New Article: Computer of the Month - March 2020

“Computer of the Month” is a column that is exclusively advisory in nature, and all statements in the articles are supported by evidence in the form of reviews, various tests, personal experience and verified news. The next issue is traditionally released with the support of the computer store "Regard". On the site you can always arrange delivery to any point of our country and pay for the order online. Details can be read at this page. "Regard" among users is famous for quite adequate prices for computer components and a large selection of products. In addition, the store has free assembly service: you make a configuration - employees of the company collect it.

«Regard” is a partner of the rubric, so in the “Computer of the Month” we focus on products that are sold in this particular store. Any build shown in Computer of the Month is just a guideline. Links in the "Computer of the Month" lead to the corresponding categories of goods in the store. In addition, the tables show the current prices at the time of writing, rounded up to a multiple of 500 rubles. Naturally, during the "life cycle" of the material (one month from the date of publication), the cost of certain goods can either increase or decrease. Unfortunately, I cannot correct the tables in the article every day.

For beginners who still can’t decide on their own to “make” a PC for themselves, it turned out detailed step by step guide for assembling the system unit. It turns out that inComputer of the month» I tell you what to assemble a computer from, and in the manual - how to do it.

⇡#Starter Assembly

"Entrance ticket" to the world of modern PC games. The system will allow you to play all AAA projects in Full HD resolution, mainly at high graphics quality settings, but sometimes you will have to set medium ones. Such systems do not have a serious margin of safety (for the next 2-3 years), are replete with compromises, need to be upgraded, but also cost less than other configurations.

For a month now, the starting assembly in the rubric has been represented exclusively by the AM4 platform. Previously, the Ryzen 5 1600 competed with the Core i3-9100F - in March, this chip costs 6 rubles. However, as you understand, the competition turns out to be unequal, because the 000-core is opposed to the 4-thread "red" chip. I have already noted that the imminent arrival of the LGA12 platform makes, in my opinion, pointless purchase of a system based on the LGA1200-v1151 platform - in principle, this applies to any assembly of Intel's "Computer of the Month" in March. And that's why.

So, in order to somehow save money, you have to take a 4-core Core i3-9100F chip and a cheap ASRock H310M-HDV-level board. Such a set, together with the Radeon RX 570, turns out to be quite consistent in modern games, but the system simply has no future. Here you want to change the central processor, but there will be no more new models for the LGA1151-v2 platform. ASRock official website states that H310M-HDV also supports 8-core Core i9 models, but I would not dare to install such a chip in such a board. We held in 2018 testing five H310 motherboards - some of them did not provide stable operation even for the 6-core Core i5-8400. It turns out that 6-core non-overclockable Intel chips are the ceiling for motherboards costing 4-6 thousand rubles.

Boards based on the H310 Express chipset do not have a full-fledged M.2 connector, which has four PCI Express 3.0 lanes. That is, in the era of fast NVMe drives, we are faced with a big disadvantage of the platform. And the H310 Express and other lower chipsets for the LGA1151-v2 platform do not allow the use of fast RAM in the system.

Of course, we can use a board based on the Z370/Z390 Express chipset in the starter assembly. In this case, AMD and Intel systems would be equal in price. But the main question lies precisely in the processor and its subsequent replacement. I constantly study the offers of such sites as Avito, and I see that even "shabby" Intel chips cost an inadequate amount. Will the same Core i7-8700 become cheaper after the release of Comet Lake-S processors? Personally, I highly doubt it.

It turns out that now it's easier (and more efficient) to add a little and take the Core i5-9400F along with the motherboard, if we are talking exclusively about the Intel platform. Therefore, replacing a 4-core Core i3 with a 6- or 8-core model will not be very profitable. It's better to take something at the base right away LGA1200 platforms.

And this is one of the reasons why only one system is now presented in the launch assembly. As a matter of fact, the AM4 platform, or rather its advantages over LGA1151-v2, is the second reason.

At the same time, an MSI B450M PRO-VDH MAX class motherboard is recommended for the AMD starter build, although we could save at least 1 rubles. I advise you to take such a device solely for the sake of reinsurance. Already at the end of the year, Ryzen 000 chips will be presented. With a probability of 4000%, commercially available boards will support them. Therefore, nothing will stop you, for example, in 99 from upgrading the Ryzen 2021 5 to something noticeably more productive. For the same purpose, the “OEM processor + tower cooler” kit is recommended in the assembly. So you can take the “boxed” version of the Ryzen 1600 5 and save another 1600 rubles.

By the way, I remind you that you need to take a model marked YD1600BBAFBOX or YD1600BBM6IAF - these chips use the B2 stepping. In fact, under the name Ryzen 5 1600, the “reds” sell the version of Ryzen 5 2600. By the way, you can even take the Ryzen 5 2600 into the starting assembly, this chip costs only 500 rubles more. Here, as you yourself understand, it is necessary to build on what a particular store in which you purchase components can offer.

Last month, a Radeon RX 580 8 GB video card was used in the launch assembly - some models in Regard cost about 12 rubles. However, in March, they are already asking for 500 rubles for such an adapter - apparently, the demand for it is still high. Well, in my opinion, now it is more appropriate to return to the Radeon RX 14 - we save 000 rubles, but lose about 570% in performance.

Interestingly, the most affordable versions of the GeForce GTX 1650 SUPER cost at least 13 rubles. I can only recommend this video card to those who mainly play undemanding multiplayer projects - games that need 000 GB of VRAM. In the case of AAA class games, it is better to use accelerators with 4 or 6 GB of video memory. This topic is discussed in detail in the articleHow much video memory do modern games need". So, when using the maximum graphics quality in Full HD resolution, more than four gigabytes of VRAM is required for such games as Battlefield V, GTA V, Watch Dogs 2, Red Dead Redemption 2, Total War Three Kingdoms, HITMAN 2, Assassin's Creed Odyssey, Far Cry: New Dawn, Metro: Exodus, Deus Ex: Mankind Divided and Shadow of the Tomb Raider. But the GeForce GTX 1650 SUPER GPU is able to provide comfortable FPS in these programs.

Usually, as part of the starting assembly, I talk about even cheaper options for system units. However, preparations will soon begin for the corresponding special issue of Computer of the Month, in which we will see what you can buy in a store with, say, 30 rubles or less in your pocket. We will find out how such a system can be improved over time, and also compare its performance with the configuration of the "Computer of the Month". So I will refrain from commenting on this topic in the current issue.

⇡#Basic Assembly

With such a PC, you can safely play the next couple of years in all modern games in Full HD resolution at high and maximum graphics quality settings.

To be honest, I had a desire to bypass all Intel builds in the March issue. The reason is clear: hardware for the LGA1200 platform will soon go on sale. I outlined my arguments regarding the starting assembly - in the described situation and at the moment, the AM4 platform simply does not have normal competition.

However, among the readers there are many people who need a new assembly here and now. I will not go into details, but there are still many people who want to build mid-range gaming PCs on the Intel platform - it's not just that the 6-core Core i5-9400F is listed as one of the best-selling chips in our country. For such users, the advice to wait (or take Ryzen) is not good. So in the basic, optimal, advanced and maximum assemblies, configurations based on the LGA1151-v2 platform are presented - and, possibly, will be presented right up to June.

In March, the LGA1200 platform and Comet Lake-S chips will not be presented - this is well-known information. According to our data, Intel's new products will be released in April, but now in no case can you guess anything for sure. The coronavirus is raging on the planet, which greatly affects the IT industry. The timing of the announcement of 14-nanometer "comets" may change.

Let's say that in April Comet Lake-S chips will still be officially presented, and with them the chipsets for the LGA1200 platform. In May, they will be on sale, but at first they will be sold at inflated prices. And only in June-July it will be possible to talk about lower prices and about the adequate cost of these chips. It turns out that the LGA1151-v2 platform will still be considered relevant until at least the summer.

By the way, apparently, we are waiting for fun spring days. Our wallets are already suffering because of the epidemic: iron is becoming more expensive, and this is just the beginning.

In comparison with the previous release, the basic assembly has not changed much. The Intel configuration underwent some perturbations, because I removed the Z-chipset board from the system and installed DDR4-2666 memory, since sets with a higher frequency of motherboards based on the B360 / B365 Express logic simply do not support. The most inexpensive Z390 board for the LGA1151-v2 platform in Regard costs 8 rubles - rounding off. We are talking about devices of the ASRock Z000 Phantom Gaming 390S and Gigabyte Z4 UD class - to be honest, I would not dare to install overclockable processors and 390-core processors on such boards. But with the Core i8-5F everything will be fine. 

Note that changing from DDR4-3200 to DDR4-2666 didn't save us much money. Indeed, the difference in price between such sets of RAM can be called minimal and imperceptible (by the standards of the base assembly, of course). This fact was shown in the articleWhat kind of RAM does a gaming computer need in 2020 (and in 2021 too)". In it, I also tested the base Intel assembly using various RAM. In the test bench with the Core i5-9400F and GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER, the system with the dual-channel 4 GB DDR3200-16 kit outperformed the analog with the DDR4-2666 kit by 9% at best, although the average difference was 1-2 FPS. So this configuration is not really needed and faster memory is needed. A more noticeable difference (and much more often) is observed in the case of replacing the GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER with the Radeon RX 5700 - here it is already worth considering buying a motherboard based on the Z390 Express chipset and a set of high-frequency "brains", respectively.

As always, I remind you that even in 2020, there is a chance that you will buy a motherboard based on B350 / B450 chipsets that will not support Ryzen 3000 chips, as they are commonly called, out of the box. There is nothing wrong with this, because you can update the BIOS version yourself, armed with a first or second generation Ryzen processor. Or ask to do it in the warranty department of the store where the board was purchased. Make sure your board supports the new Ryzen processors before you buy! This is done simply: in the search, drive in the name of the device, go to the manufacturer's website and open the "Support" tab. The same words are relevant for the LGA1151-v2 platform and Coffee Lake Refresh processors.

The Radeon RX 590 has practically disappeared from sale, but for 16-17 thousand rubles you can take the Radeon RX 5500 XT - it is a little faster, but noticeably quieter, colder and more energy efficient than its "sister". True, AMD's new 8 GB inferior to the GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER by an average of 25%, and this is a weighty argument in favor of an NVIDIA video card.

Interestingly, many different versions of the Radeon RX 5600 XT have appeared on sale - their cost varies from 23 to 500 rubles. Our tests showthat the “red” video card is 23% ahead of the Radeon RX 5500 XT and 7% ahead of the GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER. Is it worth overpaying 6 rubles for such a meager performance boost? Probably not. 

By the way, the release of the Radeon RX 5600 XT formally - on paper - helped to reduce the price of the GeForce RTX 2060. In reality, however, everything is a little different: in February this video card could be snatched for 23 rubles, but now it costs 000 rubles. Maybe somewhere the GeForce RTX 24 has fallen in price, but obviously not with us ...

About cases: a review of the case has been released on our website Aero Cool Aero One - at a price of 3 rubles, we got an inexpensive, but quite high-quality housing for components for that kind of money. Here is a model with good ventilation of internal components. The case was short and narrow, but still accommodates tall tower coolers and liquid cooling systems. The disadvantages of AeroCool Aero One include the use of thin metal and manual fan speed control.

⇡#Optimal Assembly

A system that, in most cases, is able to run this or that game at the maximum graphics quality settings in WQHD resolution.

The Core i5-9500F processor was not on sale at the time of this writing, so in March I put the same Core i5-9400F into the optimal assembly. Let me remind you that when all six cores are loaded, the frequency difference between these chips reaches 300 MHz.

It turns out that the optimal assembly (either AMD or Intel) uses the same CPUs as in the base assembly. Is it possible to install something better than the Core i5-9400F in an Intel system? The Core i5-9600KF model costs 16 rubles, when loaded with all six cores, it runs at a frequency of 000 GHz, which is 4,3 MHz more than the Core i400-5F. In my opinion, the overpayment is unjustified, even though the chip has an unlocked multiplier. It is very possible to use overclocking in the case of a K-processor, but then you will have to take a more efficient cooler and a better motherboard - this approach will inflate the assembly budget not by 9400 thousand rubles, but by at least 4,5-8. Expensive, I think. Here it would be better to switch to 10 cores, only the Core i8-7F has seriously risen in price over the past month and now costs 9700 rubles.

With the choice of Ryzen 5 3600, everything is also clear. Switching to the Ryzen 5 3600X doesn't make much sense, as both chips run at nearly the same clock speeds and are nearly impossible to overclock. Buying a Ryzen 7 2700X looks unjustified - we have already discussed this point several times. The Ryzen 7 3700X also costs significantly more than all the listed 6-core CPUs - it belongs in the advanced assembly.

In the previous paragraph, I talked about the Radeon RX 5600 XT and GeForce RTX 2060, which cost at least 23-24 thousand, but, really, it’s better to save up and take the Radeon RX 5700 - although the Gigabyte GV-R57GAMING OC-8GD model is in Regard 27 500 rubles. Oh, everything goes to the fact that already in April the initial builds will be radically revised, because the increase in prices, according to the editors of 3DNews, will only continue. The fact is that distributors are afraid of the consequences that accompany the market after the mining boom. Therefore, they are in no hurry to ship goods in sufficient quantities to retail stores. Lack of production leads to its rise in price, of course.

The most inexpensive GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER costs 29 rubles - it is only 500% faster than the Radeon RX 5700, but it supports ray tracing at the hardware level. Unlike the regular GeForce RTX 5, its SUPER version has a faster chip and an additional 2060GB of memory, allowing you to try out the DXR feature in modern games.

And yes, you can safely install the GeForce RTX 2060 SUPER and Radeon RX 5700 in the base assembly and save on other components.

Source: 3dnews.ru