Building a small multimedia performance PC

[Nolan Thomas]

Hey yall!

I'm looking to build a small, cheapish "gaming" pc to use as a live multimedia performance beast. I recently got a refurbished Alienware Alpha R2, but it bricked after about a week of use, and I'm returning it instead of getting it fixed cuz I realized it wasn't ideal for my intended uses anyway (hdmi IN? only optical audio out? wtf come on). I was looking into the Intel NUC8i7HNK, which is appealing because of all the different ports it has, but $700 then needing to add RAM and SSD seems a bit much. Also I HATE that skull. 

Anyway, using userbenchmark.com I put together one that might be around the price of the Alienware yet significantly more powerful than it or the NUC. I've never built a PC before and this seems maybe too good to be true-- soooooo, I wanted to see if anyone experienced with these things could take a look at my build and give any advice. How much additional costs might there be to really build it? (i'd probs make my own case for it). Would this even work?  UserBenchmark seems to only show parts that are compatible with the other selected components but I haven't found anywhere where it actually says that for sure.  So here it is:

[url=https://www.userbenchmark.com/PCBuilder/Custom/S57770-M264514.153864.494033.43831vsS0-M]Userbenchmark PC Build Comparison[/url]

Baseline Bench: Game 72%, Desk 105%, Work 80%

CPU: [url=https://cpu.userbenchmark.com/AMD-Ryzen-5-1600X/Rating/3920]AMD Ryzen 5 1600X[/url] $158

GPU: [url=https://gpu.userbenchmark.com/Nvidia-GTX-1060-6GB/Rating/3639]Nvidia GTX 1060-6GB[/url] $250

SSD: [url=https://ssd.userbenchmark.com/SpeedTest/494033/Samsung-SSD-970-EVO-250GB]Samsung 970 Evo NVMe PCIe M.2 250GB[/url] $75

RAM: [url=https://ram.userbenchmark.com/HyperX-Fury-DDR4-2666-C15-2x4GB/Rating/3556]HyperX Fury DDR4 2666 C15 2x4GB[/url] $60

MBD: [url=https://www.userbenchmark.com/System/Asus-ROG-STRIX-B350-F-GAMING/57770]Asus ROG STRIX B350-F GAMING[/url] $116

Total: $659

I chose that motherboard because I find the 8-channel audio appealing for music performance use, and it seems like it's got enough usb-type and display ports to be useful for all sorts of other connections (projectors, arduinos, pis, audio hardware, etc). I also chose not to include an HDD for now cuz most of the stuff I'd be using this for except maybe video editing/special effects doesn't require much disk space. 

So yeh, any insight is appreciated!

Nolan K Thomas
nktio.com

[Nolan Thomas]

actually realized that motherboard isnt as compact as I'm going for, so:

[url=https://www.userbenchmark.com/PCBuilder/Custom/S60576-M264514.153864.179262.89244vsS0-M]Userbenchmark PC Build Comparison[/url]

Baseline Bench: Game 69%, Desk 77%, Work 71%

CPU: [url=https://cpu.userbenchmark.com/AMD-Ryzen-5-1600X/Rating/3920]AMD Ryzen 5 1600X[/url] $158

GPU: [url=https://gpu.userbenchmark.com/Nvidia-GTX-1060-6GB/Rating/3639]Nvidia GTX 1060-6GB[/url] $250

SSD: [url=https://ssd.userbenchmark.com/Adata-Ultimate-SU800-256GB/Rating/3912]Adata Ultimate SU800 256GB[/url] $45

RAM: [url=https://ram.userbenchmark.com/GSKILL-Ripjaws-V-DDR4-2400-C15-2x8GB/Rating/3549]G.SKILL Ripjaws V DDR4 2400 C15 2x8GB[/url] $90

MBD: [url=https://www.userbenchmark.com/System/Asrock-AB350-Gaming-ITXac/60576]Asrock AB350 Gaming-ITX/ac[/url] $100

Total: $643

--

Nolan K Thomas
www.nktnktnkt.com

[jason]

This is almost identical to a build I did for my kid last year -- asrock
mb, 16G ram, 1060 video card, ryzen cpu, ssd boot drive. It's a gaming
beast, even with multi monitors and VR headset.

You _should_ spend a little bit more for faster RAM (DDR 3000). Probably
not too noticeable, but word has it that Ryzen CPUs can show benefits here.

If you have too much money and can find a 1080, that's a very nice
upgrade too.

You'll need to give some consideration to a case and power supply, but
those are also relatively inexpensive these days.

Happy building!

-jason

> Anyway, using userbenchmark.com <http://userbenchmark.com> I put

> together one that might be around the price of the Alienware yet
> significantly more powerful than it or the NUC. I've never built a
> PC before and this seems maybe too good to be true-- soooooo, I
> wanted to see if anyone experienced with these things could take a
> look at my build and give any advice. How much additional costs
> might there be to really build it? (i'd probs make my own case for
> it). Would this even work?  UserBenchmark seems to only show parts
> that are compatible with the other selected components but I haven't
> found anywhere where it actually says that for sure.  So here it is:
>
> [url=https://www.userbenchmark.com/PCBuilder/Custom/S57770-M264514.153864.494033.43831vsS0-M]Userbenchmark
> PC Build Comparison[/url]
>
> Baseline Bench: Game 72%, Desk 105%, Work 80%
>
> CPU:
> [url=https://cpu.userbenchmark.com/AMD-Ryzen-5-1600X/Rating/3920]AMD

> <https://cpu.userbenchmark.com/AMD-Ryzen-5-1600X/Rating/3920%5DAMD>

> Ryzen 5 1600X[/url] $158
>
> GPU:
> [url=https://gpu.userbenchmark.com/Nvidia-GTX-1060-6GB/Rating/3639]Nvidia

> <https://gpu.userbenchmark.com/Nvidia-GTX-1060-6GB/Rating/3639%5DNvidia>

> GTX 1060-6GB[/url] $250
>
> SSD:
> [url=https://ssd.userbenchmark.com/SpeedTest/494033/Samsung-SSD-970-EVO-250GB]Samsung

> <https://ssd.userbenchmark.com/SpeedTest/494033/Samsung-SSD-970-EVO-250GB%5DSamsung>

> 970 Evo NVMe PCIe M.2 250GB[/url] $75
>
> RAM:
> [url=https://ram.userbenchmark.com/HyperX-Fury-DDR4-2666-C15-2x4GB/Rating/3556]HyperX

> <https://ram.userbenchmark.com/HyperX-Fury-DDR4-2666-C15-2x4GB/Rating/3556%5DHyperX>

> Fury DDR4 2666 C15 2x4GB[/url] $60
>
> MBD:
> [url=https://www.userbenchmark.com/System/Asus-ROG-STRIX-B350-F-GAMING/57770]Asus

> <https://www.userbenchmark.com/System/Asus-ROG-STRIX-B350-F-GAMING/57770%5DAsus>

> ROG STRIX B350-F GAMING[/url] $116
>
> Total: $659
>
> I chose that motherboard because I find the 8-channel audio
> appealing for music performance use, and it seems like it's got
> enough usb-type and display ports to be useful for all sorts of
> other connections (projectors, arduinos, pis, audio hardware, etc).
> I also chose not to include an HDD for now cuz most of the stuff I'd
> be using this for except maybe video editing/special effects doesn't
> require much disk space.
>
> So yeh, any insight is appreciated!
>
> Nolan K Thomas

> nktio.com <http://nktio.com>
>
>
>
> --
> Nolan K Thomas
> www.nktnktnkt.com <http://www.nktnktnkt.com>
>
> --
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[Nathan McCorkle]

Your links seem broken to me, I think I've used this site before for aggregating parts into a total cost list to send to others:

https://pcpartpicker.com

Building a desktop pc is pretty easy, if you are good at arts and crafts like model building you should be fine. I say this because the main important point is to do everything gently and with even pressure, when inserting PCI cards, RAM sticks, cable connectors. Otherwise it's making sure you've got the motherboard standoffs in the right pattern... The pc case has a matrix (almost) of screw holes, but your motherboard will only have a subset of these and they might not always 100% match, but you need to ensure there are sufficient standoffs supporting the sections where you're going to put pressure on the board as you insert cards/ram sticks/cables into the notherboard.

After that you just gotta spend time installing you OS(es).

250GB harddrive/ssd is pretty small. Especially if you want to dual-boot.

8GB RAM is also pretty low if you want to do lots of multitasking or code compilation. 16 would be a lot more comfortable if that's the sort of thing you think you're going to do. The last desktop I built had (2) sticks of 32GB ECC RAM...but this was mainly because I was thinking of doing some AI training and machine learning or scientific computing.

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[isaacporras solarcyclepower.com]

The NUC is expensive and I'm not a fan of Intel, but if you're looking for a super small and easy to setup gaming rig, NUC hardware and driver support is hard to beat. Maybe when the next Gen NUCs come out the price will go down. I didn't see any NUC stuff at CES, but maybe they are going after laptops and desktops before releasing NUC related next gen graphics chips.

Isaac

---

From: dorkbotpd...@googlegroups.com <dorkbotpd...@googlegroups.com> on behalf of Nathan McCorkle <nmz...@gmail.com>
Sent: Sunday, January 20, 2019 9:52:50 AM
To: dorkbotpd...@googlegroups.com
Subject: Re: [DorkbotPDX blabber] Re: Building a small multimedia performance PC

 

[Nolan Thomas]

Yeah the RAM and SSD choices were purely financially motivated since I have very limited funds, but would hope to update those later when I have more disposable income. I wouldn't be using this much for gaming, really, so I'm not that concerned with it being a perfect AAA gaming PC, just something that can run a lot of Max MSP/PureData, Processing, Touch Designer, Unity, etc. stuff at once and communicate effectively with sensors while also being portable. The Alienware Alpha R2 was performing pretty well with its specs, so if I can get a faster CPU capable of way more threads and a better GPU, more potential RAM, and more input/output options for around the same price then I don't wanna pass it up! Also my plan is to build a case out of laser cut and 3D printed parts which i can do for basically free at PCC. 

Anyway, glad to hear you made something really similar and it works good, Jason! Also, wondering if all the audio output channels on the AB350 Gaming-ITX/ac can be sent to independently with a DAW or if they only work with some sort of surround-sound protocol or something. 
We can talk about it more at the meetup tomorrow if ur gonna be around.

Nolan 

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[Dominic Voz]

Hey Y'all. Can someone advise me as to how to get out of this group? I subscribed a couple weeks back when I was attempting to reach someone regarding the projectors that had been acquired -- now I am linked into all sorts of conversations that I'd rather not have in my inbox! Forgive my ignorance on how this works, but if someone could suggest a way to unsubscribe that would be lovely.

[Jason Plumb]

Sorry, subscriptions are for life.

[Jason Plumb]

Just kidding. Scroll down and look for the word unsubscribe. There are instructions.

Happy hacking!