$1000 PC Build Advice

[LockdownJimmy]

Budget (USD): $900-$1200

Country: USA

Games, programs or workloads that it will be used for: Gaming/Streaming: LoL, Overwatch, Ark, PUBG

Other details: My friend has been gaming from a laptop for years and is having me look into building him a new desktop.  Without considering peripherals, his budget is around $1000, give or take.  It will be mostly hidden in a desk shelf, so no RGB are needed other than maybe the front fans.  His current laptop features a GTX 1660 Ti and runs most games on medium settings.  I am aiming to allow him to push Ultra/Epic settings on most games while on duo 1080p monitors (it's possible he pushes for 1440p).  Here is his list of requirements:

• Includes WiFi 6
• Only one large SSD storage (he caused a mess of his SSD/HDD combo)
• Run his games at high graphics
• New parts except GPU

I have created two builds that should be nearly identical as an option for Intel/AMD CPU. 5600X Build or 12400F Build. I know I am overspending on the storage, but it seems like the best way to make it as fast and user friendly as possible for him.  I am using the RTX 3060 as a placeholder, I will be looking on r/hardwareswap to find a good GPU around the $250 range.  I am only familiar with Nvidia cards, so I was thinking a 2060 Super or better would be the target.  I've got about a month to put it together so I can be patient for a good deal.  Do you guys have any thoughts, critiques, or advice for me?

 

Edit: I'm going to paste the build below for readability

 

~ PC ~

Motherboard : Asus TUF GAMING B550M-PLUS WIFI II Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard  or MSI MAG B660M MORTAR WIFI DDR4 Micro ATX LGA1700 Motherboard 

CPU : AMD RYZEN 5 5600X or Intel Core i5-12400F 2.5 GHz 6-Core Processor

RAM : Corsair Vengeance LPX 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3600 CL18 Memory

Storage : Samsung 970 Evo Plus 2 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 3.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive

GPU : 

PSU : Corsair CX650M (2021) 650 W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-modular ATX Power Supply

Cooling : Cooler Master Hyper 212 Black Edition 42 CFM CPU Cooler & 4 case fans

Case: DIYPC Vanguard RGB ATX Mid Tower Case

 

 

Edited November 29, 2022 by LockdownJimmy
Updated storage to match recommendation

[BeastyB314]

19 minutes ago, LockdownJimmy said:

find a good GPU around the $250 range.

Does the range have to be $250? If your friend is willing to go more towards the 1200$ price range, a 450$ GPU is attainable

 

20 minutes ago, LockdownJimmy said:

I know I am overspending on the storage, but it seems like the best way to make it as fast and user friendly as possible for him

Honestly, the 980 pro is not worth it. Just get a 970 Evo plus for like 40$ cheaper

[JimTheBeet]

I'd look into AMD cards - they're often well below MSRP, even new. I'd also probably spend more of the budget on the GPU - it's the most important part of a gaming pc, after all! I got an RX 6700 XT for my build in a similar price range.

[JimTheBeet]

Also, the tower cooler would be a way to save a few bucks. From what I've read, the 5600 and 5600x run plenty cool with the stock cooler.

[LockdownJimmy]

3 minutes ago, BeastyB314 said:

Does the range have to be $250? If your friend is willing to go more towards the 1200$ price range, a 450$ GPU is attainable

If he's comfortable moving closer to $1200 that is definitely an option.  I also don't want to have him overspend if he won't see any performance difference over the next couple of years.

 

7 minutes ago, BeastyB314 said:

Honestly, the 980 pro is not worth it. Just get a 970 Evo plus for like 40$ cheaper

Good catch!  I'll make that change.

[BeastyB314]

9 minutes ago, JimTheBeet said:

I'd look into AMD cards - they're often well below MSRP, even new. I'd also probably spend more of the budget on the GPU - it's the most important part of a gaming pc, after all! I got an RX 6700 XT for my build in a similar price range.

Look for 6600 XT or 6700 XTs. They are around 400$ themselves. These are comparable to a 2070 super and 3060 ti, respectively.

[LockdownJimmy]

9 minutes ago, JimTheBeet said:

I'd look into AMD cards - they're often well below MSRP, even new. I'd also probably spend more of the budget on the GPU - it's the most important part of a gaming pc, after all! I got an RX 6700 XT for my build in a similar price range.

You're right, I will probably convince him to expand the budget a bit for a better GPU.  Should I just trust the benchmark on the AMD cards and treat them as equivalent to a Nvidia of the same performance, or is there anything else I should consider with them?

 

9 minutes ago, JimTheBeet said:

Also, the tower cooler would be a way to save a few bucks. From what I've read, the 5600 and 5600x run plenty cool with the stock cooler.

I've seen the same.  My 5600X runs on a Hyper 212 and I haven't seen it top 70 degrees.  I'm just hesitant to run a stock cooler.

[JimTheBeet]

AMD cards have worse raytracing and encoding, at least this gen. If those don't matter to him, then they're often better price to performance. I bought my 6700 XT for $340, but this can vary by area. As far as the tower cooler, I'm no expert, but people say that you lose another 5 degrees with the stock cooler. Not absolutely crazy, but definitely worse than the tower cooler. At this point, it probably depends on whether you want to spend more on the gpu "half" of the system or the cpu "half".

[RVRY]

If your friend is fine going used you can find plenty of 3060s and 3060ti's on Ebay for below $300 right now. 

[Queen Chrysalis]

Yall realize this is totally doable without bending over backwards, right?

 

Check this, meets all the requirements for $1000:

 

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 5600 3.5 GHz 6-Core Processor  ($139.00 @ B&H) 
CPU Cooler: Thermalright Assassin X Refined SE ARGB 66.17 CFM CPU Cooler  ($22.90 @ Amazon) 
Motherboard: ASRock X570 Steel Legend ATX AM4 Motherboard  ($133.99 @ Newegg) 
Memory: OLOy MD4U1636181CHKDA 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR4-3600 CL18 Memory  ($71.99 @ Newegg) 
Storage: Kingston NV2 2 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive  ($129.99 @ Amazon) 
Video Card: ASRock Radeon RX6700XT CLD 12G Radeon RX 6700 XT 12 GB Video Card  ($339.99 @ Newegg) 
Case: Zalman S2 ATX Mid Tower Case  ($54.99 @ Amazon) 
Power Supply: Thermaltake Toughpower GF1 PE 850 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply  ($79.99 @ Newegg) 
Wireless Network Adapter: Intel AX200 802.11a/b/g/n/ac/ax M.2 Wi-Fi Adapter  ($24.99 @ Amazon) 
Total: $997.83
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2022-11-29 18:57 EST-0500

 

• The 5600 is exactly the same as the 5600x but it's cheaper
• The motherboard is a bit excessive but it's on a really good sale, and it has an m.2 wifi port so you can use that ax200 wifi 6 / BT combo chip and it'll work just like integrated, and not take up any space
• You can do 32GB of memory easily with this budget, and it only costs a little more than 16GB
• 2TB of gen 4 space is easy, the NV2 is still the best buy
• You can get an 850w fully modular 80+ gold tier-A PSU for the price of that tier-b 650w in your list.  You don't need 850w, but it's better than any of the 650w or 750w unitss in its price range and there's really nothing cheaper worth getting
• The Hyper 212 is overpriced with new models that exceed or match it's cooling for less.
• Good airflow case with fans included.

If he really wants that case, go for it but its airflow is not good compared to cheaper alternatives that include fans. 

• MagniumGear Neo Air ATX ATX Mid Tower Case (MG-NE520A_BW01) - PCPartPicker
• Antec NX410 ATX Mid Tower Case (0-761345-81041-8) - PCPartPicker
• GAMDIAS ATHENA M2 ELITE ATX Mid Tower Case (ATHENA M2 ELITE) - PCPartPicker

If you really want one with a glass front and RGB fans, any of these are a better deal:

• Corsair iCUE 465X RGB ATX Mid Tower Case (CC-9011189-WW) - PCPartPicker
• GAMDIAS TALOS E2 ELITE ATX Mid Tower Case (TALOS E2 ELITE) - PCPartPicker
• MagniumGear Neo G ATX Mid Tower Case (MG-NE520G_BK01) - PCPartPicker

You can also get a better 6700xt if you go to eBay:

• Sapphire Radeon RX 6700 XT 12GB Nitro+ | Fast Ship, Gift Quality! | eBay
• XFX Speedster Qick 319 Radeon RX 6700 XT 12GB GDDR6 Graphics Card Black 778656080980 | eBay