@jenjane Alright, let me know if you have any more questions. I've definitely seen reports of Canadians walking into a Best Buy/Canada Computers/some other store and finding a good graphics card, so you might not have to work all that hard to find one. There's still some luck involved though.
I spoke with an associate from Best Buy and they gave me advice on how to get the graphics card, so I'm going to be patient and see if I have any luck. In the meantime, I'm hoping to pick your brain again if that's alright.
I've decided on the Corsair 5000D Airflow Tempered Glass case (thanks for backing this choice in a previous post, that was really helpful!). It looks like it comes with two fans (one on the back, one on the front). I looked through all of the review photos to try and understand how many fans I would need. I think I would leave the standard fan on the back, put the CPU cooler at the top if possible, and would add three RGB fans in the front (instead of just the one black fan). I’ve included picture examples for reference.
Based on the PC Builder (link to the build: https://newegg.io/e1c624b), it only shows me one CPU Cooler option, which isn’t RGB. Are there any other ones that you think would be compatible? If not I’m fine to go with the one the builder is recommending.
I did also want to ask if you would be able to recommend three RGB fans for the front? Again I know there’s one standard fan in the front that’s included, but I assume it’s not RGB so I’ll have to replace it.
Besides the graphics card, monitor/accessories, is there anything else the build is missing based on the New Egg list?
Thanks again for your endless help! Have a great weekend!
@jenjane Are you in fact going to build everything yourself, or are you going to order most of the computer and install the graphics card and some extra fans? If you're building yourself, you might as well order from different stores and get the best price. The easiest way to price-compare is this:
https://ca.pcpartpicker.com/list/
You'll be able to see all the available options, sorted by whatever categories you want. For example, I sorted CPU coolers to show Corsair or Fractal Design models with 360mm radiators:
https://ca.pcpartpicker.com/products/cpu-cooler/#m=11,106&W=10360&sort=price
That's obviously not many, but you can see the difference between one with only RGB on the pump that sits over the CPU vs. one that comes with RGB fans. There are obviously plenty of other options for coolers; I just picked those brands because I already know they offer quality models without having to look up reviews.
Looking at the photo of the case, I'm not totally sure that a radiator and its fans would fit in a top mount. If it does fit, fine, but be prepared to need to change your mind and mount at the front or on the side (the grill on the right) instead.
For the extra fans, you don't want the cheapest possible models, but you also don't need to worry about getting the absolute best (most efficient) option because most of the heat from the CPU will be dissipated by the radiator. So pick a set that runs quiet, looks good to you, and doesn't cost too much. They're all a standard size, except for the specialty thin ones, and should fit fine.
You don't really need more than three extra fans, but you might want them just for show. Either way, the best airflow would be with front (and possibly side) intake fans and top and back outtake; if there's a mount for a fan on the bottom of the case, you could stick one there too as intake. The advantage of having a front-mounted radiator with its fans on intake is that the air passing over the radiator is cooler than if the fans are on outtake, but with the processor you're getting and a quality 360mm radiator, it doesn't actually matter: the cooler will more than keep up with its load either way.
You can also play with the configurations of the fan and radiator if you want. There's nothing that says you have to pick one answer and stick with it.
@puzzlezaddict I've decided I'm going to try to build everything myself (with the help of my sister's boyfriend of course). My knowledge is still really basic, but I am enjoying learning. And, as we previously discussed, it would be great if I have the ability and knowledge to change parts in the future if needed.
PCpartpicker has been a fantastic resource, thanks for sharing! I was a bit unsure about it since at the beginning of my research I came across someone who said they did not use it, but I'm so glad you recommended it because it's really helping me to understand things further. It's definitely a great price comparison tool - I'm just making sure to select the parts from places that I am confident in purchasing from. I also really liked being able to look at other people's builds that were done in the same case (as well as their part lists), which helped me decide on the CPU cooler/fans.
I didn't venture away from any of the main components that you recommended, because the reviews are good and, although my knowledge is limited, from my understanding they seem like they'll offer strong performance and the ability for multitasking. Here is the PCPicker parts list based on your suggestions: https://ca.pcpartpicker.com/list/2xPM9N. In order to choose the fans, I took inspiration from this build (I like the placement as well): https://ca.pcpartpicker.com/b/vVNqqs. It would be great if I could get your opinion on the fans/placement pictured here!
One thing I'm unsure about is the warning, "Warning!Some AMD X570 chipset motherboards may need a BIOS update prior to using Vermeer CPUs. Upgrading the BIOS may require a different CPU that is supported by older BIOS revisions." I tried to google what it means but I don't know enough to really understand the basics of what this message is saying, or if I need to switch something to be safe. Are you able to help explain this?
I haven't selected a monitor yet because I am going to take your advice and look at them in store. Once I've made my final decision on all the parts I plan to watch for any sale prices (may as well do that while I'm waiting to see if I can get the graphics card). I do worry slightly that if I purchase parts too far in advance and they're defective I'll be past the return timeframe, but I'll be sure to review the policies of the retailers. Right now I'm most comfortable with Best Buy, New Egg, and Canada Computers.
@jenjane The build looks good. Now that you're building though, you have more flexibility to choose exactly what you want, and you may want slightly different, perhaps slightly cheaper, components. In my example of a custom Newegg build, I chose the cheapest quality options rather than the absolute best, because a) the absolute best is often twice or three times as expensive, and b) the performance improvement above a certain level is in the 2-3% range. There's no point in buying an $800 motherboard just to squeeze every bit of performance out of your system—if you wanted to spend that kind of money, you'd upgrade the GPU instead for a much larger benefit.
The point is, you may want to choose other components, in particular the motherboard and RAM. (Or I can look if you're still not sure what to choose.) The important parts for the board are that you get an X570 model with an ATX form factor. X570 is the best category in terms of build quality, included features, and support from the manufacturer. ATX is basically the size and shape, and while smaller boards can work fine, it's easier to work with a larger board, which is important for your first build.
As far as RAM is concerned, a wise person once told me to pick a model from a quality manufacturer that was compatible with the board and wasn't too expensive. It's relatively cheap to manufacture quality memory, and most of the good vendors offer lifetime warranties for a reason. For compatibility, each board's specs page should list suitable RAM by part number, for example this is the board you've picked out:
https://www.gigabyte.com/Motherboard/X570-GAMING-X-rev-10/support#support-doc
(The 5000-series models are Vermeer CPUs.)
On the other hand, maybe I'm making things overly complicated here, and if that's the case, feel free to ignore the above.
As for the BIOS update, on the same support page for your motherboard:
https://www.gigabyte.com/Motherboard/X570-GAMING-X-rev-10/support#support-cpu
You'll see that the 5000-series CPUs are supported and have been since BIOS version F30. The BIOS is basic software for your board, and manufacturers will release updated versions as new components are released and new features become available. The X570 boards are older than the 5000-series CPUs, so of course their first BIOS revisions wouldn't support those processors.
Whether this is a problem for you depends on two factors. One is whether you happen to get a board with a more recent BIOS version, which is impossible to tell from the website. The other is that some boards allow you to flash a new BIOS without a processor installed, in which case you don't need to worry about compatibility because you can just install the new BIOS before the processor. In case you want more info:
https://rog.asus.com/technology/republic-of-gamers-motherboard-innovations/usb-bios-flashback/
I don't think the Gigabyte board has that feature, although I'd have to check. This is a common but not universal feature. I didn't go over it before because a system integrator would take care of that for you along with the rest of the build process.
And just to be clear, if your BIOS doesn't support the CPU, the computer doesn't boot, just like that. I've seen it happen.
@puzzlezaddict You're not making things overly complicated at all, I really appreciate the explanations. I am so so so grateful for all of the time and help you've given me. I'm sorry that my questions are never ending. I do at least feel like things are evolving and I'm getting closer to the end goal.
Would you mind recommending a motherboard and RAM? If you think anything else should be changed I am always open to suggestions, but again I feel like I keep creating more work so I do apologize for that! Now that I have gotten further into this I've realized that $5000 was probably an unnecessarily high budget lol! So I have been aiming for around $3000, but it's still flexible if need be.
I'm slowly feeling better about the basics of being able to put this together, but when it comes to really understanding the knitty gritty of the function of pieces and the "why" I still feel nervous. Obviously this is a learning process, and I promise I am trying to do my research too, but I feel so much better actually speaking to someone and receiving explanations, because I'm not entirely confident in my decisions. I really hope it doesn't seem like I'm being lazy! There's no way I would be able to do this without your help.
@puzzlezaddict Please ignore my questions about the BIOS above lol! I've been doing more research tonight and watched more videos. Based on what you said and what I'm reading, it sounds safest to go with a board where I can flash the update.
Since some of my questions above are obsolete now, I wanted to simplify my ask (but no rush or pressure to reply) - if you were going to recommend a motherboard (that allows for the BIOS flash update) and RAM that are "better," what would you recommend? I've attached a picture of the current list. I'm open to any other pieces you'd recommend I change - again I really appreciate your advice.
I'm sorry if some of my questions are silly at times. I hope I am not overcomplicating things. I know I still have a lot of research to do, and I will keep doing that. Thank you so much again for your help.
@puzzlezaddict Hey! I finished my computer a couple of months ago. I really buckled down with research and am so happy with the final result:
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