Advice on PC purchase

[Swankyouu]

So I am in the market for a gaming rig with a budget of around $1500.00, I have been debating between a 3060ti Desktop rig I found and a 3060 Laptop rig I found. The only reason I am debating is I am active duty army.. I cant seem to make the decision on what rig to go with. I need portability but I can live without it.. Any advice? Does a 3060 laptop preform enough to play demanding games? I want to future proof myself for at least a couple years.

[Swankyouu]

I'd love to have a desktop but may need a laptop.. I found a 3060 Ti pre-built for $1399.99

[tishous]

You have to keep in mind that a 3060 in a laptop won't perform like a desktop version of a 3060 because of power/thermal restraints. The 3060ti desktop will perform a lot (probably 30% or so) better than the 3060 laptop. It depends on the games you want to play, and at what FPS, but generally a 3060 laptop will be fine. The 3060ti desktop will perform better in games released in the new few years though.

 

If you can, I would say look at benchmark videos of the 3060ti and the CPU in that system, and reviews of the exact laptop model you want to buy and decide then.

[LogicalDrm]

-> Moved to New Builds and Planning

[UpTheDons]

You wont get as good performance from a laptop 3060 card compared to its desktop counterpart, I guess it depends how much time you would be spending at a desktop or away with the laptop because a desktop will be better than a laptop at that price point. You will have better future proofing in terms of games too with a desktop and it will probably last you longer. 

 

PCPartPicker Part List: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/2t8nF8

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 5600X 3.7 GHz 6-Core Processor  ($300.00) 
Motherboard: MSI MAG B550 TOMAHAWK ATX AM4 Motherboard  ($179.99 @ Amazon) 
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws V 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3600 CL16 Memory  ($97.99 @ Newegg) 
Storage: Samsung 970 Evo 1 TB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive  ($139.99 @ Amazon) 
Video Card: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 8 GB Founders Edition Video Card  ($500.00) 
Case: Fractal Design Meshify C ATX Mid Tower Case  ($85.49 @ Amazon) 
Power Supply: Corsair TXM Gold 550 W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-modular ATX Power Supply  ($79.99 @ Newegg) 
Total: $1383.45
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2021-02-19 05:54 EST-0500

(assuming you are in the US, tell me if your not and I can switch up the list according to where you are)

 

This is the kind of thing you would be looking at if you went DIY, for $1500 you can easily fit in a 3070 with budget left as getting it for msrp any time soon is pretty unlikely due to the stock shortages, bear in mind the 5600x and 3070 aren't in stock in the US right now so you will have to wait and try and snag them both at a local store or online, I would suggest turning on stock notifications as most retailers are dropping limited stock at really random points and everyone is trying to get their hands on one. You may be waiting a while but no one really can tell when stuff is going to start coming back in.

 

What was that pre-built that you mentioned? If you could send a link I can have a look at it, most are overpriced but some are more reasonable than others. Its the only way you can buy a 30 series GPU system right now so it is an option to consider. In terms of laptops in this price range, you have plenty of options so maybe conduct some of your own research and see what you like. (I am not the most informed about gaming laptops so I cant help on that front)

[StarkOdinson612]

8 hours ago, Swankyouu said:

So I am in the market for a gaming rig with a budget of around $1500.00, I have been debating between a 3060ti Desktop rig I found and a 3060 Laptop rig I found. The only reason I am debating is I am active duty army.. I cant seem to make the decision on what rig to go with. I need portability but I can live without it.. Any advice? Does a 3060 laptop preform enough to play demanding games? I want to future proof myself for at least a couple years.

You should be able to fit an RTX 3080 in that budget tbh

[Guest]

You could just about fir an RTX 3080 into the budget assuming you are in the US, but as already mentioned availability is non existent at the minute. If you are looking at 1080p gaming then a 3060 ti would be fine.

 

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 5600X 3.7 GHz 6-Core Processor  ($300.00) 
Motherboard: Asus TUF GAMING B550-PLUS ATX AM4 Motherboard  ($154.99 @ Newegg) 
Memory: Team T-FORCE VULCAN Z 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 CL16 Memory  ($77.98 @ Amazon) 
Storage: Silicon Power A80 1 TB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive  ($114.99 @ Amazon) 
Video Card: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 10 GB Founders Edition Video Card  ($699.99 @ Best Buy) 
Case: BitFenix Nova Mesh SE ATX Mid Tower Case  ($67.90 @ Amazon) 
Power Supply: Phanteks AMP 750 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply  ($115.98 @ Newegg) 
Total: $1531.83
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2021-02-19 07:51 EST-0500

[Swankyouu]

1 hour ago, UpTheDons said:

You wont get as good performance from a laptop 3060 card compared to its desktop counterpart, I guess it depends how much time you would be spending at a desktop or away with the laptop because a desktop will be better than a laptop at that price point. You will have better future proofing in terms of games too with a desktop and it will probably last you longer. 

 

PCPartPicker Part List: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/2t8nF8

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 5600X 3.7 GHz 6-Core Processor  ($300.00) 
Motherboard: MSI MAG B550 TOMAHAWK ATX AM4 Motherboard  ($179.99 @ Amazon) 
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws V 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3600 CL16 Memory  ($97.99 @ Newegg) 
Storage: Samsung 970 Evo 1 TB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive  ($139.99 @ Amazon) 
Video Card: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 8 GB Founders Edition Video Card  ($500.00) 
Case: Fractal Design Meshify C ATX Mid Tower Case  ($85.49 @ Amazon) 
Power Supply: Corsair TXM Gold 550 W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-modular ATX Power Supply  ($79.99 @ Newegg) 
Total: $1383.45
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2021-02-19 05:54 EST-0500

(assuming you are in the US, tell me if your not and I can switch up the list according to where you are)

 

This is the kind of thing you would be looking at if you went DIY, for $1500 you can easily fit in a 3070 with budget left as getting it for msrp any time soon is pretty unlikely due to the stock shortages, bear in mind the 5600x and 3070 aren't in stock in the US right now so you will have to wait and try and snag them both at a local store or online, I would suggest turning on stock notifications as most retailers are dropping limited stock at really random points and everyone is trying to get their hands on one. You may be waiting a while but no one really can tell when stuff is going to start coming back in.

 

What was that pre-built that you mentioned? If you could send a link I can have a look at it, most are overpriced but some are more reasonable than others. Its the only way you can buy a 30 series GPU system right now so it is an option to consider. In terms of laptops in this price range, you have plenty of options so maybe conduct some of your own research and see what you like. (I am not the most informed about gaming laptops so I cant help on that front)

https://vrlatech.com/product/vrla-tech-apollo-gaming/

You have to select the option for the 3060 , its $1199.99 for the 2060 and an additional $185.00 for the 3060 ti

[Swankyouu]

Also, I have all of the misc. stuff like keyboard, mouse etc.. I however do not have a monitor..

The only reason I am remotely considering a gaming laptop is the fact I am active duty and may be deploying soon I would much rather prefer to build my own pc but the market is shot at the moment..

If I could afford both right now I would totally hands down get the laptop and the desktop

[Swankyouu]

I would prefer the Desktop for the upgradability and future proofing and the only thing stopping me from that is deployment. I wanted to originally go for the gaming laptop but I know they're not future proof and they thermal throttle etc

[Guest]

3 hours ago, Swankyouu said:

https://vrlatech.com/product/vrla-tech-apollo-gaming/

You have to select the option for the 3060 , its $1199.99 for the 2060 and an additional $185.00 for the 3060 ti

That is a ripoff. I would steer well clear of that.

[UpTheDons]

3 hours ago, Swankyouu said:

https://vrlatech.com/product/vrla-tech-apollo-gaming/

You have to select the option for the 3060 , its $1199.99 for the 2060 and an additional $185.00 for the 3060 ti

As mentioned above that doesn't look amazing. 

 

3 hours ago, Swankyouu said:

Also, I have all of the misc. stuff like keyboard, mouse etc.. I however do not have a monitor..

The only reason I am remotely considering a gaming laptop is the fact I am active duty and may be deploying soon I would much rather prefer to build my own pc but the market is shot at the moment..

If I could afford both right now I would totally hands down get the laptop and the desktop

You could probably afford a budget Desktop and a fairly decent laptop tbh possibly fitting in a monitor too, although it wont be a particularly fancy one.

[Swankyouu]

On 2/19/2021 at 11:23 AM, lee32uk said:

That is a ripoff. I would steer well clear of that.

How is it a rip off ? I’m just wondering. It seems to be the best deal so far besides the hp omen with the Ryzen 7 and 2060 for 1250

 

[Guest]

2 hours ago, Swankyouu said:

How is it a rip off ? I’m just wondering. It seems to be the best deal so far besides the hp omen with the Ryzen 7 and 2060 for 1250

 

Because they are asking way too much money for it. 

 

This is a similar spec:

 

So they are asking for an extra $260 minimum, maybe more as prices are a bit inflated at the minute. A cheap Win key can be had for around $10.

 

 

 

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 3600 3.6 GHz 6-Core Processor  ($199.99 @ Adorama) 
CPU Cooler: Deepcool GAMMAXX 400 Blue 74.34 CFM CPU Cooler  ($22.99 @ Amazon) 
Motherboard: ASRock B450 Pro4 ATX AM4 Motherboard  ($90.99 @ Newegg) 
Memory: OLOy 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 CL16 Memory  ($69.99 @ Newegg) 
Storage: Transcend 110S 128 GB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive  ($28.99 @ Amazon) 
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1 TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($42.99 @ Amazon) 
Video Card: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 6 GB Founders Edition Video Card  ($350.00) 
Case: Deepcool MATREXX 55 V3 ADD-RGB 3F ATX Mid Tower Case  ($87.99 @ Amazon) 
Power Supply: EVGA 500 W 80+ Certified ATX Power Supply  ($47.99 @ Adorama) 
Total: $941.92
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2021-02-21 11:44 EST-0500

 

[Swankyouu]

2 hours ago, lee32uk said:

Because they are asking way too much money for it. 

 

This is a similar spec:

 

So they are asking for an extra $260 minimum, maybe more as prices are a bit inflated at the minute. A cheap Win key can be had for around $10.

 

 

 

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 3600 3.6 GHz 6-Core Processor  ($199.99 @ Adorama) 
CPU Cooler: Deepcool GAMMAXX 400 Blue 74.34 CFM CPU Cooler  ($22.99 @ Amazon) 
Motherboard: ASRock B450 Pro4 ATX AM4 Motherboard  ($90.99 @ Newegg) 
Memory: OLOy 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 CL16 Memory  ($69.99 @ Newegg) 
Storage: Transcend 110S 128 GB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive  ($28.99 @ Amazon) 
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1 TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($42.99 @ Amazon) 
Video Card: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 6 GB Founders Edition Video Card  ($350.00) 
Case: Deepcool MATREXX 55 V3 ADD-RGB 3F ATX Mid Tower Case  ($87.99 @ Amazon) 
Power Supply: EVGA 500 W 80+ Certified ATX Power Supply  ($47.99 @ Adorama) 
Total: $941.92
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2021-02-21 11:44 EST-0500

 

Yeah I know they priced it about $200 higher.. I am only looking at this pc for the 3060ti option which is about $1385.00 I know it seems a tad over priced. I am only considering this option as I cannot find any other pre built computers for a good price range with a 2060 or 3060.. I am also looking into the new RTX 3060 laptops, I want a good pc within my budget and i want to build one but I’m not over paying for a graphics card as there is barely any on the market anymore