First desktop Computer ever

[luispdm]

Hi everyone!
I already am a PCS customer (I own a Defiance II) and I'm pretty satisfied about the job they did. Since I might want to buy a new computer soon, investigating on the web and asking for feedback in here could be very useful.
Even though a laptop is pretty damn awesome for its portability, I think it's time for me to buy my first desktop computer. At home I do some music production (as a hobby), coding (especially when looking for a job), casual gaming (e.g. F1, Assassin's Creed, Middle Earth) browsing (sometimes with several tabs opened in Chrome, that's why 16GB xD) and watching movies/series.
So, here I go with my proposal specs:

Case
CORSAIR CARBIDE SERIES™ AIR 540 GAMING CASE
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 5 1600X Six Core CPU (3.6GHz-4.0GHz/19MB CACHE/AM4)
Motherboard
ASUS® STRIX B350-F GAMING (DDR4, USB 3.0, 6Gb/s)
Memory (RAM)
16GB Corsair VENGEANCE DDR4 2666MHz (2 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
6GB NVIDIA GEFORCE GTX 1060 - DVI, HDMI, 3 x DP - GeForce GTX VR Ready!
1st Hard Disk
NOT REQUIRED
1st M.2 SSD Drive
512GB WD Black™ M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD (up to 2050MB/s R | 800MB/s W)
DVD/BLU-RAY Drive
NOT REQUIRED
Power Supply
CORSAIR 550W TXm SERIES™ SEMI-MODULAR 80 PLUS® GOLD, ULTRA QUIET
Power Cable
1 x 1 Metre European Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Processor Cooling
Noctua NH-U14S Ultra Quiet Performance CPU Cooler
Thermal Paste
EK-TIM ECTOTHERM THERMAL COMPOUND
Sound Card
ONBOARD 6 CHANNEL (5.1) HIGH DEF AUDIO (AS STANDARD)
Wireless/Wired Networking
WIRELESS 802.11 Gigabyte GC-W867D-I AC 867Mbps + BT4.0 + Intel Wi-Di PCI-E CARD
USB Options
MIN. 2 x USB 3.0 & 2 x USB 2.0 PORTS @ BACK PANEL + MIN. 2 FRONT PORTS

Price 1.511,00 €

The Corsair 540 looks really interesting due to its size. I might move often (even changing ountry) in the next few years.
I went for AMD because Ryzen's prices are pretty interesting and also, HT is offered as well (not as a plus, like the blue team).
I know: a 6GB 1060 for casual gaming at 1080p is overkill, but I'm targeting to play at high/ultra details for something like 3 years.
A 500GB NVMe is enough, I have fast Internet and cloud space. Maybe an HDD will be bought in the future.

Some questions now:
- Do you suggest a small form-factor case instead of a regular one due to my needs? I am a bit scared about thermals and fans noise though.
- Given my usage, would it be better to go with Intel? If so, 7th or 8th gen?
- Overclock: is it worth to gain ~5FPS for 10C hotter CPU? This is what I've heard and read.
- Is the GTX 1060 sold by PCS a Founders Edition one?
- Is it true that 3000MHz RAM does not pair well with AMD's processors?
- Could a bigger PSU be a wise choice regarding the future (e.g. more components incoming)?
- Regarding the Wireless card, PCS configurator says: Please note that the Wireless card you have specified is an AC card and as a result is not compatible with Wireless N routers.. Although Gigabyte website says their card is a/b/g/n compatible.

Oh! Max budget: 1600€

Thanks folks!!

 

[Oussebon]

Sounds good When you're ready, post up your budget and intended uses for the PC, including whether you need things like MB + M or a monitor within the budget, and people can suggest specs.

 

[Stephen M]

If you are into music production dual-booting with a Linux Studio distro would be a thought, they are low latency so better for music.

 

[luispdm]

@Stephen M oh yeah, I forgot about the OS: I was thinking to install both Linux and Windows 10. Thanks for the advice, I had no idea about it!

@Oussebon sorry, I accidentally posted it incomplete xD

 

[Oussebon]

- Do you suggest a small form-factor case instead of a regular one due to my needs? I am a bit scared about thermals and fans noise though.

No, but you don't need such an expensive case either for this kind of spec. A Fractal Define S would be generously more than enough.

- Given my usage, would it be better to go with Intel? If so, 7th or 8th gen?

If Intel then 8th gen absolutely. An i5 8400 would offer better gaming performance, and might offer better performance in music production, depending on what you were doing. But an R5 1600(x) is a good CPU and will also do well in those things, and would probably compile faster.

- Overclock: is it worth to gain ~5FPS for 10C hotter CPU? This is what I've heard and read.

The R5 doesn't have much overclocking headroom. Probably not worth overclocking unless or until you run into something where you need more CPU performance.

- Is the GTX 1060 sold by PCS a Founders Edition one?

Probably not. The exact model will vary. Palit duals, Zotac Minis, FEs, and others can all get used.

- Is it true that 3000MHz RAM does not pair well with AMD's processors?

The opposite. There were compatibility issues when it first launched but a) that was a long while ago and updates have improved things, b) PCS will make sure the RAM they use is compatible and working as intended and c) Ryzen is said to benefit a lot from faster RAM.

TBH faster RAM is usually worth the cost increase for Intel CPUs too, given the potentially large gains versus the small-ish price increase.

- Could a bigger PSU be a wise choice regarding the future (e.g. more components incoming)?

Possibly, depending on what future GPU you end up upgrading to. The 650 and 750W TXm PSUs aren't much more cash. Though 550W is comfortably enough for all but the most demanding single GPU setups (e.g. overclocked AIB Vegas).

- Regarding the Wireless card, PCS configurator says: Please note that the Wireless card you have specified is an AC card and as a result is not compatible with Wireless N routers.. Although Gigabyte website says their card is a/b/g/n compatible.

An AC wifi card should still work with an N router afaik? I've not been sure why that warning exists either, unless the wifi adapter only does the 5GHz band and that's what they mean?

 

[Stephen M]

I quite like Ubuntu Studio but you can find a load of Linux distros here: https://distrowatch.com/

 

[luispdm]

@Stephen M Oh thanks! It looks quite interesting: however, Maschine from Native Instruments (the software I currently use), is not available for Linux distros

@Oussebon

If Intel then 8th gen absolutely. An i5 8400 would offer better gaming performance, and might offer better performance in music production, depending on what you were doing. But an R5 1600(x) is a good CPU and will also do well in those things, and would probably compile faster.

So you think either Ryzen 5 1600X or i5-8400 would be both suitable for my use case?

The R5 doesn't have much overclocking headroom. Probably not worth overclocking unless or until you run into something where you need more CPU performance.

So you rather suggest to OC an i5-8600k? If so, I thought that too, since it speeds up from 2.8 to 3.6GHz base clock and from 4.0 to 4.3GHz in turbo boost.

Probably not. The exact model will vary. Palit duals, Zotac Minis, FEs, and others can all get used.

Does PCS tell you when you buy it or is it just a surprise out of the box xD?

Thanks to both of you guys!

 

[Oussebon]

So you think either Ryzen 5 1600X or i5-8400 would be both suitable for my use case?

Yes

So you rather suggest to OC an i5-8600k?

No, probably not. Because if you were spending the extra on that and the things you need for overclocking, you should be looking at an i7 8700k / R7 1800x CPU anyway.

since it speeds up from 2.8 to 3.6GHz base clock and from 4.0 to 4.3GHz in turbo boost.

The base clocks can largely be ignored I think. Turbo boost brings an i5 8400 very close to an i5 8600k:

I don't see much merit in spending £50-60 for 300MHz in this budget area. If spending that much more, better to put it towards an i7/R7.

Does PCS tell you when you buy it or is it just a surprise out of the box xD?

Surprise. They're selling a GTX 1060, and I think for most people a GTX 1060 is a GTX 1060, so that's as far as they go with the description.

 

[luispdm]

@Oussebon

Thanks again for all your advices!