Building a Powerful Gaming PC with a $1500 Monitor

If AMD Ryzen 5 Pinnacle Ridge 2600 BOX Price from 9 307 up to 9 534 ₴ is an update of the most popular model of recent years — the Ryzen 5 1600, then the 2600X is a twin brother who is always doing a little better. The model with the X index has the same 6 cores and SMT support, is installed on an AM4 socket, has an unlocked multiplier. Standard frequencies range from 3.6 GHz to 4.2 GHz, but on a good motherboard you can easily get stable 4.3 GHz for all cores.

One of the key features of the Zen+ upgrade is the 12 nm process technology, and the Ryzen 5 2600X uses this very effectively. Despite the noticeable increase in frequency, power consumption has not increased radically, and is at a level with a similar number of streams Intel Core i7 Coffee Lake i7-8700K BOX Price from 24 880 up to 26 124 ₴ in work tasks. The TDP of the factory-overclocked chip is 95 watts, and that's quite a lot. However, the Wraith Spire stock cooler will cope with cooling without problems — unless you want to overclock the system again, then our selection of coolers for AM4 will help. In addition, with high-quality cooling with a motherboard on the X470 chipset, the processor can accelerate up to 4.35 GHz independently, even if only by one core.

Twelve streams, 512 KB of L3 cache per core and support for DDR4 up to 2933 MHz make the Ryzen 5 2600X not only a nimble processor for games, but also suitable for a workstation if, say, you want to mount videos with your own gameplay, and it will work perfectly for streams. In addition, future gaming innovations will be able to use multithreading more efficiently, which means that your purchase will last you much longer. Do not forget that this processor will easily fit on the AM4 motherboards of the previous generation — A320, B350 and X370.

Enermax ETS-T40F-RF is the most affordable tower PROCESSOR cooler with a 14 cm fan in east european retail. The design of the metal radiator is extremely simple: silver aluminium plates and four red copper heat pipes, and all this without monochrome painting. But the propeller is really beautiful — snow-white, and even very durable thanks to the hydrodynamic bearing (160K hours of operating time for failure).

The contact of the tubes with the thermal cover of the processor is direct, without an intermediary plate. This is an advantage in the case of AMD processors with a large crystal, and a small disadvantage for Intel small-chip chips. However, the difference in temperature compared to a cooler with a solid sole is only a couple of degrees. And the heat sink of the ETS-T40F-RF is almost at the level of expensive superclusters — as much as 200 watts, which is more than enough even for an overclocked processor to the limit.

The main advantage of the creation of Enermax is the small width of the radiator, thanks to which it was possible to avoid a conflict with the installation of high RAM modules. However, the small width is compensated by a large height — 162 mm. Not every computer case is able to fit such a high cooler. However, absolutely all coolers with a 14-cm fan on the market are no less, or even higher. So if you want a really slow-speed turntable (from 500 to 1200 rpm, which is one and a half times less than 12-centimeter ones), buy a larger case.

Enermax will look best in a PC assembly with a white case and a white motherboard. Also note that the ETS-T40F-RF has two 12-cm counterparts: the cheaper Enermax ETS-T40F-TB and glowing Enermax ETS-T40F-BK , the same heat-intensive, but slightly noisier at maximum rpm (at minimum, all three are not audible at all).

The Biostar X370GT7 motherboard is a vivid example of the fact that the flagship of the last generation is better than a brand new average, for example Biostar B450GT3 Ver. 6.x . We are talking about the differences between the X370 and B450 chipsets. The latter received only a slight improvement compared to the previous B350 (AMD StoreMI hybrid virtual storage), while the X370 is still on top. Only X-chipsets allow you to get the most out of overclocking, both automatic XFR and manual, Ryzen processors with the suffix "X", including the latest 2600X and 2700X. However, depending on the batch, a preliminary update of the BIOS firmware may be required.

The power subsystem of the Biostar X370GT7 is made according to the 8 +4 scheme, but we are most likely talking about virtual phases, while the physical ones are half as much, which, however, is also not bad. The field-effect transistors, both on the side (CPU power) and on top (SoC+NB), are covered with aluminium radiators with RGB illumination. The chipset radiator and the decorative casing of the rear interface panel are also equipped with luminaries.

The backlight of the motherboard and other components connected to it is synchronized using Vivid LED DJ technology and is configured through the Racing GT Utility application. For fans of maximum PC glow, there are two 5050 connectors for additional LED strips. The PC power on and reboot buttons placed directly on the motherboard deserve special praise.

There are four RAM slots, with support for overclocking up to 3200 MHz. There are three PCI-E long slots: two versions 3.0 x16 and one 2.0 x4. This allows you to organize a bundle of two NVIDIA SLI or three AMD CrossFireX graphics cards. There are six SATA ports, but M.2 for high—speed SSDs up to 3.2 GB/s — only one, but with a cooling cover. There are three video outputs on the back panel and all are digital (HDMI, DisplayPort and DVI). A 7.1-channel audio and gigabit network controller manufactured by Realtek, supplemented with proprietary Biostar software. In general, the Biostar X370GT7 is a solidly equipped AM4 motherboard for fans of overclocking and modding, which is still significantly cheaper than the latest Biostar X470GT8 Ver. 5.x .

Transcend JetRam is one of the most affordable DDR4 RAM modules on the market. Even cheaper is only the products of little—known Chinese brands, which often save on quality control: one batch works fine, the other fails over and over again, which results in an emergency shutdown of applications without saving data or even a complete freeze of the operating system. Transcend has never had such problems, since it makes its memory modules exclusively from thoroughly tested chips.

Who exactly is the manufacturer of RAM chips is not reported (probably someone from the "holy trinity" of Samsung, Micron and Hynix). But obviously newer revision chips are used — B-die, C-die or perhaps even H-die, which is confirmed by a good overclocking potential. Depending on the success of a particular instance of memory, as well as the processor and motherboard (overclocking is always a lottery), Transcend bars from the base 2400 MHz are overclocked to 2933 or even 3200 MHz. An impressive result for inexpensive memory, isn't it?

However, even if your motherboard or processor does not support overclocking memory, the standard speed characteristics of Transcend JetRam DDR4 are already quite good. So, the version with a frequency of 2400 MHz and CL17 timings provides a bandwidth of 19 GB/s, and the version 2666-CL19 — 21 GB/s. 4 and 8-gig modules are available to choose from, all with a low supply voltage of 1.2 V, which reduces the heating of the processor and the motherboard mosfets.

And the Transcend JetRam itself is almost not heated and does not need radiators. It has long been known that they perform more decorative than cooling function. However, it might not be superfluous to cover the green textolite of the slats (for some competitors it is at least black, in unison with the motherboard). But this is important only to owners of PCs in a case with a transparent side wall. But the absence of radiators minimizes the height of memory modules, thereby solving the problem of installing large processor coolers. Transcend also produces DDR3 memory, which is relevant for building new PCs based on AMD FX processors, or for upgrading old ones.

ASUS ROG Strix RX 580 O8G is a graphics card with one of the richest body kits. Everything that has just been invented in terms of cooling and decoration, everything is available in this model. So, the cooler is represented by a huge radiator and as many as three fans – the temperature and noise are nowhere lower, even in the case of manual acceleration. But before buying, we advise you to carefully measure your computer case from the inside to make sure that a graphics card 30 cm long and two and a half expansion slots thick will fit into it.

The cooler casing is decorated with LED illumination, and not monochrome, but customizable RGB. Moreover, the colour and intensity can be synchronized with the ASUS ROG series motherboard and the case LED strips connected to it. As a result, the entire computer will flicker in the same style.

A large amount of video memory (8 GB) allows ASUS ROG Strix RX 580 O8G to run games not only at 1080p resolution on ultra, but also in 2K and 4K, albeit only on average graphics settings. This graphics card is intended primarily for fans of PC modding. Everyone else can safely buy a cheaper version of the RX 580 with a simpler body kit.

Most inexpensive M.2 NVMe compact form factor solid-state drives run on the PCI-E 3.0 x2 bus, which provides theoretical throughput of up to 1600 Mbps, but in fact much less. But Transcend MTE110S breaks established stereotypes and offers a wide x4 tyre for similar money. It turned out, even if not record-fast (given the reasonable price, it would be stupid to expect this) M.2 SSD, but finally broke through the same speed ceiling.

There are two versions of Transcend MTE110S available to choose from: 256 GB and 512 GB. In the younger 256-gig version, namely, we consider it optimal in terms of price, capacity and speed, sequential read and write rates are 1800 and 800 Mbps, respectively. The older 512-gig modification is even more impressive: 1800 and 1500 MB / s — we recommend it to avid computer enthusiasts who want to squeeze maximum performance out of their PC.

Transcend MTE110S is being built on the basis of a dual-core Silicon Motion SM2263XT controller and a three-dimensional 64-layer TLC flash memory. The drive does not have its own RAM cache, so it borrows several hundred megabytes from system-wide RAM (Host Memory Buffer technology). And this, by the way, is even better, because SSD's built—in cache is usually DDR3, and PC's RAM is faster DDR4.

Traditionally, a smart SLC caching mechanism has been implemented for TLC memory: until the disk is two-thirds full, the write speed will be high, after which it will decrease several times. And M.2 MLC models with a consistently high recording speed cost some cosmic money. As a result, Transcend MTE110S has successfully occupied a niche in the M.2 NVMe SSD market, which costs only a little more expensive than the simplest models, but offers high—speed indicators close, rather, to the flagships. A five-year warranty is attached.

FireCuda is the most unusual hard drive in the Seagate range. In fact, this is not even a classic HDD, but a hybrid drive combining large-volume magnetic plates (popularly called "pancakes", from 500 GB to 2 TB) and an 8-gig SSD cache. For the first time, Seagate used a similar layout in a Momentus XT laptop disk, dubbed it SSHD (SuperSpeed HDD), and then adapted it for desktop PCs in the form of a 3.5-inch FireCuda.

The "hard" part of FireCuda is a HDD with a high spindle speed of 7200 rpm, which results in about 200 – 220 Mbps (depending on the volume of the disk) sequential reading and writing. In principle, there is no faster HDD, similar indicators have Seagate BarraCuda Compute ST2000DM008 2 TB 256/7200 Price from 2 299 up to 2 900 ₴. Additionally, there is a 64 MB RAM cache to speed up the processing of small files.

But once the operating system, application or game is launched five times (that is, to demonstrate regular demand), it is automatically transferred to the "solid" part (fast SSD cache) and will start many times faster in the future. Until it is replaced by more up-to-date data. Most of all, this algorithm is relevant, perhaps, for games. Storing them all on a separate SSD is too expensive. That's where the 2-terabyte SSHD comes to the rescue.

Moreover, the SSD cache is made of super-wear-resistant SLC memory (one bit per cell, you won't buy one separately), so it won't exhaust its rewriting resource for a long time. High reliability is confirmed by as much as a five-year warranty, characteristic of corporate rather than consumer HDD. Considering all of the above, we can safely advise Seagate FireCuda SSHD to avid gamers and computer enthusiasts who lack the volume of a classic SSD and HDD speed. In addition to the 3.5-inch FireCuda for desktop PCs, a 2.5-inch laptop is available for sale!!! block='price' idgood='1012372' !!!}.

Seasonic has been the main innovator in the market of computer power supplies for several decades. Such know-how of its time as automatic adjustment of the BP fan speed depending on temperature, Active PFC power correction and 80 PLUS energy efficiency certification belong to it. Seasonic has not slowed down until now. Its updated low-cost (by the standards of the company, and by the standards of the market, rather, the average price) model Focus Plus Platinum SSR-650PX is impeccable in all aspects. Briefly walk through each of them.

And so, Seasonic Focus Plus Platinum SSR-650PX is a fully modular (all wires are detached, including the power supply of the motherboard and processor) power supply with a capacity of 650 watts and with a certificate of 80 PLUS Platinum. It implies an efficiency of 94 percent at half load on a PSU powered by a 230 V household power grid. Simply put, only 6 percent of electricity is converted into by-product heat. Even more energy-efficient PSUs (96% efficiency) are labeled 80 PLUS Titanium, but the models available on the market can be counted on the fingers of your hands. And the overwhelming majority of them are just made by Seasonic, for example Seasonic PRIME TX PRIME TX-650 Price from 8 651 up to 10 251 ₴.

Inside the Seasonic Focus Plus Platinum SSR-650PX there is a circuitry of its own design, exclusively Japanese high-temperature capacitors and several large radiators on the hottest circuits at once (whereas in other PSUs there are only one or two small radiators). The twelve-centimeter fan on the hydraulic spring works almost noiselessly even under maximum load on the PSU, and under a load of less than 30 percent it may not rotate at all (the semi-passive cooling function is activated at the push of a button).

On the main line +12 V Focus Plus Platinum SSR-650PX outputs 54 A, which is equal to 648 watts. We add here 20 A along the +3.3 V and 5 V lines and get a total of over 800 watts. That is, while some unscrupulous PSU manufacturers promise more power than they actually have, SeaSonic gives more than what is claimed. You can power any processor from the Focus Plus Platinum SSR-650PX, even a highly overclocked processor (the length of the CPU cable is as much as 65 cm) and a bundle of two flagship video cards (through four 6+2-pin connectors). Modification of the same Seasonic FOCUS PX FOCUS PX-550 has only two power cables for video cards, but it costs significantly cheaper.

The NZXT H500 is a strict—looking and smartly made case, where even the largest computer components will fit exactly. The side window is made of tempered glass with a thickness of 3 mm (to increase rigidity, it is reinforced with a frame and easily attached to a single screw), and the remaining panels are made of thick sheet metal. All this resulted in a solid weight of 7 kg, which completely eliminates any vibration, primarily hard drives.

There are two seats for 3.5-inch HDDs and the same number for 2.5-inch solid-state drives. Moreover, the fasteners for the latter can be placed both in a prominent place (the cover of the power supply casing) and hidden behind the motherboard mounting panel if the SSD colour does not harmonize with other computer components.

In the same place, behind the back wall, the wires are neatly stacked, a special box is provided for them. There is plenty of space between the panels of the case, even thick high-ampere power wires of the processor and graphics card will fit without problems. But the case does not have slots for 5.25-inch devices (DVD drive or rheobase). Apparently, the NZXT engineers considered them irrevocable archaism, and the complete 12-cm fan on a screw-threaded bearing is already very quiet.

Processor coolers up to 16.5 cm and video cards up to 38 cm are placed in the H500 (in principle, they do not make it higher or longer). The stock of the length of the vidyukhi will be enough even taking into account the installation of a thick two-section SVO behind the front panel, for example NZXT Kraken X62 . Three colour variations of the H500 case are available to choose from: completely black, as well as with a red or blue decorative insert. And especially for the RGB backlight fan, the older version is offered NZXT H500i red .

The key competitive advantage of gaming monitors of the Agon series from AOC is a more democratic price tag with technical characteristics similar to other gaming solutions.

The monitor is "stuffed" with all sorts of gaming stuff just enough to please most users who prefer to spend a lot of time in the virtual gaming world. What is its catchy appearance worth: curved screen shapes, almost invisible frames at the top and side edges, aggressive backlight at the bottom of the front panel and spectacular three-colour backlight at the back. The only thing that attracts extra attention is the LED indicator on the front panel.

The model is based on a VA-panel with a radius of curvature of 1.8 m, the resolution of which corresponds to the FullHD format (1920 x 1080 pixels). The picture on the screen is displayed with a frame rate of up to 144 Hz, which significantly improves the smoothness of the image in highly dynamic game plots. To reduce the visual load in long-term gaming battles, the monitor uses Flicker-Free backlight suppression technologies and reduces the proportion of blue in the Low Blue Light Mode backlight.

Despite the manufacturer's statements about 100% coverage of the sRGB space, the colour accuracy of the model cannot be called a reference, which is why it is not the best suited for serious work in photo and video editors. However, for all other tasks, the monitor is suitable "with a bang", because minor colour distortions on its screen can only be considered by a trained eye of a pro.

The AOC AG27FCX is based on a height-adjustable stand, besides, stereo speakers with a power of 3 watts are embedded directly into the monitor body. Another special element in the design of the model is a mount for hanging headphones. And in addition to the standard set of interfaces for connecting external devices, there is a dual-port USB 3.0 splitter on the back panel of the case. All this together elevates the monitor to the rank of popular models with a curved screen that have an optimally balanced ratio of price and features provided.