I need a new PC but I have no clue where to start

[Sonefall]

Hello, I need a new PC for everyday Desktop use. I specifically want to keep some of my old components like my Graphics Card (MSI Nvidia GeForce GTX 1660 Ti) and my Power Supply (bequiet Pure Power 11) but I want to be able to upgrade later on.

 

1. Budget & Location

I have a budget of around 2.5k€ and I live close to Germany.

 

2. Aim

This system is going to have a wide variety of use cases. I play games, I render video, I develop software using Java, C#, Dart and Python as my main languages so I need a system that can build fast, I render with blender and create games in Unity and Unreal. I also do some light music production and art. I am also livestreaming so this system needs to be able to do a lot. I do not care about an extra 10s of build time or blender taking 5s longer to render.

3. Monitors

I currently have 3 Monitors with 2 of them running at 1080p 60Hz but I plan to switch at least one of them with a 1440p 120Hz monitor.

4. Peripherals

I do not need any peripherals.

5. Why are you upgrading?

I need to upgrade because my old PC has 8GB of DDR3 RAM and A FX 6350 6-core at 3.9Hz and it has been bothering me for a while.

 

I do not need a dream PC that can do everything at insane speeds, but I need a PC that can perform the mentioned workloads without freezing the entire Operating System. For example I need to be able to continue streaming while I compile without the bitrate dropping to 100 and I need to be able to open 2 more tabs in chrome.

 

As I already mentioned: I'd quite like to reuse the Power supply and Graphics card, but I will upgrade those later. I hope that someone can help me choose between parts, because just seeing version numbers on intel and AMD CPUs makes my head hurt and I am really struggling to understand. I also do not need storage and any amount of RGB will be wasted, because I will not be able to see my rig at all when it is sitting literally behind one of my monitors with the left side facing me. Thanks a lot

[Somerandomtechyboi]

Full system spec? You could prob reuse everything other than the mb, cpu, and ram obv

 

If your cooler is trash then replace that too

[Sonefall]

Cooler is indeed trash. Swapping out motherboard, CPU, RAM, case and cooling is essentially the plan.

I don't know what to choose though. Someone told me to choose a MoBo by finding what works with CPU and RAM

To give some more information:

• MoBo should be ATX
• I need at least 4 SATA Ports,
• 4 USB 3 ports
• at least 4 USB 2 ports
• 1Gig Ethernet
• I do not need WIFI
• I'd prefer 32GB of RAM

 

[Somerandomtechyboi]

https://de.pcpartpicker.com/list/k3Pxy4

Completely overkilled on everything but thats just to ensure that its futureproof and will last ~7 years with the cooler (and case if you wanna replace your current one) being reusable for future builds

 

If you dont need the power of a 5950x then you can get a 5900x

 

If you dont need 64gb ram then you can cut down to 32gb ram

 

If your case is garbage aka doesnt have airflow then consider the p500a ive included

[Alder Lake]

2 minutes ago, Somerandomtechyboi said:

https://de.pcpartpicker.com/list/k3Pxy4

Completely overkilled on everything but thats just to ensure that its futureproof and will last ~7 years with the cooler (and case if you wanna replace your current one) being reusable for future builds

 

If you dont need the power of a 5950x then you can get a 5900x

 

If you dont need 64gb ram then you can cut down to 32gb ram

 

If your case is garbage aka doesnt have airflow then consider the p500a ive included

uh, I would suggest a different approach

 

intel just released 12th gen, and even the i5-12600k beats the 5950x in select everyday tests

[Alder Lake]

16 minutes ago, Sonefall said:

Cooler is indeed trash. Swapping out motherboard, CPU, RAM, case and cooling is essentially the plan.

I don't know what to choose though. Someone told me to choose a MoBo by finding what works with CPU and RAM

To give some more information:

• MoBo should be ATX
• I need at least 4 SATA Ports,
• 4 USB 3 ports
• at least 4 USB 2 ports
• 1Gig Ethernet
• I do not need WIFI
• I'd prefer 32GB of RAM

 

do you need a specific gen of USB 3 (gen 1, gen 2, gen 2x2)

[Somerandomtechyboi]

2 minutes ago, yesyes said:

uh, I would suggest a different approach

 

intel just released 12th gen, and even the i5-12600k beats the 5950x in select everyday tests

gonna have to wait for the non k cpus to release cause k cpu and z boards are just uneccesary crap that basically no one ever uses and you still pay for those useless features

 

Prob wait a month or 2 for b boards and non k cpus so you dont have to pay early adopters tax and useless features

[Alder Lake]

3 minutes ago, Somerandomtechyboi said:

gonna have to wait for the non k cpus to release cause k cpu and z boards are just uneccesary crap that basically no one ever uses and you still pay for those useless features

 

Prob wait a month or 2 for b boards and non k cpus so you dont have to pay early adopters tax and useless features

the 12600k is also like $350, compared to the 5950x which is $700

[Sonefall]

3 minutes ago, yesyes said:

do you need a specific gen of USB 3 (gen 1, gen 2, gen 2x2)

No. Anything should do

[Alder Lake]

2 minutes ago, Sonefall said:

No. Anything should do

new problem

 

searching through the boards on PCpartpicker, none of them have 4 USB 3.2 headers, but a few have 3

 

would you replace one with USB 2.0, or just go with 3?

[Sonefall]

So you're telling me I can either wait for the k version of the new intel 12th gen CPUs which will be cheaper and better or buy an AMD CPU for 700 now?

would that mean 2 months from now?

[Sonefall]

1 minute ago, yesyes said:

new problem

 

searching through the boards on PCpartpicker, none of them have 4 USB 3.2 headers, but a few have 3

 

would you replace one with USB 2.0, or just go with 3?

In that case I would replace one of them with USB 2.0

[Alder Lake]

1 minute ago, Sonefall said:

So you're telling me I can either wait for the k version of the new intel 12th gen CPUs which will be cheaper and better or buy an AMD CPU for 700 now?

would that mean 2 months from now?

not exactly

 

you COULD wait for the non-k chips to come out (perhaps in a month or two), which might cut off $100 or so, or, if you don't want to wait a month, you have two main choices

 

1. Just get a K series chip

spend the extra "early-adopter fee" of ~$1-200, then go with that

2. Go AMD

spend an extra $350 on a CPU, and potentially save on some other parts, mainly the motherboard

 

 

overall they should cost similar amounts, but Intel will perform better in most tasks

[Sonefall]

pcpartpicker warns me of the same compatibility issues, a friend of mine had when upgrading. I do not have a compatible CPU lying around to do a BIOS update. Is that going to be fine?

[Alder Lake]

Just now, Sonefall said:

pcpartpicker warns me of the same compatibility issues, a friend of mine had when upgrading. I do not have a compatible CPU lying around to do a BIOS update. Is that going to be fine?

I'm working on one for you right now

[brob]

What capacity is the pure power 11 that you want to reuse?

[Sonefall]

1 minute ago, brob said:

What capacity is the pure power 11 that you want to reuse?

It has a table with a bunch of numbers on the side. Max Combined Power: 500W.

I am fine with changing the Power Supply if necessary. I would just like to reuse it if possible

[brob]

Consider an Intel build. The new cpu seem to offer superior performance in most tasks. An upgrade to Windows 11 would be advisable.

 

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: Intel Core i7-12700K 3.6 GHz 8-Core Processor  (€444.00 @ Mindfactory) 
CPU Cooler: ARCTIC Liquid Freezer II 280 72.8 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler  (€80.98 @ Amazon Deutschland) 
CPU Cooler: ARCTIC Liquid Freezer II 360 56.3 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler  (€90.87 @ Mindfactory) 
Motherboard: Gigabyte Z690 UD AX ATX LGA1700 Motherboard  (€237.99 @ Mindfactory) 
Memory: Kingston FURY Beast 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR5-4800 CL38 Memory  (€340.99 @ Amazon Deutschland) 
Storage: Western Digital Black SN850 1 TB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive  (€157.99 @ Mindfactory) 
Storage: Samsung 870 QVO 4 TB 2.5" Solid State Drive  (€325.00 @ Amazon Deutschland) 
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 1660 Ti 6 GB GAMING X Video Card  (Purchased For €0.00) 
Case: Fractal Design Meshify 2 ATX Mid Tower Case  (€168.69 @ Amazon Deutschland) 
Power Supply: SeaSonic FOCUS GX 750 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply  (€93.89 @ Caseking) 
Total: €1940.40
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2021-11-05 14:35 CET+0100

[Alder Lake]

8 minutes ago, brob said:

Consider an Intel build. The new cpu seem to offer superior performance in most tasks. An upgrade to Windows 11 would be advisable.

 

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: Intel Core i7-12700K 3.6 GHz 8-Core Processor  (€444.00 @ Mindfactory) 
CPU Cooler: ARCTIC Liquid Freezer II 280 72.8 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler  (€80.98 @ Amazon Deutschland) 
CPU Cooler: ARCTIC Liquid Freezer II 360 56.3 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler  (€90.87 @ Mindfactory) 
Motherboard: Gigabyte Z690 UD AX ATX LGA1700 Motherboard  (€237.99 @ Mindfactory) 
Memory: Kingston FURY Beast 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR5-4800 CL38 Memory  (€340.99 @ Amazon Deutschland) 
Storage: Western Digital Black SN850 1 TB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive  (€157.99 @ Mindfactory) 
Storage: Samsung 870 QVO 4 TB 2.5" Solid State Drive  (€325.00 @ Amazon Deutschland) 
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 1660 Ti 6 GB GAMING X Video Card  (Purchased For €0.00) 
Case: Fractal Design Meshify 2 ATX Mid Tower Case  (€168.69 @ Amazon Deutschland) 
Power Supply: SeaSonic FOCUS GX 750 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply  (€93.89 @ Caseking) 
Total: €1940.40
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2021-11-05 14:35 CET+0100

I'm relatively sure the Noctua NH-D15 performs better than the Arctic Liquid Freezer, correct me if I'm wrong

 

also, I might instead go for this

• Noctua NH-D15 82.5 CFM CPU Cooler
• Lian Li Lancool II Mesh ATX Mid Tower Case
• Microsoft Windows 10 Pro OEM 64-bit
• Gigabyte M27Q 27.0" 2560x1440 170 Hz Monitor
• Elgato - Game Capture HD60 S+
• Sabrent Rocket 4 Plus 2 TB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive
• GeIL Polaris RGB SYNC 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR5-5200 CL34 Memory
• Asus PRIME Z690-P ATX LGA1700 Motherboard
• Intel Core i5-12600K 3.7 GHz 6-Core Processor

though I actually ended up a bit under budget, so it may be worth going for the core i7 and a higher-quality motherboard

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/W6YcdD

[Sonefall]

4 minutes ago, brob said:

Consider an Intel build. The new cpu seem to offer superior performance in most tasks. An upgrade to Windows 11 would be advisable.

 

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: Intel Core i7-12700K 3.6 GHz 8-Core Processor  (€444.00 @ Mindfactory) 
CPU Cooler: ARCTIC Liquid Freezer II 280 72.8 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler  (€80.98 @ Amazon Deutschland) 
CPU Cooler: ARCTIC Liquid Freezer II 360 56.3 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler  (€90.87 @ Mindfactory) 
Motherboard: Gigabyte Z690 UD AX ATX LGA1700 Motherboard  (€237.99 @ Mindfactory) 
Memory: Kingston FURY Beast 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR5-4800 CL38 Memory  (€340.99 @ Amazon Deutschland) 
Storage: Western Digital Black SN850 1 TB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive  (€157.99 @ Mindfactory) 
Storage: Samsung 870 QVO 4 TB 2.5" Solid State Drive  (€325.00 @ Amazon Deutschland) 
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 1660 Ti 6 GB GAMING X Video Card  (Purchased For €0.00) 
Case: Fractal Design Meshify 2 ATX Mid Tower Case  (€168.69 @ Amazon Deutschland) 
Power Supply: SeaSonic FOCUS GX 750 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply  (€93.89 @ Caseking) 
Total: €1940.40
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2021-11-05 14:35 CET+0100

Thank you very much. Is 8 cores going to be enough. I was wondering because I have seen a lot of videos about CPUs with up to 64 cores. Obviously that is server hardware, but does 8 cores vs. for example 10 cores going to make a big difference in compile time performance or video editing? Also why 2 CPU coolers?

[Alder Lake]

1 minute ago, Sonefall said:

Thank you very much. Is 8 cores going to be enough. I was wondering because I have seen a lot of videos about CPUs with up to 64 cores. Obviously that is server hardware, but does 8 cores vs. for example 10 cores going to make a big difference in compile time performance or video editing? Also why 2 CPU coolers?

it shouldn't make a huge difference

 

also I think he was just trying to give you two choices for coolers

[RodrigoRS]

17 minutes ago, Sonefall said:

Thank you very much. Is 8 cores going to be enough. I was wondering because I have seen a lot of videos about CPUs with up to 64 cores. Obviously that is server hardware, but does 8 cores vs. for example 10 cores going to make a big difference in compile time performance or video editing? Also why 2 CPU coolers?

The 12700k has 12* cores, not 8. Has 8 "Performance Cores" with hyperthreading and 4 "Efficient Cores" without HT. See this review. Is a very capable CPU.

The only critic I have with the build that is up there is that DDR5 is not worth it right now. You are paying a premium for a new technology that is not in it's prime. Go with a DDR4 motherboard and 32GB (2x16GB) 3600MHz Cl16 kit and you'll be just fine.

 

For me, you should get a Ryzen 9 5900X or a I7 12700KF.

 

Edit: When you see the expression "crushes" it means that now that AMD has competition again, they should lower the price a bit. The 12th gen Intel processors are more or less in par with the AMD ones so is just a matter of price.

Intel CPUs are a bit cheaper but their motherboards are more expensive (even more if you go with DDR5) but AMD CPUs are a bit more expensier but with chepear motherboards.

[Sonefall]

3 minutes ago, yesyes said:

it shouldn't make a huge difference

 

also I think he was just trying to give you two choices for coolers

Thank you very much. Regarding your parts list from earlier. I've just noticed the DDR5 RAM. I have already seen the LTT video on DDR5 RAM and I was considering going for it. I will probably swap out the i5 for the i7 and remove the capture card as well as the OS (which I already have a copy of).

[Alder Lake]

Just now, Sonefall said:

Thank you very much. Regarding your parts list from earlier. I've just noticed the DDR5 RAM. I have already seen the LTT video on DDR5 RAM and I was considering going for it. I will probably swap out the i5 for the i7 and remove the capture card as well as the OS (which I already have a copy of).

as far as I understand, capture cards essentially take the load off of your GPU when you're streaming, so that's why I added that, but if you don't need it, then absolutely feel free to remove it.

 

swapping for an i7 is perfectly reasonable, especially because I came out nearly $1,000 below budget, so I guess you can put upgrades here and there, maybe even get a 240hz 1440p/120hz 4k monitor (not sure if your graphics card has support for that though)

[Tan3l6]

DDR5 at this time is very much pointless - costs exactly 2 times more than a decent DDR4.