Mad Cow's Build a Killer Gaming Rig on a Budget Thread (1 Viewer)

[BigJohn]

Trying to upgrade son's rig to play current games.

Here's the current build:

ASUS TUF B450M - Motherboard
ADATA 256 MB 2133 MHz SSD - OS Drive
WD 1TB 7200 rpm HDD - Storage Drive
G.SKILL Ripjaws DDR4 16 Gb 3600 - RAM
AMD Ryzen 5 6 Core 12 Thread - CPU
Sapphire PULSE Radeon RX 560 4GB - Graphics Card

Now, I know enough about PC's to put a decent rig together, but where I lack knowledge is the GFX card. This is obviously a bottom tier card. I recently upgraded the RAM and CPU, so I'm pretty sure the GFX card is the biggest bottleneck at this point. Based on the motherboard, is there something I can target in the $300 range that can handle current-gen games at decent settings?

TIA.

Probably not decent settings for 1440+, but for 1080p gaming possibly. Probably target the Radeon RX 7600 XT or the RX 6600. No idea on motherboard and processor compatibility, didn't have a chance to look at that.

So, watching a couple videos, reading some stuff I've narrowed it down to the 7600 XT and 6700 XT. Sounds like the 6700 XT is a bigger beast but getting phased out. I threw a bid on a used one for about 50-60 bucks less that the 7600 XT new. We'll see where that goes. Appreciate the feedback.

ETA, I'm only going for 1080p-level settings. Higher-end monitor will be down the road.

 

[Nick Vermeil]

Here's what gets you in just under $1600 before tax:

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/s9rCKX

If you have a Microcenter nearby, you can get that same build for $1360 before tax.

Going AMD here gets you the best bang-for-buck, assuming you don't game with Ray Tracing on (who does?).

For CPU, the 7700X is neck-and-neck with the 5800X3D, but the former gets you into the AM5 socket and DDR5. Both better for future upgrades if you require.

32GB of RAM is my preference these days. 16GB minimum if you want to try to save a few bucks. I run with 64GB but that's admittedly overkill.

GPU is the 7900XT. 20GB VRAM is important, and nVidia's best competitor is the 4070 Ti, with less VRAM, lower performance in most games, and costs more to boot. But I get that some people really like the feature set of nVidia and that's fine. One of my gaming rigs is AMD-based and the other nVidia. I just go with the best value at the time of purchase. VRAM is important because a lot of games (primarily console ports like Last of Us) turn into slideshows if they require more VRAM and you don't have it. 20GB gives you plenty of room for future games gobbling-up more. The 4070 Ti @ 12GB is just barely enough for today, but could be risky for the future.

SSD is a solid PCI-E gen 4 WD 2TB drive. 2TB should be enough unless you love to keep a ton of games downloaded. I run with 2TB and have plenty of space left. Can easily upgrade to 4TB in the future if/when you need to.

PSU 850W Corsair. I always go with Corsair. Silverstone is a good brand as well if that is your preference.

HSF is the only thing I put in the PC PartPicker build but not in Micro Center. Micro Center's options are all pricey. The Peerless Assassin is incredibly well-reviewed and just $30-$40 (vs $100 for others). If you go the Micro Center route, buy everything there except the HSF, and get that on Amazon.

Hope that's a good start. Let me know if you have any questions or tradeoffs you want to consider.

I haven't pulled the trigger yet. Any change in your recommendations? I'm going to Microcenter this weekend. As a life long intel guy, I'm feeling weird going AMD.

 

[Zasada]

Here's what gets you in just under $1600 before tax:

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/s9rCKX

If you have a Microcenter nearby, you can get that same build for $1360 before tax.

Going AMD here gets you the best bang-for-buck, assuming you don't game with Ray Tracing on (who does?).

For CPU, the 7700X is neck-and-neck with the 5800X3D, but the former gets you into the AM5 socket and DDR5. Both better for future upgrades if you require.

32GB of RAM is my preference these days. 16GB minimum if you want to try to save a few bucks. I run with 64GB but that's admittedly overkill.

GPU is the 7900XT. 20GB VRAM is important, and nVidia's best competitor is the 4070 Ti, with less VRAM, lower performance in most games, and costs more to boot. But I get that some people really like the feature set of nVidia and that's fine. One of my gaming rigs is AMD-based and the other nVidia. I just go with the best value at the time of purchase. VRAM is important because a lot of games (primarily console ports like Last of Us) turn into slideshows if they require more VRAM and you don't have it. 20GB gives you plenty of room for future games gobbling-up more. The 4070 Ti @ 12GB is just barely enough for today, but could be risky for the future.

SSD is a solid PCI-E gen 4 WD 2TB drive. 2TB should be enough unless you love to keep a ton of games downloaded. I run with 2TB and have plenty of space left. Can easily upgrade to 4TB in the future if/when you need to.

PSU 850W Corsair. I always go with Corsair. Silverstone is a good brand as well if that is your preference.

HSF is the only thing I put in the PC PartPicker build but not in Micro Center. Micro Center's options are all pricey. The Peerless Assassin is incredibly well-reviewed and just $30-$40 (vs $100 for others). If you go the Micro Center route, buy everything there except the HSF, and get that on Amazon.

Hope that's a good start. Let me know if you have any questions or tradeoffs you want to consider.

I haven't pulled the trigger yet. Any change in your recommendations? I'm going to Microcenter this weekend. As a life long intel guy, I'm feeling weird going AMD.

I'd go with this bundle as a start. Killer value, and a much better gaming CPU than the build above.

Then this SSD if looking to save a few bucks, this one if not.

This PSU if you're OK with semi-modular. If you want fully modular, there's a more expensive version which checks that box.

This HSF at Amazon. You can get a different brand/model at MicroCenter if you like, but it will be more expensive. The only part that is more expensive on MicroCenter than elsewhere.

I think that about covers everything you needed? Better CPU than last time, otherwise pretty much all the same.

 

[Nick Vermeil]

Here's what gets you in just under $1600 before tax:

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/s9rCKX

If you have a Microcenter nearby, you can get that same build for $1360 before tax.

Going AMD here gets you the best bang-for-buck, assuming you don't game with Ray Tracing on (who does?).

For CPU, the 7700X is neck-and-neck with the 5800X3D, but the former gets you into the AM5 socket and DDR5. Both better for future upgrades if you require.

32GB of RAM is my preference these days. 16GB minimum if you want to try to save a few bucks. I run with 64GB but that's admittedly overkill.

GPU is the 7900XT. 20GB VRAM is important, and nVidia's best competitor is the 4070 Ti, with less VRAM, lower performance in most games, and costs more to boot. But I get that some people really like the feature set of nVidia and that's fine. One of my gaming rigs is AMD-based and the other nVidia. I just go with the best value at the time of purchase. VRAM is important because a lot of games (primarily console ports like Last of Us) turn into slideshows if they require more VRAM and you don't have it. 20GB gives you plenty of room for future games gobbling-up more. The 4070 Ti @ 12GB is just barely enough for today, but could be risky for the future.

SSD is a solid PCI-E gen 4 WD 2TB drive. 2TB should be enough unless you love to keep a ton of games downloaded. I run with 2TB and have plenty of space left. Can easily upgrade to 4TB in the future if/when you need to.

PSU 850W Corsair. I always go with Corsair. Silverstone is a good brand as well if that is your preference.

HSF is the only thing I put in the PC PartPicker build but not in Micro Center. Micro Center's options are all pricey. The Peerless Assassin is incredibly well-reviewed and just $30-$40 (vs $100 for others). If you go the Micro Center route, buy everything there except the HSF, and get that on Amazon.

Hope that's a good start. Let me know if you have any questions or tradeoffs you want to consider.

I haven't pulled the trigger yet. Any change in your recommendations? I'm going to Microcenter this weekend. As a life long intel guy, I'm feeling weird going AMD.

I'd go with this bundle as a start. Killer value, and a much better gaming CPU than the build above.

Then this SSD if looking to save a few bucks, this one if not.

This PSU if you're OK with semi-modular. If you want fully modular, there's a more expensive version which checks that box.

This HSF at Amazon. You can get a different brand/model at MicroCenter if you like, but it will be more expensive. The only part that is more expensive on MicroCenter than elsewhere.

I think that about covers everything you needed? Better CPU than last time, otherwise pretty much all the same.

That video card is 860 alone at Microcenter. How do they bundle it like that for 1100? Looks like a killer set up.

 

[Nick Vermeil]

Here's what gets you in just under $1600 before tax:

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/s9rCKX

If you have a Microcenter nearby, you can get that same build for $1360 before tax.

Going AMD here gets you the best bang-for-buck, assuming you don't game with Ray Tracing on (who does?).

For CPU, the 7700X is neck-and-neck with the 5800X3D, but the former gets you into the AM5 socket and DDR5. Both better for future upgrades if you require.

32GB of RAM is my preference these days. 16GB minimum if you want to try to save a few bucks. I run with 64GB but that's admittedly overkill.

GPU is the 7900XT. 20GB VRAM is important, and nVidia's best competitor is the 4070 Ti, with less VRAM, lower performance in most games, and costs more to boot. But I get that some people really like the feature set of nVidia and that's fine. One of my gaming rigs is AMD-based and the other nVidia. I just go with the best value at the time of purchase. VRAM is important because a lot of games (primarily console ports like Last of Us) turn into slideshows if they require more VRAM and you don't have it. 20GB gives you plenty of room for future games gobbling-up more. The 4070 Ti @ 12GB is just barely enough for today, but could be risky for the future.

SSD is a solid PCI-E gen 4 WD 2TB drive. 2TB should be enough unless you love to keep a ton of games downloaded. I run with 2TB and have plenty of space left. Can easily upgrade to 4TB in the future if/when you need to.

PSU 850W Corsair. I always go with Corsair. Silverstone is a good brand as well if that is your preference.

HSF is the only thing I put in the PC PartPicker build but not in Micro Center. Micro Center's options are all pricey. The Peerless Assassin is incredibly well-reviewed and just $30-$40 (vs $100 for others). If you go the Micro Center route, buy everything there except the HSF, and get that on Amazon.

Hope that's a good start. Let me know if you have any questions or tradeoffs you want to consider.

I haven't pulled the trigger yet. Any change in your recommendations? I'm going to Microcenter this weekend. As a life long intel guy, I'm feeling weird going AMD.

I'd go with this bundle as a start. Killer value, and a much better gaming CPU than the build above.

Then this SSD if looking to save a few bucks, this one if not.

This PSU if you're OK with semi-modular. If you want fully modular, there's a more expensive version which checks that box.

This HSF at Amazon. You can get a different brand/model at MicroCenter if you like, but it will be more expensive. The only part that is more expensive on MicroCenter than elsewhere.

I think that about covers everything you needed? Better CPU than last time, otherwise pretty much all the same.

And I just checked out cases and Fractal has one I really like.... Coming soon. Bah! Hitting Microcenter Saturday. Will report back. This will be the first build I do with my kids. Looking forward to it!

 

[Nick Vermeil]

Here's what gets you in just under $1600 before tax:

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/s9rCKX

If you have a Microcenter nearby, you can get that same build for $1360 before tax.

Going AMD here gets you the best bang-for-buck, assuming you don't game with Ray Tracing on (who does?).

For CPU, the 7700X is neck-and-neck with the 5800X3D, but the former gets you into the AM5 socket and DDR5. Both better for future upgrades if you require.

32GB of RAM is my preference these days. 16GB minimum if you want to try to save a few bucks. I run with 64GB but that's admittedly overkill.

GPU is the 7900XT. 20GB VRAM is important, and nVidia's best competitor is the 4070 Ti, with less VRAM, lower performance in most games, and costs more to boot. But I get that some people really like the feature set of nVidia and that's fine. One of my gaming rigs is AMD-based and the other nVidia. I just go with the best value at the time of purchase. VRAM is important because a lot of games (primarily console ports like Last of Us) turn into slideshows if they require more VRAM and you don't have it. 20GB gives you plenty of room for future games gobbling-up more. The 4070 Ti @ 12GB is just barely enough for today, but could be risky for the future.

SSD is a solid PCI-E gen 4 WD 2TB drive. 2TB should be enough unless you love to keep a ton of games downloaded. I run with 2TB and have plenty of space left. Can easily upgrade to 4TB in the future if/when you need to.

PSU 850W Corsair. I always go with Corsair. Silverstone is a good brand as well if that is your preference.

HSF is the only thing I put in the PC PartPicker build but not in Micro Center. Micro Center's options are all pricey. The Peerless Assassin is incredibly well-reviewed and just $30-$40 (vs $100 for others). If you go the Micro Center route, buy everything there except the HSF, and get that on Amazon.

Hope that's a good start. Let me know if you have any questions or tradeoffs you want to consider.

I haven't pulled the trigger yet. Any change in your recommendations? I'm going to Microcenter this weekend. As a life long intel guy, I'm feeling weird going AMD.

I'd go with this bundle as a start. Killer value, and a much better gaming CPU than the build above.

Then this SSD if looking to save a few bucks, this one if not.

This PSU if you're OK with semi-modular. If you want fully modular, there's a more expensive version which checks that box.

This HSF at Amazon. You can get a different brand/model at MicroCenter if you like, but it will be more expensive. The only part that is more expensive on MicroCenter than elsewhere.

I think that about covers everything you needed? Better CPU than last time, otherwise pretty much all the same.

And I just checked out cases and Fractal has one I really like.... Coming soon. Bah! Hitting Microcenter Saturday. Will report back. This will be the first build I do with my kids. Looking forward to it!

The “on a budget” part went out the window when I got to Micro Center. I chose a mini Fractal case and that blew up the bundle because of the motherboard. Building it this week with the kids.

 

[PlayaHata]

Here's what gets you in just under $1600 before tax:

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/s9rCKX

If you have a Microcenter nearby, you can get that same build for $1360 before tax.

Going AMD here gets you the best bang-for-buck, assuming you don't game with Ray Tracing on (who does?).

For CPU, the 7700X is neck-and-neck with the 5800X3D, but the former gets you into the AM5 socket and DDR5. Both better for future upgrades if you require.

32GB of RAM is my preference these days. 16GB minimum if you want to try to save a few bucks. I run with 64GB but that's admittedly overkill.

GPU is the 7900XT. 20GB VRAM is important, and nVidia's best competitor is the 4070 Ti, with less VRAM, lower performance in most games, and costs more to boot. But I get that some people really like the feature set of nVidia and that's fine. One of my gaming rigs is AMD-based and the other nVidia. I just go with the best value at the time of purchase. VRAM is important because a lot of games (primarily console ports like Last of Us) turn into slideshows if they require more VRAM and you don't have it. 20GB gives you plenty of room for future games gobbling-up more. The 4070 Ti @ 12GB is just barely enough for today, but could be risky for the future.

SSD is a solid PCI-E gen 4 WD 2TB drive. 2TB should be enough unless you love to keep a ton of games downloaded. I run with 2TB and have plenty of space left. Can easily upgrade to 4TB in the future if/when you need to.

PSU 850W Corsair. I always go with Corsair. Silverstone is a good brand as well if that is your preference.

HSF is the only thing I put in the PC PartPicker build but not in Micro Center. Micro Center's options are all pricey. The Peerless Assassin is incredibly well-reviewed and just $30-$40 (vs $100 for others). If you go the Micro Center route, buy everything there except the HSF, and get that on Amazon.

Hope that's a good start. Let me know if you have any questions or tradeoffs you want to consider.

I haven't pulled the trigger yet. Any change in your recommendations? I'm going to Microcenter this weekend. As a life long intel guy, I'm feeling weird going AMD.

I'd go with this bundle as a start. Killer value, and a much better gaming CPU than the build above.

Then this SSD if looking to save a few bucks, this one if not.

This PSU if you're OK with semi-modular. If you want fully modular, there's a more expensive version which checks that box.

This HSF at Amazon. You can get a different brand/model at MicroCenter if you like, but it will be more expensive. The only part that is more expensive on MicroCenter than elsewhere.

I think that about covers everything you needed? Better CPU than last time, otherwise pretty much all the same.

And I just checked out cases and Fractal has one I really like.... Coming soon. Bah! Hitting Microcenter Saturday. Will report back. This will be the first build I do with my kids. Looking forward to it!

The “on a budget” part went out the window when I got to Micro Center. I chose a mini Fractal case and that blew up the bundle because of the motherboard. Building it this week with the kids.

I just built my SFF PC with the Fractal Terra case a month or two ago and love it so far! I have to admit that new Era 2 case looks pretty awesome as well though! If you're doing a SFF build, https://www.reddit.com/r/sffpc/ is a great resource.

 

[Zasada]

Here's what gets you in just under $1600 before tax:

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/s9rCKX

If you have a Microcenter nearby, you can get that same build for $1360 before tax.

Going AMD here gets you the best bang-for-buck, assuming you don't game with Ray Tracing on (who does?).

For CPU, the 7700X is neck-and-neck with the 5800X3D, but the former gets you into the AM5 socket and DDR5. Both better for future upgrades if you require.

32GB of RAM is my preference these days. 16GB minimum if you want to try to save a few bucks. I run with 64GB but that's admittedly overkill.

GPU is the 7900XT. 20GB VRAM is important, and nVidia's best competitor is the 4070 Ti, with less VRAM, lower performance in most games, and costs more to boot. But I get that some people really like the feature set of nVidia and that's fine. One of my gaming rigs is AMD-based and the other nVidia. I just go with the best value at the time of purchase. VRAM is important because a lot of games (primarily console ports like Last of Us) turn into slideshows if they require more VRAM and you don't have it. 20GB gives you plenty of room for future games gobbling-up more. The 4070 Ti @ 12GB is just barely enough for today, but could be risky for the future.

SSD is a solid PCI-E gen 4 WD 2TB drive. 2TB should be enough unless you love to keep a ton of games downloaded. I run with 2TB and have plenty of space left. Can easily upgrade to 4TB in the future if/when you need to.

PSU 850W Corsair. I always go with Corsair. Silverstone is a good brand as well if that is your preference.

HSF is the only thing I put in the PC PartPicker build but not in Micro Center. Micro Center's options are all pricey. The Peerless Assassin is incredibly well-reviewed and just $30-$40 (vs $100 for others). If you go the Micro Center route, buy everything there except the HSF, and get that on Amazon.

Hope that's a good start. Let me know if you have any questions or tradeoffs you want to consider.

I haven't pulled the trigger yet. Any change in your recommendations? I'm going to Microcenter this weekend. As a life long intel guy, I'm feeling weird going AMD.

I'd go with this bundle as a start. Killer value, and a much better gaming CPU than the build above.

Then this SSD if looking to save a few bucks, this one if not.

This PSU if you're OK with semi-modular. If you want fully modular, there's a more expensive version which checks that box.

This HSF at Amazon. You can get a different brand/model at MicroCenter if you like, but it will be more expensive. The only part that is more expensive on MicroCenter than elsewhere.

I think that about covers everything you needed? Better CPU than last time, otherwise pretty much all the same.

And I just checked out cases and Fractal has one I really like.... Coming soon. Bah! Hitting Microcenter Saturday. Will report back. This will be the first build I do with my kids. Looking forward to it!

The “on a budget” part went out the window when I got to Micro Center. I chose a mini Fractal case and that blew up the bundle because of the motherboard. Building it this week with the kids.

Hahah, my current rig is in a Dancase A4-SFX. Totally understand!

 

[Nick Vermeil]

Does anyone use a curved monitor for gaming? The best gaming monitor I'm seeing recommended right now is the Alienware 32 OLED. The price is heart stopping, but I had a little gambling good luck and looking to treat myself. Not sure about how I'll like the curve though.

 

[SWC]

so what is your killer rigs body count i moved mine and set it on a bug and it squished it pretty good so i guess that counts as uno take that to the bank brochacho

 

[titusbramble]

Know little about monitors, know enough about Alienware that if you like to set money on fire, that's your go to brand

 

[thecatch]

Does anyone use a curved monitor for gaming? The best gaming monitor I'm seeing recommended right now is the Alienware 32 OLED. The price is heart stopping, but I had a little gambling good luck and looking to treat myself. Not sure about how I'll like the curve though.

I have a very cheap 32" curved monitor which I mostly use for work stuff but do a little gaming on it. I think I prefer it to a similarly sized normal monitor.

Know little about monitors, know enough about Alienware that if you like to set money on fire, that's your go to brand

My alienware laptop is probably the best piece of computer equipment I've ever owned.

 

[Nick Vermeil]

Does anyone use a curved monitor for gaming? The best gaming monitor I'm seeing recommended right now is the Alienware 32 OLED. The price is heart stopping, but I had a little gambling good luck and looking to treat myself. Not sure about how I'll like the curve though.

I have a very cheap 32" curved monitor which I mostly use for work stuff but do a little gaming on it. I think I prefer it to a similarly sized normal monitor.

Know little about monitors, know enough about Alienware that if you like to set money on fire, that's your go to brand

My alienware laptop is probably the best piece of computer equipment I've ever owned.

There is an up-charge for the name to be sure but since Dell purchased them, that seems to be less of an issue. Price aside, this motor seems to be top of all ratings right now.

 

[WDIK2]

Looking for some guidance here. I want to build a gaming PC that will be dedicated to running GSPro golf simulator software. I have a RTX 3070 ti GPU. Can the rest be built for ~$500? The recommended specs for running GSPro at 1080p are below. It doesn't say anything about the CPU.

Recommended hardware for a great 1080p experience:

1. 20GB free space
2. RTX 3070/3060ti GPU
3. 16GB memory

I don't need a fancy RGB lighted case or a gaming monitor, keyboard, or mouse. I might want to bump it up to 32gb RAM.

Any suggestions on a place to start?

 

[TheAristocrat]

Looking for some guidance here. I want to build a gaming PC that will be dedicated to running GSPro golf simulator software. I have a RTX 3070 ti GPU. Can the rest be built for ~$500? The recommended specs for running GSPro at 1080p are below. It doesn't say anything about the CPU.

Recommended hardware for a great 1080p experience:

1. 20GB free space
2. RTX 3070/3060ti GPU
3. 16GB memory

I don't need a fancy RGB lighted case or a gaming monitor, keyboard, or mouse. I might want to bump it up to 32gb RAM.

Any suggestions on a place to start?

I'll take a look tonight but ~$500 might be tough.

Do you have a Microcenter nearby or is this all online? Best Buy?

Do you have a case? Even from an old PC could be helpful.

A warning, now is a bad time to buy but having the GPU is great and there might be some pre-built steals that only need a GPU to fit your needs.

 

[WDIK2]

Looking for some guidance here. I want to build a gaming PC that will be dedicated to running GSPro golf simulator software. I have a RTX 3070 ti GPU. Can the rest be built for ~$500? The recommended specs for running GSPro at 1080p are below. It doesn't say anything about the CPU.

Recommended hardware for a great 1080p experience:

1. 20GB free space
2. RTX 3070/3060ti GPU
3. 16GB memory

I don't need a fancy RGB lighted case or a gaming monitor, keyboard, or mouse. I might want to bump it up to 32gb RAM.

Any suggestions on a place to start?

I'll take a look tonight but ~$500 might be tough.

Do you have a Microcenter nearby or is this all online? Best Buy?

Do you have a case? Even from an old PC could be helpful.

A warning, now is a bad time to buy but having the GPU is great and there might be some pre-built steals that only need a GPU to fit your needs.

No Microcenter. My best option would be Amazon. And just to be clear, besides the GPU the rest can be pretty bare bones/inexpensive. The only user input would be to start the golf sim software which is projected to the impact screen.

I did watch this video for building a gaming PC for $600 and I already have the GPU and don't want all the lights and colored cables. Let me know what you think.

- YouTube

Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.

www.youtube.com

 

[Fat Nick]

Hoping I can get some insight from you guys...I'm looking to buy my son a gaming PC. He's currently 10. He doesn't know or demand much but I know he's yearning to play games online with his friends. When I was in my 20's, I was really into PC gaming and knew a decent bit about what was needed, but it was a different world then than it is now. I consider my self tech-literate, and a quick learner, but this area has passed me by at this point as I've relied on my work-issued PC for everything for the last 15 years or so.

Can anyone provide me with some tips on what to look for in a gaming PC? I want something that can grow with him. I'm not looking for "cheap," but more "bang for your buck." High-end features are OK if justified. He'll probably mostly play games, and maybe do a little bit of CAD/3D printing stuff. I'd like something that is more than adequate for today's games so that it can survive as games continue to evolve.

I have never built a PC myself, so I'm unlikely to go that route and would prefer to buy something off the shelf and ready to go - again - unless someone said you can get a vastly superior PC by building it.

Help me out here if you have any input. I feel like my parents must've felt the first time I ran their phone bill up to $300 dialing long-distance to connect to the nearest AOL server...

Oh! ETA - Are almost all games bought/interfaced via Steam at this point? Or are there other options?

 

[titusbramble]

You can definitely get a lot, lot more bang for your buck by building it yourself. At this stage, it is basically Lego for adults. You just need to make sure the parts are compatible (e.g. don't buy an AMD CPU and an Intel mobo) but sites like Logical Increments can point you in the right direction given your price point.

For a 10 year old I'm going to assume he's playing stuff like Fortnite or other games that aren't too demanding. As such that might help shape a potential build in that (for example) you can save on a GPU now and have that as an obvious upgrade once he's a bit older and might be playing more GPU intensive games.

That said, you probably know somebody who has done this before if you're not comfortable. Buying the parts and chucking someone a case of beers for their time is still going to get you better than an off the shelf solution.

 

[Fat Nick]

You can definitely get a lot, lot more bang for your buck by building it yourself. At this stage, it is basically Lego for adults. You just need to make sure the parts are compatible (e.g. don't buy an AMD CPU and an Intel mobo) but sites like Logical Increments can point you in the right direction given your price point.

For a 10 year old I'm going to assume he's playing stuff like Fortnite or other games that aren't too demanding. As such that might help shape a potential build in that (for example) you can save on a GPU now and have that as an obvious upgrade once he's a bit older and might be playing more GPU intensive games.

That said, you probably know somebody who has done this before if you're not comfortable. Buying the parts and chucking someone a case of beers for their time is still going to get you better than an off the shelf solution.

My neighbor is quite versed at this...but he's also not good at dumbing things down.

If building one really is that simple, I'd be willing to give it a go, but I think I first need to do some more reading - probably starting with the earlier pages of this thread...

 

[titusbramble]

You can definitely get a lot, lot more bang for your buck by building it yourself. At this stage, it is basically Lego for adults. You just need to make sure the parts are compatible (e.g. don't buy an AMD CPU and an Intel mobo) but sites like Logical Increments can point you in the right direction given your price point.

For a 10 year old I'm going to assume he's playing stuff like Fortnite or other games that aren't too demanding. As such that might help shape a potential build in that (for example) you can save on a GPU now and have that as an obvious upgrade once he's a bit older and might be playing more GPU intensive games.

That said, you probably know somebody who has done this before if you're not comfortable. Buying the parts and chucking someone a case of beers for their time is still going to get you better than an off the shelf solution.

My neighbor is quite versed at this...but he's also not good at dumbing things down.

If building one really is that simple, I'd be willing to give it a go, but I think I first need to do some more reading - probably starting with the earlier pages of this thread...

This is the sort of thing that there's a lot of material on, so I would recommend just doing a bit of research, there's plenty of guides that will talk you how to do everything. Heck, if I can build one and it's crashed maybe twice in five years, you can too

 

[Fat Nick]

You can definitely get a lot, lot more bang for your buck by building it yourself. At this stage, it is basically Lego for adults. You just need to make sure the parts are compatible (e.g. don't buy an AMD CPU and an Intel mobo) but sites like Logical Increments can point you in the right direction given your price point.

For a 10 year old I'm going to assume he's playing stuff like Fortnite or other games that aren't too demanding. As such that might help shape a potential build in that (for example) you can save on a GPU now and have that as an obvious upgrade once he's a bit older and might be playing more GPU intensive games.

That said, you probably know somebody who has done this before if you're not comfortable. Buying the parts and chucking someone a case of beers for their time is still going to get you better than an off the shelf solution.

My neighbor is quite versed at this...but he's also not good at dumbing things down.

If building one really is that simple, I'd be willing to give it a go, but I think I first need to do some more reading - probably starting with the earlier pages of this thread...

This is the sort of thing that there's a lot of material on, so I would recommend just doing a bit of research, there's plenty of guides that will talk you how to do everything. Heck, if I can build one and it's crashed maybe twice in five years, you can too

Just read a PC Mag beginner article…that wasn’t too bad. Basic assembly is well within my wheelhouse.

Then…went to Newegg.com to see what I could hypothetically spec and got completely overwhelmed. So. Many. Choices.

Any recommendations for where to start?
What motherboard features are key? I like Asus as a brand, so maybe lean in there.
Is Intel still the best processor? Do I need the latest greatest here?
I’ve never bought a graphics card before. They have a huge range of prices. What should I look for beyond monitor support?

 

[Osaurus]

Starting to look at a new build (sans case and some SSDs). HFS are the 5000 GPUs crazy expensive and really hard to find. I’m looking for a middle of the road 5080 and it costs as much as the rest of my build. The 4000s are almost as expensive and as hard to find.

 

[MTskibum]

Starting to look at a new build (sans case and some SSDs). HFS are the 5000 GPUs crazy expensive and really hard to find. I’m looking for a middle of the road 5080 and it costs as much as the rest of my build. The 4000s are almost as expensive and as hard to find.

You can definitely get a lot, lot more bang for your buck by building it yourself. At this stage, it is basically Lego for adults. You just need to make sure the parts are compatible (e.g. don't buy an AMD CPU and an Intel mobo) but sites like Logical Increments can point you in the right direction given your price point.

For a 10 year old I'm going to assume he's playing stuff like Fortnite or other games that aren't too demanding. As such that might help shape a potential build in that (for example) you can save on a GPU now and have that as an obvious upgrade once he's a bit older and might be playing more GPU intensive games.

That said, you probably know somebody who has done this before if you're not comfortable. Buying the parts and chucking someone a case of beers for their time is still going to get you better than an off the shelf solution.

My neighbor is quite versed at this...but he's also not good at dumbing things down.

If building one really is that simple, I'd be willing to give it a go, but I think I first need to do some more reading - probably starting with the earlier pages of this thread...

This is the sort of thing that there's a lot of material on, so I would recommend just doing a bit of research, there's plenty of guides that will talk you how to do everything. Heck, if I can build one and it's crashed maybe twice in five years, you can too

Just read a PC Mag beginner article…that wasn’t too bad. Basic assembly is well within my wheelhouse.

Then…went to Newegg.com to see what I could hypothetically spec and got completely overwhelmed. So. Many. Choices.

Any recommendations for where to start?
What motherboard features are key? I like Asus as a brand, so maybe lean in there.
Is Intel still the best processor? Do I need the latest greatest here?
I’ve never bought a graphics card before. They have a huge range of prices. What should I look for beyond monitor support?

I would recommend against building and instead buy a pre built. I don't think you save much money anymore. However, you don't want a dell, etc. you want it to come with a case that is easy to upgrade/change out parts.

Do you live in a major city?

If you have a microcenter in your city I can recommend something specific.

 

[MTskibum]

Starting to look at a new build (sans case and some SSDs). HFS are the 5000 GPUs crazy expensive and really hard to find. I’m looking for a middle of the road 5080 and it costs as much as the rest of my build. The 4000s are almost as expensive and as hard to find.

What do you need a video card for?

3d video, new games, old games, AI, etc??

How tolerant is your rig to high power draw/extra heat?

 

[Osaurus]

Starting to look at a new build (sans case and some SSDs). HFS are the 5000 GPUs crazy expensive and really hard to find. I’m looking for a middle of the road 5080 and it costs as much as the rest of my build. The 4000s are almost as expensive and as hard to find.

What do you need a video card for?

3d video, new games, old games, AI, etc??

How tolerant is your rig to high power draw/extra heat?

My profession requires high end rendering for software. I do video editing too. High power draw is not a problem and great flow through the case. I have a 1200 watt power supply. Additional heat output is negligible based on what I see from room sensors and PC temps are nominal. Liquid CPU cooler and plenty of internal fan cooling have been great.

 

[MTskibum]

Starting to look at a new build (sans case and some SSDs). HFS are the 5000 GPUs crazy expensive and really hard to find. I’m looking for a middle of the road 5080 and it costs as much as the rest of my build. The 4000s are almost as expensive and as hard to find.

What do you need a video card for?

3d video, new games, old games, AI, etc??

How tolerant is your rig to high power draw/extra heat?

My profession requires high end rendering for software. I do video editing too. High power draw is not a problem and great flow through the case. I have a 1200 watt power supply. Additional heat output is negligible based on what I see from room sensors and PC temps are nominal. Liquid CPU cooler and plenty of internal fan cooling have been great.

The only downside with amd over Nvidia is the increased power draw and heat generation.

And can keep up, they just require more computing power to do it. Amd tends to be cheaper as well.

Intel is actually quite good in the budget range, however it is only good for modern games. They are missing the decades of drivers customization that both Intel and AMD have for the older/less popular games.

 

[Fat Nick]

I would recommend against building and instead buy a pre built. I don't think you save much money anymore. However, you don't want a dell, etc. you want it to come with a case that is easy to upgrade/change out parts.

Do you live in a major city?

If you have a microcenter in your city I can recommend something specific.

Central NJ. I can get to NYC or Philly in about an hour. It appears there are some Microcenters near by. Would love to hear some specific recommendations.

 

[Osaurus]

Starting to look at a new build (sans case and some SSDs). HFS are the 5000 GPUs crazy expensive and really hard to find. I’m looking for a middle of the road 5080 and it costs as much as the rest of my build. The 4000s are almost as expensive and as hard to find.

What do you need a video card for?

3d video, new games, old games, AI, etc??

How tolerant is your rig to high power draw/extra heat?

My profession requires high end rendering for software. I do video editing too. High power draw is not a problem and great flow through the case. I have a 1200 watt power supply. Additional heat output is negligible based on what I see from room sensors and PC temps are nominal. Liquid CPU cooler and plenty of internal fan cooling have been great.

The only downside with amd over Nvidia is the increased power draw and heat generation.

And can keep up, they just require more computing power to do it. Amd tends to be cheaper as well.

Intel is actually quite good in the budget range, however it is only good for modern games. They are missing the decades of drivers customization that both Intel and AMD have for the older/less popular games.

Not going anywhere near AMD anything ever again. I’ve been burned before. My setup is ready to go. Just wish I could find a 5080 GPU that wasn’t way overpriced.

 

[MTskibum]

Not going anywhere near AMD anything ever again. I’ve been burned before. My setup is ready to go. Just wish I could find a 5080 GPU that wasn’t way overpriced.

I have had high end Nvidia go out, I lost a 2070 after 1 year and I didn't avoid them I still have multiple computers with Nvidia cards.

I think failure rate is similar, but I understand.

 

[MTskibum]

I would recommend against building and instead buy a pre built. I don't think you save much money anymore. However, you don't want a dell, etc. you want it to come with a case that is easy to upgrade/change out parts.

Do you live in a major city?

If you have a microcenter in your city I can recommend something specific.

Central NJ. I can get to NYC or Philly in about an hour. It appears there are some Microcenters near by. Would love to hear some specific recommendations.

Take your son to a microcenter, it could be fun.

Something like below looks good. Cases/power supplies last a while and can save hundreds on your next build. It seems silly to prioritize something as superficial as a case, but it is important.

I would go and talk to salesman and ask pros and cons of every competing PC in that range explaining your use case.

Generally the salesman there are top notch and I hate salesmen. They do get commission, but only on the amount, not between brands.

PowerSpec G235 Gaming PC; Intel Core i5 12th Gen 12400F 2.5GHz Processor; NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 8GB GDDR6; 16GB DDR4-2666 - Micro Center

Get it now! The PowerSpec G235 desktop computer is a step-up level gaming machine featuring the Intel Core i5 12400F processor, an ASUS Prime B660M-A system board powered by a 650W Gold power supply, 16GB DDR4 RAM, a 1TB NVME SSD, and a Nvidia RTX 4060 8GB discrete video card to provide an...

www.microcenter.com

 

[Osaurus]

Check out Newegg builds too. You can browse builds by price and for use

 

[MTskibum]

Check out Newegg builds too. You can browse builds by price and for use

Newegg is good too and is the same price except for the weekly in person deals that microcenter sometimes offers on weekends.

Probably half the Saturday's a month there are people waiting in line for microcenter to open up, although typically for video card deals.

 

[Osaurus]

Check out Newegg builds too. You can browse builds by price and for use

Newegg is good too and is the same price except for the weekly in person deals that microcenter sometimes offers on weekends.

Probably half the Saturday's a month there are people waiting in line for microcenter to open up, although typically for video card deals.

Yep. Nearest store to me is Miami so that’s not happening. Their GPU prices are good. I’d buy one from them if I could.

 

[Fat Nick]

Check out Newegg builds too. You can browse builds by price and for use

So I spent some time on their PC builder pages. Question if anyone is familiar - they have a box that seems to indicate it will filter based on intercompatability. Can anyone confirm if that's the case? Like, if I choose a set-up with that option on, does that mean everything will fit and work together?

 

[Fat Nick]

I would recommend against building and instead buy a pre built. I don't think you save much money anymore. However, you don't want a dell, etc. you want it to come with a case that is easy to upgrade/change out parts.

Do you live in a major city?

If you have a microcenter in your city I can recommend something specific.

Central NJ. I can get to NYC or Philly in about an hour. It appears there are some Microcenters near by. Would love to hear some specific recommendations.

Take your son to a microcenter, it could be fun.

Something like below looks good. Cases/power supplies last a while and can save hundreds on your next build. It seems silly to prioritize something as superficial as a case, but it is important.

I would go and talk to salesman and ask pros and cons of every competing PC in that range explaining your use case.

Generally the salesman there are top notch and I hate salesmen. They do get commission, but only on the amount, not between brands.

PowerSpec G235 Gaming PC; Intel Core i5 12th Gen 12400F 2.5GHz Processor; NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 8GB GDDR6; 16GB DDR4-2666 - Micro Center

Get it now! The PowerSpec G235 desktop computer is a step-up level gaming machine featuring the Intel Core i5 12400F processor, an ASUS Prime B660M-A system board powered by a 650W Gold power supply, 16GB DDR4 RAM, a 1TB NVME SSD, and a Nvidia RTX 4060 8GB discrete video card to provide an...

www.microcenter.com

Thank you...This helps me just understand what is a decent set-up for a kid his age. I was aiming "higher" price and spec wise, but I'm quickly realizing I can get him into what he needs at a lower price point, which is nice.

We might have to take a field trip to Microcenter - it sounds like the sales reps there are exactly what we need.

 

[titusbramble]

Check out Newegg builds too. You can browse builds by price and for use

So I spent some time on their PC builder pages. Question if anyone is familiar - they have a box that seems to indicate it will filter based on intercompatability. Can anyone confirm if that's the case? Like, if I choose a set-up with that option on, does that mean everything will fit and work together?

I have never looked at Newegg (not US), but there's probably four things that it should be checking for:

a) that the motherboard selected has the correct socket for the CPU selected
b) that the memory selected is compatible with the motherboard selected
c) that the power supply selected delivers enough juice for the parts selected
d) that the physical size of the case can handle all the parts, primarily the graphics card and motherboard

A and B ought to be fairly trivial and I'd likely trust it to be able to get that right. C I think you ought to be fairly safe as I would guess such a site would likely play it on the safe side (note that if you buy yourself a 1000W PSU and the actual usage of the parts is, say, 700W, then the PSU is not going to be burning 300W for no reason (efficiency aside), it will only draw the power that is needed. D can be a bit tricky, but there are only a limited number of motherboard sizes and this ought to only be a thing if you are looking at a really small case, in which case it is probably assumed you know what you are doing, or buying a very large/powerful GPU, in which case it's probably the same

 

[Fat Nick]

Check out Newegg builds too. You can browse builds by price and for use

So I spent some time on their PC builder pages. Question if anyone is familiar - they have a box that seems to indicate it will filter based on intercompatability. Can anyone confirm if that's the case? Like, if I choose a set-up with that option on, does that mean everything will fit and work together?

I have never looked at Newegg (not US), but there's probably four things that it should be checking for:

a) that the motherboard selected has the correct socket for the CPU selected
b) that the memory selected is compatible with the motherboard selected
c) that the power supply selected delivers enough juice for the parts selected
d) that the physical size of the case can handle all the parts, primarily the graphics card and motherboard

A and B ought to be fairly trivial and I'd likely trust it to be able to get that right. C I think you ought to be fairly safe as I would guess such a site would likely play it on the safe side (note that if you buy yourself a 1000W PSU and the actual usage of the parts is, say, 700W, then the PSU is not going to be burning 300W for no reason (efficiency aside), it will only draw the power that is needed. D can be a bit tricky, but there are only a limited number of motherboard sizes and this ought to only be a thing if you are looking at a really small case, in which case it is probably assumed you know what you are doing, or buying a very large/powerful GPU, in which case it's probably the same

Thanks - good info. I can say that C is the only one that I explicitly see it address. There is quantification of power consumption provided, and then it matches your power supply to that. I'll have to play around more.

Probably leaning pre-built or MicroCenter rep aided at this point - mostly because if it's not much difference in $$, I no longer find assembly of such things enjoyable like I once did. I just want to get the kid playing as easily as possible.

 

[Nick Vermeil]

I'm sure I know the answer to this, but I've got to ask the experts. I was going to give my old gaming PC to my boys because it feels like it's more than adequate for what they play: Fortnite, Minecraft, Roblox etc. But I ran the Windows 11 compatibility check and it is not good enough to upgrade. Should I start from scratch or can I salvage any of this?

Processor: Intel I7 6700 4 ghz
GPU: NVIDIA GeForce GTX1080
SSHDD: Samsung SSD 850 1tb
HDD: Western Digital 4TB, never used but 8 years old
RAM 16 GB Corsair DDR4
Adequate Power supply
ASRock z170Gaming-ITX/ac mother board

Thanks in advance. You don't want me to answer yours.

 

[MTskibum]

I'm sure I know the answer to this, but I've got to ask the experts. I was going to give my old gaming PC to my boys because it feels like it's more than adequate for what they play: Fortnite, Minecraft, Roblox etc. But I ran the Windows 11 compatibility check and it is not good enough to upgrade. Should I start from scratch or can I salvage any of this?

Processor: Intel I7 6700 4 ghz
GPU: NVIDIA GeForce GTX1080
SSHDD: Samsung SSD 850 1tb
HDD: Western Digital 4TB, never used but 8 years old
RAM 16 GB Corsair DDR4
Adequate Power supply
ASRock z170Gaming-ITX/ac mother board

Thanks in advance. You don't want me to answer yours.

That is more than good enough for the games you listed, it would even play something like Cyberpunk at medium settings.

The reason it fails windows 11 compatibility is not because of performance, but because of stupid arbitrary rules Microsoft put on Windows 11 operating system.

Your processor is missing TPM 2.0 and that is why windows 11 won't install.

Just go with Windows 10 or take this opportunity to learn Linux!

 

[PlayaHata]

I'm sure I know the answer to this, but I've got to ask the experts. I was going to give my old gaming PC to my boys because it feels like it's more than adequate for what they play: Fortnite, Minecraft, Roblox etc. But I ran the Windows 11 compatibility check and it is not good enough to upgrade. Should I start from scratch or can I salvage any of this?

Processor: Intel I7 6700 4 ghz
GPU: NVIDIA GeForce GTX1080
SSHDD: Samsung SSD 850 1tb
HDD: Western Digital 4TB, never used but 8 years old
RAM 16 GB Corsair DDR4
Adequate Power supply
ASRock z170Gaming-ITX/ac mother board

Thanks in advance. You don't want me to answer yours.

If you want to keep it around and the hardware is still able to handle the games you want to throw at it, there is a decent chance you can upgrade to Windows 11 despite the compatibility check telling you otherwise. Take a look at this.

How to upgrade your 'incompatible' Windows 10 PC to Windows 11 - 2 free options

Microsoft really doesn't want customers to upgrade older PCs, but there are workarounds for many models. Here's everything you need to know.

www.zdnet.com

 

[titusbramble]

Just stay on 10

 

[Nick Vermeil]

Just stay on 10

Any security risk for this? I could isolate it from the rest of my home network.

 

[titusbramble]

Just stay on 10

Any security risk for this? I could isolate it from the rest of my home network.

I'm not a security specialist. But I would think for the average Joe that there'd be no problems. It's 10 years old next week. That's given people 10 years to find exploits and 10 years to patch them. How many do you think might be left?