• Welcome to TechPowerUp Forums, Guest! Please check out our forum guidelines for info related to our community.

Torn between buying a prebuilt or building my own

Joined
Feb 21, 2014
Messages
1,383 (0.37/day)
Location
Alabama, USA
Processor 5900x
Motherboard MSI MEG UNIFY
Cooling Arctic Liquid Freezer 2 360mm
Memory 4x8GB 3600c16 Ballistix
Video Card(s) EVGA 3080 FTW3 Ultra
Storage 1TB SX8200 Pro, 2TB SanDisk Ultra 3D, 6TB WD Red Pro
Display(s) Acer XV272U
Case Fractal Design Meshify 2
Power Supply Corsair RM850x
Mouse Logitech G502 Hero
Keyboard Ducky One 2
I know, I know, it's crazy talk. But hear me out :laugh:

My mom is currently using a mid-2010 27" iMac with the 2c i5 in it, and a 5400rpm drive. It's so slow at this point that it's driving her (and me) insane. For an upgrade she would've loved to go Apple, but with how anti-repair the new iMacs are and the cheapest 'usable' spec being nearly $2k we can't justify going Apple again.
Now, I'm not crazy enough to try getting her on a Hackintosh (she isn't tech savvy) but I might have to go for a custom built PC because I can't find a prebuilt (AIO or tower) that fits her needs, isn't crazy expensive, and is very small.

Basically I'm trying to find this spec in a reasonably priced prebuilt that is either AIO or could fit in a pretty small cabinet behind a monitor. Smaller than 12" in all dimensions at least.
i5 8400, 16GB RAM, 1TB nvme SSD, ability to add a small dGPU later. If AIO about 25" screen with 1440p+ res. I might have to go for something like the zotac ZBOX.

If I build one for her I'd use this same spec, but I can't find a small case that isn't really ugly. She hates the look of stuff like the Corsair 250d (and it's a bit big anyway)
 
Joined
Mar 30, 2010
Messages
841 (0.16/day)
Location
Edmonton, AB, Canada
System Name Project Neverending
Processor i9 9900K @ 5.0GHz
Motherboard Asus Maximus Formula XI
Cooling Corsair HX 150i Pro, Corsair ML 120/QL 120 fans
Memory 32 GB Corsair Vengeance Pro RGB 3200
Video Card(s) Asus RTX 2080Ti
Storage Samsung 970 Evo NVMe, 2 Samsung 860 Evo 1TB
Display(s) Acer Predator X34 (3440X1440), Samsung U28D590 (3840X2160)
Case Lian Li 011 Dynamic XL
Audio Device(s) Supreme FX X-Fi, Logitech 5.1 speaker system
Power Supply Corsair HX 1000i
Mouse Logitech G703
Keyboard Logitech G105
Software Windows 10 Pro
Benchmark Scores Updates coming soon ®
What about one of the Intel NUC's? Some (all?) have VESA mounting capability, mount it on the back of the monitor.
 

Aquinus

Resident Wat-man
Joined
Jan 28, 2012
Messages
13,147 (2.96/day)
Location
Concord, NH, USA
System Name Apollo
Processor Intel Core i9 9880H
Motherboard Some proprietary Apple thing.
Memory 64GB DDR4-2667
Video Card(s) AMD Radeon Pro 5600M, 8GB HBM2
Storage 1TB Apple NVMe, 4TB External
Display(s) Laptop @ 3072x1920 + 2x LG 5k Ultrafine TB3 displays
Case MacBook Pro (16", 2019)
Audio Device(s) AirPods Pro, Sennheiser HD 380s w/ FIIO Alpen 2, or Logitech 2.1 Speakers
Power Supply 96w Power Adapter
Mouse Logitech MX Master 3
Keyboard Logitech G915, GL Clicky
Software MacOS 12.1
What is she going to be doing with it? Apple not too long ago refreshed the Mac Mini and it has a lot of flexibility when it comes to customizing it, with the exception of the GPU. So, if she's mainly browsing the internet, doing photos, and stuff like that. It should be more than enough and it should be considerably less than 2k USD.
 
Joined
Feb 21, 2014
Messages
1,383 (0.37/day)
Location
Alabama, USA
Processor 5900x
Motherboard MSI MEG UNIFY
Cooling Arctic Liquid Freezer 2 360mm
Memory 4x8GB 3600c16 Ballistix
Video Card(s) EVGA 3080 FTW3 Ultra
Storage 1TB SX8200 Pro, 2TB SanDisk Ultra 3D, 6TB WD Red Pro
Display(s) Acer XV272U
Case Fractal Design Meshify 2
Power Supply Corsair RM850x
Mouse Logitech G502 Hero
Keyboard Ducky One 2
I hadn't thought of the NUC, might be a good plan. I think I'd go with the new Vega integrated NUCs for it.

I have considered the mac Mini, and while the RAM is supposedly upgradable the storage is not and if I got the 1TB out of the box even with just the 8GB RAM it is $1,700 which is a bit steep for a pc with iGPU and just 8GB RAM.

Her use case is technically just web browsing and some mild photo editing, but she keeps 100s of tabs open (don't ask, it's easier to buy more ram than to convince her to not do that) and I plan for this PC to last for a while. That's why I figured a true 6 core with good single core burst speed, upgradable RAM, and a blazing fast SSD would be the major parts. She's also considering a 4k or 5k monitor and would watch high bitrate videos at 4k or maybe 5k HDR so I figured a possible dGPU upgrade for the future would be nice.
 
Joined
Mar 10, 2015
Messages
3,984 (1.20/day)
System Name Wut?
Processor 3900X
Motherboard ASRock Taichi X570
Cooling Water
Memory 32GB GSkill CL16 3600mhz
Video Card(s) Vega 56
Storage 2 x AData XPG 8200 Pro 1TB
Display(s) 3440 x 1440
Case Thermaltake Tower 900
Power Supply Seasonic Prime Ultra Platinum
the RAM is supposedly upgradable the storage is not and if I got the 1TB out of the box even with just the 8GB RAM it is $1,700

That is a true bummer. Any chance a USB3/Thunderbolt External SSD?
 
Joined
Feb 21, 2014
Messages
1,383 (0.37/day)
Location
Alabama, USA
Processor 5900x
Motherboard MSI MEG UNIFY
Cooling Arctic Liquid Freezer 2 360mm
Memory 4x8GB 3600c16 Ballistix
Video Card(s) EVGA 3080 FTW3 Ultra
Storage 1TB SX8200 Pro, 2TB SanDisk Ultra 3D, 6TB WD Red Pro
Display(s) Acer XV272U
Case Fractal Design Meshify 2
Power Supply Corsair RM850x
Mouse Logitech G502 Hero
Keyboard Ducky One 2
It looks like you could use external storage but I don’t think she’d like managing her files on an external drive. Even with Apple’s ease of use tech isn’t her thing.
 

Aquinus

Resident Wat-man
Joined
Jan 28, 2012
Messages
13,147 (2.96/day)
Location
Concord, NH, USA
System Name Apollo
Processor Intel Core i9 9880H
Motherboard Some proprietary Apple thing.
Memory 64GB DDR4-2667
Video Card(s) AMD Radeon Pro 5600M, 8GB HBM2
Storage 1TB Apple NVMe, 4TB External
Display(s) Laptop @ 3072x1920 + 2x LG 5k Ultrafine TB3 displays
Case MacBook Pro (16", 2019)
Audio Device(s) AirPods Pro, Sennheiser HD 380s w/ FIIO Alpen 2, or Logitech 2.1 Speakers
Power Supply 96w Power Adapter
Mouse Logitech MX Master 3
Keyboard Logitech G915, GL Clicky
Software MacOS 12.1
It looks like you could use external storage but I don’t think she’d like managing her files on an external drive. Even with Apple’s ease of use tech isn’t her thing.
If she's used to using Mac OS X, using external storage when it becomes necessary might be easier than getting used to an OS she hasn't been used to using though. Honestly, I tried this with my mother and father. I built them a decent tower and they used it for a year or two, but in the end they got a used Macbook Pro. My father is used to Windows, but my mother isn't and she didn't really like it all that much.

Oh, it doesn't help that a Windows 10 update bricked the tower either (surprise!) but that was after they already had the Macbook Pro.
 

eidairaman1

The Exiled Airman
Joined
Jul 2, 2007
Messages
40,435 (6.61/day)
Location
Republic of Texas (True Patriot)
System Name PCGOD
Processor AMD FX 8350@ 5.0GHz
Motherboard Asus TUF 990FX Sabertooth R2 2901 Bios
Cooling Scythe Ashura, 2×BitFenix 230mm Spectre Pro LED (Blue,Green), 2x BitFenix 140mm Spectre Pro LED
Memory 16 GB Gskill Ripjaws X 2133 (2400 OC, 10-10-12-20-20, 1T, 1.65V)
Video Card(s) AMD Radeon 290 Sapphire Vapor-X
Storage Samsung 840 Pro 256GB, WD Velociraptor 1TB
Display(s) NEC Multisync LCD 1700V (Display Port Adapter)
Case AeroCool Xpredator Evil Blue Edition
Audio Device(s) Creative Labs Sound Blaster ZxR
Power Supply Seasonic 1250 XM2 Series (XP3)
Mouse Roccat Kone XTD
Keyboard Roccat Ryos MK Pro
Software Windows 7 Pro 64
SSD will help
 
Joined
Feb 21, 2014
Messages
1,383 (0.37/day)
Location
Alabama, USA
Processor 5900x
Motherboard MSI MEG UNIFY
Cooling Arctic Liquid Freezer 2 360mm
Memory 4x8GB 3600c16 Ballistix
Video Card(s) EVGA 3080 FTW3 Ultra
Storage 1TB SX8200 Pro, 2TB SanDisk Ultra 3D, 6TB WD Red Pro
Display(s) Acer XV272U
Case Fractal Design Meshify 2
Power Supply Corsair RM850x
Mouse Logitech G502 Hero
Keyboard Ducky One 2
If she's used to using Mac OS X, using external storage when it becomes necessary might be easier than getting used to an OS she hasn't been used to using though. Honestly, I tried this with my mother and father. I built them a decent tower and they used it for a year or two, but in the end they got a used Macbook Pro. My father is used to Windows, but my mother isn't and she didn't really like it all that much.

Oh, it doesn't help that a Windows 10 update bricked the tower either (surprise!) but that was after they already had the Macbook Pro.
This might end up happening. But it's so hard to recommend an Apple PC right now, especially with the new iMacs being totally sealed. She has used windows in the past (when Windows 7 was new) but I guess she might end up with an Apple again.
SSD will help
Running device manager shows her cpu at nearly 100% usage all the time. Besides that upgrading the drive requires removing the screen which I wouldn't love doing.
 
Joined
Mar 4, 2017
Messages
21 (0.01/day)
Processor 2700x
Memory 32GB
Video Card(s) GTX 1080Ti
Power Supply Seasonic Prime Ultra 1000W Titanium
You want a small desktop, right? A lot of prebuilt sellers charge a lot of premium for small yet powerful ones.

The advantage of buying prebuilt is really all about customer service (which most of them are bad). If you live with your mother and can provide support, then it is pointless to buy a prebuilt ones.


I say grab a case like Coolermaster Elite 110 (or its latest ver, 110A) and start build one. It's Mini-ITX case, can fit 120mm AIO and can fit actually a decent GPU too.
 
Joined
Sep 28, 2005
Messages
3,148 (0.47/day)
Location
Canada
System Name PCGR
Processor 12400f
Motherboard Asus ROG STRIX B660-I
Cooling Stock Intel Cooler
Memory 2x16GB DDR5 5600 Corsair
Video Card(s) Dell RTX 3080
Storage 1x 512GB Mmoment PCIe 3 NVME 1x 2TB Corsair S70
Display(s) LG 32" 1440p
Case Phanteks Evolve itx
Audio Device(s) Onboard
Power Supply 750W Cooler Master sfx
Software Windows 11
Is there a reason to have a dGPU in the future? If your mom isn't playing video games then I don't see the need for it. You could simply build a PC using the AMD Ryzen 2200 or 2400 and throw it in one of those real mini cases where it can fit the back of the monitor mount.
 
Joined
Mar 26, 2010
Messages
9,762 (1.91/day)
Location
Jakarta, Indonesia
System Name micropage7
Processor Intel Xeon X3470
Motherboard Gigabyte Technology Co. Ltd. P55A-UD3R (Socket 1156)
Cooling Enermax ETS-T40F
Memory Samsung 8.00GB Dual-Channel DDR3
Video Card(s) NVIDIA Quadro FX 1800
Storage V-GEN03AS18EU120GB, Seagate 2 x 1TB and Seagate 4TB
Display(s) Samsung 21 inch LCD Wide Screen
Case Icute Super 18
Audio Device(s) Auzentech X-Fi Forte
Power Supply Silverstone 600 Watt
Mouse Logitech G502
Keyboard Sades Excalibur + Taihao keycaps
Software Win 7 64-bit
Benchmark Scores Classified
Looks like AIO more match since it's simple and i dunno, your mom maybe just want simple thing that just turn it on and less cable behind
 
Joined
Mar 15, 2013
Messages
3,626 (0.90/day)
Location
GMT +2
System Name Red Radiance l under construction
Processor 5800x
Motherboard x470 taichi
Cooling stock wrath
Memory TridentZ Neo rgb 3600mhz (2x8 kit)
Video Card(s) Sapphire Vega 64 nitro+
Storage 970 evo nvme
Display(s) lc27g75tq
Case tt core x5 tge
Audio Device(s) sennheiser's pc323d usb soundcard
Power Supply corsair AX860i
Mouse roccat burst pro
Keyboard roccat ryos mk fx
Software windows 10
Last edited:

SL2

Joined
Jan 27, 2006
Messages
1,768 (0.27/day)
Running device manager shows her cpu at nearly 100% usage all the time. Besides that upgrading the drive requires removing the screen which I wouldn't love doing.
That's NOT normal, there's something wrong with it. I think it has a Kaby Lake i5 7400.
I've been using a 2011 Imac i5 with HDD, and with a clean install it worked perfectly for web/media/office.

IMO, SSD + clean install is the way to go. They're NOT hard to open. Unplug some connectors, replace the drive, and put it all together again.
Even if you don't want to replace the drive yourself you can just pay some store to do it.

Add more RAM while you're at it. It seems like it can do 32 GB.
https://everymac.com/systems/apple/...1-inch-aluminum-retina-4k-mid-2017-specs.html

Just remember to prepare the macos installer USB drive before swapping if you don't have another Mac available.


Or, just figure out what's pushing it to 100 %.. maybe set a maximum number of tabs, if possible?
 
Last edited:
Joined
Feb 21, 2014
Messages
1,383 (0.37/day)
Location
Alabama, USA
Processor 5900x
Motherboard MSI MEG UNIFY
Cooling Arctic Liquid Freezer 2 360mm
Memory 4x8GB 3600c16 Ballistix
Video Card(s) EVGA 3080 FTW3 Ultra
Storage 1TB SX8200 Pro, 2TB SanDisk Ultra 3D, 6TB WD Red Pro
Display(s) Acer XV272U
Case Fractal Design Meshify 2
Power Supply Corsair RM850x
Mouse Logitech G502 Hero
Keyboard Ducky One 2
Is there a reason to have a dGPU in the future? If your mom isn't playing video games then I don't see the need for it. You could simply build a PC using the AMD Ryzen 2200 or 2400 and throw it in one of those real mini cases where it can fit the back of the monitor mount.
She’ll probably be doing a lot of media consumption at 4K+ resolutions in the next 5+ years she has this pc. Even if it isn’t gaming I figured being able to add a lower end gpu for high resolution acceleration might be helpful in a few years.
Looks like AIO more match since it's simple and i dunno, your mom maybe just want simple thing that just turn it on and less cable behind
I really might go the AIO route, they’re just so expensive.
That's NOT normal, there's something wrong with it. I think it has a Kaby Lake i5 7400.
I've been using a 2011 Imac i5 with HDD, and with a clean install it worked perfectly for web/media/office.

IMO, SSD + clean install is the way to go. They're NOT hard to open. Unplug some connectors, replace the drive, and put it all together again.
Even if you don't want to replace the drive yourself you can just pay some store to do it.

Add more RAM while you're at it. It seems like it can do 32 GB.
https://everymac.com/systems/apple/...1-inch-aluminum-retina-4k-mid-2017-specs.html

Just remember to prepare the macos installer USB drive before swapping if you don't have another Mac available.


Or, just figure out what's pushing it to 100 %.. maybe set a maximum number of tabs, if possible?
Not sure where you got the mid 2017 iMac, this one is mid 2010 haha. It’s the old 4c (not 2c like I thought) i5 760. Considering it’s a lynnfield with a max turbo of 3.33Ghz I’m not surprised it’s really showing it’s age now.
 
Joined
Oct 2, 2015
Messages
2,986 (0.96/day)
Location
Argentina
System Name Ciel
Processor AMD Ryzen R5 5600X
Motherboard Asus Tuf Gaming B550 Plus
Cooling ID-Cooling 224-XT Basic
Memory 2x 16GB Kingston Fury 3600MHz@3933MHz
Video Card(s) Gainward Ghost 3060 Ti 8GB + Sapphire Pulse RX 6600 8GB
Storage NVMe Kingston KC3000 2TB + NVMe Toshiba KBG40ZNT256G + HDD WD 4TB
Display(s) Gigabyte G27Q + AOC 19'
Case Cougar MX410 Mesh-G
Audio Device(s) Kingston HyperX Cloud Stinger Core 7.1 Wireless PC
Power Supply Aerocool KCAS-500W
Mouse Logitech G203
Keyboard VSG Alnilam
Software Windows 11 x64
DIY ITX build with an M.2 SSD and either a 2200g/2400g or an i3/i5?
 
Joined
Oct 21, 2005
Messages
6,875 (1.02/day)
Location
USA
System Name Computer of Theseus
Processor Intel i9-12900KS: 50x Pcore multi @ 1.18Vcore (target 1.275V -100mv offset)
Motherboard EVGA Z690 Classified
Cooling Noctua NH-D15S, 2xThermalRight TY-143, 4xNoctua NF-A12x25,3xNF-A12x15, 2xAquacomputer Splitty9Active
Memory G-Skill Trident Z5 (32GB) DDR5-6000 C36 F5-6000J3636F16GX2-TZ5RK
Video Card(s) EVGA Geforce 3060 XC Black Gaming 12GB
Storage 1x Samsung 970 Pro 512GB NVMe (OS), 2x Samsung 970 Evo Plus 2TB (data 1 and 2), ASUS BW-16D1HT
Display(s) Dell S3220DGF 32" 2560x1440 165Hz Primary, Dell P2017H 19.5" 1600x900 Secondary, Ergotron LX arms.
Case Lian Li O11 Air Mini
Audio Device(s) Audiotechnica ATR2100X-USB, El Gato Wave XLR Mic Preamp, ATH M50X Headphones, Behringer 302USB Mixer
Power Supply Super Flower Leadex Platinum SE 1000W 80+ Platinum White
Mouse Zowie EC3-C
Keyboard Vortex Multix 87 Winter TKL (Gateron G Pro Yellow)
Software Win 10 LTSC 21H2
Try something like a VESA mount ITX case (mounts to back of monitor), AMD VEGA APU, 16GB DDR4 that fits your budget, ITX motherboard of your choice preferably something with WIFI, and a XPG SX8200 Pro SSD.
 

eidairaman1

The Exiled Airman
Joined
Jul 2, 2007
Messages
40,435 (6.61/day)
Location
Republic of Texas (True Patriot)
System Name PCGOD
Processor AMD FX 8350@ 5.0GHz
Motherboard Asus TUF 990FX Sabertooth R2 2901 Bios
Cooling Scythe Ashura, 2×BitFenix 230mm Spectre Pro LED (Blue,Green), 2x BitFenix 140mm Spectre Pro LED
Memory 16 GB Gskill Ripjaws X 2133 (2400 OC, 10-10-12-20-20, 1T, 1.65V)
Video Card(s) AMD Radeon 290 Sapphire Vapor-X
Storage Samsung 840 Pro 256GB, WD Velociraptor 1TB
Display(s) NEC Multisync LCD 1700V (Display Port Adapter)
Case AeroCool Xpredator Evil Blue Edition
Audio Device(s) Creative Labs Sound Blaster ZxR
Power Supply Seasonic 1250 XM2 Series (XP3)
Mouse Roccat Kone XTD
Keyboard Roccat Ryos MK Pro
Software Windows 7 Pro 64
Is there a reason to have a dGPU in the future? If your mom isn't playing video games then I don't see the need for it. You could simply build a PC using the AMD Ryzen 2200 or 2400 and throw it in one of those real mini cases where it can fit the back of the monitor mount.

Good part is the Vega apu are pretty good already so future upgrades can still be done, price is decent for performance without a GPU.
 
Joined
Oct 21, 2005
Messages
6,875 (1.02/day)
Location
USA
System Name Computer of Theseus
Processor Intel i9-12900KS: 50x Pcore multi @ 1.18Vcore (target 1.275V -100mv offset)
Motherboard EVGA Z690 Classified
Cooling Noctua NH-D15S, 2xThermalRight TY-143, 4xNoctua NF-A12x25,3xNF-A12x15, 2xAquacomputer Splitty9Active
Memory G-Skill Trident Z5 (32GB) DDR5-6000 C36 F5-6000J3636F16GX2-TZ5RK
Video Card(s) EVGA Geforce 3060 XC Black Gaming 12GB
Storage 1x Samsung 970 Pro 512GB NVMe (OS), 2x Samsung 970 Evo Plus 2TB (data 1 and 2), ASUS BW-16D1HT
Display(s) Dell S3220DGF 32" 2560x1440 165Hz Primary, Dell P2017H 19.5" 1600x900 Secondary, Ergotron LX arms.
Case Lian Li O11 Air Mini
Audio Device(s) Audiotechnica ATR2100X-USB, El Gato Wave XLR Mic Preamp, ATH M50X Headphones, Behringer 302USB Mixer
Power Supply Super Flower Leadex Platinum SE 1000W 80+ Platinum White
Mouse Zowie EC3-C
Keyboard Vortex Multix 87 Winter TKL (Gateron G Pro Yellow)
Software Win 10 LTSC 21H2
Here is a 2200G system, probably cost around $600 all said and done
https://pcpartpicker.com/list/jr2k3b

Not sure thats really that great a deal compared with some of the prebuilt office machine VESA and SFF that use Intel IGP such as Dell Optiplex micro 3050.
https://www.amazon.com/Dell-Optiplex-3050-Micro-Refurbished/dp/B07CSFV6S2/

Dell Optiplex 3050 Micro, Intel Core i5-6500T, 8GB DDR4 Ram, 256GB Solid State Drive SSD, Keyboard & Mouse, Windows 10 Pro (Certified Refurbished)
Price: $569.00 & FREE Shipping


even better: This dell 9020
Dell Optiplex 9020 Micro Desktop Computer Tiny PC (Intel Core i3-4160T, 8GB Ram, 256GB Solid State SSD, WIFI, Bluetooth, HDMI) Win 10 Pro With CD (Certified Refurbished)
Price: $358.75 & FREE Shipping
https://www.amazon.com/Dell-9020-Bluetooth-Certified-Refurbished/dp/B07B8V6Y7Q/


A few months ago I built my mom a machine to replace her aged dell laptop
I went a bit overboard, off the top of my head was the parts and cost:

I5 8400 $130 (microcenter open box)
GTX 1050 $105 (new, ebay with code)
Asrock Z370 Extreme4 $140 after rebate
970 Evo 512GB $170 microcenter
16GB Gskill RipjawsV 3000 CL16 $140 (ram price gouge period)
reused my old PHTC12DX CPU heatsink
Lian Li PCA05 Case ($40 ebay)
Seasonic 550 Focus Plus Gold $60 after rebate
WD Blue 1TB WD10EZEX (for her to dump backups onto) $50
TPLink wifi card (already had)
So total might have been $850 net all said and done

edit: and a 1080P Benq, that was around $110. So $960.
 
Last edited:
Joined
Sep 15, 2015
Messages
1,019 (0.33/day)
Location
Latvija
System Name Fujitsu Siemens, HP Workstation
Processor Athlon x2 5000+ 3.1GHz, i5 2400
Motherboard Asus
Memory 4GB Samsung
Video Card(s) rx 460 4gb
Storage 750 Evo 250 +2tb
Display(s) Asus 1680x1050 4K HDR
Audio Device(s) Pioneer
Power Supply 430W
Mouse Acme
Keyboard Trust
i trust more my self than others, putting it to gather, oem always takes something off.
 

phill

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Jun 8, 2011
Messages
15,861 (3.39/day)
Location
Somerset, UK
System Name Not so complete or overkill - There are others!! Just no room to put! :D
Processor Ryzen Threadripper 3970X
Motherboard Asus Zenith 2 Extreme Alpha
Cooling Lots!! Dual GTX 560 rads with D5 pumps for each rad. One rad for each component
Memory Viper Steel 4 x 16GB DDR4 3600MHz not sure on the timings... Probably still at 2667!! :(
Video Card(s) Asus Strix 3090 with front and rear active full cover water blocks
Storage I'm bound to forget something here - 250GB OS, 2 x 1TB NVME, 2 x 1TB SSD, 4TB SSD, 2 x 8TB HD etc...
Display(s) 3 x Dell 27" S2721DGFA @ 7680 x 1440P @ 144Hz or 165Hz - working on it!!
Case The big Thermaltake that looks like a Case Mods
Audio Device(s) Onboard
Power Supply EVGA 1600W T2
Mouse Corsair thingy
Keyboard Razer something or other....
VR HMD No headset yet
Software Windows 11 OS... Not a fan!!
Benchmark Scores I've actually never benched it!! Too busy with WCG and FAH and not gaming! :( :( Not OC'd it!! :(
I don't think I've ever bought a pre built PC.. I believe the first PC I bought was built for overclocking back in 2001 (I still have my invoice lol) Ever since then, I've been building them from scratch.. Best way to learn :) As long as that's what you like... :)
 
Joined
Oct 30, 2008
Messages
1,901 (0.34/day)
Processor 5930K
Motherboard MSI X99 SLI
Cooling WATER
Memory 16GB DDR4 2132
Video Card(s) EVGAY 2070 SUPER
Storage SEVERAL SSD"S
Display(s) Catleap/Yamakasi 2560X1440
Case D Frame MINI drilled out
Audio Device(s) onboard
Power Supply Corsair TX750
Mouse DEATH ADDER
Keyboard Razer Black Widow Tournament
Software W10HB
Benchmark Scores PhIlLyChEeSeStEaK
Yep
Add memory and an SSD watch it fly...
 
Joined
Sep 28, 2005
Messages
3,148 (0.47/day)
Location
Canada
System Name PCGR
Processor 12400f
Motherboard Asus ROG STRIX B660-I
Cooling Stock Intel Cooler
Memory 2x16GB DDR5 5600 Corsair
Video Card(s) Dell RTX 3080
Storage 1x 512GB Mmoment PCIe 3 NVME 1x 2TB Corsair S70
Display(s) LG 32" 1440p
Case Phanteks Evolve itx
Audio Device(s) Onboard
Power Supply 750W Cooler Master sfx
Software Windows 11
Good part is the Vega apu are pretty good already so future upgrades can still be done, price is decent for performance without a GPU.

Agreed comrade.

When Ryzen 3000 series comes out, I imagine they will have even better APU's that should work on existing mobos. So a bios update and away one goes.

She’ll probably be doing a lot of media consumption at 4K+ resolutions in the next 5+ years she has this pc. Even if it isn’t gaming I figured being able to add a lower end gpu for high resolution acceleration might be helpful in a few years.

I really might go the AIO route, they’re just so expensive.

Not sure where you got the mid 2017 iMac, this one is mid 2010 haha. It’s the old 4c (not 2c like I thought) i5 760. Considering it’s a lynnfield with a max turbo of 3.33Ghz I’m not surprised it’s really showing it’s age now.


She could get away with the built in Vega's in the APU's on latest. Heck, even replacing the CPU later on with a better APU (3000 series) would suffice. I don't know if the systems demand will be too much for 4K if its media browsing.
 

eidairaman1

The Exiled Airman
Joined
Jul 2, 2007
Messages
40,435 (6.61/day)
Location
Republic of Texas (True Patriot)
System Name PCGOD
Processor AMD FX 8350@ 5.0GHz
Motherboard Asus TUF 990FX Sabertooth R2 2901 Bios
Cooling Scythe Ashura, 2×BitFenix 230mm Spectre Pro LED (Blue,Green), 2x BitFenix 140mm Spectre Pro LED
Memory 16 GB Gskill Ripjaws X 2133 (2400 OC, 10-10-12-20-20, 1T, 1.65V)
Video Card(s) AMD Radeon 290 Sapphire Vapor-X
Storage Samsung 840 Pro 256GB, WD Velociraptor 1TB
Display(s) NEC Multisync LCD 1700V (Display Port Adapter)
Case AeroCool Xpredator Evil Blue Edition
Audio Device(s) Creative Labs Sound Blaster ZxR
Power Supply Seasonic 1250 XM2 Series (XP3)
Mouse Roccat Kone XTD
Keyboard Roccat Ryos MK Pro
Software Windows 7 Pro 64
Agreed comrade.

When Ryzen 3000 series comes out, I imagine they will have even better APU's that should work on existing mobos. So a bios update and away one goes.




She could get away with the built in Vega's in the APU's on latest. Heck, even replacing the CPU later on with a better APU (3000 series) would suffice. I don't know if the systems demand will be too much for 4K if its media browsing.

Videos is 1 thing, gaming is another
 
Top