Building a new Gaming PC!

[The Predaking]

So I last built a new gaming PC back in 2010. I had just got divorced and I wanted to build a new rig to play Diablo 3 and a few other games on PC. I built a nice top of the line Intel I7 system, and had some fun on it. Unfortunately, the motherboard I got was always giving me trouble, so after a five years, I swapped it out its main components to a comparable AMD rig that I had built in 2013 for use as a OTA DVR/media center PC. I used that rig from 2016 up until this past holiday season, when it finally died on me.

So I have started the process of building a brand new PC! The only things I am going to reuse from my old rig are the monitor(Old 1080p from 2010 that might get swapped out later), keyboard, and mouse/pad. I have already chosen a motherboard and CPU, as I have picked up a combo deal last week off of Slickdeals. I got a AMD Ryzen 7 5700G 8core, 16 thread CPU with Radeon graphics bundle with B550M PRO-VDH WiFi Pro Series motherboard.

​

I still need to get some more parts:

Case
RAM
Windows
SSD
HDD
Graphics card for better performance

However, I am happy with my start on this.

​

 

[Pocket]

So I last built a new gaming PC back in 2010. I had just got divorced and I wanted to build a new rig to play Diablo 3 and a few other games on PC. I built a nice top of the line Intel I7 system, and had some fun on it. Unfortunately, the motherboard I got was always giving me trouble, so after a five years, I swapped it out its main components to a comparable AMD rig that I had built in 2013 for use as a OTA DVR/media center PC.

How'd that work out, by the way? I got some old mini-desktops a while back with the thought that at least one of them could become a makeshift DVR, but I haven't looked into how to actually set one up nowadays. Now that Windows Media Center Edition is no longer a thing and all.

 

[The Predaking]

Well, back in 2013, they still had media center software and you could get the DVR listings for free for the OTA TV stations. I believe that they shut that down in 2015 though for non-Xbox One DVRs. There was a way around that, but I stopped using it as a Home DVR PC after a couple years. The wife really didn't like the complicated nature of it all, the use of 5 remotes and wireless keyboard, and it was impossible to explain to family when they came over. So that is why I could use it as a gaming rig in 2016.


However, it was great to get all the various channels OTA and have them saved on my DVR. There is a lot of good free content out there OTA. The final death kneel for my OTA setup was that to do it properly, I needed to have a $100 antenna(not one of those cheap HD antennas they sell at walmart) and it had to be in the attic to get any channels at all. Well, in 2015, as a wedding present the wife and I got a new couch and 55" 4K tv for the living room. We tried streaming 4K content wirelessly, but it just didn't work well back then. Maybe with the upgraded router I have now, I could do it, but then I decided to move the router and modem into the living room. That meant I needed the coaxial for the modem and had to disconnect the antenna.


TLDR: You can have fun with it, but don't expect others to like it as much as you do.

 

[wonko the sane?]

Looking forward to seeing your end specs man! I'm glad there's other allsparkers whom are in on the "build it yourself" mentality.

I'm seriously considering getting a new m2 for my main drive. Nothing wrong with the current one, but 500 gig is kinda limiting.

 

[The Predaking]

Just ordered the Hard drive!

Crucial MX500 1TB 3D NAND SATA 2.5 Inch Internal SSD, up to 560MB/s - CT1000MX500SSD1​

Not bad for $50!

 

[The Predaking]

I might upgrade in the future and get twin 4TB drives, but for now, this will do nicely!

 

[wonko the sane?]

Ha, good score. I'm using crucials now even. Two as secondary drives, they used to be primary before I stepped to a m.2 drive.

 

[wentwood]

The problem would be

Final Fantasy XV
Ninja Gaiden Trilogy
Tomb Raider X - XII (Survivor Trilogy)

Due to the massive data size of the games.

PS 3 games likely as well for this reason as they take up to 8 gigs. (Top end) Tag Tournament 2 was proof of that one.

 

[The Predaking]

Okay! Time for some RAM!

I just got this off of Newegg!

Kingston FURY Beast 32GB (2 x 16GB) 288-Pin PC RAM DDR4 3200 (PC4 25600) Desktop Memory Model RFBB14-32C16K2/32 - Newegg.com

Buy Kingston FURY Beast 32GB (2 x 16GB) 288-Pin PC RAM DDR4 3200 (PC4 25600) Desktop Memory Model RFBB14-32C16K2/32 with fast shipping and top-rated customer service. Once you know, you Newegg!

www.newegg.com

32GB of DDR4 RAM! While my Motherboard supports up to 4400, I figured that these will do nicely. Now to get the following:

Case
Power supply
Windows
SSD
Graphics card for better gaming performance


So what I am wondering is do I need one for those little internal SSD hard drives? Are they that much faster than the 1TB SSD that I have?

 

[wonko the sane?]

What do you mean by "little internal ssd"? Are you talking about a M.2 drive?

Cause... you need an M.2 slot. Check your motherboard specs, then just use the slot specs to get your drive. I switched to one from an SATA ssd a while back and there was a noticeable upgrade in load times. Windows is faster (10 x64.) and any game on the m.2 loads quicker as well.

Edit: From my own experience: the little screw you need to secure the m.2 drive is in the box for the motherboard and NOT the m.2 drive. So... watch out for that.

 

[The Predaking]

What do you mean by "little internal ssd"? Are you talking about a M.2 drive?

Cause... you need an M.2 slot. Check your motherboard specs, then just use the slot specs to get your drive. I switched to one from an SATA ssd a while back and there was a noticeable upgrade in load times. Windows is faster (10 x64.) and any game on the m.2 loads quicker as well.

Edit: From my own experience: the little screw you need to secure the m.2 drive is in the box for the motherboard and NOT the m.2 drive. So... watch out for that.

Mine appears to have an M2 Slot.

• Lightning Fast Experience: PCIe 4.0, Lightning Gen4 x4?M.2 with M.2 Shield Frozr,Premium Thermal Solution: 7W/mK pad, additional choke thermal pad and?M.2 Shield Frozr are built for high performance system and non-stop works

I might have to get one then for the OS then. Anything to look out for on those? Its something that wasn't around the last time I built a PC.

 

[wonko the sane?]

Not overly, I think. Mind the head type; cause m.2 and NVME are different, and check the actual specs in the mobo manual because using the m.2 slot might bogart a sata channel or two meaning that anything plugged into those sata slots won't register. Like on my board (asus prime b450 plus.) I think sata channels 5 and 6 (meaning slots 5 and 6 on the board.) don't function for me now cause I'm using the m.2.

But unless you're using the PC as a raid array on top of everything else, I don't see how you can fill up ALL the sata ports.

 

[The Predaking]

I will check to see if the motherboard documentation says anything about it.

 

[wentwood]

I have Arcade games on my I Pad. The tap control is dodgey but decent. I have a lot of the early games on it. Zoo Keeper and Kangaroo are a bit tough. One fave of mine is Ladybug which is a pac man type game.

My next move is to get an Advanced emulator running for Pokemon games.

 

[wonko the sane?]

Between interacting with you here, and wanting to deal with long standing, complete non-issues on my own computer (like wanting to upgrade my M.2 to a 1tb or higher.) I've been looking at stuff like boards and chips and cases. I want to slap some upgrades in but anything I do now will be a lateral move due to the limitations of the mobo.

Functionally, If I want little upgrades, I need to build an entirely new computer, and I cannot afford that right now; outside of an emergency.

 

[The Predaking]

So I just saw that Diablo 4 is in open beta! It seems that might need to hurry to get this PC finished in time to play some Diablo 4.

 

[The Predaking]

So, I am looking for a case for my PC. and I realized that I didn't know what size to get. I couldn't find anything on the amazon link that I bought it from with the CPU,

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BMLFSC9D?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details&th=1

but if I searched for just the motherboard, I found this.

https://www.amazon.com/MSI-B550M-PRO-VDH-ProSeries-Motherboard/dp/B089D1YG11/ref=asc_df_B089D1YG11?tag=bingshoppinga-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=80264440653340&hvnetw=o&hvqmt=e&hvbmt=be&hvdev=c&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=&hvtargid=pla-4583863988848358&th=1

If I am reading that right, this is a Micro-ATX motherboard right? So I need to just be looking for Micro-ATX cases or can any of the larger ones do?

 

[The Predaking]

I found this case, and I thought that it would be awesome to get, and you know that I love the color scheme.

Are you a human?

www.newegg.com

 

[The Predaking]

Although, that one doesn't have any slots for an Optical drive like a Blu-ray drive.

 

[The Predaking]

The only case on there that has the optical drive bay for it, that I like at least, is this one:

IN WIN BK623.BH300TB3 Black Computer Case - Newegg.com

Buy IN WIN BK623.BH300TB3 Black 0.6mm SECC Japanese ECO Steel Micro ATX Mini Tower Computer Case SFX 12V Form Factor, 300W Power Supply with fast shipping and top-rated customer service. Once you know, you Newegg!

www.newegg.com

But I like the look of the other one better.