Good build for under $1300??

[smh_will]

This is for my friend -

Budget (including currency): $1300 usd 

Country: USA

Games, programs or workloads that it will be used for: Gaming, Everyday PC

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/6xNC8r

 

[Queen Chrysalis]

No, you can do a lot better for a gamin PC, for a lot less money.

[doubleflower]

Some minor tweaks (for a much faster GPU):

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/rYzDjZ

[Queen Chrysalis]

I'd get a good gaming monitor if this is your budget.  You could totally do 1440p 165Hz for this. budget:

 

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: Intel Core i5-12400F 2.5 GHz 6-Core Processor  ($159.98 @ Newegg) 
Motherboard: MSI PRO B660M-A WIFI DDR4 Micro ATX LGA1700 Motherboard  ($139.99 @ GameStop) 
Memory: Silicon Power XPOWER Turbine 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 CL16 Memory  ($49.97 @ Amazon) 
Storage: Silicon Power A60 1 TB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive  ($75.98 @ Amazon) 
Video Card: MSI Radeon RX 6700 XT 12 GB MECH 2X Video Card  ($489.99 @ Newegg) 
Case: KOLINK Citadel Mesh MicroATX Mini Tower Case  ($54.82 @ Amazon) 
Power Supply: EVGA GQ 750 W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-modular ATX Power Supply  ($69.98 @ Amazon) 
Monitor: Asus TUF Gaming VG27WQ1B 27.0" 2560x1440 165 Hz Monitor  ($249.00 @ Amazon) 
Total: $1289.71
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2022-05-24 11:17 EDT-0400

 

If you already have a monitor and want something cheaper, you could do that too, but for $1300 you can get a very fast system and a 1440p 165Hz monitor.

[Somerandomtechyboi]

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/FQ96Q6

¯\_ (ツ) _/¯ 

[BiotechBen]

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/CknDjZ

$20 over, but the extra fans are optional

[Queen Chrysalis]

3 minutes ago, BiotechBen said:

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/TJXcxs

Por why on the 3060 with a 12600k and z690?  Like what?  ALso, for the cost of that 2tb HDD and 500GB SSD you can almost get a 2TB SSD.

[Sorenson]

I wouldn't waste money on a cooler, or RGB fans at that price point. Those things can always be added later. Here is what I would recommend.

 

PCPartPicker Part List: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/8knDjZ

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 5600 3.5 GHz 6-Core Processor  ($184.00 @ Newegg) 
Motherboard: MSI MPG B550 GAMING EDGE WIFI ATX AM4 Motherboard  ($189.99 @ Amazon) 
Memory: Corsair Vengeance RGB Pro 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 CL16 Memory  ($79.98 @ Amazon) 
Storage: Western Digital Black SN750 SE 1 TB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive  ($94.99 @ B&H) 
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce RTX 3070 LHR 8 GB EAGLE OC Rev 2.0 Video Card  ($599.99 @ Newegg) 
Case: NZXT H510 Flow ATX Mid Tower Case  ($84.99 @ Amazon) 
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA GA 750 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply  ($74.99 @ EVGA) 
Total: $1308.93
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2022-05-24 11:23 EDT-0400

 

[Queen Chrysalis]

2 minutes ago, Sorenson said:

I wouldn't waste money on a cooler, or RGB fans at that price point. Those things can always be added later. Here is what I would recommend.

 

PCPartPicker Part List: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/8knDjZ

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 5600 3.5 GHz 6-Core Processor  ($184.00 @ Newegg) 
Motherboard: MSI MPG B550 GAMING EDGE WIFI ATX AM4 Motherboard  ($189.99 @ Amazon) 
Memory: Corsair Vengeance RGB Pro 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 CL16 Memory  ($79.98 @ Amazon) 
Storage: Western Digital Black SN750 SE 1 TB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive  ($94.99 @ B&H) 
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce RTX 3070 LHR 8 GB EAGLE OC Rev 2.0 Video Card  ($599.99 @ Newegg) 
Case: NZXT H510 Flow ATX Mid Tower Case  ($84.99 @ Amazon) 
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA GA 750 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply  ($74.99 @ EVGA) 
Total: $1308.93
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2022-05-24 11:23 EDT-0400

 

But the RGB RAM and $190 motherboard are equally silly, especially with a 6-core.  The regular 3070 is a decent value at $600, with minimal trimming you can fit a monitor into this for a user that I'm assuming doesn't have one, I'd wanna max trim this to get one it.  No point in buying a high-end GPU for 1080p 60Hz.  

[Sorenson]

3 minutes ago, Queen Chrysalis said:

But the RGB RAM and $190 motherboard are equally silly, especially with a 6-core.  The regular 3070 is a decent value at $600, with minimal trimming you can fit a monitor into this for a user that I'm assuming doesn't have one, I'd wanna max trim this to get one it.  No point in buying a high-end GPU for 1080p 60Hz.  

That’s a lot of assumptions though. To my knowledge he never said what monitor he had/or if he needed one, so I maximizes the gpu so it wouldn’t be outdated in a year. He could easily shed $300 by going with a 6600xt or 3060.

 

I went with that motherboard since it was the best rated cheap B550 with Wi-Fi. I don’t know if he has Ethernet available so a mobo with Wi-Fi should be the minimum. 
 

I stuck with the RGB RAM since the person clearly wants RGB in their build, given that they had $100 of RGB fans in the original parts list. This way he still gets the RGB on the RAM and stock CPU cooler. I didn’t think it was worth it to save $10 to go with boring RAM.

[Queen Chrysalis]

3 minutes ago, Sorenson said:

That’s a lot of assumptions though. To my knowledge he never said what monitor he had/or if he needed one, so I maximizes the gpu so it wouldn’t be outdated in a year. He could easily shed $300 by going with a 6600xt or 3060.

 

I went with that motherboard since it was the best rated cheap B550 with Wi-Fi. I don’t know if he has Ethernet available so a mobo with Wi-Fi should be the minimum. 
 

I stuck with the RGB RAM since the person clearly wants RGB in their build, given that they had $100 of RGB fans in the original parts list. This way he still gets the RGB on the RAM and stock CPU cooler. I didn’t think it was worth it to save $10 to go with boring RAM.

A 6700xt is not gonna be outdated in a year.

 

Best rated vs value added is the thing.  Nothing gets better for $190 over a $130 wifi board for a 6-croe on a gaming system.  It doesn't add any value over something that will work and 95% of users won't see any difference over.

 

That RGB RAM is $80 and regular is $50.

 

And it's a valid assumption.  Most first time users don;t consider it, or they just think, "oh, i wanna gaming computer, this monitor in the basement will do".

[Sorenson]

5 minutes ago, Queen Chrysalis said:

A 6700xt is not gonna be outdated in a year.

I was talking about the 3050 in his original build. I would personally rather have a 3070 then a 6700xt until AMD gets feature parity.

5 minutes ago, Queen Chrysalis said:

 

Best rated vs value added is the thing.  Nothing gets better for $190 over a $130 wifi board for a 6-croe on a gaming system.  It doesn't add any value over something that will work and 95% of users won't see any difference over.

You're getting hung up on the extra cost of the motherboard forgetting that your choices require him to get a cooler and more expensive CPU that will only improve performance slightly without a top tier GPU.

5 minutes ago, Queen Chrysalis said:

That RGB RAM is $80 and regular is $50.

I personally only go with name brand memory. I've had RAM compatibility issues in the past and they are not fun to deal with.

5 minutes ago, Queen Chrysalis said:

And it's a valid assumption.  Most first time users don't consider it, or they just think, "oh, i wanna gaming computer, this monitor in the basement will do".

I agree. But still, he said $1300 build so I suggested what I would go with at that price point. 

[Queen Chrysalis]

2 minutes ago, Sorenson said:

I was talking about the 3050 in his original build. I would personally rather have a 3070 then a 6700xt until AMD gets feature parity.

You're getting hung up on the extra cost of the motherboard forgetting that your choices require him to get a cooler and more expensive CPU that will only improve performance slightly without a top tier GPU.

I personally only go with name brand memory. I've had RAM compatibility issues in the past and they are not fun to deal with.

I agree. But still, he said $1300 build so I suggested what I would go with at that price point. 

You do realize that there are only like 3 companies that actually make memory, right?  It's like a PSU, the branding is a secondary thing.  

 

At $600 for a 3070 or $500 for a 6700xt, its a split.  Feature parity being the split.  Performance will be about the same. 

 

Also what in the parts list I posted require a cooler and more expensive CPU?  It was a 12400f, it comes with cooler.  

 

And again, at the $1300 price point I'd just spend $1100 and pocket the rest.  This person is asking for advice, a budget can be part of what is advised.  Budget is not a solid need to spend that much.  If the $200 for fat isn't something that you think is a good idea, don't recommend to spend it because that was the arbitrary budgetary maximum.