Here's a question for folks more knowledgeable than I (which is probably anyone reading this thread):
My 18-year old wants a new computer for digital music production (rap and hip hop stuff). He sent me a list of parts and is thinking of trying to build it himself. He has no experience or particular learning in this area, but one or more of his friends has told him that it's not that difficult to do. I googled "how hard is it to build a PC," and the first couple search results seemed to support that. Nonetheless, my concern is that he/I will buy a bunch of expensive components and he'll mess something up or he'll do it right and it still won't work.
So...
Am I being overly concerned? Is it really not that difficult? Is it really possible just to buy a case, a mother board, a processor, etc. and put them together and get a computer that will kick ass?
What are the pitfalls? Traps to avoid?
What is he likely to have overlooked with his list of parts (I copied his list below, and this is obviously just the PC and doesn't include any software or peripherals)?
Thanks!
His list:
AMD Ryzen 7 3700x 3.6 GHz 8-Core Processor
Cooler Master Hyper 212 Black Edition 42 CFM CPU Cooler
MSI B450 Tomahawk Max ATX AM4 Motherboard
Corsair Vengeance LPX 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 CL 16 Memory
Western Digital Caviar Blue 1 TB 3.5" 7200 RPM Internal Hard Drive
MSI Radeon RX 580 8 GB Armor OC video card
Fractal Design Focus G ATX Mid Tower Case
Corsair CXM 650 W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-modular ATX power supply
Windows 10 Pro
A monitor
This looks like a decent parts list for doing music production type stuff. I do a lot of stuff like this on my rig too and I also run a business that builds completely custom workstation and gaming PCs, so I have few suggestions for the your build if you don't mind spending a little bit more for a much better experience.
First I would up the RAM to 32GB (2x16) - If you start getting into more complex song and depending on the software you end up using, having more RAM can be a life saver.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B016ORTNI2?tag=pcpapi-20&linkCode=ogi&th=1&psc=1I'd also spend a little more for a CPU cooler. The Hyper 212 was a great cooler (10+ years ago), but CPU's and cooler have come a long way since then. It's just an old design and it's having a harder and harder time keeping up with today's CPUs. I'd recommend the beQuiet Dark Rock Pro 4, it will keep the CPU nice and cool no matter what you are doing -
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07BY6F8D9?tag=pcpapi-20&linkCode=ogi&th=1&psc=1I'd also suggest adding an NVME ssd as your boot (Windows Install) drive. It will make the computer feel 100x faster than with just a HDD. Something small to install the Windows OS is all you need, plus you can always expand later if needed, of course I would keep the 1TB HDD you have listed there for storage -
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07KGLN3HN?tag=pcpapi-20&linkCode=ogi&th=1&psc=1Also You will have a much better build experience and better airflow/thermals with a slightly upgraded case. Fractal Design makes wonderful cases, so you are on the right track. I'd recommend their Meshify case -
Meshify linkIf you end up gaming on it, the RX580 will do a decent job, but if you end up getting into more demanding modern games that would be another area to upgrade. Not necessary if you are only doing music production on it though.
If you have any other questions just let me know, I'd be more than happy to help.
Also if you want a good Youtube build guide check out Bitwit's youtube channel.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IhX0fOUYd8Q this video is a few years old now, but 99% of it still applies.