New computer build

[_Controlling]

My friend recently built a new computer with these parts:

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 3600X 3.8 GHz 6-Core Processor (£188.63 @ Amazon UK)
Motherboard: ASRock X570 Phantom Gaming 4 ATX AM4 Motherboard (£157.99 @ CCL Computers)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws V Series 8 GB (2 x 4 GB) DDR4-3200 Memory (£66.92 @ Amazon UK)
Storage: Samsung 970 Evo 500 GB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive (£99.99 @ Box Limited)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1 TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (£36.99 @ AWD-IT)
Video Card: Gigabyte Radeon RX 5700 XT 8 GB GAMING OC Video Card (£389.97 @ CCL Computers)
Case: Corsair 200R ATX Mid Tower Case (£54.99 @ Currys PC World Business)
Power Supply: Corsair RM (2019) 750 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply (£109.48 @ Ebuyer)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM 64-bit
Total: £1104.96

I want something similar but this is too expensive for me. How can I reduce it to around £850 but still keep it high quality. What is the cheaper step down from the 3600x and 5700, also a cheaper motherboard around £100. I don't need that exact memory, but I need 8GB and I need a 500GB SSD and a 1TB HDD, and you can also change the power supply if that would be more suitable for my build.

 

[Intel_man]

Drop the mobo to a B450 chipset version of your choice.
Change the Samsung 970 Evo to something like a WD SN750.
Probably don't need a RM750x, a RM650x is more than enough.

The 3600 is not a bad option if you don't want to fork out for the 3600X. Not much difference between the two... aside from the price.

The 5700 XT isn't a bad choice, but there's articles about flashing the 5700 with the 5700XT bios which basically turns it into a 5700XT. So you can go that route if you want to. Note that you should do some research on which cards can do this as it is not a guarantee that it will work.

 

[_Controlling]

I read somewhere about an incompatibility between g450 chipsets with matisse processors. Is this something I should be worried about?

 

[johnb35]

Bios update would allow new processors to be supported. There may be some boards that don't support it but most should after a bios update.

 

[beers]

I read somewhere about an incompatibility between g450 chipsets with matisse processors. Is this something I should be worried about?

Per John's point most boards would need a newer BIOS to support the 3k series Ryzen, although they generally have a sticker on them these days that indicates compatibility. I use a 3600 on a x370 board.

Intel Man listed the same approach I would take, although the bare minimum I would consider for RAM in 2020 is 16GB. The 3600X doesn't gain you that much over the base 3600.

 

[Cisco001]

PCPartPicker Part List: https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/list/tRp9Pn
CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 3600 3.6 GHz 6-Core Processor (£150.51 @ Amazon UK)
Motherboard: MSI B450M MORTAR MAX Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard (£89.99 @ Amazon UK)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 Memory (£74.98 @ Amazon UK)
Storage: ADATA XPG SX6000 512 GB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive (£60.34 @ Amazon UK)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1 TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive (£37.98 @ Aria PC)
Video Card: MSI Radeon RX 5700 8 GB GAMING X Video Card (£312.95 @ Overclockers.co.uk)
Case: Antec NX500 ATX Mid Tower Case (£50.47 @ Scan.co.uk)
Power Supply: Corsair TXM Gold 550 W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-modular ATX Power Supply (£64.99 @ Box Limited)
Case Fan: ARCTIC F12 TC 53 CFM 120 mm Fan (£4.49 @ Amazon UK)
Total: £846.70
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2020-04-26 18:38 BST+0100

 

[OmniDyne]

although the bare minimum I would consider for RAM in 2020 is 16GB

Agreed. Definitely go with 16GB.