A year and a bit ago, you chose Kerm's new laptop, and two years ago you (let's be honest, Tari) guided me towards a new GPU for my desktop. Now my desktop and its 9-year-old CPU and/or motherboard have bit the dust, and I'm going to get myself a new motherboard + CPU + memory.
First, some background. A few months ago, I was using my desktop normally, and it randomly shut off. "Weird," I thought. I tried turning it back on; no dice. I unplugged it and plugged it back in, no dice. The only thing that would happen was a click from the PSU. I pulled the PSU and tried the "paperclip trick", same thing. Undeterred, I RMA'd my EVGA PSU, and a few weeks later, a "new" one arrived. However, to my significant surprise, even this didn't do the trick. The computer would whir to life, various LEDs on the motherboard would flash, but a second or so after the CPU fan started to spin, the whole thing would power off. Applying some debugging knowledge to try to find a MWE, I disconnected all my SATA devices: same thing. I pulled half of my RAM, then swapped it for the other two sticks: same thing. I even removed my GPU: same thing. Therefore, I now fear that my PSU's misadventure fried my motherboard (and I'm slightly concerned about whether it may have take other components, like my GPU and my storage devices, with it, although I know from testing that at least one of the HDDs is just fine).
As one does, I headed over to PCP Art Picker, and tried out its various build guides. In fact, I see that its various types of AMD options, from moderate to enthusiast, all spec out the same CPU + motherboard + RAM:
PCPartPicker Part List: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/RtFhK3
Total: $559.95
Opinions on this? Could I do better? And I'll almost certainly double that RAM, possibly with 16GB sticks to give myself room for the future.
First, some background. A few months ago, I was using my desktop normally, and it randomly shut off. "Weird," I thought. I tried turning it back on; no dice. I unplugged it and plugged it back in, no dice. The only thing that would happen was a click from the PSU. I pulled the PSU and tried the "paperclip trick", same thing. Undeterred, I RMA'd my EVGA PSU, and a few weeks later, a "new" one arrived. However, to my significant surprise, even this didn't do the trick. The computer would whir to life, various LEDs on the motherboard would flash, but a second or so after the CPU fan started to spin, the whole thing would power off. Applying some debugging knowledge to try to find a MWE, I disconnected all my SATA devices: same thing. I pulled half of my RAM, then swapped it for the other two sticks: same thing. I even removed my GPU: same thing. Therefore, I now fear that my PSU's misadventure fried my motherboard (and I'm slightly concerned about whether it may have take other components, like my GPU and my storage devices, with it, although I know from testing that at least one of the HDDs is just fine).
As one does, I headed over to PCP Art Picker, and tried out its various build guides. In fact, I see that its various types of AMD options, from moderate to enthusiast, all spec out the same CPU + motherboard + RAM:
PCPartPicker Part List: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/RtFhK3
- CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 5600X 3.7 GHz 6-Core Processor ($299.99 @ B&H)
- CPU Cooler: Scythe FUMA 2 51.17 CFM CPU Cooler ($59.99 @ Amazon)
- Motherboard: *MSI B550-A PRO ATX AM4 Motherboard ($129.99 @ Amazon)
- Memory: *Crucial Ballistix 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3600 CL16 Memory ($69.98 @ Amazon)
Total: $559.95
Opinions on this? Could I do better? And I'll almost certainly double that RAM, possibly with 16GB sticks to give myself room for the future.