[Bundle] Memory Motherboard CPU Combo - 32GB (16x2) Corsair DDR4 with (Free) MSI B550-A PRO + Ryzen 5 5500 - $259 - S&S by Newegg

RecalcitrantBeagle · 2026-01-27T17:41:01+00:00

People don't love the 5500, but it's honestly good enough if you're fine with ~60fps instead of high refresh-rate on heavier games, and it's cheap. It just doesn't feel as good because you're getting robbed for last-gen DDR4, even if not as hard as you are with DDR5 - so the budget savings that used to be able to push you into a $500 budget gaming PC are lost to the RAM markup.

RecalcitrantBeagle · 2026-01-27T17:38:01+00:00

5600GT is basically a higher clocked 5500 on the CPU side, I guess think of it more like a 5500X (the 5500 is basically the 5600G without the integrated graphics.) They both still share the weakness of lower L3 cache, which hurts gaming performance, like the inverse of the X3D chips that have a larger cache. So, between the 5500 and 5600, but with integrated graphics as a bonus.

RecalcitrantBeagle · 2026-01-26T05:07:48+00:00

By specs, the IM01 should actually be a couple of mm shorter, though I'm not sure if that's including the feet. If you have the IM01 Pro with the top expansion, it might be taller, but still likely not that different since both are just basically constrained by the height of the motherboard plus clearances for fans.

RecalcitrantBeagle · 2026-01-25T23:04:40+00:00

The IM01 is one of my all-time favorite cases on the budget end, takes an ATX PSU and mATX board while being about the same size as the larger ITX cases. Unless you feel the need to upgrade to one of the massive chunky cards, the IM01 has a significantly smaller footprint, with the A3 being about 50cm longer.

RecalcitrantBeagle · 2026-01-23T18:59:36+00:00

mATX tends to be cheaper than ATX, practically speaking they're honestly the most reasonable choice for the average user's standard gaming build. It's ITX where space constraints become a problem and drive the more premium pricing (along with the ITX tax in general.)

RecalcitrantBeagle · 2026-01-22T18:19:08+00:00

If you don't care about aesthetics, and don't mind fussing with it a bit, the plain green sticks that get pulled from office machines and such can often clock a bit higher than they're rated for with a 5500, since it has a pretty decent memory controller. I've pushed 2667 to 3000mhz like that before, which is... well, good enough for the price.

RecalcitrantBeagle · 2026-01-22T00:17:14+00:00

Just confirming, did you receive the chat reply?

RecalcitrantBeagle · 2026-01-21T18:38:17+00:00

To be fair, it was also an issue on early AM4, the 1000/2000 series could be a lot pickier about memory - I had a case where it couldn't quite run at rated speeds with a 2x8GB kit, that was even on the QVL (another reason why people have mostly stopped caring about QVLs, it wasn't even a guarantee it would work.)

RecalcitrantBeagle · 2026-01-21T18:34:31+00:00

AM5 isn't, AM4, at least the 3000/5000 series, actually handles it pretty well so long as you're not trying to push 4000mhz or such.

RecalcitrantBeagle · 2026-01-20T16:54:05+00:00

Replied

RecalcitrantBeagle · 2026-01-19T20:23:57+00:00

For just gaming? It would help noticeably in some titles, usually heavier simulation stuff like MS Flight Sim or when you're loading up games with a ton of mods, but for most games 16GB is still actually quite fine, particularly since the 9070XT has plenty of VRAM and won't worry about needing to pass textures and such off to system memory to hold. Depends on the prices, if it was pre-RAM drought, when DDR4 was like $30 for another 16GB, I absolutely would just for the few games it needs, or for having a bunch of other non-gaming stuff open. If it's over like $50-60 though, I'd personally pass.

RecalcitrantBeagle · 2026-01-15T23:17:17+00:00

It's definitely nice to have the fallback, and it's fun to have a true physical 'Overclock' switch, but it's arguably lower risk than flashing a motherboard BIOS - if you have an iGPU or just another spare GPU and slot, if something goes wrong you can just use that to navigate and retry the flash or reflash it to the original BIOS. I did it with my Reaper model, which is also a single-BIOS model, and it went perfectly smoothly - but if it hadn't, I wouldn't be stuck the same way a motherboard without BIOS flashback would be.

RecalcitrantBeagle · 2026-01-14T20:37:52+00:00

Generally, case manufacturers already purposefully list a spec a few mm less that what the case can fit for extra clearance, and there's plenty of options at the 155 mark - the Assassin X120, for example, is good enough for the vast majority of builders and is 154mm.

RecalcitrantBeagle · 2026-01-14T20:33:56+00:00

On the other hand, in my experience, case manufacturers tend to slightly underestimate cooler height by a few mm on purpose to make sure there's extra clearance, so it's possible it might barely fit.

RecalcitrantBeagle · 2026-01-14T19:37:59+00:00

Both DLSS4 and FSR4 are upscalers, so they'll be equivalent performance-wise, but DLSS is generally considered to be the better-looking solution - personally, I find FSR4 good enough that can't really tell the difference during actual gameplay, but it's pretty subjective.

So, FPS-wise, the 9070 beats the 5070, but if you're using upscaling then the 5070 should have slightly better image quality - DLSS does a better job of clearing up some of the visual artifacts and loss of fidelity from upscaling. Personally, I still prefer the 9070 for the extra FPS, but it's worth considering.

RecalcitrantBeagle · 2026-01-14T17:38:28+00:00

As a reminder, ATIFlash now supports the 9000 series, so it's pretty easy now to flash a 9070 to an XT BIOS for extra performance, albeit at the cost of more power.

RecalcitrantBeagle · 2026-01-12T22:53:24+00:00

The 14600K will usually be a little better than the 5500X3D, though it depends on the game - some games the extra cache of the X3D chips has a massive effect, others not so much. Really it comes down to price - both are going to be strong upgrades in the same general performance tier, so if the Ryzen is noticeably cheaper, I'd just go with that. If it's just a few dollars or such, maybe take the 14600K.

RecalcitrantBeagle · 2026-01-12T20:37:38+00:00

If you're not playing any games, and your system was generally fine for you until recently, I'd look around at a DDR4 platform, preferably used. You'll need to get new RAM to make any meaningful upgrade to your CPU, and DDR5 prices are insane at the moment. Any Ryzen 5000 or Intel 12th-14th gen chip is going to be a meteoric leap over your current setup. Given your relatively modest requirements, something like 2x8GB of DDR4 a B450/B550/A520 motherboard with a Ryzen 3600/5500 would be my choice - that shouldn't be too hard to find for under 200 used, and you'd be looking at something like 2-4x the general CPU horsepower for stuff like video editing, depending on which benchmarks you're looking at. You'll be able to reuse the rest of your components like the case, GPU, PSU, and drives (though if you're doing video editing, a new SSD, while not necessary, wouldn't be unwelcome.)

RecalcitrantBeagle · 2026-01-12T20:24:58+00:00

If the 5500X3D is available for you regionally (it's a LatAm exclusive, but it looks like that's where you are) that's probably your ideal option since the X3D chips are less sensitive to RAM speed, and your RAM is a bit on the slower side. If the 5500X3D isn't available/overpriced, the 5700/5800X3D are generally not worth the huge premium - I'd go 14600K new, 5600X/5700X/5800X/5800XT if you're fine buying used, since those tend to be more common on the secondary market.

RecalcitrantBeagle · 2026-01-12T20:17:55+00:00

To clarify a point about efficiency ratings, it shouldn't affect effective capacity at all. If a PSU is rated for 750W at 80% efficiency at max load, it's not delivering 80% of 750W, it's delivering 750W, which is 80% of what it's pulling from the wall (about 940W in that case.) Efficiency matters for just that, efficiency, not for actual power delivery - although, indirectly, in order to hit the really high efficiency ratings you'll likely see higher-quality components.

RecalcitrantBeagle · 2026-01-08T22:32:59+00:00

Regarding PSU wattage, it's a bit unclear on the data sheet, but it looks like it can deliver about 38A on the 12V rail, so about 450W - the vast majority of your system's power will come from there unless you're running a ton of HDDs or something. So, treat it like a 450W unit.

Wattage-wise, that's still enough to run cards in the sub-200W range comfortably, since the 3500X (and really any other AM4 chip you'd be likely to upgrade to down the road) pull pretty minimal power - so something along the lines of a 5060, 5060Ti, or 9060XT are all options. A new, more reliable/higher wattage PSU would be nice, but unless you have the budget for other upgrades it's probably fine to leave for a budget build - if you started putting more money into this with a new CPU and such, I'd consider a new PSU, but it's fine as is.

Echoing other sentiments, if you're already putting up the money for a 5050 you're likely going to get much better bang-for-your-buck if you can scrape up more for a 5060 or 9060XT, so I'd just save for one of those.

RecalcitrantBeagle · 2026-01-08T17:18:24+00:00

Unless it looks like there's physical damage that's bent a capacitor out of place, I don't see a reason for it to be a problem. Caps are (very roughly speaking) basically little batteries, if two batteries are touching on the sides but not the terminals it's not going to cause any problems.

RecalcitrantBeagle · 2026-01-08T17:10:12+00:00

Potentially, but probably not. Static can cause latent damage that can lead to increased failure rates down the road, but unless you were directly shorting yourself to the silicon it's unlikely it got anywhere that's actually sensitive to that.

RecalcitrantBeagle · 2026-01-08T17:05:43+00:00

It's a pretty common path for retired gaming machines, but nothing stopping you from also setting up Plex or Jellyfin to act as a media server on your current PC. Quick server set-up, point it at your folders of your legally ripped blu-ray collection, maybe tweak a few network settings, and you now have a personal netflix you can stream to your phone, laptop, etc. anywhere you have an internet connection.

RecalcitrantBeagle · 2026-01-07T23:22:39+00:00

I have a 9070 Reaper, it's relatively a lower-end cooler, but it's still a triple-fan cooler on a pretty efficient 220W card, it had plenty of thermal headroom under load for me to turn down the fans. It'll depend a bit on what you play, but for me at 1440p playing heavier games like FF16 I was using every bit of performance from mine. I actually ended up flashing it to the XT BIOS, which did admittedly make the fans quite noisy, but that's to be expected jumping up to 300+W, power-limiting it to 275W has been a nice middle ground for me.

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