First Build: Should I go all out on my first rig and guarantee that it lasts, or should I be safe and get a more reasonable, but upgradeable build?
Hello all! I recently came out of the desolate financial hole of my early twenties (and a mental breakdown) and managed to find myself in a pretty stable position budget-wise, so I've finally decided to start saving up for something that I've been dreaming of…
Hello all! I recently came out of the desolate financial hole of my early twenties (and a mental breakdown) and managed to find myself in a pretty stable position budget-wise, so I've finally decided to start saving up for something that I've been dreaming of since I was a teen playing BF3 on my Dell Insipirion 15. I have no experience whatsoever in building pcs and most of my knowledge comes from following guides and hardware news online, so please forgive me if I may make obvious mistakes. A note that I did use AI to check for compatibilities and price-to-perfomance ratios, but otherwise the final choices made in the lists below were a result of my own pick based on comments found online and in this forum (plus some help from pcpartpicker). Please, if my choices are dogshit, feel free to tell me. The main question is this: Should I just splurge and really go for the top of the line parts or should I opt for some late generation hardware that can be then upgraded down the line? Please note that now that both me and my wife have jobs that take our household to over 100k, and with a lovely wife that supports my dream (yay!), I am fully ready to spend upwards of 3k to 4k. The main activity is for gaming, but I would obviously use it as a home computer when I have to work from home. You will also see an evident lack of AMD here, which might make little sense given what the AMD 9070 XT offers, but, if I got to be honest, I've used NVIDIA all my life, and switching to AMD freaks me out given the amount of money I look to spend. Dream List: CPU: Intel Core Ultra 7 265K 3.9 GHz 20-Core Processor Motherboard: Asus ROG STRIX Z890-F GAMING WIFI ATX LGA1851 Video Card: GeForce RTX 5070 Ti 16 GB Storage: Crucial T500 2 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME More Realistic List: CPU: Intel Core i7-13700K 3.4 GHz 16-Core Processor Motherboard: Asus TUF GAMING Z790-PLUS WIFI ATX LGA1700 Video Card: GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER 12 GB Storage: TEAMGROUP MP44L 2 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive All other which I will likely pick regardless but happy to hear suggestions: CPU Cooler: Thermalright Phantom Spirit 120 SE ARGB 66.17 CFM Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws S5 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR5-6400 CL32 PSU: Corsair RM1000x 1000 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply Case: Montech AIR 903 MAX ATX Mid Tower Case Will definitely buy for specific reasons: UPS: CyberPower CP1500PFCLCD UPS (My area is prone to power surges, and I've had items short before. I need this power unfortunately) Monitor: Samsung Odyssey OLED G81SF 32.0" 3840 x 2160 240 Hz Monitor (Regardless of my choice, I just have no reason to get a 4k setup if my monitor can't output it) In terms of accessories, like mouse and keyboard, speakers, and cables, I think I have most of it already figured out already (likely will just need to decide what full size mechanical keyboard to go for). For additional notes, I live in the US and will likely start saving to hopefully get to build the pc in the next 12 months*. Thank you all*!
Collected discussion
If you’re gaming, you should go for AMD, on the AM5 platform. The naming scheme is really quite simple. Intel used to be the best, but not so much anymore, they’re better for heavy workstation tasks like heavy video editing, which AMD is also good at. To quote ZTT ”Unless you have a specific reason to go for Intel, go for AMD” Also you really should consider an AMD GPU. The 9070XT is only slightly slower (like 5%) and costs 300$ less than the 5070 ti. Since you’re not doing AI or heavy Blender work, AMD is also better in that department.
The Ultra 270K is a counterpoint to your argument. It games like a 7800X3D and outperforms a 16 core AMD at the same time, and only costs $290 on sale.
Fair enough. But Intel doesn't tend to support their platforms for as long as AMD. And OP still might wanna upgrade in the future.
Had a friend show me that exact model and fell in love. Admittedly a biased pick on my end. I agree on buying it ASAP. I might see if I can snag the two this holiday season, but the majority of my saving will have to wait until I finish my travel expenses in December.
Again, inexperience here. I saw online that there was little difference there with 6000 being more of a compatibility in stability with AMD and 6400 having more potential for overclock.
Thank you so much! I will make sure to save this list. To clarify, I meant there is no reason to not splurge on a fancy 4k monitor if I am building a 4k rig. And thank you for understanding the NVDIA part. As said, it's just been my go to over the years of using laptops and I've gotten used to using it. Still from the comments so far, I might give AMD a thought.
ofc prices always changing especially RAM and NVMEs they might go low in stock and price will went up so they not the optimal pick and there will be better equally good picks... maybe consider getting 'cheap' and good IPS 1440p 180hz for now, and wait for 5th gen monitor... like MSI MPG OLED 322URDX36, AFAIK this will be the first 4k monitor that will have this new tech. *u can later use the 1440p monitor as secondary monitor...
technically 6000 can overclock to 6400 but its not really worth it. on AMD X3D cpus 6000 CL30 is about the peak performance your gonna get. and you should be shopping for an X3D CPU if you are gaming at all
That’s an awfully bougie monitor for this class of build. GPUs and RAM are only going to get more expensive. If either of these are in budget now I would grab them.
do this: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/93sWrG -the best CPU for gaming. -good and cheap cooler, with your budget you can get AIO if you like or Noctua cooler if you value lower noise. -high quality mobo, you can get something like 50-60$ cheaper and get exact same performance, but this one is just better quality and more features. -flagship nvme. (ofc you can get something cheaper, but nvme is something i rather get something quality for just a bit more) -i picked 5080 because you have the budget for it. -pick any case that you like... -for PSU just get the cheapest 1000w+ that is A tier like the one i picked, no reason to pay more. about the monitor, i did not understand what you said... you said that u dont have reason to get 4k monitor but you picked 4k monitor? and you should not apologize by going nvidia. they are the better product. ofc amd gpus are great, and personally if i needed new gpu to my 1440p gaming i would get the 9070xt, but if 5070ti cost the same or just a bit more i would get it for sure.
This is a fast system for $1905 (note the Ultra 270K is $290 with coupon right now) https://pcpartpicker.com/list/PwCKh9 https://pcpartpicker.com/list/GBxNyF I would buy the RAM used off of Facebook to save a couple hundred dollars. Or if you like fishbowl style get a Darkflash DS900 for $55: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DG5R61P4 Edit: AMD builds too. https://pcpartpicker.com/list/HqW64g https://pcpartpicker.com/list/khGwqd or 9800x3d: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/7ZGwqd https://pcpartpicker.com/list/CYbrck You absolutely save $200 going used RAM. Also open box motherboards are available around $90. I personally wouldn't buy 2TB NVMe right now, but I bought one for $42 when Ethereum crash happened.
If you are building in one year, come back then. The market is wildly fluctuating. If you have $600-700 now I would go AM5 with a $90 7500F (SZCPU on AliExpress, although sale seems over now, do a $120 used 7600x,7600 or 7500f), a $90 B650 (Amazon Returns) and a $100 16GB stick of RAM from Facebook and a $200-250 RTX 3060ti/4060/5060/3070. Use a shucked 512GB from here for a starter drive. I used fingernails to pop off the chrome knob, slid the plastic liner out, and popped it open for a 2240 NVMe SSD: https://www.ebay.com/itm/206398394332 Then in a year after you save come back and upgrade the CPU/GPU/RAM.
no reason not to go for the recently re-released 7800x3d cpu and either a 9070xt or 5070 ti graphics card. also why specifically do you want 6400 ram? 6000 cl30 is pretty much the sweet spot why pay more for almost no gain?