Good day my fellow gurus of guru3d. I am building a PC for my family. Main usage would be internet browsing, communication and some gaming. Minecraft would probably be the main game, some indie games and no heavy AAA titles. For parts, best performance for the price is my main concern. I am amazed how cheap parts be bought nowadays. What a times to be alive. Here what I am thinking about: Code: CPU: AMD Ryzen 3 2200G MOBO: ASRock B450M Pro4 ($139 with CPU) RAM: 8GB GSkill F4-2133C15D-8GNT (4GB x 2) ($40.56) Storage: 240GB WD Green WDS240G1G0B ($36.03) PSU: Thermaltake 500W (SMART 500W STANDARD PS-SPD-0500NPCWJP-W) ($36.89) Case: Thermaltake (Versa H17 CA-1J1-00S1NN-00)($26.65) total: $279 My main concerns: 1) Does 2200G comes with CPU cooler? From what I read it does. 2) I go with 8GB RAM, since there won't be many tasks running at the same time. Is getting 16GB worth it? 3) Is there better cheap alternatives for RAM? AMD loves fast memory from what I read. 4) Is Thermaltake any good as PSU maker? Would 500W be enough if I decide to throw in mid-range dGPU. 5) It's my first time installing the M.2 format drive. Anything to be aware of for M.2? The one I am buying is actually Sata3 and not nvme interface. 6) Most importantly and my main concern is that I gonna install Windows 7 on it, just don't ask why. Might upgrade to Win10 later, idk. Anyway, I am aware of Ryzen not recognizing USB during install, so I gonna use PS/2 port for it. Anything else I should be aware of? Thank you very much for your time! ------------------------------------------------------- EDIT: Final build is below: Code: CPU: AMD Ryzen 3 2200G MOBO: ASRock B450M Pro4 ($139 with CPU) RAM: 8GB ADATA DDR4-2666 (4GB x 2) ($45.56) Storage: CFD 240GB CSSD-S6B240CG3VX ($31.77) PSU: CORSAIR CX Series CX450M ($44.76) Case: Thermaltake (Versa H17 CA-1J1-00S1NN-00)($26.65) total: $287 Had to change some parts due to availability, overall similar price. Had very bad luck installing Windows 7 on ryzen, I knew I had to use PS/2 for install and I got it installed. Issue happened when I tried to update the windows, it run into issues and couldn't update itself. Without bothering with it, I decided to install Win10. Downloaded MediaCreationTool1903.exe (https://software-download.microsoft.com/download/pr/MediaCreationTool1903.exe) and installed Win10 over my half broken Win7. Everything went super smooth and I got everything running in no time. Guess you can't use Win7 anymore for modern hardware, it just doesn't accept it. And I really regret now for going 8GB of RAM instead of 16GB. I totally missed the point that GPU allocates memory for itself, which is 2GB. So CPU left with only 6GB instead of 8GB. I didn't notice performance drops yet cause of insufficient memory, but it gets close to 5GB on basic usage. Anyway, I am very happy. Installed minecraft and it run very smooth, no issues. Did some OC for 2200g to 3.9GHz and GPU to 1300MHz. Also the case that I got for $26.65, that was some actually quality case. Light and convenient, recommending! picture of a build: https://imgur.com/a/04GZLtR
Went for my HTPC with almost the same configuration. But lean this: I decided MSI B450 Mortar has slightly better VRMs than Asrock model and if you are bored google B450 VRMs issues, thank me later. https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet...MvYeCLI5ZbIpnq5fyiWD4NCkkU/edit#gid=229691480 Also, 2400G has 4c/8T and the VEGA idGPU kicks ass for that price range. Normally, the 2200G comes in the box with the cooler, it's pretty decent and I tend to be picky when it comes to stock coolers. More RAM, better, right? Yes and no. It really depends on the usage, but remember in 2019 8 GB of RAM is the norm, we don't know about tomorrow. Buy 8 GB sticks, could upgrade later to some more. Cheap is not always good, Ryzen benefits from faster RAM. Go with 3200 speed, and preferably with Samsung die or at least Micron. Not bad, for certain, there are better PSUs. EVGA, Corsair, Seasonic. 500 W from a good gold rated certified PSU should be plenty No, nothing to fiddle in the UEFI BIOS. Just go for the NVMe, for the mere difference in the price you get the benefits of speed. But SATA3 SSD is always welcomed if you want to save some money there. This is where I can't offer advice. I went full Linux on my HTPC and other computers, just use what you want as an OS. But beware of the certain chipset/USB3 limitations of Windows 7 . Buy the parts, open every package with geek lust, look, smell and feel the new hardware parts. Commit to the long-lasting memory the process, it adds up to your experiences as a guru. Come back and share it with us, we are always jealous of somebody getting new parts!
Not a big Minecraft player but doesn't that game eat through a lot of RAM? Especially if you use any mods. I'd go with 16GB to be safe
any chance you can get a used i7 and a dedicated graphics card like a 1050ti/1060? I know you want new stuff but just saying.
Thanks for input. Gaming is not the main purpose of pc and there lots of other software that need to be executed. Likely ms office and other tools. And they already got nindendo console for casual gaming with friends.
Thanks for your input. Regarding MSI mobo, I am cursed with MSI products. Had 3 MSI motherboards in the past, they all died, all of sudden. I'll think again about 2400G, didn't know it was 4c/8t. Could be worth the price. Will see if there faster memory around. Guess I am pretty much set with other parts. Will surely report back!
Thanks! It run fine on my current 8GB rig. But considering how low current price of RAM, I might as well get 16GB as an investment before they go up again.
ehhhhhhhhhhh, i7 is overkill! And I don't feel like buing used hardware. Dedicated GPU is nice to have, but I'll go with iGPU for now and add dGPU if needed. Trying to keep performance and budget nice and tight.
I would get faster ram if possible within budget (since the iGPU will benefit more from that) wouldn't be necessary to get ram with tight timings, just increase that bandwidth. For the SSD, Adata do some very nice m.2 nvme drives that perform surprisingly well for such little cost (at about 250GB). And yes, you want nvme - if you get an m.2 drive that operates over sata, then... no point getting an m.2 drive unless you're needing to keep the system as compact as possible.
240gb for storage is a bit small on the storage side of things.. since memory prices has dropped why not grab a 512gb... unless they have their own usb sticks hehe... but if its a shared pc then 240gb... wont last long if program gets installed here and there
Updated my 1st post! TLDR; - Windows 10 is must for Ryzen. Too much trouble getting fresh Windows 7 install and setup to work on modern hardware. - APU GPU will take RAM for itself, so total 8GB of RAM will become 6GB! Simple, but I totally missed it! Going for 16GB would actually make sense. - Very happy with smooth performance and minecraft run pretty well! 2200g is better pick than 2400g imo. I don't see a reason to pay more for 2400g, which is still APU... getting CPU and dGPU makes more sense if performance becomes a priority over budget.
