July 2019 - last edited July 2019
@puzzlezaddict
Could I ask you a question about computers as well? I'm new so I can't create my own topic. I'm buying a pc for school and for the sims (I have a MacBook air right now). A store in my city custom builds computers and I'm trying to figure out if the build they suggested would be good?
CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 2600 (65W) Six Core 3.4GHz 16MB
RAM: 16GB (2x8GB) DDR4 2400MHz CL16 Dual Channel
MAINBOARD: MSI B450M PRO-VDH AM4 DDR4 AMD B340 Chipset Motherboard
SSD: Kingston A400 Series 480GB 2.5" SATA3 Solid State Drive
VIDEO CARD: RADEON RX 580 8G OC 8GB GDDR5 PCI-E
MONITOR: LG 22M38D-B 21.5" Widescreen HD 1920x1080 5ms LED Monitor
POWER SUPPLY: Cooler Master 500W Power Supply
This one all together comes to about $1400 CND for everything in the computer. I want to be able to play the sims 4 with lots of expansion packs, game packs and CC and I'd like to run it with really good graphics (maybe the highest settings?). I'd also like to be able to record my gameplay to post to youtube and stuff Would this be good for all that? Thank you, I hope this is okay to ask here!!
*sorry if this posts twice, I think I got a notification that my post was deleted
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July 2019 - last edited July 2019
@Elleaisy The import tax is a percentage of the value of whatever you're importing, and it will depend on where you live. I found a calculator for Canadians looking to import from other countries, but I didn't link it because I wasn't sure it was accurate. Still, it said a computer that costs $800 U.S. would run anywhere from $1080 to $1180 CAD after taxes, depending on province. That's why I suggested you ask your post office—it might be more expensive, or it might be the same price for better parts.
Wired internet is better than wifi because it's more reliable and usually faster, unless you have an annoying provider (like mine) that caps download speeds. But you might not need to buy a wifi adaptor at all; some desktops come with one already installed. It's easy enough to check—turn on the computer and see if it picks up the wifi signal. The adaptor you linked looks fine though, if you do need one. Most of the options are cheap and interchangeable, so just get one that has good reviews and that you can return if necessary.
July 2019 - last edited July 2019
@Elleaisy I'm not sure why the site wouldn't let you start a new topic; it's supposed to be open for everyone. Still, it was easy enough for me to split your comment into its own thread. And I only see the one post of yours, although the other might just be temporarily stuck in the spam queue. (It happens.)
That looks like an excellent computer, able to handle Sims 4 on ultra settings as well as other moderately demanding tasks like image or video editing. There are a couple of small notes about its performance though. One is that AMD processors have better performance with faster RAM. It shouldn't be much more expensive to upgrade to at least 3000 MHz memory. (I'm not familiar with Canadian pricing, but in the U.S., it might only cost an extra $10.)
AMD also released new processors a few days ago, and the high-end versions are much better than their older counterparts. The Ryzen 5 3600 is about $60 more than the 2600, but it's also maybe 40% better, depending on what you're looking to do. (The 3400G is worse than the 2600 though.) You certainly wouldn't need the extra performance for Sims games, but if you're planning on having this computer for a while, or you want to do more intensive tasks like video editing, it's a good investment. You could, for example, add more RAM or swap out the video card without having to replace the processor or motherboard. And I checked: the 3600 will run just as well on a B450M as it would on a high-end board.
Upgrading the RAM is a good idea, though not strictly necessary, and the newer processor is just something to think about. But the one upgrade you really should consider is to the power supply. 500W is enough for this build, sure, but the more important thing is the rating. A bronze-rated PSU is a must, and gold-rated one would be even better. Of course, that's more money. Still, it's the single most important upgrade you can get. You absolutely don't want to deal with a failing PSU in a couple of years. A gold-rated 550W Corsair will last a decade if you need it to, and it's only $30 more (in the U.S.) than the 500W Cooler Master if you go by the cheapest available price.
I know that's a lot of information, and it's somewhat incomplete, as I'm not looking at the same price sheet as you would be. (Feel free to link me the computer store, or anything it's using.) Still, with the investment you're looking to make, you really do want to get the details right.
P.S. I'm not great with monitors, so I can't help much there. The most important thing for you to do though is to look at it, as in, see if the screen is something you'd enjoy staring at for long periods. LG is a good brand, but that's not going to help if you don't like the way the screen looks to you.
July 2019
July 2019
@Elleaisy You definitely picked the right build—the "basic" option has a graphics card that isn't quite as strong as you'd want for Sims 4, and the AMD processor is definitely a better bet for what you want to do. Any of the processors on the list would handle TS4 just fine, but since you're looking to edit video, you'd want the 2600, which is also stronger than any of the Intel processors on the list except for the 8700. (AMD CPUs are also better for image and video editing, in addition to being cheaper.)
I'm not seeing an option to customize the build on the site, aside from picking the processor you want, but the store itself might be more flexible. I checked other Canadian sites, as much as I could, and I couldn't bring the price of a quality build below $1300 CAD, even without a monitor. So it looks like you found about as good a deal as you're going to see in Canada.
However, there is one other option you could consider. CyberpowerPC ships to Canada, and while there's going to be an import tax, it still might be cheaper than the equivalent local build. I can't say exactly how much it would be, and the rate would depend on your province, but you could apparently call your post office to find out.
For example, the same processor and graphics card, 16 GB 3200 MHz RAM, a better motherboard, a 600W gold-certified power supply, and liquid cooling would, before the import tax, work out to under $1000 CAD with the current conversion rates. (It's $736 U.S. today before tax, but Cyberpower changes its sales daily, so it's a matter of picking your build and then waiting for the best price.) I don't know what monitor prices look like, but I'm sure you could find something suitable for what you had left over. (Also, the newer Ryzen 3600 processor is an extra $26 U.S., and the other parts wouldn't need to be upgraded.)
If this isn't what you're looking for, that's fine; I just thought I'd toss out that option for you to consider. Otherwise, definitely upgrade the power supply if you can, and the faster RAM would be nice too.
July 2019
July 2019 - last edited July 2019
@Elleaisy The one you found isn't a bad choice at all, for that price. You could add more RAM easily enough, and while the speed isn't listed, Intel processors don't need fast RAM the way AMD models do. The 9400F is a bit weaker than a Ryzen 2600, but the gap isn't substantial. CyberpowerPC usually doesn't cheap out on the power supply, unlike other sellers, and if I had to guess, this one would have a 600W gold-certified PSU. It's impossible to tell though.
What I did was find a couple promising builds on Cyberpower's site and then tweak the configurations. I started with this:
https://www.cyberpowerpc.com/system/Battlebox-2019-Syber
and swapped out these parts (all in USD, since that's what the site lists until you get to checkout):
(Note: you could upgrade to a 1 TB SSD for and extra $50, or you could also add a second hard drive to the build. But unless you're going with one of the basic HDDs as a secondary drive, it's much cheaper to order and install it yourself.)
The result costs $736 USD, today anyway; here's the configuration:
http://www.cyberpowerpc.com/saved/1LKL43
Of course it's easy to swap out parts as you please, and I'd be happy to reconfigure things for you if and when you're ready to buy. Again, the key is to pick the parts and then watch the sales for a couple of days, but it's pretty much the same every week, so you wouldn't have to wait long.
July 2019 - last edited July 2019
I just looked into importing a computer from CyberPowerPC into Canada, but now I'm kind of concerned about the duties/border charges and taxes I'd pay when it arrives. From browsing other forums it looks like it might add hundreds of dollars to the final price, so I might just be better off buying something already in Canada and not having to worry about that.
So I'm thinking I'll end up going with Mega Computer, but I'll ask about upgrading the power supply to a gold-rated one and the RAM to at least 3000 MHz memory.
Do you think I should ask about upgrading the graphics card from the "RADEON RX 580 8G OC 8GB GDDR5 PCI-E" or would that be good? I just keep hearing about these NVDIA GTX cards and how great they are lol.
Edit: Oh and another thing I'm realizing is that this PC doesn't say anything about wifi. Would it be okay to add some kind of wifi adapter to it or would I be better off connecting to the internet with a cable? For the location I want to set up my computer it would be easier to use a wifi adapter if that's as good as connecting with a cable.
I found this wifi adapter on Amazon, it has good reviews but I don't know what I should be looking for.
Thank you again, you've been SO helpful!
July 2019 - last edited July 2019
@Elleaisy The import tax is a percentage of the value of whatever you're importing, and it will depend on where you live. I found a calculator for Canadians looking to import from other countries, but I didn't link it because I wasn't sure it was accurate. Still, it said a computer that costs $800 U.S. would run anywhere from $1080 to $1180 CAD after taxes, depending on province. That's why I suggested you ask your post office—it might be more expensive, or it might be the same price for better parts.
Wired internet is better than wifi because it's more reliable and usually faster, unless you have an annoying provider (like mine) that caps download speeds. But you might not need to buy a wifi adaptor at all; some desktops come with one already installed. It's easy enough to check—turn on the computer and see if it picks up the wifi signal. The adaptor you linked looks fine though, if you do need one. Most of the options are cheap and interchangeable, so just get one that has good reviews and that you can return if necessary.
July 2019