Description

Here is my new mid-tier gaming build. The purpose of this build was to use the best bang for your buck components that could warrant decent framerates at high 1440p gaming. And with a little extra bling thrown in.

I had all the parts but the B550. As the B450 motherboard I was going to use was DOA. So I waited for the B550's to come out.

The case is quite easy to work in. I did buy the Masterbox vertical GPU holder. Which shows off the Thicc 3 brilliantly. But for some reason, when connected it would not detect the graphics card. So it is mounted normally with all the sag until I can get that fixed.

OC'd the CPU to 4.2Ghz and the GPU to 2080Mhz. And with the AIO being completely overkill for the R5 3600, fan noise is very quiet. I will most likely upgrade the CPU to an R9 4000 series in a few years when they are cheap.

Runs quite well and can play anything with mid-high settings at 1440p.

July 2020 Update: I now have a PCIE 4.0 compliant riser cable. I can now use my CoolerMaster MasterBox vertical GPU bracket. Last two pictures are with the vertical GPU.

Part Reviews

CPU

AMD Ryzen 5 3600 3.6 GHz 6-Core Processor

A great budget orientated CPU. No issues at all overclocking this to 4.2Ghz all cores.

CPU Cooler

Cooler Master MasterLiquid ML360R RGB 66.7 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler

I bought this as the case I have has the same fans. The cooler works well yet the pump has a small whine to it. Installation was quite easy.

Motherboard

Asus ROG STRIX B550-F GAMING (WI-FI) ATX AM4 Motherboard

Great board! Easy to use and feature-rich. A great mid-high tier B550 with all the features you want from an X570 without the hefty price tag.

Video Card

XFX THICC III Ultra Radeon RX 5700 XT 8 GB Video Card

Now, this is a Thicc GPU! It looks amazing in my case and I can barely hear it while gaming on high at 1440p.

Case

Cooler Master MasterBox TD500 Mesh w/ Controller ATX Mid Tower Case

A great case to work in and it looks fantastic! Note: I would not run a 140 or 280 AIO in this case. Stick with a 240 or 360 for fitment. You can run 140 fans as top exhaust though.

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Comments

Manula.Pabasara
  • 4 years 10 months ago

That mobo is sexy af

Yocracra
  • 4 years 10 months ago

Finally someone else who loves that case!

+1

Tactical_Toaster
  • 4 years 10 months ago

I just loved the mesh design! I saw it, I needed it, I bought it. haha

Yocracra
  • 4 years 10 months ago

The crystal-like design in the mesh and glass is what makes me love it so much.

Aureo_
  • 4 years 8 months ago

I was about to take the Meshify C, but my graphic card doesn't fit in ... This case is sooo beautiful !

Yocracra
  • 4 years 8 months ago

Is there about to be another build featuring this case?

CoolKid1234567891011
  • 4 years 10 months ago

******* I want a B550. Specifically your one, the B550-F. That's the best looking board I've seen in a while. Unfortunately if I do get a B550 I'd probably have to settle with a B550-A Pro or AORUS Elite ;(.

Very nice looking build. It looks very nice. Good job.

I also very much like the inclusion of an XFX Navi card. In my opinion they're the best looking cards on the market, nothing comes close (fight me).

Tactical_Toaster
  • 4 years 10 months ago

Thanks mate! Just save up a bit more for the mobo that you want. And you are 100% correct about XFX having the best looking 5700xt card!

CoolKid1234567891011
  • 4 years 10 months ago

Not just 5700XT :D

Moonlacer386
  • 4 years 7 months ago

Very true, I would go for better performance without a flash design and for cheaper any day XD

mspaint22
  • 4 years 10 months ago

just finished my first build using the same mb! had a fun time

Zethacus
  • 4 years 10 months ago

Other than the fact I would like to see the b550 boards a smidge cheaper (especially at half PCIe 4, compared to full PCIe 4 on x570), I love this build. Great performance to dollar ratio in your build. I wouldn't be change a thing! 🔥🔥🔥

Tactical_Toaster
  • 4 years 10 months ago

So would I, but the pandemic has inflated the prices, unfortunately. These B550 boards are still quite a bit cheaper than an X570. But I hear many people complain that the top tier B550 is the same price as a low tier X570, so why not get an X570? Well because the same priced B550 has way more features. Like better audio, wifi, lighting control, and that is just to name a few. To get a similarly specced X570 as this ROG B550-F board you are looking to pay nearly double just to have PCIE 4 on the rest of the board. Great for creators who have a capture card. Useless for me who only games in their free time.

Snininja
  • 4 years 8 months ago

Yeah, and its passively cooled

SeeTheFuzz
  • 4 years 7 months ago

This is a very sexy build, parts and RGB color choices combined make for a wonderful build. Plus you have great pictures here. Fantastic work.

That case is really calling to me, as I've seen overwhelmingly positive reviews for it. Is it as easy to work in as I hope it is? And how is the cable management?

Tactical_Toaster
  • 4 years 7 months ago

Thanks SeeTheFuzz, I have enjoed my time building in this case. There is plenty of room behind the motherboard for cable management. I just used some small cable ties that I had and it looks quite clean. All the best with your future build!

GovGeek
  • 4 years 5 months ago

Noice setup! I have the exact same card. I noticed that my JT's were always hitting 99 degrees and thermal throttling while the GPU sat at 65. So I re-pasted with Cryonaut and now my JT is nearly the same as the GPU temp (according to Wattman) and the highest I've seen the JT is 80 degrees using the Wattman auto-OC feature. Getting 2100MHz peaks now in MSFS2020.

OscarIsambard
  • 4 years 5 months ago

Looks Great! Just wondering what was your experience with the ML360R like? I'm planning on building myself a PC with the same case and AIO and wanna see what others think about them. Also, how do you set the lighting for the fans? Do you use the controllers they come with or software?

Tactical_Toaster
  • 4 years 5 months ago

Thanks OscarIsambard, The ML360R has been great. I have had zero issues with it. I mainly bought it as it came with 3 of the same fans as the case. I control them all through a fan/argb hub. Which is connected to the motherboard. So that I can control all the fans the same with the Asus ARGB software.

OscarIsambard
  • 4 years 5 months ago

Oh right, good to hear. Just wondering about the ML360R because I've heard from a lot of people that it was a pain to set up and its given them trouble, they probably just didn't set it up correctly!

Tactical_Toaster
  • 4 years 4 months ago

Here is a link to the fan/ARGB hub that I use.

https://www.coolermaster.com/catalog/coolers/rgb-accessories/masterfan-argb-and-pwm-hub/

The case fans are non PWM, but they fit. Just make sure the ML360R fans are connected to the PWM output (red socket, this is the part that sends the PWM data back to the motherboard) And from here you can control the ARGB for all the fans at the same time. You can even use the included fan/ARGB splitters to add more devices to the hub. Like the ML360 cpu block and an ARGB LED strip.

Hope that helps!

Mr_Octapalien
  • 4 years 10 months ago

Please tell me how you were able to get the purple and yellow rgb lighting on those fans. Master plus software won't allow me to do this.

Tactical_Toaster
  • 4 years 10 months ago

Ahh, I used Aura Sync from the mobo.

Mr_Octapalien
  • 4 years 10 months ago

Gotchaa. Purple and yellow is my exact color scheme. And msi mystic light doesn't have an option similar to that.

Sansano
  • 4 years 9 months ago

Is that wifi antenna easy to hide and does it work behind ur pc or u der ur desk?

Tactical_Toaster
  • 4 years 9 months ago

Yes, it can be easily hidden and works quite well. It all depends how far away you are from your wifi source.

Sansano
  • 4 years 9 months ago

Thanks for answering... your build looks lit by the way :D

孔亞勒
  • 4 years 9 months ago

Would you recommend that GPU over the; Sapphire Nitro+ Radeon RX 5700 XT 8 and the Gigabyte Geforce Rtx 2070 Super Windforce OC if the prices are as follows?:

XFX Radeon RX 5700 XT THICC III Ultra 4690 SEK ~ 512,68 USD, 450,96 Euro, 409,55 GBP

Sapphire Nitro+ Radeon RX 5700 XT Special Edition 5 683 SEK ~621,52 USD, 546,75 Euro, 496,42 GBP

Thank you in advance!

Kind regards 孔亞勒

Tactical_Toaster
  • 4 years 9 months ago

Hi 孔亞勒 I would recommend the XFX Radeon RX 5700 XT THICC III Ultra over the Sapphire Nitro+ Radeon RX 5700 XT SE at that price point. While the Sapphire is 1% faster, is it really worth the extra money? I have been gaming with my Thicc III for a few months now and I have had no issues. In regards to the Gigabyte Geforce Rtx 2070 Super Windforce OC, does your monitor support g-sync or freesync? If it supports g-sync, might as well get the 2070 Super. It is a better card. I hope that helps!

孔亞勒
  • 4 years 9 months ago

Hi Tactical_Toaster!

Thank you for your quick reply, I really appreciate your advance and input on this matter. I see, I see, well it seems you and many others still have had good experiences with the GPU, I was a bit worried since I saw so many negative comments in my previous research. Well it was one of the 2070S that seemed to be close in price to the RX 5700XT cards and from what I could find out still had good reviews. Unfortunately my monitor is not exactly top of the line it's an Benq GL2250 with Full HD 1080P, 1920x1080 resolution and 60Hz, don't think it supports g-sync or freesync. However I might look at an upgrade later on but at the moment my main priority is the desktop itself.

Thank you for your help, it really does help out a lot. :)

Kind regards 孔亞勒

Monitor: https://www.benq.com/en-ap/monitor/stylish/gl2250/specifications.html

Tactical_Toaster
  • 4 years 9 months ago

Hi 孔亞勒,

I think you are referring to the Thicc II with the negative reviews. XFX resolved this issue with the Thicc III.

Do yourself a favour and get a good monitor! Something with 144Hz or higher and low blue light. Your eyes will not be strained and it is a more pleasant gaming experience.

All the best with your new build!

孔亞勒
  • 4 years 9 months ago

Hi Tactical_Toaster!

Well I know that Thicc II was widely criticised but I still saw a lot of negative comments about the Thicc III however it's hard to know since usually the negative ones stand out and usually almost only the ones with negative expericences comment and tend to be more vocal.

Thank you for the advice about the monitor I really appreciate it and I will definitly keep it in mind. Yeah a coworker of mine had the same recommendation at least that I should at least aim for minimum 144Hz. By the way do you have any recommendations for a good monitor, perhaps something not too expensive? As I mentioned before I might look to upgrade a bit later on perhaps when there might be some price drops or discounts, but my main priority will be the desktop itself.

Thank you for your kind wishes and help, I really appreciate it. :)

Kind regards 孔亞勒

Tactical_Toaster
  • 4 years 9 months ago

Hello 孔亞勒,

I have been gaming for about 3 months now on this Thicc III and I have had no issues. I have also recently updated the build pictures with the GPU vertical mount working.

For the monitor I splurged a bit and went for a 32in 1440p curved display. 144hz 1ms response. This was about 2 years ago when my previous monitor died.

https://au.aoc.com/product_5609_CQ32G1_monitor_AUSTRALIA.php

For gaming the 144hz is amazing. No more ghosting! I can never go back to a 60hz monitor for gaming. A monitor is very much a personal preference. So keep an eye out for some deals when you are looking to buy. I hope that helps!

eddieht123
  • 4 years 9 months ago

Is there space enough to vertically mount a graphics card in here?

Tactical_Toaster
  • 4 years 9 months ago

Yes there is. I have the masterbox vertical GPU bracket. But the riser cable only supports PCIE 3.0, where as the motherboard and GPU are both PCIE 4.0. So I had to purchase a separate 4rd party 4.0 compliant riser cable. I am currently modifying the bracket to support the different cable. I will updatethe pictures when I have it working.

eddieht123
  • 4 years 9 months ago

Ok, thanks

eddieht123
  • 4 years 8 months ago

Is the pump loud?

Tactical_Toaster
  • 4 years 8 months ago

Not really, but it does have a little whine to it.

eddieht123
  • 4 years 8 months ago

On the aio

T3knomi
  • 4 years 8 months ago

Why do you only have an NVME as storage? I would’ve gotten a 2TB HDD on top of the NVME.

Tactical_Toaster
  • 4 years 8 months ago

As I have a 20TB NAS for all my other storage.

T3knomi
  • 4 years 8 months ago

Ohh makes sense lol

PC-Gamer55
  • 4 years 7 months ago

Hey can you help me please? I bought the same motherboard and i just wanna know. Can i sync all 4 fans with individual colors at the same time, because the motherboard has only one addressable RGB header. And thanks in advance :)

Tactical_Toaster
  • 4 years 7 months ago

I can do all 4 fans the same colour at the same time. As for having each fan a different colour. That wont be possible, unless your case has a LED controller?

PC-Gamer55
  • 4 years 7 months ago

Thanks for replying. First of all, i have 4 ARGB fans. Now how can i connect all of them to the header? And how can control them by the software, or isn't possible to do such a thing? I'm sorry but i'm new to pc building! :D

Tactical_Toaster
  • 4 years 7 months ago

No worries! I have a ARGB splitter. There are quite a few out there. But your case should have one if the fans are included. If not you can buy them online. For the software you can use Armoury Crate. It has the colour control in there.

https://www.coolermaster.com/au/en-au/catalog/coolers/rgb-accessories/argb-1-to-5-splitter-cable/

PC-Gamer55
  • 4 years 7 months ago

Now i got it thanks a lot my friend. btw i'm gonna get the same case that you have, but i don't know if it comes with an ARGB splitter or not? And btw congratulations on your build, it's really impressive!

Tactical_Toaster
  • 4 years 7 months ago

Thanks! The TD500 Mesh case comes with 3 argb front fans. And it has a 3-1 splitter. So if you have more argb fans you will need another splitter.

Continue this thread
Bunkmuffin
  • 4 years 3 months ago

Looks really good.

What gen 4 riser cable have you used please?

Tactical_Toaster
  • 4 years 3 months ago

I bought a LINKUP gen4 riser cable. Works really well.

eddieht123
  • 4 years ago

What rgb software do you use?

Tactical_Toaster
  • 4 years ago

I use the Asus Aura Sync. I have all the fans and CPU RGB going through a FAN/RGB hub.

Purple1156
  • 2 years 4 months ago

Nice build mate! I sent you a message in DM's:)