First Gaming PC Build for Two

[Shermanator]

Budget (including currency): $2500

Country: US

Games, programs or workloads: Gaming for the wife and I (League of Legends, Eve Online, Age of Empires II DE, Kerbal Space Program) AND computational chemistry for me (computing the physics and chemistry of theoretical molecules) 

Monitors: 1x Included below (Curved for "immersive environment")

Peripherals: We already have speakers and will pick up a comfortable keyboard/mouse on our own

Why are you upgrading? We both have modern laptops, but they can't cut it with modern gaming

Please, No Dream Builds: Not a dream build, I already bought the CPU and MB. 

 

I know GC availability/prices are crazy, but the wife and I want to press with a build now and upgrade to a 3080 in a year or two when they become readily available again. Do stock cases need additional fans? Let me know. 

 

CPUAMD Ryzen 7 5800X 3.8 GHz 8-Core Processor $427.03

CPU CoolerNoctua NH-U12S chromax.black 55 CFM CPU Cooler $79.95

MotherboardAsus ROG STRIX B550-F GAMING (WI-FI) ATX AM4 Motherboard $203.81

MemoryCorsair Vengeance LPX 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 CL16 Memory $92.99

 

StorageSeagate Barracuda Compute 2 TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive $55.49

StorageSamsung 980 Pro 500 GB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive $129.99

 

Video CardMSI GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER 6 GB GAMING X Video Card $738.00

 

CaseCorsair 4000D Airflow ATX Mid Tower Case $94.99

Power SupplyCorsair RM (2019) 650 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply $114.99

MonitorSamsung G7 LC32T550FDNXZA 31.5" 1920x1080 75 Hz Monitor $299.99

 

Operating SystemMicrosoft Windows 10 Home OEM 64-bit $108.78

 

Total:    $2346.01

 

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/4xDBRT

 

Edited May 8, 2021 by Shermanator

[bellabichon]

No complaints about CPU, cooler, motherboard, RAM or case. Could go for a little bit more on the SSD storage side, but if you're okay with slightly slower load times then don't bother. For power supply, I'd recommend you upgrade to the RMx 750W, as Nvidia recommends 750W for the 3080 (and you don't want to have to change out the whole thing in a few months). Last concern is the monitor. At 1080p, a 3080 is going to be crazy overkill. Unless you're planning to upgrade the monitor when you upgrade the GPU, I'd go 1440p with a higher refresh rate. 

[OfficialTechSpace]

10 minutes ago, Shermanator said:

Do stock cases need additional fans? Let me know.

It depends, some cases come with pre-installed fans, and others don't. Most of them don't have enough fans regardless.

 

I'd recommend something like the Phanteks P400A Digital case for convenience (3 pre-installed fans), plus getting an additional stock Phanteks 120mm fan to put at the rear of the case.

[Shermanator]

4 minutes ago, bellabichon said:

Nvidia recommends 750W for the 3080 (and you don't want to have to change out the whole thing in a few months). 

Exactly the sort of info I was hoping for when posting this. Never would have thought about that. 

5 minutes ago, bellabichon said:

At 1080p, a 3080 is going to be crazy overkill. 

Another good point

[BahnStormer]

Great choices on the CPU + mobo! I would have gone with <$100 for a B450 (Asrock), but that B550 is VERY solid, if you were happy to pay that, then it's a great option.

 

Try for 3600Mhz (CL16 or lower) on the RAM - your Ryzen 5000 CPU will thank you.

 

1660super at that price makes me sick... please understand that it's a really great little card.... I'm very happy with mine, but I paid $230incl shipping and taxes just after they first came out 18 months ago.

 

For context: my 1660SUPER (admittedly an OC version) runs pretty much anything I want at 1440P and even FPS games like Fortnite in DX12 seldom go as low as 120FPS+ (normally it stays pinned at the 170FPS cap - to match the 170Hz rate of my 1440P screen).

 

What I'm trying to say is that you can probably save ~$500 and get 99% of the same expereience:  I would recommend ~$150 for a GTX1050Ti or a RX750/GTX1060 if you can find one for ~$200-$250 (some scalpers asking ~$400 )... but any of those are below the "mining threshold" and they will probably let you play any 1080P game at 75Hz.

 

e.g. I'm not sure how legit these are, but $115 for a 1050Ti from China: HERE (but just get ready to run some benchmarks + GPU-Z to check it's not a re-labelled GT710 to GT730!) - see all the "Dawid Does Tech Stuff" vids on YouTube for his experiences and how to test. It's an easy Paypal claim if they try to screw you, just don't pay by Bitcoin, Western Union, etc  

 

A GTX1060 is the most I would consider putting on a computer with that screen... you should be able to max out setting in most games (except ray tracing)...

 

If you're going to keep that screen, then even a RTX3060 will probably be overkill, but that will give you RTX and allow you to complete max out that 1080P 75Hz... but I'll let you cross that bridge in ~2023

 

 

 

 

[Shermanator]

Not sure if y'all will see this as a notification but worth a shot. 

 

I've been reading through my MB manual and it said that screws are not included ... but also doesn't provide any information about what screws are required or how many. 

 

I assume most computer parts come with the hardware for mounting, so what is this on about? Do I need to purchase a 1-2 dozen screws? If so, which ones? 

 

Also, my wife and I went with a Samsung 27" G5 2560-1440 144hz monitor and the 1660 Super. This set up will due fine for a year or two and then we'll do some upgrading. Also, she requested RGB, so now that's a thing. I'll just made a pre-set for blue and white for my favorite sports team. Go sports team! 

 

Cheers, 

[brob]

Your case should come with screws for securing the motherboard. It will also have screws for expansion cards, psu, and depending on the design securing storage devices. Some cases will also include brass standoffs that must be installed in the appropriate holes pre-drilled in the motherboard tray.

 

If you haven't already bought the cpu cooler, consider getting the NH-U12A. More expensive but much better cooling.

 

[Shermanator]

Brob, 

 

Thanks for the tip about the case including hardware. Good to know. 

 

As for the CPU cooler, I didn't realize the NH-U12S wouldn't be enough. I saw some tests on YouTube University and the S seemed to do fine. The $15 extra isn't an issue. Kind of a bummer the NH-U12A doesn't come in black though. 

 

Cheers,