How comfortable can it be using a desktop?

[Ksamphos]

I recommend you find a laptop that's more square. They're harder to drop. The rounded ones always feel so fragile. It doesn't have to be entirely square but not too round, they're easier to put on your lap etc.

Thank you, good advice, but I reflected and I tend to chose a desktop this time.

I haven't had a desktop for 6 yrs. My MBP is at least an order of magitude more capable than it was. It was an 8-core 24GB RAM machine.
I mean it sounds like you want a laptop. Doing desktop with a mouse on a sofa does not seem ergonomically too good, but I've done a whole lot of music from bed. .

I like big screens, besides I can sit on a chair sometimes, I just dont want to need to do that all the time lol, but once with my budget I wouldnt have the computer I want with a laptop, I'll go with a desktop. Honestly, the greatest issue of a desktop for me would be it be noisy, but if it can be silent than its totally fine

Its being difficult to find the ryzen 5 3600 in an already made computer, Im finding only the 3600x... In this case, is this the second best option or is there other amd or Intel on competition with the 3600x?

I believe I'll probably have to buy a not ideal computer and later upgrade It a bit, and this not cause of the budget but because of the availability. Is a cooler something that can be changed later with some ease? The ones I find have not good ones, and being silent is a must.

In my opinion, off the shelf builds some stores are selling are waste of money, they cheap out on everything, ofc you can change everything and spend more money afterwards, but hey...

I changed my mind and I decided to buy each component chosing one by one and then or try to assemble It by myself (unlikely) or hire a technician to assemble It. It might cost around 10% of the computer price.

I want it to be silent, and once here is very warm maybe cooling is more necessary than average.
Temperature here can get to 45º celsius, it's rarely below 30º and a closed room can get to 40º on peak, and be around 34º a great part of the year.
I'll be working with the computer under air conditioning room, but in rare circumstances it could be not.

I'm looking in one site that sells cheaper than average, but for a few pieces I might use the local ebay.
There are hundreds of options for each component, I selected a few, I put the price in us dollars:

Amd Ryzen 5 3600 $263

BiostarA320MH $77
Asus B450M $111
Asrock B450M $115
Asrock B450M Pro4F $135 - Maybe this one is fine?
Asus TUF Gaming B450M - pro II - $171
MSI B450 Tomahawk Max II - $189

I found on local ebay one called
MSI B450 M Pro-M2 Max for $129, but there's no "tomahawk" on the name

RAM Kingston 8g HyperXFury 2666 Mhz $70 (I pretend to add another one in a short time)
SSD Kingston 240 gb for $48 on local ebay (I pretend to add a Kingston 960 gb for $129 in a short time)

Cooler deepcool CKAM209 - $5
Deepcool Gammaxx 400v2 Blue 120mm - $22
Deepcool Gammaxx L120T 120mm - $48
Corsair H45 120mm - $60
Deepcool Gammax L360v2RGB360mm $123

On local ebay I found
Snowman 6 dual fan 6 heatpipes - $27
Cooler Snowman Led Rgb 6 Heatpipes - $47

Biostar Geforce G210 - $45
Galax Geforce GT710 - $67 - Maybe this? To run two monitors?
Galax Geforce GT1030 - $132

Power supply (not sure which is good or good enough)
Cooler Master Elite V3 400W - $50
Cougar VTC 500 500w 80 Plus - $54
Deepcool DA500 500w 80 Plus - $65
Corsair ATX CV550 550W - $80

Cabin
Gamer T-Dagger P02b - $42
Gamer Aerocool - $65
Gamer Cougar QBX - $74

About the Cabin I would want it to be silent, but the site suggests gaming ones, not sure what is the difference...

[HK-47]

Amd Ryzen 5 3600 $263

This is a good CPU, though the price seems a little high. Depending on the prices in your area, it might make more sense to go with an Intel i5-11400. It comes with an integrated GPU which should be fine as long as you're not gaming/rendering, and can save you quite a bit of money given how terrible GPU pricing is right now. Intel motherboards tend to be more expensive though.

BiostarA320MH $77
Asus B450M $111
Asrock B450M $115
Asrock B450M Pro4F $135 - Maybe this one is fine?
Asus TUF Gaming B450M - pro II - $171
MSI B450 Tomahawk Max II - $189

I found on local ebay one called
MSI B450 M Pro-M2 Max for $129, but there's no "tomahawk" on the name

Motherboard quality tends to matter more when you're overclocking (which I assume you're not doing), so the more expensive ones might not be worth it for you. That said, I'd avoid the A320 as that leaves you with no future CPU upgrade path, and A320 motherboards are often cut down in terms of features. Some, but not all B450 motherboards will allow you to upgrade to the Ryzen 5000 series later on. You'll have to check the individual motherboards to see for which ones support that. I'd advise to go with the cheapest B450 motherboard that supports upgrades to the 5000 series (if you have any plans to do so) that has the features and I/O you need.

Of course if you go with an Intel CPU, you're going to need an entirely different motherboard.

RAM Kingston 8g HyperXFury 2666 Mhz $70 (I pretend to add another one in a short time)

Go for at least 3200MHz if you're using the Ryzen 3600. Ryzen's architecture means that the RAM speed will directly affect multicore performance. I see some Crucial 16GB (2x8GB) 3200Mhz sets on Amazon for less than $90.

SSD Kingston 240 gb for $48 on local ebay (I pretend to add a Kingston 960 gb for $129 in a short time)

The Samsung 860/870 EVO or WD Blue SSDs should be at around the same price. Kingston has been known to switch to inferior components without notice in their SSDs in the past.

Cooler deepcool CKAM209 - $5
Deepcool Gammaxx 400v2 Blue 120mm - $22
Deepcool Gammaxx L120T 120mm - $48
Corsair H45 120mm - $60
Deepcool Gammax L360v2RGB360mm $123

On local ebay I found
Snowman 6 dual fan 6 heatpipes - $27
Cooler Snowman Led Rgb 6 Heatpipes - $47

Unless you're overclocking, the stock cooler should be totally fine whether you go with AMD or Intel. No need to buy an aftermarket cooler.

Biostar Geforce G210 - $45
Galax Geforce GT710 - $67 - Maybe this? To run two monitors?
Galax Geforce GT1030 - $132

Don't buy the 210 or 710. A lot of integrated GPUs perform better than them at this point. The 1030 should be passable, but I still cringe when I see the current GPU prices. If you went with the Intel there's no need for a GPU.

Power supply (not sure which is good or good enough)
Cooler Master Elite V3 400W - $50
Cougar VTC 500 500w 80 Plus - $54
Deepcool DA500 500w 80 Plus - $65
Corsair ATX CV550 550W - $80

Not familiar with most of these models unfortunately. I think the Corsair is pretty decent, but I think at that price you're just a few dollars off of something like a Seasonic Focus GX, which is very good.

Cabin
Gamer T-Dagger P02b - $42
Gamer Aerocool - $65
Gamer Cougar QBX - $74

"Gaming" in marketing terms usually means a bunch of useless RGB lights. Silence-focused cases tend to be more expensive because they need more damping materials. I tend to prefer a more well-ventilated case, where you can turn down the fans if you want quieter operation. Also keep in mind compatibility of your components with the case, especially with motherboards. For example, the Cougar QBX in your list will only fit mini-ITX boards, i.e. none of the motherboards in your list will fit.

[Passing Bye]

Idea for base of Intel budget build:

CPU: Intel i5-11400
Mobo: MSI Z490-A PRO
RAM: Crucial Ballistix 3200Mhz DDR4 16GB CL16/ Corsair Vengeance LPX 3200Mhz 16GB CL16
PSU: SeaSonic S12III 650 W
SSD: Samsung 860 Evo 250GB (if the price is actually as low as Kingston one)

Start with stock CPU cooler and if it gets noisy, replace it with something better, use integrated CPU graphics, think in your case Intel build could be cheaper option, motherboard will be more pricier than AMD one, but you don't need to buy additional GPU, which is great.

[pekbro]

You can always make a small computer with mini/micro ATX or mini-ITX form factor that outputs hdmi to your TV. Add a wireless keyboard and mouse. Put it in your entertainment center and just change the channel to get to your pc basically.

Or get a mac mini or something depending on your needs. An HTPC for lack of a better term.

[Passing Bye]

Im actually from south america, Brazil.

This just now clicked in my head, Pictus is also from Brazil, get in touch with him, he's an awesome and knowledgeable guy that can help you for sure

memberlist.php?mode=viewprofile&u=403301

Help brother out!

[kingozrecords]

A gen 3 ryzen might be your best bet because of the popularity of generation 5. But the price is only going to be affected in areas that are frequented by the enthusiasts and the savvy, like aliexpress or maybe ebay.

Newegg lately though is selling a lot of old stuff for high prices, it's sobering.

I remember there had been a 5 ghz processor, I think it was amd.. Been 6-7 years since I gave it any thought, at any rate that would be cool too. A lot of lemons in the last 5 years. People often dismiss that 5 years ago, there was competition trying to break benchmarks of 5.5 ghz. Funny how things went different.

Maybe it was the ryzens that made people think about it from a stance of economy. The older ones at any rate just crest beyond an entry level card for the most part.

[Ksamphos]

This is a good CPU, though the price seems a little high. Depending on the prices in your area, it might make more sense to go with an Intel i5-11400. It comes with an integrated GPU which should be fine as long as you're not gaming/rendering, and can save you quite a bit of money given how terrible GPU pricing is right now. Intel motherboards tend to be more expensive though.

I put the prices only as a reference of comparison between the components. In fact, I'll pay much higher than prices on Ebay or Amazon, because there's an import tax of 50% and a possibly VAT of 20%.
However, I did find the Intel i5-11400 for $228, a bit cheaper than the Amd.

CPU: Intel i5-11400
Mobo: MSI Z490-A PRO
RAM: Crucial Ballistix 3200Mhz DDR4 16GB CL16/ Corsair Vengeance LPX 3200Mhz 16GB CL16
PSU: SeaSonic S12III 650 W
SSD: Samsung 860 Evo 250GB (if the price is actually as low as Kingston one)

Interesting, the Intel i5-11400 might be an option, I found it for $228,
the cheapest motherboard that appears is:
Gigabyte H510M H - $128
The cheapest Z490 that I found is Asus Prime z490m for $279


What is stock cpu cooler? Would be like the "Cooler deepcool CKAM209" that costs only $5, or more like the "Deepcool Gammaxx 400v2 Blue 120mm" that costs $22?

I'm convinced that a RAM of 3200 Mhz is better than, so Ballistix is an acceptable Brand... I don't know about brands so I was guessing Kingston as being safe. If it can be Ballistix the price is better.

I see these things are complex, I'll have to think a bit about every piece lol.

But I understood the i5-11400 is probably an option because the integrated graphics might compensate the price of the more expensive motherboard, and it seems that it has much better results in "single thread rating" than the Ryzen 5 3600 (3063 intel x 2584 amd), though I'm not sure how much better is this.

Though I believe I'll tend to chose AMD thinking on improving with a new processor in the future, as I have the idea that AMD tends to be cheaper in general.

For now I'll be using a DAW with instruments VSTs, but in the future I pretend to use Orchestra VSTs, then I upgrade to 16gb RAM, but the CPU I'm looking for a good one for this reason.

[Pictus]

Im actually from south america, Brazil.

This just now clicked in my head, Pictus is also from Brazil, get in touch with him, he's an awesome and knowledgeable guy that can help you for sure

memberlist.php?mode=viewprofile&u=403301

Help brother out!

Awesome?!? I wish to be... But...
Anyway, thank you very much for the consideration!

Brasil is complicated, all *VERY* expensive and not much options...
Places to check for prices:

https://www.kabum.com.br
https://www.pichau.com.br/
https://www.terabyteshop.com.br

https://www.boadica.com.br/
https://www.mercadolivre.com.br/

For a desktop to be silent(warm climate makes worse) you need a BIG CPU cooler
with slow RPM fans and a case with good airflow, more fans at lower RPM is better.
The cheapest that is not crappy I was able to find, not ideal, but...

https://produto.mercadolivre.com.br/MLB ... cb0e586cda
But you need to add more fans, + 1 front, +1 back
https://produto.mercadolivre.com.br/MLB ... 2c0cd1f100
Set the front fans for intake and the back for air out.

Now the most efficient/silent cooler you can find in Brasil and does not
need to tweak the fan curve in the BIOS.
https://www.terabyteshop.com.br/produto ... -scnj-5000

If the Ninja is above the budget, do not get anything less than this, it is
at promotion now!
https://www.terabyteshop.com.br/produto ... d-0r100073
The RAIJINTEK works, but it is not efficient/silent like the Ninja.

For the GPU, any Nvidia lower than the 1030 with GDDR5, is crap! (I mean the 710/750 models)
I was able to find this passive model.
https://www.kabum.com.br/produto/91087/ ... p4-6332-kr
And do not forget the tweaks
viewtopic.php?p=7624448#p7624448

RAM, you have a problem...
AMD is very pick about RAM type and likes faster RAM.
http://www.scanproaudio.info/2019/07/30 ... an-impact/
The only RAM I can recommend and you can find in Brasil is Crucial Ballistix
3000/3200Mhz , you need 2 RAM sticks
https://www.pichau.com.br/hardware/memo ... 8g30c15u4r
The Ballistix will not give you headaches and probably can work at 3733Mhz, both
my Crucial kits 2x8 3000MHz and 2x16 3200MHz works at 3733MHz.
How to do (I can help with that).
https://www.nicehash.com/blog/post/ram- ... calculator

For PSU use the calculator https://outervision.com/power-supply-calculator
and try to get a Corsair/Cooler Master Bronze PSU

For the motherboard, do not get anything less than a B450 model.
https://www.terabyteshop.com.br/produto ... 4-atx-ddr4
or
https://www.terabyteshop.com.br/produto ... 610-m0eay0
Both are very good motherboards, latest revision!
Both have good/stable VRMs

There will be AMD CPUs(Zen 3) with built-in GPU
https://www.theverge.com/2021/4/13/2238 ... t-graphics

BTW, the Intel i5-11400 is seems to be a better option...
And *I* do not trust cheap motherboards with VRMs without heatsink.

[Passing Bye]

Pictus the man!

[Passing Bye]

Though I believe I'll tend to chose AMD thinking on improving with a new processor in the future, as I have the idea that AMD tends to be cheaper in general.

Current Zen 3 series is the last one for AM4 boards too, so it's the same kind of deal upgrade wise, you can upgrade to 11th series ones too, after that Intel is changing socket too, i7-11700 would be decent upgrade down the line when prices drop down significantly, especially if you go for second hand one, sure on other hand Ryzen 9 5900X would be even better one, but to have that kind of upgrade option down the line, you need to get solid motherboard right now, you can't cheap out on that unfortunately.

For me personally AMD route is far better investment, but prices for me are much lower and I have GPU lying around and some of the components in the current build, you on other hand have totally different thing going on and in your shoes I would even go for Intel i5-11400 build.

Also you don't need to buy everything new, there's people who upgrade much faster and often sell their components for much less and still in warranty, of course, you need to act fast on such deals, because nobody wants to miss good deal and it goes in mater of hours, on other hand people who ask higher prices are the ones you can find there for weeks that come, so good idea is to follow listings for some period of time and act on best deals.

[Ah_Dziz]

I'll keep this short, but (for the money) a desktop will stomp a laptop almost all the time. I dunno how intense your processing needs are but I can send my interface to a tablet or my tv an use a wireless mouse /headphones and I have a good time using it that way especially for just jamming a little. It will add a bit of lag for transmitting the display and for the wireless controls, but it's worth it sometimes when you just want to play around. Then when it's serious work time I get in front of the desk. I also have a laptop and I really only use it live or on trips out of town. I really don't enjoy having to set up my laptop just to fiddle around on my couch (moving controllers etc).

[djanthonyw]

Why not just dock a laptop? I've been doing that for years.

[Ksamphos]

Thank you a lot, Pictus, and yes, local ebay I meant mercado livre (:

This is a good CPU, though the price seems a little high. Depending on the prices in your area, it might make more sense to go with an Intel i5-11400.

BTW, the Intel i5-11400 is seems to be a better option...
And *I* do not trust cheap motherboards with VRMs without heatsink.

Idea for base of Intel budget build:

CPU: Intel i5-11400
Mobo: MSI Z490-A PRO

I guess I'll follow Pictus suggestions, what solved everything including some issues I was very lost like the case and the cooler.

My only important doubt now is about which motherboard to buy for the Intel I5-11400,

By what I calculated,
Amd Ryzen 5 3600 ($263) + MSI B450 Tomahawk Max II ($189) + Geforce GT 1030SC ($151) would cost $605
while

Intel Core i5-11400F($214) + Gigabyte Z490M ($222) would cost $437

But I'm not sure if this Gigabyte Z490M would be good enough.

Some options I found on terabyteshop:

MSI H310M PRO-VDH PLUS, Intel LGA 1151, $92
Gigabyte B360M AORUS GAMING3, Intel LGA 1151, $128
Gigabyte Z390 M Gaming, Intel LGA 1151, $209

Thank you again for Passing Bye and Pictus for the great help!

[Pictus]

Thank you a lot, Pictus, and yes, local ebay I meant mercado livre (:

You are welcome!

My only important doubt now is about which motherboard to buy for the Intel I5-11400,

By what I calculated,
Amd Ryzen 5 3600 ($263) + MSI B450 Tomahawk Max II ($189) + Geforce GT 1030SC ($151) would cost $605
while

Intel Core i5-11400F($214) + Gigabyte Z490M ($222) would cost $437

Attention, the Core i5-11400F does not have built-in GPU!
https://www.techspot.com/review/2232-in ... i5-11400f/

But I'm not sure if this Gigabyte Z490M would be good enough.

The only Gigabyte Z490M I found was the Gigabyte Z490M Gaming X
https://www.terabyteshop.com.br/produto ... -matx-ddr4
Very good motherboard with strong/stable VRM for its price, it can supports
CPU with more cores, the more efficient VRM may also produce less heat
inside the case.

Some options I found on terabyteshop:

MSI H310M PRO-VDH PLUS, Intel LGA 1151, $92
Gigabyte B360M AORUS GAMING3, Intel LGA 1151, $128
Gigabyte Z390 M Gaming, Intel LGA 1151, $209

They do not work, you need LGA 1200.


UPDATE:
For Gigabyte Z490M Gaming X work with Intel 11th generation CPUs, the
motherboard needs BIOS update, I think Terabyteshop's updates the BIOS
before shipping the motherboard, make sure ask for their support.

[pekbro]

hmm, never tried to build a pc cheaply. typically i spend 6-7 grand. Typically that
gets me in the top 17% of those tracking benchmarks for a while at least.