Desktop PC New Build vs Off the Shelf

I actually started to research a rebuild of my PC in 2019 and planned to buy some things after Christmas 2019. Had a great trip for my Grandma's 100th, then life stuff, then this horrible pandemic happened. I got distracted with buying some improved home school tech in 2020. Then finally after Christmas 2020 I started shopping for my new setup and found the market was in chaos. Apparently I got ahead of things when I bought my kid's gear. So one lucky thing there.

Now I hope I can look at replacing or upgrading my system. 

Current Gear

• 2010 Studio XPS 7100 Minitower
• Dell OE motherboard Micro-ATX Form Factor
• Studio Phenom II X6 1075T (3.0GHz)
• ATI Radeon HD 5870 1024MB GDDR5
• 8GB DDR3 SDRAM,1333MHz, 4x2GB
• 460W Power Supply Unit
• New 3 year old SSD

Why the upgrade? I like to play some older games like Xcom2 and never been able to max out the graphics. That is probably what I will do with it most of the time. Reason 2- I use this specific desktop for some work that needs Windows 11 in a year or two and my current setup won't support it. I can get around this with other laptops I have but would prefer to have it on the desktop. 

Current thoughts on a $700 ish build.

• ASUS TUF GAMING B550M-PLUS WIFI II AM4 AMD B550 SATA 6Gb/s Micro ATX AMD Motherboard
• AMD Ryzen 5 5600X - Ryzen 5 5000 Series Vermeer (Zen 3) 6-Core 3.7 GHz Socket AM4
• Graphic Card I think I want to go ASUS TUF Gaming Radeon RX 6500 XT 4GB GDDR6 PCI Express 4.0 but can't decode the many options
• Need a new Power Supply at minimum 500W
• Corsair Memory I guess 32Gb DDR4 3200?
• Windows 11

My biggest confusion is of course graphic cards.

1. I read on one site that there was a few years old sorta major shift in slot specifications for graphics cards. But I think it is stil PCIe, am I right or missing something?
2. I used to stick with ASUS Graphics cards back when I built my last desktop but is there a significantly better brand these days?
3. Memory for this board should be 128GB max with DDR4 ram but I never caught on to how important the Mhz numbers importance if someone can explain why I would choose between the 3200 vs 3600?
4. Is there an easy button I am not finding in my searches to buy all of this low end gaming power for less than $500?

1. The last major shift in slot specifications was AGP (old-school special graphics port with 2 rows of interlaced pins on each side of the card) to PCIe, anything you can buy new these days will be PCIe and will be at least compatible with any modernish PCIe mobo.

2. ASUS makes decent cards, in terms of brand nothing really stands out until you get into the mad-money ultra-high-end cards where the first-parties tend to make the best. I've had good luck with eVGA but they recently exited the market.

3. More megahertz basically means more RAM transfer speed and faster performance, there are diminishing returns though so don't spend huge money chasing the very fastest. 3200 will be plenty fast enough for gaming.

4. Buy used? You can get really good deals on your local classifieds. Also a really fast NVMe SSD will make a big difference in overall performance.

I wouldn't worry about the slot thing - it is all still PCIe. Subsequent generations of PCIe support higher bandwidth, but the physical form factor is the same.

As far as your parts list goes it's mostly good. I think I'd trade some CPU for graphics power - save $50-ish on the processor by stepping down to a Ryzen 5600 (non-X), and move that budget to your graphics card to get an RX 6600. Looks like Newegg has an Asrock RX 6600 marked down to $250 right now.  

If you can find a couple extra dollars, Ryzen processors really like high-speed RAM - 3600mhz is the sweet spot. You're saving significant money building this yourself - there's no way you're getting that pre-built under $500, especially when it looks like you're moving your Windows license over and possibly re-using your case.  

Is the power supply in your existing case the original? You may need to budget for a new case as well, Dell has a nasty habit of using custom-sized power supplies.

Definitely a NVMe 4 lane PCIe SSD.

If you're not playing modern games, I'd go with a Ryzen 5600G or 5800G.  The 5600G is still 20% faster than your old GPU and it's free.  Try it out, if it works for what you're doing, you're done!  You can always buy another GPU later if you need more zoot.

Ok so PCIe is not a concern. 

Wait you can transfer Windows now?

I will look at the Ryzen 5600 and see if I find it much cheaper.

So the RX6600 is significant step over the RX6500?

I definitely need a new power supply and will get a new case if need be. I did read a few posts about how Dell makes custom PSU shapes. I keep reading that 500W is a safe minimum.

@ Honsch I didn't know there was a new interface for drives!! I will have to research this NVMe. (I used to be on the cutting edge of PCs  life happens)

Advan046 said:

Wait you can transfer Windows now?

Win7 and newer are much less likely to E36 M3 the bed and refuse to boot if moved to a new PC (which was the norm with XP and earlier), just be aware that if it doesn't have a retail license, you may have to buy a new one...

The safe minimum depends on your hardware, especially the video card which can make up half the total power consumption, although 500 is generally enough for newer PCs with high-end cards. I tried running a twin-card SLI setup with a 600W~700W PSU one time that was also powering twin 10krpm HDDs and that wasn't enough...

In reply to Advan046 :

I'm a firm believer in having an excessive power supply vs one that might be iffy. My pre-built has an 850w, but it's got much more serious hard ware than what you are looking at. 

I've always built my desktops, but the day when you could save some money by doing so is long gone, IMO.  Still, you get exactly what you want, and none of what you don't, so I'll keep building 'em.

1988RedT2 said:

I've always built my desktops, but the day when you could save some money by doing so is long gone, IMO.  Still, you get exactly what you want, and none of what you don't, so I'll keep building 'em.

My pre-built I bought last year didn't have a bunch of extra BS. It had Windows and the NVidia software for the GPU and that was it. 

Granted it's a gaming PC and not something you'd pick up at Best Buy so YMMV. 

Ok, so I built almost this exact computer last year.  Cost about $1100 all in, WITHOUT A GRAPHICS CARD! I used the 5600G integrated graphics.

This past summer I bought a much better prebuilt gaming rig from BB, for fifty bucks more than that. The graphics card in it would have been half the cost of the build, buying retail.

If you do it yourself, read up on pci-e 4.0 and what processors and NVme ssd's are compatible, not all are, even in the same family. RAM is moving to GDDR5 finally, so that adds a new wrinkle.

szeis4cookie (Forum Supporter) said:

I think I'd trade some CPU for graphics power - save $50-ish on the processor by stepping down to a Ryzen 5600 (non-X), and move that budget to your graphics card to get an RX 6600.

This.  Your gaming performance is going to be MUCH better if you spend more on your video card, less on the processor.  For most tasks you wont notice the processor difference, and for many that you would notice the difference, you wouldn't have the video card to force that condition anyway.

Did AMD do a lower end Ryzen 5000 series?  Toward the end of the 3000 series run they released one with fewer cores but its benchmarks were still nuts and it was only like $100.  If there was a 5000 series version of that I would jump on it for a budget build.

In reply to llysgennad :

So how does an amd 5600G onboard graphic performance compare to my 12 year old ATI Radeon HD 5870 1024MB GDDR5?

In reply to ProDarwin :

Not sure. From what I have read, and I am not close to feeling confident in my knowledge, AMD released the APUs versions during the pandemic as their low cost version as they allowed people to build a PC without the scarce discrete graphics cards.

Advan046 said:

In reply to llysgennad :

So how does an amd 5600G onboard graphic performance compare to my 12 year old ATI Radeon HD 5870 1024MB GDDR5?

 

Its about 20% faster (ballpark) from a raw processing perspective.  Support for newer protocols/apis/[graphics terms] may bias that more in favor of the 5600G as well.

https://www.videocardbenchmark.net/compare/Ryzen-5-5600G-with-Radeon-Graphics-vs-Radeon-HD-5870/4406vs48

This is one of the processors I was referring to above.  I don't think it carries the value it did a few years ago, now that the 5xxx series exists.

https://www.amazon.com/AMD-Ryzen-3200G-Unlocked-Processor/dp/B07STGHZK8

 What games are you hoping to play? Whats your normal workload? GPU prices are dropping fast and processors/RAM are so fast the software hasn't yet caught up to the hardware, unless you need huge muscle for CAD work and the like.

ProDarwin said:

Advan046 said:

In reply to llysgennad :

So how does an amd 5600G onboard graphic performance compare to my 12 year old ATI Radeon HD 5870 1024MB GDDR5?

 

Its about 20% faster (ballpark) from a raw processing perspective.  Support for newer protocols/apis/[graphics terms] may bias that more in favor of the 5600G as well.

https://www.videocardbenchmark.net/compare/Ryzen-5-5600G-with-Radeon-Graphics-vs-Radeon-HD-5870/4406vs48

Also support for ATI's sync with LCD screens.

Would you put a DVD player / burner in an empty slot  just because ?

any other backwards tech to put in ?

probably way too late for the 5 inch floppy drive !

In reply to californiamilleghia :

If god wanted his 3 1/2 drives to go extinct, he wouldn't have always kept their place as the A drive

Subbed.

In reply to ProDarwin :

I wasn't sure of that website was a valid source to compare graphics cards. Glad to see you use it too. 

In reply to GIRTHQUAKE :

I hear you about hardware. I don't even want to go towards any high end gear. Just trying to buy into windows 11 compatibility and get a decent mid to low graphics card. My MUST have performance is I want to run a simple game called xcom2 at max graphics.

I know I will eventually pick up some new games, I used to flight sim and did iRacing for a bit. I am not a fast paced shooter gamer.

I will use it for some cad drawing review, not creating the drawings on it.

Also need it for one of my kids to do some basic school related video editing. Again very light weight. 

californiamilleghia said:

Would you put a DVD player / burner in an empty slot  just because ?

any other backwards tech to put in ?

probably way too late for the 5 inch floppy drive !

I am keeping my DVD burner but mostly because twice now I have had to redigitize my old CDs as some albums I can't find on anymore. First itunes then google purged my files.

Crazy enough in 2019 I did find a critical file on a 3.5 in floppy from my hiring at Chrysler. It ended debate on my pension calculation. 

Edit: I had a backup of my music but that external drive folder was deleted by my daughter and over written with her videos. Somehow she thought it was her external drive. 

GameboyRMH said:

4. Buy used? You can get really good deals on your local classifieds. Also a really fast NVMe SSD will make a big difference in overall performance.

Again, just.....Man you guys don't understand how much this NVMe SSD knowledge is blowing my mind. I just didn't get that they were drives and not memory!!!!!

Advan046 said:

In reply to GIRTHQUAKE :

I hear you about hardware. I don't even want to go towards any high end gear. Just trying to buy into windows 11 compatibility and get a decent mid to low graphics card. My MUST have performance is I want to run a simple game called xcom2 at max graphics.

I know I will eventually pick up some new games, I used to flight sim and did iRacing for a bit. I am not a fast paced shooter gamer.

I will use it for some cad drawing review, not creating the drawings on it.

Also need it for one of my kids to do some basic school related video editing. Again very light weight. 

Oh kickass, that means you barely need anything then!

XCOM's recommended video card is an old 770, which is now Jesus, 3 or 4 generations ago? Frankly we can just give you "ranges" of processors or options and you can use Money saver's like Reddit's build a PC sales to wait and snag parts as they come up for cheap.

1. Frankly don't even bother with Intel CPUs. Not because they're bad, but because AMD still uses the AM4 socket so you'll always be able to upgrade massively when you want. I'm still using a 2600X in mine with no issue and you could get away with an older one too. I think the current, best all around option of AMD is the 3600 but dont quote me.
2. Graphics card- you could probably get away with a 1660, but 3 days ago they had a 2060 for less than $200 that frankly, is too good to pass up and only $20 more, for like another 40FPS. Tom's Hardware site allows you to do direct comparisons. Honestly you might wanna just buy it lol
3. Tons of motherboards have M.2 SSD options and are inundated nowadays- mine has 2, which allows me to use one was my WiFi antenna. Nearly everything has a PCIe x16 slot, so the most I'd say to look for is what peripherals other than a DVD drive you want. Having an expansion slot is always nice, just in case. Make sure you know the difference between NvME and M.2, M.2 is it's evolved version.
4. RAM- I think you should be fine at 16GB, but you might want to buy a motherboard that allows you to expand to 32 just in case, with 4 RAM slots since you do some CAD work. I think AMD can only make use of RAM clock speeds up to 2800-3000mhz, so there's no point to buying "Faster" RAM unless you wanna overclock it (and you really, REALLY dont). Intel I believe is still capped at 2166mhz.
5. Disk drive- M.2, everything else doesn't compare. If you need storage for pictures/music in the terabytes, look to older platter hard drives. 
6. Power supply- DO NOT CHEAP OUT. Power supplies are consumable items so don't worry about shelling out for a platinum-grade Seasonic pure-sine or another serious-quality unit.
7. Fans- Cooler master is just fine, go Noctua if you like the brown and tan. Just make sure you're drawing an obvious airpath through your case, making sure everything gets a fresh, cool path.
8. Case- Just make sure its one that has good airflow and looks cool. Even a stock Dell workstation PC would be fine, like the 70X0 optiplexes.

Also, do you live near a microcenter?