PC Sherdog PC Build/Buy Thread, v6: My Power Supply Burned Down My House

steeldragon said:
What's a Newegg builder plus I do like the case got a feeling it would makes things hard to upgrade down the road
Click to expand...
It's a utility on NewEgg.com that allows you to essentially choose the parts for a computer, put them all in the bin, and pay for it and have it shipped to you.
https://www.newegg.com/tools/custom...e-_-SiteSearchRDR&Tpk=newegg+computer+builder


The Cons:
1) For any build that includes what NewEgg has designated as a "Hot Item" (Like a good chunk of the RTX 3000's), you are REQUIRED to buy the NewEgg PC Builder Assembly Service. This is a charge of $100.00, on top of anything you buy.
2) If you purchase the Builder Assembly Service, you are REQUIRED to buy ALL the parts necessary for your computer. This means CPU, Motherboard, Memory, GPU, Case, PSU, Storage, CPU Cooler and Operating System.
These two work in harmony to inflict maximum pain upon the consumer. Do you want a nice RTX 3080 Ti? Okay, but if you get that, it's considered a "hot item." That means you need to pay them the $100.00 to put the computer together, which is something you could do yourself. And if you have the service, that means you HAVE to buy all the components from them. That means if there's a better deal for an identical part, say on Amazon (which happens very frequently) you can't say you only want 8/9 parts.
So the bottom line is, if you decide you want a hot item, you're locked into whatever price field NewEgg dictates.

This also sheds light on one of their other less noble policies-- withholding stock from their standard store so they can provide that stock to the PC Builder utility. This is a very emotionally charged topic right now, and rightly so. There are tons of people who want to upgrade their GPU, who maybe put together a rig in the last couple years. They don't want to replace every component, but they can't get the one they want because NewEgg is funneling all that stock into combos that will give them more revenue. This does nothing to remedy the rapidly growing perception that these retailers work in tandem with manufactures to leverage the limited supply of cards in order to suck the blood out of your wallet.

The Pros:
1) You get access to RTX cards at retail price. That's huge right now.
2) You are very likely to get a better deal than any prebuild you can find, even the prebuilds on NewEgg itself.

Regardless-- it's a real nasty time to be caught needing an upgrade. Please believe me, I know. I was lucky as hell. And I was even luckier because I had people like @Madmick and @jefferz .

By the way, get as much info as you can from them. They helped me build the ultimate rig for what I consider to be a very favorable amount (all things considered I mean).
 
steeldragon said:
What's a Newegg builder plus I do like the case got a feeling it would makes things hard to upgrade down the road
Click to expand...
FYI, here in the States, right now, you inherit greater risk, but the used market just murders the new market atm. Specifically the used market purchasing from gamers, not people who sell things as part of their living (i.e. not professional shops on eBay or the Amazon Marketplace). I'm talking about local Facebook Marketplaces, Craiglist, r/hardwareswap, or other social media exchanges. It's just surreal for me to see used custom units with all high-end parts that include a GPU, and the entire unit is selling for up to 50% less than that same GPU sells for in new condition by itself. My greatest apprehension would be not knowing just how well-used a unit is.

If self-building, here is a PCPP Australia example.

Example Build for Steeldragon
CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 5600X 3.7 GHz 6-Core Processor ($398.77 @ JW Computers)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master MASTERLIQUID ML240L RGB V2 65.59 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($89.00 @ Computer Alliance)
Motherboard: MSI MAG B550 TOMAHAWK ATX AM4 Motherboard ($169.00 @ Centre Com)
Memory: Patriot Viper 4 Blackout 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR4-3600 CL18 Memory ($229.99 @ Amazon Australia)
Storage: Crucial P1 1 TB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive ($135.00 @ Amazon Australia)
Video Card: ASRock Radeon RX 6800 XT 16 GB Taichi X OC Video Card ($1899.00 @ BPC Technology)
Case: Corsair 4000D Airflow ATX Mid Tower Case ($124.77 @ JW Computers)
Power Supply: Super Flower Leadex III ARGB Pro 850 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply ($139.00 @ PCCaseGear)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home Full 32/64-bit ($126.90 @ Amazon Australia)
Wireless Network Adapter: EDUP EP-9636GS-BL PCIe x1 802.11a/b/g/n/ac/ax Wi-Fi Adapter ($49.95 @ Amazon Australia)
Total: $3361.38

Notes:
  1. It doesn't include a keyboard and mouse, but I suspect the included keyboard and mouse in your prebuilt from the OP are cheap, and only worthwhile as backups.
  2. It has a superior gaming CPU.
  3. It has superior RAM (3600 MHz vs. 2933 MHz), though there is only half as much RAM, but 32GB is still far more than you need. Faster is better than more.
  4. There is also only half the SSD storage (1TB vs. 2TB), but the Crucial P1 is almost certainly superior to the unspecified SSD in the OP prebuilt. You could buy an identical second SSD for +$135, or upgrade it to the 2TB version for +$155.
  5. The CPU cooler is also an entry-class 240mm liquid AIO. Parity, here. I would suggest a bit more investment here to keep things quieter, or go with air cooling instead.
  6. The 6800 XT video card stomps on the RTX 3070 (see below), plus it includes double the VRAM (+8GB), and this unit is the finest of ASRock's three aftermarket variants, so it will actually outperform the reference 6800 XT significantly thanks to its improved clocks.
  7. The motherboard probably has stronger cooling, and gaming software features, though it won't be richer in ports. One thing about prebuilt PCs for gaming and the regular market is that they do a great job of packing in a ton of ports. This is another component I would suggest upgrading, but this unit is quite serviceable. Better overall, and it's also a more advanced generation than the motherboard in the prebuilt.
  8. The case isn't as Sci-Fi as the prebuilt's, but the cooling will be significantly superior. I'm actually surprised how cheap the 4000D Airflow is in your market relative to other cases.
  9. The PSU is undoubtedly of higher quality, and an extra 100W. Very good deal on this SuperFlower.
  10. WiFi cards should be about the same.

relative-performance_2560-1440.png


Ignore cost analysis in this chart since it doesn't match pricing available to you on the Australian market. Just look at performance (the darker bars):
1440p-Cost.png
 
Last edited:
Madmick said:
FYI, here in the States, right now, you inherit greater risk, but the used market just murders the new market atm. Specifically the used market purchasing from gamers, not people who sell things as part of their living (i.e. not professional shops on eBay or the Amazon Marketplace). I'm talking about local Facebook Marketplaces, Craiglist, r/hardwareswap, or other social media exchanges. It's just surreal for me to see used custom units with all high-end parts that include a GPU, and the entire unit is selling for up to 50% less than that same GPU sells for in new condition by itself. My greatest apprehension would be not knowing just how well-used a unit is.

If self-building, here is a PCPP Australia example.

Build Example for Steeldragon
CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 5600X 3.7 GHz 6-Core Processor ($398.77 @ JW Computers)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master MASTERLIQUID ML240L RGB V2 65.59 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($89.00 @ Computer Alliance)
Motherboard: MSI B550-A PRO ATX AM4 Motherboard ($148.77 @ Kogan)
Memory: Patriot Viper 4 Blackout 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR4-3600 CL18 Memory ($229.99 @ Amazon Australia)
Storage: Crucial P1 1 TB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive ($135.00 @ Amazon Australia)
Video Card: ASRock Radeon RX 6800 XT 16 GB Taichi X OC Video Card ($1899.00 @ BPC Technology)
Case: Corsair 4000D Airflow ATX Mid Tower Case ($124.77 @ JW Computers)
Power Supply: Super Flower Leadex III ARGB Pro 850 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply ($139.00 @ PCCaseGear)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home Full 32/64-bit ($126.90 @ Amazon Australia)
Wireless Network Adapter: EDUP EP-9636GS-BL PCIe x1 802.11a/b/g/n/ac/ax Wi-Fi Adapter ($49.95 @ Amazon Australia)
Total: $3341.15

Notes:
  1. It doesn't include a keyboard and mouse, but I suspect the included keyboard and mouse in your prebuilt from the OP are cheap, and only worthwhile as backups.
  2. It has a superior gaming CPU.
  3. It has superior RAM (3600 MHz vs. 2933 MHz), though there is only half as much RAM, but 32GB is still far more than you need. Faster is better than more.
  4. There is also only half the SSD storage (1TB vs. 2TB), but the Crucial P1 is almost certainly superior to the unspecified SSD in the OP prebuilt. You could buy an identical second SSD for +$135, or upgrade it to
  5. The CPU cooler is also an entry-class 240mm liquid AIO. Parity, here. I would suggest a bit more investment here to keep things quieter, or go with air cooling instead.
  6. The 6800 XT video card stomps on the RTX 3070 (see below), plus it includes double the VRAM 4GB, and this unit is the finest of ASRock's three aftermarket variants, so it will actually outperform the reference 6800 XT significantly thanks to its improved clocks.
  7. The motherboard probably has stronger cooling, and gaming software features, though it won't be richer in ports. One thing about prebuilt PCs for gaming and the regular market is that they do a great job of packing in a ton of ports. This is another component I would suggest upgrading, but this unit is quite serviceable. Better overall, and it's also a more advanced generation than the motherboard in the prebuilt.
  8. The case isn't as Sci-Fi as the prebuilt's, but the cooling will be significantly superior. I'm actually surprised how cheap the 4000D Airflow is in your market relative to other cases.
  9. The PSU is undoubtedly of higher quality, and an extra 100W. Very good deal on this SuperFlower.
  10. WiFi cards should be about the same.

relative-performance_2560-1440.png


Ignore cost analysis in this chart since it doesn't match pricing available to you on the Australian market. Just look at performance (the darker bars):
1440p-Cost.png
Click to expand...
You're a fucking badass
 
Madmick said:
FYI, here in the States, right now, you inherit greater risk, but the used market just murders the new market atm. Specifically the used market purchasing from gamers, not people who sell things as part of their living (i.e. not professional shops on eBay or the Amazon Marketplace). I'm talking about local Facebook Marketplaces, Craiglist, r/hardwareswap, or other social media exchanges. It's just surreal for me to see used custom units with all high-end parts that include a GPU, and the entire unit is selling for up to 50% less than that same GPU sells for in new condition by itself. My greatest apprehension would be not knowing just how well-used a unit is.

If self-building, here is a PCPP Australia example.

Build Example for Steeldragon
CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 5600X 3.7 GHz 6-Core Processor ($398.77 @ JW Computers)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master MASTERLIQUID ML240L RGB V2 65.59 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($89.00 @ Computer Alliance)
Motherboard: MSI B550-A PRO ATX AM4 Motherboard ($148.77 @ Kogan)
Memory: Patriot Viper 4 Blackout 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR4-3600 CL18 Memory ($229.99 @ Amazon Australia)
Storage: Crucial P1 1 TB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive ($135.00 @ Amazon Australia)
Video Card: ASRock Radeon RX 6800 XT 16 GB Taichi X OC Video Card ($1899.00 @ BPC Technology)
Case: Corsair 4000D Airflow ATX Mid Tower Case ($124.77 @ JW Computers)
Power Supply: Super Flower Leadex III ARGB Pro 850 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply ($139.00 @ PCCaseGear)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home Full 32/64-bit ($126.90 @ Amazon Australia)
Wireless Network Adapter: EDUP EP-9636GS-BL PCIe x1 802.11a/b/g/n/ac/ax Wi-Fi Adapter ($49.95 @ Amazon Australia)
Total: $3341.15

Notes:
  1. It doesn't include a keyboard and mouse, but I suspect the included keyboard and mouse in your prebuilt from the OP are cheap, and only worthwhile as backups.
  2. It has a superior gaming CPU.
  3. It has superior RAM (3600 MHz vs. 2933 MHz), though there is only half as much RAM, but 32GB is still far more than you need. Faster is better than more.
  4. There is also only half the SSD storage (1TB vs. 2TB), but the Crucial P1 is almost certainly superior to the unspecified SSD in the OP prebuilt. You could buy an identical second SSD for +$135, or upgrade it to
  5. The CPU cooler is also an entry-class 240mm liquid AIO. Parity, here. I would suggest a bit more investment here to keep things quieter, or go with air cooling instead.
  6. The 6800 XT video card stomps on the RTX 3070 (see below), plus it includes double the VRAM 4GB, and this unit is the finest of ASRock's three aftermarket variants, so it will actually outperform the reference 6800 XT significantly thanks to its improved clocks.
  7. The motherboard probably has stronger cooling, and gaming software features, though it won't be richer in ports. One thing about prebuilt PCs for gaming and the regular market is that they do a great job of packing in a ton of ports. This is another component I would suggest upgrading, but this unit is quite serviceable. Better overall, and it's also a more advanced generation than the motherboard in the prebuilt.
  8. The case isn't as Sci-Fi as the prebuilt's, but the cooling will be significantly superior. I'm actually surprised how cheap the 4000D Airflow is in your market relative to other cases.
  9. The PSU is undoubtedly of higher quality, and an extra 100W. Very good deal on this SuperFlower.
  10. WiFi cards should be about the same.

relative-performance_2560-1440.png


Ignore cost analysis in this chart since it doesn't match pricing available to you on the Australian market. Just look at performance (the darker bars):
1440p-Cost.png
Click to expand...
Good lord, I didn't keep up on the current prices for the 6800XT. I feel lucky to have gotten mine for $1399 lol.
 
Slobodan said:
Good lord, I didn't keep up on the current prices for the 6800XT. I feel lucky to have gotten mine for $1399 lol.
Click to expand...
You definitely were. Australia was more flush with those cards than the US ever was, but the 6800+ cards appear to have ran out. Your market appears to still be relatively rich with the 6700 XT. Eyeballing the lowest prices shown on PCPP.au I noticed the inflation above MSRP suffered by the 6700 XT was less than any other card near this range. This is the conversion of the official US MSRP, of course, because it appears there was never an official Australian MSRP declared for that line. Better value, definitely, but perhaps not high enough performance for someone spending nearly $3.5K AUD on a new rig.

6700 XT
  • $651 AUD ($479 USD) = MSRP
  • $1129 (+73%) = Lowest priced 2-fan variant [MSI Mech 2X]
  • $1149 (+76%) = Lowest priced 3-fan variant [Powercolor Hellhound]
  • $1199 (+84%) = Lowest priced high-end variant [Powercolor Red Devil]
6800 XT
  • $882 AUD ($649 USD) = MSRP
  • $1899 (+115%) = Lowest priced of all options: a high-end variant [ASRock Taichi X OC]
 
I was going to start a new thread on this topic but since OP did me a solid...

We all know that building your own PC is cost-effective and rewarding. No disputing that.

But I remember "back in the day" (2003-2006) when I was addicted to PC gaming, I always wanted a Falcon-NW gaming PC. Partially due to their slick advertising and web site design but the prices were always prohibitively high. Especially for a high school kid.

Now with more disposable income and lacking a gaming PC, I am in the market again for something new and awesome. I have zero desire to build a PC ever again (I did several builds a decade ago and have not kept up with changes in the industry) and Falcon-NW still appeals to me.

The question is, are high-end gaming PC manufcaturers like Falcon-NW, Alienware and Voodoo (or whatever they are called today) in any way justifiable, or are the costs insanely inflated for nothing other than brand-name? Just how stupid would it be to pay for a Falcon-NW PC?
 
TheJewBear said:
I was going to start a new thread on this topic but since OP did me a solid...

We all know that building your own PC is cost-effective and rewarding. No disputing that.

But I remember "back in the day" (2003-2006) when I was addicted to PC gaming, I always wanted a Falcon-NW gaming PC. Partially due to their slick advertising and web site design but the prices were always prohibitively high. Especially for a high school kid.

Now with more disposable income and lacking a gaming PC, I am in the market again for something new and awesome. I have zero desire to build a PC ever again (I did several builds a decade ago and have not kept up with changes in the industry) and Falcon-NW still appeals to me.

The question is, are high-end gaming PC manufcaturers like Falcon-NW, Alienware and Voodoo (or whatever they are called today) in any way justifiable, or are the costs insanely inflated for nothing other than brand-name? Just how stupid would it be to pay for a Falcon-NW PC?
Click to expand...
I've been saying for years I'll get off my ass to split the PC build/buy thread so that we have a dedicated thread for our geeks to help those seeking advice on prebuilt purchases.

Through the late fall and winter so far, last year, the best way to get the newest GPUs, and by far the cheapest way, was in prebuilds by the low-margin gaming comp prebuilders. Examples of these are iBuyPower, CyberpowerPC, Skytech, CUK, CLX, Dell (non-Alienware), and HP.

Boutique builders are Alienware (owned by Dell), Origin, Maingear, Falcon Northwest, Puget Systems, Digital Storm, Singularity, and eCollegePC. Not sure if all of those are still in business. In the last several years there's been a lot of local shops that have popped up that specialize in building custom PCs for people, who have online websites or social media presences, but those are too many to list.

Alternatively, if you follow the /buildapcsales Reddit, there have been various sales from the custom builders who allow you to customize your own PC from a menu of parts which they then send to you. These have also offered astonishing values if you did it correctly (beating the best self-builder price even assuming MSRPs were available). CyberpowerPC and iBuyPower are the most famous of these:

However, CyberpowerPC and iBuypower were taking 8+ weeks to deliver these last year during the holiday season. We've had a few posters who waited over 2 months for their customized builds to arrive like @Lubaolong. I haven't kept up to know if delivery times have gotten better. We're no longer in that extremely high-volume shopping time of the year, when everybody is missing shipment dates, including all the major retailers, even for non-computer stuff, but considering how impossible it is to get the new GPUs, I wouldn't be surprised if those dismal delivery times endure, since even first-serve companies like these customer builders are probably forced to wait for new shipments of hardware to come in. Nobody can keep up with demand.

There's also been a lot of negative chatter on forums about CyberpowerPC's quality control issues with units as shipped, but it's tough to decipher how prevalent these issues are. There isn't any real data, and the company remains in good standing with bodies like the BBB (A+). Just be aware that customer service with CyberpowerPC and iBuypowerPC is notoriously bad.

If you are lucky enough to live near one of the 25 Microcenters in the country you might also catch a great deal on a unit from them; particularly on in-store only sales of their in-house "Powerspec" series:
https://www.microcenter.com/search/search_results.aspx?N=4294967292+4294820733&NTK=all&sortby=match
 
^ Good post @Madmick. I bought a desktop from CyberpowerInc a few years ago and it was a great experience. No problems that I can recall. When I went through my divorce I was even able to reformat it and sell it for about 50% of the retail value after 2 years of use. Not too bad.

Is there any argument for Falcon-NW or other boutique builders over Cyberpower, or is it completely cosmetic and not worth the extra money at all? The markup for boutique sellers seems INSANE and I always assumed it equaled better quality...whatever that meant.
 
TheJewBear said:
Is there any argument for Falcon-NW or other boutique builders over Cyberpower, or is it completely cosmetic and not worth the extra money at all? The markup for boutique sellers seems INSANE and I always assumed it equaled better quality...whatever that meant.
Click to expand...

no.

i'd argue it's event he opposite. ie: alienware uses proprietary bullshit and their chassis are fucking stupid. even with decent components, they'll generally have terrible air flow/temps... and less leeway to correct.
 
@TheJewBear, I shot you some PMs, but for the benefit of the forum, I'll reprint the example CyberpowerPC build I slapped together, here. It shows just how badly the custom built market is beating the self-building market, right now, unfortunately; if you assemble using the ideally priced components with the most favorable foundation. In fact, even the prebuilts I'm seeing right now are terrible values in comparison, and that wasn't the case last winter or spring.
cs-454-109_400.png

https://www.cyberpowerpc.com/saved/1PP0F5
  • i5-11600KF
  • CyberpowerPC DeepCool Gamer Storm Castle EX 240mm Liquid Cooler
  • NVIDIA RTX 3060 Ti (Reference?)
  • 16GB DDR4-3200 CAS16 ADATA XPG Z1 (10ns true latency; lower = better)
  • Gigabyte Z590 UD AC ATX Motherboard
  • Gigabyte Aorus Gen4 1TB NVMe SSD
  • Thermaltake Toughpower GF1 750W Gold Fully Modular PSU
  • CyberpowerPC NR640 Mid ATX Case (Cooler Master Masterbox NR600 design-- but with 4x120mm ARGB Fans included)
  • Windows 10 Home, 1-Year Parts Warranty, 3-year Service Plan
  • Freebies:
    CyberpowerPC 14x12 Mouse Pad
    Games = Crysis Remastered Trilogy; Humankind
PRICE
= $1364 (Standard Shipping)
= $1296 (w/NORUSH 5% discount code at checkout, 6-7 weeks before it ships)


Notes:
-- If you live in CA/CO/HI/OR/VT/WA you can't choose this motherboard with this GPU because of the new laws on energy efficiency. If that is the case, I suggest the ASRock Z590 Steel Legend WiFi 6E (+$33) as the alternative.

-- The ADATA RAM is white. That might annoy some who value aesthetics. The Corsair LPX (+$30) is available in a more traditional black.

-- However, if you prefer air cooling for the CPU, the Phanteks PH-TC12DX (-$20) only comes in white, but it offers the best performance/value of all their air cooler choices by a longshot. Meanwhile, the CyberpowerPC P418R Eclipse Case (+$2), which is just the Phanteks P360X rebranded, also comes in white, and includes 3x120mm fans. The Gigabyte Z590 Vision motherboard (+$55) would round out this snowy aesthetic. There's no choosing the GPU based on colors, though. Too in-demand.

-- I would urge anyone to consider the Cooler Master MM710 mouse at the top for +$9 if you like the design, and aren't attached to your own. Consider that a perk. That's a $42 mouse on Amazon.

****

The closest analogue on the self-builder market would opt for the 5600X and 6700 XT, instead, since they're more favorably priced than their Intel/NVIDIA counterparts, atm, at least on PCPP, and would run you ~$1930:
https://pcpartpicker.com/list/kQPnYg


*Edit #1*
In fact, this price is beating the MSRP of the parts including the GPU, and that's a damn tall order in 2021. Using the MSRP only if is below the current market best price for the respective part, the sum MSRP value is $1491

*Edit #2*
Changed build foundation to the "Gamer Xtreme 1000" since it offers a lower final price. The 3060 Ti Daily Deal repeated on a weekly cycle-- at least for the month of September.
 
Last edited:
rob mafia said:
no.

i'd argue it's event he opposite. ie: alienware uses proprietary bullshit and their chassis are fucking stupid. even with decent components, they'll generally have terrible air flow/temps... and less leeway to correct.
Click to expand...
Gamers Nexus has been buying prebuilts and tearing them down to asses their quality. Most of them have been atrocious and it makes it hard for me to recommend anyone buy a prebuilt unless it is from an expensive boutique.

The Alienware one really took the prize though. Fuck Alienware. That shit is so poorly made it seems malicious. Please no one ever buy from them again.

 
Blayt7hh said:
Gamers Nexus has been buying prebuilts and tearing them down to asses their quality. Most of them have been atrocious and it makes it hard for me to recommend anyone buy a prebuilt unless it is from an expensive boutique.
Click to expand...

Why would you ever buy a prebuilt from an expensive boutique? Everyone on here has told me that there is literally zero benefit to them aside from the brand name.
 
Copy a build from pcpartpicker that got good reviews. If you dont want to build it, micro center will for like $60.
 
TheJewBear said:
Why would you ever buy a prebuilt from an expensive boutique? Everyone on here has told me that there is literally zero benefit to them aside from the brand name.
Click to expand...
Because the other prebuilts are garbage to the point that they’re predatory. Watch the video. That one is among the worst but it’s not alone. Almost every one of them that channel has done has been awful. I always figured they cut corners on parts that customers who don’t know anything about PCs wouldn’t notice but it’s worse than I suspected.

At least with someone like Digital Storm or Falcon Northwest you won’t get that because those places survive on their reputation. Unless I’m still naive about that…
 
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