New Desktop

[Hurlshort]

My son needs a new computer, and I'm planning on getting him a decent desktop that will hopefully last the next 5 years. He mostly plays games like Overwatch. I toyed with building it myself, but I haven't done that in 20 years. This thing looks pretty affordable and would seem to save me the headache of learning everything over again:

https://www.newegg.com/ibuypower-slatemr1004/p/N82E16883227981?Item=N82E16883227981

I know it needs RAM, but everything else seems decent. I haven't used ibuypower before, but they seem to have a decent reputation from what I can tell. Suggestions?

[ShadySands]

I've bought an ibuypower machine before and it lasted me about 5 years and 2 of those years were in Iraq so I can't complain about the company. Laptop though.

Had to look up Overwatch and it seems like there's a second game as well and that system ticks its recommended requirements just barely with the video card and RAM and meets the minimum requirements for the CPU.

I've been out of the hardware game for a long time but I'd probably go with something with a slightly more power just to future proof it a little in case there's an Overwatch 3 or another game he gets into

 

Edited October 28, 2022 by ShadySands

[Sarex]

For that money it's more than good enough, although newegg has gone down the drain from I have heard. What concerns me more that the ram is the no brand power supply and no hdd. He is going to fill up that ssd very quickly.

[Bartimaeus]

40 minutes ago, Sarex said:

no brand power supply

Always the biggest concern with prebuilts: cheaping out on the power supply, which later kills the system when it inevitably goes. From what I can see, this particular model advertises a "600W GOLD" PSU, which is...better than saying nothing, but there are still bad gold-rated PSUs out there. Didn't see anybody say what came with theirs when I looked up the model, though.

[majestic]

I played around with Bestware's configurator, but the share link it offered just goes back to the default configuration. Not that it makes much of a difference, I can't get a decent system to not go way above Hurlshot's price range even when making (nigh unaccaptable) tradeoffs on the SSDs, memory, the entire platform and the PSU. Ah, I also don't know if they ship overseas, and even if they do, that would add unreasonable shipping costs. Guess this post as very little helpful content.

11 hours ago, Sarex said:

For that money it's more than good enough, although newegg has gone down the drain from I have heard.

Newegg has - or at least had - bundles in their shop with incompatible hardware, like bundling DDR5 only mainboards with DDR4 RAM. Good job.

10 hours ago, Bartimaeus said:

Always the biggest concern with prebuilts: cheaping out on the power supply, which later kills the system when it inevitably goes. From what I can see, this particular model advertises a "600W GOLD" PSU, which is...better than saying nothing, but there are still bad gold-rated PSUs out there. Didn't see anybody say what came with theirs when I looked up the model, though.

Given the price and the curious lack of any brand names on the specs, I'd say this cheaped out on everything possible. Not that it is saying much, my parents had two of these cheapo prebuilt computers, and they worked and worked and worked and worked and never died. The last one actually lasted almost 10 years. Was still a third generation i3 doing its job (more or less, since my father picked up video editing as a hobby that proved to be a little bit of a downer - not much of a surprise, huh?).

edit: link seems to work. Some modifications above baseline, especially for the SSD, just click on "configurator" to see the changes.

Edited October 29, 2022 by majestic
Wowzers, bad typos, bad!

[Humanoid]

That iBuyPower system is like buying a 5-to-7 year old upper-midrange machine today, realistically, never mind that the parts themselves are two generations old at this point. Actually it'd perform almost the same as my old 6700K + 290X system from circa 2015 that I just retired. I'd be aiming a bit higher, especially since you'll have no upgrade path with this and have a stated desire for it to last five years.

I'd aim for something like this as a baseline of a value build:

CPU: Ryzen 5600 (non-X) or Intel i5 12400F
Motherboard: B550 for AMD and B660 for Intel
RAM: 2x8GB DDR4 3200MHz CL16 (or 3600MHz CL18, almost identical performance)
Video: RX 6600
Storage: 1TB NVMe SSD or some kind
PSU: 550-650W is more than plenty
Case to taste

 

Tossed together a sample PCPartPicker list using only Amazon and Newegg parts because I don't know other US stores. Tried to choose parts that are from brands with wide distribution and which should be available at most stores though.

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 5600 3.5 GHz 6-Core Processor  ($138.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: MSI B550M PRO-VDH WIFI Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard  ($119.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws V 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 CL16 Memory  ($50.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Blue SN570 1 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 3.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive  ($79.14 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Asus DUAL Radeon RX 6600 8 GB Video Card  ($209.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Corsair 4000D Airflow ATX Mid Tower Case  ($97.49 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: Phanteks AMP 650 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply  ($69.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $766.58
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2022-10-28 22:32 EDT-0400

 

Case is a bit overkill and oversized, because the microATX case market is pretty boring. Swap in a Cooler Master NR400 or Silverstone PS15 if you want to cut back there. A third-party CPU cooler is optional but grabbing a budget one like a Deepcool Gammaxx 400 or GTE is a good idea.

[Hurlshort]

Thanks.

I mean, it would have been easier if you guys had just told me the iBuyPower rig was fine for the kid, because now I have to build something. Ah well, it will be a good father-son project.

 

[Sarex]

12 hours ago, Humanoid said:

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 5600 3.5 GHz 6-Core Processor  ($138.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: MSI B550M PRO-VDH WIFI Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard  ($119.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws V 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 CL16 Memory  ($50.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Blue SN570 1 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 3.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive  ($79.14 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Asus DUAL Radeon RX 6600 8 GB Video Card  ($209.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Corsair 4000D Airflow ATX Mid Tower Case  ($97.49 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: Phanteks AMP 650 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply  ($69.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $766.58

Wow that turned out cheap. I do forget how much cheaper components are in the US. Nice job!

 

Edited October 29, 2022 by Sarex

[Humanoid]

Yeah, though to be fair US sales tax varies by state. Also I believe that Microcenter is the place to go in the US for best pricing, but they're mostly retail as opposed to online so it's down to luck on whether anyone has a Microcenter near them. Wouldn't be surprised if the above prices were far from the best.

[majestic]

Yeah, just wanted to post exactly that, these prices are probably without factoring in user location and varying sales taxes. Buying the same components in Austria costs a bit more, but that is after a 20% VAT. Things sure have quieted down a bit on the hardware market.

I also noticed that the Bestware build link actually works now. Funny, could have sworn it did not yesterday, perphaps a caching problem. Looking at the typos in my post, I should stay away from late night posting.

Edit: Also, by throwing in another 50$ or so, you can get the above system with an i5-12400F and a B660 DDR4 mainboard, which will give you one more potential CPU generation upgrade to an i5-13xxx later (by all accounts those are ~20% faster than 12th gen). As far as I know, new AMD CPUs will require new platforms with DDR5 which are much more pricey. That depends a lot on whether you want to upgrade later or not - and you'd need to pick a mainboard where a BIOS upgrade to support 13th gen is realistically on the table, which should be no issue if you stick with one of the larger brands.

Edited October 29, 2022 by majestic

[Azdeus]

https://www.inet.se/kundvagn/visa/hJAJAWeOPW4vHapPmQHVTxY9_3U/dear-god

Edited October 29, 2022 by Azdeus
1178 USD >_<

[Sarex]

24 minutes ago, Azdeus said:

https://www.inet.se/kundvagn/visa/hJAJAWeOPW4vHapPmQHVTxY9_3U/dear-god

Probably a little less that it would cost here, but yeah those were the prices I was expecting.

[PK htiw klaw eriF]

38 minutes ago, Azdeus said:

https://www.inet.se/kundvagn/visa/hJAJAWeOPW4vHapPmQHVTxY9_3U/dear-god

"dear god" has me laughing, but that price is scary.

[majestic]

Great, now you guys made me go and check the components on a local pricing portal.

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 5600 3.5 GHz 6-Core Processor: € 141
Motherboard: MSI B550M PRO-VDH WIFI Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard  € 132
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws V 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 CL16 Memory € 59
Storage: Western Digital Blue SN570 1 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 3.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive  € 84
Video Card: Asus DUAL Radeon RX 6600 8 GB Video Card  € 273
Case: Corsair 4000D Airflow ATX Mid Tower Case  € 109
Power Supply: Phanteks AMP 650 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply € 96

Total: 894 €. Give or take a few as I didn't bother with the cent values and rounded. 

Prices include 20% VAT, feel free to subtract 16.67% from the total to see what it would be without tax.

Single biggest difference is the graphics card.

9 hours ago, Azdeus said:

1178 USD

Is there some alcohol in the components and you can only buy from Systembolaget? What the hell?

[Azdeus]

 No, it's mostly that Swedish retailers are **** and like fleecing, and Swedes are generally quite retarded so they'll just pay. I assume. The VAT is 25% so it's not a major difference from your price. You can get an RX 6600 for 273€, the one I linked to was the cheapest 6600 variant out of 2 from that site, and costs 400 and some change euro, the other one is closer to 550€. Why's the Corsair 4000D 30€ more expensive here? People will buy it anyway I guess. I mean, the 4090 series is 2400€ and people still gobble them up like skittles.

Edited October 30, 2022 by Azdeus

[Sarex]

Admire my retailers. Luckily we have the grey market import from Hungary.

That is 665 EUR.

Edited October 30, 2022 by Sarex
This retailer is particulary stupid. For an example the cheapest 6600 is 396 EUR over here.

[Malcador]

On 10/28/2022 at 10:43 PM, Humanoid said:

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 5600 3.5 GHz 6-Core Processor  ($138.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: MSI B550M PRO-VDH WIFI Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard  ($119.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws V 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 CL16 Memory  ($50.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Blue SN570 1 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 3.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive  ($79.14 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Asus DUAL Radeon RX 6600 8 GB Video Card  ($209.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Corsair 4000D Airflow ATX Mid Tower Case  ($97.49 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: Phanteks AMP 650 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply  ($69.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $766.58
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2022-10-28 22:32 EDT-0400

Surprised that comes out to the CAD equivalent for me.  Was expecting to get gouged more

[Hurlshort]

PCPartPicker is amazing and I am enjoying using it to build. I have a NewEgg card, so that is why I prefer to use it to order stuff. That way I have 12 months to pay it off if needed.

But I'm struggling over the OS situation. It is an extra $100 to buy it and my budget is already stretched thin. I know I can probably get a cheap key somewhere, but that makes me nervous. What do you guys do about your OS whem you build a PC? 

Don't say linux.

[Zoraptor]

Do they not do free keys for educators in the US?

They certainly used to do that here, since that's how I got my current OS.

[Bartimaeus]

4 hours ago, Hurlshort said:

PCPartPicker is amazing and I am enjoying using it to build. I have a NewEgg card, so that is why I prefer to use it to order stuff. That way I have 12 months to pay it off if needed.

But I'm struggling over the OS situation. It is an extra $100 to buy it and my budget is already stretched thin. I know I can probably get a cheap key somewhere, but that makes me nervous. What do you guys do about your OS whem you build a PC? 

Don't say linux.

Well, personally, I just illegally steal installation images of corporate-only Enterprise versions of Windows that cut a lot of the worthless cruft out while giving you fuller control over the OS compared to the Home/Pro editions, illegally activate it via the infamous Microsoft Activation Script (MAS) suite, and then use a few other things to further illegally lobotomize the OS, preventing it from ever calling home except for when I elect to run updates.

...Oh, you're not comfortable with all of that? Well, I can't say I didn't try, .

Edited November 1, 2022 by Bartimaeus
ha ha, just kidding, all of this was a joke

[Hurlshort]

35 minutes ago, Zoraptor said:

Do they not do free keys for educators in the US?

They certainly used to do that here, since that's how I got my current OS.

Hmm, I will have to look into that. They have an education edition, but it is unclear how an individual can get it. My district uses Apple.

[majestic]

50 minutes ago, Hurlshort said:

But I'm struggling over the OS situation. It is an extra $100 to buy it and my budget is already stretched thin. I know I can probably get a cheap key somewhere, but that makes me nervous. What do you guys do about your OS whem you build a PC? 

Buy a cheap OEM key. Companies get all sorts of keys they don't use and therefore have leftovers to sell, which is legal in the EU. As long as you're making sure you're not getting keys from any Chinese volume licensing program or from a company that sells the same key multiple times they're fine and work. However, I am not sure how the legal situation is in the Land Of The Free And Home Of The Brave (tm), where companies are given much more leeway in squeezing their customers in the name of freedom (or whatever ).

There's also the Microsoft Workplace Discount Program, should your employer participate (I don't see a reason why Cali would not, but who knows), so maybe ask about it, and as Zoraptor said, there might be chance you can get a free key, just pretend it's you using the key, not your son.

50 minutes ago, Hurlshort said:

Don't say linux.

Has the advantage of costing nothing.

1 minute ago, Hurlshort said:

My district uses Apple.

My condolences.

Edited October 31, 2022 by majestic

[Sarex]

53 minutes ago, Hurlshort said:

PCPartPicker is amazing and I am enjoying using it to build. I have a NewEgg card, so that is why I prefer to use it to order stuff. That way I have 12 months to pay it off if needed.

But I'm struggling over the OS situation. It is an extra $100 to buy it and my budget is already stretched thin. I know I can probably get a cheap key somewhere, but that makes me nervous. What do you guys do about your OS whem you build a PC? 

Don't say linux.

You can install windows without a key and just have the watermark on all the time. You will still have most of the functionality you need.

I personally used the methods suggested above.

5 minutes ago, Hurlshort said:

My district uses Apple.

You can install Windows on those too.

Edited October 31, 2022 by Sarex

[Humanoid]

Firstly I'd try any Windows keys you already happen to have lying around, old keys down to Windows 7 will work to activate current Windows. Otherwise, yeah, maybe look into educational discounts next, technically this can even be the preferable option as I believe the version provided is more akin to the Pro version of Windows. Otherwise as mentioned, unlike with Win7, you can use an unactivated copy indefinitely, with the tradeoff of having a watermark and not being able to change the default wallpaper. In the end, Microsoft would prefer people to use their software to maintain market position, and as such even a non-paying customer is better to them than one who runs Linux or MacOS.

Grey market keys are "risky" in that depending on the legality of the source, they may be revoked, maybe a month after activating, maybe years after. And the resellers typically won't be open about how their keys were sourced, so it's typically impractical to be picky. However plenty of people reason that even if the key is revoked every now and then, at $10-20 a pop it may end up cheaper even in the long run.

Edited November 1, 2022 by Humanoid

[Gorgon]

OEM keys are the cheapest, my windows 10 key was like 20 bucks. I looked around at price comparison websites and checked my results with trust pilot, Yelp, type listings. If you can find a site with a long history and with a realistic score, like 60-85% rather than 100% reviews, it's worth the risk.