firstpc Finally building my first PC, I just don't really know what I am doing

[BlandAndBroke]

Heyo! I was planning on getting a computer a while back, but life kinda got in the way. I finally have the money again, but I was told reccomendations from about a month ago are probably outdated by now.

 

Budget (including currency): 1,400 - 1,550ish USD

Country: US

Games, programs or workloads that it will be used for: apex, cyberpunk, hopefully newer high graphics games and hopefully some simple VR games.

Other details:

My Current PC that I did not build:

- AMD Athlon x4 860K Quad Core Processor

- 8GB DDR3

- 1TB HHD

- 500gb SSD

- AMD Radeon R7 360 Series

I have to play on the lowest graphics, and generally dont get above 20 fps in shooters

 

I was recommended these 2 most recently:

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/tbyWtn

 

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/mGyjJM

 

For the second build, I included the pro versions of the SSDs, but I have no clue what that means or if it is worth the $10 difference. I also included the rbg version of the ram I was reccomended since it was cheaper than the normal. Is RBG ram worse than normal or something?

 

I am not sure how to tell what is actually good for a gaming computer though. How do I know what will work?

 

I still don't really know what I am doing, but this is what I think I need:

- 1tb or more SSD M.2 NVME

- a smaller SSD M.2 NVME as a boot drive

- 16gb DDR4 ram

- At least 4 cores, but I think that is getting outdated? So probably 6 if it is at all reasonable within the budget

- 3 more usb 2.0 or 3.0 (is the difference worth it?)

- 1 or 2 HDMI ports

- bluetooth if it isnt too expensive

- are the fans build into the case enough?

- I heard that you can legally buy windows 11 super cheap by buying just a key or something? It honestly went right over my head

[Pixelfie]

I chose the 12400F because it's the best value CPU currently available, and it's actually even cheaper than normally now too. The motherboard is an MSI Pro B660M-A Wifi, a great value choice, and currently also cheaper than usually which is a very good deal, and it has Bluetooth too. The Freezer 34 is a better cooler than the crappy Intel stock cooler. This 16gb RAM kit is more than enough, also a great price and cheaper than usual. You don't need 4000mhz RAM. The P3 looks to be a good 1TB SSD for a low price, but I can't find any reviews yet, so if you want a safer choice you can get the SN570. The RX 6800 XT is faster than a 3080, while costing much less. The case is a good choice. This PSU is decent and cheap.

 

 

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: Intel Core i5-12400F 2.5 GHz 6-Core Processor  ($149.99 @ Newegg) 
CPU Cooler: ARCTIC Freezer 34 eSports CPU Cooler  ($39.99 @ Amazon) 
Motherboard: MSI PRO B660M-A WIFI DDR4 Micro ATX LGA1700 Motherboard  ($119.99 @ Newegg) 
Memory: Patriot Viper 4 Blackout 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 CL16 Memory  ($46.99 @ Newegg) 
Storage: Crucial P3 1 TB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive  ($89.99 @ Amazon) 
Video Card: ASRock Radeon RX 6800 XT 16 GB Phantom Gaming D OC Video Card  ($689.99 @ Newegg) 
Case: Lian Li LANCOOL 215 ATX Mid Tower Case  ($105.99 @ Newegg) 
Power Supply: Thermaltake Toughpower GF1 PE 750 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply  ($79.98 @ Amazon) 
Total: $1322.91
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2022-07-06 15:48 EDT-0400

 

Edited July 6, 2022 by Pixelfie
1. Explained why I chose these parts - 2. Changed GPU

[Ryuikko]

Both those lists are all over the place.

4 m.2 and extremely overpriced ram certainly aren't helping

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/yvWx2m

12400f is really all thats needed for most games

Cheap aftermarket cooler 

Atx board with wifi, although some can be found for cheaper

Cheapest 16gb kit of ram

Afaik you can just partition the 2tb drive if you really want to although I don't see why you can have os and games on a single m.2

Better gpu

 

[brob]

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: Intel Core i5-12400F 2.5 GHz 6-Core Processor  ($149.99 @ Newegg) 
CPU Cooler: Scythe Fuma 2 Rev.B 39.44 CFM CPU Cooler  ($65.98 @ Amazon) 
Motherboard: MSI PRO B660-A DDR4 ATX LGA1700 Motherboard  ($149.99 @ B&H) 
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LPX 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 CL16 Memory  ($56.99 @ Amazon) 
Storage: TEAMGROUP MP33 PRO 1 TB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive  ($78.99 @ Newegg) 
Video Card: Asus GeForce RTX 3070 Ti 8 GB TUF GAMING OC Video Card  ($699.99 @ Walmart) 
Case: be quiet! Pure Base 500DX ATX Mid Tower Case  ($107.89 @ Amazon) 
Power Supply: Corsair RM (2021) 750 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply  ($97.49 @ Corsair) 
Total: $1407.31
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2022-07-06 15:45 EDT-0400

[RONOTHAN##]

So I'lll go through roughly one part at a time. The build you were recommended is weird and/or the guy who recommended it didn't really know that much about hardware specifics. 

1. 12400F, great choice for a CPU, no problems on my end. The stock cooler is enough to keep it cool. 
2. The B660M DS3H, on the other hand, is a bit weird. Yeah, it'll be OK for a 12400F, but the VRM on it is pretty terrible so if you want to upgrade to an i7 in the future you'll experience power throttling. Plus getting a better board with WiFi is basically the same price. 
3. The RAM actually makes no sense for a system like this. The memory overclocking support on the 12400F is pretty limited because intel locked down internal voltages so overvolting the memory controller like you need to do for high memory speeds isn't possible. Because of this, at ambient cooling with the stock cooler, you're realistically not gonna be able to get above 3600MHz with a good chip, and you might not even hit that if you get a bad chip. Ignoring that, you can get much better kits of Samsung B die memory for half the cost of that Ballistix Max kit, it just doesn't make sense. I'd personally just stick to a 3200MHz CL16 kit that'll cost you $50 for a 16GB kit, maybe spending the extra $10 for RGB if you care about that. 
4. I'd just get a single 2TB drive rather than getting two drives, one for Windows and one for games. It'll simplify your storage setup plus save you a bit of money. The SK Hynix P31 is a great drive for a pretty good price at the moment. 
5. That GPU is way too expensive for what it is. A 3080 12G is $20 more and is a fair bit faster. You will need to upgrade the PSU, but I would upgrade the PSU no matter what anyway.
6. The RM850 is a better PSU for this level of budget and system. 

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/Yxsqhk

 

This is what I would build for your budget. 

 

23 minutes ago, BlandAndBroke said:

I still don't really know what I am doing, but this is what I think I need:

- 1tb or more SSD M.2 NVME

- a smaller SSD M.2 NVME as a boot drive

- 16gb DDR4 ram

- At least 4 cores, but I think that is getting outdated? So probably 6 if it is at all reasonable within the budget

- 3 more usb 2.0 or 3.0 (is the difference worth it?)

- 1 or 2 HDMI ports

- bluetooth if it isnt too expensive

- are the fans build into the case enough?

- I heard that you can legally buy windows 11 super cheap by buying just a key or something? It honestly went right over my head

-yes

-no

-yes

-4 is necessary, 6 is nice to have and is becoming more necessary

-depends on what you're doing

-part of the GPU, every GPU you buy today will have 1 HDMI output and another output you can convert to HDMI

-bluetooth is not expensive, I'd get it built in

-with the LanCool 215, yes they are

-yup, you just look up "cheap Windows key" and buy the first thing that shows up in Google shopping. You'll get a key for ~$20 emailed to you, and when you go to install Windows just enter that key when you get it. You can also just hit "I don't have a product key" and get to use it for free, albeit with a watermark. Also, Windows 10 keys work on Windows 11, so just buy whatever is cheapest.

[venomtail]

You need a strong word with whoever recommended you those 2 systems.

CPU is fine. 

Could use a CPU cooler. I wouldn't run an i5 on stock cooler for years.

Motherboard is bare minimum. Spend $20 extra and get something far better in every single way.

Needlessly spending 2.3x what you need. No need for 4000MHz memory, 3200 will be fine. 2 different set of 2 different sticks, ones don't have rgb and others do 

TF is going on with the SSD's? 4 of the same 1TB drives when you don't even have enough slots? Get a SATA SSD for that size and price.

NVIDIA is bad price at the moment. You'll spend less on a 6800XT and get far more performance.

Case is ok.

for a $80 PSU you should be getting something better, at least 750-800W at the same rating.