AMD Ryzen 5 5600G 6-Core/12-Thread Processor with Radeon Graphics $150 - $10 coupon = $140 free shipping

Zen wrote: ↑ I've always build my own PC but for the next gig i am seriously considering getting a laptop (clearance/sale Ryzen) and hooked it up to the LCD/mouse/keyboard. It seems to be cheaper that way, especially if you're going to buy a CPU with an integrated GPU. A laptop with comparable CPU to this one is going for $400 or even less than that with discount, You add up mobo, ram, HDD, etc and it's pretty much the same or more WITHOUT legitimate Windows. Of course, i'm speaking for light/non-gamer build. Anyone has an argument against this?

Bulding your own PC is always more flexible. You can overclock it or fine tune the settings.

Also, you choose the best cooling solution for your use. I often encode videos and it pegs the CPU at 90% all cores. With a laptop, that thing is going to heat up and the little tiny fans usually sound like a mini little jet engine at 5000rpm. It's annoying. With my main computer, I can run it with all cores, and it only makes a moderate amount of noise as the fan only spins up to 1500rpm.

laptops have a built in battery, and if that goes, are you going to replace it? With a desktop you can add extra drives. I would also never use the built in display as I have a much better monitor

Hugh wrote: ↑ I haven't tried this. Seems like an idea worth considering.

Some issues:

• Sometimes notebooks require the lid to be open for proper cooling.
• You probably want to get a notebook with the power switch accessible with the lid closed.
• Notebooks are generally slower than desktops (less so for gaming notebooks).
• Notebooks are harder to upgrade. Especially so when it comes to RAM.
• Notebooks are harder to repair than desktops.
• Without docking (not your usecase) the useful lifetime of a notebook might be limited by the display, keyboard, touchpad, processor, RAM size, or disk size. It's a shame to have to replace the whole thing when only one component needs upgrading.

Micro desktops have most of the disadvantages of notebooks -- they have notebook guts.

Having said all that, I will point out that few people ever install hardware upgrades in their computer. And few people need powerful computers. In fact most people just buy notebooks.

Regarding the lid, there is a power option to turn the screen off even if the lid is open.
In my 40+ years of using a custom build PC, i have rarely upgraded a component, maybe a video card. Every time i've buit a new system. It's nice to have the option to change parts but like you said how often do you do it?

warpdrive wrote: ↑ Bulding your own PC is always more flexible. You can overclock it or fine tune the settings.

Also, you choose the best cooling solution for your use. I often encode videos and it pegs the CPU at 90% all cores. With a laptop, that thing is going to heat up and the little tiny fans usually sound like a mini little jet engine at 5000rpm. It's annoying. With my main computer, I can run it with all cores, and it only makes a moderate amount of noise as the fan only spins up to 1500rpm.

Most laptops have a built in battery, and if that goes, are you going to replace it? With a desktop you can add extra drives. I would also never use the built in display as I have a much better monitor,

I guess in your situation, cooling fan noise would be an issue.
Battery even dead if connected should still work. This will most likely stay plugged in 100% of the time.
If you need to add more drives then desktop is better, since you would be getting better performance with internal vs external ones.
i'm planning to use my external LCD monitor. and monitor wouldn't be a factor in the price since in both options you would need one.

Zen wrote: ↑ I guess in your situation, cooling fan noise would be an issue.
Battery even dead if connected should still work. This will most likely stay plugged in 100% of the time.
If you need to add more drives then desktop is better, since you would be getting better performance with internal vs external ones.
i'm planning to use my external LCD monitor. and monitor wouldn't be a factor in the price since in both options you would need one.

One laptop I owned, the battery started to swell. So I tossed the battery but at least that laptop still functioned but it throttled the power without the battery. It would have been a waste to buy another battery to keep the laptop running.

Aside: Generally keeping a battery charged at 100% will degrade the battery fast. Fortunately, you can often use the settings and keep it charged only to 50-80%, it's better for the battery (Lenovo supports setting a charge limit for example)

Anyway, I prefer a desktop. I can upgrade parts of it.....I'd start off with 16GB and maybe add more if I needed it.

Likewise, I am always changing parts on pc's. Laptops have their purposes for mobility, but for customization, options, longevity, and practicality, a desktop at home is ideal for me. Great post Op.

so i decided to get the CPU today, but not at canadacomputers

got it price-matched at ME with 30% beat the difference, and the CPU came to $125+tax

also got their last ITX mobo in store, which was the primary reason i went there

carmaster wrote: ↑ It's $189.99 at Memoryexpress. How did you get it for $125?

https://www.memoryexpress.com/Policies/ ... on.cm.aspx

We verify that the item is in-stock and available for immediate sale at the advertised price. We will then beat that price by 10% of the difference before taxes!

i was only expecting a $5 off canadacomputer's $140 price ($50 difference), but when i entered the store their banner instead stated they will beat the difference by 30%, which brought the price down by $15 instead

i have the receipt if you don't believe me. you may want to act soon before ME decides to bring the price to $140 as well

they really should open a store at the east side of the GTA...

carmaster wrote: ↑ Which location was it?

i went to the mississauga location because thats the only location that has the ITX mobo i wanted.

but i would imagine the 30% thing would apply to the etobicoke location as well, but if you are mindful of their in-store banner, then go to the mississauga location to play it safe

Zen wrote: ↑
Regarding the lid, there is a power option to turn the screen off even if the lid is open.

Surely. Think of screen blanking. Whether your OS exposes this option is another question. My OS (Linux) lets you do pretty much anything but you might end up having to hack the code. Dunno.

It's much neater to leave the lid closed all the time. Unfortunately, many notebooks have power switches that are covered by the lid.

In my 40+ years of using a custom build PC, i have rarely upgraded a component, maybe a video card. Every time i've buit a new system. It's nice to have the option to change parts but like you said how often do you do it?

40+ years! That means Apple II clones or S100 bus computers (you couldn't really have cusom-built Comodore Pets or Atari 800s). Which did you have?

Some people find it fun to hack on their hardware. Others just want to use them.

Even if you are in the latter category, there are times where exactly one component is holding you back, and that's when it is painful not to be able to upgrade. It could be RAM capacity, HDD capacity, HDD speed, lack of USB3. I've upgraded for each of those. I've wanted to upgrade for HDMI 2 support but not found it sensible. Every computer in which I replaced an HDD with an SSD got a new lease on live.

I guess in your situation, cooling fan noise would be an issue.

Good point. Noise can be a bother. Specs rarely give you a hint of what you will experience. Putting a computer under a desk reduces the amount of noise that gets to your ears.

Battery even dead if connected should still work. This will most likely stay plugged in 100% of the time.
If you need to add more drives then desktop is better, since you would be getting better performance with internal vs external ones.

The battery in a notebook would be a plus: a built-in UPS.
One benefit of a UPS is not well known: most consumer SSD's can be left in an unrecoverable state if power fails.

BoombasticSloth wrote: ↑ Likewise, I am always changing parts on pc's. Laptops have their purposes for mobility, but for customization, options, longevity, and practicality, a desktop at home is ideal for me. Great post Op.

Why are you always changing parts? I sometimes change parts (as described above) but not often.

steven80 wrote: ↑ What bios do you have? I have the same board, but my bios is 2.00 from 2018. I’m hesitant to upgrade the bios due to all the warnings and stuff on the bios upgrade website https://www.asrock.com/mb/AMD/B450m%20Pro4/#BIOS

I have the 2200g. Can I just update to the latest bios?

I have updated my bios to the latest 5.40 beta. Never had any problems with updating the bios. You should be fine.

chroma_cg wrote: ↑ thanks for the reassurance. another concern of mine is the need to update bios for 5000 cpu compatibility. other brands such as gigabyte seem to have a function where you can update the bios without the need to insert the cpu. do asrock AM4 boards have a similar function? i do not see a similar button on the asrock ITX boards (whether on the IO ports, or on the board itself, or in the online manual)

since this is my first build, if asrock does not have an updated bios, wouldn't i need to have another compatible (older ryzen) CPU on the asrock mobo, flash the bios, before i can even use the 5600G? i do not have an older ryzen cpu lying around to flash the bios

Unfortunately this motherboard does not have the flashback bios option. Unless it's older stock the motherboard should come with a bios that is new enough to include support for the 5600g/5700g cpu's since they have out for 1 year now. You'd be taking a chance at this point so just make sure that the retailer has a good return/exchange policy.

chroma_cg wrote: ↑ so i decided to get the CPU today, but not at canadacomputers

got it price-matched at ME with 30% beat the difference, and the CPU came to $125+tax

also got their last ITX mobo in store, which was the primary reason i went there

I can confirm that at the Ottawa location they're also doing the 30% price beat. Also got the cpu for $125+tax.

Iluvdeals2018 wrote: ↑ I have updated my bios to the latest 5.40 beta. Never had any problems with updating the bios. You should be fine.

Ok thanks.

syunze wrote: ↑ I can confirm that at the Ottawa location they're also doing the 30% price beat. Also got the cpu for $125+tax.

Damn. I price matched online and it was 10%.

Anyone know if the Langley bc location will do 30%?

steven80 wrote: ↑ Damn. I price matched online and it was 10%.

Anyone know if the Langley bc location will do 30%?

Just call the store. I did that to double check if they had the 30% before I went.

chroma_cg wrote: ↑ https://www.memoryexpress.com/Policies/ ... on.cm.aspx

i was only expecting a $5 off canadacomputer's $140 price ($50 difference), but when i entered the store their banner instead stated they will beat the difference by 30%, which brought the price down by $15 instead

Crap, I already ordered it from CC. This makes it really hot.

I was literally in the parking lot of my Ottawa Memory Express today going to a different store....so I could have easily gotten this deal,

warpdrive wrote: ↑ Crap, I already ordered it from CC. This makes it really hot.

I was literally in the parking lot of my Ottawa Memory Express today going to a different store....so I could have easily gotten this deal,

If you really want it, you should probably go tonight because there's only 2 left in stock at that location.

syunze wrote: ↑ I can confirm that at the Ottawa location they're also doing the 30% price beat. Also got the cpu for $125+tax.

You can also price beat online.

iamsiege wrote: ↑ You can also price beat online.

I'm not sure if they're doing the 30% price beat online. They told me it was only in certain stores.