Need second opinion on a $1200 First time PC Build

[BountyStone]

Budget ($1,200 US) 

Country: United States

Games, programs or workloads that it will be used for: FPS games like Apex, Valorant, etc., also some programming, streaming, video editing, and photo editing. (The works lol)

Other details: This is my first time building a PC, so I have minimum knowledge about the process. Just wanted to get a second opinion to see if I could improve my build at all before I purchased it. Thanks for any thoughts!

 

My Build:

PCPartPicker Part List

Type	Item	Price
CPU	AMD Ryzen 5 3600 3.6 GHz 6-Core Processor	$199.99 @ B&H
CPU Cooler	Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler	$34.99 @ Amazon
Motherboard	MSI B450 TOMAHAWK MAX ATX AM4 Motherboard	$124.99 @ B&H
Memory	G.Skill Ripjaws V 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3600 CL16 Memory	$84.99 @ Newegg
Storage	Samsung 970 Evo 500 GB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive	$64.98 @ Amazon
Storage	Western Digital Caviar Blue 1 TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive	$44.99 @ Adorama
Video Card	Zotac GeForce GTX 1050 Ti 4 GB MINI Video Card	$349.99 @ Amazon
Case	Fractal Design Meshify C ATX Mid Tower Case	$99.98 @ Newegg
Power Supply	EVGA G3 650 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply	$109.99 @ Amazon
	Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts
	Total	$1114.89
	Generated by PCPartPicker 2021-01-22 14:29 EST-0500

 

 

Edited January 22, 2021 by BountyStone
Fixed incorrect GPU being displayed

[Downkey]

7 minutes ago, BountyStone said:

Budget ($1,200 US) 

Country: United States

Games, programs or workloads that it will be used for: FPS games like Apex, Valorant, etc., also some programming, streaming, video editing, and photo editing. (The works lol)

Other details: This is my first time building a PC, so I have minimum knowledge about the process. Just wanted to get a second opinion to see if I could improve my build at all before I purchased it. Thanks for any thoughts!

 

My Build:

PCPartPicker Part List

Type	Item	Price
CPU	AMD Ryzen 5 3600 3.6 GHz 6-Core Processor	$199.99 @ B&H
CPU Cooler	Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler	$34.99 @ Amazon
Motherboard	MSI B450 TOMAHAWK MAX ATX AM4 Motherboard	$124.99 @ B&H
Memory	G.Skill Ripjaws V 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3600 CL16 Memory	$84.99 @ Newegg
Storage	Samsung 970 Evo 500 GB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive	$64.98 @ Amazon
Storage	Western Digital Caviar Blue 1 TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive	$44.99 @ Adorama
Video Card	Zotac GeForce GTX 1050 Ti 4 GB MINI Video Card	$349.99 @ Amazon
Case	Fractal Design Meshify C ATX Mid Tower Case	$99.98 @ Newegg
Power Supply	EVGA G3 650 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply	$109.99 @ Amazon
	Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts
	Total	$1114.89
	Generated by PCPartPicker 2021-01-22 14:15 EST-0500

 

everything about your list looked fine, except the GPU. 

PCPartPicker Part List

Type	Item	Price
CPU	AMD Ryzen 5 3600 3.6 GHz 6-Core Processor	$199.99 @ B&H
Motherboard	ASRock B450M PRO4 Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard	$82.99 @ Amazon
Memory	Silicon Power 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 CL16 Memory	$69.97 @ Amazon
Storage	Western Digital SN750 500 GB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive	$64.98 @ Amazon
Storage	Western Digital Caviar Blue 1 TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive	$44.99 @ Adorama
Video Card	MSI GeForce RTX 3060 Ti 8 GB GAMING X TRIO Video Card	$450.00
Case	Phanteks Eclipse P400A Digital ATX Mid Tower Case	$89.99 @ Amazon
Power Supply	be quiet! Pure Power 11 CM 600 W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-modular ATX Power Supply	$99.99 @ Amazon
	Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts
	Total	$1102.90
	Generated by PCPartPicker 2021-01-22 14:23 EST-0500

 

[BountyStone]

6 minutes ago, Downkey said:

everything about your list looked fine, except the GPU. 

PCPartPicker Part List

Type	Item	Price
CPU	AMD Ryzen 5 3600 3.6 GHz 6-Core Processor	$199.99 @ B&H
Motherboard	ASRock B450M PRO4 Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard	$82.99 @ Amazon
Memory	Silicon Power 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 CL16 Memory	$69.97 @ Amazon
Storage	Western Digital SN750 500 GB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive	$64.98 @ Amazon
Storage	Western Digital Caviar Blue 1 TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive	$44.99 @ Adorama
Video Card	MSI GeForce RTX 3060 Ti 8 GB GAMING X TRIO Video Card	$450.00
Case	Phanteks Eclipse P400A Digital ATX Mid Tower Case	$89.99 @ Amazon
Power Supply	be quiet! Pure Power 11 CM 600 W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-modular ATX Power Supply	$99.99 @ Amazon
	Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts
	Total	$1102.90
	Generated by PCPartPicker 2021-01-22 14:23 EST-0500

 

Yeah idk what happened I was supposed to have the Zotac 1050 instead of the MSI 3060. Do you think the Zotac 1050 is a good one for this build?

[Downkey]

1 minute ago, BountyStone said:

Yeah idk what happened I was supposed to have the Zotac 1050 instead of the MSI 3060. Do you think the Zotac 1050 is a good one for this build?

no. absolutley not. 

[eddiemcgarrigle]

I've got a Zotac 1050 ti, it's about 5 years old and hasn't really given me any problems until now.  It struggles to play most newish games on anything other then low settings. Do yourself a favour and get a better GPU.  I'm in the process of putting a new rig together because of that issue. A GTX 3070 or RX6800xt will be going in the new system. 

[SupaKomputa]

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 3600 3.6 GHz 6-Core Processor  ($199.99 @ B&H) 
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler  ($34.99 @ Amazon) 
Motherboard: ASRock B550M Phantom Gaming 4 Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard  ($93.98 @ Newegg) 
Memory: Silicon Power 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 CL16 Memory  ($69.97 @ Amazon) 
Storage: Samsung 970 Evo 500 GB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive  ($64.98 @ Amazon) 
Storage: Seagate Barracuda Compute 2 TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($54.99 @ Newegg) 
Video Card: EVGA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti 8 GB XC GAMING Video Card  ($500.00) 
Case: Fractal Design Meshify C ATX Mid Tower Case  ($99.98 @ Newegg) 
Power Supply: Corsair CX (2017) 550 W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply  ($69.98 @ Amazon) 
Total: $1188.86
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2021-01-22 14:35 EST-0500

 

1050ti is old news, don't buy it. The gpu prices are insane right now.
3060ti is around $500 if available. You may want to wait a little longer.

1TB hdd got no place in 2021, get at least 2TB or larger.

 

[Omar.B]

12 minutes ago, Downkey said:

everything about your list looked fine, except the GPU. 

PCPartPicker Part List

Type	Item	Price
CPU	AMD Ryzen 5 3600 3.6 GHz 6-Core Processor	$199.99 @ B&H
Motherboard	ASRock B450M PRO4 Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard	$82.99 @ Amazon
Memory	Silicon Power 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 CL16 Memory	$69.97 @ Amazon
Storage	Western Digital SN750 500 GB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive	$64.98 @ Amazon
Storage	Western Digital Caviar Blue 1 TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive	$44.99 @ Adorama
Video Card	MSI GeForce RTX 3060 Ti 8 GB GAMING X TRIO Video Card	$450.00
Case	Phanteks Eclipse P400A Digital ATX Mid Tower Case	$89.99 @ Amazon
Power Supply	be quiet! Pure Power 11 CM 600 W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-modular ATX Power Supply	$99.99 @ Amazon
	Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts
	Total	$1102.90
	Generated by PCPartPicker 2021-01-22 14:23 EST-0500

 

I recommend going with the b450 from asus rog its 40 bucks more 

and for the ram corsair vengeance with more 10 bucks its better!

[Omar.B]

1 minute ago, SupaKomputa said:

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 3600 3.6 GHz 6-Core Processor  ($199.99 @ B&H) 
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler  ($34.99 @ Amazon) 
Motherboard: ASRock B550M Phantom Gaming 4 Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard  ($93.98 @ Newegg) 
Memory: Silicon Power 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 CL16 Memory  ($69.97 @ Amazon) 
Storage: Samsung 970 Evo 500 GB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive  ($64.98 @ Amazon) 
Storage: Seagate Barracuda Compute 2 TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($54.99 @ Newegg) 
Video Card: EVGA GeForce RTX 3060 Ti 8 GB XC GAMING Video Card  ($500.00) 
Case: Fractal Design Meshify C ATX Mid Tower Case  ($99.98 @ Newegg) 
Power Supply: Corsair CX (2017) 550 W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply  ($69.98 @ Amazon) 
Total: $1188.86
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2021-01-22 14:35 EST-0500

 

1050ti is old news, don't buy it. The gpu prices are insane right now.
3060ti is around $500 if available. You may want to wait a little longer.

1TB hdd got no place in 2021, get at least 2TB or larger.

 

best solution 

[S70N3R]

35 minutes ago, BountyStone said:

Video Card	Zotac GeForce GTX 1050 Ti 4 GB MINI Video Card	$349.99 @ Amazon

 

i would try a newer GPU for that price even a GPU that has been used carefully

[BountyStone]

What should I look for in a GPU then to better suit my build? Or any suggestions?

[S70N3R]

9 minutes ago, BountyStone said:

What should I look for in a GPU then to better suit my build? Or any suggestions?

You can go for a 2070 Super or a 2080 Super or something like RX 5500 to 5700, or even a newer card if you can get your hands on . but again i don't know if that works within your budget. Point is just don't spend that amount on money on a 1050 ti.

[BountyStone]

3 minutes ago, S70N3R said:

You can go for a 2070 Super or a 2080 Super or something like RX 5500 to 5700, or even a newer card if you can get your hands on . but again i don't know if that works within your budget. Point is just don't spend that amount on money on a 1050 ti.

Yeah I'm not trying to spend a grand on a GPU right now. Trying to keep the whole thing under 1.2k, but with as high as GPU prices are right now it might be a bit impossible lol. Thanks for the help, I'll stay away from the 1050ti lol.

[SupaKomputa]

Buy something used right now. You can sell it later when you can buy the new one.

Get something like 1080, 2060 up to 2080 or RX5500 to 5700.

[S70N3R]

12 minutes ago, BountyStone said:

Yeah I'm not trying to spend a grand on a GPU right now. Trying to keep the whole thing under 1.2k, but with as high as GPU prices are right now it might be a bit impossible lol. Thanks for the help, I'll stay away from the 1050ti lol.

i think the price you got in there for 1050 ti isn't accurate. i bet you can find a 1050 ti on newegg for way lesser than 350$

[podkall]

GPU also depends on what display you use or if any  programs (not games) you use need strong GPU

display in resolution and Hz

[BountyStone]

5 minutes ago, podkall said:

GPU also depends on what display you use or if any  programs (not games) you use need strong GPU

display in resolution and Hz

I'm not looking to do anything 4k. 1920x1080 @ 60 fps probably is as high as I'm wanting to get, at least for now. And I am planning on getting Adobe eventually...so yeah.

[SupaKomputa]

9 hours ago, S70N3R said:

i think the price you got in there for 1050 ti isn't accurate. i bet you can find a 1050 ti on newegg for way lesser than 350$

1050ti ain't worth $150, if you're living in north america, ain't worth buying a new GPU right now.

even the used gpu have doubled in price.

[podkall]

13 hours ago, BountyStone said:

I'm not looking to do anything 4k. 1920x1080 @ 60 fps probably is as high as I'm wanting to get, at least for now. And I am planning on getting Adobe eventually...so yeah.

The only last thing you would have to concider (because I don't know this stuff) is if Adobe or other professional programs you use need strong GPU.

 

[Let me guide you with my specs, I have Ryzen 3 1200 3,5Ghz quad core, 8Gb of RAM, GTX 1050 (2Gb), and 1Tb HDD with SSD running Windows:

with that pc I can run Overwatch at around 80fps on average (I also have it locked there), CS:GO over 100fps (csgo fps is based on mainly GPU), Valorant almost the same as CS:GO, Apex Legends is a hard one since I can only get max of 60fps and that's on low settings, Rainbow 6 Siege runs smoothly over 60 fps (locked on 72), now I can't really run CoD Modern Warfare unless i have literally everything on low but that's because of my CPU.

And I can run GTA V at about those 60fps on decent settings the game looks nice (due to my 8Gb of ram I can't run anything else, but you should be good since youre getting 16).]

 

So what does that Book of performance mean? I guess you can buy GTX 1050 ti however that's the lowest graphics card I would recommend.

Anything below GTX 1050 ti is just not worth.

What's the difference between GTX 1050 and GTX 1050 ti?

1050 ti has over 1000 better PassMark score, has 2x more memory, and overall in some areas and tasks the GTX 1050 ti is 2x better than GTX 1050.

 

Best would be buying something greater than 1050 ti. (examples would be GTX 1650 and GTX 1650S (Super) 1650 Super is 2x faster than 1650, 1650 is faster than 1050ti)

However if you are on budget and want to buy something right now and can't buy anything more expensive than minimum, than go for 1050 ti.

 

Here is a comparison of 1050 ti to 1650 in variety of games (before switching to other game they show settings used):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uk5FhYMOnAg

 

Here you go.

[BountyStone]

2 hours ago, podkall said:

The only last thing you would have to concider (because I don't know this stuff) is if Adobe or other professional programs you use need strong GPU.

 

[Let me guide you with my specs, I have Ryzen 3 1200 3,5Ghz quad core, 8Gb of RAM, GTX 1050 (2Gb), and 1Tb HDD with SSD running Windows:

with that pc I can run Overwatch at around 80fps on average (I also have it locked there), CS:GO over 100fps (csgo fps is based on mainly GPU), Valorant almost the same as CS:GO, Apex Legends is a hard one since I can only get max of 60fps and that's on low settings, Rainbow 6 Siege runs smoothly over 60 fps (locked on 72), now I can't really run CoD Modern Warfare unless i have literally everything on low but that's because of my CPU.

And I can run GTA V at about those 60fps on decent settings the game looks nice (due to my 8Gb of ram I can't run anything else, but you should be good since youre getting 16).]

 

So what does that Book of performance mean? I guess you can buy GTX 1050 ti however that's the lowest graphics card I would recommend.

Anything below GTX 1050 ti is just not worth.

What's the difference between GTX 1050 and GTX 1050 ti?

1050 ti has over 1000 better PassMark score, has 2x more memory, and overall in some areas and tasks the GTX 1050 ti is 2x better than GTX 1050.

 

Best would be buying something greater than 1050 ti. (examples would be GTX 1650 and GTX 1650S (Super) 1650 Super is 2x faster than 1650, 1650 is faster than 1050ti)

However if you are on budget and want to buy something right now and can't buy anything more expensive than minimum, than go for 1050 ti.

 

Here is a comparison of 1050 ti to 1650 in variety of games (before switching to other game they show settings used):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uk5FhYMOnAg

 

Here you go.

Thanks for taking the time explaining all the different specs! That was huge help! I’m definitely going to be getting a better graphics card now.

[AngryBeaver]

19 hours ago, BountyStone said:

Budget ($1,200 US) 

Country: United States

Games, programs or workloads that it will be used for: FPS games like Apex, Valorant, etc., also some programming, streaming, video editing, and photo editing. (The works lol)

Other details: This is my first time building a PC, so I have minimum knowledge about the process. Just wanted to get a second opinion to see if I could improve my build at all before I purchased it. Thanks for any thoughts!

 

My Build:

PCPartPicker Part List

Type	Item	Price
CPU	AMD Ryzen 5 3600 3.6 GHz 6-Core Processor	$199.99 @ B&H
CPU Cooler	Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler	$34.99 @ Amazon
Motherboard	MSI B450 TOMAHAWK MAX ATX AM4 Motherboard	$124.99 @ B&H
Memory	G.Skill Ripjaws V 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3600 CL16 Memory	$84.99 @ Newegg
Storage	Samsung 970 Evo 500 GB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive	$64.98 @ Amazon
Storage	Western Digital Caviar Blue 1 TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive	$44.99 @ Adorama
Video Card	Zotac GeForce GTX 1050 Ti 4 GB MINI Video Card	$349.99 @ Amazon
Case	Fractal Design Meshify C ATX Mid Tower Case	$99.98 @ Newegg
Power Supply	EVGA G3 650 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply	$109.99 @ Amazon
	Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts
	Total	$1114.89
	Generated by PCPartPicker 2021-01-22 14:29 EST-0500

 

I would go this route. Note I didn't add a GPU, since they are all way above msrp on there due to shortage. I would aim for a 1660s, 2060, or 3060. You have about 265 left in your rough budget... which will easily get a 1660s or 2060, but would be a little stretch to get a 3060 which would be 50-100 more, but also a much better all around card for gaming and streaming.
 

PCPartPicker Part List

Type	Item	Price
CPU	AMD Ryzen 5 5600X 3.7 GHz 6-Core Processor	$399.99 @ MemoryC
CPU Cooler	Cooler Master Hyper 212 Black Edition 42 CFM CPU Cooler	$29.99 @ Newegg
Motherboard	ASRock B550M Pro4 Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard	$104.99 @ Amazon
Memory	G.Skill Ripjaws V 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3600 CL16 Memory	$84.99 @ Newegg
Storage	Intel 665p 1 TB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive	$94.99 @ Newegg
Storage	Seagate Barracuda Compute 2 TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive	$54.99 @ Newegg
Case	Fractal Design Meshify C ATX Mid Tower Case	$99.98 @ Newegg
Power Supply	SeaSonic CORE GM 550 W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-modular ATX Power Supply	$65.98 @ Newegg
	Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts
	Total (before mail-in rebates)	$955.90
	Mail-in rebates	-$20.00
	Total	$935.90
	Generated by PCPartPicker 2021-01-23 09:33 EST-0500

 

[BountyStone]

6 hours ago, AngryBeaver said:

I would go this route. Note I didn't add a GPU, since they are all way above msrp on there due to shortage. I would aim for a 1660s, 2060, or 3060. You have about 265 left in your rough budget... which will easily get a 1660s or 2060, but would be a little stretch to get a 3060 which would be 50-100 more, but also a much better all around card for gaming and streaming.
 

PCPartPicker Part List

Type	Item	Price
CPU	AMD Ryzen 5 5600X 3.7 GHz 6-Core Processor	$399.99 @ MemoryC
CPU Cooler	Cooler Master Hyper 212 Black Edition 42 CFM CPU Cooler	$29.99 @ Newegg
Motherboard	ASRock B550M Pro4 Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard	$104.99 @ Amazon
Memory	G.Skill Ripjaws V 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3600 CL16 Memory	$84.99 @ Newegg
Storage	Intel 665p 1 TB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive	$94.99 @ Newegg
Storage	Seagate Barracuda Compute 2 TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive	$54.99 @ Newegg
Case	Fractal Design Meshify C ATX Mid Tower Case	$99.98 @ Newegg
Power Supply	SeaSonic CORE GM 550 W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-modular ATX Power Supply	$65.98 @ Newegg
	Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts
	Total (before mail-in rebates)	$955.90
	Mail-in rebates	-$20.00
	Total	$935.90
	Generated by PCPartPicker 2021-01-23 09:33 EST-0500

 

Love it, thanks! I’m going to have to look at my list again and compare.