A Build for Mom - Looking for critiques / suggestions

rzthrun · Jul 25, 2017

My ma needs a new machine. She has a habit of making not the greatest gizmo choices, so I asked her to let me help her this time.

[As per sticky thread:
Location: Washington DC Metro Area, USA
Budget: $1000USD
Peripherals: All new parts needed listed below
Use: Movies, Internet, maybe some light gaming

AlienALX · Jul 25, 2017

Ryzen all the way.

rzthrun · Jul 25, 2017

Like this ?
AMD Ryzen 5 1500X Processor with Wraith Spire Cooler
https://www.amazon.com/AMD-Processor-Wraith-Cooler-YD150XBBAEBOX/dp/B06XKVNRSM/

Little hesitant to switch to AMD,
The thread count is nice though...

AlienALX · Jul 25, 2017

1600 dude. Well worth it for multi tasking

Surfie · Jul 25, 2017

What do you expect basic maintenance tho mean? It's a very subjective term.

Depending on your definition, you may want to reconsider the cooler choice. It's a great cooler, but will require maintenance every 6-12 months. No big deal: a bit of compressed air and maybe removal of the fans every now and then: but that is more work than my definition of basic maintenance.

If you go Ryzen (which i would recommend), go for one with the wraith cooler, and change out the motherboard. It should save you a couple hundred dollars at the same performance point, as well as saving you on the cooler. The wraith cooler is fine if you aren't going to overclock, just be prepared to tweak the fan profile a bit.

rzthrun · Jul 25, 2017

Basic Maintenance : yup, I mean cleaning. Cleaning the radiator is a pain, I do it about once a year. The occasional drive OS drive formatting / reinstall also.

I'm not as familiar with AMD sockets and chipsets as I am with Intel, so I'm learning.

Looking at the Ryzen 5 1600 Processor with Wraith Spire Cooler currently, as per AlienALX

Getting rid of the H110i cooler would free up the budget. I have one in the computer I'm on now, and have been very happy with it. It was a natural choice for me, but's it's expensive and a bit of over kill.
----

I'd really like to keep the Corsair Air 240 case (mini-itx/micro-atx). I want to get my mom something small she can lift on her own without strain, and it's visually appealing. Choosing components around a case isn't the best idea, i know...

Since the Ryzen are all AM4 socket (correct?), I'd have to switch from mini-itx to a micro-atx form factor (?), which is fine. Thing is this computer has to connect to the interweb via wifi. Hard-line just isn't an option in her situation. Can't find AM4 mATX boards that have onboard wifi, so I'd have to get a wifi adapter too. The mATX generally have additional PCI-E slots, where as the mITX don't seem to have any.

Below are few updated component changes/options. (What do you think?)
If I went with the
Ryzen 5 1600 with the Wraith Spire Cooler ($209.99)
ASUS Prime B350M-A/CSM Mobo ($88.30)
ASUS Wi-Fi PCI Express Adapter ($61.02)
I would be saving about $35 on the build.
I could go for a more inexpensive wifi card. I've been really happy with the onboard wifi in my Ramage IV Black, and Asus products in general. Ideally I want to get some thing with cable antenna (or get a cabled antenna)
facilitate reception. She want's to binge watch TV (she's just discovered the world of on-demand), so I don't want to screw this part up for her.

What are your opinions on the below components?

CPU:

Ryzen 5 1600 Processor with Wraith Spire Cooler $209.99
https://www.amazon.com/AMD-Processor-Wraith-Cooler-YD1600BBAEBOX/dp/B06XNRQHG4/

MOBO:

MSI ProSeries AMD Ryzen B350 $89.99
https://www.amazon.com/MSI-ProSeries-Motherboard-B350M-MORTAR/dp/B06XP1L1VG
or
ASUS Prime B350M-A/CSM $88.30
https://www.amazon.com/Prime-B350M-CSM-Ryzen-Motherboard/dp/B06WRWZNJC/
or
ASUS PRIME A320M-K $59.99
https://www.amazon.com/PRIME-A320M-K-Ryzen-Micro-ATX-Motherboard/dp/B06ZY2F35X

WIFI Adapator:

ASUS Wi-Fi PCI Express Adapter $61.02
https://www.amazon.com/ASUS-Wi-Fi-Express-Adapter-PCE-AC56/dp/B00JNA337K
or
Gigabyte GC-WB867D-I REV $39.99
https://www.amazon.com/Gigabyte-GC-WB867D-I-Bluetooth-Frequency-Expansion/dp/B00HF8K0O6/

NeverBackDown · Jul 25, 2017

Just get a $20 USB Wifi Adapter. No need for the crazy fancy stuff especially if she is not going to be using "high speeds", meaning anything above 50Mb/s.

rzthrun · Jul 26, 2017

I want to try and get her 25Mb/s from a source emitter a floor above.

rzthrun · Jul 26, 2017

Just checked her speed, she get about 30mbs download. She'll be streaming lots of video I'm sure.

AlienALX · Jul 26, 2017

The MSI B350M is a good board. My pal used one a couple of weeks back and had no issues with the RAM after he updated the bios

It also has VRM cooling, unlike the Asus one and you will need that with a 6 core.

BTW a bit OT. I note you mentioned the DC Metro area. Are you anywhere near Bethesda? I went there once

That was before Fallout 3 so I had no idea where I actually was (I went there with a friend to buy a car).

DC was the best place I visited in the whole of the USA. I absolutely loved it. Some amazing museums too ! I got to see Enola Gay. That was emotional....

You may be wise looking into those power line network things. Then she can have proper wired, as opposed to wireless that may be a bit flaky.

rzthrun · Jul 26, 2017

I am pretty close to Bethesda, and oh how much I'd like to work within the Zenimax family of companies - sent my resume a few times: never heard anything.

Just moved to the area a few months back - be closer to family. Haven't had a chance to visit any museums this time yet - Saw the Enola Gay when when I was 10 years old - still remember it vividly.

Yea, I've decided to go with MSI B350M - Mortar Arctic (yup, paying $10 more for the white board and LEDs, but I think she'll prefer the colors... with the GC and red RAM it'll look like a peppermint.... maybe I'll change that to the regular board and save).

I've read a bit about needing to update the bios on the B350. Can I do this without an older AM4 Chip ?

There's the new build specs. Put the cooler savings back into a better PSU. Also upgraded her speakers (not listed)... her hearing isn't so good... louder the better.

MOBO :

MSI B350M MORTAR ARCTIC $99.99
https://www.amazon.com/MSI-B350M-MORTAR-ARCTIC-Motherboards/dp/B06Y67TLSL/

CPU :

AMD Ryzen 5 1600 Processor with Wraith Spire Cooler $209.99
https://www.amazon.com/AMD-Processor-Wraith-Cooler-YD1600BBAEBOX/dp/B06XNRQHG4/

Cooler :

n/a $0.00

RAM :

Corsair Vengeance LPX 16GB (2x8GB ) DDR4 $115.88
https://www.amazon.com/Corsair-Vengeance-2400MHz-Desktop-Memory/dp/B018EGTEK8/

PSU :
Corsair CX Series 650 $69.99
https://www.amazon.com/CORSAIR-CX650M-BRONZE-Haswell-Modular/dp/B01B72W1VA

SSD :
Aireye 120GB SATA III $52.99
Crucial MX300 275GB $99.99
https://www.amazon.com/Aireye-120GB-2-5-Inch-6-0Gb-Solid/dp/B01HEAEV0I/
https://www.amazon.com/Crucial-MX300-275GB-Internal-Solid/dp/B01IAGSD5O/

Case :
Corsair Carbide Series Air 240 $89.99
https://www.amazon.com/Corsair-Carbide-Airflow-MicroATX-Mini-ITX/dp/B00LA6WXEO/

DVD ROM :
Lite-On Super AllWrite 24X SATA DVD+/- $17.79
https://www.amazon.com/Lite-Super-AllWrite-Layer-Drive/dp/B002YIG9AQ/

Wifi :
Gigabyte GC-WB867D-I REV $39.99
https://www.amazon.com/Gigabyte-GC-WB867D-I-Bluetooth-Frequency-Expansion/dp/B00HF8K0O6/

AlienALX · Jul 26, 2017

Looks great. For ultimate compatibility on the memory though I would go

https://www.amazon.com/G-SKILL-Trid...d=1501084395&sr=1-1&keywords=gskill+ddr4+3000

Unless you can 100% verify that the Corsair RAM is OK in that board.

Yes, you can update the bios fine. It was made to run that CPU, so install Windows, install the MSI update app thing and it will do it all for you. This was all my friend had to do to get the RAM running AXMP.

Don't forget you can get the Corsair case in white too, if that tickles your fancy

rzthrun · Jul 26, 2017

That's a relief about the BIOS

The Corsair Ram is
CMK16GX4M2A2400C16R

CMK16GX4M2A2400C16 is listed on the MSI site, to my understanding the 'R' in the above is for RED, the ram cooler cover color. So I think I'm ok. The Red one is 10$ or 15$ cheaper... go figure.
https://www.msi.com/Motherboard/support/B350M-GAMING-PRO.html#support-mem-2

hmmm. that GSkill ram would be nice to throw in. Another $30 bones to the total. This rig is already alot more machine than she'll know what to do with.... for a while anyway.

I thought about going with the white case to complete the theme. It's $5 cheaper. My worry is it'll look cheap and show any dirt or smudges. I do wonder how the white board will look in a black case, and may just go with black/red themed board. It's incredible how much the aesthetics effect my choices on these things.

AlienALX · Jul 26, 2017

Moms (or mums

) are usually pretty tidy creatures. It shoudn't mark that easily but yeah, can understand.

I really dig this.

https://www.amazon.com/Win-101-Whit...UTF8&qid=1501087210&sr=8-1&keywords=inwin+101

I just love how the rad mounts

Bartacus · Jul 26, 2017

The G.Skill ram won't matter much if you're not overclocking. If you stick to stock 2133 ram speed, the G.Skill might be a waste of $$$.

AlienALX · Jul 26, 2017

Bartacus said:
The G.Skill ram won't matter much if you're not overclocking. If you stick to stock 2133 ram speed, the G.Skill might be a waste of $$$.

I would not run less than 3000mhz. It does make quite an impact on Ryzen. It's pretty sluggish with standard 2133 memory, that was a part of the reason I bought Intel because I already had it and Intel is far less fussy as certain elements don't depend on it like Ryzen does.

Bartacus · Jul 26, 2017

AlienALX said:
I would not run less than 3000mhz. It does make quite an impact on Ryzen. It's pretty sluggish with standard 2133 memory, that was a part of the reason I bought Intel because I already had it and Intel is far less fussy as certain elements don't depend on it like Ryzen does.

But then you're into OCing the RAM, and introducing instability to his Mom's system. It's not sluggish at stock, not true. I'm running mine stock now and it's fine. Just don't do any stupid synthetic benchmarks and you won't even notice.

AlienALX · Jul 26, 2017

Bartacus said:
But then you're into OCing the RAM, and introducing instability to his Mom's system. It's not sluggish at stock, not true. I'm running mine stock now and it's fine. Just don't do any stupid synthetic benchmarks and you won't even notice.

It's not just synthetics. You get gains across the board (pardon the pun). AXMP will run to 3000mhz easily in that board.

NeverBackDown · Jul 26, 2017

Bartacus said:
But then you're into OCing the RAM, and introducing instability to his Mom's system. It's not sluggish at stock, not true. I'm running mine stock now and it's fine. Just don't do any stupid synthetic benchmarks and you won't even notice.

He'll be fine with 2933. His mom is going to keep this system a long time. Having Overkill now just means it'll last longer and stay fast. If for some reason it becomes unstable he can just lower the clocks. It's better to have more headroom than none.

rzthrun · Jul 26, 2017

I'll admit, alot of what you guys are talking about is over my head.

As per aboveI was going with Corsair Vengeance 2400.
The board supports
1866/ 2133/ 2400/ 2667(OC)/ 2933(OC)/ 3200(OC)+ Mhz

@AlienALX - i like that case, and I'd like to play up the 'snow' look, but it's mid-tower, and I'm trying to keep this thing tiny. I talked to her also about color, since the monitor, keyboard, printer, etc are all black she wants to stick with a black case.

I just realized, the Air 250 case doesn't have a slot for an optical drive. I'm thinking to get her an external. Anyone have a suggestion for something with a similar form factor and included fans (it comes with 3x 120mm) in few minutes before i order?

A Build for Mom - Looking for critiques / suggestions

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