Tell me about building a PC
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If you want more challenge or more "learning experience," make it "dual boot" such that you can boot it into Windows or another operating system of your choice. If the Windows stuff is too "turn key," you can find challenge in the alternative OS space. You might even get to compile your own OS from scratch, think about the bragging rights that that confers your boy when he finally returns to school.
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Awesome Xenon, consider yourself with a part-time consulting gig for the next few weeks as I figure this out. lol
@jon-nyc you bet!
These are both great resources. Very active community of builders - budget to ridiculous $5k+ builds.
EDIT: my quick return to the rabbit hole of buildapc suggests that parts are not particularly cheap right now. There's been an uptick in demand since lockdowns. So, you may not necessarily get a cheaper PC by building it - but it will be higher quality and it'll feel like it's "yours"
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Here's a pretty good build in terms of bang for buck. It is DEFINITELY overkill for minecraft - but is something I would recommend as a fairly future-proof machine (this CPU is extremely capable for digital editing / coding / encoding):
https://pcpartpicker.com/list/2FbPDx
You can save $170 by going no graphics card (getting a CPU with built'in graphics like a laptop). Or about $100 by going with a very basic video card.
You could perhaps save another $100 or so by going one tier down on the rest of the parts. But after that you're starting to make some real compromises.
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Not at all. That's maximum theoretical power draw if all things on the computer were going full bore at the same time.
Here's a comparison below of idle vs. maximum system draw. Unless you're doing a very intense video computation task - you're always going to be closer to idle than to max (web browsing is pretty much idle).
Also - you'll notice that the power supply is listed at 450W. That makes sense (still a little overkill) - a PC power supply will usually be most efficient at around 50%-of-max power draw. Most power supplies these days are 80% efficient above a 20% load.
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Great Dadding.
“I am fond of pigs. Dogs look up to us. Cats look down on us. Pigs treat us as equals.” ~Winston S. Churchill
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Here's a pretty good build in terms of bang for buck. It is DEFINITELY overkill for minecraft - but is something I would recommend as a fairly future-proof machine (this CPU is extremely capable for digital editing / coding / encoding):
https://pcpartpicker.com/list/2FbPDx
You can save $170 by going no graphics card (getting a CPU with built'in graphics like a laptop). Or about $100 by going with a very basic video card.
You could perhaps save another $100 or so by going one tier down on the rest of the parts. But after that you're starting to make some real compromises.
@xenon said in Tell me about building a PC:
Here's a pretty good build in terms of bang for buck. It is DEFINITELY overkill for minecraft - but is something I would recommend as a fairly future-proof machine (this CPU is extremely capable for digital editing / coding / encoding):
If I wanted the user ports on the front, or on the top, which model case would you suggest? Nothing too ghetto with lights and all, I'm a Mac guy at the end of the day.
You were warned.
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@xenon said in Tell me about building a PC:
Here's a pretty good build in terms of bang for buck. It is DEFINITELY overkill for minecraft - but is something I would recommend as a fairly future-proof machine (this CPU is extremely capable for digital editing / coding / encoding):
If I wanted the user ports on the front, or on the top, which model case would you suggest? Nothing too ghetto with lights and all, I'm a Mac guy at the end of the day.
@jon-nyc said in Tell me about building a PC:
@xenon said in Tell me about building a PC:
If I wanted the user ports on the front, or on the top, which model case would you suggest? Nothing too ghetto with lights and all, I'm a
Mac guyracist at the end of the day.FIFY
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@xenon said in Tell me about building a PC:
Here's a pretty good build in terms of bang for buck. It is DEFINITELY overkill for minecraft - but is something I would recommend as a fairly future-proof machine (this CPU is extremely capable for digital editing / coding / encoding):
If I wanted the user ports on the front, or on the top, which model case would you suggest? Nothing too ghetto with lights and all, I'm a Mac guy at the end of the day.
@jon-nyc said in Tell me about building a PC:
@xenon said in Tell me about building a PC:
Here's a pretty good build in terms of bang for buck. It is DEFINITELY overkill for minecraft - but is something I would recommend as a fairly future-proof machine (this CPU is extremely capable for digital editing / coding / encoding):
If I wanted the user ports on the front, or on the top, which model case would you suggest? Nothing too ghetto with lights and all, I'm a Mac guy at the end of the day.
I am building a PC as we chat.
This is the case that is at the top of my list. It's a full size tower because I'm building a monster! lol
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So - if you want a super clean look (no windows, no lights). Something like this is fantastic:
It’d be perfect if it had a usb-c port on the front (has regular USB ports and audio ports).
But you can still get a usb-c on the back of the pc from your motherboard.
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Hey Xenon!
If the power supply were to be over-taxed, would there be some sort of automatic reduction in processing power, or would the computer crash, warning come up, etc.?
I am amazed at how much processing power goes on with my DAW and large music files (dozens of tracks). It is a concern for many, though I've yet to have anything negative happen.
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If it’s a decent power supply - the fail safe will trigger when overburdened and your pc will shut down / crash / restart.
If it’s a crappy power supply you may smell burning electronics and the power supply will eventually fail (potentially - but not likely taking other components with it)
Your cpu will not taper down performance due to insufficient power. The parts assume the required power will be available.
If the power supply has a fan, put your hand and ear near it at load. If your power supply is struggling it’ll get noticeably hotter and louder
(though it’s hard to isolate from the CPU which should also be doing the same).If your power supply isn’t struggling - then that tells you it’s not your problem, if it is - this is still not always an indication of a problem (some power supplies are just loud and hot)
The best way to check if your power supply is overburdened is to add the max power rating of your CPU and motherboard (is you know the model number) together and see if it’s anywhere close to the rating on your power supply.
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Here is what is currently in my cart at Newegg.com
CPU: Intel Intel Core i9-7940X Skylake X 14-Core 3.1 GHz LGA 2066 165W BX80673I97940X Desktop Processor
https://www.newegg.com/core-i9-x-series-intel-core-i9-7940x/p/N82E16819117834Motherboard: ASUS ROG Rampage VI Extreme Encore LGA 2066 Intel X299 SATA 6Gb/s Extended ATX Intel Motherboard
https://www.newegg.com/asus-rog-rampage-vi-extreme-encore/p/N82E16813119216?Item=N82E16813119216Power Supply: Super Flower Leadex Gold 1300W 80+ Gold, ECO Fanless & Silent Mode, Full Modular Power Supply, Dual Ball Bearing Fan, SF-1300F14MG
https://www.newegg.com/super-flower-leadex-gold-sf-1300f14mg-1300w/p/1HU-024C-00013?Item=9SIAMNPB056032Memory: G.SKILL Ripjaws V Series 128GB (4 x 32GB) 288-Pin DDR4 SDRAM DDR4 3600 (PC4 28800) Intel XMP 2.0 Desktop Memory Model F4-3600C18Q-128GVK
https://www.newegg.com/g-skill-128gb-288-pin-ddr4-sdram/p/N82E16820374005?Item=N82E16820374005Graphics Card: EVGA GeForce RTX 2080 SUPER BLACK GAMING, 08G-P4-3081-KR, 8GB GDDR6
https://www.newegg.com/evga-geforce-rtx-2080-super-08g-p4-3081-kr/p/N82E16814487461?Item=N82E16814487461HDD: SAMSUNG 970 EVO PLUS 2TB Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) MZ-V7S2T0B/AM
https://www.newegg.com/samsung-970-evo-plus-2tb/p/N82E16820147744Thermal Compound: Arctic Silver 5 High-Density Polysynthetic Silver Thermal Compound AS5-3.5G
https://www.newegg.com/arctic-silver-as5-3-5g/p/N82E16835100007?Item=N82E16835100007Case: be quiet! Dark Base Pro 900 Black rev. 2
https://www.newegg.com/p/2AM-0037-00035?Item=9SIA68V7ER7618Monitor: TBD
Keyboard: TBD
Mouse: Kensington Expert Mouse TrackBall
https://www.amazon.com/Kensington-Expert-Trackball-Mouse-K64325/dp/B00009KH63
