Need opinion re. parts quality
Need opinion re. parts quality
Good day to everyone at Tom's. It has been a long, long time since I have posted anything: My life pretty much took a major downturn in Sept. '19 and much of my time that I was able to spend on Tom's kinda went away. Loss of employment, marital issues, major medical issues (getting old is not for sissies!), and the list goes on.
I am glad to be back, and it is interesting to see so many moderators who were active when I was on regularly have since retired from moderating. Glad you folks are still around.
Here's the question and some background: Yeears ago I built a couple PC's with MSI parts (mobos, video cards) and all these parts at some point shortly after their warranties died. All were replaced with ASUS parts and EVGA parts and are still running strong.
I have reached the stage where I want, and will surly need, a new computer for myself. Though upgraded in the CPU and graphics area many times, those upgrades are 8-12 years old; won't be long before I will not be able to game with this thing or before something major dies.
Could you share you opinions on the durability and/or life expectancy of MSI parts vs. ASUS.
I will probably end up with a prebuilt; Costco has a rather nice MSIAegis with 19 14900F, and ATX mobo (much as I tried I could not see the mobo model), MSI4070, 32GB RAM, 2TB NVMe SSD for $1700. I tried putting one together on Parts Picker and Newegg and the cost was within $200, and then I have to consider the time to build it and that each part is a separate warranty.
Someplace on Tom's are my PC specs, but damned if I could find them, so here they are with some updates: Case:Storm Sniper. CPU FX8350 black(1918). PSU: Rm850i (since 2021). Vid CardEVGA 1070Ti (second owner, from a trusted first owner). Mobo: ASUS Sabertooth V1 990FX (2012)[what a great board!]. Corsair Vengence DDR3 1600= 16GB. NOTHING Overclocked.
2.5" Sata SSD, 2TB MX500 Crucial; 3 7200 rpm HDDs for storage.
Still running, and able to play HALO Infinite and Dead Space '23 at barely playable FPS; 30-60 depending on the scenes; a mix of medium and high settings.
Sorry for the long post, Thanks in advance for any replies.
Welcome back, good sir! 🫡
I’ve seen you through the early days and understand what it’s like to build a PC from scratch—it’s rewarding and lets you shape your future upgrades.
EVGA and Asus were the leaders back then, but since the pandemic, EVGA has risen to the top in terms of quality and performance, while Asus focused more on reliability and support.
MSI has been a strong choice, though not for their AIO models.
I strongly caution against choosing an F SKU processor; the iGPU can be handy for fixing GPU problems, and Windows 11 has been causing black screens too.
It's nice to see you again.
Things can change quickly.
When dealing with prebuilts, pay attention to the specific components.
The ones they don't mention—like the power supply or RAM model—can be overlooked.
They might impress you with technical jargon, but they often skip important details people should know.
It's great to see you again, sir! 🫡
You've had a long history with us and understand well the process of building a PC from scratch—it's rewarding and lets you shape your upgrade plans.
EVGA and Asus were the leaders, but since the pandemic, EVGA has risen to the top in terms of motherboards and GPUs, while Asus focused more on quality control, RMA services, and BIOS updates. MSI has become the preferred brand now, though not for their AIOs.
I strongly recommend avoiding an F SKU processor because the integrated GPU can be useful for fixing discrete GPU problems. Windows 11 has also caused some black screen issues, and some GPUs come with uncertain quality. The RMA team can assist you through these challenges.
How much are you planning to invest in your PC build or upgrade?
Don't hesitate to be honest, sir—sharing more helps us give better advice.
Good to hear from you. Only info I could find re. PSU was it is a 750W 80+ Gold - which tells me very little. I suspect it is an MSI PSU but unless the store will let me open the case and look; I couldn't find much info at all on the MSI site. I have no real idea. RAM is DDR5 @ 5600, but again I don't know what brand.
One of my concerns is that the Mobo does Not have any heatsinks on the MoFets, though the CPU cooler (air) blows over them; and I don't recall seeing much cooling on the M.2 slot.
JUst for the "record" Costco also has a cyberpower and an IBuypower computer in that price range: I would not consider either brand, ever. Both use a micro mobo or an ITX mobo. BS!
Thanks for the info re ASUS, Lutfij. Makes me sorry to hear about ASUS. The PC I described has an air cooler; if I upgraded that I would go with Corsair.
Re. how much I could afford if I built another PC - Well, all this is in the "thinking about it" stage so if I were to build one I might be able to go for ~ $1400. The thing is I don't really have the space to do that anymore, and my patience with parts and getting them all to play together nicely has just about vanished. My personal feelings at this time is let someone else build it and if there's a problem that company can fix it. Finding the right builder is now quite important. You indicate MSI is the 'go-to' mainstream one, and my son-in-law, and all three of his kids (my grandchildren) went with MSI and i have not heard of any problems. I have also looked at VelocityMicro and Puget Computers but their prices are a little steep.
One last thing guys: Good chance that I will wait until the Christmas sales start and perhaps the price will drop some.
Right.
Minimal actual details. Extremely common.
Will it function? Yes, thanks to its original components.
The problems will appear in two years, when you plan to upgrade, and the unbranded PSU can't handle it.
If you're in the USA, you're likely near a Microcenter. The issue might be that they only have a few locations west of the Rockies, depending on your location. They construct PCs using parts you select from their inventory. I believe it's best to visit them in person rather than ordering online. They offer quality components, so you should find good value for both price and performance. You might also be able to transfer your existing storage drives from your previous system.
If I manage to get it, I don't intend to use that original PSU for a long time. An HXi Corsair with 850W would be a better choice.
Hey Lafong, I didn't mention Microcenter before, but the issue is they're 2 to 600 miles away.
If their Santa Clara store opens, I'd count 200+; otherwise, it's way down South.
Our Best Buy has a lot of the parts I need, but they're really expensive and not budget-friendly.