Tell me about building a PC

[Klaus]

Yes, it's not very hard and can be done by a 12 year old kid with some supervision.

If you go to the smallest form factors things can sometimes get a little complicated, or sometimes some parts won't fit. So maybe don't go with ITX.

[xenon]

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.

[jon-nyc]

Is 248w as huge as it sounds?

I might rather save there then on the price.

Also, if we upgraded individual parts over time as his needs outgrow them that would be cool too

[xenon]

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.

[George K]

Probably the geekiest thread we've had since we left Tapatalk.

Well done, guys!

[Mik]

Great Dadding.

[George K]

@Mik said in Tell me about building a PC:

Great Dadding.

Verb of the day!

(Aqua in 3...2...1...)

[jon-nyc]

@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):

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/2FbPDx

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]

@Mik said in Tell me about building a PC:

Great Dadding.

jon-nyc likes this post...

[George K]

@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 guy racist at the end of the day.

FIFY

[mark]

@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):

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/2FbPDx

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

https://www.newegg.com/p/2AM-0037-00035?Item=9SIA68V7ER7618

[xenon]

So - if you want a super clean look (no windows, no lights). Something like this is fantastic:

https://www.corsair.com/us/en/Categories/Products/Cases/Mid-Tower-ATX-Cases/Carbide-Series-275Q-Mid-Tower-Quiet-Gaming-Case-—-Black/p/CC-9011164-WW

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.

[Rainman]

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.

[xenon]

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.

[mark]

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/N82E16819117834

Motherboard: 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=N82E16813119216

Power 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=9SIAMNPB056032

Memory: 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=N82E16820374005

Graphics 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=N82E16814487461

HDD: SAMSUNG 970 EVO PLUS 2TB Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) MZ-V7S2T0B/AM
https://www.newegg.com/samsung-970-evo-plus-2tb/p/N82E16820147744

Thermal 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=N82E16835100007

Case: be quiet! Dark Base Pro 900 Black rev. 2
https://www.newegg.com/p/2AM-0037-00035?Item=9SIA68V7ER7618

Monitor: TBD

Keyboard: TBD

Mouse: Kensington Expert Mouse TrackBall
https://www.amazon.com/Kensington-Expert-Trackball-Mouse-K64325/dp/B00009KH63

[xenon]

@mark Wow - now that is a sweet rig.

[Axtremus]

Nah, still won’t fix Mindcraft’s crappy graphics.

[89th]

@mark holy crap that’s one powerful rig! Although you might want to add a hard drive lolz. Def SSD.

[mark]

@89th said in Tell me about building a PC:

@mark holy crap that’s one powerful rig! Although you might want to add a hard drive lolz. Def SSD.

HDD: SAMSUNG 970 EVO PLUS 2TB Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) MZ-V7S2T0B/AM
https://www.newegg.com/samsung-970-evo-plus-2tb/p/N82E16820147744

Added it above. There will also be an 8TB External HDD for backup and misc. storage.

[mark]

I am reevaluating the HDD choice. I might opt for the faster PCIe 4.0 interface that provides Max Sequential Reads of 5000 vs. 3500 MB/ps and Max Sequential Writes of 4400 vs. 3300 MB/ps.

Sabrent 2TB Rocket Nvme PCIe 4.0 M.2 2280 Internal SSD Maximum Performance Solid State Drive With Heatsink (SB-ROCKET-NVMe4-HTSK-2TB)
https://www.newegg.com/sabrent-rocket-nvme-4-0-2tb/p/0D9-001Y-00023