# Thinking about building my own gaming computer. So many questions **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Tags:** video-games-e-games\ **Created:** [January 20, 2021, 10:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thinking-about-building-my-own-gaming-computer-so-many-questions/930952 "2021-01-20T10:15:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 13
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2021, 12:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thinking-about-building-my-own-gaming-computer-so-many-questions/930952/242 "2021-06-24T12:14:15Z")
Oh yeah, copying large files does make it obvious. Before this new computer I had only ever had mechanical HDDs, so both steps up were pretty shocking upgrades to me. During my initial setup days after installing Windows, I remember copying something large-ish (1.7 GB or so) from one D: location to another. The little Windows progress bar popped up and blazed to the end in like 5 seconds; that was a wow moment. It would have been at least 30+ seconds on my old HDD. I thought yep, 2.5" SSDs really are that much faster than HDDs. Then I copied that same folder from its new D: location to the C: drive, and then I had to wow again. No progress bar popped up at all. It seemed like nothing had happened, so I went to the new location on C: and started checking random files to be sure they had content inside them. I couldn’t believe that all the files had copied, but they had. It took me a minute to realize that the freshly-cached 1.7 GB I had just copied from one D: location to another was so “small” that the M.2 drive didn’t even need to bother with a progress bar at all. Which makes sense, I guess; when you can burst write over 3 GB per second in perfect conditions (which those nearly were), 1.7 GB isn’t much to copy. EDIT: Keeping in mind that the next generation PCIe4 M.2 drives should be yet another noticeable step up in speed. I’m definitely planning to grab an “old” 1 TB M.2 PCIe3 drive for games to plug into my second M.2 slot pretty much as soon as PCIe4 M.2 drives hit shelves. I’m hoping for under $120. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2021, 12:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thinking-about-building-my-own-gaming-computer-so-many-questions/930952/243 "2021-06-24T12:24:09Z")
> [@EllisDee](#): > > [Here’s a pcpartpicker list](https://pcpartpicker.com/list/FH4Xwz) to give you an idea of what $600 could get you right now if you chose to build your own using your existing parts as applicable: **EllisDee** , you’re amazing. Thank you for this detailed writeup! I may have a couple questions later, but this looks like a great starting point for me, and maybe I will go ahead with a larger upgrade this summer than I’d planned. ---
**Author:** ![FordPrefect](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e99b99/32.png) [@FordPrefect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FordPrefect)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2021, 12:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thinking-about-building-my-own-gaming-computer-so-many-questions/930952/244 "2021-06-24T12:28:53Z")
> [@EllisDee](#): > > EDIT: Keeping in mind that the next generation PCIe4 M.2 drives should be yet another noticeable step up in speed. I’m definitely planning to grab an “old” 1 TB M.2 PCIe3 drive for games to plug into my second M.2 slot pretty much as soon as PCIe4 M.2 drives hit shelves. I’m hoping for under $120. I have a couple of SSDs and HDDs in my rig. I am looking askance at the Samsung M.2 PCIe4 drives, the 2 TB has my interest, the $550 price tag is what is keeping my interest low. ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2021, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thinking-about-building-my-own-gaming-computer-so-many-questions/930952/245 "2021-06-24T12:53:07Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > maybe I will go ahead with a larger upgrade this summer than I’d planned. I really am a big fan of the Phanteks Eclipse P300A case I mentioned above and encourage you to check it out ([Newegg link](https://www.newegg.com/black-phanteks-eclipse-p300a-mesh-edition-atx-mid-tower/p/N82E16811854097?Description=phanteks%20eclipse%20p300a&cm_re=phanteks_eclipse%20p300a-_-11-854-097-_-Product&quicklink=true) and also google reviews.) The big strike against it is that it doesn’t come with enough case fans, but the idea is you have case fans in your machine right now you could use. I see the pcpartpicker list I linked above has already gone up $8, from $559 to $567. Looks like the RAM went up $5 and the M.2 drive went up $3. That’s not even the specific RAM you should get anyway (you should match the motherboard speed) so no worries there but the M.2 drive going up $3 is concerning. I’m waiting for that to go _down_ to the $120 range, dangit! ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2021, 1:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thinking-about-building-my-own-gaming-computer-so-many-questions/930952/246 "2021-06-24T13:01:33Z")
> [@FordPrefect](#): > > I have a couple of SSDs and HDDs in my rig. I am looking askance at the Samsung M.2 PCIe4 drives, the 2 TB has my interest, the $550 price tag is what is keeping my interest low. Yikes, that’s painful. I’m kind of glad I unwittingly locked into PCIe3. ---
**Author:** ![FordPrefect](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e99b99/32.png) [@FordPrefect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FordPrefect)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2021, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thinking-about-building-my-own-gaming-computer-so-many-questions/930952/247 "2021-06-24T16:58:04Z")
I have the Phantex P500A black case, came with 2 140mm fans, I had 2 140mm Be Quiet case fans from a previous build. When combined the cooling power of this machine is amazing! My CPU is an AMD 5800X and GPU is an Asus 2070 Super. Between those four fans and my Be Quiet Dark Rock 4 cooler, my CPU and GPU both peaked at under 45 C during a 4 hour Arma3 session last night. Playing Cyberpunk with raytracing turned on, I get closer to low to mid 50s for both. The case has a lot of airflow. ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2021, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thinking-about-building-my-own-gaming-computer-so-many-questions/930952/248 "2021-06-24T17:29:06Z")
Poked around looking for a better RAM suggestion but it’s all essentially the same price (or more!) seemingly regardless of speed. The best fit I found for the above specs is Crucial Ballistix 2x8GB DDR4 2666 for $81 from Amazon ($82 from Newegg) with free shipping from both. Many good reviews, and Crucial is a good brand for ram. (That’s something I regret on my machine: I wish I’d gone with Crucial instead of G.Skill solely for the name. The G.Skill memory I have runs great and G.Skill isn’t a bad name for memory, but I feel Crucial is a better name. They’re all essentially the same price anyway.) One thing I noticed on the motherboard and case combination I’m recommending is that there’s no USB-C port, front or back. If you really need one but like the parts you can always get a cheapo USB-C expansion card. Just like a video card, except it’s for USB ports. Selecting the Crucial ram and also slotting in the phanteks case, [here’s an updated pcpartpicker](https://pcpartpicker.com/list/hDkv9N) list and the current listed prices: | Price | Component | Details | | --- | --- | --- | | $109.99 | Motherboard | MSI MAG B460 Torpedo | | $164.99 | CPU | i5 10400 | | $39.99 | Cooler | Cooler Master 212 Black or RGB | | $80.98 | RAM | 16 GB Crucial Ballistix 2666 | | $159.90 | Hard Drive | 1 TB Samsung Evo Plus 870 M.2 NVMe | | $49.99 | Case | Phanteks Eclipse 300A Mesh | | $605.84 | plus tax | | Now we can watch that link to check price changes over time. Assuming you can salvage the psu and maybe a case fan or two from your existing rig, that’s the entire box. This is what I would get if I were in your position, except I would also spring for a new power supply. (Another $100 probably.) But not quite yet; I would watch these prices to see how they change over the next couple weeks or months, depending how long my patience held out. In hindsight I should have bought the MSI B460 Torpedo motherboard listed above instead of the MSI Z490 Tomahawk I did buy. I’m never going to overclock, and the B460 has the USB-C front port header I coveted. It would have saved me $80 which would have been much better spent on 32 GB ram instead of 16. Oh well, not like I’ve been hurting for ram, but still. EDIT: Note that Newegg is offering a $10 rebate on the case, which is why it’s currently $50 instead of $60. Not sure how long that will last. ---
**Author:** ![Dark\_Sponge](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dark_sponge/32/121_2.png) [@Dark\_Sponge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dark_Sponge)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2021, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thinking-about-building-my-own-gaming-computer-so-many-questions/930952/249 "2021-06-24T18:35:59Z")
I used G.Skill RAM in my very first PC build (maybe 20 years ago?). At that time they were very new to the US and I got it for a steal. It worked great and I’ve always had good luck with it since. I consider them a very reputable memory manufacturer; only a small step down from Crucial. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2021, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thinking-about-building-my-own-gaming-computer-so-many-questions/930952/250 "2021-06-24T19:00:50Z")
Looks like a solid build. The big missing parts here are a power supply and video card (and I would not even try to get a new video card until about a year from now…really). Other extra costs not shown can be thermal paste, Windows 10 license, mouse, keyboard and monitor(s). Perhaps all of those are not needed because the person already has them but you will certainly need a new Windows license for a new PC (unless you are going Linux). ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2021, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thinking-about-building-my-own-gaming-computer-so-many-questions/930952/251 "2021-06-24T22:49:37Z")
> [@EllisDee](#): > > watch these prices to see how they change over the next couple weeks or months …or hours. The M.2 price has already dropped $10. Love to see that. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2021, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thinking-about-building-my-own-gaming-computer-so-many-questions/930952/252 "2021-06-24T23:13:47Z")
Cool! I ran this purchase by my wife (we check before any big buy), and she was like, you never buy anything for yourself, go for it. My kids are out of town the week of July 5, so I think I might buy most of this stuff real soon so I’ll have it here on time. I’ll also need some, whaddya call that silver goo that you use to put a CPU in place, right? I’m also not 100% clear on why I’d need a new case at this point. Is that super important? My current case seems to work reasonably well; what’s the advantage to replacing it? ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2021, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thinking-about-building-my-own-gaming-computer-so-many-questions/930952/253 "2021-06-24T23:17:42Z")
> [@EllisDee](#): > > Even still, I might look for another 8 GB of RAM right now despite knowing you likely won’t be transporting it to the eventual new machine. It can’t be that expensive (I picked up 16 GB for $80 or so) and I think going from 8 GB to 16 GB might yield actual improvement. I wouldn’t focus on 16 Gb of RAM if that’s a deal breaker. On the machine describes the amount of RAM is not the bottleneck. I like the idea of the SSD for this reason. I’m building my rig so that C: is all my programs - PCIE 4.0 M.2 drive. My D: will be all data probably PCIe 3.0 - easy to backup and restore especially if Windows gets so bloated with old program files and my C: has a lot of old programs on it that I want to wipe it and do a clean install. Your SSD could serve the same purpose as a data drive or even a backup drive. > [@EllisDee](#): > > The only other real option is an i5 11600K (11th gen, overclockable) which is 19% faster than the 10400 AND would allow for not having a video card until prices come down as we’ve discussed. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2021, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thinking-about-building-my-own-gaming-computer-so-many-questions/930952/254 "2021-06-25T00:40:30Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > …whaddya call that silver goo that you use to put a CPU in place, right? Thermal paste. I recommend [Arctic Silver 5](https://www.amazon.com/Arctic-Silver-AS5-3-5G-Thermal-Paste/dp/B0087X728K/ref=sr_1_3?dchild=1&keywords=Arctic+Silver+5&qid=1624581598&sr=8-3). > [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > I’m also not 100% clear on why I’d need a new case at this point. It’s all about cooling when it comes to cases. You want good airflow through the machine. A good case will draw cool air in from the front and expel it out the back. Better cases have big fans that do this (bigger fans generally means quieter fans). If your current case does this well then great. No need to change. ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2021, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thinking-about-building-my-own-gaming-computer-so-many-questions/930952/255 "2021-06-25T00:40:55Z")
> [@Saint\_Cad](#): > > AND would allow for not having a video card until prices come down as we’ve discussed. I keep forgetting that the 11600 has a faster iGPU. Fortunately for LHoD he’s got a 1060 3 GB. Not ideal but still blows the doors off onboard chipset. > [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > I’ll also need some, whaddya call that silver goo that you use to put a CPU in place, right? Thermal paste. All coolers come with just enough to apply once, which should (hopefully) be all you need. Probably not top of the line but at a certain point paste is paste, right? You can just plan to use that. > [@](#): > > I’m also not 100% clear on why I’d need a new case at this point. Is that super important? My current case seems to work reasonably well; what’s the advantage to replacing it? No compelling reason, no. If you want to keep your case, by all means do. Keeping your case certainly makes keeping your power supply a no-brainer; we know they already fit together. Upgrading your case would get you a USB 3.0 front port; the case you have only has 2.0. Of course the new motherboard has USB 3.0 back ports (but not Type C) so you can physically plug in a USB 3.0 and get full speed. Just not in the front. heh. I’m looking at your case on Newegg to see if I can spot any issues. Nothing jumps out at me so far except the 2.0 front ports. > **[COOLER MASTER Elite 430 RC-430-KWN1 Black Steel / Plastic Computer Case -...](https://www.newegg.com/cooler-master-elite-430-black-atx-mid-tower/p/N82E16811119227)** > > Buy Cooler Master Elite 430 - Mid Tower Computer Case with All-Black Interior and Windowed Side Panel with fast shipping and top-rated customer service. Once you know, you Newegg! Oh and there’s only one single case fan. You might consider buying a couple more 120s. Two intakes in the front and one exhaust in the back is the generally accepted config, but a single intake on the front is probably fine. I think they might sell 3-packs of cheap fans for like $20, though. Might be worth looking into. EDIT: Actually your case only supports a single front intake which comes with it. So just a single 120m for rear exhaust would complete it. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2021, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thinking-about-building-my-own-gaming-computer-so-many-questions/930952/256 "2021-06-25T00:44:09Z")
> [@EllisDee](#): > > Probably not top of the line but at a certain point paste is paste, right? Nooooooooooo! Some is electrically conductive and some is not. You use the conductive kind and it gets on the contacts that could be very bad news. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2021, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thinking-about-building-my-own-gaming-computer-so-many-questions/930952/257 "2021-06-25T00:46:04Z")
> [@EllisDee](#): > > …at a certain point paste is paste, right? Nope, nope, nope. They are certainly not all created equal. ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2021, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thinking-about-building-my-own-gaming-computer-so-many-questions/930952/258 "2021-06-25T00:48:48Z")
If you apply it properly, the stock paste that comes with the hyper 212 should work fine, though, yes? The danger is if you spill it somewhere it shouldn’t be, and it’s conductive, it could damage what it got spilled onto. But if you don’t spill it, all good? Or is the free paste that comes with any cooler lower quality in terms of heat transfer? ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2021, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thinking-about-building-my-own-gaming-computer-so-many-questions/930952/259 "2021-06-25T00:52:44Z")
It should work fine. Yes. The problem I have seen is almost everyone uses too much and it squishes out the sides. Surprisingly little is actually needed. Way less than the “pea” size you often see quoted (pea size is much, much too big). ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2021, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thinking-about-building-my-own-gaming-computer-so-many-questions/930952/260 "2021-06-25T00:55:50Z")
The biggest advantage of buying a proper tube of paste is if you fuck it up you can just wipe it up and try again. There’s only enough of the free paste to try it once. Fuck that up and you’re SOL until you acquire more paste. As someone said early in this thread, though, if you can put toothpaste on a toothbrush, you can put thermal paste on a cpu. You kind of almost have to try to fuck it up. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2021, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thinking-about-building-my-own-gaming-computer-so-many-questions/930952/261 "2021-06-25T00:57:41Z")
> [@EllisDee](#): > > As someone said early in this thread, though, if you can put toothpaste on a toothbrush, you can put thermal paste on a cpu. You kind of almost have to try to fuck it up. You’d be surprised. (Again, usually it is a problem of using far more than is needed…the flip side is some who do not use any at all.) This: [![](https://www.gamingscan.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/best-thermal-paste-2020.jpg) ](https://www.gamingscan.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/best-thermal-paste-2020.jpg) Not this: [https://www.gamersnexus.net/images/media/2018/cpus/paste/1\_thermalpaste-big-blob-before.jpg](https://www.gamersnexus.net/images/media/2018/cpus/paste/1_thermalpaste-big-blob-before.jpg) Definitely NOT this: [https://www.gamersnexus.net/media/k2/items/cache/62c3ae5069d9ef64887aebb35cff507c\_XL.jpg](https://www.gamersnexus.net/media/k2/items/cache/62c3ae5069d9ef64887aebb35cff507c_XL.jpg) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thinking-about-building-my-own-gaming-computer-so-many-questions/930952.md?page=12) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/thinking-about-building-my-own-gaming-computer-so-many-questions/930952.md?page=14)