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Good morning guys and gals! I am brand new to this software and forum, but I'm sure that I will be immersed soon. I've only owned Affinity Photo for 2 days, but I'm seeing issues with my old computer.  I am using my school laptop as my main computer because it is all that is available right now. It has 8gb ram, 4 core i7, and a 256gb ssd. The computer itself handles the work I do fine (no video stuff and only simple photo edits with a max of 10 layers, usually only exposure related slider stuff). However, the issue I run into is that the computer only has 3 USB ports [ (2)3.1s and (1) c-type]. Since I use external hdds for all my photos, a wireless mouse, and a dongle for sd cards, I max out my ports without any space for additional stuff. 

I have used the dongles that give 3 or so ports from a single usb-c port, but that is ineffective in my case, since my computer ejects the dongle rather than the sd card plugged into it. 

I want to build a PC that can easily handle the extremely light photo editing I do, but doesnt cost more than $500, at the most. (I know, that is like wanting a brand new Prius for 10 grand LOL).

My problem is that being new to this software I dont know what it needs to run well and how powerful a CPU or GPU it needs. 

I am looking at AMD specifically,  but Intel would work if it's better and not much more expensive. Here are the builds I am thinking about to start, maybe upgrade parts if I can. 

 

Entry level intel. Top of my budget and not the best CPU etc, but would probably work as well as my laptop. 

https://pcpartpicker.com/guide/hXzKHx/entry-level-intel-gaming-build

 

The modest AMD build. I like this the best, but it is $140 over budget  and 500 is really more than I should spend....

https://pcpartpicker.com/guide/csQzK8/modest-amd-gaming-build

 

Entry level AMD.  Closest to my budget and still pretty powerful. 

https://pcpartpicker.com/guide/GFLrxr/entry-level-amd-gaming-build

 

I already have a case that housed an hp Pentium computer. The specs state that it is a mid tower ATX. NOT microATX. I dont know if I could use that for one of these micro atx builds or if it is a totally different hole pattern etc. 

 

Basically, I need to know:

1. Do I need a GPU? If so how powerful? Will a ryzen integrated iGPU work?

2. How powerful of a CPU? If I get a Ryzen 5 with iGPU, will that work or do I need a heavier combo?

3. If I can use the existing PC case from my mom's old computer. (She upgraded to a chrome book so the PC is just sitting around taking up valuable shelf space.) I figure if I use it, it saves $30. Also, the psu should still work fine...

4. Peripheral stuff like psu, ram, etc. 

 

Thank you. I know this is a long post, but I need to figure this out soon so I can start looking for the parts. 

Again, i mostly want the computer for photo stuff. I have an xbox, so no games planned unless I get the "modest" AMD, then nothing too graphics heavy. I'm in engineering school, so I MAY use CAD software, but probably not a whole lot.  

Thanks again.

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Summarizing a bit , leaving a lot of important details out : get one with the B450 mobo, the 2400G cpu is enough for Affinity and your uses, no need of a discrete card with that integrated (far better than intel ones), HD 7200 rpm, SSD but only for the OS and installed apps (no cache or temp folders in it, not even the OS ones), 16 ram as ur getting there a good pricing and its becoming a minimum, I'd just get a box with the 500w psu included, to save bucks and have a current box. If you paint, the Deco 03 (if only do photo retouch, any 50$ bucks small one from Huion or XP-PEN will do). If need a monitor, that Dell U2415 is sweet, on the cheap.

TL;DR (click if want to know certain important stuff )

 

I'm not a fanboy, but imo, don't go intel. You now with Zen 2 have a much better ratio price/performance, and just a B450 mother board will give you a lot of a better upgrade path, IMO.

For what you want to do, you're more than covered with a Ryzen 2400G. That one with the graphic chip integrated, but with 4 cores + 8 threads. All benchmarks point out is a very decent cpu, it can actually deal well with your usual e-sport game. (in case you wanna loose valuable time with that, lol)

This way you save bucks in the micro (like 13 or 14 $, I think). And more importantly, the 130 - 180 bucks of a very basic graphic card which wouldn't make much of a difference as would be also low end.

I have not seen or heard of anyone using a 2400g wit Affinity yet, but it's a good (on the cheap) overall performer.

https://pcpartpicker.com/product/FGPKHx/amd-ryzen-5-2400g-36ghz-quad-core-processor-yd2400c5fbbox

The extra 4 threads you get in the 2400 G vs the 2200 G are very much worth it, specially in the times to come. Surely are of help too in Affinity, which heavily uses all the cores it finds (I suppose it benefits also from the threads... I mention it as both 2200 and 2400 has same number of cores, 4, but 2400g gets 8 threads.) . More threads do benefit the following : 3D rendering (which could be a finishing of some of your cad projects, tho, for CAD is mostly the speed in re-drawing the wireframes in the viewport, and most of mainstream cards aren't extremly good for that, u'd need to get a pro one (Radeon Pro, Quadro, etc...very out of the price tier). I wouldn't for my use (quite heavier than yours according to what you say) , so, not recommending them to you.  Unless your CAD projects are of professional nature. Also the many threads will benefit video rendering and compressing/decompressing, tho in some of those apps the to clock is more important.

That B450 is bios compatible with Zen 2, so you will be able to install on it the real thing : A 3700x when you have the bucks, or even a 3600 if you don't get those 330 bucks for the cpu later on. (the integrated gpu ones in zen 2 will appear quite later on the year). The raw power of these 7nm Zen 2 cpus in the very first benchmarks just yesterday are proving to be extremely good. So, main thing is getting that B450 mother board.

I dunno if the selection was made by you or was a "suggestion" from that site, but can't see at all the point of getting an integrated gpu + a card. Unless you heavily need a two cards config for some software, which is rare, these days.

So, save like the 120 bucks or so of the equation, as the integrated GPU is WAY enough for your use with Affinity, IMO. Just get the 2400G, not the 2200G. As is a better cpu (not so noticeable in games...for now. But yep in productivity).

I'd get a box, yep. Not sure if your old one would be compatible. Don't get crazy with the PSU. You'r having there a very light consume chip and cpu, no card, you're gonna have no over heat, unless you start dealing with overclocking, but those chips don't gain much with, IMO, better don't get the hassle and risk.

So, getting an integrated box having in it already some standard 500W or 550W, and you are absolutely good to go. You put the money of the tower, but save the money of an apart pSU. And so you save bucks, as those integrated are cheaper than each thing by its own. Of course, they're not quality PSUs, but for now I believe u don't need more.

The SSDs are fine to leave in there, as, while I only recommend setting there the OS (configuring it to not use for the temp folder or any cache folder, if u know how to do that) , as they still have a number of writes of lifespan, even if quite huge, but hey, I like my hardware to last....  They're dirty cheap now, and installing in there the OS, and if it fits, also the affinity apps, you might see a world of difference in waiting times. (not in loading files, as your work files will obviously sit on your mechanical 1TB or so disk. But no big issue). Just be sure the HD is 7200 rpm not 5400. And... well ... might be a preference, but durability has been better in my case with Seagate HDs than any other brand.

RAM is dirty cheap in that place. Choose that 16 GB option. It's quite an advantage in anything 2D or 3D. I do all sort of works with the machine in my signature, but I'd be a ton better with 16. That said, I insist that I make very heavy stuff with a 10 -11 year old computer. So, don't be too afraid.  :)

Only thing is... I believe zen 2 is gonna make standard 3200 MHz, without even overclocking the memory, and Ryzen is know to run much faster with faster memory (not so much the case in intel, although it does, too). If prices get crazy, then stick with the 2800 of that great price.

With all that said, I believe you stay below your max, and still get a very competent machine for what you want and need. 

Peripheral stuff :  

- if you are into painting / drawing, you can't get really a better deal , the Deco 03 : https://www.amazon.com/Graphics-Wireless-Shortcut-Battery-Free-Pressure/dp/B07GWBYCZ1/

- Monitor : For your uses, if possible, get at least one that gets you a 100% sRGB or a 94 -96 %. (or the closest to that). If can't purchase a hardware color calibrator, calibrate by software at least (there are a few free applications for that). Around 200 bucks (a pro one would be from 500 and up, a really pro one, 2.5k and up ), definitely get this Dell Ultrasharp U2415.  It's incredibly accurate (well, bare with me, I mean for its tier! ) in color by default, very rare in this price range. You could still calibrate later on (you should with any monitor.... ). In amazon seems it's at 213 $ or so... But.... reported to be accurate in color from default, it is a 99% sRGB, 1000:1 contrast ratio (optical, which is what counts, non interpolated)  .. Quite a deal.

https://pcpartpicker.com/product/zwPzK8/dell-monitor-u2415

AD, AP and APub. V1.10.6 and V2.4 Windows 10 and Windows 11. 
Ryzen 9 3900X, 32 GB RAM,  RTX 3060 12GB, Wacom Intuos XL, Wacom L. Eizo ColorEdge CS 2420 monitor. Windows 10 Pro.
(Laptop) HP Omen 16-b1010ns 12700H, 32GB DDR5, nVidia RTX 3060 6GB + Huion Kamvas 22 pen display, Windows 11 Pro.

 

 

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2 hours ago, Callum said:

Hi Sanderguy777,

Welcome to the forums :)

As long as your computer meets our minimum requirements found below Affinity will work fine.

https://affinity.serif.com/en-gb/photo/full-feature-list/

C

Yeah, it will meet those requirements. It actually just occurred to me that I could've looked those up.... forgot about min requirements LOL 

Thanks

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2 hours ago, SrPx said:

Summarizing a bit , leaving a lot of important details out : get one with the B450 mobo, the 2400G cpu is enough for Affinity and your uses, no need of a discrete card with that integrated (far better than intel ones), HD 7200 rpm, SSD but only for the OS and installed apps (no cache or temp folders in it, not even the OS ones), 16 ram as ur getting there a good pricing and its becoming a minimum, I'd just get a box with the 500w psu included, to save bucks and have a current box. If you paint, the Deco 03 (if only do photo retouch, any 50$ bucks small one from Huion or XP-PEN will do). If need a monitor, that Dell U2415 is sweet, on the cheap.

TL;DR (click if want to know certain important stuff )

  Reveal hidden contents

I'm not a fanboy, but imo, don't go intel. You now with Zen 2 have a much better ratio price/performance, and just a B450 mother board will give you a lot of a better upgrade path, IMO.

For what you want to do, you're more than covered with a Ryzen 2400G. That one with the graphic chip integrated, but with 4 cores + 8 threads. All benchmarks point out is a very decent cpu, it can actually deal well with your usual e-sport game. (in case you wanna loose valuable time with that, lol)

This way you save bucks in the micro (like 13 or 14 $, I think). And more importantly, the 130 - 180 bucks of a very basic graphic card which wouldn't make much of a difference as would be also low end.

I have not seen or heard of anyone using a 2400g wit Affinity yet, but it's a good (on the cheap) overall performer.

https://pcpartpicker.com/product/FGPKHx/amd-ryzen-5-2400g-36ghz-quad-core-processor-yd2400c5fbbox

The extra 4 threads you get in the 2400 G vs the 2200 G are very much worth it, specially in the times to come. Surely are of help too in Affinity, which heavily uses all the cores it finds (I suppose it benefits also from the threads... I mention it as both 2200 and 2400 has same number of cores, 4, but 2400g gets 8 threads.) . More threads do benefit the following : 3D rendering (which could be a finishing of some of your cad projects, tho, for CAD is mostly the speed in re-drawing the wireframes in the viewport, and most of mainstream cards aren't extremly good for that, u'd need to get a pro one (Radeon Pro, Quadro, etc...very out of the price tier). I wouldn't for my use (quite heavier than yours according to what you say) , so, not recommending them to you.  Unless your CAD projects are of professional nature. Also the many threads will benefit video rendering and compressing/decompressing, tho in some of those apps the to clock is more important.

That B450 is bios compatible with Zen 2, so you will be able to install on it the real thing : A 3700x when you have the bucks, or even a 3600 if you don't get those 330 bucks for the cpu later on. (the integrated gpu ones in zen 2 will appear quite later on the year). The raw power of these 7nm Zen 2 cpus in the very first benchmarks just yesterday are proving to be extremely good. So, main thing is getting that B450 mother board.

I dunno if the selection was made by you or was a "suggestion" from that site, but can't see at all the point of getting an integrated gpu + a card. Unless you heavily need a two cards config for some software, which is rare, these days.

So, save like the 120 bucks or so of the equation, as the integrated GPU is WAY enough for your use with Affinity, IMO. Just get the 2400G, not the 2200G. As is a better cpu (not so noticeable in games...for now. But yep in productivity).

I'd get a box, yep. Not sure if your old one would be compatible. Don't get crazy with the PSU. You'r having there a very light consume chip and cpu, no card, you're gonna have no over heat, unless you start dealing with overclocking, but those chips don't gain much with, IMO, better don't get the hassle and risk.

So, getting an integrated box having in it already some standard 500W or 550W, and you are absolutely good to go. You put the money of the tower, but save the money of an apart pSU. And so you save bucks, as those integrated are cheaper than each thing by its own. Of course, they're not quality PSUs, but for now I believe u don't need more.

The SSDs are fine to leave in there, as, while I only recommend setting there the OS (configuring it to not use for the temp folder or any cache folder, if u know how to do that) , as they still have a number of writes of lifespan, even if quite huge, but hey, I like my hardware to last....  They're dirty cheap now, and installing in there the OS, and if it fits, also the affinity apps, you might see a world of difference in waiting times. (not in loading files, as your work files will obviously sit on your mechanical 1TB or so disk. But no big issue). Just be sure the HD is 7200 rpm not 5400. And... well ... might be a preference, but durability has been better in my case with Seagate HDs than any other brand.

RAM is dirty cheap in that place. Choose that 16 GB option. It's quite an advantage in anything 2D or 3D. I do all sort of works with the machine in my signature, but I'd be a ton better with 16. That said, I insist that I make very heavy stuff with a 10 -11 year old computer. So, don't be too afraid.  :)

Only thing is... I believe zen 2 is gonna make standard 3200 MHz, without even overclocking the memory, and Ryzen is know to run much faster with faster memory (not so much the case in intel, although it does, too). If prices get crazy, then stick with the 2800 of that great price.

With all that said, I believe you stay below your max, and still get a very competent machine for what you want and need. 

Peripheral stuff :  

- if you are into painting / drawing, you can't get really a better deal , the Deco 03 : https://www.amazon.com/Graphics-Wireless-Shortcut-Battery-Free-Pressure/dp/B07GWBYCZ1/

- Monitor : For your uses, if possible, get at least one that gets you a 100% sRGB or a 94 -96 %. (or the closest to that). If can't purchase a hardware color calibrator, calibrate by software at least (there are a few free applications for that). Around 200 bucks (a pro one would be from 500 and up, a really pro one, 2.5k and up ), definitely get this Dell Ultrasharp U2415.  It's incredibly accurate (well, bare with me, I mean for its tier! ) in color by default, very rare in this price range. You could still calibrate later on (you should with any monitor.... ). In amazon seems it's at 213 $ or so... But.... reported to be accurate in color from default, it is a 99% sRGB, 1000:1 contrast ratio (optical, which is what counts, non interpolated)  .. Quite a deal.

https://pcpartpicker.com/product/zwPzK8/dell-monitor-u2415

Wow! Lots of info, thanks!

I was looking at the Asus prime x470 pro. Is that a good mobo? Or is this b450 better? https://pcpartpicker.com/product/gMQG3C/gigabyte-b450-aorus-elite-atx-AM4-motherboard-b450-aorus-elite

What am I looking for in the psu? Bronze rating enough? Or do I need something better? Do I just add up all the watts pcpartpicker says and buy a psu with that exact # or is there a thing to go by?

I cant find a case that seems of any quality with a psu included, so I'm worried. I did find this one, https://www.newegg.com/black-raidmax-vortex-v4-atx-mid-tower/p/N82E16811156331 

Think it'll work or should i just buy a psu and use the case I have?

I kinda want... ok, REALLY want, rgb. Do I need a controller or do the mobos have those in an app? 

Edited by Sanderguy777
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You are on a limited budget. Stay with the B450.  In any case it'd make sense to go for a new X570 (but I wouldn't, they're super expensive now, and they do not add anything that I can give real value to), but you are not going to need ANY of the advantages (like PCI Express 4), as yet there's no solution or workflow that you could benefit from, neither you probably need the transfer to external disk or sth to be the speed of light.

Basically : You are not trading right now performance, nor any other thing when getting a B450. You're good to go with one, is one of the easiest questions to answer.  :)

100 bucks... not sure if a bit expensive....wait... no, it's fine, as I get an ok B450 for 75 euros, more or less the same... But you don't need it to be "elite" and stuff. Just about any B450. Hunt for good prices.

PSU.  Trust me, a 500W  would do. (a 450, probably too, but, in case you upgrade later a lil the pc....)

Bronze is one of the ratings in the 80plus general qualification (meaning it gets at least a 80% of efficiency, but that varies if the pc is at 20% load, 50% or 100%). The difference between bronze, silver and gold is not super big (around 2 -10% between each category and the following). So, for this build, a bronze is enough. There's other matters, like how warm is your region and room, etc, which end up in more heat and so, less efficiency inside it. Of course, for carbon foot print, the more efficient, the better, but even already silver and gold are pretty expensive. You can't put 50% of the cost of a computer in the psu.... Or you end up non able to buy one to do your work...

I typically am fine with a 50 -65 bucks one. But this is sth very personal for each one.

One on the cheap that has good reviews :  https://www.amazon.com/Corsair-Bronze-Certified-Modular-CP-9020103-NA/dp/B01B72W1VA/

Or cheaper (I've no references, but has quite some good customer ratings) at 55$ :

https://www.amazon.com/EVGA-Bronze-Modular-Warranty-110-BQ-0500-K1/dp/B01N3OAFHD/

You can get one of these, or cheaper, and then after some time, replace it with a super efficient one, to use less electricity (for the eco, environment reasons, NOT for the 20$ you "might" save per year if you use very intensively that PC). Like for example this 130 $ one https://www.amazon.com/CORSAIR-RM750x-Certified-Modular-Supply/dp/B079HGN5QS/

But right now at first, putting all the money in one go is hard to put elite components in every freaking part. You can go improving your build later. (ie, adding a discrete card later, more ram, etc. This is PC world, you can do this.  :D   ...stuff is not welded and only fixable by the super expensive support (when out of warranty). PCs don't have those issues.) 

But obviously, if you are asking for a 500$ budget, a lot of people just get a box with whatever PSU it comes with (like 30$ ones). The labels of bronze, silver, etc, also refer to pieces quality in it, so, yes, typically the higher in the ranking, the more durable. But I've had cheap a$$ PSUs that lasted a lot. The environment thing, yep, that's the important matter.

That said, pay attention to offers, as often you find a fine box (all are fine, I mean, is rare to get sth wrong there, tho not impossible) with an OK PSU in it, and there you can save quite some dollars.

"A case (what I call box) of quality" ? Don't worry, any would be fine (I hope you are not talking about aesthetics... for me is like desiring that your hammer looks beautiful, lol). Again, don't try to search for the word "elite" in everything. You need to pay only what you need and what you will notice. Of course, as always there are differences, but here it wont affect your workflow for the better.

Quote

Think it'll work or should i just buy a psu and use the case I have?

I believe that case is too old...might have probs...

Quote

I kinda want... ok, REALLY want, rgb. Do I need a controller or do the mobos have those in an app? 

WOW. Just...wow. Can I ask you why ???

Nothing in this build and budget shouts that you are going for a hardcore gamer (better said, hardware enthusiast to the point where functionality goes to a second priority....) build...

I mean, why?. That's only funky colored lighting (making some of us a bit dizzy while we work) that consumes more electricity and generates heat.If you are willing to save bucks... I don't see the point...But hey.

Those tend to show up in pricier pieces.

For your first post's description , light photo editing with AP... you don't need anything expensive, in really, any part. Just a good foundation for later upgrades. Which is typically better provided (since recently) by AMD. The B450 is enough. The Zen 2 integrated GPU CPUs will show up quite later, not now in the launch. So, you might want to swap it later, and will be less sad for you, as now a 2400G is dirty cheap (but quite more tested with all apps and drivers than  any zen 2. So it's even the clever thing to do ! ), it'll have served its function, and surely in one year you still will be able to sell it to really cheapo grunts, we're always out there, lol.

Or... If get the luck of putting together some more cash, just do the definitive thing later on, and swap the 2400G for a 3700X, or the king of the solutions, which has the price of your entire budget, lol) the 3900X. Which might go cheaper once the uber beast of the 3950X is out. Already 3900X is beating the intel mainstream flagship, i9 9900K, so... 

But your usage is light, so, if anything, I believe you'll swap it with a integrated GPU one, or a 3600 and a very cheap radeon 570 or 580. (and that's a heck of a machine for current games, so...)

But if you continue doing a light use, just replace it after one year or some months with one of those integrated gpu ones that AMD has decided to delay in its launch several months. Just to give your build some more years of staying functional. (of course, getting a 3700x, 3900x (I don't see the point for a 3800X) gives it a very long time till you start needing more power)).

 

AD, AP and APub. V1.10.6 and V2.4 Windows 10 and Windows 11. 
Ryzen 9 3900X, 32 GB RAM,  RTX 3060 12GB, Wacom Intuos XL, Wacom L. Eizo ColorEdge CS 2420 monitor. Windows 10 Pro.
(Laptop) HP Omen 16-b1010ns 12700H, 32GB DDR5, nVidia RTX 3060 6GB + Huion Kamvas 22 pen display, Windows 11 Pro.

 

 

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I built a media server with the Ryzen 5 2400G. It is a really nice APU, meaning CPU/GPU. You mentioned the 2200G but if you can swing it try and go for the 2400G. It is 4 cores/8 threads whereas the 2200G lacks the SMT/Hyperthreading and is only 4 cores/4 threads. Also the 2400G has Vega 11 graphics, 11 compute units, 704 shader units, 1,250 MHz clock speed.

B450 motherboards are perfect for the 2400G, an X470 board is just overkill and really, many of the VRMs (Voltage Regulator Module) for those higher priced boards are lame. I went with the MSI B450 Mortar because the VRM's are nice and they have great heatsinks on the VRMs. Now, yes, the 2400G might not have much overclocking headroom but if you are going to do it best to have a MB and VRMs that can do the job. And who knows down the road if you upgrade to a 2600X or 2700X  you can really take advantage of the board.

Many of these Ryzen board makers will try and dazzle you with bling, RGB, and then have a half assed VRM. 

I went with a Corsair 450 watt power supply (80+ bronze) because with no dedicated graphics card and the 2400G has a 65 watt TDP. More than enough. The thing about buying a case that comes with a power supply is that the manufacturer will give you a really sketchy power supply, usually a brand you have never heard of, why take the chance?? They are looking for ways to improve their margins, put more money in their pockets, right? Best to make that decision for yourself, don't risk your system with a substandard power supply.

16 GB of RAM is fine, 2 x 8 GB Dimms. Make sure you have two DiMMS installed to take advantage of the dual channel speeds. Some try and go with one 8 GB Dimm but it really handicaps Ryzen chips, it works best with dual channel memory. I believe the Ryzen APUs, the 2400 and 2200g only support 2,933 MHz speed with the RAM, so paying for more expensive memory hoping to get the memory overclocked higher than 2933 is probably futile.

Other than that, I would say just be realistic in the gaming aspect of these APUs. Yes, they are worlds better than the Intel integrated GPUs but still they are not a dedicated graphics card with plentiful memory. I think the Vega Graphics have something like 1 GB of internal memory and then use your systems shared memory (RAM). If you want to play some eSport games online, great but if you are hoping to install some triple A, big name games and get 100 FPS, you will be disappointed. Just be realistic with your expectations. There are plenty of YouTube videos where people have benchmarked games and show what to expect with these Ryzen APUs (2400G, 2200G).

I have 3 Ryzen systems and love each and every one. My main workstation is a Ryzen 7 1700x, first gen Ryzen, I jumped on the train early! Then I picked up this quirky Huawei Ryzen 5 2500U laptop for $450 from Walmart and it just blew my mind. Punches well above its weight, build quality is excellent, like having a MacBook. Then I built this Ryzen 5 2400 G server just 8 months ago, no hiccups, no issues.

AMD just released their Ryzen 3000 series of CPUs this past week and they are getting better and better. You can't beat the price and the performance is matching Intel. Intel got fat and lazy and greedy. Competition is a good thing, no a great thing. AMD battling Intel is like Serif going up against Adobe. I have always loved the underdog!

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May I suggest that HD 7200 rpm is the most likely hardware to fail, cloud backup plan.  Especially, a student, if class work is stored of external HD. Think dropped, lost or stolen.

Cecil 

iMac Retina 5K, 27”, 2019. 3.6 GHz Intel Core 9, 40 GB Memory DDR4, Radeon Pro 580X 8 GB, macOS,iPad Pro iPadOS

 

Continuous improvement is better than delayed perfection 

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4 hours ago, Scungio said:

I built a media server with the Ryzen 5 2400G. It is a really nice APU, meaning CPU/GPU. You mentioned the 2200G but if you can swing it try and go for the 2400G. It is 4 cores/8 threads whereas the 2200G lacks the SMT/Hyperthreading and is only 4 cores/4 threads. Also the 2400G has Vega 11 graphics, 11 compute units, 704 shader units, 1,250 MHz clock speed.

B450 motherboards are perfect for the 2400G, an X470 board is just overkill and really, many of the VRMs (Voltage Regulator Module) for those higher priced boards are lame. I went with the MSI B450 Mortar because the VRM's are nice and they have great heatsinks on the VRMs. Now, yes, the 2400G might not have much overclocking headroom but if you are going to do it best to have a MB and VRMs that can do the job. And who knows down the road if you upgrade to a 2600X or 2700X  you can really take advantage of the board.

Many of these Ryzen board makers will try and dazzle you with bling, RGB, and then have a half assed VRM. 

I went with a Corsair 450 watt power supply (80+ bronze) because with no dedicated graphics card and the 2400G has a 65 watt TDP. More than enough. The thing about buying a case that comes with a power supply is that the manufacturer will give you a really sketchy power supply, usually a brand you have never heard of, why take the chance?? They are looking for ways to improve their margins, put more money in their pockets, right? Best to make that decision for yourself, don't risk your system with a substandard power supply.

16 GB of RAM is fine, 2 x 8 GB Dimms. Make sure you have two DiMMS installed to take advantage of the dual channel speeds. Some try and go with one 8 GB Dimm but it really handicaps Ryzen chips, it works best with dual channel memory. I believe the Ryzen APUs, the 2400 and 2200g only support 2,933 MHz speed with the RAM, so paying for more expensive memory hoping to get the memory overclocked higher than 2933 is probably futile.

Other than that, I would say just be realistic in the gaming aspect of these APUs. Yes, they are worlds better than the Intel integrated GPUs but still they are not a dedicated graphics card with plentiful memory. I think the Vega Graphics have something like 1 GB of internal memory and then use your systems shared memory (RAM). If you want to play some eSport games online, great but if you are hoping to install some triple A, big name games and get 100 FPS, you will be disappointed. Just be realistic with your expectations. There are plenty of YouTube videos where people have benchmarked games and show what to expect with these Ryzen APUs (2400G, 2200G).

I have 3 Ryzen systems and love each and every one. My main workstation is a Ryzen 7 1700x, first gen Ryzen, I jumped on the train early! Then I picked up this quirky Huawei Ryzen 5 2500U laptop for $450 from Walmart and it just blew my mind. Punches well above its weight, build quality is excellent, like having a MacBook. Then I built this Ryzen 5 2400 G server just 8 months ago, no hiccups, no issues.

AMD just released their Ryzen 3000 series of CPUs this past week and they are getting better and better. You can't beat the price and the performance is matching Intel. Intel got fat and lazy and greedy. Competition is a good thing, no a great thing. AMD battling Intel is like Serif going up against Adobe. I have always loved the underdog!

Serif is actually the software I am going to be using. Their Photo and then Alienskin exposure x4. 

 

Will getting ddr4-3200 HURT, or is it just not worth extra? If it is just not worth extra, I will stick with my original choice of 3200 because it is only $70 for 16gb. The fastest below 2933 I see, is g.skill value for $60. I'd rather have SOMETHING future proof in the box LOL. And, the corsair has heat spreaders which will help with the questionable thermal qualities of the cases I see in my price range.  

 

rgb LOOKS COOL! I know it is outside my price point for the REAL thing, but I just mean like a fan or two with lights on them. 

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I am currently at this build. I pieced it together, but feel free to correct me if there is a mistake.... or 20...LOL

https://pcpartpicker.com/user/Sanderguy777/saved/K7t9GX

I am only getting 16gb of RAM, but I want to let you see the two best prices I found, at least on brands I have heard of.  The m.2 is questionable,  I already have a 250gb SanDisk ssd that SHOULD work, but it is in a dead laptop, so I am not sure if it works or not. (my IT guy says he thinks it is the mobo that died so the ssd should be fine, but who knows)

If this works, will I need to but cables etc for the parts, or do they come with? 

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4 hours ago, Cecil said:

May I suggest that HD 7200 rpm is the most likely hardware to fail, cloud backup plan.  Especially, a student, if class work is stored of external HD. Think dropped, lost or stolen.

I have 2 external , identical mirrors, and the actual desktop one. Also some of the key files get copied to my laptop as well... I don't trust so much in clouds....

But yep, if constantly moving, the cloud can make sense. I don't trust it for privacy and as having worked at a strongly cloud based company... let's say I don't trust those that much, now. Not so sure either about their security and privacy, unless we opt for really expensive solutions (an overkill...And I have handled that kind of expensive solution, and online instant backup with versioning and everything, the top of the class thing... it was paid fully by the company)

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6 hours ago, Scungio said:

16 GB of RAM is fine, 2 x 8 GB Dimms. Make sure you have two DiMMS installed to take advantage of the dual channel speeds. Some try and go with one 8 GB Dimm but it really handicaps Ryzen chips, it works best with dual channel memory.

Sorry. That's a huge point, with the length of my "essay" I forgot to mention it, while it's crucial (well, surely I left out many other things).

About the 2400g/2200g, yep, I mentioned that.  The difference now in price is minimal, but 8 threads is becoming more and more important. And yep, it has bits of power over the other. In games is constantly recommended 2200 over 2400G, but because most games considered in those cases are yet mostly relying on high clock in single thread, sth that is heavily changing, already. It gave nice benchmarks, even similar as the 2200G  has a high top clock speed. 

6 hours ago, Scungio said:

I believe the Ryzen APUs, the 2400 and 2200g only support 2,933 MHz speed with the RAM, so paying for more expensive memory hoping to get the memory overclocked higher than 2933 is probably futile.

I know.... but.... I think.... It's very likely that someone getting now a 2400G (instead of getting a 3600 a bit later, that will have yet drivers issues and etc) is gonna go for a 3600, 3700x or even higher. or even just an APU one of Zen2, months later when they'll be released. And several of these models, if not all, support directly 3200, if I read it right... So... I was betting for the future in that, a bit like with the B450.  The price now is mostly the same (it jumps in 3600 or 4k) and is more future proof. But totally agree on the dual channel thing, I'm still wondering how could I forget that. 16GB anyway, more than recommended.

6 hours ago, Scungio said:

Other than that, I would say just be realistic in the gaming aspect of these APUs. Yes, they are worlds better than the Intel integrated GPUs but still they are not a dedicated graphics card with plentiful memory.

Well, I actually suggested that one as not a single mention of games (tho the RGB lighting did change all my suspicion about it, lol) , but instead light photo retouch (depending on how light it is... heck, I do HEAVY photo retouch, stuff of huge size, many layers, for print, with the dinosaur of my sig.... But people don't optimize neither work  in optimized ways, so, I'll shut up about it, now. )

6 hours ago, Scungio said:

If you want to play some eSport games online, great but if you are hoping to install some triple A,

yeh, I recommended only eSport games. As much (and not all will run smooth, specially a pair of current ones...) But look, the rare times I think it's fine to loose valuable time with it, I play Planetside2, massive battles there with many players and large open landscapes. of course, I play 1080 p and medium settings. But no probs, not easy to frag me, heh, despite the cr4p machine. 

Anyway, I'm of the opinion that the PC purchase must be focused in work, not games, unless one is 15... :D  Or... does not do freelancing (or student work) at all. 

if he had said games.... I believe I'd  just had told him : Wait. get a 3600X, a new Navi, or if don't have cash, a RX 570 will do for now (580 if can go a bit higher). Or a GTX 1660 if get more money (is still reasonable, but more than half of his budget, lol).  Indeed, another great combo, for work only, it is STILL a Ryzen 7 1700 + Rx 570, or just a Nvidia1050 4GB ti (my 2Gb one is much worse and still works nice). Many combinations would do. A 2600x + a 570, etc. It's all about budget, but most current games will play fine with these. Now, to play in high, great FPS, etc, yep .. An intel 8700, 9900k, a Zen 2 3700X, 3900X, things like that. But the budget goes to the roof and beyond. And is NOT needed for work, not even for heavier tasks. (of course, yep if doing certain things, like video editing at 4k or 8k, making really heavy raster-only print works, doing content for current gen in AAA games (like many millions of polies models...), etc.)

6 hours ago, Scungio said:

AMD just released their Ryzen 3000 series of CPUs this past week and they are getting better and better. You can't beat the price and the performance is matching Intel. Intel got fat and lazy and greedy. Competition is a good thing, no a great thing. AMD battling Intel is like Serif going up against Adobe. I have always loved the underdog!

That's changing drastically. With Zen 2 launch and the benchmarks that are popping up, I'd say the danger is that now intel would fully stagnate. As I  don't want now AMD getting comfy.... They don't seem to have a backup plan, the 10nm are even far in the road.... While it seems AMD had EVEN hid some surprises under the sleeves, for what we are starting to see in the tests.... Is not good that one is too powerful and the other becomes crap. Heck is not even good that there's only two main vendors for desktop CPUs....

1 hour ago, Sanderguy777 said:

rgb LOOKS COOL! I know it is outside my price point for the REAL thing, but I just mean like a fan or two with lights on them. 

I really really never will understand that thing, I even have my tower inside a module, below the table.... And any glitching led will become outstandingly annoying after some time... but hey,to each his own...! If that makes you happy.... :D 

1 hour ago, Sanderguy777 said:

I am currently at this build. I pieced it together, but feel free to correct me if there is a mistake.... or 20...LOL

https://pcpartpicker.com/user/Sanderguy777/saved/K7t9GX

That URL is not public... you might want to change how you configured that. Till then we can't give you feedback...

AD, AP and APub. V1.10.6 and V2.4 Windows 10 and Windows 11. 
Ryzen 9 3900X, 32 GB RAM,  RTX 3060 12GB, Wacom Intuos XL, Wacom L. Eizo ColorEdge CS 2420 monitor. Windows 10 Pro.
(Laptop) HP Omen 16-b1010ns 12700H, 32GB DDR5, nVidia RTX 3060 6GB + Huion Kamvas 22 pen display, Windows 11 Pro.

 

 

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https://pcpartpicker.com/user/Sanderguy777/saved/#view=K7t9GX

 

That better? Sorry, I forgot. 

 

What kind of issues will I have with the 3200 ram vs the 2933? To be honest, I DO plan to upgrade, but not in a few months. Maybe Christmas time,  but even that is probably not happening. I am wanting this to be like a year or two build.... 

I was telling the truth, no gaming. I have COD BO3, so I may plug it in to see what the machine can do, but I am not a gamer (i am a student in engineering school no less) and I will not be playing anything on it. I have an xbox, and am more than happy with the games I play on it. The RGB stuff is just cool looking, not for gaming, and nothing ridiculous, just fans that hopefully can be turned off if I want.

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The RAM and memory can be a finicky thing with Ryzen. I will explain my issues that I had when I first set up my Ryzen 7 1700X. Back then it was a new CPU, new chipsets, motherboards and many of the boards were sort of how can I say this? Rushed to market before they were ready??

I chose an X370 MB and thought it would be so much better than a B350 but it turns out that no matter what I did I could never get the memory past 2,666 MHz. This was normal back then, many went through these growing pains. Then the B450 and X470 boards came out and things got better with RAM, firmware updates and such smoothed out the glitches and now with the X570 and probably B550 boards later this fall, all of the RAM issues should be a thing of the past. 

The Corsair Vengeance memory you have chosen will be great, I have that in my 2400G server and in the MSI BIOS setting for that motherboard the XMP profile only gets it running at 2933. I was content with that, didn't really think the effort in overclocking, messing with timings, etc would yield much of a boost. I am not really big into overclocking, sort of think it is silly, but that is my personal opinion. To me the best computer is one that is stable and quiet.

I love the Noctua case fans and especially the Nocuta air coolers. Can't stand the liquid coolers and I know too many people where an O ring failed and their computer got literally hosed. 

Bling, RGB has its place and I don't fault people for enjoying that, but for me I always want my computer to be quiet and invisible, like it is not even there. 

The 2400 G really is a great budget choice. 4 cores, 8 threads, 65 Watt TDP,   has Radeon Vega 11 Graphics and comes with a Wraith Stealth CPU cooler. All of that for $125.

If you can afford it I would try and get an NVMe M.2 SSD. Samsung, Western Digital, Adata they all make very fast drives. It is important to do your research on this though, there are some M.2 drives that aren't really that fast, are merely SSD fast, 550 MBs / 520 MBs read and write speeds. What I do is get the fastest NVMe M.2 drive I can to be my boot volume and then pair it with a regular HDD with more capacity.

I love the Samsung EVO series of NVMe M.2 drives. I bought the Samsung 960 EVO when I got my Ryzen 7 two years ago and it has read and write speed of 3,200/1,500 MBs.

If you shop around you can find great deals, Adata has an XPG SX6000 pro 256 GB NVMe M.2 drive selling for $37.99 on Amazon right now. It has read and write speeds of 2,100/1,500 MBs. You could probably add a 3 TB HDD drive for $50 or so.

So, taking your $338 and adding $88 for the 256 GB NVMe M.2 drive and 3 TB HDD brings your total to $426. That would leave you $74 to buy a case. You didn't say but do you have a graphic tablet? Maybe that can be your next purchase for the holidays. XP Pen just release their Deco Pro series, they look really, really nice, love the design and buttons and jog wheels on those.

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Just built a windows system for my Dad and used an ADATA M.2, these SDD's are fast. 

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https://pcpartpicker.com/user/Sanderguy777/saved/#view=K7t9GX

I looked at the build again. And the prices changed. Like. All at once..... 

Is THIS a good setup? I have the case my moms computer was in. If that doesn't work then I'll just get a $30 whatever case. 

To sum up, just in the event prices change again, ANY b450, with the Ryzen 5 2400g, with a 450 or larger psu, and 2 4-or 8-GB sticks of (what mhz is good?) RAM. 

Those 4 part are probably all I can get for the time being. I just dont have the budget for anything else and since I have a 250gb ssd that probably still works, I'll just use that as the boot drive. 

7 hours ago, Scungio said:

The RAM and memory can be a finicky thing with Ryzen. I will explain my issues that I had when I first set up my Ryzen 7 1700X. Back then it was a new CPU, new chipsets, motherboards and many of the boards were sort of how can I say this? Rushed to market before they were ready??

I chose an X370 MB and thought it would be so much better than a B350 but it turns out that no matter what I did I could never get the memory past 2,666 MHz. This was normal back then, many went through these growing pains. Then the B450 and X470 boards came out and things got better with RAM, firmware updates and such smoothed out the glitches and now with the X570 and probably B550 boards later this fall, all of the RAM issues should be a thing of the past. 

The Corsair Vengeance memory you have chosen will be great, I have that in my 2400G server and in the MSI BIOS setting for that motherboard the XMP profile only gets it running at 2933. I was content with that, didn't really think the effort in overclocking, messing with timings, etc would yield much of a boost. I am not really big into overclocking, sort of think it is silly, but that is my personal opinion. To me the best computer is one that is stable and quiet.

I have never had a PC with anything more than 2133 ram (like that was the best it got). If I get 3200 and the PC only runs it at 2933 will that hurt it? I know it won't be as fast as possible, but it shouldn't physically hurt it right?

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2 hours ago, Sanderguy777 said:

I have never had a PC with anything more than 2133 ram (like that was the best it got). If I get 3200 and the PC only runs it at 2933 will that hurt it? I know it won't be as fast as possible, but it shouldn't physically hurt it right?

Nooope....Don't worry. If anything, should be stable as heck, as it can match faster speeds. Some people would even set it at lower voltage, so using less energy, probably making it all more stable. I would certainly don't fiddle with that (I also neither overclock or do anything to change what has been produced and tested from the labs. I run it almost full day, often full night, and I like to give a lot of durability to every piece of hardware). Thing is, if the price is almost the same, I'd go with the faster : If you get some cash later to put a 3600X cpu or the like, that will be able to use faster memory. Never go for a 4000 or even 3600 memory, but being so forced to stay in 8GB. Is WAY more important to get 16GB (dual channel!) than memory speed or latency. Although for Ryzen is specially beneficial to get fast memory.

 

2 hours ago, Sanderguy777 said:

It's lacking several pieces, right ? HD / SSD, case (edit: ah, ok, you're gonna try to fit the stuff in that thing...I'd get a new case), etc. Other than that, a nice build, pretty functional. :)

2 hours ago, Sanderguy777 said:

and 2 4-or 8-GB sticks of (what mhz is good?) RAM

In a recent benchmark I saw quite an improvement till 3200  / 3600, more than that is more relative. (besides there are bottle necks, etc, like always). Reason why , due to being also at very good pricing, a lot of people recommend 3200. The sweet spot (I guess in performance/price) for series 3000 (Zen 2) recommended by AMD is DDR4-3733. In general, you get a very good ratio performance/cost with 3600.  But the best value (cheapest at max performance) is 3200. Also, it seems is the speed which you can get for the new cpus without overclocking the memory. (before it was 2666, after an update, 2933). Supposedly, with overclocking the memory, one can go past 4000. I run everything always at stock, though.

2 hours ago, Sanderguy777 said:

Those 4 part are probably all I can get for the time being. I just dont have the budget for anything else and since I have a 250gb ssd that probably still works, I'll just use that as the boot drive. 

Oh, I thought you were in a 500$ budget. Fine then, those are ver nice components.  I do prioritize an HD over an SSD, as I can get it working despite the slow loads, as I use a lot of space and am all the time writing large files.... But if you already have that SSD, install there the OS : configure the Windows temp folder in the HD, if you are able, is easily learnt here and here . People recommend this to save space and not fill stupidly the SSD drive (actually is not just and only the temp folder what you should configure in the OS...). I mention it more for avoiding extra writes and make the SSD lifespan longer.

For the same two reasons, you could/should set the browsers' cache folders in the HD. And of course, always save user files in the HD. Apps like Photoshop can write effectively in temp files, in a session, more than 25 GB, and that's even not an extreme case. There are apps that wont let you set the temp folder independently in other drive (the HD) . Well, for those only chance is to install them fully in the HD. Do all this so and you will still have a ton of that SSD speed, but provide the disk with a much longer lifespan. In any case, and while you need to be making backups constantly (whatever the type of disks) , with an SSD, if you get an error, backup immediately, before any OS reboot.

Yep, it will boot much faster, but in general, many things will be much faster.

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Also forgot (and I am still leaving out many things) : To avoid a stupid amount of memory eaten in the small SSD, set the SWAP file of Windows to be set in the HDD. This is extremely easy to do in system advanced properties, performance. If you work later on with large files in photo retouch, that memory can end up being used a lot. So, to avoid loosing that space and doing extra writes, you could do as I mention.  This file is mostly used when you run out of ram. A regular user with  16gb may not see that happen often, but any serious work will produce it. Specially with certain pro apps. There are more bits that are clever to move to the HD, but I'm incapable to remember them all now, lol.

AD, AP and APub. V1.10.6 and V2.4 Windows 10 and Windows 11. 
Ryzen 9 3900X, 32 GB RAM,  RTX 3060 12GB, Wacom Intuos XL, Wacom L. Eizo ColorEdge CS 2420 monitor. Windows 10 Pro.
(Laptop) HP Omen 16-b1010ns 12700H, 32GB DDR5, nVidia RTX 3060 6GB + Huion Kamvas 22 pen display, Windows 11 Pro.

 

 

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1 hour ago, SrPx said:

Nooope....Don't worry. If anything, should be stable as heck, as it can match faster speeds. Some people would even set it at lower voltage, so using less energy, probably making it all more stable. I would certainly don't fiddle with that (I also neither overclock or do anything to change what has been produced and tested from the labs. I run it almost full day, often full night, and I like to give a lot of durability to every piece of hardware). Thing is, if the price is almost the same, I'd go with the faster : If you get some cash later to put a 3600X cpu or the like, that will be able to use faster memory. Never go for a 4000 or even 3600 memory, but being so forced to stay in 8GB. Is WAY more important to get 16GB (dual channel!) than memory speed or latency. Although for Ryzen is specially beneficial to get fast memory.

 

It's lacking several pieces, right ? HD / SSD, case (edit: ah, ok, you're gonna try to fit the stuff in that thing...I'd get a new case), etc. Other than that, a nice build, pretty functional. :)

In a recent benchmark I saw quite an improvement till 3200  / 3600, more than that is more relative. (besides there are bottle necks, etc, like always). Reason why , due to being also at very good pricing, a lot of people recommend 3200. The sweet spot (I guess in performance/price) for series 3000 (Zen 2) recommended by AMD is DDR4-3733. In general, you get a very good ratio performance/cost with 3600.  But the best value (cheapest at max performance) is 3200. Also, it seems is the speed which you can get for the new cpus without overclocking the memory. (before it was 2666, after an update, 2933). Supposedly, with overclocking the memory, one can go past 4000. I run everything always at stock, though.

Oh, I thought you were in a 500$ budget. Fine then, those are ver nice components.  I do prioritize an HD over an SSD, as I can get it working despite the slow loads, as I use a lot of space and am all the time writing large files.... But if you already have that SSD, install there the OS : configure the Windows temp folder in the HD, if you are able, is easily learnt here and here . People recommend this to save space and not fill stupidly the SSD drive (actually is not just and only the temp folder what you should configure in the OS...). I mention it more for avoiding extra writes and make the SSD lifespan longer.

For the same two reasons, you could/should set the browsers' cache folders in the HD. And of course, always save user files in the HD. Apps like Photoshop can write effectively in temp files, in a session, more than 25 GB, and that's even not an extreme case. There are apps that wont let you set the temp folder independently in other drive (the HD) . Well, for those only chance is to install them fully in the HD. Do all this so and you will still have a ton of that SSD speed, but provide the disk with a much longer lifespan. In any case, and while you need to be making backups constantly (whatever the type of disks) , with an SSD, if you get an error, backup immediately, before any OS reboot.

Yep, it will boot much faster, but in general, many things will be much faster.

Yeah, I am living with my parents for now (California housing prices. Ugh) So my dad wants me to save money. I can get the other parts on a piece by piece basis as money comes in, but the case I want to get now if I'm going to. 

Why do you recommend the new case? The old one is in good condition. Will the new one (like $30 one) have the risers etc? Or is that only good ($70 and up)?

Is this one good? https://www.newegg.com/p/N82E16811853068?item=N82E16811853068 very most I can spend on the case. 

 

This one looks decent, has lots of space, but only one fan....

https://www.newegg.com/p/N82E16811853074

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An experienced modder could....I don't recommend it. The airflow was worse, and a lot of other things have improved since those very old times (I believe you said is from a pentium 4 ? ). Many things might not match, and maybe the cable organization, the airflow, etc, could end up a bit too bad. IMO, just get one around 40$. I've used ALWAYS (indeed, also cheap a$$ PSUs) cheap cr4p cases, but of the current times each time. Also, a 40$ is usually more than fine. (heck, even a 30$ one). Maybe yep, the PSU is better the one you did choose than going for a bulk one (I've had those tons of times, as in my village due to kind of terrible electricity installations and service, the PSUs used to get fried even passing protectors (UPSs). So, I'd save the bucks as next one was gonna get literally fried as well (melted would be the correct term). 

This way I believe you keep within budget.

Quote

For the record, the case is only going to be under my desk, only the front showing. So looks don't matter all that much, but if I'm buying the case, I DON'T want one that looks like a "$500 gaming PC from Big Box Store A." 

Sorry, my lack of English skills (second language) You do, or you don't mind the case looks. If you do, sooner or later you'll realize that is as unimportant as worrying about the looks of a screwdriver or a hammer. Care more about it working well and be a good deal in money.  Also, apart from the minority of gaming enthusiasts, 99% of people wont know the difference between an expensive box and a super cheap one. Trust me, made that experiment....

If anything, do care about it having two lateral fans.  And yup, you can find one so and costing only 40$.

Specially if you area is hot (California is, or that I was told, tho not as much as my region). Anyway, if you have always conditioned air on in summer, then the weather wont affect it, obviously.

 

AD, AP and APub. V1.10.6 and V2.4 Windows 10 and Windows 11. 
Ryzen 9 3900X, 32 GB RAM,  RTX 3060 12GB, Wacom Intuos XL, Wacom L. Eizo ColorEdge CS 2420 monitor. Windows 10 Pro.
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Basically, I dont care about looks as long as it doesnt look like an 80s computer. 

I said Pentium, I dont think I said what version, but early 2000s. Like before 2005.

Our area only gets to 95 farenheit and then we have AC. But no, California is not hot. It contains one of the hottest places on earth in it (death valley), but the state is pretty cool as Earth goes. 

Ok, so is the $40 case I linked good for airflow etc? If not, what about the white one?

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On 7/5/2019 at 11:48 PM, Sanderguy777 said:

However, the issue I run into is that the computer only has 3 USB ports [ (2)3.1s and (1) c-type]. Since I use external hdds for all my photos, a wireless mouse, and a dongle for sd cards, I max out my ports without any space for additional stuff. 

I have used the dongles that give 3 or so ports from a single usb-c port, but that is ineffective in my case, since my computer ejects the dongle rather than the sd card plugged into it. 

Before I bought a whole new computer I would see if I could figure out the hub issue. 

You can get decent USB 3.1 hub for not a lot of dough, and it is possible that USB 3.1 dongles will behave differently than those on a C hub. Also, unless the computer is fancy and your C port is actually Thunderbolt, the C and 3.1 ports should be about the same speed. 

And if the computer ejects the SD dongle along with the card, you can just ... plug it in again. Seems like that would be a minor irritation compared to getting a new computer. 

 

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45 minutes ago, Horseflesh said:

Before I bought a whole new computer I would see if I could figure out the hub issue. 

You can get decent USB 3.1 hub for not a lot of dough, and it is possible that USB 3.1 dongles will behave differently than those on a C hub. Also, unless the computer is fancy and your C port is actually Thunderbolt, the C and 3.1 ports should be about the same speed. 

And if the computer ejects the SD dongle along with the card, you can just ... plug it in again. Seems like that would be a minor irritation compared to getting a new computer. 

 

Yes... I have been doing that. But it is annoying enough to me that I am looking at the solution. Also, the port IS thunderbolt and a HDD (not ssd)  that uses thunderbolt 3 is at least half of the new computer. But the last time I looked they were $300 plus for 1tb or so.... 

Also, my laptop is ok for photo editing, but underpowered for any CAD programs I will be using for engineering.  (That is a future problem, but I can upgrade a desktop)

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