Budget gaming PC upgrade - 45k

K

1. What is the purpose of the computer? What all applications and games are you going to run? (Be exact. Which games? Which applications? Avoid the word 'et cetera.' Vague answers like 'gaming' or 'office work' will not work.)
Ans: 1080p gaming

2. What is your overall budget? If you can extend a bit for a more balanced configuration, then please mention.
Ans: 45k

3. Planning to overclock?
Ans: No

4. Which Operating System are you planning to use?
Ans: win 10

5. How much hard drive / solid-state drive space is needed?
Ans: Hope 1tb ssd is good to start with

6. Do you want to buy a monitor? If yes, please mention the screen size and resolution you prefer. If you already have a monitor and want to reuse it, then do mention the screen size and resolution of the monitor you have.
Ans: No, plan to use existing 1080p 23 inch

7. Which components you DON'T want to buy? i.e. which components you already have and plan on reusing?
Ans: Corsair carbide 500R cabinet, Corsair GS 600 psu hopefully, keyboard (need to get a mouse though)

8. When are you planning to buy the system?
Ans: within a couple of weeks

9. Have you ever built a desktop before? Or, will this be done by an assembler?
Ans: assembler

10. Where do you live? Are you buying locally? Are you open to buying stuff from online shops if you don't get locally?
Ans: Chennai, not inclined towards online buy

11. Anything else which you would like to say?
Ans: would be helpful if someone could refer a good retailer/independent assembler to put together the pc at my place

I'm pretty sure you will get inflated prices in Chennai. IMO visit theitdepot, no other Chennai seller is competitive AFAIK. Also 45k is too low of a budget for even a 1080p gaming machine that will run games for a few years. I will prefer at least a system that's as powerful as PS5 as games will be designed with PS5 in mind. It will cost 60-65k IMO.

You will have to buy used parts, again tough to get everything you want locally.

Get these new, use your existing cabinet & PSU :
pcpricetracker.in/b/s/6cf51598-5220-4e45-93cf-b60526f54f86

Cost - 32k

Buy a used RX 6600 for 11-13k, my friend bought one few weeks back for 11k + shipping from this guy:
www.facebook.com/groups/1475837842655662/user/100001517668490/
There are many such fb groups & even TE forum to find used GPUs. New RX 6600 is like 20k.

For all new parts:
pcpricetracker.in/b/s/fa462ea7-a338-4dfe-99ac-2ecb5febbe2b

Neither system will boot without dGPU because CPU lacks iGPU.

PCStudio is Ankit Infotech at Bengaluru.

Your PSU isn't good, is not even 80+ bronze rated. So upgrade that to Deepcool PM650D for 5k when you can.

K

Thank you for the inputs ! I’m looking for all new components only.. could you pls suggest an AMD build instead of intel..
Hopefully my psu can handle a ryzen and 6600 without any additional fancy cooling tech..

Heard micro atx boards are less preferred than atx one’s due to heating issues. Should I stick onto atx boards then since I do not have any additional cooling solution apart from the default cabinet fans at the rear and side..

Lastly, is it possible to sell my used components for instant cash anywhere or is the 500 rupees scrap rate disposal my only option..

karthik316_1999 said:
Thank you for the inputs ! I’m looking for all new components only.. could you pls suggest an AMD build instead of intel..
Hopefully my psu can handle a ryzen and 6600 without any additional fancy cooling tech..

Heard micro atx boards are less preferred than atx one’s due to heating issues. Should I stick onto atx boards then since I do not have any additional cooling solution apart from the default cabinet fans at the rear and side..

Lastly, is it possible to sell my used components for instant cash anywhere or is the 500 rupees scrap rate disposal my only option..

For everything new, a good Ryzen build is not possible for your budget, whatever is possible will perform worse than i3 12100 in games. R5 5600 is the cheapest Ryzen CPU that I will recommend, better than i3, but costs more as well. Also, RX 6600 has PCIe 4.0 x8 lanes, so it will be throttled a bit on PCIe 3.0 GPU slot of cheap B450 mobos for Ryzen. Your call on what to do.
pcpricetracker.in/b/s/85082a9f-6840-412c-a69a-0f34da126844

What you heard on mATX vs ATX is entirely wrong. CPU temp is no way dependent on mobo. There can be mATX/ATX mobos with poor quality VRM which will overheat (VRM) and/or throttle the CPU.

TechEnclave forum & FB groups are the used marketplace.

K

Considering the spend on a new gpu, I would prefer not to waste its potential.. could you suggest a good reliable ASUS mobo to go with, that does not throttle the config in anyway..

CPU - how about the ryzen 5 3600 if in case I’m able to source it.. (heard this one is the best VFM).. or will it be a bottleneck in anyway..

RAM - Do I really need to go with 32gb of RAM.. I was thinking to opt for corsair vengeance 2x8gb sticks unless u say they won’t do..

SSD - can I opt the WD blue SN580 (which also won the digit best buy awards :d ) or does the black SN770 have anything in specific to make it a ‘must buy’..

(just trying to save some money if possible without any bottlenecks of course since the new mobo is going to be expensive)

Thanks a bunch for your time and patiently assisting me on all my queries !

karthik316_1999 said:
Considering the spend on a new gpu, I would prefer not to waste its potential.. could you suggest a good reliable ASUS mobo to go with, that does not throttle the config in anyway..

CPU - how about the ryzen 5 3600 if in case I’m able to source it.. (heard this one is the best VFM).. or will it be a bottleneck in anyway..

RAM - Do I really need to go with 32gb of RAM.. I was thinking to opt for corsair vengeance 2x8gb sticks unless u say they won’t do..

SSD - can I opt the WD blue SN580 (which also won the digit best buy awards :d ) or does the black SN770 have anything in specific to make it a ‘must buy’..

(just trying to save some money if possible without any bottlenecks of course since the new mobo is going to be expensive)

Thanks a bunch for your time and patiently assisting me on all my queries !

As I said, anything below R5 5600 can't match or outperform i3 12100F in games, including R5 3600 or even R9 3950X because of older architecture.

RAM - yes, you got just 2 slots, there are a few games already that need 16GB as minimum requirement

SSD - PS5 SSD is faster than SN580, so not worth saving a few hundred. SN580 needs to be under 5k.If you want to, can do it, not a major deal

New games will be made with PS5 specs in mind & RX 6600 is a bit inferior to PS5's GPU. You can go the used route to save money & get better parts.

K

Thank you, I guess I have got a reasonable clarity on the build now.. Could you suggest a good ASUS mobo that will not throttle the gpu?

karthik316_1999 said:
Thank you, I guess I have got a reasonable clarity on the build now.. Could you suggest a good ASUS mobo that will not throttle the gpu?

You need B550 mobo, if going AMD to get PCIe 4.0 GPU slot. Cheapest B550 that I recommend is MSI B550M Pro VDH WiFi for 10.5k or so. Pair that with R5 5600 for 13k, you will overshoot your budget easily.

K

Can you opine on this one please ?

*www.asus.com/in/motherboards-components/motherboards/prime/prime-b550-plus/

karthik316_1999 said:
Can you opine on this one please ?

**www.asus.com/in/motherboards-components/motherboards/prime/prime-b550-plus/

Lacks WiFi & BT, more importantly, not the best VRMs. That mobo & Prime B550M A seem to have same VRMs but I can neither prove nor disprove this.

Why take the risk when you can get a superior mobo at similar or cheaper price?

The VRM will not throttle the CPU performance for a R5 5600 for sure as R5 5600 draws much lower power. So if you want to, can buy that mobo.

K

Thank you for that.. now looks like the asus 6600 is no longer available at the itdepot.. not sure if the other brands are reliable or should I start looking the GeForce way?

karthik316_1999 said:
Thank you for that.. now looks like the asus 6600 is no longer available at the itdepot.. not sure if the other brands are reliable or should I start looking the GeForce way?

No, unless you are buying used 3060Ti with 1 year warranty for 18k or so, 3050 is very bad for the price. Among Sapphire & AsRock, I will pick Sapphire. But ideally try for Asus, MSI or Gigabyte ones.

RTX 3060 12GB is good at 25k but is 25k.

K

GS600 good to handle 3060?

karthik316_1999 said:
GS600 good to handle 3060?

Your PSU isn't good, is not even 80+ bronze rated. So upgrade that to Deepcool PM650D for 5k when you can.

K

Before I set out to purchase the components, wanted to clarify if my existing 1080p 60Hz monitor will in anyway be a bottleneck for the new system?
If the monitor is not capable of displaying anything more than 60 fps, will I need to limit my spend on the new GPU accordingly?

karthik316_1999 said:
Before I set out to purchase the components, wanted to clarify if my existing 1080p 60Hz monitor will in anyway be a bottleneck for the new system?
If the monitor is not capable of displaying anything more than 60 fps, will I need to limit my spend on the new GPU accordingly?

Buy a new monitor after some time, Acer VG240Ys costs under 10k frequently. Most likely this will be better in terms of colour reproduction, etc as well, so even movies will look bit better (much better if you have a TN panel now)

There will be a mix of games where you can or cannot cross 60fps easily.

K

Buying a new monitor in the near future is unfortunately not possible since I have purchased the current one just a few months back

after my previous monitor died..
Currently own a Benq GW 2480T with an IPS panel..

Do you mean to say I can still cross 60 FPS with my current 60Hz panel?

Just wanted to know if I can downgrade from a rx 6600 (that was planned) due to this refresh rate / FPS issue

karthik316_1999 said:
Buying a new monitor in the near future is unfortunately not possible since I have purchased the current one just a few months back after my previous monitor died..
Currently own a Benq GW 2480T with an IPS panel..

Do you mean to say I can still cross 60 FPS with my current 60Hz panel?

Just wanted to know if I can downgrade from a rx 6600 (that was planned) due to this refresh rate / FPS issue

Yes, that was never going to be an issue.

No do not downgrade below RX6600! If its powerful enough for the games you play as of now then it will serve you fine for few years at medium settings.

TheSloth said:
No do not downgrade below RX6600! If its powerful enough for the games you play as of now then it will serve you fine for few years at medium settings.

+1

There will more games like Alan Wake 2 & Starfield in future in terms of requirements & poor optimisation:

K

Looks like itdepot no longer has a showroom and only ships products with no assembly assistance as well unfortunately…

Will try to check availability locally and get back with the quote..

K

Finalising the upgrade with the below config @ 52k..
5600
B550M pro vdh wifi
16gb Corsair vengeance (will add another 16gb later basis the need, in case)
SN770 1tb
Asus rx6600

Hope this is good to go?

karthik316_1999 said:
Finalising the upgrade with the below config @ 52k..
5600
B550M pro vdh wifi
16gb Corsair vengeance (will add another 16gb later basis the need, in case)
SN770 1tb
Asus rx6600

Hope this is good to go?

Good

Prices that you are getting?

K

Individual pricing they said will be given at the time of billing..
The overall price seemed to be matching with the guidelines here.. hence thought of proceeding..
Will post the prices here once I get the build done..
Thank you both for all the wonderful assistance !

One last basic question: When it comes to a basic wireless mouse, should I pick Logitech/Dell/any other from a value for money standpoint..

karthik316_1999 said:
Individual pricing they said will be given at the time of billing..
The overall price seemed to be matching with the guidelines here.. hence thought of proceeding..
Will post the prices here once I get the build done..
Thank you both for all the wonderful assistance !

One last basic question: When it comes to a basic wireless mouse, should I pick Logitech/Dell/any other from a value for money standpoint..

Just calculated prices, 52k seems good. Just make sure it is with tax.

Any basic wireless mouse from Dell, Logitech, Lenovo or HP will do IMO, costs 500 or so.

K

Sure, will check on the same..

This logitech mouse at 1.1k sort of looks good

*www.logitech.com/en-in/products/mice/m331-silent-plus-mouse.910-004914.html

karthik316_1999 said:
Sure, will check on the same..

This logitech mouse at 1.1k sort of looks good

**www.logitech.com/en-in/products/mice/m331-silent-plus-mouse.910-004914.html

Your call

K

Adding to the expense, my apc 1000va ups was just declared dead with a pcb fault by the service personnel..

Quoted 6.5k for a refurbished unit or 11.5k for a new one.. maybe its time for me to move out of the apc family..
Can i get a good suggestion for a new ups with a va rating that would provide just about 10-15 mins of backup for this new config please?
Sorry about the growing number of questions here !

karthik316_1999 said:
Adding to the expense, my apc 1000va ups was just declared dead with a pcb fault by the service personnel..
Quoted 6.5k for a refurbished unit or 11.5k for a new one.. maybe its time for me to move out of the apc family..
Can i get a good suggestion for a new ups with a va rating that would provide just about 10-15 mins of backup for this new config please?
Sorry about the growing number of questions here !

I bought a new APC BX1100 for under 6k from amazon after card offers. Close to 2 years now, it lasts 15-20mins for web browsing & stuff, about 5mins for gaming. This is with a 1440p monitor which draws 25W.

Maybe look into a pure sinwave 1.5kVa inverter, will cost 25k though.

K

Oh no! I can't even think of spending that much for an ups right now..
May I know how much wattage will my new setup draw, based on which I could decide the most minimum ups capacity in 'va'.. I'm hoping that a 500va or less will suffice..
P.S: My current ups br1000g used to offer a whopping 30-40 mins even at heavy gaming..

karthik316_1999 said:
Adding to the expense, my apc 1000va ups was just declared dead with a pcb fault by the service personnel..
Quoted 6.5k for a refurbished unit or 11.5k for a new one.. maybe its time for me to move out of the apc family..
Can i get a good suggestion for a new ups with a va rating that would provide just about 10-15 mins of backup for this new config please?
Sorry about the growing number of questions here !

which model of APC ups was that? how old was it when it failed?

karthik316_1999 said:
Oh no! I can't even think of spending that much for an ups right now..
May I know how much wattage will my new setup draw, based on which I could decide the most minimum ups capacity in 'va'.. I'm hoping that a 500va or less will suffice..
P.S: My current ups br1000g used to offer a whopping 30-40 mins even at heavy gaming..

600Va will not suffice for any proper gaming rig, maybe will be fine for a sub 100W GPU rig for 1-2 min while gaming. Problem is it will trip while gaming on most rigs. My rig with monitor consumes ~400W, so yours might be ~350W with 1080p 24" monitor. Also power draw will fluctuate a bit.

K

quicky008 said:
which model of APC ups was that? how old was it when it failed?

Br1000g in is the model. Purchased in 2016 and put to use until around 2021. Unused for an year or so and failed to power on now

K

omega44-xt said:
600Va will not suffice for any proper gaming rig, maybe will be fine for a sub 100W GPU rig for 1-2 min while gaming. Problem is it will trip while gaming on most rigs. My rig with monitor consumes ~400W, so yours might be ~350W with 1080p 24" monitor. Also power draw will fluctuate a bit.

Okay then looks like opting for a refurbished unit is my only option..

I have a cooler master hyper 212 cpu cooler in use with my current phenom ii x4 955 cpu. Can this cooler be put to use on the ryzen 5?

Also, the fact that the pc will not turn on without a gpu scares me a bit.. just curious though.. which would be my go to cpu for an integrated graphics? (Just as a back up display option, leaving rest of the config as it is I guess)

karthik316_1999 said:
Okay then looks like opting for a refurbished unit is my only option..

I have a cooler master hyper 212 cpu cooler in use with my current phenom ii x4 955 cpu. Can this cooler be put to use on the ryzen 5?

Also, the fact that the pc will not turn on without a gpu scares me a bit.. just curious though.. which would be my go to cpu for an integrated graphics? (Just as a back up display option, leaving rest of the config as it is I guess)

Check if CM sells bracket for it, if not buy Deepcool AG400 for 1.8k. Can use stock cooler in the meantime.

The i5 12400 is good & iGPU was the reason I picked it over R5 5600X about 2 years ago. Both performed similarly & was priced similarly back then. But it costs more than R5 5600 now & mobo prices are more for Intel, so will have to sacrifice on mobo side.
pcpricetracker.in/b/s/78b797c9-331f-489f-9406-4d730fa7fc51

This mobo has 2x RAM slots, but if you plan to use 2x 16GB sticks, not a big issue for gamers for 4-5 years IMO.

K

Pardon my ignorance here.. will my current gpu (msi cyclone radeon hd6850) fit into the b550m pro vdh wifi? (Just as a backup display option if needed in future..)

yes it will work

Did apc offer you any option to replace the faulty pcb of your ups with a new one?Or was replacing the whole unit their only suggestion?

K

Great then, i’ll go ahead with the Ryzen config as planned !

Replacement of the unit was their only suggestion.. seems that’s their way for both in warranty and out of warranty cases

K

Should I go for windows 10 or 11 ?

K

Thanks for all the help.. The build is finally complete..!
Cpu@13k, mobo@10k, ram@3.1k, ssd@6.5k, gpu@19.75k

Good selection,do share images of your setup after completing the build.

karthik316_1999 said:
Should I go for windows 10 or 11 ?

I prefer Win10 over Win11

K

quicky008 said:
Good selection,do share images of your setup after completing the build.

The cabinet is still an old one, so will try as there is nothing special/fancy about it !

K

omega44-xt said:
I prefer Win10 over Win11

Windows 10 it was !

The fan on the 6600 switches on only when needed?

depends on whether the fans have a freeze/fan stop feature when temps go below a certain threshold-not all cards have this feature.

karthik316_1999 said:
Windows 10 it was !

The fan on the 6600 switches on only when needed?

Depends on the GPU model. My Zotac 3070 AMP has a fan stop option & usually starts the fan when temp crosses 60C. Usually my GPU runs at 55-58C or so at idle though as fans are turned off. But this helps with the dust situation a lot.

I wanted a similar fan stop on my case fans, it does work but sometimes the fan doesn't start even when the temp has crossed the limit specified by me in Gigabyte's software (Gigabyte mobo). 1 day I played a game for almost 45mins with no case fans running, just CPU cooler & GPU fans, it did get hot. So I have kept fan speeds as slow, like under 300RPM for exhaust & under 600RPM for intake, even while gaming the fans stay under 1000RPM & I get 60C for CPU & 70C for GPU.

K

The vendor opined that all psu/gpu fans these days start up only when it gets hot..
So wanted to check if that’s the case with the Asus dual.. Guess the only way for me to know is to run a stress test and check the fans manually or is there any software that can do that for us?

Also, is there a way for us to clear the accumulated dust from underneath the gpu fan casing maybe by removing the casing off?
(Was shocked to see the amount of dust on the hyper 212 yesterday when the old pc was disassembled)

karthik316_1999 said:
The vendor opined that all psu/gpu fans these days start up only when it gets hot..
So wanted to check if that’s the case with the Asus dual.. Guess the only way for me to know is to run a stress test and check the fans manually or is there any software that can do that for us?

Also, is there a way for us to clear the accumulated dust from underneath the gpu fan casing maybe by removing the casing off?
(Was shocked to see the amount of dust on the hyper 212 yesterday when the old pc was disassembled)

You know, specifications & marketing materials exist for a reason. Asus dual has it.

For case fans, non PWM fans run at constant RPM when powered on. So I look for PWM fans, if possible with PST.

Yes, people disassemble their GPUs after 3 years or so to clean dust & repaste it. My PC is almost 2 years old, the way its thermals are right now, I doubt I will do it anytime soon. Same for CPU cooler. I just clean dust on front mesh every few months. I deep cleaned my PC a year ago, I'm too lazy to do it again as temps are fine even though dust is accumulating inside.

@karthik316_1999 hope you didn't buy that m331 logitech mouse. I used it in the past and it lasted about an year, and started getting double click issues. Do not spend 1k on that mouse. Try cheaper options, if the quality you get is only subpar.

TheSloth said:
@karthik316_1999 hope you didn't buy that m331 logitech mouse. I used it in the past and it lasted about an year, and started getting double click issues. Do not spend 1k on that mouse. Try cheaper options, if the quality you get is only subpar.

Yes,,,Avoid logitech on spend above 1k...try below any other equivalent brand

K

I got the m331 indeed..

Ah! I was late. No worries. if you see even a little issue, claim the warranty before it ends.