Question Basic build suggestions?

[joecool]

So my last build is approaching 10 years old ... ! It's served me well but obviously time for an upgrade. Here are the basics:

1) This is not a gaming rig ... just need it for web surfing, MS office apps, Quicken, some simple photo and video editing, and as a dumb terminal to log into work.
2) Would like to keep it to $1k including Win10, can go higher if I need to but for my basic needs I suspect I could get a decent machine for a lot less. I would like something that will last more than a couple of years tho so I'm OK spending a bit more to get a longer lifespan.
3) Buying in the US.
5) Not a fanboy but I do have a soft spot for AMD.
6) My current rig has 2 optical drives in it ... that I haven't used in god knows how long. Would like any new case to at least have one 5.25" bay so I can install one of these in it, just in case.
7) Not really interested in overclocking ... per my needs, don't that much horsepower.
8) I am running my monitor at 1920x1080; actually want to set up a dual head system for work so need something that will support that. Don't know that I need any higher resolution but it couldn't hurt.
9) Looking to do this ASAP.

A few more things I'd like:

• If possible I'd like to avoid having to buy a graphics card as it seems unnecessary for my needs and it really bumps up the cost.
• I'd like it to be as quiet as possible ... my current rig has a lot of large low speed fans and is very quiet.
• I've seen some cases that have magnetic dust filters ... this looks AWESOME! The screens on my current rig are a real hassle to remove so rarely get cleaned out.
• Ideally I'd like 4 USB ports on the front rather than what seems to be the standard two. I often find myself using both in my current build, and wanting a third.

That's all I can think of for now. Any recommendations are greatly appreciated!

 

[Charlie98]

What do you have currently?

I just upgraded my i5 2500K primary desktop system, it's nice to have 16 cores to play with, but at the end of the day it really wasn't necessary; my PC use is very similar to what you use yours for. I have 2 other Sandy Bridge era PC still in service, and they are entirely adequate, I'll probably move them to Windows 10, but beyond that, I'm not planning much.

 

[joecool]

My current system is running an Athlon II x4 640 .... pretty ancient. It has issues. Slow to boot, periodically just freezes, I think I fried one of the front USB ports years ago so sometimes when I plug something into it that also causes a hang, also sometimes trying to use one of the optical drives causes a hang or it drops the second HD. I need to move to Win10 (still using 7) since Win7 support is done and TurboTax won't run on it, among other issues. And I want to move from and spinning disk to a flash drive. So, lots of reasons for a full upgrade!

 

[Torn Mind]

Probably want your CPU as the Ryzen 5 3400G. It has integrated graphics.

 

[Flayed]

• I've seen some cases that have magnetic dust filters ... this looks AWESOME! The screens on my current rig are a real hassle to remove so rarely get cleaned out.

If you get a ridiculously large and over specced heatsink for your cpu you never have to clean it out lol
That's what I did anyway for my 3570k and it still never breaks 60c under load

 

[Flayed]

Any recommendations are greatly appreciated!

I will do you a build list if you like but will need a budget, even if it's just a rough idea
Doh just saw you said 1k, bad habit of not reading posts lol

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 3600 3.6 GHz 6-Core Processor ($174.99 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: be quiet! Pure Rock Slim 35.14 CFM CPU Cooler ($33.26 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock B450M Steel Legend Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard ($88.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws V 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3600 Memory ($84.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Crucial P1 1 TB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive ($112.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GT 1030 2 GB Video Card ($79.99 @ B&H)
Case: Cooler Master MasterBox Q300L MicroATX Mini Tower Case ($47.89 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: Corsair CXM (2015) 450 W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-modular ATX Power Supply ($58.53 @ Newegg)
Case Fan: be quiet! SilentWings 3 pwm 59.5 CFM 140 mm Fan ($26.90 @ Amazon)
Case Fan: be quiet! SilentWings 3 PWM 50.5 CFM 120 mm Fan ($25.90 @ Amazon)
Total: $734.42
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2020-02-04 17:56 EST-0500

 

[joecool]

I will do you a build list if you like but will need a budget, even if it's just a rough idea
Doh just saw you said 1k, bad habit of not reading posts lol

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 3600 3.6 GHz 6-Core Processor ($174.99 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: be quiet! Pure Rock Slim 35.14 CFM CPU Cooler ($33.26 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock B450M Steel Legend Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard ($88.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws V 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3600 Memory ($84.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Crucial P1 1 TB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive ($112.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GT 1030 2 GB Video Card ($79.99 @ B&H)
Case: Cooler Master MasterBox Q300L MicroATX Mini Tower Case ($47.89 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: Corsair CXM (2015) 450 W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-modular ATX Power Supply ($58.53 @ Newegg)
Case Fan: be quiet! SilentWings 3 pwm 59.5 CFM 140 mm Fan ($26.90 @ Amazon)
Case Fan: be quiet! SilentWings 3 PWM 50.5 CFM 120 mm Fan ($25.90 @ Amazon)
Total: $734.42
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2020-02-04 17:56 EST-0500

Hey thanks, this is not too far off what I wound up going with. I will post what I got just in case anyone is interested, but first, how do you get this cool view that links to everything? I build my list on partspicker.

 

[Steltek]

I will do you a build list if you like but will need a budget, even if it's just a rough idea
Doh just saw you said 1k, bad habit of not reading posts lol

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 3600 3.6 GHz 6-Core Processor ($174.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock B450M Steel Legend Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard ($88.98 @ Newegg)

That config has a potential build issue with the motherboard and processor -- the motherboard may require a BIOS upgrade to support the Ryzen 5 3600. Best to make sure whatever source you buy it from can verify that they are selling a board with the newest BIOS installed or you will have problems.

I will post what I got just in case anyone is interested, but first, how do you get this cool view that links to everything? I build my list on partspicker.

On your system build screen at PCPartpicker.com, in the markup section at top (highlighted in yellow below) click on the BB option. Then, you can right-click on the resulting code, select all, then right click and paste the resulting code into your post.

 

[joecool]

Sweet, I figured it was one of those but on the PCPartPicker forum there is no preview and I didn't want to spam everyone by trying each one and posting it! Should have come over here to test them all out since there is a preview option here.

Anyway here's my system. I got the Aerocool Aero-1000 case, in black, with a partial acrylic window. Would have liked a full glass window but it checked all the other boxes so oh well. I am pretty pleased but am curious to hear any comments... I already bought it but it would still be interesting to know if this is a decent setup or not. FYI the video card is out of my old rig ... seeing as how I don't do any gaming any more I figured I don't need modern horsepower.

This probably belongs in a different thread, but I'm having an issue w/this new build that I've never had before. Not sure if I have bad component, if this combination of parts doesn't actually work together, if there is something wrong w/my 2015 Win10 install, or what, but w/in a couple of minutes of boot up this system hangs EVERY time! Super annoying. Love help figuring this one out if anybody has any ideas.

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: *AMD Ryzen 5 3600 3.6 GHz 6-Core Processor ($174.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: *Gigabyte X570 AORUS ELITE ATX AM4 Motherboard ($179.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: *Corsair Vengeance LPX 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3600 Memory ($89.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: *Samsung 970 Evo 500 GB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive ($87.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: XFX Radeon HD 6950 1 GB Video Card ($199.00 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: *Cooler Master MWE Gold 550 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply ($78.36 @ B&H)
Total: $810.32
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
*Lowest price parts chosen from parametric criteria
Generated by PCPartPicker 2020-02-07 18:12 EST-0500

 

[Steltek]

Check the "View Reliability History" option under the Maintenance section in Windows Action Center. This may tell you if a driver or program is hanging.

Did you download and install the most recent AMD X570 chipset drivers for your motherboard? The ones that came with the board from Gigabyte are probably old. Also, you may want to be sure your firmware is up to date on the NVMe SSD.

If you have a spare drive, you could also try to do a clean install on it to see if it works without problems.

Worst comes to worse, as long as you have Win10 installer that matches your current version of Windows, you can run the Windows setup within your current Windows install and do a upgrade repair install to try to fix any problems.

 

[joecool]

Good suggestions. I haven't installed any of the drivers yet ... I was thinking maybe Win10 would go out and find them for me. FYI my description may have been confusing so let me try again: this is a new build, new clean install of Win10 ... but it's a version of Win10 from 2015. Not actually sure if it will even work on this machine ... I downloaded it on my old rig back when they were offering free upgrades to Win7 users but I never wound up upgrading the old rig. Interestingly when I put the product key from my old Win7 install in, it gets rejected. So I have a feeling I'm gonna have to bite the bullet and by a new Win10 install. But I'm also wondering if maybe my 5-year-old version is out of date enough that it is the source of my problem. Lots of variables here.....

 

[Steltek]

The only drivers I'd install are the AMD chipset drivers to start, then let Windows find the drivers it can.

The original Win10 installers did not accept a Win7 key to install - that feature was added later. With those older versions, you literally had to upgrade an activated existing Win7 install to Win10. With the later versions, all you had to do was enter the Win7 product key while installing. If you have a clean hard drive, you might try creating a current version installer using the Microsoft Win10 Media Creation Tool on another machine and trying to install with that.

Was your original Win7 key an OEM key or retail key? If it was an OEM key, you'll probably have to buy another copy of Windows (OEM keys can normally only be activated once and are tied to the motherboard/CPU they were originally activated on) while retail keys can be reactivated on new machines.

 

[joecool]

It was retail. So you're saying if I make a new install disk for win 10 I can use my Windows 7 key? Or are there other hoops I need to jump through?

 

[joecool]

Oh, shoot. I just checked on the box ... I got the fancy box w/the booklet and everything so I figured it is retail, but on the label above the key it says OEM. Oh well. I haven't paid for an OS in 10 years, and probably won't for the next 10 years, so I suppose I can kick $140 to MS.

 

[Flayed]

This probably belongs in a different thread, but I'm having an issue w/this new build that I've never had before. Not sure if I have bad component, if this combination of parts doesn't actually work together, if there is something wrong w/my 2015 Win10 install, or what, but w/in a couple of minutes of boot up this system hangs EVERY time! Super annoying. Love help figuring this one out if anybody has any ideas.

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: *AMD Ryzen 5 3600 3.6 GHz 6-Core Processor ($174.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: *Gigabyte X570 AORUS ELITE ATX AM4 Motherboard ($179.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: *Corsair Vengeance LPX 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3600 Memory ($89.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: *Samsung 970 Evo 500 GB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive ($87.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: XFX Radeon HD 6950 1 GB Video Card ($199.00 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: *Cooler Master MWE Gold 550 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply ($78.36 @ B&H)
Total: $810.32
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
*Lowest price parts chosen from parametric criteria
Generated by PCPartPicker 2020-02-07 18:12 EST-0500

When you say your 2015 Windows 10 install did you replace the components in your build list and boot from a drive with a Windows installation from your previous system? If so that would likely be the cause of problems and you should do a clean install of Windows.

 

[Charlie98]

When you say your 2015 Windows 10 install did you replace the components in your build list and boot from a drive with a Windows installation from your previous system? If so that would likely be the cause of problems and you should do a clean install of Windows.

...that's kind of what I was thinking. OP, if you are planning on running this another 10 years, as you state, I would clean install W10 for sure, even if that costs you $140.

One other thing, and I have first hand experience with this on my current 2700X build... do you have any older components, like a USB card reader or CD/DVD drive? I have an old USB card reader that has never given me problems... but it sure did on first an ASRock mobo, and on my current GB board. Once I unplugged it, everything ran smooth.

As far as Win10 activation, in the scenario above, I installed a full version of W10 on the ASRock board, then had to reinstall it when I returned it for the GB board (thinking it was a defective mobo.) It did require a few tries, including a phone call to Microsoft... but I got it running and activated, again, on the new hardware. Same same for some of the old MS software I run, like Office 2010/2013, and Streets and Trips (2008!)

 

[Torn Mind]

Check all physical connections are secure. Remove all unnecessary peripherals.Then run system on one stick of RAM to see if the problem persists. Because if it is still a problem, you are in RMA hell. The generic Windows drivers should not be causing hangs. Hanging is more likely due to defective hardware in this scenario.

No power blips or the like happened during the Windows install process?

 

[joecool]

When you say your 2015 Windows 10 install did you replace the components in your build list and boot from a drive with a Windows installation from your previous system? If so that would likely be the cause of problems and you should do a clean install of Windows.

Brand new hardware, brand new blank SSD, tried the Win10 install disk I made in 2015. So installing on top of a Win7 install that was on different hardware isn't the issue.

 

[joecool]

...that's kind of what I was thinking. OP, if you are planning on running this another 10 years, as you state, I would clean install W10 for sure, even if that costs you $140.

One other thing, and I have first hand experience with this on my current 2700X build... do you have any older components, like a USB card reader or CD/DVD drive? I have an old USB card reader that has never given me problems... but it sure did on first an ASRock mobo, and on my current GB board. Once I unplugged it, everything ran smooth.

As far as Win10 activation, in the scenario above, I installed a full version of W10 on the ASRock board, then had to reinstall it when I returned it for the GB board (thinking it was a defective mobo.) It did require a few tries, including a phone call to Microsoft... but I got it running and activated, again, on the new hardware. Same same for some of the old MS software I run, like Office 2010/2013, and Streets and Trips (2008!)

Something I noticed, that I'm not 100% sure about, but after doing the first install of Win10 on the new build, I had only all the new components in it, and didn't even connect ethernet at first. At that point it did not crash ... but then I didn't spend much time on it since there wasn't really anything I could use it for! Then, I installed an old optical drive AND plugged in ethernet at the same time. Since then it's crashed w/in a few minutes of booting EVERY SINGLE TIME. I was going to try unplugging the ethernet, and then disconnecting the optical drive to see if that made a difference. Based on your experience it sounds like that might be it, so thanks for the suggestion. I'd be very relieved if it's a simple fix like that!

Re/my old Win10 install, does anyone think there is any chance I can get this working and save myself the $140? Right now this rig cost $700 about which I am very pleased ... adding a new Win10 install puts the cost into the level where I feel like maybe I should have just gone off-the-shelf, which would be a bummer!

 

[joecool]

Check all physical connections are secure. Remove all unnecessary peripherals.Then run system on one stick of RAM to see if the problem persists. Because if it is still a problem, you are in RMA hell. The generic Windows drivers should not be causing hangs. Hanging is more likely due to defective hardware in this scenario.

No power blips or the like happened during the Windows install process?

Yeah, it seems to me bad drivers shouldn't be causing this. No power blips at all. I am really hoping it's the old optical drive I stuck in there ... RMA hell would suck. I really need this rig soon, not months from now! I wouldn't even know which part to start with - mobo? cpu? ram? ssd? Bother.

 

[Charlie98]

Yeah, it seems to me bad drivers shouldn't be causing this. No power blips at all. I am really hoping it's the old optical drive I stuck in there ... RMA hell would suck. I really need this rig soon, not months from now! I wouldn't even know which part to start with - mobo? cpu? ram? ssd? Bother.

Well... that was me not 3 weeks ago. I was ready to throw money at it just to get the damned thing working... and it turned out to be the cheapest component in the box... the card reader. I unplugged EVERYTHING from the board... and booted. Then I plugged in the storage drive... and booted.... etc, etc. Easy way to check it without digging into the box is to disable the CD drive in Device Manager... it will show you in pretty quick time if that is the component. You also need to update those drivers... AMD has a 6-pack of drivers for Ryzen... it's a one click install, then, of course, check your board's BIOS version, and the very few drivers it requires. I would not install any of the utility bloatware ASRock has until you get stable... just the audio and ethernet drivers (if memory serves.) Same with AMD.

 

[VirtualLarry]

Good suggestions. I haven't installed any of the drivers yet ... I was thinking maybe Win10 would go out and find them for me. FYI my description may have been confusing so let me try again: this is a new build, new clean install of Win10 ... but it's a version of Win10 from 2015. Not actually sure if it will even work on this machine ... I downloaded it on my old rig back when they were offering free upgrades to Win7 users but I never wound up upgrading the old rig. Interestingly when I put the product key from my old Win7 install in, it gets rejected. So I have a feeling I'm gonna have to bite the bullet and by a new Win10 install. But I'm also wondering if maybe my 5-year-old version is out of date enough that it is the source of my problem. Lots of variables here.....

If you're going to clean-install Win10, don't use installer files from 2015, those are IMHO too old for modern Ryzen rigs.

Search for "Windows 10 Download", find the microsoft.com link, and download the Media Creation Tool on another PC, and plug in a (new) flash drive of 8GB-32GB, and then follow the prompts to create a 64-bit (x64) installation USB stick on your USB flash drive. Then boot that on the new rig, and install it. If that installation is crashing, then you probably have a hardware fault somewhere, or something isn't fully plugged-in right, or you have bad RAM or bad SSD somehow.

 

[Flayed]

Something I noticed, that I'm not 100% sure about, but after doing the first install of Win10 on the new build, I had only all the new components in it, and didn't even connect ethernet at first. At that point it did not crash ... but then I didn't spend much time on it since there wasn't really anything I could use it for! Then, I installed an old optical drive AND plugged in ethernet at the same time. Since then it's crashed w/in a few minutes of booting EVERY SINGLE TIME. I was going to try unplugging the ethernet, and then disconnecting the optical drive to see if that made a difference. Based on your experience it sounds like that might be it, so thanks for the suggestion. I'd be very relieved if it's a simple fix like that!

Re/my old Win10 install, does anyone think there is any chance I can get this working and save myself the $140? Right now this rig cost $700 about which I am very pleased ... adding a new Win10 install puts the cost into the level where I feel like maybe I should have just gone off-the-shelf, which would be a bummer!

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[joecool]

Thanks a ton for all the help guys ... I can always count on Anandtech members to come through! Seems the issue was my very old Win10 install. I made a new install image and have been running w/out trouble for a couple of hours. It even accepted the key from one of my old Win7 packages. I am suspecting this old install image I have may have been from an old laptop, which would explain why the keys wouldn't work, and maybe why it wouldn't work on my hardware - it was for an HP laptop, wondering if it might have had some hardware specific drivers. Anyway the good news i my new rig is working and it is sweet ... so much faster than my 10-year-old beast! Thanks again for the help.