The Commish
Footballguy
I should qualify my statement. When I see them, they are listed at that price. Definitely not readily available.
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Mad Cow's Build a Killer Gaming Rig on a Budget Thread (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter Mad Cow
- Start date
Dan Lambskin
Footballguy
Hey quick tech question
I have this PC https://www.bestbuy.com/site/ibuypower-gaming-desktop-intel-core-i7-9700f-16gb-memory-nvidia-geforce-gtx-1660-super-1tb-hdd-480gb-ssd-black/6400462.p?skuId=6400462
I want to know if I can use a hard drive like this with it
https://www.bestbuy.com/site/wd-wd_black-sn750-nvme-gaming-1tb-pcie-gen-3-x4-internal-solid-state-drive-with-heatsink-for-desktops/6338996.p?skuId=6338996
I have this PC https://www.bestbuy.com/site/ibuypower-gaming-desktop-intel-core-i7-9700f-16gb-memory-nvidia-geforce-gtx-1660-super-1tb-hdd-480gb-ssd-black/6400462.p?skuId=6400462
I want to know if I can use a hard drive like this with it
https://www.bestbuy.com/site/wd-wd_black-sn750-nvme-gaming-1tb-pcie-gen-3-x4-internal-solid-state-drive-with-heatsink-for-desktops/6338996.p?skuId=6338996
Dan Lambskin
Footballguy
I’d rather try to go the PCI route rather than add a 3rd SATA drive but im Not 100% sure it’s compatible
The Tick
Footballguy
It doesn't list you having an extra pcie m.2 slot which is the type of drive you listed, so I don't know if you can add it to the mother board directly. If you don't have anything in your x16 pcie slot you could get pcie adapter to to put the drive in ther if you don't have any plans for it.
Something like this: https://www.amazon.com/ACTIMED-Powerful-Dissipation-Compatible-Interface/dp/B09FLGR1X9/ref=mp_s_a_1_2_sspa?crid=SWH5TMCJA1WX&keywords=nvme+adapter&qid=1637722212&sprefix=nvme+ada%2Caps%2C115&sr=8-2-spons&psc=1&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUEyUzZENTVLTENWUlYwJmVuY3J5cHRlZElkPUEwODk4MDYxM0hHTkRRVDZJN0Y0WiZlbmNyeXB0ZWRBZElkPUEwODE5MDc5Mk9LUkU5RDkzQUYyMiZ3aWRnZXROYW1lPXNwX3Bob25lX3NlYXJjaF9hdGYmYWN0aW9uPWNsaWNrUmVkaXJlY3QmZG9Ob3RMb2dDbGljaz10cnVl
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dickey moe
Fingerpicker
Looking for as decent a gaming desktop PC as I can find for my son's Christmas present within a budget of $500 (I know, my options will be limited). Do you think there will be any potential deals on Black Friday?
Orange&Blue
Footballguy
dickey moe
Fingerpicker
I know... I'm willing to accept older cards if I can get a good deal.Orange&Blue said:
Zasada
Footballguy
Assuming you have a monitor, keyboard, mouse, and OS already, this is the best I could do with that budget. Integrated GPU. But at that price point, it's really your only option. You can add a video card down the road if things ever get less crazy with pricing on those.
If you need a monitor, keyboard, and mouse as well, it's not really possible. I would just recommend getting a PS5 or xbox then.
simsarge
Footballguy
I got my son this PC:
https://icecat.biz/p/acer/dg.e1zaa.00d/nitro-pcs-workstations-n50-610-85993404.html
And he wants to upgrade. Any memory (or other feature) suggestions?
TIA
ETA: I can spell PC 8 times out of 10 and he has $100 to spend
https://icecat.biz/p/acer/dg.e1zaa.00d/nitro-pcs-workstations-n50-610-85993404.html
And he wants to upgrade. Any memory (or other feature) suggestions?
TIA
ETA: I can spell PC 8 times out of 10 and he has $100 to spend
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Long Ball Larry
Footballguy
Can someone tell me if the graphics card/SSD for option 1 below is necessary for gaming or if option 2 is sufficient? Difference of about $100 in price.
1) NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Ti 4 GB GDDR6 and 512 GB M.2 PCle NVMe Solid State Drive
OR
2) NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 4 GB GDDR6 and 256 GB M.2 PCle NVMe Solid State Drive
1) NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Ti 4 GB GDDR6 and 512 GB M.2 PCle NVMe Solid State Drive
OR
2) NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 4 GB GDDR6 and 256 GB M.2 PCle NVMe Solid State Drive
Mile High
Footballguy
Dan Lambskin
Footballguy
gianmarco
Footballguy
My son is looking for a new gaming laptop for his birthday. I haven't built or shopped for that kind of computer in well over a decade and have no idea what's good or not today and what's needed.
Would appreciate any kind of suggestions on what to look for. Any specific links for a laptop? Budget of ~$1000, but willing to spend up to $1200-1300 if it's truly worth it. Things to make sure it has or things to avoid? Brands?
Would appreciate any kind of suggestions on what to look for. Any specific links for a laptop? Budget of ~$1000, but willing to spend up to $1200-1300 if it's truly worth it. Things to make sure it has or things to avoid? Brands?
Sullie
Footballguy
Here's the Reddit thread I got this from, lots of good information in there.
https://laptopsdeals.net/our-gaming-laptops-guide-list/
I have absolutely no experience with this website but I found it interesting from Reddit, it contains a lot of helpful information and maybe it gives you a starting point?
I work in IT, people ask me this all the time even though I don't do desktop support. However, I'm around a lot of gear and the support techs talk to me about their experiences (good and bad) so I hear a lot about it. The thing of it is it's like buying a house, car or anything else, it just depends on a lot of things. What sort of games, what size screen, battery life, etc.
In my experience - some of the pitfalls YOU (as the consumer) need to be aware of are the following :
- what kind of warranty comes with it
- is the company legit (has it been around)
- are you buying it from a 3rd party or direct
- is it upgradable?
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BigJohn
Footballguy
So, setup question here. First, I'll give you my current list of components:
2 Monitors
Dell Docking Station
HDMI Switch for one monitor to switch to my PS4.
The docking station takes all my peripherals and monitors and funnels everything to a single USB-C input. This goes directly to our laptops. Since covid started, I have used this as my work at home setup. Now, my wife started a new job that also has work from home capabilities. I am working from home far less frequently and she does 3-4 days a month. Not a ton, but enough to want to keep this setup intact.
So, here's what I would like to do. I want to find a way to introduce my desktop tower into this equation without losing the ability to simply plug in our work laptops and work directly from both external monitors. I'm sure I could throw a bunch of switches into it to flip from desktop to laptop, but it wouldn't switch my peripherals and having 2 sets would be a huge PIA.
Is there something simple that I could do to have everything run through the tower, but easily switch to our laptops? I feel like there is an easy solution, I'm just not sure what it is.
I can get into more detail on my equipment if need be.
2 Monitors
Dell Docking Station
HDMI Switch for one monitor to switch to my PS4.
The docking station takes all my peripherals and monitors and funnels everything to a single USB-C input. This goes directly to our laptops. Since covid started, I have used this as my work at home setup. Now, my wife started a new job that also has work from home capabilities. I am working from home far less frequently and she does 3-4 days a month. Not a ton, but enough to want to keep this setup intact.
So, here's what I would like to do. I want to find a way to introduce my desktop tower into this equation without losing the ability to simply plug in our work laptops and work directly from both external monitors. I'm sure I could throw a bunch of switches into it to flip from desktop to laptop, but it wouldn't switch my peripherals and having 2 sets would be a huge PIA.
Is there something simple that I could do to have everything run through the tower, but easily switch to our laptops? I feel like there is an easy solution, I'm just not sure what it is.
I can get into more detail on my equipment if need be.
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Pigskin Fanatic
Footballguy
Not sure I understand what you mean by run everything through the tower, but this might help. My setup is similar i think.
- 1 Dell docking station
- 2 monitors plugged into the docking station via HDMI1
- 1 Dell work laptop connected to the dock via USB-C (Win10)
- 1 non-Dell personal laptop connected to the dock via USB-C (Win11)
- 1 Desktop tower connected directly to the two monitors via HDMI2 (Win10)
I can use the desktop two ways. first is to switch the monitor input to the second input and use the desktop without messing with the dock at all. The mouse (Logitech MK) has a switch with 3 inputs available, so I use the same mouse across all three machines using that function. It's a button at the bottom of the mouse. There is a keyboard equivalent by Logitech, but I didn't buy that so I have a second keyboard (wireless) that works only with the desktop.
Another way I can use the desktop, which 99% of the time I do this, is to use Remote Desktop from my laptop to use the desktop. The only drawback here is I can't use the second monitor for anything running on the desktop. I don't know if Remote Desktop has this function. Can provide more details if this is in line with what you're looking for.
Good luck!
GregR
Footballguy
Time to resurrect this puppy. What could you build for $500 today?
Qualifiers... this is for a vision disabled person. CPU prioritized over GPU, though they can see a little bit, enough if they zoom way in they can direct a mouse at least. Using a screen reader though or else pretty much can't use the computer very much.
They don't want to just go with integrated graphics though.
Qualifiers... this is for a vision disabled person. CPU prioritized over GPU, though they can see a little bit, enough if they zoom way in they can direct a mouse at least. Using a screen reader though or else pretty much can't use the computer very much.
They don't want to just go with integrated graphics though.
MTskibum
Footballguy
For 500 dollars you will need to hit the sales rack at microcenter.
I assume they have monitor, all the accessories, what about windows? That is 100 dollars by itself? What is the purpose of the video card if they have trouble seeing? Will they play games?
I can put something a list together, but at 500 dollars you have to stretch everything to the limit.
GregR
Footballguy
Yeah, I think she's putting too much emphasis on the graphics card but she'd rather not go with simple integrated graphics.
I was seeing prebuilt stuff on Amazon for $500 that were like, i5-6500, RX 5500 or GTX 1660. Actually building it would be an issue, but I figured if you guys could throw together what the best build it yourself would be, could have that to compare then against prebuilt ones as a bench mark to know what the upper, unreachable range is.
MTskibum
Footballguy
Neither of the below include a monitor, but would be where i would start with that budget. You almost have to go older gen i5 and nvidia 1650 to get what you are looking for. I still do not understand what the need is for a video card. You can play both minecraft and some modern lower end steam games with built in graphics card.
Depending on the timeline and assuming you can drive to microcenter to pick it up there will be a good deal eventually on a laptop with a dedicated graphics card and that may be the best bet.
For those of us who live near a microcenter, which thankfully we have in houston. They will destroy amazon on pricing. No reason to buy budget electronics from amazon.
Acer Nitro 50 N50-620-UA14 Gaming PC; Intel Core i5 11th Gen 11400F 2.6GHz Processor; NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 4GB GDDR5; 8GB - Micro Center
Get it now! The powerful Nitro 50 desktop delivers an iconic gaming experience courtesy of the many awesome features inside, including its 11th Gen Intel Core i5 processor and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 graphicsthats powered by NVIDIA Turing GPU architecture! Next, toss in its advanced cooling and...
Dell OptiPlex 7050 SFF Desktop Computer (Refurbished); Intel Core i5 7th Gen 7500 3.4GHz Processor; 32GB RAM; 256GB SSD+3TB - Micro Center
Get it now! A versatile business desktop (Refurbished) designed for ultimate performance.
GordonGekko
Footballguy
Small giveaway for this thread....
No complaints, no arguments. I don't need more drama. I got plenty right now all on my own. Don't be Cousin Greg. Be Colin.
*****
EDIT - Giveaway cancelled. I got a good number of responses. Then someone PMed me and asked me if they could get the item and resell it.
I never use these emoji things. Never. But this is one instance where it totally qualifies.
No complaints, no arguments. I don't need more drama. I got plenty right now all on my own. Don't be Cousin Greg. Be Colin.
*****
EDIT - Giveaway cancelled. I got a good number of responses. Then someone PMed me and asked me if they could get the item and resell it.
I never use these emoji things. Never. But this is one instance where it totally qualifies.
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GregR
Footballguy
Neither of the below include a monitor, but would be where i would start with that budget. You almost have to go older gen i5 and nvidia 1650 to get what you are looking for. I still do not understand what the need is for a video card. You can play both minecraft and some modern lower end steam games with built in graphics card.
Depending on the timeline and assuming you can drive to microcenter to pick it up there will be a good deal eventually on a laptop with a dedicated graphics card and that may be the best bet.
For those of us who live near a microcenter, which thankfully we have in houston. They will destroy amazon on pricing. No reason to buy budget electronics from amazon.
Acer Nitro 50 N50-620-UA14 Gaming PC; Intel Core i5 11th Gen 11400F 2.6GHz Processor; NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 4GB GDDR5; 8GB - Micro Center
Get it now! The powerful Nitro 50 desktop delivers an iconic gaming experience courtesy of the many awesome features inside, including its 11th Gen Intel Core i5 processor and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 graphicsthats powered by NVIDIA Turing GPU architecture! Next, toss in its advanced cooling and...www.microcenter.com
Dell OptiPlex 7050 SFF Desktop Computer (Refurbished); Intel Core i5 7th Gen 7500 3.4GHz Processor; 32GB RAM; 256GB SSD+3TB - Micro Center
Get it now! A versatile business desktop (Refurbished) designed for ultimate performance.
I'm working on her to get past the worry about the gpu. She's actually elsewhere but I'm in Houston so worst case I could shop there and ship it to her myself. Though will see if they have one near to her.
STEADYMOBBIN 22
Footballguy
@MTskibum
I want to build a desktop. I no longer know all the best specs but I am capable of putting a desktop together.
What I’m hoping you can help with is the motherboard. I want the best combo of speed and upgradability. I don’t need a beast gaming machine for the old games I play now, but would like the ability to add better GC or more memory as I go.
I don’t need anything but a motherboard to start with. I can take it from there.
If you can please help with that Inwould be grateful. I am in no rush at all.
I want to build a desktop. I no longer know all the best specs but I am capable of putting a desktop together.
What I’m hoping you can help with is the motherboard. I want the best combo of speed and upgradability. I don’t need a beast gaming machine for the old games I play now, but would like the ability to add better GC or more memory as I go.
I don’t need anything but a motherboard to start with. I can take it from there.
If you can please help with that Inwould be grateful. I am in no rush at all.
The Commish
Footballguy
Which chip sets do you prefer? Both MSI and ASUS make pretty good/affordable motherboards. I'd recommend them to just about anyone.
MTskibum
Footballguy
I would recommend a b660 chipset, this is the basic chipset that supports both 12th and 13th gen i5, which is the sweet spot for performance/cost right now. They have finally passed AMD which has owned the performance crown for the budget processors the last 5-6 years.
Which brand and actual mother board i do not know. I would have to spend hours researching. Although I agree with @The Commish and would look at MSI and ASUS first.
STEADYMOBBIN 22
Footballguy
When you say good/affordable I read not fast/not amazing - I’m looking for the fastest/most expansive motherboard so I can work towards an incredible machine.
It’s been awhile for me but I I always thought your CPU is only as fast as your MB/BUS.
MTskibum
Footballguy
The z690 chipset supports ddr5, overclocking, and more accessories, and the z790 would be even more cutting edge.
I misunderstood the original request.
https://www.newegg.com/asus-rog-maximus-z790-hero/p/N82E16813119597
Intel's guide for explaining different chipsets:
https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/gaming/resources/how-to-choose-a-motherboard.html
MTskibum
Footballguy
I do not think it will be possible. The Nvidia 1650 is the most budget of the video cards and it will cost over 1/3 of the cost. I think a prebuilt on sale from either costco/microcenter will cost less than building it yourself at that price.
I priced the below out pretty quick from amazon/newegg. Although going with a 40 dollar powersupply and 60 dollar mobo is probably not recommended.
Nvidia 1650: 170
i5 12th gen: 140
power supply: 40
solid state drive: 60
ram: 40
mobo: 60
case: 50
Nick Vermeil
Footballguy
I was listening to Brad & Will Made a Tech Pod and they were talking about Brad's new build. Apparently, a lot of these newer boards have power restrictions that can kill entire lanes (PCI, M.2) depending on what you attach to them. It was super confusing. Any thoughts/warnings on that issue?
I haven't upgraded my gaming pc in 6 years, so I'm due too Will follow along.
MTskibum
Footballguy
I have not heard of that and I could not find anything spending ~5-10 minutes on a google search.
Admittedly, I spend alot more time reading video card and cpu articles.
Nick Vermeil
Footballguy
It’s a good podcast for uber nerds. April 16th episode. To be fair, he’s installing a lot more cards than I would.
The Commish
Footballguy
Sorry...misunderstood. I haven't read to the bottom so maybe MT's covered it, but I have a TUF Z690 personally....DDR5 RAM etc....that will last probably 5-6 years with current technology and will handle any of the GPUs currently on the market. It's ASUS. I take the approach of looking at the range...seeing what's the "absolute best/fastest" on the market, then go a step just below. In my experience, that's where the value is. The product is usually a good bit cheaper (you pay for "best/fastest" marketing) and the difference in performance is rarely noticeable.
I'll throw this out there for consideration....think about your power supply. These pieces, while not fun to buy, are the most important, especially if you are looking to the future. They are expensive, but I buy seasonic exclusively. Most of their models come with a 10 year warranty and will handle almost anything you throw at them.
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GregR
Footballguy
Yeah I'm mainly looking at prebuilt for her at this point. I don't know that she's ready to buy just yet, but don't know how long the current one is going to last. She's dreading having to set up a new computer now she's lost her sight. Which I can't blame her, there's so much to get through even without that to deal with.
I'm thinking of just focusing on the best processor and the most RAM and pretty much everything else is a second consideration then. Have it last as long as possible. Best things I'm finding are i5, 12th gen possibly, and 16Gb of RAM. I noticed most all the Microcenter prebuilt in that range are only 8 Gb of RAM. There are a few on Amazon that are 16 but I don't know much about the builder of most of them.
The Tick
Footballguy
Anyone here messed with Mini-ITX cases lately when working with mid range CPU's and graphics cards?
I'm looking to build up my next gaming box and am torn between Mini-ITX and micro-ATX. I've done mATX in the past and would be OK with it, but my under desk is a little cramped and a mITX may be nice. Only thing holding me back is thermals so I'm wondering if anyone here has direct experience. I'm planning to pair an AMD 7800X3D (120W) with probably a NVIDIA 4070Ti.
At this point I'm probably leaning mATX, as I know there will be no concerns there, but figured I'd check if anyone here has any opinions.
Thanks!
I'm looking to build up my next gaming box and am torn between Mini-ITX and micro-ATX. I've done mATX in the past and would be OK with it, but my under desk is a little cramped and a mITX may be nice. Only thing holding me back is thermals so I'm wondering if anyone here has direct experience. I'm planning to pair an AMD 7800X3D (120W) with probably a NVIDIA 4070Ti.
At this point I'm probably leaning mATX, as I know there will be no concerns there, but figured I'd check if anyone here has any opinions.
Thanks!
MTskibum
Footballguy
I made a trip to microcenter yesterday with a thousand dollar budget and only went over by 125 dollars, which is pretty much a win in my book. The reason I went over budget had nothing to do with performance either.
One area I spent more money on without increased performance is the SSD. I ended up buying a second SSD since the motherboard i purchased supports raid 0 and 1. Raid 0 writes every other line of memory to each ssd, essentially doubling the bandwidth and read/write times making the hard drive twice as fast, however the downside with Raid 0 is it essentially doubles the chance of failure, because if either hard drive fails you are screwed.
Raid 1 on the other hand writes the same memory to both SSD's, which does not increase performance but offers insurance in case of hard drive failure. Which is sadly the option I am going to choose.
I also went 50 dollars over budget on my power supply. I would have been perfectly fine with a generic 550w, however I went with the most expensive brand, Corsair, and I went with an 850w model. This was also for reliability concerns, i expect a longer life since I have such a large buffer
For the video card I went pretty cheap, ending up with a 3060 rtx from amazon for 250 dollars. This is the second cheapest card from the last generation, which i am fine with. I will upgrade to a 5070 ti in the future.
I ended up with a much bettter cpu than what i was expecting to purchase since I had budgeted 150-200 for my motherboard and 100 dollars for RAM. Microcenter had a package deal that kind of made it so that piecing together any other combination of mobo/cpu/ram did not make sense.
For 400 dollars:
Motherboard: MSI Pro650p Wifi
RAM: 32gb ddr5
CPU: AMD Ryzen 7700x
The cheapest that the motherboard and ram were available for elsewhere was for a combined 285 dollars. This means i only ended up spending 115 dollars of my budget on CPU while ending up with a high end, newest generation ryzen 7. This is essentially a 200 dollar savings on the processor.
I expected to go with intel since they are slightly better value right now, however this promotion made AMD make more sense.
Now I just need to put it all together.
One area I spent more money on without increased performance is the SSD. I ended up buying a second SSD since the motherboard i purchased supports raid 0 and 1. Raid 0 writes every other line of memory to each ssd, essentially doubling the bandwidth and read/write times making the hard drive twice as fast, however the downside with Raid 0 is it essentially doubles the chance of failure, because if either hard drive fails you are screwed.
Raid 1 on the other hand writes the same memory to both SSD's, which does not increase performance but offers insurance in case of hard drive failure. Which is sadly the option I am going to choose.
I also went 50 dollars over budget on my power supply. I would have been perfectly fine with a generic 550w, however I went with the most expensive brand, Corsair, and I went with an 850w model. This was also for reliability concerns, i expect a longer life since I have such a large buffer
For the video card I went pretty cheap, ending up with a 3060 rtx from amazon for 250 dollars. This is the second cheapest card from the last generation, which i am fine with. I will upgrade to a 5070 ti in the future.
I ended up with a much bettter cpu than what i was expecting to purchase since I had budgeted 150-200 for my motherboard and 100 dollars for RAM. Microcenter had a package deal that kind of made it so that piecing together any other combination of mobo/cpu/ram did not make sense.
For 400 dollars:
Motherboard: MSI Pro650p Wifi
RAM: 32gb ddr5
CPU: AMD Ryzen 7700x
The cheapest that the motherboard and ram were available for elsewhere was for a combined 285 dollars. This means i only ended up spending 115 dollars of my budget on CPU while ending up with a high end, newest generation ryzen 7. This is essentially a 200 dollar savings on the processor.
I expected to go with intel since they are slightly better value right now, however this promotion made AMD make more sense.
Now I just need to put it all together.
Nick Vermeil
Footballguy
titusbramble
Footballguy
I have no idea if this site has been mentioned further up thread, but Logical Increments offers a bunch of build suggestions tailored to differing tiers/budgets which might be a good starting point to take a look at. Can't really advise you personally as I've not been in the market for a new PC since 2020 when I built my current rig, and my use case was more CPU/less GPU compared to a more standard gaming build
Zasada
Footballguy
What do you need included? Can you cannibalize parts from an older PC (power supply, case, monitor, etc)?
Nick Vermeil
Footballguy
Exclude the case and monitor. My current pc is a mini so I’ll probably go full tower this time. I have a few I can use but will likely get a fancy new box.
Zasada
Footballguy
Sounds good. Do you have a Microcenter nearby you're willing to shop at? They tend to have good CPU/mobo combo deals. If not, I'll just source online entirely.
Zasada
Footballguy
Here's what gets you in just under $1600 before tax:
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.
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pcpartpicker.com
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.
Nick Vermeil
Footballguy
This is great and I do have a few micro centers near by. I’ve never had an AMD system before. Is anything different in the build?
titusbramble
Footballguy
Generally speaking, PC building is Lego for adults, regardless of which CPU path you go down. The different ways will require different components (any half competent guide/site will make sure everything is compatible) but the principles are the same
Zasada
Footballguy
Be sure to get the cpu/mobo/ram as a bundle (advertised on their website). It's a smokin deal and one of the reasons the build is so much cheaper there than elsewhere.
Nothing different with an AMD build vs Intel. Note that the CPU doesn't come with a heatsink at all, so don't try to build the PC until you get one from Amazon (or elsewhere). Oh and if the heatsink doesn't come with thermal paste (they usually do), grab a tube a Micro Center.
Micro Center also has a great case selection and helpful staff (most of the time), so you can get yourself a fancy case there as well, if you're so inclined.
Nick Vermeil
Footballguy
What OS is everyone putting on their builds these days? 10 or 11?
Zasada
Footballguy
I was sticking with 10 until MS finally added the "never combine" feature back to the taskbar in 11. So now, 11.
Zasada
Footballguy
BigJohn
Footballguy
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 32 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.
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 32 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.
Last edited:
Hawks64
Footballguy
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.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.
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