Can someone tell me if the fan is included in the box or if I have to buy it separately? I tried reaching out to Best Buy but they aren't getting back to me—must be some kind of rush over there.
It’s literally pictured on the box. 😁 😁
The Ryzen 5 3600 pretty much always comes with a cooler.
Honestly, I wouldn't lose sleep over the power supply. Your whole rig probably pulls around 100W, and you aren't going to be running the GPU at a full 350W while simultaneously stress testing the CPU all day long. Still, electricity costs add up, and if you don't have AC blasting in the summer, heat becomes an issue. A high-quality PSU like this can handle being at 80% load for extended periods without breaking a sweat.
Performance-wise, it's a solid find, but let's be real—the Radeon RX 5700 is the smarter play here.
When you order from big retailers in Europe, they swap out the local VAT for American sales tax, and suddenly the price jumps because of that difference (like going from a 19% tax rate up to 25%).
Does this happen while idling or only when you're gaming?
Basically, if you have 0rpm mode enabled—meaning the fans shut off entirely—the card should be able to keep those fans off most of the time. But if your room is hot or your case has terrible airflow, you might just be hitting the threshold where they kick in.
That noise when they spin up and down isn't ideal, but honestly, if they perform fine once they're actually spinning, I wouldn't mess with them. They might just be slightly loose and scraping against something.
Moses:
- Disable 0rpm mode - Undervolt the card to drop the temps - Switch to Silent BIOS if it’s a dual BIOS card - Set a custom fan curve (though this kills the 0rpm mode automatically) - Crack a window in the room - Pop the side panel off the case to see if temps improve - Update your drivers
That Dell monitor only hits 250 nits of brightness, which is honestly pathetic.
The Samsung has 400, which is decent enough, though still nowhere near what you actually need for real HDR—so just forget about HDR entirely—but as a gaming monitor, it should definitely outperform the Dell.
Adam Moore3 said:Hmm, I agree about AMD. All I could find there was a Corsair RM550, which should be in a similar tier? Otherwise, this Corsair unit looks like a killer deal.
The Corsair RM550x is priced a bit higher, but on paper, they look pretty much the same.
Adam Moore3 said:Hey, what PSU would you recommend if I need something running 24/7 in a machine that won't pull much power but stays on constantly? Looking for high efficiency, a 0dB mode at low loads (which will be most of the time), and modularity. Budget isn't an issue, but no need to overdo it. The build is basically an Intel Pentium G5400 and one or two HDDs (likely Seagate SkyHawk).
I'd go with this:
10-year warranty, Corsair, 80 PLUS Gold certification, decent price.
Unfortunately, finding anything weaker with these specs is tough.
I reckon the 1660Ti is the absolute best buy here. If you're actually looking for some decent power, the Radeon RX 5700, the RX 5700 XT, or the RTX 2060 Super are all way better picks than just a standard RTX 2060.
The 1660Ti pulls about 120W TDP, so you won't need some massive, overkill cooler to keep it from melting.
Going for 144Hz? It’s hard to overdo it, but I wouldn't go overboard. You barely feel the difference once you push past 100 FPS anyway, plus you'll just hit a CPU bottleneck in games where the GPU isn't even the issue.
I think a 1660Ti is a decent pairing, but honestly, I'd try to figure out if the GPU is actually the culprit first. Just so you know exactly what needs an upgrade, rather than swapping parts just because a new monitor makes you want a better card.
The 1660 Ti is solid, and if you want to step it up, the RX 5700 is a great move. Both are decent choices.
If you're stuck with a 1080p 60Hz monitor, honestly, just stick with the 1660 Ti—or maybe even a standard 1660, though the Ti is usually the better value.
The downside? Most of the cheap RX 5700 cards out there are those annoying reference models with blower coolers.
Before buying anything, I’d try borrowing a GPU from a friend first. Even an ancient card would work just to rule out whether the graphics card is actually the culprit.
Or just throw that old card into a different PC to see if it actually runs.
Carl Carter90 said:The memory and hard drive seem fine—that’s probably my best move right now. I'd rather hold off on the GPU until after the New Year since that's a much bigger hit to the wallet. If I skip the graphics card for now and just grab those two, would that be a solid plan?🤔
Look, skipping the GPU won't give you an immediate boost in gaming performance. But if spending big on a card right now isn't in the budget, go ahead and start there. RAM and SSD prices are actually pretty decent at the moment.
As for the graphics card, maybe aim for some deals around Black Friday or look for something after the New Year.
The GT 1030 is basically the smartest play for a Home Theater PC. It sips power and doesn't require a massive PSU, plus it isn't some ancient piece of junk.
Since you’re running a standard ATX power supply and a regular motherboard, you can't really squeeze this into a tiny case. Just look for the smallest Micro-ATX case you can find.
As for the hard drive, don't bother with those small 2.5" drives. A standard 3.5" drive will fit in just about any case anyway, so just grab whatever capacity makes sense for you.
You could grab an SSD if you want things to feel snappy, but if this is strictly for a Home Theater PC, you can save the cash and skip it.