Opinions on a "budget gaming rig" Ryzen based

[Max(IT)]

I'm building a gaming computer for my little son. It will be his 10 birthday's gift and it will be used mostly for gaming (Roblox and Fortnite the most played titles, but others will follow) and for school activities.
I already have 2 gaming PCs at home (one is mine and the other is for my elder son), both with quite high end specs, but this one will be on a tight budget, mostly because he still is a 10 years old boy...
This was what I already ordered on Amazon:

- Ryzen 3600X (I was looking for a 3600 but it is not available, not to speak about the vaporware 3300X )
- MSI B450M Mortar MAX (I'd prefer a B550, but there was a 30€ difference on the cheapest I could find, and much worse than the Mortar)
- Corsair Vengeance LPX 16 GB 3000 MHz CL16 (I'd prefer a 3600 MHz set, but the price difference is really too much and they weren't in stock)
- WD SN550 NVMe M.2 SSD 500 GB
- Corsair CV650W PSU
- Thermaltake Versa H15 Windowed M-ATX case
- Asus GeForce PH-GTX 1660 OC 6 GB

The graphic card was my hardest choice, because the budget was quite limited. I need something to play 60 FPS at 1080P, with high details.
I'd like to buy a 5600XT or a 2060 but the prices were really too high.
In the next months I could pass to him one of our VGAs (5700XT or a 2070 Super) in case of upgrading to a new generation 3070...

What do you think ?

 

[Vya Domus]

Seems fine, only thing I would look at is the RAM, those Vengence LPX kits don't play well with Ryzen. It will work at the rated speed but you might need to mess with it.

 

[INSTG8R]

Seems fine, only thing I would look at is the RAM, those Vengence LPX kits don't play well with Ryzen. It will work at the rated speed but you might need to mess with it.

And I’d say spring for 3200. Im actually running Corsair Vengeance CL18 at CL16. The LPX can be hit and miss some are actually Samsung but I’d imagine those are earlier kits mine are Hynix.

 

[Devon68]

The build seems great. Put yourself in his shoes, even if you got him lower spec'd pc he would probably be super happy. Just add some rgb strips if he's into that and call it a day.

 

[Taraquin]

If you want good budget ram, go for Crucial Ballistix 3000cl15 or 3200cl16, they are really cheap. They are always Micron rev E and overclock like champs. 3733cl15 with dram calc is easy. Corsair LPX 3000cl16 and 3200cl16 is often Hynix AFR or Micron M-die etc. They rarely do much better than 3333cl16 with poor subtimings.

 

[Max(IT)]

Seems fine, only thing I would look at is the RAM, those Vengence LPX kits don't play well with Ryzen. It will work at the rated speed but you might need to mess with it.

what do you mean with "don't play well with Ryzen"?
I'm not going to overclock those DDR, but just to use it at rated speed (3000 CL16). Are you aware of known issues at XMP speed ???

The build seems great. Put yourself in his shoes, even if you got him lower spec'd pc he would probably be super happy. Just add some rgb strips if he's into that and call it a day.

There is RGB in the stock cooler i already have and in the motherboard. It will be enough for now
I know what you are meaning, but I don't want to waste money with a PC already obsolete.
The plans are to have a better VGA in the future (this is the reason I bought a 650W PSU) and maybe a 5600X one year from now, when prices will be low.

If you want good budget ram, go for Crucial Ballistix 3000cl15 or 3200cl16, they are really cheap. They are always Micron rev E and overclock like champs. 3733cl15 with dram calc is easy. Corsair LPX 3000cl16 and 3200cl16 is often Hynix AFR or Micron M-die etc. They rarely do much better than 3333cl16 with poor subtimings.

none were available...
I'm not planning to overclock those RAM, so 3000 CL16 will be enough.

 

[Selaya]

3600X comes with Wraith Spire, that doesn't have RGB
3700X and above comes with Wraith Prism, that has RGB.

 

[DeathtoGnomes]

what do you mean with "don't play well with Ryzen"?
I'm not going to overclock those DDR, but just to use it at rated speed (3000 CL16). Are you aware of known issues at XMP speed ???

If you are unsure of what memory works best, budget or otherwise, look up the CVL for your motherboard. You should get a clearer idea what other sticks to compare with
XMP is overclocking, unless you are just comparing speeds.

 

[TheLostSwede]

Avoid the LPX as the plague, they're still giving people problems. As long as you can set the timings yourself, I suggest Patriot Viper Steel, they're affordable and work well, except for with XMP.

 

[Vayra86]

On the GPU: if you have the luxury, try to wait it out a little bit because a new range is getting released in the coming months... its going to shift the price/perf level to a better place because its pretty crap at the moment. Yes, I'd shoot for 2060 levels too, or this PC will feel old before you know it.

Or you can ride it out with the 1660 for a year and then see how things stand of course.

 

[Max(IT)]

3600X comes with Wraith Spire, that doesn't have RGB
3700X and above comes with Wraith Prism, that has RGB.

I know, but I have the Wraith Prism from my 3900X (I’m using a far better cooler).
It is brand new unused.

If you are unsure of what memory works best, budget or otherwise, look up the CVL for your motherboard. You should get a clearer idea what other sticks to compare with
XMP is overclocking, unless you are just comparing speeds.

XMP is overclocking, but it is “guaranteed “ by the manufacturer.
I’m not planning to overclock that RAM. I just want it to work at 3000 CL16 as advertised. If it will show any issue I will return it and try something else.

On the GPU: if you have the luxury, try to wait it out a little bit because a new range is getting released in the coming months... its going to shift the price/perf level to a better place because its pretty crap at the moment. Yes, I'd shoot for 2060 levels too, or this PC will feel old before you know it.

Or you can ride it out with the 1660 for a year and then see how things stand of course.

It is a birthday’s gift, I cannot wait.
The plan is to keep the 1660 for a while and then swap it with the 5700XT I have in the other PC.

Avoid the LPX as the plague, they're still giving people problems. As long as you can set the timings yourself, I suggest Patriot Viper Steel, they're affordable and work well, except for with XMP.

Already ordered...
I will test them thoroughly and return them if any issue will show up.

 

[RGBShark]

I'd look for a better model of the 1660 if I were you, (I'm assuming you meant the Pheonix Fan 1660), those single fan models can get a bit hot and loud. Besides that try looking for a 3600 non X on Newegg or B&H if they have those in your region and use the saved cash for a 1660 super.

 

[Selaya]

I know, but I have the Wraith Prism from my 3900X (I’m using a far better cooler).
It is brand new unused.
[ ... ]

That makes a lot more sense then, and it's also adequate enough for any flavor of 3600.

 

[Athlonite]

XMP is overclocking, but it is “guaranteed “ by the manufacturer.
I’m not planning to overclock that RAM. I just want it to work at 3000 CL16 as advertised. If it will show any issue I will return it and try something else.

No it is not guaranteed to work like others here have said stay well away from LPX memory it's hit and miss with Ryzen CPU's sometimes it'll work and for random reasons sometimes it wont you'd be better of going with GSkill Trident Z 3200MHz or Team or Adata or Patriot anything but Corsair LPX if you want trouble free XMP

Already ordered...
I will test them thoroughly and return them if any issue will show up

should have waited for replies before doing that as it kinda defeats the purpose of asking for advice

 

[Max(IT)]

I'd look for a better model of the 1660 if I were you, (I'm assuming you meant the Pheonix Fan 1660), those single fan models can get a bit hot and loud. Besides that try looking for a 3600 non X on Newegg or B&H if they have those in your region and use the saved cash for a 1660 super.

Everything must be bought on Amazon, because I have some privileges buying from them on items sold and dispatched by Amazon. Ryzen 3600 was my choice, but it is not available here in Europe (I checked Amazon.de and Amazon.nl), so I had to buy the 3600X.
I know the 1660 is not the best possible choice, but at that price (200€) there were literally nothing better
And I was already above the planned budget.

No it is not guaranteed to work like others here have said stay well away from LPX memory it's hit and miss with Ryzen CPU's sometimes it'll work and for random reasons sometimes it wont you'd be better of going with GSkill Trident Z 3200MHz or Team or Adata or Patriot anything but Corsair LPX if you want trouble free XMP

Already ordered...
I will test them thoroughly and return them if any issue will show up

should have waited for replies before doing that as it kinda defeats the purpose of asking for advice

and you should READ before commenting so harshly. I didn't asked for purchase advices. I asked for OPINIONS on an already made purchase.
Now thanks to the information received from you and others here I know that I must pay special attention to the DDR kit I bought, looking for instabilities, and return them if this is the case.

EDIT: I double checked and the order wasn't dispatched yet, so I removed the Corsair LPX and replaced them with Crucial Ballistix BL2K8G30C15U4B (3000 CL15). According to the Crucial website those are 100% compatible with the B450M Mortar . Thank you and everyone else for the heads up.

 

[TheLostSwede]

Just be aware that XMP is an Intel standard and is under no circumstances guaranteed to work on AMD.
Also, Micron DRAM has the highest latencies on AMD, as the tRFC is quite bad on current Micron RAM vs. Hynix and Samsung, with Samsung having the best tRFC timings.
I wouldn't worry about overclocking the RAM on AMD and I would be those modules you ordered work at 3200 CL16 just fine.
Also, AMD Ryzen 3000 CPUs don't like odd CAS timings, so you might not be able to run them at CL15.

 

[Max(IT)]

Just be aware that XMP is an Intel standard and is under no circumstances guaranteed to work on AMD.

I know. Thank you.
DOCP (strange name for Asus's XMP) worked just fine on my G.Skill Trident Z.
I will try XMP on the Crucial Ballistix I bought, otherwise I will set manual timings.

Also, Micron DRAM has the highest latencies on AMD, as the tRFC is quite bad on current Micron RAM vs. Hynix and Samsung, with Samsung having the best tRFC timings.
I wouldn't worry about overclocking the RAM on AMD and I would be those modules you ordered work at 3200 CL16 just fine.
Also, AMD Ryzen 3000 CPUs don't like odd CAS timings, so you might not be able to run them at CL15.

I will try CL15, and in case of issues I will lower that to CL16.
I'll let you know.

 

[kapone32]

I am just about to do a Customer build for a customer's son in the range.

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[dgianstefani]

If all the rig is for is gaming, there's literally no point going ryzen. Intel has higher FPS across the board, min, average, max. Go with a 10400f build instead and give him 10 or 20 extra fps.

 

[kapone32]

If all the rig is for is gaming, there's literally no point going ryzen. Intel has higher FPS across the board, min, average, max. Go with a 10400f build instead and give him 10 or 20 extra fps.

Until his son is 14 and is able to to buy a 5000 series CPU used cheap do you have a Ryzen system to tell the difference between 145 and 160 FPS?

 

[Max(IT)]

If all the rig is for is gaming, there's literally no point going ryzen. Intel has higher FPS across the board, min, average, max. Go with a 10400f build instead and give him 10 or 20 extra fps.

10 FPS using an high end VGA and a 10600K, which is expensive and requires a Z490 board.
With a low end GPU and a 10400f the difference would be 3/5 FPS, for an inferior CPU for almost everything else.
And using an AMD platform I could replace the 3600X with a 5600X in the future.

10400 vs 3600

 

[TheLostSwede]

I know. Thank you.
DOCP (strange name for Asus's XMP) worked just fine on my G.Skill Trident Z.
I will try XMP on the Crucial Ballistix I bought, otherwise I will set manual timings.


I will try CL15, and in case of issues I will lower that to CL16.
I'll let you know.

Yeah, different RAM, different behaviour with XMP.
It might not even booth with CL15.

 

[Max(IT)]

Yeah, different RAM, different behaviour with XMP.
It might not even booth with CL15.

For the first boot and Windows installation I usually use JEDEC settings for maximum stability. Then I will try XMP.

 

[TheLostSwede]

For the first boot and Windows installation I usually use JEDEC settings for maximum stability. Then I will try XMP.

Not trying to pick on you, simply stating what I've experienced. I can't boot CL17 either.

 

[TheoneandonlyMrK]

For the first boot and Windows installation I usually use JEDEC settings for maximum stability. Then I will try XMP.

Personally I stay away from the actual Xmp setting, it is not made for Ryzen, in use even when apparently stable, and tested I have experienced BSOD occasionally.
To get close to Xmp I use the primary timings and leave the rest on auto.
If it's my pc I might then spend some time tightening the. Timings, but I do that manually.
XMP is not made for and is very very rarely tested to work on AMD , patriot viper AMD specific ready is one that is, but most aren't tested to run at all on AMD never mind in XMP mode.