First build questions

DrGroen · June 11, 2022

Budget (including currency): up to 1500 euro

Country: currently spain but might change country soon

Games, programs or workloads that it will be used for: mostly strategy, base-building, survival. not too big a fan of shooters

Other details (existing parts lists, whether any peripherals are needed, what you're upgrading from, when you're going to buy, what resolution and refresh rate you want to play at, etc):

I want to build a gaming PC, no need for top-tier but I want to be able to use it for a couple of years before needing to upgrade it. As a base I want to use the AMD Ryzen 5600X and as GPU I was thinking MSI AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT MECH 2X 12GB GDDR6. The thing is I will move soon (leaving country) so I want to wait a bit with the whole build (until after the summer). Just getting ideas now.

With this in mind I got a few questions, 1st, should I buy these 2 components now already? CPU goes for 214 now and GPU I find for 600 euros. I am afraid it will go up again so I am unsure, also with the moving in mind, one never knows what can happen.

2nd question: Motherboard. I am confused, there is so many different ones and whichever I try on pcpartpicker it tells me there might be issues with BIOS version. Is this an issue? Is there a motherboard you guys can recommend going with what I want as base? I want to go with an ATX as I can imagine it being a bit easier to work with (it is my first self-build after all). I don't really understand what I need to look for when choosing a good one.

and 3rd question: Case. A friend of mine recommended a Desktop (flat) version instead of a tower. Better airflow and less strain on the GPU socket as it is not hanging. Any opinions on that?

thanks in advance!

edit: another question about the GPU, whats the opinion about RX 6600 instead of 6700? would save me quite some money

Edited June 11, 2022 by DrGroen

Poinkachu · June 11, 2022

56 minutes ago, DrGroen said:

The thing is I will move soon (leaving country) so I want to wait a bit with the whole build (until after the summer

I'd wait.

For Ryzen 5000 series motherboard, if you get an old stock, it might need to get a BIOS update in order to work with Ryzen 5000 series.
If it's just 5600x and you don't plan on upgrading CPU soon, you don't need that premium of a motherboard.
But there's a list here if you want to take a look

3. Depends, where do you want to put your case.
Flat ones usually eat more real estate (empty space on your table/cupboard/etc)
Better airflow? I'd say depends on which case and setup

If your GPU isn't that bulky and heavy no need to worry much about bending.
But if that's a concern there's several ways to avoid it with tower case;
1. (Kinda pricey) Mounting it vertically using the case's vertical mount at the expense of a bit worse thermal (due to too close to the side panel)
2. (Somewhat pricey) Buying a third-party vertical bracket then mount it vertically without it getting hotter
3. (Cheap) Buy and use a GPU stand, to help alleviate bend when installing it horizontally. (pic below)

Option 1 requires you to buy a PCI Riser cable, unless the case you bought already supplied it.
Option 2, there's bracket sold without riser, cheaper. But since you'll need the riser anyway, may as well buy one that includes riser.
Option 3. Only need to buy the stand.