerate to
keep things simple.

This post was written while drinking whisky and listening to
enka.

Internals

What's inside your PC

A PC has seven core components. They are,

1. CPU: the central processing unit. The thing that does calculations.
   
2. Motherboard: the bit that all the other bits slot into
   
3. GPU: the graphics processing unit. For frames in games.
   
4. RAM: Random Access Memory. Fast, volatile, short-term storage.
   
5. Storage: longer-term storage. Comes in several flavors, mainly solid state
   and hard disk.
   
6. PSU: the power supply unit. The bit that delivers power to the other bits.
   
7. Case: a steel box that you put the other bits in.
   
   A word first on compatibility. The skeleton of the build is the motherboard,
   and you have to make sure that every other bit is compatible with your board.
   There are two CPU manufacturers, AMD and Intel; each has their own CPU
   design and thus has their own motherboard type. RAM, storage, PSUs, and GPUs
   are all cross-compatible with either AMD or Intel motherboards.
   Motherboards come in different sizes. A case will be compatible with certain
   size ranges. From small to big, these are ITX, m-ATX, ATX, and
   E-ATX. You'll want to check that your motherboard can fit in your case.
   
   

   CPUs
   

   
   AMD's most current CPUs are the 3000-series Ryzen chips. There are a bunch
   of them, but the only two you have to care about are the
   
   

• AMD Ryzen 5 3600 ($200)
  
• AMD Ryzen 7 3700X ($330)
  
  The other options are the 3600X, the 3800X, and the 3900X. None of these
  are interesting compared to the two listed above, and can be safely ignored.
  
  Intel's current CPUs are the 9th-gen Core chips. I would only seriously
  consider two of these chips,
  
  
• Intel i7-9700K ($380)
  
• Intel i9-9900K ($450-$500)
  
  and I'd ignore the rest. If you want to spend less than $350 on a CPU,
  then go AMD. If you want to spend more than $350 on a CPU,
  go Intel.
  
  A word about prior-gen chips. The AMD 2000 series (2700X, 2600) and the
  Intel 8th gen series (8700K) are still viable at the right price. Look at
  benchmarks. More on that later.
  
  A word about lower-spec CPUs. AMD sells cheap CPUs that have integrated
  graphics. That means you don't need to buy a graphics card with these chips.
  As such, a build with the 3400G or 3200G can be extremely inexpensive. Consider
  them for office use or basic builds that don't require heavy graphics.
  I have personally tested them and they play 4K video flawlessly; they should
  be perfectly adequate for basic tasks.
  
  For scientific workloads, ask me to write another post. I can't cover
  everything here.
  
  
  

  Motherboard
  

  
  Motherboards only accept either AMD or Intel CPUs, but not both, so you must
  choose a board that is compatible with your CPU.
  Once you decide between AMD or Intel, you can proceed to figure out which
  motherboard you want. There are approximately six billion boards. For AMD,
  skip the hassle and just buy the
  
  

• MSI B450 Tomahawk MAX
  
  Note the "MAX." The Tomahawk was released during the 1000- and 2000-series
  of AMD processors. The MAX variant is compatible with 3000-series chips
  out of the box.
  
  For Intel, I know far less. Any Z390 board should be acceptable.
  
  For AMD, the new X570 boards are available as well. They are pricey and
  overkill for 90% of desktop users. Feel free to skip them. Look out for the
  B550 boards that are to be released in 2020Q1.
  
  
  

  GPU
  

  
  There are two main manufacturers of GPUs: AMD and Nvidia. Confusingly, they
  do not sell GPUs themselves, but market them through partners like MSI,
  EVGA, PowerColor, Sapphire, etc.
  
  The GPU stack is a little confusing.
  That chart lists all of the main GPUs on the market, and if you count, there
  are over 25 GPUs listed. Multiply 25 GPUs by 10 or so board partners,
  multiplied again by the fact that each partner sells multiple types of the same
  GPU, and you have a recipe for an absolute nightmare of a market.
  The prices are only approximate.
  
  Let me cut through the fog. You should buy one of
  
  

• AMD RX 570 ($130)
  
• Nvidia 1660 or AMD RX 590 ($220-$280)
  
• AMD RX 5700 XT ($400-$430)
  
• Nvidia 2080 Super ($700)
  
• Nvidia 2080 Ti ($1200)
  
  Pick your price point.
  
  
  

  RAM
  

  
  RAM is distinguished by its generation. We are currently on DDR4, with
  DDR5 to come in either 2020 or 2021. This part is easy. Just buy
  16GB of DDR4 3200-speed RAM and be done with it.
  This kit
  will set you back $75 to $85 depending on the day of the week and will perform
  adequately for 99.98% of users.
  
  

  Storage
  

  
  In 2019, there is no excuse for not buying fast solid-state storage.
  For 90% of users, you should buy either the 500GB or 1TB variant of the
  Intel 660p and call it a day.
  This reviewer
  is 100% paid off by Intel, but he's also right on this topic. Buy a 660p
  and rest easy.
  
  For enthusiasts, the 660p uses new, cheap, somewhat fragile QLC NAND technology
  and you might want to go with a Samsung 970 instead.
  
  That does it for your boot drive. If you need further long-term storage for
  music, movies, videos, games, etc, look into either Seagate or WD's 8TB to
  12TB options.
  
  I personally have a few WD Gold 12TB drives. They're pricey, but they're
  enterprise-grade and haven't done me wrong yet. My firm, which buys storage
  by the truckload, loves these things. They rarely fail.
  
  I personally am using a 660p for OS, a second SSD for
  some of my media, and HDDs for long-term storage.
  
  

  Power
  

  
  I have neither the time nor the expertise to get into a deep discussion of
  power supplies. The topic is apparently very complicated. You should buy
  something in the 550W to 750W from a manufacturer like Corsair, EVGA,
  or CoolerMaster. Make sure it has the number of VGA connectors that your GPU
  requires.
  
  

  Case
  

  
  The case is the place to really personalize your build. Try not to spend
  more than $100, though; at the end of the day, it's just a steel box.
  
  

  Peripherals
  

  
  In some ways, the bits outside the computer are more important than the bits
  inside. After all, these are the bits you interact with on a daily basis.
  
  

• Monitors
  
• Keyboard
  
• Mouse
  
• Headphones or speakers
  
• Chair
  
• Desk
  
  

  Monitors
  

  
  Monitors are distinguished by size and resolution.
  
  The resolutions available are 1080p, 1440p, and 4K. I recommend the following.
  
  

• 24" 1080p for entry-level gaming and for most office work
  
• 25" or 27" 1440p
  
• 32" or higher 4K
  
  You may also care about refresh rate; the most common refresh rates are 60Hz
  and 144Hz. These only matter for gaming.
  
  One particular sweet spot is the "1440p, 27", 144Hz refresh rate" class. Look
  up benchmarks and comparison videos.
  
  

  Keyboard
  

  
  Pick to taste. Some swear by mechanical keyboards. Others buy standalone
  keyboards that mimic the laptop keyboard that they're used to.
  
  

  Mouse
  

  I have used the Logitech G500 and Logitech G403, and both are fine. They're
  somewhat expensive and will run you about $70.
  
  

  Sound
  

  
  There are a million ways to fulfill your sound needs. For wired headsets,
  the bone-stock recommendation is the AudioTechnica ATH-M50x.
  For speakers, I can recommend the Klipsch 2+1.
  
  For more earphone and headphone suggestions, ask me for an extended discussion.
  
  

  Chair and desk
  

  
  Don't neglect these. You'll be sitting at that chair for several hours per
  day, and you'll use that desk forever. Measure how wide your monitors will be
  and buy a desk accordingly. Go to an office supply shop and sit in a few chairs;
  pick one that you like. Your desk and chair will last forever, so don't be
  afraid to spend a little money here.
  
  

  Advice
  

  
  Read Logical Increments in its entirety.
  
  Watch videos from real, serious hardware reviewers. I recommend
  Gamers Nexus, Paul's Hardware, and Hardware Unboxed. Anyone else is either
  subpar or bought out or provides worthless advice.
  
  Do research, think for yourself, and ask me questions. I'll either give you
  advice or point you to reliable resources if I think my advice would be lacking.

/u/JetJaguar124 /u/Integralds

So first thing's first, Windows: ~$130 for Home Edition.

Okay, so things to keep in mind:

1. If you go Intel, overclocking isn't too great on 9th gen intel, especially if you don't have a beefy aftermarket cpu cooler. So if you don't plan on doing that at some point then you don't need a K series CPU and an overclocking motherboard. So your motherboard should primarily focus on giving you decent I/O options.
   
   
2. You also probably want to aim for 1080p or 1440p tops, given your price range.
   
   
3. Related to #1: If you don't plan on overclocking then a basic-ish mobo will do fine, and you mainly want to focus on I/O and other features. If you are getting Intel doubly so, as, as I mentioned before, intel 9th gen doesn't overclock well due to relatively low headroom to begin with. For intel overclocking boards are "Z" while non-overclocking boards are "B". For AMD they are "X" and "B" respectively.
   
   The GPU you should be seeking to use is the 1660 Ti, which is basically a slightly gimped RTX 2060 but without the raytracing stuff. If you are willing to spend a bit more then you could get an RX 5700 instead, which is nearly ~30% faster on average.
   
   That'll put you at $270 - $360 depending on the model you pick. Yes, it's a third of your budget, but the GPU is the single most important part of your build.
   
   Secondly you'll want a decent CPU to go with that.
   
   The Ryzen 5 3600 looks like a pretty good CPU, its a bit under $200, its fairly beefy and extendable so it's somewhat "future-proof" - in that it shouldn't cause much bottlenecking and you could upgrade your GPU past a 2080 Ti before needing to change the processor.
   
   This MSI Tomohawk Mobo looks good for the 3600.
   
   So we're at ~$320 for that, or about $640 total. Plus windows that is ~$730.
   
   The RAM Inty recommended before should be fine. You only really need 16 GB. This will set you back ~$80. If you find yourself wanting more RAM later down the line you can always add another pair of sticks later and double up your RAM.
   
   That puts us at around ~$800.
   
   $80 for a 750W Fully Modular Corsair PSU is basically a steal. It's refurbished though, although that shouldn't be a problem - especially with a PSU.
   
   We're at ~$880.
   
   Some good thermal paste for your CPU.
   
   We're now at ~$890.
   
   Storage depends on what you want to do. Do you install a lot of stuff and files at once? In which case you might want to get a nice sized SSD plus a big HDD.
   
   For your system drive. Plenty of space, good price, AND its an nvme SSD.
   
   That makes for ~$990.
   
   If you need lots of extra space
   
   If you need extreme extra space
   
   Keyboard and case are up to you, decide as you please. For the case just make sure that it can support an ATX mobo, as the mobo listed here is full ATX. Mechanical keyboards are crack, but they tend to be more expensive so they're probably out of range. This will be another $100 to $150 depending on what you pick.
   
   Something to keep in mind though: Your case and your monitors are basically "future proof". In other words, they won't really get "worse" with time or cause future performance issues. So monitors and case are things where you want to consider what you'll eventually want and buy ahead, even if you have to stretch a bit.
   
   This just leaves your monitor. I would NOT recommend a 1080p monitor above 24 in. Honestly, if you can go for a 1440p monitor then do it. I'm a bit of a resolution whore tho, so if 1080p works for you then that's fine. I would also avoid TN panels - they tend to look more washed out, tinny, and have worse viewing angles . . . although they also tend to be a fair bit cheaper than the good panels (namely IPS panels).
   
   I used to own one of these . . . it was vvy vvy gud. This is a relatively artsy monitor, so if color gamut correctness or whatever is important for you for photo or video editing or whatever, then this is a good pick. It's a bit expensive, yeah, but also super gorgeous. It also goes up to 75 Hz. Conversely, get a freesync monitor, and this one is probably good - haven't done much research on it, but Dells are generally pretty good in my experience (my current 4K monitor is a Dell too). Freesync will allow you to basically eliminate screen tearing and will provide a smoother feeling experience because it will even out frame rates better.
   
   One last thing to keep in mind: Shopping around on ebay and other sites can save you a fair bit. My rule of thumb is to never, ever buy sensitive parts like hard-drives, cpus, or motherboards second hand or refurbished. But everything else is fair game. So refurbished GPUs, Monitors, PSUs, Cases, etc. should be fine. Pre-owned? Ehhh . . . that I'm much, much more sketchy on - personally I wouldn't, but that's just me.
   
   So in total it'd be somewhere in the range of $1500 including monitor, OS, case, and keyboard. The system itself is around $1000. But you can perhaps knock off a hundred bucks or two by shopping around and looking for where you can buy these parts cheaper than Amazon.
   
   But again: investing in a good monitor and case can be worth it. It means you won't have to replace it if/when you do upgrade. And worst case scenario you can offload your monitor as a side/secondary monitor when you upgrade your monitor to a new one.

Alright! So There's good news and bad news. The good news is you can absolutely upgrade your computer in a variety of ways. You can even give yourself a dedicated graphics card! The bad news though, is that doing so probably won't be cheap. It might be better to buy a new laptop, or start putting together a desktop rig for yourself. I'll let you be the judge though! Here we go!

RAM: Upgrade from 4GB to 8GB

This would definitely speed up your computer. *GB is the minimum I recommend to anyone, regardless of what they are using the computer for. 4GB of RAM is the minimum necessary for a modern operating system to function, so doubling to 8GB will give you some very noticeable improvement.
I generally stick with Crucial.com RAM for upgrades. They're affordable, have good customer service, and have never steered me wrong before. You have two choices for an 8GB upgrade from them. A standard 8GB module and a Ballistix 8GB module. The latter is supposed to be higher quality, but I'm not really familiar with the differences, nor do I think it's worth the extra money. I'd go with the standard.

Hard Drive: Upgrade to Solid State or Fusion Drive

Upgrading the hard drive won't improve gaming performance, but it will make everything you do on your system faster overall. Not 100% sure, but I think your computer has a 500GB drive in there right now. decent space, but bare bones performance. Upgrading to a Fusion Drive or SSD will give you a huge performance jump. SSDs are the fastest drives out there, but assuming you don't want to decrease your disk space, your going to have to pay the premium. SSHDs aka Fusion Drives offer the best of both worlds; they add flash storage to a standard drive, and optimize performance by putting the system files and most frequently used files and programs on the flash section. Huge performance boost for a MUCH lower price than an SSD. I love these things, and definitely recommend one if budget is an issue. To upgrade your drive, you'll need to either have a backup you can restore to the new drive, or clone your existing hard drive to the new drive beforehand. My recommended method of doing this is by buying a hard drive enclosure. It's super affordable, and will let you repurpose your old hard drive as an external drive or backup drive when you're done.

CPU, Motherboard, and GPU:

Ok, here's where everything gets complex. The RAM and Hard Drive are easy upgrades, but while they will definitely speed things up, they won't help with gaming performance as much as this will. Your processor is trying to handle running the computer and running the games at the same time, and since it's not a great processor, it can't do that very well. Upgrading the processor allows your computer to do a lot more at once, and adding a GPU essentially gives games their own dedicated processor to work with. You'll see huge gaming performance boosts by going this route. Here's the trouble though: Your CPU is integrated in the motherboard. The only way to upgrade it is by swapping in a new motherboard with a better integrated processor. The silver lining here is that your computer model line had several motherboard options, both with more powerful CPUs as well as dedicated integrated GPUs. This means that by buying a new motherboard, you could upgrade your CPU, add a GPU, or both!
Here's the problem though. These motherboards are hard to find, expensive, or both. Parts-People.com has the listings and Dell Part numbers for several upgrades to your system, both with and without NVidia GPUs.

No GPU:
i5-4210U 1.7GHz - 6YPRH |
i5-5200U 2.2GHz - THVGR |
i7-4510U 2.0GHz - 7G1CD

With GPU:
i5-4210U 1.7GHz - 1P4HG |
i5-5200U 2.2GHz - T7TC4 |
i7-4510U 2.0GHz - CHXGJ

As you can see...pricey AND sold out. But at least this gives you a references. You may also notice that the ones with NVidia GPUs actually say they are only compatible with models that already had a discrete GPU...that's not actually true. I double checked with one of their technicians; all you'd need would be a replacement fan/heatsink. The one in your system only covers the CPU. The new one would cover both the CPU and the GPU. Fortunately, this part is inexpensive, both on the Parts-People site and on eBay.
Speaking of eBay, I think it's the best option for finding one of these motherboards. I did find the best version of the bunch for sale, but they're still quite pricey. There is another option though. By watching eBay for used Dell Inspiron models that have the motherboard you need, you might be able to find and win an auction for a whole computer at a far lower price point than the motherboard alone. As it turns outYou'd need to look for keywords like processor speed, and hope that if you tactfully asked if it said "nvidia" somewhere, the seller would understand what to look for. It gets risky, but you might even find auctions for damaged versions being sold for parts. Idiot cracked his screen? Motherboard's probably ok! Idiot spilled beer all over the computer...avoid that one. You wouldn't be restricted to Inspiron 15 (3542) either. As it turns out, these boards were used in Inspiron 14 (3442) and Inspiron 17 (5748) models as well. Definitely helpful if you go that route. Hell, with nothing wrong with it and at the right price point, you might find a whole new computer this way!

Speaking of a new computer...we come to my final point. Cost and worth. If you were to buy the RAM, Fusion Drive, external enclosure, i7 + GPU Motherboard, and Fan/Heatsink right now, you'd be looking at something like $350. Not terrible in the grand scheme of things, especially considering the fact that you could buy them at separate times, upgrading in stages as budget allows. However, the Wirecutter's pick for a budget laptop is $550 on Amazon, and would match or exceed the performance of everything above with no hassle or downtime. Just something to consider!

Phew! That was a lot. Hopefully it's helpful information, and gives you an idea of your options. Let me know if you have any questions!

Your upgrade looks like it will be way cheaper than mine was.

I got the Rift on sale for $350, but my PC was like 10 years old with only a new SSD in it.

Ended up getting an i5-9600K + MSI Z390 Gaming Edge for $470, 16 GB of RAM, Cooler Master 212 EVO which turned out to be huge and a huge pain in the ass to install (I recommend watching the video on that page that I didn't notice until after I installed the thing with only it's Ikea-like instructions.), but that big fan means it's far quieter than the tiny stock fans processors usually come with. The i5-9600K does not come with a fan either, so I had no choice and this was the most popular one on NewEgg.

Also got myself an MSI Gaming X GTX 1070 used on Ebay for $270. And because it only has one HDMI port, I decided to use that for the RIFT because it was less risky, and got a Displayport to HDMI cable which supports audio for my monitor which has the speakers built in and does not have a Displayport connector. Only afterward while taking my PC apart however did I realize I had the HMDI cable plugged into my old card with a DVI adapter, and the Gaming X has a DVI port as well, so I could have saved the money on the cable. :(

Also at the last minute I had to run out and grab a Corsair 750W power supply because my perfectly good Coolermaster 750W power supply did not have an 8 pin connector for my CPU. Of course, when I got it home it did not have the 4 pin connector and the motherboard has both a 4 pin and 8 pin and I assumed both would be needed, but I gave it a shot and just having the 8 pin was fine. But now I wonder if just having the 4 pin would also have been fine. The damn manual doesn't have a thing to say about it being okay to just use one of them, but being an electrical engineer I have to assume they're both tied to the same rail on the board, so I'm just gaining a bit more copper to lower the voltage drop if I were to connect a 4 pin as well, and the system seems perfectly stable, so perhaps they included the second connector to help with overclocking. I dunno.

Anyway, final tally including the Rift without a third sensor was $1,339.

And if you're wondering why I didn't go with AMD, well, I could have but when I priced it out, I wasn't actually going to save that much. And the Intel seemed like it would perform better with both games and applications and would just be less likely to have any issues like the Vive and its wireless solution do with AMD processors.

Part of the reason the AMD was not much cheaper is the same MSI motherboard would have been more expensive as an AMD variant and while the AMD included a cooler, the Cooler Master one was only $30 and had a bigger fan which meant it would likely be quieter. Though the AMD does run at a lower wattage, so it could be a toss up. All I know is my old PC sounded like a jet engine when I started doing any heavy lifting with 3D graphics, and it was still kinda noisy otherwise, but now its super quiet and even when running 3D apps that MSI card which I specifically chose because it's one of the quietest, was indeed really quiet.

Speaking of the 1070, my god that is a monster of a card! I barely fit it in my case. And my case is a full size tower. But it has extra 3.5" bays down the bottom where I have my hard drives installed and I had to move them down some more to get it to fit and it only barely slid in behind the metal frame of the drive bay.

Only other thing to mention is while I had no problem fitting my two ram sticks on the motherboard, that Cooler Master cooler's fan would probably collide with one of the ram sticks if I were to install four in there. I think the fan can slide up and down on the cooler though, so perhaps as long as you have low profile ram, you could slide it up a smidge or two to make it fit. Something to consider if you think you may eventually want 32 or 64GB of ram.

If you're at all handy, it's really easy to do the upgrades yourself. Here's a YouTube video showing how. The video is for last year's 9570 model, but the upgrade process is identical. Skip the WiFi chip upgrade unless you have specific problems (rare) that can't be resolved with the process I linked above (exceedingly rare).

You have a ton of options for RAM and SSD - so many that it can be quite overwhelming. You have to be careful to get compatible memory, whereas basically any SSD that fits will work. Performance will be roughly the same across RAM kits, but the SSD has more of a performance range. I'll link some examples. Since your link is for Dell Canada, I'll just use Amazon Canada for examples because I know it works.

​

Before you pick upgrades

If you can get the screen, processor, battery, and discrete graphics card you want simultaneously, start with 8 GB RAM and a 256 GB SSD and upgrade both aftermarket (go straight for 1 TB on the SSD upgrade). If you can't drop lower than a 512 GB SSD to get right screen/processor/battery/dGPU combination, instead go with the 512 GB SSD and keep that initially unless you know you need 1 TB. You can upgrade later, although it is a little tricky logistically - if you'd prefer to save yourself the potential hassle, upgrading to aftermarket 1 TB immediately is defensible.

Consider starting with 8 or 16 GB of RAM and, if the option is available for the rest of the config you want, a 512 GB SSD. If you get a model with 8 GB RAM, you can pull out the 2x4 GB sticks and put in a single 16 GB stick instead. If you decide you need 32 GB later, you can pop in a second identical 16 GB stick. (Two modules is technically faster than one, but the performance difference is negligible. Don't worry about it.) If the screen/processor/battery/GPU you want only come on a model with 16 GB RAM, just start with that and buy an upgrade later if you need more elbow room. Very few people need 32 GB - an example of that use case is if you're running multiple virtual machines simultaneously and have to have them locally rather than spinning up just what you need in The Cloud.

Similarly, though not to as great an extent, 1 TB is a lot of disk space. Do you need that much? If you don't have hundreds of gigabytes of media you want to store locally or keep >2 AAA games installed simultaneously, you're probably fine with 512 GB. Again, you can always upgrade later, although the logistics are trickier if you want to save all your old data.

​

Memory

Crucial is a solid choice. Crucial's website has a nice compatibility picker for the XPS 15 7590, but since they don't handle Canadian customs for you, here's an Amazon CA link (32 GB selected, but you can pick 1x16 instead of 2x16).

​

SSD

You need an m.2 2280 NVMe SSD. Nearly any SSD fitting those parameters will work. If you're going to aftermarket-upgrade the SSD, go straight for 1 TB (or more if you really need more). I have heard very good things about the Silicon Power P34A80 (review, purchase) and the Adata XPG SX8200 Pro (review, purchase). Note that the SX8200 Pro is double-sided, but it has been reported to fit and work just fine in an XPS 9570 and so should work in a 7590 as well.

​

Display

You didn't ask about this, but since you're going to save a bunch of money on the RAM and SSD, consider whether your use case merits treating yourself to a 4K display for a fair chunk of the cost you just saved :-P

If you need >10 hours of battery runtime, skip 4K. Otherwise it's really nice. Text is amazingly crisp, which I have found lets me run at 175% display scaling and still read comfortably. (Windows 10 default is 125% for 1080p and 250% for 4K). There are a small number of applications that don't do well with UI scaling, which makes 4K a less-than-great choice for those, but you can always drop back to 1080p just while using those applications if you really have to. It'll look pretty good because 4K is an exact multiplier of 1080p.

​

Base Models

I'm not listing prices because they change too frequently. Just check the links.

• 8 GB RAM, 256 GB SSD, 1080p display. At the time of this writing, there's a sale on the next model up that makes it cheaper to buy 16 GB/256 GB, so just do that. If it changes, you have this as a starting point.
  
• 16 GB RAM, 256 GB SSD, 1080p display.
  
• 16 GB RAM, 256 GB SSD, 4K OLED display. I went with 4K touch (IPS rather than OLED) because I'm paranoid about OLED burn-in. It's probably fine, but if you're worried about it, the IPS panel is theoretically safer and still gorgeous. Unfortunately it doesn't look like the IPS panel is available in Canada without paying out the nose for stock 32 GB RAM and 1 TB SSD.

Hey! It looks like you've got a pretty solid build started here! I just want to point out a few things to make your life just a little bit easier.

1. The motherboard you have will NOT work with the CPU that you've chosen. You picked a Z170A board, which works with the 6th and 7th generation (if BIOS is flashed) of Intel CPU's, and you're buying an 8th generation. So I would recommend this board or this one instead. Either will work, it just depends on how much money you want to spend.
   
2. Don't buy the power supply you've picked. It puts out way more wattage than you'll use, so I would recommend saving some money and maybe picking up this one. As a bonus it has an RGB fan, so that's kinda cool. It's also fully modular, meaning that you only need to plug the cables into the PSU that you need instead of having extras to hide in your case.
   
3. I'd also save some money on your RAM. This set is cheaper, faster, and only requires that you use two of your RAM slots instead of all four. More upgradeability in the future!
   
4. Think about if you really need 2TB of storage right now. The 1TB SSD you have picked out is going to be great, and if you're new to PC gaming it's going to have plenty of space for awhile. You can always pick up a new HDD (like the Seagate one you have in your cart) later down the road.
   
5. With the money that you've saved, I think that you could upgrade your graphics card from your 1060 (a GREAT option, don't get me wrong) to a 1070 like this one. (EVGA is a great company in my opinion, and I love their graphics cards.) It's a great contender for both 1440p and 1080p gaming!
   
6. Others have said to get a cheaper air cooler instead of opting for the water cooler that you've picked. If you decide to go that route (completely fine) I would maybe go with something like this if you want something extra beefy to keep your CPU cool, or this less beefy one. Either way, 8th generation CPUs run hot, so the water cooler you have would work great.
   
   So there ya go! I hope that you enjoy your new build, it's going to be amazing! If you PM me I'll add you on Steam and we can play some games together when your build is all set!

120 Hz is quite useful to have in esports titles in which you can get close to the 120 fps mark. But the response time of the panel is still average which is typical in this price range and you might notice a little bit of ghosting which slightly outweighs the benefits of the higher refresh rate display. But I personally haven't found it that noticeable. Even the general Windows UI feels more smoother due to the higher refresh rate, which I like. If you play only AAA titles however, 120 Hz is pointless as you'll reach only close to 60 fps with decent graphics settings.

The build quality is ok. Only the bottom plastic base seems cheap. Rest of the body seems solid enough and doesn't give the impression that it'll break easily. I don't find much keyboard flex and the display hinge is fine too.

I haven't experienced the issue of battery draining while playing games while plugged. I haven't tested the battery life unplugged that much as I'm mostly playing games with it on charger but based on a short battery drain test, it seems just average due to the small 48 Watt hour battery and the idle drain of Ryzen being worse than Intel's. But it seems like you can manage 4-4.5 hours if you aren't gaming. I haven't had gaming laptops before so I'm not sure how much battery life is acceptable.

The issue with 5.8 GB RAM availability has been fixed with a BIOS update that I got right after updating Windows the first time (I think it was an issue with the Vega iGPU reserving VRAM for itself). I added another RAM module immediately which is a must in the long run for the highest fps but not immediately needed to play games just fine. It's quite straightforward and not much of a hassle. If you don't want to open up the laptop yourself, just buy an 8 GB 2400Hz CL17 RAM module from Amazon (I got this one) and take it to the service center. You only need to remove the bottom base to access the RAM slot and it's quite easy to do on your own too.

You'll have a good gaming experience with both the Ryzen and the Intel one with a GTX 1650. Yes, ones with Intel will give you slightly higher fps. But you'll get more than 45 fps in most games all the time at relatively high settings even with the Ryzen which is quite playable. It is quite hard for me to tell the difference between mid-50 fps and 60 fps without having an fps counter displayed so a 5 fps difference between Intel and Ryzen isn't that significant. Above 60 fps, you'll not be able to feel a difference on laptops with a 60 Hz display anyway. The only cause of concern is that in a few highly CPU intensive games, you might get stutters with Ryzen when the CPU starts to bottleneck the GPU. I haven't faced it in the games I played but some people have reported it in AC: Odyssey which could very well be optimization issues with that game in particular. For the 1650, Ryzen is good enough but I wouldn't recommend it when its paired with more powerful cards like the 1660/Ti.

I haven't done detailed fps measurements yet but it is usually between 40 to 60 fps with the average framerate in the 50s in AAA titles at 1080p and moderately high settings. The Witcher 3 on the high preset with textures on Ultra gives me an average of around 54 fps.

When it comes to temps, the CPU usually is at 70-85C while going to 90C in very rare instances. The GPU is always near 70C even when you push it hard. The fans are pretty good but get really loud during peak gaming but you can change profiles to keep them quiet at the expense of higher temps. I didn't face any major throttling, with the Ryzen maintaining its 3.7 GHz boost across all cores fairly well even at 80+ degrees. This could vary based on the ambient temps of your room though. Where I live, it's usually only around 32 degrees at this time of the year.

TL;DR: You can't go wrong with either Ryzen or Intel if you want a laptop with a GTX 1650 and will have an enjoyable gaming experience with both. However, avoid Ryzen if it's paired with a GPU more powerful than this.

> They are about the same price, while the Radeon seems to have a little bit better performance, while the GTX 960 uses less power. What do you think on that?

The difference in performance is not that small. I'd go with the R9 380 – apart from the higher energy use it has no drawback.

> A lot of reviews said, that the i3 is definitely faster, but not future proof since it only has two cores.

2 cores but 4 threads, which so far means that all games that rely on more than two cores run perfectly fine. The i3-6100 is a great gaming cpu and will be faster than the i5-6400 in many games, as it has a higher clock. Not that the i5-6400 would be too slow in practice.

> I don't really know a lot about chipsets and how taking the best one are relevant in a gaming PC.

They aren't. The problem with H110 boards is that they have only two ramslots, maxing out your mainboard with your two 4GB sticks, which will be an issue later. Get 1x8GB, and better a B150 board with 4 ramslots to not have this problem.

> Corsair VS 450W ATX Power Supply

That's not a good idea

> Sandisk SSD PLUS 240GB - 62€

That's too expensive for that SSD. The 120GB model of the Sandisk Plus is a great budget pick for 40€. but 62€ is too near to the better SSDs, like the UltraII or Samsung 850 Evo.

Altogether, I think this would be a good build for your friend:

pc-kombo shared list

Type|Item|Price

----|:----|:----
CPU | Intel Core i3-6100 | EUR 118,50 @ Amazon.de
Motherboard | Gigabyte GA-B150M-DS3H | EUR 73,90 @ Cyberport
Memory | Crucial CT8G4DFD8213 (8 GB) | EUR 26,01 @ Amazon.de
SSD | SanDisk Ultra II 240 (256 GB) | EUR 65,99 @ Amazon.de
Video Card | Radeon R9 380 | EUR 188,28 @ Amazon.de
Case | Cooler Master N300 | EUR 45,70 @ Amazon.de
Power Supply | Super Flower Golden Green HX (450 W) | EUR 69,21 @ Amazon.de
| Total | €590.58
| Generated by pc-kombo 23.05.2016 |

Be aware that AMD might (paper-)release new gpus on the 1th of June that could replace the R9 380 with a faster alternative. Doesn't matter if you want a PC now, but something to check if it takes some time.

I actually don't think those requirements are absurd.

Let's break it down:

> What do you wish you’d known when you were in my position?

No one looks at your computer and gives you shit about it; having said that, see my final point below. By the time you're a senior, a $3500 laptop bought when you were a freshman will probably not pass the incoming freshman's requirements. Know who cares? Not your professors.

> Do I need the horsepower they suggest?

No, but yes. What they're suggesting is a "reasonable" power level. An i5 is the "mainstream" processor; and they don't specify speed, so get a low-end one. Slower/older/worse/cheaper procs may do what you need, but you will feel the slow down.

> Purchase/rent through the bookstore?

God, never rent, and never buy anything from the bookstore (even books if you can help it). The bookstore is a total and complete rip off in every way. Buy yourself a good laptop.

> Mac with windows – worth the effort?

No. But everyone in the business world uses a Mac, so ... if you want to know Mac OSX for later, maybe? There's no reason to run Windows on a Mac unless you A.) are gaming, or B.) there's some random, esoteric piece of software that only works on windows.

But again, no one cares. No one is going to get penis envy looking at your super cool macbook pro. People are more worried about taking notes and passing tests and browsing dank memes posting that thing on that girl's facebook feed that you have a crush on, or whatever college kids do these days. :P

> Should I buy office on campus, or shop it online?

See below; most majors will allow you to get a free or cheap copy of Windows and Office.

Now, some comments on the actual specs:

If the SSD is breaking the bank, just buy a normal laptop, then buy an SSD and put it in. There's deals all the time on /r/buildapcsales - including right now a 250GB Samsung 850 EVO (good hard drive) for $79. It'll be blank, but whatever, see below for software. And by the way, no one upgrade makes a difference in the speed "feel" of a computer more than an SSD.

16G of memory is overkill, but memory is so cheap, I haven't built/bought a computer in ~4 years without 16G. If the place you're buying your laptop from is gouging you on the cost of memory, just get a laptop with 2GB or 4GB, and swap in 16G. Same thing, /r/buildapcsales had this flash newegg sale four days ago with 16G of laptop ram for $47.

There, there's two upgrades, for $130, that take a base-line laptop into serious-workstation territory.

You'll (probably?) get a copy of Windows and Office just for being a student at Virginia Tech. After you swap in a (blank) SSD, you can load Windows from a USB stick, after downloading the ISO from the computing center's website. If you have trouble with this, find the Engineering major on your dorm floor and offer to buy pizza in exchange for some help. If, for whatever reason, your major doesn't get Windows and Office for free, it's at least discounted. Or, again, find that Engineering major, ask them which one of their friends runs Linux and refers to Bill Gates as the devil and Microsoft as M$, and ask if you can have his copy of Windows and Office from the computing center in exchange for pizza.

I mean, you said it yourself:

> Thanks a lot…I do hope to use the machine for a good while,

So, don't buy a $400 laptop and expect it to last until 2021. Spend a good $1500 or so on the one thing that you will use more than anything else you own except maybe a bed for the next 4 years. Compared to the cost of education, it's next to nothing.

Seriously, your education is going to cost you $50,000 just for in-state tuition. A $1500 laptop that will last you for four years bumps the per-credit-hour of a 120 credit education from $417 per credit-hour to $428 per credit-hour.

TL;DR: there's not a lot that Engineering students won't do for pizza.

edit: I'm passionate about computer hard ware so as I think of things, I'm adding them. The one thing that you MUST get in a laptop, and I CANNOT believe that their specs didn't say this: do NOT get a 1366x768 pixel screen! Get at least 1920x1080 ("full HD"). You literally won't have enough screen real estate to see what you're working on, especially as you get into Visio and Project, not to mention just web browsing.

The other thing I'll mention, since I'm actually looking at laptops for you is how goddamn cheap they've become.

For instance, this one for $560, free prime shipping, from amazon, and has everything you need, except that the hard drive is slow as stale shit, and it only has 8GB of ram. Which, again, is fine, but you can upgrade by buying one additional 8GB stick of ram for $30 (assuming it has a free ram slot). And again, you can get a 250GB high quality SSD for $90 shipped even without looking for a sale. So, $560 + $30 + $90 = $680 will literally buy you a good laptop that meets their needs, minus MS Office. Damn, that's nice.

Or, I just went to Lenovo's site and configured this laptop, with a full HD screen, an i7 (more than you need), a graphics card (you don't need but if you play games, yay!), and an SSD, PLUS OFFICE, for under $1200. It still only has 8GB of ram, which, again, is fine, but if you need to upgrade, see above - $30.

To get the most out of that gift you should get this. /s

I'm assuming you live in the US. If you're anywhere near a microcenter, drop by and have a chat with the staff before deciding anything. I haven't been there myself, but I've heard almost exclusively positive things about them.

What I currently use is this. I am very happy with it, the performance is good (1080p 60FPS in most games on very high settings), it runs surprisingly cool, and the screen is overclockable to 100Hz. The particular model I linked has a 1TB HDD, I'd recommend also buying this and installing it immediately (this is also a good excuse to do a clean install of Windows, which helps get rid of bloatware). It also has 16GB RAM, which can be doubled for ~$90 (just make sure it's the correct type of RAM, DDR3L).

Do keep in mind that it is a couple years old at this point, and sine nVidia dominate the laptop market, the GPU will not see much support at this point (AMD is a much better company but you don't have a choice when buying gaming laptops). It is however the best I can find for the price at Amazon.

Amazon search sucks, get this. It has a GTX 1070, which is way better than a GTX 980m. If 16GB RAM isn't enough later on, upgrade it with this. Also get more external HDDs. Always have multiple backups of everything important.

The h210 is about 27 liters. I suggest a slightly smaller cases which is the Inwin a1 plus and it’s about 22 liters. That cases comes with a included 650w gold power supply, two fans, and a built in wireless charger. According the Gamer’s nexus’ review of the regular Inwin a1, it has better temps and airflow than the nzxt h200. I know that you said you prefer intel for the higher single core performance for games but if you want to save money then I suggest the Ryzen 5 3600. It’s $200 and gamer’s nexus said that it’s the best overall cpu of 2019. Also I don’t think you should water cool your gpu with that aio setup because air cooling with that evga model is more than enough. I don’t think you need cooler temps because the rtx 2070 super doesn’t have a lot of overclocking potential. If you want to save even more money then I suggest the going for the gigabyte model of the Rx 5700 xt because it’s slightly slower than the 2070 super and according to gamers nexus, it’s the best overall model for the Rx 5700 xt.

https://www.amazon.com/Ballistix-Sport-PC4-24000-288-Pin-Memory/dp/B07MNJP6RW/ref=mp_s_a_1_8?keywords=crucial%2Bram&qid=1574919515&sr=8-8&th=1&psc=1

I suggest you go with this ram because it’s cheaper and according to Buildzoid, it’s the best at overclocking for this price point. It can achieve 3800 speeds really easily. If you change the cpu and gpu then you get roughly 7-10% less performance but for much less money

I've been helping people pick computer parts a lot lately, and here's my go-to current build (as in, where I feel price/performance is optimized)--it's usually around $1000, NOT including monitors. I built two for my company (minus the video card), and they are wonderful. If you want to compare: CPUs, GPUs.

>Case: Corsair 200R, $73

>http://www.amazon.com/Corsair-Carbide-200R-Compact-CC-9011023-WW/dp/B009GXZ8MM/

>Cases cheaper than this price point will become flimsy, break, literally cut you, and otherwise fall apart over time. I like the way the 200R is, too--no LEDs, no weird shapes, and 2.5" drive slots.

-

>Motherboard: Asus Z97-A, $145

>http://www.amazon.com/ASUS-Z97-A-DDR3-2600-Motherboards/dp/B00K2MAU5Q/

>This is a medium range motherboard with PWM case fan pins: an extremely quiet combo. It's more important than you think.

-

>CPU: i7-4790K, $336

>http://www.amazon.com/Intel-i7-4790K-Processor-Cache-BX80646I74790K/dp/B00KPRWAX8/

>While we're on CPUs: GHZ MEANS ALMOST NOTHING FOR PERFORMANCE. My 2Ghz i7 in my Mac outperforms my 4Ghz 2500K in my desktop. It's annoying that it's even mentioned in anything but overclocking guides.

-

>Memory: 16GB Corsair Vengeance (2x8GB), $130

>http://www.amazon.com/Corsair-Vengeance-Desktop-Memory-CMZ16GX3M2A1600C10/dp/B006EWUO22/

>I find myself always using >8GB. Task Manager tells me I'm at 9GB with lots apps but no actual games open.

-

>Graphics Card: EVGA GTX 960, $210

>http://www.amazon.com/EVGA-GeForce-Dual-Link-Graphics-02G-P4-2966-KR/dp/B00SC6HAS4/

>The 960 was recently released, but the 750 and the 900 series are very powerful and power efficient, and EVGA makes great cards.

-

>PSU: Corsair CX 600W, $60

>http://www.amazon.com/Corsair-Builder-Watt-EPS%C2%A0-CX600/dp/B0092ML0OC/

>I skimped on a PSU once (it was "Diablotek"). It took my motherboard and a stick of RAM with it when it died.

-

>SSD: Samsung 850 EVO 250GB, $135

>http://www.amazon.com/Samsung-2-5-Inch-Internal-MZ-75E250B-AM/dp/B00OAJ412U/

-

>OS: Windows 8.1 Full Version (not OEM), $100:

>http://www.amazon.com/Microsoft-Windows-8-1-Full-Version/dp/B00EDSI7QO/

Current total: $1189 + tax, way over budget, so...


>The PSU can be replaced with a 500W EVGA for $17 less:

>http://www.amazon.com/EVGA-80PLUS-Certified-ATX12V-100-W1-0500-KR/dp/B00H33SFJU

-

>The SSD can be replaced by a 2TB 7200RPM drive, where you won't need a 2nd HDD but booting will be much slower, for $60 less:

>http://www.amazon.com/HGST-Deskstar-3-5-Inch-7200RPM-Internal/dp/B003GSLDRC/
(and get the sata3 monoprice cable)

-

>The GPU can be replaced by a GTX 750 Ti, for $65 less, but at a ~30% loss to graphics power (although it's still a great card):

>http://www.amazon.com/EVGA-Superclock-Dual-Link-Graphics-02G-P4-3753-KR/dp/B00IDG3IDO

-

>The CPU can be a non-K version (at very little/no performance loss), for $36 less:

>http://www.amazon.com/Intel-Core-i7-4790-Processor-BX80646I74790/dp/B00J56YSLM

>The next step down in terms of CPU is an i5-4690, at ~30% less CPU power, for $80 less. I personally wouldn't go there.

This is at $1015 + tax--still over budget, but going much cheaper really starts to bite into your experiences (and if anyone here can recommend anything to save money, I welcome it).


As for monitors, if you're playing EVE, honestly I'd recommend a 2560x1440 monitor because spreadsheets. However, since those start around $300, my go-to cheaper monitors are the not-bad 22" 1080p ones that can be had for around $140.

>BenQ 24" flicker-free (for comfortable viewing) 1080p TN panel (for faster response times), $140:

>http://www.amazon.com/BenQ-GL2460HM-24-Inch-LED-Lit-Monitor/dp/B00IKDFL4O/

-

>Dell 22" 1080p IPS panel (for better colors and viewing angles), $134:

>http://www.amazon.com/Dell-CFGKT-IPS-LED-21-5-Inch-LED-lit-Monitor/dp/B009H0XQPU/

Source: I've done IT for the past few years, and done dozens of computer purchases/builds.

Notes: I don't buy AMD or ATI unless it's an extreme budget build. I don't buy off-brand because I've had parts break and then not have an RMA available; I've had good experience and RMA support with Corsair and EVGA. You don't really need a CD/DVD drive; you can install Windows from a USB key, but if you're unsure, CD/DVD drives are like $15. If you go with Intel/nVidia Maxwell, you won't really need a >500W PSU.

I don't like to skimp on computers much because, economically, if you're spending even 5-10% of your time waiting for your computer and you earn $10-25/hr, $1000 is paid for in somewhere between 2000-250 hours of use, yet the computer will last at least 3-5 years.

Sorry it has taken me so long to get back to you, but I had classes at school all day. Here is a build for you in all Euros.

CPU: $218

MOBO: $119

RAM: $92

SSD: $70

HDD: $40

GPU: $480

OS: $23

Case: $117

PSU: $104

CD Drive: $21

TOTAL: $1284

I realize that this is over your initial budget, but you mentioned that you could add an extra $100. Now for the explanations:

• I did not change your CPU, but instead just found an actual link.
  
  
• You do not need to buy thermal paste, as your CPU comes with a stock heatsink, which has thermal paste pre-applied.
  
  
• I changed your motherboard to a compatible one, and then changed it again (when making the list in euros) for price reasons. Also keep in mind that Z series motherboards (as in Z97) are meant for overclocking. This is a method of getting better performance from your CPU. However, it requires specialized parts, like a Z series motherboard, and an unlocked CPU (shown with a K as in 6600K). These parts are more expensive. Because of that, I recommend you don’t overclock, which means you do not need the fancy, Z series motherboard. Instead I went with a H170.
  
  
• Because I went with a different motherboard, different RAM was needed.
  
  
• You chose a GTX 970 GPU. I switched it to a 1070. The reason for this is that it is a newer card with better performance. The 9 or 10 in the front shows which series the card is in, and the 70 shows which version of that series it belongs to, with a higher number meaning better performance. So therefore, a 1080 is better than a 1070 or 1060, and a 1070 is better than a 970 or 870.
  
  
• You chose a Fractal Design R4 for your case. This case is the older version. I upgraded it to the R5.
  
  
• Lets talk PSU’s. These can be very confusing. Obviously, you need to pick one that can supply enough watts to power your PC. You did that just fine. However, there are other things to consider. When it comes to PSU’s, not all watts are created equal. Two PSU’s may provide the same amount of power, however be very different in price. The cause of this comes down to the build quality of each. This affects 4 (main) things, noise, reliability, modularity, and efficiency. Hopefully the first 2 are self-explanatory. If a PSU is fully modular, that means that all of the internal cables that attach to your motherboard or GPU or hard drives or whatever can be completely removed from the PSU itself. This is very useful as it allows you to manage them much better. Efficiency means that less of the power you draw from the wall is being lost as heat. This not only reduces your electricity bill, but also means that your PSU will be cooler, creating less heat for your CPU and GPU. Efficacy is rated using the 80+ scale, which you can see here. Because of these 4 factors, I went with a higher-quality PSU.
  
  Hope all of this helps! If you have questions, related or not, feel free to message me!
  

I keep trying to post this but every time I do it it viewed by the rest of the reddit as deleted. So I have no idea what to do!

Have you read the sidebar and rules? (Please do)

Yes.

What is your intended use for this build? The more details the better.

I plan on starting up a YouTube channel for League of Legends and a few other online games like Starcraft II and Overwatch.

If gaming, what kind of performance are you looking for? (Screen resolution, FPS, game settings)

I want at the very least 720p with a very stable 60 fps for league at medium settings the least, but would prefer to have setting pumped to max.

What is your budget (ballpark is okay)?

My budget is $500-$525 (taxes and OS included)

In what country are you purchasing your parts?

United States

Post a draft of your potential build here (specific parts please). Consider formatting your parts list. Don't ask to be spoonfed a build (read the rules!).

Type|Item|Price

----|:----|:----
CPU | AMD Athlon Quad Core FM2+ | $95.63 @ Amazon
Graphics Card | XFX PCI-Express Video Card R7-360P-2SF5 | $101.47 @ Amazon
Motherboard | Gigabyte AMD FM2+ Micro ATX | $49.99 @ Amazon
Memory | Crucial Ballistix Sport 8GB | $34.99 @ Amazon
Case w/ Power Supply | Rosewill Ultra High Gloss Finished MicroATX Computer Case with 400W ATX 2.2 12V Power Supply, Black R363-M-BK | $56.64 @ Amazon
|| Total
| | $338.72"

Provide any additional details you wish below.

I really only want this build to be able to run League of Legends and also be able to record with no drop in FPS or in setting. My goal is to have it on high settings as well. I am a big newbie at computer building so this is a pre-build that I want to use because it is cheap. If you have any suggestions that I should change a part out or if I forgot something let me know, I'm only running 8gbs of ram but I might want to run 16 if it will help the recording while playing. Also another question, can I mix ram? Two different ram sticks of different brands? My guess is no but if someone could tell me that would be great. I already have a SSD that I'm going to have installed also but didn't put in the build.

Side note I do no know how to choose the OS. I want to go with Windows 7 but everywhere I look it's about $100, any solution to this would be great thanks.

Well first of all, I would build, not buy.

Second of all, /r/buildapc has some really friendly and helpful users who can probably give you much better advice than I can

The GPU and the CPU will probably be the two most expensive components.

For a GPU, I strongly recommend an AMD 7850. It's considered fairly widely as the best value for money GPU. It runs a lot of things on ultra (BF3, for example) just fine. Should deal with most next gen games on at least high. It's the same GPU I used to own and it was excellent.

8GB of RAM is fine. You don't really need 16GB and 4 would be too little.

For a CPU, most i5 or i7 will be fine, try to get quad core.

For a PSU, it is absolutely vital that you get a good quality one. EVGA recently started a line of PSUs. I got a 650W one that is handling itself excellently.

For a motherboard, try to get one capable of SLI in case that's the direction you'd like to go in the future. If you get an Intel CPU, make sure you get a mobo with an Intel socket. same applies to AMD.

For a hard drive, I would get at least 1TB of storage unless you can be very conservative with the amount of games you have installed.

• http://www.amazon.co.uk/Radeon-DirectCU-Graphics-GDDR5-Express/dp/B008RW0R10/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1375472086&sr=8-1&keywords=amd+7850
  
  
• http://www.amazon.co.uk/Intel-Generation-i5-3570K-3-40GHz-Technology/dp/B007RUZKK6/ref=sr_1_1?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1375472109&sr=1-1&keywords=i5+processor
  
  
• http://www.amazon.co.uk/Corsair-CMZ8GX3M2A1600C9-Vengeance-Performance-Desktop/dp/B004CRSM4I/ref=sr_1_1?s=computers&ie=UTF8&qid=1375472186&sr=1-1&keywords=8gb+ram
  
  Sorry about UK links. You can usually get all that stuff cheaper on sites that specialise in computer hardware.
  
  That's a rough overview of what I would suggest for the main components.

The build looks a lot less "big = good" now that I know you're planning to edit with it. Default assumption is gaming.

Video and music editing scales way better with more cores than gaming. Very few games are optimized for more than 6 cores rn, most are still optimized for 4. Editing programs can use in the dozens of cores effectively. With that in mind the choice to get a 3700x is respectable. What is around the cpu still needs some slight tweaking tho.

The cpu cooler is okay. It's one of the best air coolers you can get, and will keep your cpu cool if you're putting it under high stress for a long time. I don't know if you will, but better safe than sorry? You could take my previous recommendation or stick with the stock cooler, but if you know that the programs you're running are going to be highly stressing your cpu and you want to play it safe there are other options. Get the dark rock pro 4 over the Noctua if you decide to get a beefy air cooler. It's another one of the best air coolers you can get, but with a few bonuses. It's quieter and isn't a disgusting color. That being said, the stock cooler of the 3700x is actually [really good] (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DBQ1RUeV_oo). Worth noting that a 360mm aio destroys any of the beefy air coolers mentioned. Since the stock cooler is extremely respectable, I wouldn't buy a cpu cooler until you know if the stock cooler can handle your temps.

The gpu selection is fine, honestly. If you're rendering high resolution videos it will fall behind more expensive options but it shouldn't be huge deal. Gpus are also very easy to upgrade. If a new series comes out, sell your old gpu and buy a new one.

If you've gone beyond 16gbs before, upgrading to 32 gbs is fine. Beyond your gpu and your cpu, ram is basically the only remaining part of your pc that will impact performance. Ryzen 3000 cpus would rather have 3600mhz and tight timings than 4000+ mhz and cl 18 or some shit. These specific [sticks of ram] (https://www.amazon.com/Ballistix-Sport-PC4-24000-288-Pin-Memory/dp/B07MGPH9R9/ref=sr_1_2?keywords=crucial+ballistix+sport+lt+3000&qid=1568059880&s=electronics&sr=1-2) overclock really well. You should be able to get them to 3600 @ cl14 if you're willing to tinker with timings. If you aren't or they look too hideous, something like [this] (https://pcpartpicker.com/product/sTNv6h/gskill-trident-z-32gb-4-x-8gb-ddr4-3600-memory-f4-3600c16q-32gtzkk) or [this] (https://pcpartpicker.com/product/jpH48d/gskill-memory-f43200c14d16gvk) would work. You can choose the kits that get you to 32gbs the cheapest, but you wan't decent timings.

Also you can get REALLY long Ethernet cables but they're kind of annoying to deal with.

Audio Interface: Roland Quad-Capture

Headphones: Beyerdynamic DT 770

CPU: Ryzen 5 1600

GPU: NVidia GTX 1050

HDD: Seagate BarraCuda 2 TB

SSD: Samsung 850 EVO 250 GB

RAM: Corsair Vengeance LPX 2x8 GB

Here's why I chose these components.

Audio Interface: All of Roland's products that I used were well-built, aesthetic and most of all sounding great!

Headphones: I've been using these exact headphones for about 5 years and they are very comfortable, robust and precise in sound.

CPU: The new Ryzen CPUs are in my opinion perfect for music production. They have a nice price-performance ratio and give you 6 cores and 12 threads which can beneficial when using at least 12 tracks (which I assume you will).

GPU: The NVidia GPU is capable of handling most games that are not too graphically intense. You can also pick an equivalent AMD GPU, I have always been with NVidia so that's what I chose.

HDD: The Seagate BarraCuda hard drives are cheap but they work perfectly and 2 TB should be enough to handle all the programs and sample libraries.

SSD: To be honest, I just heard great things of these SSDs. I am sure you can also pick a different brand but I wouldn't risk that with the SSD. 250 GB should be enough for your OS and DAW.

RAM: 16 GB is more than enough and the clock speed of that RAM is pretty high.

Of course you also need other stuff like a PC case, power supply, monitor etc. but I figured I would let you choose these components since they are mostly personal preference. However, I would advise against very cheap power supplies. You don't want them to blow up the whole computer.

I found this kit which is actually currently on sale, although it's still a tad spendy. Then there's this kit which is still expensive, but it is the cheapest I could find on newegg for any 8GB stick of 1600 MHz laptop ram that's not a sketchy buy. I went on to Amazon, and guess what. They have the same kits for the same prices. Unless you want to go with even slower ram, or a less reliable or unproven brand, these look like the best options you currently have. It really doesn't help that the memory market is so expensive right now. Just this time last year I could have bought this same 2X8 kit for probably $35-$40, but now it's $50. I always suggest that you go with a dual stick kit over a single stick, as it will set your ram in a dual channel configuration, making certain tasks run more smoothly and faster. If you know the number of ram slots on your laptop motherboard, which I'm pretty sure all HP laptops since the early 2000s have had 2 slots, then definitely spend the extra few dollars on the 2 stick kit. If money's really that tight, the single 8GB stick should do you just fine. If we really get down to brass tacks, you can check your ram currently in the laptop and if it's a single 4GB stick in one of two slots, you could just buy another stick of that ram with the same CAS latency, frequency, capacity, and voltage. All of that info should be on a sticker on the stick. Other than the used market, or slower ram speeds, this is what I came up with. There are other options on Amazon for cheaper, but a lot of them look relatively sketch. Hopefully this is useful info to you. Good luck with the search.

I have the same 13” mid 2012 MBP and am running 16gb of RAM w/ a 1TB SSD. I also have the same version of Ableton as you. The official specs from Apple list 8gb RAM as the max but it can for sure support 16gb. Based on the specs you provided I’d guess you have the i5 version which comes stock with 4gb of RAM and the 500gb HDD. Your model will support 16gb and you’ll see a significant boost in performance, with Ableton and the computer in general, if you add 16gb and an SSD. If you leave the standard 500gb HDD, I'd assume you'd only see a moderate boost in performance since that's really the big driver of slow performance. I can't speak to the performance of Omnisphere as I don't have a working copy but I do know it made a significant boost for pretty much everything in Ableton and otherwise.

​

My recommendation would be to add 16gb of RAM plus an SSD. They are both relatively straight forward processes as well (links below), just need the right tools and to take your time. Watch YouTube tutorials. Attaching links to the items I have in mine. I'd recommend getting the Crucial RAM and Samsung SSD (which is what I have and has a higher performance rating), but the Crucial SSD will be adequate as well.

​

Let me know if you have other questions on it.

​

INSTRUCTIONS

HDD Swap - https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/MacBook+Pro+13-Inch+Unibody+Mid+2012+Hard+Drive+Replacement/10378

RAM Swap - https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/MacBook+Pro+13-Inch+Unibody+Mid+2012+RAM+Replacement/10374

​

PRODUCTS

Crucial SSD - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0784SLQM6/

Samsung SSD - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0781Z7Y3S/

RAM - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008LTBJFW/

Tool Kit - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01IVKPTP6/

I have a 2013 Dell Latitude 3540 with the same i5-4200u CPU which I still use fairly regularly as a secondary laptop to watch / listen to videos and browse the web. Also use it to play some old games with either the the Intel HD 4400 or the dedicated Radeon HD 8850m. It has 8GB of RAM (2 x 4GB), 2TB hard drive and 1080p screen.

There is no 12GB RAM stick. Your laptop has 4GB of onboard RAM (soldered into the motherboard). You can install a 4GB or 8GB stick of RAM. 8GB is still sufficient enough and allows the RAM to run in dual channel mode (full speed). Your laptop's RAM is currently operating in asynchronous dual channel mode because of the 4GB onboard RAM and 2GB RAM in the slot. Installing a 8GB stick will increase the total RAM to 12GB and will still operate in asynchronous dual channel mode. That is faster than only using the 4GB onboard RAM (single channel or half speed), but it is slower than dual channel mode. If you play games with the Intel HD 4400, then for best performance you want to install 4GB of RAM to allow the RAM to operate in dual channel mode. You are not going to see a massive increase in performance; it will be more like a 5% to 10% increase at most depending on the game. If you do not play games, then just add an 8GB RAM stick.

The Latitude 3540 takes about 90 seconds to get to the Windows 10 desktop (including entering my password) and it takes about another 180 seconds (3 minutes) for all of the background processes to load and the hard drive activity light to stop flashing. If it takes 10 minutes for your laptop to become usable, then there is definitely a problem. Perhaps it is just bloated because you never reinstalled Windows before which is not unheard of. But reinstalling Windows 10 (assuming you currently have it) should fix the issue. Well... at least make the laptop usable in 5 minutes...

Replacing the hard drive with a 2.5" SSD should allow you to boot into Windows 10 in about 20 seconds and all of the background processes will probably load up in 5 to 10 seconds. But you should be able to immediately use the laptop. I haven't upgraded the 2TB HDD to a 2TB SSD because that is roughly a $225 upgrade and I thinking about retiring this laptop sometime next year.

You cannot upgrade the CPU because it is soldered into the motherboard, and you cannot add a graphics card. As stated above, to get the best performance out of the Intel HD 4400 you should simply install a 4GB RAM stick. Example games I played using the Intel HD 4400 in the past at 1920x1080 resolution are as follows:

- Mass Effect Trilogy

- Fallout 3

- Fallout New Vegas

- Vampire The Masquerade: Bloodlines

- Skyrim (Not the Special Edition version) @ 1600x900 resolution.

​

=======================================================

​

I recommend the following upgrades. Perhaps wait for a Black Friday sale on the 2.5" 1TB SSD do not necessary have to be Crucial. It is very unlikely the old DDR3L RAM will go on sale.

- Crucial MX500 1TB SDD

- Crucial 4GB Single DDR3/DDR3L 1600 MT/S (PC3-12800)

or

- Crucial 8GB Single DDR3/DDR3L 1600 MT/S (PC3-12800)

I see you've already come pretty far with your research.
The Ryzen 5 2600x is indeed a great value, but when you plan on manual overclocking the Ryzen 5 2600 (non-X) is even better. It will achieve the same overclock as the 2600x (so the exact same performance), while costing less.

As for the Motherboard, here is the generally accepted Quality Tier List of the many AM4 motherboards. I'd recommend checking out the Mid-, Highrange and Top end Boards and see if one of them fits your needs and budget.

Corsair LPX DDR4 is very popular for good reason. I've personally used it in 4 Ryzen builds and it has not dissapointed. I would recommend however to go with 3000MHz instead of 2666MHz. The higher the clockspeeds, the better performance you will get out of your Ryzen processor. 3000MHz is widely considered the sweetspot in price to performance

I would like to point out that the new Ryzen 3000 series is expected to launch at the end of this month/start of June. This will mean that you can either get a more powerfull Ryzen 3000 cpu for the same price as the current 2600. OR get the 2600 at a significant discount. (the discounts are already happining at different retailers as they're clearing stock in anticipation of the new 3000 series.) So if you can wait for just 1 month to, I'd recommend doing that.

Hey buddy! I just looked over your build and I like most of it but I do have a few suggestions.

1. A lot of the comments are saying to got for Z270 but there really is no reason too, Z170 is cheaper and just as good for what you are doing (270 adds a lot of features which you probably wont be using)
   
2. That being said, the first thing I would do is ditch the MSI motherboard, not only is it on the lower end of their product line (not necessarily bad), but MSI has a very bad review history on their boards... Lots of people reporting that they break and that the support is terrible. I would personally stay clear but thats up to you, instead I would recommend the Asus Z170 PRO GAMING/AURA, its actually $10 cheaper (at time of post) and much better.
   
3. Love your RAM choice, but the same set at 3200MHZ is only $99 on Amazon right now :D faster for cheaper!
   
4. The 212 Evo is nice, but I would HIGHLY recommend spending the 10 extra dollars and getting the 212X (about 100,000 more hours of life time I think)
   
   That's, all in all its a very solid build! If you have any other questions, feel free to PM me! I am an A+ Certified Professional who would be happy to help!

Alright I made a build tell me what you think.

• Case: NZXT Vulcan Enthusiast $69.51 Free Shipping
  
• Motherboard: Gigabyte Intel Z77 G1.SNIPER M3 $179.99 Free Shipping
  
• Processor: Intel Core i7 3770K $338.98 Free Shipping
  
• RAM: Corsair Vengeance 32 GB Ram $209.98 Free Shipping
  
• Hard Drive: Western Digital 3TB $168.77 Free Shipping
  
• Solid State Drive OCZ Technology 64 GB $72.24 Free Shipping
  
• Cooling: Corsair Hydro Series H80 $86.26 Shipping: Free Shipping
  
• Power Supply: KenTek 1000W $64.51 Shipping: $6.54
  
• Graphics Card: EVGA GeForce GTX690 $1,199 Shipping $9.55
  
• OS Windows 7 Home Premium $96.48 Free Shipping
  
• DVD Drive: Asus 24xDVD-RW $19.99 Free Shipping
  
• Monitor: 47 Inch LG Commercial TV $499.99 Free Shipping
  
  Price comes to $3003. (With Shipping)
  
  Cant go wrong with GTX 690, Intel 3770k liquid cooled, and 32 GB Ram with a 47 Inch Monitor!

The MSI GT series gets quite hot due to a single fan cooling system. I would not recommend it. Instead, I think something with a quad core i7 processor would be ideal because of the CPU intense apps that you intend to run. Ultrabooks use a dual core i7 ULV that is meant to save battery life, so if you want power, you'll have to sacrifice a bit of portability and battery life.

The first option is the Asus N550JK-DB74T, which has the following specs:

• i7 quad core 4710HQ processor
  
• 16GB ram
  
• 256GB SSD
  
• GTX 850M GPU w/ 2GB DDR3 memory
  
• 1920x1080 15.6” IPS touchscreen
  
• Windows 8.1
  
• 4-5 hours of battery life
  
• 1.1” thick / 6 pounds
  
  You really won't ever have to upgrade this, and the beautiful 1080p IPS screen will be especially useful for any CAD work you do.
  
  You could also customize a Lenovo T440p from their website and upgrade the following: processor to i7 4700MQ, 1080p screen, 9 cell battery and Intel AC wireless card. You can then upgrade the RAM and SSD yourself. It may run you a bit over budget, but you'll have a fairly portable 14" laptop with a good amount of power and up to 16GB ram.
  
  If you'd like a more portable version of the above, though with only a dual core i7 and max 12GB ram, then consider the The Lenovo T440s, which has:
  
  
• i7 dual core 4600U processor
  
• 8GB ram (upgradeable to 12GB)
  
• 256GB SSD
  
• 1920x1080 14” IPS screen
  
• Excellent Thinkpad build quality and precision keyboard for comfortable typing
  
• Windows 7 Pro
  
• 0.8” thick / 3.5 pounds
  
  Though I think the quad core would be useful, you may just want a decently powerful yet portable machine. You can swap out the single 4GB RAM module for an 8 GB module like this one if you find that you need more RAM for Solidworks, etc.

I'm not great at tweaking builds to get the absolute best performance for as cheap as possible, as I've always looked at the mid-tier when making my computers. But to me, that doesn't seem that bad considering the price. Honestly, I'm kind of amazed that you were able to cut it down that much.

I know it's not much, but this is the cheapest 8GB RAM stick on Amazon. Crucial is a good company, we use them all the time at work. It's only two bucks cheaper, but...it's better than nothing, right?

https://www.amazon.com/Crucial-Unbuffered-288-Pin-Desktop-CT8G4DFD8213/dp/B00MMLUYVU/ref=sr_1_2?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1478141424&sr=1-2&refinements=p_n_feature_five_browse-bin%3A677427011%2Cp_n_feature_four_browse-bin%3A10656894011

Another thing I'd recommend is salvaging a hard drive from anything. If you know of anybody who has an old laptop or something laying around, ask if you can buy the old drive for like $10 or something. If you know someone with a broken PS4 or something, that has a standard SATA laptop drive. Or even if you have an old laptop or something lying around, use that! I know it's not always possible, but it can't hurt to check. Yeah, you'd probably take a performance hit on using a crappy 5,400rpm laptop drive, but it'll be slightly cheaper.

If you hang on a second, I'll come back and make an edit with what I can narrow down on the video card

EDIT: Alright, after looking at the video card a little bit, you could try for a Nvidia 750ti. There's an open box deal on Newegg right now for $86.99. I'll put the link down at the end. Now it is not as good as the RX 460, but it's close in performance. Honestly I'd recommend going used for the video card. There are a lot of places you could do this, like your local Craigslist, eBay, or /r/hardwareswap. This is the most important part of the build (for playing Skyrim at least), and you really do get what you pay for. Used is probably the best way to go here. And you seem to have skimmed costs pretty much anywhere else you could, which is fine, because there's nothing inherently wrong with the rest of it, it just doesn't leave much to skimp on more. You could try to salvage a case from an old computer, or a friend/family member with an old computer. Old cases still work just fine, I actually used a case from 2002 until a year ago. That'd save you $20. Or you could even just put it in a cardboard box or something, maybe even just sit it on a piece of cardboard. It'd look ghetto, but I can't really think of much else :/

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121896R

The most important things with RAM (besides being the right type for your computer, such as DDR4), are: size (GB), clockspeed (mhz), and CAS timing (typically some number between 8-20).

The bigger the size the better, but these day 16GBs of ram is recommended, 32GB max for most users. The higher the clockspeed the better, but typically you get the most bang for your buck around 3000mhz or 3200mhz, over 3200 you tend to get diminishing performance returns for far higher cost; Also, make sure your motherboard supports the given clockspeed. CAS timing, this is a little complicated, but long story short the lower the timing the better, and the ram's actual performance is based on some equation of like clockspeed divided by cas timing or such. For 3200MHz ram, the typical cas timing is 16 (specifically "16, 18, 18, 18, 36", but don't worry about those other numbers, just the first one).

For good highspeed DDR4 ram that isn't crazy, I would recommend these.

Worth noting, if you have different ram in your computer running at different speeds, all of your ram will run as slow as the slowest ramstick. For that and some other reasons, it is best to keep all the ram in your PC the same type, so that they will all perform the same.

The most important things for you are going to be a really good keyboard and a solid CPU. You could go a couple different ways with this.

You could stay pretty cheap and portable with this Lenovo ThinkPad T430. It has a 14" 1600x900 display, the best keyboard on the market, and an incredibly durable build. It's also easy to upgrade, and I would suggest throwing more RAM in.

Or if you want something with a much higher quality display and dedicated graphics, the ASUS N550JK has a beautiful 15.6" 1920x1080 IPS touch display and Nvidia GTX 850M graphics. It also has fantastic build quality and a powerful i7-4700HQ processor. It's a very well rounded multimedia laptop that is basically capable of doing whatever you want to do with it.

> Is this your first day learning about building computers?

No, but chances are I've been doing it many, many times longer than you considering your very first build was only done a week ago :)

Bud, let's not resort to ad hominems. The fact of the matter is that I am not attacking you. I am saying you could've done a lot better for the price.

When you build a gaming computer and you come to /r/buildapc for a performance evaluation, it's not hard to see that the build I put in another comment with a 390 performs far, far better for games. Here's some synthetic benchmarks for comparison. Here is how it compares to a 960 and a 380. They didn't even bother including the 390 because it's so far beyond it that it's crazy.

> It's for older games at 1080p and I get 60 FPS in every single one, so I am satisfied

Because a 280X/7970 is about $50 cheaper on average, has more VRAM, and performs far, far better.

>Memory: Its actually 1600 speed and once again, works just fine for MY needs, not YOUR needs, but MINE. Price is average for that type of RAM as well.

??? That RAM is made to be OC'ed; that's why it has heatsinks. Just take it and tweak it in the BIOS in about 2 seconds and BAM 1600 Mhz. You overpaid. It's about $37 for 8 GB of RAM. Just get two of these.

>once I want to upgrade

Kabylake will be out by the time you want to upgrade most likely, or Zen. Kind of a moot point.

>PSU: There isn't much to say here; YOU DONT SKIMP ON THE POWER SUPPLY

But you don't go overkill. A 500W EVGA PSU for $40 would have accomplished the same thing and would be just as reliable in real usage, especially with a power draw that low. It's just waste.

>Maybe I want an i3 and a 950, and you want an i5 and a 290. That's great! Go and buy an i5 and a 290!

Well that's not the problem, buddy. The problem is that the i5 and the 390 destroy the 950 and it does it cheaper. So your point is aesthetics. You paid a couple hundred for aesthetics, but the point we are making is that you could have gotten better gaming experience with the same amount or even less money. That's why this sub exists. This sub really isn't about aesthetic elements as much; there are other enthusiast places you can check for that.

TL; DR: We are concerned primarily with price/performance, and that is what we criticize about the build.

Some folks like Alienware and that's all fine and dandy, but it could be a bit of a waste.

Just know that you can really get an extremely good, top of the line PC for $2,000

I highly recommend trying /r/buildapc and /r/pcmasterrace, and check out 4chan's /vg/ if you want to see what people think about games right now.

From what I can see, you could save some money in a few ways:

• Buy your peripherals on sale; Headphones, keyboard, mouse, you can get better deals on those. I recommend you shop around in stores for some good deals.
  
  
• I believe you can get a copy of Windows 8 64-bit (home) at Staples for ~$80
  
  
• I've had trouble with EVGA power supplies before, such as 24-pin ATX not fitting into the motherboard, bad cables out of the box, etc., although this was with the G1, and you have a G5, so I'm not sure.
  
  
• You can save on RAM (three links included)
  
  
• If you're a student, you can get Microsoft Office for free.
  
  
• Your case does come with fans, but I assume you'd like the red lighting.
  
  If you're really looking to cut costs down, you could probably live with a smaller (or without) an SSD, and mod the case fans yourself with red LEDs (quite easy to do with some wire and solder), and check out /r/microsoftsoftwareswap if it'll work out for you.
  
  I saw you hadn't gotten any thought-out responses, good luck to you.
  
  P.S. On a personal note, I would recommend an NVIDIA (I like MSI) graphics card, as they perform exceptionally well for the power usage, or an AMD Radeon, which is cost-effective and I like their software interface, especially for overclocking.

Should have kept Mojave on it. Mojave is OS just before Catalina got released a few days ago...but Nvm. As a rule of thumb, I don't install the latest & greatest OS immediately. I like to wait & watch. I like to give it 6 months before I install the OS on my laptop.

Yes, if you run El Capitan, your mbp will feel super fast with an SSD & more RAM (way faster than it will on Catalina). But don't run El Capitan on it...simple basic apps like Chrome or Firefox would stop supporting such an old OS pretty soon.

That's about it. You're good to go.

And if you're in the US here's an amazon link to buying more RAM. I'd go for 16gb of ram. Ideally you only really need 10gb or 12gb of ram max. But since you either get to pick from 8gb or 16gb. i'd go for 16gb if it fits your budget.

https://www.amazon.com/Crucial-PC3-12800-SODIMM-204-Pin-Memory/dp/B008LTBJFW/ref=sr_1_5?crid=1ZJ4WAV9I0SG0&keywords=16gb+ram+macbook+pro+mid+2012&qid=1570867864&sprefix=16gb+ram+mac%2Caps%2C374&sr=8-5



in the future when apple officially stops supporting this macbook. You can still "unofficially" support the macbook by downloading a patcher that dosdude1 creates at: http://dosdude1.com/software.html

I think he has step by step instructions on youtube at his channel.

Okay this may be an odd purchase but http://www.amazon.com/F555LA-AB31-15-6-inch-Full-HD-Laptop-Windows/dp/B011KFQASE/ref=sr_1_1?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1451694997&sr=1-1&refinements=p_n_operating_system_browse-bin%3A12035945011%2Cp_n_feature_three_browse-bin%3A9647486011

An Intel i3 is going to be suitable for photoshop and casual use, the Intel HD 5500 inside is pretty damned suitable for any casual gaming as well. It has 2 USB 3.0 ports, it DOES have a disk drive however I could not find any that didn't. It also has AC wireless and a 1080p display.

Now it comes with a 500GB 5200rpm, which ick. So you'd need to buy 2 things separately to get a better experience

Depending on what you want to spend 60/76$ You can get an SSHD 1tb or 500gb, if you don't know SSHD has the cheapness/storage power of a HDD with the performance benefits of an SSD, it's basically the bridge between 7200rpm and SSD

http://www.amazon.com/Seagate-Laptop-2-5-Inch-Internal-ST1000LM014/dp/B00B99JUBQ/ref=zg_bs_1254762011_7

Another addition is upgrading the 4GB of memory, this will enable better multi tasking and a bit snappier performance.
http://www.amazon.com/Crucial-PC3-12800-204-Pin-Notebook-CT102464BF160B/dp/B006YG8X9Y/ref=cm_cr_dp_asin_lnk

Combined total with the 1tb is $459 for a pretty decent system, it will require you to go through the effort of putting new parts in, but the end result should be great. I will say that you should look for a Youtube video of the hard drive replacement, as it seems memory is easy to install, but the HDD may require a few extra steps.

> I'm looking to do 1080p/60fps at least, or maybe 1440. With games like the witcher 3 or battlefield. Single monitor setup is fine. Also, would like to use as my streaming box for videos

The 280x is just short of Witcher 3's recommended specs. It'll play it for sure, it's a great card, but you can't expect 60fps 1440. It's impossible to tell you exactly how it will perform considering the game is not out yet, all we have to go on is the recommended specs, which is a 290.

> I haven't picked out ram in a long time; probably six years. What's the best bang for the buck with the listed motherboard? Probably 8gb

Just pick the chapest 2x4GB DDR-1600 kit from a good brand like Corsair, G.Skill, Crucial, Kingston.. I like these.

> That leaves the PSU to pick out. I would prefer a modular model since I'm a neat freak with cabling.

Always pick a good PSU brand. Corsair, Seasonic, Antec.. I'd suggest this one for the value.

> I'm also going to be using the windows 7 key from my laptop.

This will most likely not work.

Based on your criteria..A great quality laptop would this [Dell Inspiron i7559-2512BLK]() that comes with a great i7 quad core processor, 8 GB RAM , a nice 1000 GB HDD =+ 8 GB SSD and of course, it comes with a very decent GTX 960 dedicated graphics card which will be your main performer in any graphic demanding applications. This laptop also has a great battery life and a very nice build quality. It is currently sold for a little over $800 which gives you a perfect option of getting another 8 GB RAM and an m.2 SSD card to install in it while still staying under $1000..

• [Crucial 8GB Single DDR3L 1600] (https://www.amazon.com/Crucial-Single-PC3L-12800-SODIMM-204-Pin/dp/B006YG8X9Y/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&qid=1469191727&sr=8-1&keywords=8+GB+DDR3L+SDRAM&linkCode=ll1&tag=3918-20&linkId=77b916aa3c498003e117f6c403cbf08f) $29
  
  
• Samsung 850 EVO - 250GB - M.2 SATA III Internal SSD
  
  This gives you a laptop with an i7 quad core 6th gen procesor, 16 GB RAM which is awesome, a total of 1258 GB storage with a 1 TB HDD in addition to 264 GB SSD storage space... Excellent for you.

The part in your edit doesn't sound familiar at all.

While you did say you don't feel like building one, but have you seen/heard of the Intel NUC? if not i'd look into it. They're great little PC's and while there is some assembly required it's definitely nowhere near as much work as a build from scratch. The NUC comes with most things pre-installed the only components you have to install are the RAM, HDD and/or SSD (m.2) and screw the lid on.

To answer your main question neither the one you have listed nor any off-the-shelf systems have extra drive mounting spots in most cases.

I did go ahead and price a NUC setup for you. You can get a NUC8i3BEH which has a comparable cpu to the one in the dell you linked,
a Samsung 970 EVO 250 GB NVMe m.2 drive, 1 TB 2.5" HDD, 8 GB of DDR4 memory, and a Logitech wireless keyboard and mouse combo for $488.35 and while yes there is a little work involved, and you'd have to install a copy of Win 10 on it, It'd be a better setup than what that dell would be. Plus it takes up a lot less space.

I've built like 10 of these for my company and they're fantastic.

Most current generation desktops are adequate for your usage case. I'm personally a fan of the Intel NUC form factor (link). This particular model is one of the newer options and would more than handle everything you will throw at it after adding RAM, an SSD, and optionally a wireless card. The total cost is approximately $590, or $710 if you upgraded to a 480GB SSD. You would also need to buy Windows (or use another OS of your choice).

That said, there are a few important caveats. This may not provide the absolute best value for your money on all fronts. I like the form factor, but you could get more for $600-$700 if you used the Toms Hardware Q1 System Builders Marathon, $750 PC article. By the same hand, that PC is massively overkill for your usage model- integrated graphics from both AMD and Intel can easily handle Netflix. You could probably stay around the $300-$400 price range with some help from /r/buildapc. That said, I still like the NUC since I can mount it to the back of my dumb but otherwise nice TV, attach a webcam and do tutoring/blogging/netflix/home theater stuff with XBMC with a clean looking setup.

I think if you're happy to spend the money, it's a sleek option. If not, the other suggestions here are also all very well thought out.

No, if you're gonna buy a 2012 Unibody, I recommend going with a used one instead of refurbished. You CAN get one from Apple's refurb store, but I recommend eBay. Here's a link to one for $429.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/APPLE-MACBOOK-PRO-MID-2012-13-2-5GHz-i5-4GB-RAM-320GB-HDD-A1278-/192035795047?hash=item2cb639b067:g:h4sAAOSwcUBYNlST

Buy this, then buy an SSD and upgrade it. Upgrading to an SSD takes 10 minutes plus an hour to reinstall, and makes a world of a difference. Any monkey can upgrade to an SSD in one of these older machines. Here's a link to a few good SSDs depending on the size you need.

256GB SSD
http://www.ebay.com/itm/ADATA-Ultimate-SU800-256GB-3D-NAND-2-5-Inch-SATA-III-Internal-Solid-State-Drive-/302089343525?hash=item4655ed9225:g:7rAAAOSwAuZX68Fj

512GB SSD
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Samsung-850-EVO-500GB-2-5-Inch-SATA-III-Internal-SSD-MZ-75E500B-AM-/172336043050?hash=item282007542a:g:DAsAAOSwKOJYIlqZ

Hope this helps! You should also upgrade it to 8GB RAM, and if you replace one of the sticks of RAM with an 8GB Stick, you'll have a total of 10GB, which is awesome. Here's a link to a good stick of RAM. You'll only need one.

https://www.amazon.com/Crucial-Single-PC3L-12800-SODIMM-204-Pin/dp/B006YG8X9Y/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1480020498&sr=8-1&keywords=8gb+ddr3+laptop

So if you get that MacBook Pro, a 256GB SSD, and the 8GB RAM stick, you'll have a GREAT machine for just under $550, which is almost $250 LESS than the one on Groupon, with MUCH BETTER SPECS!

Tl;Dr, no, that's a bad deal. Get what I recommended.

Also, there are guides on iFixit.com to show you how to replace the hard drive with an SSD and replace the RAM. All you need is a screwdriver and 10-15 minutes.

It depends on your future plans really but if you're looking to upgrade, I always recommend 3200 CL14 Samsung B Die like these:

https://www.overclockers.co.uk/team-group-dark-pro-8pack-edition-16gb-2x8gb-ddr4-pc4-25600c14-3200mhz-dual-channel-kit-black-my-08l-tg.html

Quick and super tight timings with the default XMP, can go a little higher if you want to mess around. I use these in my own machine with 8700k/1080ti, have built a couple of other gaming machines for friends using them and they'll be going into my sons' new Ryzen build.


Make sure they are installed dual channel and if the mobo won't go to 3200, good excuse for an upgrade to a board (MSI B450 Tomahawk is a good budget choice) that will support the new 3x00 Ryzen - a 3600 Ryzen and this ram will last you for a good long time.

If you don't want to spend that much, I've been using this kit with Ryzen 2600 builds:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0134EW7G8/?tag=pcp0f-21

Will be a good step up from your 2400 ram. I would though suggest the 3200 CL14, it'll last for longer.
hth

Honestly I never really researched the best RAM, I just grabbed some of this corsair RAM because it was cheap and quick enough. You benefit a little from 3200 over 3000, but I think the improvement is very small on Intel systems. Really I'm not the most knowledgeable in this subject, but I did manage to spend less than $80 on RAM and it works great so if you want to save money and get something trustworthy I'd recommend the basic LPX sticks.

Laptop companies are getting smart about Display Size. It's more preference now than it is a huge price difference.

A couple models I'd suggest:

• MSI 17.3" 970M -- $1500
  
  
• MSI 15.6" 970M -- $1500
  
  
  These laptops will blow away any 870m graphics card you might be looking at. Don't worry about the differences between the i7-4700's and the i7-4800's... It's not enough to even look at twice. If you want a 4900 XTreme series, you're going to spend an extra $700+ on top of the $1500, so don't bother. Also, you won't find many 880M or 780M graphics cards laptops for less than $1600; they are also arguably worse than the 970m. (which is extremely surprising, usually the last generation's 80 card does better than the next generations 70 card.)
  
   
  
  You can always upgrade RAM down the road: Crucial 8GB x 1
  
  The 17" features a better deal, comes with a $200 Intel package at the same price, and both are $30 cheaper than Amazon is selling them for; they both feature a single stick of 8GB DDR3L RAM, so if you are going to upgrade RAM down the road, MAKE SURE you buy 1 x 8GB DDR3L RAM, as I put in the link.
  
   
  
  Good luck!
  
   
  
  Edit: If a Solid-State Drive (SSD) is that important to you, 128GB Crucial SSD... If you want more space, just search it out, shouldn't need much more though honestly; just put your most used applications on the SSD (Favorite Games and Programs), and you'll be running at blistering fast loading times in game; you'll notice the difference, I promise you that.
  
  Installing SSD into MSI GT70

Just a couple, but thanks so far!
To take advantage of the microcenter cpu deal I've been hearing about (pairing it with a mobo) would you recommend any of these over what you have above?:
http://www.microcenter.com/site/brands/intel-processor-bundles.aspx

I also found this ram on sale, seemed pretty similar to me but cheaper. Thoughts?
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004CRSM4I/?tag=pcpapi-20

And last but not least the video card. I've seen the Sapphire Radeon XT thrown around a lot here, any reason why the one you've recommended is better? The 2gb is about 60 bucks cheaper and I'm thinking about making some room for a SSD (I know I didn't specify that in the post..), is the current card that much better?

Thanks!

Well, not every CPU can handle 3000Mhz. That's why yours tells you 2666Mhz. You can put 3000mhz sticks in there but it won't go any faster than 2666Mhz. It would be spending some extra cash for nothing but future proofing incase you upgrade later. When installing the RAM you should also refer to the manual for best dual channel placement. I recommend you use two sticks of 8 rather than one 16 stick.

[This is what I currently have](Corsair Vengeance LPX 16GB (2x8GB) DDR4 DRAM 3000MHz C15 Desktop Memory Kit - Black (CMK16GX4M2B3000C15) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0134EW7G8/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_NBkCCbQ80SFBZ), but my CPU can handle 3000Mhz

This article is easy to read and helpful here as well.

Good luck mate

Your build is solid, you won’t notice your PSU. It’s good.

I would: keep everything but swap the case. Add extra 120mm fan (any, doesn’t matter).

You can squeeze a few dollars with this 2060 vendor, same GPU your list but cheaper. it is $492 after coupon. Free shipping.

https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/RTX-2060-MSI-NVIDIA-GeForce-GAMING-Z-6GB-Gaming-Graphics-Video-Card-HDMI-DP-VR/264417429725?epid=17034146558&hash=item3d9081c8dd:g:WTYAAOSwnAddN~5o:sc:AU_StandardDelivery!2074!AU!-1

Also go on amazon and get the $121 RAM that’s 3200. Ryzens really perform better with 3200 speed RAM, and you can absolutely OC those sticks especially with your quality mobo. I think you can expect 4% faster CPU bound performance with the 3200 RAM over 3000.

https://www.amazon.com.au/Corsair-Vengeance-3200MHz-Desktop-Memory/dp/B0143UM4TC

Happy building and don’t wait too long. I’ve lost on sweet deals because I kept on trying to wait for a better deal.

Well i got a temporary built for you. Be warned it is slightly above 400 quids but you are into entry range high end PCs here (especially the processor) and will satisfy all your gaming needs while easily "stomping" both of the next-gen consoles.

Processor - AMD FX8320 Black Edition 8 Core

GPU - AMD HD7770 2GB

Mobo - Asus M5A97

PSU - Corsair CX750

RAM - Corsair 8GB 1600MHz DDR3 Vengeance Memory Kit

HDD - Get a local one for cheap (barely matters unless you want a SSD)

Blu-ray - That shit isn't cheap and i didn't plan on including it in my stupid estimate which i made. I don't even use a DVD writer for myself and i haven't ever felt the need for one.

Audio - Since you said you wanted excellent Audio quality, you should look up on the Asus XONAR cards and pick one according to your needs. If you just want good audio quality for some personal music and movies, you can pick up the basic Xonar cards. They all have excellent audio.

Cabinet - Can't say what you need there. Pick anything with a decent airflow and you are good to go. Else, you can do what i do and pick a cheap one while just keeping it open for the airflow. Unless you are for aesthetics, you can save a good amount of fortune here.

I recently bought one of these with this RAM and this hard drive to replace my virtualized pfSense install after I was away for two weeks and had ESXi issues that took my VPN offline. I know this sub isn't a fan of Realtek NICs, but what I was looking for was: a processor that supports AES-NI, fanless, compact, dual NICs, low power consumption, and decent price. This machine hit all of those, with the only drawback being non-Intel NICs. So far, I've had absolutely no issues with it. It's a little overkill if you just want basic routing, but I wanted to be able to run OpenVPN, Snort, pfBlockerNG, etc. and have a comfortable overhead for anything I wanted to try in the future.

For an access point, Ubiquiti UniFi UAP-AC-LITE or UAP-AC-PRO are pretty popular "prosumer" products. I'm sure someone can recommend some good switches, but I'm currently running a Netgear GS724T and it provides me with the features I need (VLAN, LAG/LACP) and I'm happy with it.

I have one of these, I upgraded the RAM with this: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B006YG8X9Y - works great, even though 8GB is probably overkill. Installation was really easy, I suggest running the RAM test from the Synology Assistant to make sure all is OK.

I use 2 x 6TB WD Reds in mine, SHR (Synology Hybrid Raid), and use Amazon Glacier to back up important folders (such as Photos) as my offsite insurance plan. It's pretty cheap to backup, monthly costs are around $0.80. It get's expensive to restore so this offsite backup solution is mostly an "insurance policy" in case of house fire or something like that.

You will absolutely 100% require an SSD upgrade, but otherwise, yes, you can run this at 720p just fine. I would strongly suggest doubling the RAM as well, but 8gb can "work" with less than optimal results. A decent SSD capable of fitting your core programs and Star Citizen would cost you a minimum of $30, though investing in a better one wouldn't be extraordinarily expensive and will last you a lot longer in a future build.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0781VSXBP A solid SSD

https://www.amazon.com/Crucial-Single-PC4-19200-SODIMM-260-Pin/dp/B01BIWKP58/ref=sr_1_3 DDR4 Laptop memory that should be compatible

Edit-Running on low will net you a bit of extra FPS and look mostly the same. Turn off Vsync, and turn off blurring effects. This will net you the best possible FPS.

You shouldn't need a cooler unless you're planning to push for high overclocks. The stock cooler is said to be pretty damn good even at moderate overclocks. Also https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0143UM4TC/?tag=pcpapi-20 would save you five bucks in memory on amazon. I'm waiting for the last part to arrive on a nearly identical rig, and several reviews mentioned this ram getting the box speed on the 2600x/tomahawk so that's what I went with.

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/sjVDYT

I would also put serious consideration into a 750w PSU. I almost went with the EVGA 750 G3, but a great seasonic went on sale. Should only cost $10 more than your 650.

As for monitors, i love my (not an IPS) Dell S2716DG. I went with gsync over IPS to save money, and I honestly don't think I could do without anymore.

The bad news:

Wifi sucks for media distribution. While many routers will do 802.11 a/b/g/n speeds, they'll mostly only do one at a time. So if you have just one slow device in the house requiring a/b speeds, it's going to drag your real-world transfer speeds into the 150kbps range and even SD video will stutter.

Most "smart" TVs aren't. Many brand new smart panels/BD players have poor codec support and abysmal interfaces.

The good news:

All of this is fixable. As for moving files, you can find and disable the slow device that's dragging down your wireless network. In my case, it ended up being a wireless printer. Alternately, you can pull an ethernet cable from your server to the TV, or do ethernet over AC.

As for smartening up your TV, you have several options. The free one is to keep using the PC that's currently connected to it. It's not really putting any "strain" on the CPU, since unless it's an ancient machine, video playback is handled with no real effort by the GPU. If you want a standalone device, I've tried dozens of set-top players over the years and have found the WD TV units to be as close to perfect as anybody has gotten. Codec support is very good, the interface is acceptable, and they play nice with network shares.

However, if you're willing to spend a bit more, you can get a full-fledged windows PC that is even smaller and more capable. I currently use two gigabyte brix systems in my house. Toss in 4GB of RAM and a cheap SSD and you can have a complete system for about $200. Using a good media player like MPC-HC this will handle anything you throw at it.

Hi, I have a gs65 2060 rtx from best buy that came with the only 1 stick of 16gb ram. I bought this: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B071KP8CGJ You likely have the same model I got a few months ago

and it made my games go up by like 20 fps, huge upgrade. No you don't void warranty by performing hardware swaps. But if you break anything while doing so that's a different story. Be sure to register your laptop if you can (there's a 30day deadline) with MSI for their free 1 yr accident plan coverage.

Since I've done the upgrade myself, it's not difficult, it's a just a bit tedious cause you have to open/close tiny latches holding onto tiny ribbons cables. Here's a video explaining: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rehA0elife4 They explain it very well. Only difference you'll see with the Best buy model we have is that there's a plastic shield around CPU. Here is a few pics I took to repaste it if you're wondering what it looks like under that heatsink: https://imgur.com/a/ilTcLKk

You don't need any special tools besides a screwdriver. (Don't be the guy who buys the 20$ computer repair 10-tool kit just for adding ram and a ssd[tho nice to have]) It's going to take you like 20 minutes first time because if you've never done it you're going to be very careful. If you're wondering about the SSD brand, mine was a blue Kingston 512gb

If you bought that 4460 new, then replacing your PSU is probably a good preventative measure. I doubt that you need to, but since it powers everything, there's an uncomfortably high (but honestly, relatively low) chanve that it could fry some electronics when it inevitably fails. So spending an extra $80-$100 on a much, high quality PSU would be something to look into, though it mostly helps with longevity.

If your PSU is less than 3 years old, or you already have a high quality pay that you trust, that money would better be spent on a SSD upgrade. Also, make sure to backup your data before you upgrade everything; worst case scenario, you put a fresh install of Windows on your old HDD (or brand new SSD) and then restore files from a backup (stored on a seperate drive) for that fresh, and yet still familiar Windows experience. Just moving your HDD over and expecting it to work is kinda asking for trouble.

Also Also, if you can, make sure you have a copy of your Windows Activation Key before the upgrade. Windows may be marked as inactive after the change; a call to microsoft support should fix it if push comes to shove, but having the key simplifies the process.

Finally, have you considered upgrading to an AMD system? If you're buying that i5 9600k as a budget option, you may want to look into the price/performance king right now, which I believe is a ryzen 5 3600 (released earlier this week) coupled with a b450 series board. I think that comes out to around $300 before RAM, definitely shop around though.

Edit: If you don't plan on overclocking your RAM, this seems like a nice budget option: $75 for 16 GB Ddr4-3200

> The motherboard didn't have as many bad reviews on newegg. (What's up with that? Most mb's seem to have so many problems). But, I'm not crazy about the white/black theme.

If you would prefer a quality Z170 board with a black only theme, you might want to look at this board. LINK It is incredibly easy to OC with, great color theme (or lack of) and great built in features.

Remember on RAM for gaming (I did not read your first post so I have no idea of why you are building this PC but I am assuming it is for gaming), speed is less important than CAS. You chose high speed but also high CAS ram. You would be better off in looking for a 13 or 14 CAS rating RAM. Example to stick with black theme

Hitachi drives are not known for long term reliability. You may want to get a FireCuda (if gaming), other barry drive or a WD Black or 7200RPM NAS or Datacenter Drive.

Since you are spending $150 on an SSD, you may want to grab an M.2 drive for ease of cable management and additional speed. Smaller capacity or More expensive or Green PCB

PSU - I would get the 750w because it is on sale for a few dollars more than the 650w right now. It will allow a better efficiency because of where your system will land on the curve. Either is fine though.

I have no experience on monitors so I will not comment.

Other than that, solid build.

EDIT: Added product links

I found these for £657. It is just a little over budget but it will be truly worth it.

CPU: Intel i5 4570
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00CO8TA4I/ref=ox_sc_act_title_2?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE

GPU: GeForce GTX 750Ti
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00ICUGOP0/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE

Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-H81M-H
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00IS69CFW/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE

Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8gb
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B004CRSM4I/ref=ox_sc_act_title_9?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE

Case: Gigabyte GZ-Ma03
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00HLERWMM/ref=ox_sc_act_title_3?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE

Storage: 1TB Western Digital Blue
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0088PUEPK/ref=ox_sc_act_title_4?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A3FTJ2BGLE278D

Monitor: BenQ 21.5 Inch Monitor 1080p
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00B7ZE0G2/ref=ox_sc_act_title_2?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE

OS: Windows 8.1
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00FRAE7MU/ref=ox_sc_act_title_5?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE

Power Supply: EVGA 500w PSU
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00GP5Y6J0/ref=ox_sc_act_title_8?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE

DVD Drive: Samsung 24x
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00CC6YN6M/ref=ox_sc_act_title_10?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE

Keyboard: Logitech K120
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B003ZY9Z40/ref=ox_sc_act_title_7?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE

Mouse: Logitech B100
http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00AZKNPZC/ref=ox_sc_act_title_6?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE

There are no external speakers provided in the build so you would have to use the Monitor's speakers through the HDMI. But this is an easy £30 upgrade in the future. The processor is a Haswell i5 and can be upgraded to an i7 Haswell with no compatibility issues. The GPU is also easily upgradable in the future.

The PC should run games much, much better than the prebuilt one you showed me. Again, building a PC is very easy to do if you watch a guide on the internet. It is comparable to LEGO pieces with a bit of wiring thrown in to make it more fun.

So that SSD seems a bit excessive....

You're generally better off getting a smaller SSD, like 250GB along with a larger mass storage.

Swap that 1TB SSD for this 275GB SSD and this 2TB HDD. You're gonna save almost 100$ on this and have more storage.

You can also get some cheaper RAM like This Kingston HyperX FURY, yeah it's slower at 2133 mhz, butit really doesn't matter.

Now you have about 110$ left over which you can put into a better GPU. You can get a GTX 1070 for 399$ so you'd need to get an extra 20$ on top of your current funds. The 1070 offers substantially better performance than the 1060, you're easily looking at gaining 20-30 frames on average in most games.

I am starting a PC build and my friend linked me two amazon deals that sound interesting

RAM

and

Cpu Cooling

My question is, would these both fit properly together on a motherboard (cooling is pretty big), and if yes what type/example of motherboard would be a good choice?

Thanks in advance for any help!

Do you work with graphic design or play video games? If so you'll need a dedicated graphics card. (Your previous laptop did have dedicated graphics, but a pretty weak card).

If you don't need dedicated graphics, your best pet is probably the HP 15 for $595 - a pretty powerful laptop with a lot of value. Then upgrade the ram by buying another 8gb stick of ram to get 16gb ram, skylake i7 processor, 256gb ssd, and intel 520 graphics. You could also add an HDD in addition to the SSD if you want more storage.

Great! That's good to know. So if I won't OCing I would be good with that mobo, even for a 3900x.

Yeap, it doesn't look too wise haha. It's:

• 3700x + 21% = 3800x
  
• 3800x + 25% = 3900x
  
  ​
  
  Thanks, gonna check those too! Nice sub that, gotta keep an eye there before buying everything. Someone recommended me these if I go 2x8: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07MNJP6RW/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER&psc=1
  
  ​
  
  Do you think it's better to use those $50 on going 16 vs 32gb? Instead of putting them on the CPU?

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B01ARGVNV6/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?smid=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE&psc=1

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B01N5IB20Q/ref=ox_sc_act_title_2?smid=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE&psc=1

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B01ICLGJF8/ref=ox_sc_act_title_3?smid=A2XOC34F7KPTGN&psc=1

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07D7KR2Y8/ref=ox_sc_act_title_4?smid=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE&psc=1

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B078Y32P1W/ref=ox_sc_act_title_5?smid=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE&psc=1

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07HS4XS93/ref=ox_sc_act_title_6?smid=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE&psc=1

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07HHLX1R8/ref=ox_sc_act_title_7?smid=AFXON1SGSPLH4&psc=1

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0134EW7G8/ref=ox_sc_act_title_8?smid=A2KXDAC5Y6BNRJ&psc=1

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07M7PJ3M3/ref=ox_sc_act_title_9?smid=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE&psc=1

Im sorry. I know im posting here for the 5th time but heres a config from amazon uk i think is nice. Id say you can just get a 480 gb kingston ssd for a bit more money. The kingston ones are on sale.Just dont change out the gpu. for this pricepoint this is the best thing right now since its a rtx 2060 on sale for 330 pounds. The ideal thing you could do is just buy the parts some of us reccomended from america since electronics in europe are much more expensive. Promise i wont bother you anymore.

I used to be sceptical that it was possible, but since seeing this post I've been working out how much a PC that runs BF4 at recommended PC spec would cost.

• UK PS4 price: £350
  
• UK Xbone price: £430
  
  To fully upgrade an old PC to slightly above console spec is £308, minus the cash you make selling on your old parts. You also get four free games.
  
  If you start from nothing (i.e. also need a power supply, hard drive, OS, and case) it'll cost £448. Considering the fact that you're also getting a general-purpose computer it's not big money.
  
  My PC is over four years old now, yet if I wanted to upgrade it to BF4 spec it woud cost me £75 post-Ebay and I'd get three of those four free games. In reality I'll stick with what I've got for a while longer, since the beta ran pretty well at mid/high.
  
  (If you do build a BF4 PC, get an ATI graphics card so that you can benefit from Mantle.)
  
  Edit: the parts I found:
  
  Upgrade only:
  
  
• Quad-core 4.4GHz CPU (£109)
  
• MSI motherboard (£34)
  
• [8GB RAM] (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Corsair-CMZ8GX3M2A1600C9-Vengeance-Performance-Desktop/dp/B004CRSM4I/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1382893302&sr=8-1&keywords=DDR3) (£61)
  
• Radeon 7770 (£104)
  
  New build:
  
  
• 1TB HDD (£47)
  
• 430W PSU (£33)
  
• Windows 7 (£35)
  
• Some case or other (£25)

1. Any 2.5" HDD will fit, but not the desktop 3.5".
   
2. The RAM stick you chose wont work, because it is DDR3L. Dell 7000 Gaming requires DDR4, and it's better to choose the size and MHz of the new one the same as installed. For me it was 8GB 2400MHz, like that: https://www.amazon.com/Crucial-PC4-19200-SODIMM-260-Pin-CT8G4SFS824A/dp/B01BIWKP58/
   
3. Buying it with stock IPS display is a cheaper and faster way.
   
   And dont worry, you got into the correct subreddit :)
   
   Good luck!

I'm coming from a custom-built PC background and looking to make the new iMac with Retina 5K Display (Retina iMac) my first Apple computer. From my research on configuring 32GB memory to order vs upgrading myself, I could not find any evidence that the modules Apple uses are any better than available from third-parties.

• Apple has yet to post a support article with the Retina iMac's user-upgradable memory requirements. Below is last year's spec. Based on the Retina iMac being the same body as the Late 2013 27" iMac and the high-level RAM specification on the Tech Spec product page is the same for both models (DDR3 1600Mhz SO-DIMM, up to 32GB) people have assumed that the exact memory specification for the Retina iMac is unchanged since last year. http://support.apple.com/kb/HT5908
  
  
• From what I've read, you should only upgrade the memory in your MAC if the manual mentions it, so it will not void your warranty. Here's the iMac manual dated 2014, claiming memory is the only user-upgradable component on the Retina iMac. "Your iMac doesn’t have any user-serviceable parts, except for memory, which is user-replaceable in 27-inch models only." https://a248.e.akamai.net/7/248/51/20120908/manuals.info.apple.com/MANUALS/1000/MA1690/en_US/imac_late2014_ipig.pdf
  
  
• Recent model iMacs, MacBook Pros and Mac Minis all use the same DDR3 1600Mhz laptop-size memory, with only the max capacity varying.
  
  
• Since Apple started using Intel chips, the memory spec has become generic PC memory. In at least the last 3 model years, for example, no Mac uses error correction ECC memory except for the professionally-targeted Mac Pro. In consumer Macs, there is nothing about the memory Apple uses that's Mac-specific. The only difference is a third party manufacture like Crucial or OWC may have done additional testing to verify their memory works on a Mac. The extent of testing was probably to install the max amount of memory, see that the Mac boots up properly, no kernel-panics, and the correct amount memory and frequency is displayed in About this Mac.
  
  
• Below is a table of 8GB modules in 1, 2 or 4 module kits (8GB, 16GB, or 32GB) that I have researched that meet the Late 2013 27" memory specification AND with positive reviews (between Amazon, Newegg, Tigerdirect, and BHPhoto) AND are either verified as working on a Mac by the manufacturer OR where multiple reviewers have mentioned success with late model Macs:
  
  
  Product | Verification | Product Page | Buy
  ---|---|----|----
  OWC CL11 | By manufacture | OWC | OWC 4x8GB kit
  Crucial CL11 | By manufacture | Crucial | Amazon 2x8GB kit or [Newegg 2x8GB kit] (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148609)
  Kingston CL11 | By manufacture | Kingston | [Amazon 1x8GB kit] (http://www.amazon.com/Kingston-1600MHz-PC3-12800-KTA-MB1600-8G/dp/B0089MTON0/ref=sr_1_4?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1413945462&sr=1-4&keywords=KTA-MB1600LK2%2F16G) or Amazon 2x8GB kit
  Kingston HyperX CL11 | By manufacture | Kingston | Amazon 2x8GB kit
  Corsair CL9 | By customers | [Corsair] (http://www.corsair.com/en-us/vengeance-16gb-high-performance-laptop-memory-upgrade-kit-cmsx16gx3m2b1600c9) | [Amazon 2x8GB kit] (http://www.amazon.com/Corsair-Vengeance-Performance-1600MHz-CMSX16GX3M2B1600C9/dp/B00EXPNG5Y)
  Corsair CL10 | By customers | [Corsair] (http://www.corsair.com/en-us/vengeance-16gb-high-performance-laptop-memory-upgrade-kit-cmsx16gx3m2a1600c10) | [Amazon 2x8GB kit] (http://www.amazon.com/Corsair-Vengeance-Laptop-Memory-CMSX16GX3M2A1600C10/dp/B0076W9Q5A)
  
  
• With the exception of the Corsair memory above, which are both verified to work only by customer reviews, the rest of the list have a CAS Latency (CL) value of 11. The lower the CL the better. This is where I am currently stuck in my research. Apple does not publish the latency numbers of their memory, nor have review sites like iFixIt included this information in their teardowns/reviews. Since the above products are similarly priced, except OWC which is way more, I am torn whether or not to take a chance on the higher performing Crucial CL9 or go the safe route with a manufacture verified product. And if I start considered non-manufacture verified products that still meet the spec, that would open up to many more possibilities I don't have time to list here.
  
  Thoughts on CL or which one of the above seems best?
  

I would also advise a memory upgrade, also double check your memory’s compatibility!

I'm just after returning some Corsair RAM that wasn't fit to match the speeds it was advertised as. You can check the motherboard's QVL list under the specification section usually (My RAM wasn't listed). That Ryzen is going to love fast ram.

I'm also in the middle of my build, at the moment I have settled for a 1050 ti which is running 1080 very nicely, I would say it is currently one of the best 1080 gaming cards out there, but running at 2k is fine but like other's have also said you will need to reduce settings greatly for smooth gameplay on larger games I find.

Also, you should consider an ultrawide screen can increase the stress on GPU.

I'm just holding out, hopefully the market will look good by September for a new line-up of GPU's!

Edit: getting some feedback 'it's not the best..bla bla'

To clarify it's an awesome GPU for the price also it's aimed for 1080 market

This is a pretty solid build, but the only critique I have is of the RAM choice. Look specifically for DDR4 RAM with CL 14 (latency) and a frequency of around 2733. IIRC Ryzen chips have been shown to work best with lower CAS latency, since it lets them take full advantage of the Memory Fabric.

Here's an Amazon option: G.Skill Flare X 2x8 GB 3200 MHz CL14 RAM - $129.99

If you don't mind going to newegg: G.Skill Trident Z 2x8 GB 3200 MHz CL14 RAM - $124.99

They also can both be overclocked/tinkered with if you like, but they come out of the box with pretty good speed and timings.

The motherboard manufacturers have that memory "compatibility" chart on there because that is the highest memory that 1st gen ryzen supported, it largely doesn't matter what number is there and that's up to your processor's memory controller as to how high you can clock.

> would this be the best bang for my buck upgrade i can possibly do?

No, the best bang for the buck would easily be Crucial Ballistix Sport LT 3000 Cl15, because they overclock very nicely, almost as good as b-die, for much less. Link here

The corsair kit you mentioned wouldn't overclock as well at all, so I don't consider it "bang for the buck" because you're paying for considerably more performance with the kit I mentioned. These sticks routinely hit over 4000mhz, and will easily hit the 3433-3600 your ryzen 2600 is maximally capable of. For gaming though, timings are the most important imo.

Well, for myself I'll be buying this for my new ryzen build.


https://www.amazon.co.uk/Ballistix-BLS2K8G4D30AESBK-PC4-24000-Single-288-Pin/dp/B07MGPH9R9/ref=asc_df_B07MGPH9R9/?tag=googshopuk-21&linkCode=df0&hvadid=310818960639&hvpos=1o5&hvnetw=g&hvrand=5334896942240476451&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=m&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=1007282&hvtargid=aud-545868369748:pla-653228877011&psc=1&th=1&psc=1


The xmp profile wouldn't run in your system, but it's micron e-die, which has turned out to be great at overclocking.


So if you got this, you'd maybe be able to hit something like 2666 at c12 or c13. If you even care about this stuff. If not then anything g skill, ballistix, Corsair.


You want ram that is 2666 and when you're checking the timings smaller is better. C12 is faster than C13 for example.


2666 14-14-14-18-34


2666 15-15-15-19-37


The top one is faster.

If you want to go nuts and maximize what you can achieve with your timings, I'd recommend this kit for sure. It's samsung b die so with some voltage you can get it VERY tight.

​

If you don't feel like spending quite that much, this kit is an excellent. It's micron rev e and won't get near as tight as the b die will, but it a bit cheaper.

​

Personally I'm in love with the Team Group kit, so I can heavily recommend that, but the ballistix are a great option as well. Make sure they're 3000 cl15.

I will say, plugging 2+ monitors into a laptop with just one HDMI port is going to be a pain. You can do one screen via HDMI, sure, but you'd need to use shitty USB adapters for the rest, and there's no way to make those not suck graphically. Were I you, I'd opt for the T450s, which you can get for $762 when you create a free Barnes&Noble Gold discount for "students and teachers" through Lenovo here. Then I'd add my own 8GB SO-DIMM for $35 (bringing total RAM to 12GB), and my own 250GB SSD for $80, and have one killer business laptop that's super durable, has a superb keyboard and trackpad, for just shy of your $900 price tag (not including tax). However, this assume you're OK with reinstalling your own OS and installing the RAM/SSD yourself, which is super easy, but I don't know how technical you are. This way you get a VGA port and mini-DisplayPort, which itself can run 2 extra monitors with an adapter like this, or plug it into a docking station.

Tying to figure out what is the best DDR4 RAM (16GB total) for a ryzen 9 3900x (or ryzen 5 3600) ?

I've read that the DDR4 PC3600 (PC28800) were one of the best with these Ryzen / AM4 socket.

(I don't want High Perf / Highly Overclockable RAM, just the best RAM for the bucks)

is those 2 similar and among the best choices?

https://www.amazon.com/Corsair-Vengeance-3200MHz-Desktop-Memory/dp/B0143UM4TC/ref=bdl_pop_ttl_B0143UM4TC

https://www.amazon.com/Corsair-Vengeance-PC4-28800-Optimized-Memory/dp/B07TC4TPCN/ref=sr_1_8?keywords=ddr4+3600&qid=1573154736&s=electronics&sr=1-8

​

Thank you

For £350 I have to recommend:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Type|Item|Price

----|:----|:----
Motherboard | MSI H81M-P33 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard | £30.97 @ Scan.co.uk
Storage | Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive | £35.94 @ Aria PC
Case | Zalman ZM-T3 MicroATX Mini Tower Case | £19.94 @ CCL Computers
Power Supply | EVGA 500W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply | £35.40 @ Amazon UK
Other| Sapphire AMD R9 280 Graphics Card (3GB, DDR5) | £129.90 @ Amazon
Other| Crucial 8GB DDR3 1600 MT/s CL11 SODIMM 204 Pin 1.35V/1.5V Memory Module | £51.09 @ Amazon
Other| Intel Pentium Dual Core G3258 | £47.98 @ Dabs
| | Total
| Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available | £351.22
| Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-10-13 17:46 BST+0100 |

The G3258 + H81 is such good value. Out of the box it'll do well but what makes this amazing is when you overclock it. https://forum-en.msi.com/index.php?topic=182658.0 . Also the 280 will run every game at 1080p on Ultra settings. Fantastic card for the price.

For £450,
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

Type|Item|Price

----|:----|:----
CPU | Intel Core i5-4440 3.1GHz Quad-Core Processor | £133.14 @ Aria PC
Motherboard | Asus H81M-PLUS Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard | £40.57 @ Scan.co.uk
Storage | Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive | £35.94 @ Aria PC
Case | Xigmatek Recon ATX Mid Tower Case | £27.94 @ Amazon UK
Power Supply | EVGA 500W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply | £35.93 @ CCL Computers
Other| Sapphire AMD R9 280 Graphics Card (3GB, DDR5) | £129.90 @ Amazon
Other| Crucial 8GB DDR3 1600 MT/s CL11 SODIMM 204 Pin 1.35V/1.5V Memory Module | £51.09 @ Amazon
| | Total
| Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available | £454.51
| Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-10-16 12:02 BST+0100 |

The extra £100 has gone into getting an i5. This will perform better in intensive CPU tasks but in gaming there will only be a few fps difference. I can't really recommend it over the £350 build because you already have your laptop for work.

All in all I have to recommend the £350 build and saving some money for an SSD

It's probably the wrong type of creative, but I've been slowly building/upgrading my own PC So I'll suggest this sweet gaming RAM.

Building a PC can be one of the most rewarding experiences there is. After slotting in a new card or even just getting a better gamepad you have an instant feeling of just how much the thing that you're creating has improved. Suddenly you can run that game at 60FPS, your browser doesn't take those extra few seconds to load, and you know exactly what it is that you did to make that happen.

And I'll summon /u/poloxamer and thank /u/frogblaster77 for summoning me! :D

I would recommend this RAM.

The 1815+ can recognize the full amount and it can be useful in multiple transcoded streams.

I would get a router that supports the link agreggation capabilties of the 1815+

Don't forget an uninteruptable power supply.

For drives, I would probably go with HGSTs. This is of course based on backblaze's data, but it appears that some of the failure rates are changing, so you may want to look into that.

8 (plus one or two on hand for failures) is a huge chunk of change. I recommend watching hard drive prices on camel,camel,camel for price drops.

Welcome to the world of Synology. They are fucking awesome.

Your laptop has 4 ram slots but the 3rd and 4th only work if you have a quad core processor(name ends with QM), if you have a dual core processor then only 2 would work

I am not sure if each of your slots support the newer ram(16GB per slot) or if the processor can handle it(probably not), this isn't an issue unless you want 32GB with 2 slots, for 4 slots you can run 8GB in each slot with little to no issues

Do you want to up your current ram or replace it all ?

Adding ram to existing ram requires some information about existing ram so the newer ones won't run into luck trying to run with existing ones

You should look for DDR3 SODIMM 1600MHZ CL11, probably this is the one with high compatibility without searching about existing ram

This or it's x2 kit should run

This is the second grade of the previous if you want to save $

There is a good chance they won't work if the existing ram is far from their operating range, however these have wide operating range

So it's better to know what ram you have already before adding, but if you are replacing all existing ram there are better options than these.

I know my Radeon VII is NOT a Navi card.... however, my Radeon VII easily eats 300w of power (stated by the radeon control panel).... don't skimp with power supplies. get a large size, look for SALES that pc nose picker doesn't show.... I got an 850 platinum on amazon for 99.99 on sale.... normally sells for almost 200.... just look for good deals.

also, for a small fee of 10 dollars more, you can get a 2600 from amazon.... which will be BETTER than the 2400g and last a few years too. the 2600 is also 6 core 12 thread instead of 4 core 8 thread.... you ARE buying a navi gpu, no reason to NOT spend 10 dollars more for the 2600.....

IF you have a microcenter near you, get the inland 1tb nvme ssd, its better than the crucial 1tb nvme ssd and the same price.

that case is horrible for air flow.... everything is gonna run hot....

https://www.amazon.com/Ballistix-Sport-PC4-24000-288-Pin-Memory/dp/B07MGPH9R9/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?keywords=ddr4+16gb&qid=1564354412&s=gateway&sr=8-1-spons&psc=1

this memory is CHEAPER than your two chips.... each of your chips is 8gb for 40 bucks... 80 total. this deal, not only do you get 2 8gb chips, but its only 67 bucks... AND its DDR4 3000..... which will make your cpu run better in games and apps

pc nose picker is great for getting a generic read on what to buy, but they don't always have the best deals listed..... always shop around manually....

Where are you located so I can get a good estimate on shipping as well, I can definitely help you out a bit, I'd personally recommend these parts! best of luck

​

**CPU** | [AMD Ryzen 3 2200G 3.5 GHz Quad-Core Processor]

https://www.amazon.com/AMD-Ryzen-Processor-Radeon-Graphics/dp/B079D3DBNM/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3J6Z71ENDQVGL&keywords=ryzen+2200g&qid=1566448604&s=gateway&sprefix=ryzen+2200%2Caps%2C143&sr=8-1 $79.99

**Motherboard** | [Gigabyte B450M DS3H Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard]

https://www.amazon.com/GIGABYTE-B450M-DS3H-Ryzen-Motherboard/dp/B07FWVJSHC/ref=sr_1_5?crid=1A5RQVMOUMJS&keywords=am4+motherboard&qid=1566458514&s=gateway&sprefix=am4+mother%2Caps%2C162&sr=8-5 $73.99

**Memory** | [Corsair Vengeance LPX 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3000 Memory]

https://www.amazon.com/Corsair-Vengeance-3000MHz-Desktop-Memory/dp/B0134EW7G8/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=corsair+vengeance+lpx+16gb+%282+x+8+gb%29+ddr4-3000+memory&qid=1566458767&s=gateway&sr=8-1 $74.99

TOTAL COST : $228 before taxes ~$241 after or 17284.8815 INR

That console is pretty low end to be honest. The problems are the RAM (only 4GB), and the graphics for this says "Custom Nvidia Maxwell GTX CPU". I would go custom build, but you don't want to :(. There are very few good cheap prebuilt PC's

This is an ok prebuilt PC

Try pcpartpicker, ask on /r/buildapc. Custom built are really the way to go nowadays :).

Check this out:

GPU

CPU

RAM

HDD

CASE

PSU

It's a pretty decent build. Not great, but inside your price range. I know it's definitely better than that console.

If you want a decent gaming PC, check out the subreddit buildapc.

Yes, RAM. Lot's of RAM, well, about 8GB to be precise. 16 if you want to see a small performance increase as seen in this video. The actual requirements are 6GB which you should be fine with, and I'm sure GTA is about the same (if not maybe a bit lower?). The two most common options you could go for are DDR3 RAM and DDR4 RAM, the latter being the more expensive one due to higher clock speeds. 8GB of DDR3 costs around $60, whereas 8GB of DDR4 costs around $190.

You will also need at least an Intel Core i3-4340 or an AMD FX-6300 minimum, which is around another $160 (for the Intel one).

You haven't really given me much to go on, listing only two components of your build. Link a PCpartpicker and I can help you out! :)

Here are the PUBG requirements.

Here are the GTA V requirements.

Remember to always look at the 'recommended' components as opposed to the 'minimum' requirements if you're looking for a nice, stable FPS.

Yo what is this article, it's made a list of the top 5 pre-built gaming PC's and they are all by the same brand, are they just the only competitive pre-built manufacturer?

Anyway, quick amazon US search (amazon isn't even the cheapest place for a lot of these parts) shows that all those parts are worth maybe 460 dollars (plus a case and windows which you can get for free) they also don't list any of the models/brands so I assume that means they are terrible, on the amazon search I get legit brands like EVGA for the PSU. See for yourself: https://www.amazon.com/MSI-GAMING-GTX-960-2G/dp/B00SAYDRP8/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1473949393&sr=8-1&keywords=Nvidia+GTX+960+2GB+GDDR5+Video+Card

https://www.amazon.com/Gigabyte-DDR3-Micro-Motherboard-GA-78LMT-USB3/dp/B009FC3YJ8/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1473949409&sr=8-1&keywords=amd+760g

https://www.amazon.com/AMD-FD6300WMHKBOX-FX-6300-6-Core-Processor/dp/B009O7YORK/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1473949427&sr=8-1&keywords=fx-6300

https://www.amazon.com/Crucial-Ballistix-PC3-12800-240-Pin-BLS8G3D1609DS1S00/dp/B006YG9E7O/ref=sr_1_2?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1473949445&sr=1-2&keywords=8gb+ram

https://www.amazon.com/EVGA-WHITE-Warranty-Supply-100-W1-0500-KR/dp/B00H33SFJU/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1473949459&sr=8-1&keywords=500w+psu

https://www.amazon.com/Blue-Cache-Desktop-Drive-WD10EZEX/dp/B0088PUEPK/ref=sr_1_1?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1473949474&sr=1-1&keywords=1tb+hdd

You said you don't have a lot of money so I would definitely just build your own, other people have linked to subreddits that can tell you what components are best for the money for what you're going to be using it for, wouldn't be surprised if you could be playing CS:GO at 300 fps on a 450 dollar computer. When you buy a pre-built you are basically paying the manufacturer an extra 30% for them to build it for you, which is like 150 dollars in this case, for what would take you a couple of hours, idk anyone who's time is worth that much, you also lose the ability to save money by cutting costs in certain areas, you don't need a sick GPU to play CS:GO afaik for example.

I would recommend to get the GTX 1050 version of the Acer Aspire VX 15 it comes with everything you need , i5 quad core CPU which is one of the best in the market and great for your usage, 8 GB of ram for smooth multitasking, Good SSD storage of 256 GB for faster boot up and loading, Full HD IPS screen which is a must have for this price range, high build quality, very good heat management, long battery life.

Then I would use the extra money to add another ram and another HHD for the data files and you could order the HHD complimentary upgrade kit from here.

If you are regularly using Photoshop and Lightroom adding memory will definitely help. The SSD will help speed up opening programs/boot times/saving files/etc. The additional RAM will allow you to work on larger image files in PS and LR without slowing down. You can adjust the amount of RAM they use but honestly the more you can allocate the merrier.

I have my 2009 MBP setup in a similar fashion. 120GB SSD in main slot and 500GB 7200RPM HDD in an optical disc adapter. Basically anything I'm working on I move to the SSD and archive on the HDD when finished. I backup both via a USB HDD on my AirPort Extreme.

For $200 you can definitely do a decent upgrade.

SSD
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00OAJ412U/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?qid=1458022514&sr=8-1&pi=SX200_QL40&keywords=250gb+ssd&dpPl=1&dpID=319X5owiyFL&ref=plSrch

RAM
http://www.amazon.com/Crucial-DDR3L-1600-SODIMM-Memory-CT2K8G3S160BM/dp/B008LTBJFW

Optical adapter for mine was ~$10 and required electrical tape to hold in place. Probably a little more expensive/better option. lol.

Probably the best you can do for gaming at $400:

• Ryzen 2600X - the best budget gaming CPU on the market right now
  
  
• MSI B450I - a micro ITX board, but has one of the best VRMs of any B450 chipset. (Alternatively: MSI B450 Tomahawk - slightly worse VRMs, but you probably won't notice any difference on a 2600X, and this is a full size ATX board.)
  
  
• 16GB Corsair Vengeance LPX - DDR4 3000MHz, C15. Highly rated, and some of the cheapest RAM around. Not much to look at, but performance wise, the best you'll get for this price.

nice! congrats and thanks! i have a similar set up.
very happy with it and proud to be doing it. for those interested, here is what i'm using:

https://www.overstock.com/Electronics/Zotac-ZBOX-nano-C-ZBOX-CI323NANO-U-Desktop-Computer-Intel-Celeron-N/11044872/product.html

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822178872&nm_mc=TEMC-RMA-Approvel&cm_mmc=TEMC-RMA-Approvel-_-Content-_-text-_-

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B006YG8X9Y/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00LLEN5FQ/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

https://github.com/mmgen/MMGenLive

I am a current Junior in Civil Engineering, and I recently went and upgraded my senior year of HS/Freshman year of college computer to this:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B015PYZ0J6/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

This was a laptop I chose for a multitude of reasons: high performance, low cost, easy to upgrade (Youtube links on this laptop specifically detailing how to upgrade compliment the manufacturers on how well-thought-out the design was), good battery life (this is on the low/middle gaming laptop spectrum, and because of this has good battery life), and overall nice looking design. For me I needed a laptop that could run the graphic intensive software that Civil Engineering students use in their upper division classes, while also being able to game on it - in college, from my experience, computer gaming is the most popular. All of the links below are upgrades that go with the laptop well. They are not needed but, they are helpful and relatively cheap. If you have any questions feel free to ask by PM.

RAM upgrade:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B006YG8X9Y/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

SSD:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00TGIVZTW/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Cooling fan (optional):
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00NNMB3KS/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Seems like you're missing some RAM - your computer wont work without it. Get the cheapest 2x4gb (8gb total) that you can find. 1600 mt/s is good enough for gaming, and anything over 8gb is overkill for games. I'd recommend Crucial Ballistix 2x4gb kit - Amazon link. It'll run you about $60.

I'd recommend a better video card - 1gb isn't quite enough for some of the higher end games out there these days. Check out this msi radeon 7870 on newegg - you'll get 2 free games (you can pick which 2) with it as well because of AMD's new never settle promotion (see game titles here). This card is only about $50 more than your current one, and it'll give you twice as much video ram (2gb).

Those 2 changes will put you in the $750 range. If you wanna spend closer to $800, I'd recommend a processor upgrade. Check out the AMD 8320 - Amazon link. For another $25 bucks you'll get an 8 core processor, instead of 6 (same mobo will work as well). It's a smaller priced upgrade than an SSD. You'll notice the performance increase when doing heavy multitasking, which at college is likely to happen (office docs open, gaming, browsers open, etc)

You don't have to get new RAM, but you'll get some improvement by going to 3200MHz RAM. Ryzen likes higher memory frequencies. Crucial Ballistix is good memory that's been known to overclock to 3600MHz. Ryzen 5 3600 is a good value for the money in terms of performance.

Sorry it took so long!

Plan 1 - a new laptop and a refurbished one: If you want to get the 13 year old something nicer, go for the ThinkPad T450 (NOT T450s) directly from Lenovo's site.

http://shop.lenovo.com/us/en/laptops/thinkpad/t-series/t450/

I'd configure it with i5-5200U, 8 GB RAM, 180 GB SSD (deselect the NGFF), 1080p nontouch display. I'd buy this today, 6 December, as you get significant ($300 ish) savings. It should cost $1020 or so when configured.

Then, for your 6 year old, buy this ThinkPad X201 with Core i5-520M, 4GB RAM, 128GB SSD for $220:

http://arrowdirect.com/lenovo-thinkpad-x201-2-4ghz-intel-core-i5-gen1-128-ssdgb-4096gb.html

Total: $1253.70 plus tax

Plan 2 - Refurbished monsters: I like this plan a little more, but you have to do a bit of work yourself. Buy two of these ThinkPad T430s laptops with i5-3320M, 4GB RAM, 128GB SSD from Arrow Direct:

http://arrowdirect.com/lenovo-t430s-2-60ghz-intel-core-i5-gen3-128-ssdgb-4096mb.html

Then, some upgrades. Buy two of these Crucial BX100 250GB SSDs from Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/Crucial-BX100-250GB-Internal-Solid/dp/B00RQA6TEI

(I know that the laptops come with SSDs, but they will be crusty old slow 2011 SSDs). Please don't buy the newer BX200 as they are made cheaply and they are twice as slow.

Also, buy two of these 16 GB RAM kits from here:

http://www.amazon.com/Crucial-DDR3L-1600-PC3-12800-CT2K8G3S160BM-CT2C8G3S160BM/dp/B008LTBJFW/

These will take some time to put together, but they will give you two 3.9 LB monsters.

Total: $990.28 plus tax plus twenty minutes of your time

Plan 3 - The HP route: Buy two of these HP EliteBook 9480M laptops with i5-4310U, 4GB RAM, 180GB SSD from Arrow Direct:

http://arrowdirect.com/hp-compaq-elitebook-folio-9480m-2-00ghz-intel-core-i5-gen4-180-ssdgb-4096mb-5.html

Then buy the same 16GB RAM kits from Amazon. You don't need to replace the SSDs as they are from 2013-2014 and are just as fast as today's SSDs.

Total: $1002.68 plus tax plus ten minutes of your time

Of these three plans, I like Plan 2 the best as long as you have the time (and judging from the fact that you use Gentoo, you should).

Those are what I use, a 3000 set OC to 3600 stable, [this] (https://www.amazon.com/Corsair-Vengeance-3000MHz-Desktop-Memory/dp/B0134EW7G8/ref=sr_1_3?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1501899848&sr=1-3&keywords=ddr4) and [this] (https://www.amazon.com/Corsair-Vengeance-2x8GB-PC4-24000-CMR16GX4M2C3000C15/dp/B06XRFNWHK/ref=sr_1_18?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1501899872&sr=1-18&keywords=ddr4&refinements=p_n_feature_five_browse-bin%3A677429011) and [this] (https://www.amazon.com/G-SKILL-Ripjaws-288-Pin-Memory-F4-3000C15D-16GVKB/dp/B01EI5YUB2/ref=sr_1_27?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1501898963&sr=1-27&keywords=ddr4&refinements=p_n_feature_five_browse-bin%3A677429011) just a few to show, should all work very similar and OC well too.

Going from 2400 to 3000+ has shown to give a nice increase in performance, so always good to get the best you can for a few bucks more maybe.

Should definitely check out some YouTube videos though to see where higher frequency ram will excel at!

I'm in the market for something very similar, and I've landed on the Lenovo ThinkPad Edge E545. It's got a 2.9 Ghz dual core processor and 4GB of RAM, which should be sufficient for most things. The laptop's only apparent bottleneck is the graphics card, which is an integrated card. Game Debate says it will run The Sims 3 on high settings, though, and it can probably handle some newer games at a low framerate. This laptop is probably the best out-of-the-box laptop you can find for $400. One disappointing thing is the small hard drive, only 320GB, but it's enough if you don't download a lot of movies/games. If you plan on multitasking a lot, I would suggest a small memory upgrade. DISCLAIMER: I don't own this laptop, but I've been doing some research, and I'm about to order it for myself along with a memory upgrade.

Here's someone playing Battlefield 4 with this laptop (+upgraded memory).

Here's the Amazon listing for the laptop. Note that it comes installed with Windows 7 Pro and has Windows 8 Pro in the box.

Here's an Amazon listing for compatible memory upgrades from Crucial.

And here's a video of the laptop's various ports and keyboard.

Definitely do your research, though. This is perfect for my needs but you might find something you like better. This is a little big at 15.6", but it's not excessively large, and 320 GB can be restrictive, but probably plenty of room for your homework and games.

You want to get a processor that supports aes-ni. That will allow SSL acceleration (opnvpn) and is also being required as of pfSense 2.5 and up.

I would choose this machine and purchase an unmanaged switch for your devices.

Hope that helps!

2nd edit; I was am an idiot... OK, Here you go. Under budget and should do what you need....

You can use this Zotac Barebones PC w/ the Celeron N3150 processor that supports AES-NI. Add some RAM and a SSD. Finally a Managed 8 Port Switch.

1st edit; Did not realize that I linked a celeron ( thanks u/suziesamantha ) as I thought it was a j1900 processor and then realized that the bay trail's also don't have aes-ni support. Sorry for the wrong information. The router I built is based on the Atom Rangley chip. You can use this link to help find aes-ni support.

Yeah of course

A lot of people use this ram in their builds:

https://www.amazon.com/Corsair-Vengeance-3000MHz-Desktop-Memory/dp/B0134EW7G8/ref=asc_df_B0134EW7G8/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=343187928868&hvpos=1o1&hvnetw=g&hvrand=490991893507608954&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=m&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9005680&hvtargid=pla-404032644706&psc=1&tag=&ref=&adgrpid=68968886357&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvadid=343187928868&hvpos=1o1&hvnetw=g&hvrand=490991893507608954&hvqmt=&hvdev=m&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9005680&hvtargid=pla-404032644706

Corsair is a pretty good brand for a lot of PC parts
This is the ram I have:

https://www.amazon.com/CORSAIR-Vengeance-2666MHz-Desktop-Memory/dp/B07D1XJWSJ/ref=asc_df_B07D1WWBL3/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=309707619534&hvpos=1o6&hvnetw=g&hvrand=12532335096822132032&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=m&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9005680&hvtargid=pla-489585831809&psc=1&th=1

Is there a difference ? Probably not except the RGB and it looks better lol
And also the bigger the MHz on the ram the better ( your MOBO has to support the higher speeds tho)

Just looking through my Amazon history, I have the same ssd the 250gb Samsung evo.

I thought it was busted but I changed the actual ssd/hdd cable and it is working a dream so if you have any issues try that before replacing your drive/ test your drive in another machine if you can

My ram is Crucial 16 GB DDR3 1600 MT/s CL11 SODIMM 204 Pin, 1.35/1.5 V Memory Module Kit https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B007B5S52C/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_r6ftxb3B8692N
Hope that link works well

Those two upgrades gives the 2012 MBP a real second life and it can handle lots of browsing, apps open, plenty of different programming environments etc.

I've never had an OS X machine before and I think I might still prefer a Windows desktop but for a laptop it's been amazing, I'm still debating the merits of a iPad Air / iPad mini vs. an ms surface.

Thanks for the reply! The 1600 is a lot easier on my budget, too. And considering my current CPU has.. no threads, I'm pretty sure, 12 will be almost as big a boost as 16. Didn't know all that about intel's CPU either--looks like Ryzen's definitely the better choice, and cheaper, too.

Following your advice on the Ram, I went ahead and changed my cart to this pair and it's actually a little cheaper than the one I was gonna get in the first place!

I'm purchasing parts to build my first PC within these next 2 weeks. I would appreciate if someone you could help me find parts. I already have the GPU, CPU, and RAM picked out.

https://www.amazon.com/2133MHz-Non-ECC-Desktop-HX421C14FBK2-16/dp/B00TY6A1LY/ref=sr_1_2?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1485623703&sr=1-2&keywords=hyperX+ram


https://www.amazon.com/Intel-i7-4790K-Processor-Cache-BX80646I74790K/dp/B00KPRWAX8/ref=sr_1_1?s=pc&ie=UTF8&qid=1485620719&sr=1-1&keywords=i7+4790k

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01IA9HLMM/ref=twister_B01HRIB0V0?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

For the simple questions I wanted to ask:

How do I know when my system has enough cooling? I already know that I want to go with air cooling instead of liquid cooling.

What are some good sites to look for a motherboard and case to buy? I'm on an approximate $1200 budget not including accessories such as a mouse and keyboard. I appreciate any help, if you could contact me on Discord to help me that would be great. Cheedozz#0154

That's just the max speed they guarantee. You can OC further but it's not guaranteed to work. Ryzen likes to run on a total of 4 ranks. 2 sticks dual rank = 4 ranks. but dual rank kits (known as 2T command rate) don't OC as well. If you get these e-die single rank kits you should be able to hit something like 3733 cl17 at 1.35v , or you can take a chance with yours and try to get to 3733. If yours are single rank, they are likely to get there. Even if you only hit 3466 with your stick, that's still probably less than a 1% performance loss, and if they are dual rank they might actually be better for gaming than the ballistix. Hard to tell what the best memory is for Ryzen right now, but spending an extra $50 for 3733mhz ram isn't going to be worth the investment from a performance per dollar stand point. You can almost buy another 16gb for that price.

honestly, at that rate of saving, you could probably save and get ALOT better stuff.

a rx580 is a good start, after that, i would recommend going for a 5 2600, 5 1600 if you wanna go down more, but the 2600 will be more future proof.
the difference between them is about 6.4% in fps for AAA titles

MATX boards for am4 ports are wildly available for a decent price.


RAM prices rn are beautiful, get if you can now.
note that ryzen cpus want at least 2933 rated ram, 3k-3.2k is the sweet spot.
70 USD for DDR4- 3200 MHZCL16
https://www.amazon.com/Corsair-Vengeance-3000MHz-Desktop-Memory/dp/B0143UM4TC?th=1

This is an old post but I just built my system and here are some things I learned.

Here is a good ram video to help you decide on Ram

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CloyuBw_E_&list=LLhTFJaoiamFCXos9WLV5r_w&index=10&t=0s

I ended up getting this set DDR 4 3200

As for the motherboard I would get the Asus 570 Tuff Regular or Wifi version. The VRM is much better for overclocking and can run a 16 core no problem. Check out the video below. I think its around 21 MIN in he talks about the 570 Tuf.

Asus 570 Tuff Wifi

I think your original power supply is fine. That thing is old yes but I doubt you ever even made it work more than 50% over those 9 years.

Whatever ram you get make sure its on the QVL list. I learned that that hard way. more than once lol.

No but I just found out that Linus tech tips did a pretty similar build to me with ryzen 5 and astoundingly the same case and he used https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B0134EW7G8/ref=ox_sc_act_image_1?smid=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE&psc=1 and explained that it works with ryzen so he is a lifesaver

But thank you too

People don't know how to read the title lmao. C14S is the best air cooler for the NCase.

If you get:

• x570 mobo
  
• NCase
  
• 3700x
  
• ram
  
• C14S
  
• SF600
  
• case fans
  
  You will prolly only be left with like $300ish for the gpu. Maybe a 1660 ti or 2060 super? Might be ok with a SF450 instead of the SF600 depending on your gpu, that would save a bit. Could also opt to get a lower mobo since x570's main draw is the pcie 4.
  
  Might be able to find better deals come cyber monday/black friday, but buying used would prolly help save more and you wouldn't need to wait for a sale.

Do you have any recommendations for ram? I'm not a tech guy but I hear Corsair Vengeance alot.



Corsair Vengeance 2666mhz

Kingston HyperX 2133mhz

Kingston HyperX 2400mhz

Crucial 2133mhz

Crucial 2400mhz

Which one would you say is the best for the r4 from above? Anything better?

Sorry for all the questions. I see you on a lot of threads and being a mod as well I thought you would be knowledgeable.

Thanks in advance.

That should be just fine. I just have two tips on your build (I recently bought an iMac myself):

1. buy the smallest amount of RAM from Apple and add more yourself, you'll save quite a bit of money this way. I added this 32GB pack on top of the 8GB that came with the machine and saved a few hundred bucks. Adding RAM to an iMac is super easy, this article walks you through the process.
   
   
2. ditch the fusion drive if you can. They're much, much slower than an SSD. You're much better off with a 1TB SSD and an external 2TB HD imo.

If you don't mind a small risk, a 980ti will run you $300 on eBay, and once you OC it, it's equal to or sometimes better than a 1070. It is highly unlikely it will die, but to be safe buy an EVGA one. They have awesome CS. Look up the serial number in the pictures on eBay and EVGA's site can tell you how many days are left on the warranty.

Also, here's 3000MHz LPX for cheaper - https://www.amazon.com/Corsair-Vengeance-3000MHz-Desktop-Memory/dp/B0134EW7G8

Otherwise, awesome build! You def did your research.

Cool, the 7850 would easily max out skyrim. as for BF3 you could go on high / ultra settings, 60 fps no problem.
For the CPU, if you could stretch to the FX6300, that would be quite a bit better, it's about $20 more than the 4100.
To get back to the budget of $700 (we are currently $20 over), you could get a 500W PSU, it would easily handle those components, and would be a bit cheaper. Maybe get some different RAM as well, The Kit you have chosen seems pretty pricey for 8GB.
http://www.amazon.com/Corsair-Vengeance-240-Pin-Platforms-CMZ8GX3M2A1600C9/dp/B004CRSM4I/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1383057533&sr=8-1&keywords=8GB+ram
That's a better deal, hope I've helped :)

Mac Mini (2018 model), named NOSTROMO

• 3.2 GHz Hexa-Core Core i7 CPU
  
• 32 GB of RAM
  
• 256 GB PCIe boot volume
  
• 2 TB external rotating drive for Time Machine Backups, connected via Thunderbolt 3 / USB-C
  
• Dual 8 TB Western Digital Elements USB 3.0 drives for content, VOL1 and VOL2. VOL1 is replicated to VOL2, both are connected via Thunderbolt 3 / USB-C. These handy adapter cables allow you to connect a traditional USB 3.0 device into a Thunderbolt 3 port.
  
• Single 4 TB SeaGate Plus USB 3.0 drive which contains the majority of my media content, VOL5. It is a "floater" drive which I always carry in my backpack to have the majority of my content with me at all times.
  
• Running Mac OS 10.14.6 Server
  
• Dual 27” Apple Thunderbolt Displays connected to the Mac Mini, daisy-chained off a single Thunderbolt 3 port using a Thunderbolt 3 to Thunderbolt 2 adapter.
  
• This Mac Mini is what I use to host all of my iTunes content to the three Apple TVs in my home
  
  
  

  Mac Mini (2010 model), named SPUNKMEYER
  

  
  

• 2.4 GHz Core 2 Duo CPU
  
• 16 GB of RAM
  
• 100 GB SSD boot volume
  
• 500 GB traditional drive for Time Machine Backups
  
• Running Mac OS 10.13.6 Server
  
  
  

  MacBook Pro Retina 15” (2015 model), named SULACO
  

  
  

• 2.2 GHz Quad-Core Core i7 CPU
  
• 16 GB of RAM
  
• 256 GB SSD
  
• Running Mac OS 10.14.6 Client
  
• Time Machine Backups are being taken both on the 2018 Mac Mini as well as the 2010 Mac Mini
  
  
  

  Mac Mini (2012 model), named FERRO
  

  
  

• This Mac is located at Mom & Dad’s about 1,000 miles away. It is a complete offsite backup of all of my content, it is also used for Time Machine backups of my mother’s Mac Mini and my niece’s MacBook Pro. I have both Remote Desktop and SSH access via the magic of port forwarding. Whenever I add a new movie, I place it is my Shared Dropbox folder, then about 30 minutes later it is available on the backup Mac Mini. I then move it over to VOL3, and all of my content is always in sync.
  
• 2.5 GHz Dual-Core Core i5 CPU
  
• 16 GB of RAM
  
• 120 GB SSD boot volume
  
• 500 GB traditional drive for Time Machine Backups
  
• Single 8 TB Western Digital Elements USB 3.0 drive for storing and hosting content, VOL3. It is a complete duplicate of VOL1/VOL2.
  
• Running Mac OS 10.14.6 Server
  
  
  

  Mac Mini (2012 model), named AURIGA
  

  
  

• This Mac is located at my sister's house about 1,000 miles away. It is a complete offsite backup of all of my movies and TV shows, it is also used for Time Machine backups of my sister's MacBook Pro and my other niece’s MacBook. I have both Remote Desktop and SSH access via the magic of port forwarding. Whenever I add a new movie, I place it is my Shared Dropbox folder, then about 30 minutes later it is available on the backup Mac Mini. I then move it over to VOL4, and all of my content is always in sync.
  
• 2.5 GHz Dual-Core Core i5 CPU
  
• 16 GB of RAM
  
• 256 GB SSD boot volume
  
• 500 GB traditional drive for Time Machine Backups
  
• Single 4 TB Seagate Backup Plus USB 3.0 drive (VOL4) for storing and hosting content, VOL4. As it is only a 4 TB volumes, it contains only the moves and television shows which are on VOL1, VOL2, and VOL3.
  
• Running Mac OS 10.14.6 Server
  
  
  Both the 2012 Minis and the 2010 Mini are completely headless. Unfortunately, this means that accessing them via remote desktop gives you a measly 800x600 resolution. I use this handy little gadget on both of them to replicate a 1920x1080 display being connected. So, when I connect via Screen Sharing I get a nice big display.
  
  
  

  MacBook Pro (2018 model), named APLC02XV5W1JGH5
  

  
  

• 2.2 GHz Six-Core Intel Core i7 CPU
  
• 16 GB of RAM
  
• 500 GB SSD
  
• Running Mac OS 10.14.5 Client
  
• This is my work-provided laptop, mostly used for remote access. It is pretty locked down, I am not a local administrator so I cannot even rename it to fit my naming scheme
  
  
  

  iPad Pro 10.5", named APONE
  

  
  

• 2.38 GHz Apple A10X CPU
  
• 4 GB of RAM
  
• 256 GB of storage
  
• Running iOS 13.0 Public Beta
  
  
  

  iPhone X, named RIPLEY
  

  
  

• 2.4 GHz Apple A11 Bionic CPU
  
• 3 GB of RAM
  
• 256 GB of storage
  
• Running iOS 12.4
  
  
  LG Blu-Ray reader/writer in connected to NOSTROMO via USB 3.0, used for ripping Blu-Rays and DVDs
  
  Sabrent USB 3.0 Dual-Bay Hard Drive Dock, also connected to NOSTROMO via USB 3.0
  
  The microphone is a Yeti Blue with a Nady Pop Filter, coupled with a Logitech HD C310, used for Google Hangouts and FaceTime calls with the fam, and the occasional podcast. It is mounted on a RODE PSA1 Swivel Mount Studio Microphone Boom Arm and a RADIUS II Microphone Shock Mount.
  
  The mousepad is an XTracPads Ripper XXL mousepad
  
  The chair is a Raynor Ergohuman ME7ERG desk chair
  
  I use Dropbox to expertly keep my content in sync. Due to the amount of content I keep in there, it is well worth the $100 per year for a Dropbox Pro subscription.
  
  
  Additionally throughout the house, I have...
  3 Eeros for my Mesh Wireless Network WiFi System
  2 Apple TVs (4K), named ASH and CALL
  1 Apple TV (4th Generation), named BISHOP
  1 Apple HomePod, named DIETRICH
  1 Nest Hello Video Doorbell, named HELLO
  1 Nest Learning Thermostat, named NEST (yeah, original af, I know)
  2 WyzeCam Pans, named WYZE-Kitchen and WYZE-LivingRoom
  4 WeMo Smart Plugs, named WEMO-Foyer, WEMO-SpareBedroom, WEMO-MasterBedroom, and WEMO-LivingRoom
  1 Amazon Echo Plus, named ECHO-LivingRoom
  2 Amazon Echoes (First-Generation), named ECHO-MasterBedroom and ECHO-Kitchen
  2 Amazon Echo Dots, named DOT-Office, and DOT-SpareBedroom
  4 Google Home Minis
  1 Brother HL-L2395DW Wireless Laser Printer, named LV426
  1 PlayStation 3 Slim 120 GB, named HICKS
  
  I have a total of 31 IP reservations according to my Eero app. This makes it a lot easier to manage my network, set up port forwarding, etc.

Yeah, thanks, as i'm using a laptop, i won't be doing any upgrades soon, thats why i wanted to get some ram. You pretty much solved all my doubts, the thing i was worried about the most was compability issues, but you solved that too. Its fairly simple to change it and i won't be voiding the warranty as i already had to change the fan myself, so i won't have any problems.

The only remaining thing is to think which one will i buy, as i don't really know what the specs mean. After some research i preselected this ones, and according to your list they have some of the lowest price per gb. Which one would be the best. They pretty much seem the same to me, only that the hyperx ones have a wider range.

http://www.amazon.es/dp/B00KQCOV5C/?tag=pcp02-21

http://www.amazon.es/dp/B0076W9Q5A/?tag=pcp02-21

^^^The ^^^links ^^^are ^^^on ^^^spanish, ^^^sorry.

Okay brother, here's the dealio. First a disclaimer. If you have $50 in the bank, and have to have this laptop for school or work, don't even risk it. I was successful, and I'm happy I did it now that it is all back together. But it was scary. There were several instances where I was really worried about breaking something irreparably. If you've got enough money to buy something else, and just have the itch to upgrade this machine and the confidence to do so, here are the parts I bought:

http://www.amazon.com/Crucial-PC3-12800-204-Pin-Notebook-CT102464BF160B/dp/B006YG8X9Y?ie=UTF8&psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00

http://www.amazon.com/Protronix-Optical-Drive-Caddy-Universal/dp/B004XIUQYA?ie=UTF8&psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00

What I ended up doing is putting the SSD where the HDD is now, and putting the HDD in the caddy. The bezel from the original drive can be removed and placed on the caddy. Just dig your fingernails underneath the top of the bezel and pull outward and downward. I was worried about it breaking, but it'll come off.

Also, the RAM was a pain in the butt until I realized how to install it. To remove the 4gb stick, I pulled the little clips <-- outward --> with my middle fingers, and pulled the ram forward with my pointer finger.

To install the 8gb chip, just insert it down into the slot, then push backwards towards the motherboard. It will just click into place. Took me about 15 minutes to figure out.

When you go to reinstall the ribbon cables for the keyboard and trackpad, there are little black plastic clips that clip down onto the cable and hold it into place. The bigger cable is fairly easy to get back in. The smaller cable was harder for me. I recommend holding the keyboard up like a book (left side on the table, right side in the air) instead of like a calendar (back side on the table, front side in the air). You'll see what I mean when you get there.

Other than that, just pay a lot of attention to the video. He does a good job explaining the actually dis-assembly process.

https://youtu.be/ByyYIzs6Cs8

And seriously guys, if you've never done this before (like me) and breaking this laptop is going to make you cry, don't even try it. It's a great laptop for the money. You don't always have to have more, more, more.

I have been building gaming PCs for a few years and this is what I would change.


I would change the fx6300 + hyper 212 for an fx8320. The 8320 is better for gaming and you can survive a few weeks without overclocking it. It has better performance at stock speeds than the fx6300 does when overclocked.


You can find cheaper ram that performs the same or even better. Like this http://www.amazon.com/Crucial-Ballistix-PC3-12800-240-Pin-BLS2CP4G3D1609DS1S00/dp/B006WAGGUK/ref=sr_1_11?ie=UTF8&qid=1381353096&sr=8-11&keywords=8gb+ddr3


Not sure if you really need 2tb but I guess you do. If you don't switch back to 1TB and get another hard drive when you need it.

You NEED a better power supply. A 8320 when overclocked can reach 300w, the gtx 660 uses at least 120w. That's 420W for a 430w PSU. Too close in my opinion.

I would suggest this as least http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00DGHKK7M/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pd_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=2QJQRG0AYGTMR&coliid=I3ETXWNC8Y71SR

If possible, get this http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0092ML0OC/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pd_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=2QJQRG0AYGTMR&coliid=I1NJMU7VF08WV9


Now, about the "other" stuff. I have a sidewinder keyboard and it's ok but you want to get a mechanical keyboard. I only bought mine because it was really cheap. I got it for like $15.

Getting the mechanical keyboard right now would go over your budget so get a cheap one and get this later http://www.amazon.com/SteelSeries-6Gv2-Mechanical-Gaming-Keyboard/dp/B008OQTGBQ/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1381353853&sr=8-2&keywords=steelseries+keyboard



About the mice. As far as I know, only the g400, razer deathadder and the zowie evo2 and FK have no acceleration sensors. I would get any of those.

g400 for palm grip, razer deathadder black edition for palm grip, deathadder 2013 edition for semi-palm / semi-claw grip, Zowie mouses for claw grip.


About the headset, people that know about headphones recommend headphones instead of headsets for gaming. Headsets have overall lower sound quality and it doesn't give you any advantage at all to your performance in gaming.


I would get this headphones with a PCIe asus xonar dg soundcard. You can get the soundcard later if you want, so you can feel the difference better. http://www.amazon.com/JVC-HARX700-Precision-Sound-Headphones/dp/B0013OWPV4/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1381354267&sr=8-1&keywords=rx700



I think that's it. If you have any doubt, let me know.


Edit: forgot about the case. That rosewill case is fine but it only has 1 frontal intake, no bottom intakes and no 3.0 usb ports. I like this nzxt case a lot because it is very cheap and has everything you could need from a mid tower case. If you can afford the extra $20, get it. http://www.amazon.com/Technologies-Tempest-Steel-Tower-Airflow/dp/B005MMW4DM/ref=sr_1_30?ie=UTF8&qid=1381354467&sr=8-30&keywords=nzxt+case

Hi.

I'm looking to upgrade from current PC (i5-4690k, Asus Maximus mobo and 32gb ram) and was looking at getting a Ryzen R5 3600 with an Asus ROG Strix X470-F mobo. Is that a good CPU-Motherboard combination?

My local Microcenter sells the combination for $340. Additionally, I was looking to buy a good ram kit (16gb- 2x8) to go with the CPU, but wasn't sure what is the ideal speed to get for Ryzen 3000 CPU's. I was hoping to complete my build for under $400 but the ram I was considering the Corsair Vengeance LPX but puts the entire kit just outside my price range.

If there is anywhere i can compromise, i would greatly appreciate that recommendation or is it worth the extra $22 to get the LPX ram?

$130 - Sennheiser HD 599 SE Special Edition, Black

$130 - Sennheiser HD 4.50 Special Edition, Bluetooth Wireless Headphone with Active Noise Cancellation, Black

​

$541 - HKC 34'' (3440x1440p) 21:9 Ultrawide 100hz Curved Freesync VA Panel 8ms GTG Rebranded Viotek GN34C, I think it's a Samsung CF791 Panel

$870 - Samsung LC34J791WTNXZA 34" 3440x1440 100Hz QLED 21:9 VA Freesync Thunderbolt 3

$115 - ViewSonic VX2257-MHD 22 Inch 75Hz 2ms 1080p TN

$650 - Samsung 32" QLED 1440p 144Hz HDR 600 WQHD Curved Gaming Monitor Freesync 2 VA

$315 - LG 27GL650F-B 27" 144hz IPS HDR 10 Freesync

$165 - AOPEN 24HC1QR Pbidpx 23.6" 1080p 144hz 1800R Curved FreeSync 4ms VA

$320 - AOPEN 32HC1QUR Pbidpx 31.5" (2560x1440) 144Hz 1800R Curved VA 4ms Freesync Ships within 1-3 months

$260 - ViewSonic VX3276-2K-MHD 32 Inch 1440p IPS Frameless

​

$270 - AMD Ryzen 7 2700X

$765 - AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2950X

​

$200 - Toshiba X300 8TB Hard Drive 7200 RPM 128MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5 Inch

$120 - Toshiba NAS N300 4TB NAS 3.5-Inch Internal Hard Drive- SATA 6 Gb/s 7200 RPM 128MB

$315 - Toshiba NAS N300 10TB NAS 3.5-Inch Internal Hard Drive- SATA 6 Gb/s 7200 RPM 256MB

$80 - Seagate FireCuda 2TB SSHD 2.5 Inch SATA

$57/96/186 - XPG GAMMIX 256/512GB/1TB S11 Pro 3D NAND PCIe NVMe Gen3x4 M.2 2280 SSD

$106 - Crucial P1 1TB 3D NAND NVMe PCIe M.2 SSD

$107 - Crucial BX500 960GB 3D NAND SATA 2.5-Inch Internal SSD

$242 - Crucial MX500 2TB 3D NAND SATA 2.5 Inch SSD

$104 - Toshiba Canvio Advance 4TB Portable External Hard Drive USB 3.0, White

$120 - WD Elements 6TB USB 3.0 External HDD Color Black WDBWLG0060HBK-NESN

$95 - Samsung 860 EVO 500GB 2.5" SATA III SSD

​

$81 - Ballistix Sport LT 16GB Kit (2x8GB) DDR4 3000 MT/s (PC4-24000) CL15 SR Gray

$137 - Ballistix Elite 16GB Kit (8GBx2) DDR4 3600 MT/s (PC4-28800) CL16 SR Ships within 1-2 months

$73 - Corsair Vengeance LPX 16GB (4x4GB) DDR4 3000 CL16 Black Non-prime, ships within 1-3 months

​

Other Components

$110 - DEEPCOOL Castle 240 RGB Liquid CPU Cooler Non-prime

$170 - Corsair H115i 280mm RGB Platinum AIO Liquid CPU Cooler

$35 - Deepcool RF120 3-Pack 120mm RGB PWM Fans with Fan Hub and Extension Non-prime

$805 - ZOTAC Gaming GeForce RTX 2080 Twin Fan 8GB

$198 - Gigabyte Z390 AORUS PRO ATX Motherboard

$120 - Corsair RM750x 80 Plus Gold Fully Modular ATX PSU CP-9020179-NA

$170 - Corsair HX850i High Performance 80+ Platinum Fully Modular ATX PSU

$60 - Corsair Fan Controller Commander Pro CL-9011110-WW

​

$33 - Logitech G602 Wireless Gaming Mouse

$40 - Logitech G403 Prodigy Wired Gaming Mouse

$50 - Logitech G502 Proteus Spectrum RGB Tunable Gaming Mouse

$50 - Razer DeathAdder Elite: True 16,000 5G Optical Sensor

$64 - SteelSeries Rival 600 Gaming Mouse, 12,000 CPI TrueMove3+ Dual Optical Sensor

$55 - Logitech MX Master 2S Wireless Mouse, Graphite Ships within 1-2 months

$22 - NETGEAR 8-Port Gigabit Ethernet Unmanaged Switch

$25 - HyperX Double Shot Black & White Pudding PBT Keycaps - 104 Mechanical Keycap Set for Cherry MX

$30 - Corsair mm350 Anti-Fray Cloth Gaming Mouse Pad Extended XL

$10.50 - SteelSeries QcK Gaming Surface - Medium Cloth

$23 - SteelSeries QcK Gaming Surface - Medium Hard

$135 - Razer Huntsman: Opto-Mechanical Switch

$55 - Logitech C920 Webcam HD Pro (960-000764)

​

$10.91 - AmazonBasics AAA High-Capacity Rechargeable Batteries (8-Pack) Pre-charged 850mAh

$12.48 - AmazonBasics AAA Rechargeable Batteries (12-Pack) 800mAh

$18.89 - AmazonBasics AA High-Capacity Rechargeable Batteries (8-Pack) Pre-charged 2400mAh

$1.49 - Oreos and other snacks :)

Hi. I bought a cheap laptop as Amazon's deal of the day the other week and would like to upgrade the RAM. The laptop is a Lenovo ThinkPad Yoga 11e; here's the link to the page and user guide on Lenovo's website. Unfortunately, Lenovo doesn't provide any useful information in its user guide.

I've run crucial's memory program and it suggested this RAM. However, going through the reviews and Lenova's ad copy, it looks like this RAM is for Macs?

This RAM, however, is the RAM most commonly purchased by people that also purchased a Yoga 11e on Amazon. It's also a few dollars cheaper.

Which should I buy?

Also, any other recommendations to upgrade the laptop. It's pretty good for what I use it for, but I would like to be able to play Civ V on higher settings. Oddly, the demo for Beyond Earth ran really smoothly while Civ V doesn't run nearly as well.

Thanks in advance.

The tl;dr - A good, but not cutting edge Very Tiny and Quiet Gaming PC that's the size of a tall Mac Mini, but packs a 6GB GTX 1060 instead of integrated graphics. The kind of PC you can put out in the living room as a gaming HTPC or next to the Xbox or PS4, etc. Very easy to expand memory and storage. GTX 1060 has 2x DP 1.3 and 2X HDMI 2.0 ports.

Price last hit this low 4 months ago, when it was sold by Newegg. This sale is from Zotac's Store directly, which means if you are outside of California, there should be no sales tax. (I've ordered one direct and there wasn't)

While this is the i3 dual core/HT model, its clock speed is faster (3.2Ghz) than the i5 quad core models (2.2-2.8 & 2.7-3.3Ghz) that Zotac sells and are pricier. For gaming, the difference between CPUs isn't usually much - there's a great write up and extensive benchamrking on cores vs clocks for gaming at https://us.hardware.info/reviews/8463/how-many-cpu-cores-do-you-need-for-gaming (tl;dr -dual core+HT is usually very close to quad core at same clock speed, with most differences under 12%.)

Some pics of a Magnus EN1060 next to a Mac Mini and Intel NUC for size comparsion:

https://i.imgur.com/j638RTp.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/M7yMqEF.jpg

Details & Notes:

• The GPU is the MXM version of the regular GTX 1060 with 6GB, not the MAX-Q or 3GB versions, and typically gives 90 to 98% the performance of a regular Desktop GTX 1060 depending on how you benchmark it.
  
  
• Access to Storage and Memory couldn't be easier - 2 thumb screws, slide the panel off, pop in or out RAM, one screw for holding down the M.2 or 2.5" SSD.
  
  
• Ignore the included 32GB SSD card (it's on a 2.5" adapter) - it's there just to tick a box for this SKU, and just drop in your own SSD, either 2.5" or M.2.
  
  
• One 8GB DDR4-2166 SO-DIMM is included, and there is a second slot to add another. In all units I've received, it has been Crucial CT8G4SFS824A - 8GB Single Rank. The best match I've found is here https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01BIWKP58 for $61 - it's the DDR4-2400 version, but works fine (the chipset will run it at 2166 anyway). Max RAM is 32GB.
  
  
• Thermals are usually very good. One temp sensor is not hooked up and HWmonitor always reports it at 127c - (which is 1111111 in binary)
  
  
• In the previous sale discussions, the topic of replacing the CPU with an i7 came up, as many have done this upgrade. It's totally doable with medium build skills as the CPU is socketed, however the i7-6700T and i7-7700T CPUs have been out of stock everywhere since August or so (thanks Intel 14nm CPU shortage).
  
  Given current sales, you could config this with 16GB RAM (+$61) and 500GB HP M.2 SSD (+$75) for under $700 (OS not included)
  
  I have a total of 6 of these, which are used for multiplayer game testing and dev work, so feel free to ask quesitons.