Please help, looking for any improvements and suggestions on my chosen pc specs?

[Lucas0nMilo]

I have been looking into building myself a pc for schoolwork and gaming at 1080p ultra quality on a mid budget. Any suggestions on how to make the build better or more price efficient I’m all ears.

Budget: $1,200 AUD ($840 USD)

Country: Australia

The system will be used for gaming, school work and architecture / graphic design.

 

cpu: Intel i5-12400f

motherboard: msi pro-a b660m wifi

Ram: 2x8gb 3200mhz cl16 Kingston fury

Storage: 500gb crucial p3 plus

Case: deepcool mattrex 50

cpu cooler: intel stock cooler

Psu: 650 watt thermal take smart bx1 80+ bronze

Gpu: either Radeon RX6700XT or RTX 3060

Fans: Cooler Master sickleflow 3 in 1

This pc will be used for high to ultra 1080p gaming.

 

System will also be upgraded with a sata ssd 1tb and a cooler master ml240l v2 aio into the near future.

[Queen Chrysalis]

 

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 5600 3.5 GHz 6-Core Processor  ($229.00 @ Amazon Australia) 
CPU Cooler: Deepcool AG400 LED 75.89 CFM CPU Cooler  ($33.00 @ Device Deal) 
Motherboard: Gigabyte A520M DS3H AC Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard  ($159.00 @ Scorptec) 
Memory: Silicon Power XPOWER Zenith Gaming 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 CL16 Memory  ($59.00 @ MSY Technology) 
Storage: TEAMGROUP MP33 PRO 1 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 3.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive  ($89.00 @ PCCaseGear) 
Video Card: Sapphire PULSE Radeon RX 6700 10 GB Video Card  ($469.00 @ Computer Alliance) 
Case: Silverstone Precision PS15 RGB MicroATX Mid Tower Case  ($59.00 @ Scorptec) 
Power Supply: EVGA 700 GD 700 W 80+ Gold Certified ATX Power Supply  ($105.00 @ Amazon Australia) 
Total: $1202.00
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2023-01-18 17:00 AEDT+1100

 

• The 5600 is about the same as the 12400f in every game while being cheaper and having cheaper wifi boards available.
• An AiO is complete overkill for either chip, a basic 4 pipe 120mm cooler is more than enough for full boosting (you can get one right now with your budget).  The stock coolers for both of these chips leave a lot to be desired, but the intel one sucks.
• You can get a 1TB Gen 4 NVMe in your initial purchase and never worry about it again.  If you need more space later you can add more drives.
• The thermaltake smart bx1 is a terrible PSU.  For just a little bit more, you can get a good PSU that will not have any issues and could power a faster GPU in the future if you wanted.  If you really want a modular unit: this one is also a good value and is rated for 50 more watts: Gigabyte UD750GM 750 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply (GP-UD750GM) - PCPartPicker
• I know a 750w is overkill for this setup, but none of the 550s or 650s were a good value at all. 
• Getting a cheaper case than includes RGB fans will make your budget much more manageable.  This one is pretty cool looking and includes all the fans you need (they are RGB so you can change the colors).
• RAM is RAM, just get whatever is cheapest for your desired spec.

[Queen Chrysalis]

Your SSD is splitting hairs, but this one might be faster in games and slightly slower in CAD (but still really fast for both):
Kingston NV2 1 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive (SNV2S/1000G) - PCPartPicker

[Herman Mcpootis]

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 5600 3.5 GHz 6-Core Processor  ($229.00 @ Amazon Australia) 
Motherboard: MSI B550M PRO-VDH WIFI Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard  ($194.00 @ I-Tech) 
Memory: Silicon Power XPOWER Zenith Gaming 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 CL16 Memory  ($59.00 @ MSY Technology) 
Storage: Kingston NV2 1 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive  ($91.88 @ Amazon Australia) 
Video Card: Sapphire PULSE Radeon RX 6700 10 GB Video Card  ($469.00 @ Computer Alliance) Not sure which program you're using, but the 6700XT is just slightly better for CAD than the 3060 so this should be around 3060 performance.
Case: Antec NX200M MicroATX Mid Tower Case  ($55.00 @ JW Computers) 
Power Supply: Cooler Master MWE Bronze V2 650 W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply  ($89.00 @ Amazon Australia) Much better PSU than the BX1, the EVGA GD has multiple revisions so it's hard to tell which is decent.
Total: $1186.88
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2023-01-18 16:49 AEDT+1100

[Queen Chrysalis]

Just now, Herman Mcpootis said:

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 5600 3.5 GHz 6-Core Processor  ($229.00 @ Amazon Australia) 
Motherboard: MSI B550M PRO-VDH WIFI Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard  ($194.00 @ I-Tech) 
Memory: Silicon Power XPOWER Zenith Gaming 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 CL16 Memory  ($59.00 @ MSY Technology) 
Storage: Kingston NV2 1 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive  ($91.88 @ Amazon Australia) 
Video Card: Sapphire PULSE Radeon RX 6700 10 GB Video Card  ($469.00 @ Computer Alliance) 
Case: Antec NX200M MicroATX Mid Tower Case  ($55.00 @ JW Computers) 
Power Supply: Cooler Master MWE Bronze V2 650 W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply  ($89.00 @ Amazon Australia) 
Total: $1186.88
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2023-01-18 16:49 AEDT+1100

A few things

• If this were primarily for gaming, yeah the 6700 is the best value card, I forgot to check for it on my first list.  But for CAD stuff i'd really want a 3060.
• That case does not include fans.
• That PSU is fine but you can get something a lot nice for a little bit more.  If the budget is really tight it's a good buy.

 

[Herman Mcpootis]

Just now, Queen Chrysalis said:

A few things

• If this were primarily for gaming, yeah the 6700 is the best value card, I forgot to check for it on my first list.  But for CAD stuff i'd really want a 3060.
• That case does not include fans.
• That PSU is fine but you can get something a lot nice for a little bit more.  If the budget is really tight it's a good buy.

 

6700XT just edges out the 3060 in solidworks so this shouldn't be too far off in performance, plus the 3060 cost over $100 more.

It has one 120mm fan, he can add another if its too hot.

It's a tier B unit.

 

[Queen Chrysalis]

5 minutes ago, Herman Mcpootis said:

6700XT just edges out the 3060 in solidworks so this shouldn't be too far off in performance, plus the 3060 cost over $100 more

Good to know, then yeah the 6700 (non-xt) would be a better value.  

5 minutes ago, Herman Mcpootis said:

It has one 120mm fan, he can add another if its too hot.

For $4 more you can get one with a more open intake and 3 fans, 2 of which are RGB fans.

5 minutes ago, Herman Mcpootis said:

It's a tier B unit.

There as opposed to a tier C unit with bronze efficiency and a 50 watt lower wattage rating.

[Jon-Slow]

The suggestion I would have is to definitely look into the used market for any of the parts you're going to get since you have a somewhat low budget. That will do you wonders.

 

If you have anyone there that could help you look through the used market so you wont get scammed, then I would honestly buy all of those parts used and not look back.

 

Your AIO upgrade is pointless unless you're getting it for free. The most I would go for is cheap air-cooler for better acustics.

 

Your choice of GPU depends on what kind of work you plan to do with it. A lot of software take exclusive advantage of the RT cores on the Nvidia side. And remember to ignore most of the benchmarks tech channels put out there unless it's exactly what you will do with it. For example, when they say this GPU/CPU did this well in Blender, remember that, that just means it did that in 3D rendering aspect of it and not other specific uses you might have for it or other 3D software. If it's just for games, the AMD card would be okay unless you'd want some degree of ray tracing and DLSS in your games.

[Lucas0nMilo]

I am looking at getting a used gpu since the market is currently way to expensive. I have $250 credit at a store near me which would make a rtx 3060 or rx6700xt only $250 to $300 dollars.

 

I am probably going to use the Intel stock cooler for a bit but if I notice that a better cooler is required I’ll look into it. I only put the aio there for if I upgrade my cpu to a possible i7 or something. 

 

I will probably use some ray tracing in certain games but not frequently. I prefer Nvidia as they are more trusted but Amd‘s price to performance is quite impressive and tempting

[Herman Mcpootis]

1 hour ago, Lucas0nMilo said:

I am looking at getting a used gpu since the market is currently way to expensive. I have $250 credit at a store near me which would make a rtx 3060 or rx6700xt only $250 to $300 dollars.

 

I am probably going to use the Intel stock cooler for a bit but if I notice that a better cooler is required I’ll look into it. I only put the aio there for if I upgrade my cpu to a possible i7 or something. 

 

I will probably use some ray tracing in certain games but not frequently. I prefer Nvidia as they are more trusted but Amd‘s price to performance is quite impressive and tempting

Yeah, you won't be using ray tracing with either GPU without taking too big of a hit in performance. 

[RevGAM]

Here's some info that hopefully helps. I'm not a professional builder but I recently completed 2 PCs and I updated my computer component knowledge a LOT. I built my son's PC for about $850, and mine for $2,000 (I went overboard, partially due to incorrect advice compared to my needs, and lack of knowledge); I probably could've saved myself at least US $500 (and I did save myself at least that much by looking for deals).

 

Mobo: Any B660 mobo is a solid choice with an i3 i5, or even(?) higher. Make sure it has high-speed ethernet, and wifi if that's important to you for some reason (e.g. you'll be at uni and they'll have wifi but no ethernet), otherwise just get ethernet. DDR4 is fine unless you can afford the cost of a DDR5 mobo. If it's D5 and supports D4, then you can upgrade to D5 RAM at a later date. Keep in mind that the larger the mobo, the fewer cases it'll fit, but the more extras you'll be able to add on. Also, make sure to pay attention to the number and types of things that the mobo supports, such as M.2 PCIe NVMe, SATA, PCIe, the number of RAM slots, how many and which types of USB ports and expansion connectors (watch out for the 3.0 19-pin one as its easy to damage the pins when plugging in the cable) and whatever else interests you now and in the future. I think my H670 was overkill, except it gave me 4 SSD slots instead of 2 for the same in the B660M, and a few other thing (including BIOS tweaking tools that I don't know how to use). Take note of the M.2 SSD form factors that it supports.
 

CPU: Make sure the socket type of the mobo and CPU match!!! I built my son's PC 3 months ago with the Intel I5-12600k. Comparison with your choice; more expensive but in most every way a better CPU. He had been hankering for a GC but, after gaming with this CPU, he is fully satisfied. The point is that if you get a good enough CPU, you won't need a GC. Drop the F suffix and you're still getting a better CPU for less than US$20 more: comparison.
F series has a non-functioning GPU and is slower.
K supports overclocking (requires Z-series mobo), has a higher frequency (i.e. faster) and includes a GPU.
KF supports overclocking and has a higher frequency but has no GPU.
No suffix means it can't overclock and has a lower frequency, but has a GPU (the opposite of KF).
There are many other suffixes. Scroll down 2/3s to see the others. i3 to i9 refers to how amazing the CPU is, with i9 being the "emperor". Honestly, most people don't really need more than an i5 for recreational and even many mundane business use-cases.

In other words, save yourself some money on the CPU and get a better one so you don't actually need a GC. Just get one without a suffix, save money, enjoy the integrated GPU. Had I understood this when I got the CPU, I might have got one without a suffix, or even the F because I got a GC. I probably would've saved 50% (~US$150). Still, I enjoy the speed of my i7-12600K and, should my GC fail, I have the built-in Intel GPU to fall back on...And my computer will be cooler LOL!

Note that suffixes like "F" denote an actual defect in the CPU - they didn't make it that way on purpose; producing chips of the quality made these days results in lots of inferior ones (watch LTT's video from when they visited Micron's chip-making facility). Thus, K, KS and XE, from lowest to highest, represent better manufacturing results (i.e. fewer defects).

AMD is cheaper and also an excellent choice, although I'm told there are certain trade-offs. The last time I built a computer (25 years ago), I bought an AMD CPU and was happy with it; I was NOT happy with the mobo manufacturer since shortly after getting them both the mobo was delisted as being compatible with the CPU. It still worked but boy was it a pain in the butt figuring out the correct configuration to get past the compatibility problems!!!! That said, there is no reason you shouldn't consider an AMD CPU that I can state, which doesn't mean there aren't any really good reasons.

CPU benchmarks link

Case: Small is easy to move but it forces you in certain directions. A mid-tower case can do wonders for you, especially if you don't get a famous one like my Corsair 5000x, but there are always trade-offs, some of which are not important. Mesh cases are supposed to be best for cooling although I haven't bothered to look at research. Glass panels let you see inside but, honestly, is it important to have RGB fans and LEDs lighting up something you'll spend most of your time ignoring? No, and it costs more (price+increased energy usage). It's just something to show off that is (mostly) useless. That said, I have my RGB fans (came with the case) set to change colors based on how hot my system is. You can save a LOT of money by getting an off-brand, if you don't mind the possible trade-offs (no cable management, one compartment for everything, sharp edges, no removable mounting parts, etc.). I did that 25 years ago and was pretty happy with what I bought (and the savings!). Let's be honest: how many people aside from those like Linus, Bitwit and Jayz2Cents actually need to go into their case again and again and again? Paying more for things that make the building experience easier when you'll never need those benefits again really doesn't make much sense. My case was recommended to me (and I got it for 50% off) - I'd have gotten something else, something less pricey. Just make sure that it has what you need (like a front panel with enough USB ports).

RAM: Choosing DDR4/5, and which types, speeds, etc., are mobo-dependent. Get more RAM...Good DDR4 32GB can be had for <US$100. Sure, your PC will run on 16 GB, but your system will have to rely too much on virtual memory. Since Kingston, Adata and PNY have been caught downgrading their SSDs with cheaper parts after getting great reviews on the originally sold version, and then neither telling consumers nor correcting the packaging with the new stats, I'd stay away from anything they have to offer. It smacks of Gateway Computers. We have Patriot Viper Steel RAM in our systems, and I've got nothing to complain about. There are plenty of other choices out there for RAM - Samsung, Crucial/Micron, Corsair, HyperX, G.Skill, etc. Just check carefully to make sure it's compatible with your mobo, and note that no mobo manufacturer is likely to have tested every brand and type of RAM that SHOULD be compatible with every mobo they make. That, in fact, was the experience I had with the ASUS Tuf Gaming B660M and H670 Pro mobos we got - they hadn't tested the Patriot RAM.

 

Buying a single stick of 32 GB RAM is more expensive than a 2- or 4-stick set but, if your mobo supports a ton of RAM space, you could later buy a second (identical) stick and put it in the second slot to get 64GB, and then add more (if you have more slots) at the pace you can afford. Heck, you could end up with 128GB in your computer!

 

Storage: A SATA SSD is not an upgrade; it's an add-on. If I'm not mistaken, that Crucial is an M.2 PCIe NVMe 4x4, but it's too small. Unless you're mostly going to play on platforms like Roblox, you'll want more storage. I started with 1TB and, between applications and games, I rapidly ran out of space after installing only a small number of games (Vampire the Masquerade - Bloodhunt, Neverwinter, COD MW2, Warhammer, Overwatch 2 and a couple others - I had to uninstall some). I now have (2) 1TB SSDs (I missed the Black Friday deal on the SK Hynix Platinum 2TB >:O ) because of that problem, plus I have a 6 TB SATA HDD for backups. If you're going to get a SATA HDD or SSD, use them for backup and secondary drives, respectively. SATA is MUCH slower than an M.2 PCIe SSD, which is slower than an M.2 PCIe NVMe SSD, and HDDs are like rocks in comparison to all of them. If you can afford to get a 2 TB drive on sale, like the SK Hynix Platinum, the WD Black, or the Samsung 980/990, for example, do so. Otherwise, get 2 high-quality 1 TB SSDs that're on sale and install Windows on one and your games on the other - with sale prices and tax, it should come out to be around $200, which is cheaper than the 3 I mentioned but it would be more expensive than one of the less amazing (but still quite worthy) 2TB SSDs, which I've seen for under $200.

Cooling: An AIO isn't required, especially if you spoil yourself with AC. Keep an eye on how your CPU does with the stock cooler and be prepared to spend $$ to get a great air tower cooler from Noctua, be quiet! Deep Cool, etc. Just make sure that it'll actually fit both the base dimensions of your mobo without covering anything you want to access without having to remove, reapply thermal paste and reseat the cooler. I got a be quiet! Pure Rock Slim 2 for my son and a Noctua NH-U12A for me after researching and consulting manufacturers because of the base dimensions (we have very wide cases - Corsair 5000x). I wanted minimal overhang of the M.2, PCIe and RAM, and my case had the space for the tall U12A. Make sure you have enough case fans, too. My son has 6 and I have 9 (plus the two on the U12A, and the two on my GC). We don't have AC. Look for brands that offer long warranties (Noctua gives 6 years, I think Corsair's is 5, some other brands offer long warranties while others only give 1-2 years for fans and coolers)..

PSUs: If you want to deep-dive which PSU to get, take a look at this fairly comprehensive chart. Also, note that while there are two organizations providing grading of PSUs, and you're much more likely to see the 80Plus rating from CLEAResult , but Cybenetics does a better job of rating PSUs, separately rating efficiency (6: bronze to diamond), noise (7: standard to A++) and chassis (3: standard to A+). As with all things, pay attention to the warranty and reviews. Gold ratings are sufficient for most needs, and the ROI on a Platinum PSU is years away.

Graphics Card (GC): These are a luxury you don't need to spend your money on as long as you get a CPU with a functioning GPU.

 

Don't waste extra money on Nvidia. They are deliberately manipulating the market to keep their prices higher than is realistic. Yes, their cards outperform the newest AMD cards, but either brand will give you what you need, and AMD will save you money. GCs from Corsair, Sapphire, ASRock, XFX or some other brand, make sure to pay close attention to the stats. If you get a CPU that has a working GPU, make sure that your card is actually BETTER than the built-in GPU, or else you're just burning cash. Look at the RAM size, type, bus width and clock speed, GPU clock speed, and number of GPUs and fans. I'm told you should stay away from Gigabyte's cards. Look at reviews but, for some, you'll be lucky if you find anything. I couldn't find much of anything on the SPECIFIC XFX GC when I bought it, and even now.

If you're going to buy a stock GC from Nvidia or AMD, take a look at the cooling to determine if it's actually going go help or hurt performance in your system!
EVGA has exited the GC business, but they'll still support their old products. For now, anyways, so I would not recommend buying an EVGA GC.
 

Note: I use "GC" to refer to graphics cards, which are also referred to as "graphics AIB" (add-in board) and "GPU". GPU actually refers to the processor, or brains, so I don't use that term to refer to the card since IT IS NOT A CARD; it's a chip. I dislike incorrect nomenclature.

If you're absolutely set on getting a GC, hopefully this chart will help you choose. Sorry, I can't link to it as it was sent to me without a link, and is a few months old.

 

Other Stuff

Software for Hardware: After getting a Corsair case, Corsair agents led me to believe that I had to get iCUE-compatible hardware in order to properly monitor and control my hardware. After doing some research, I discovered that this was a lie. There is software from ASUS, AMD and over a dozen other companies - many of which aren't hardware manufacturers, that can monitor and control anywhere from only their own products (like Corsair's iCUE), to products that have their hardware in it (like AMD's Adrenalin), to a huge variety of brands and models of most anything. I am inept at editing videos so I'm currently bogged down by 3 large editing projects that are preventing me from comparing and reviewing the various choices.

Reviews: Always check reviews and be careful where you look. Some places are paid to produce biased reviews - often, these are websites that've been manufactured as arms of marketing instead of legit review sites, but some well-known sites sell good reviews, too. In the past, I noticed that PC Mag appeared to sell good reviews, although I don't know if they still do.

Warranties: Note the duration and comprehensiveness of a warranty. Some companies skimp on quality, others on warranty comprehensiveness, others both while the best give top-notch products and warranties. Noctua and Corsair are two examples of companies that produce a lot (but not all) of great products backed by good warranties. I've seen some products from other companies with good specs but they're not willing to give good warranties. Most of the companies offering quality and a good warranty also charge more for it, and those two are no exception.

Asking manufacturers for their recommendations: This can be as iffy as reviews, honestly.
I was not impressed with Corsair because they make their agents up-sell and their website doesn't even offer most of their non-RGB items (I had to get their non-RGB ML120 fans on Amazon instead), nor will they even offer them if you talk to an agent. Sometimes it was very frustrating dealing with Corsair. For example, they only recommend AIOs because they only SELL AIOs and aren't willing to point out air coolers from other companies. On the flip side, I was able to get a lot of useful info when I got an agent that was willing to be honest instead of upsell.
My experiences with ASUS ranged from slow to stupid to ultra-frustrating, although at least part of this was: language barrier and/or poor training on how to give great customer service, and their compatibility data is incomplete. The data on their mobos was pretty good. Sometimes, I got answers but other times I ended up having to figure things out for myself and, like Corsair, they were hesitant to recommend things they don't sell, and they didn't have an AIO that had what I wanted without having what I didn't (e.g. I wanted a fan built into the pump head, but no LED screen and no RGBs), and only had two AIOs that were close to what I wanted. They didn't want to recommend an air tower cooler since they don't sell them. I continued to get emails from them on things that had already been answered up to about 1 month afterwards, and they mixed up case numbers and didn't mention which question they were responding to, making it very confusing at times. One of the most vexing interactions revolved around trying to get answers about why I couldn't make my SSD accessible to the Windows installer and ASUS boot options (it was because Intel RST was on), and ASUS was totally useless despite a chat session, a phone call and several emails (even after I told them the next day that I'd figured it out).
be quiet! managed to give me incorrect advice on a CPU cooler for myself, and their cooler compatibility page is sorely lacking in facts. They had to consult with their engineers in Germany to give me a specific recommendation, but it still wasn't a good match for my mobo.

Deep Cool was able to give a recommendation but they didn't have my particular mobo in stock so they couldn't guarantee that it'd fit. The person I communicated with didn't understand what I meant by a "non-RGB cooler", so recommended both one with and one without. Not sure why that was unclear to him.

Amazon, eBay and NewEgg: (Disclaimer: I am an Amazon employee but I certify that this statement is devoid of lies and manipulation because, well, I just don't do that sort of thing. Take it as you like.) These are the three sites you should focus on. You MIGHT find better deals on Best Buy, Walmart, B&H, Micro Center and others, but it'll require a lot more effort on your part and you may overlook things (e.g. you found a better price because it's actually a different model that looks the same, it's used, it's refurbished...).

 

I had a problem with some sort of malware after installing the Capital One Shopping browser extension, so I don't recommend it (although it could've been a coincidence that the problems appeared shortly after installing COS). I worked with Malwarebytes to get rid of it, and we succeeded quite by accident. It was there, and then it wasn't, but neither of us knows why or how.

 

I've never had trouble with Amazon, except for the painfully frustrating search experience. I have complained as both a customer and employee about that, with no results. Returns have been absolutely painless. They have almost always had the best prices I've been able to find outside of eBay, including Walmart, Best Buy, NewEgg, B&H and others. Sometimes, shady vendors use their FBA program to sell fake products, including pirated software passed off as legit. Those get taken down and sold off to "overstock" resellers and liquidators by the pallet, or destroyed, depending (fake and counterfeit usually get sold). When in doubt, buy only from Amazon directly or from vendors with known reputations instead of the plethora of Chinese ones that are carbon copies (search for punching bags and see how many different brands you'll see for an identical one).

eBay has significantly lower prices on many things. However, there are a lot of fake and counterfeit products, and there are also scammers who'll try to convince you to exit the eBay buyer experience, supposedly to save you money but really to rip you off and avoid the eBay buyer protection program. NEVER buy a product offered on eBay directly from the vendor unless you enjoy being ripped off. I did, once, get ripped off by an eBay vendor (he put a roll of electrician's tape in the box instead of the PNY SATA SSD I'd ordered, then refused to replace it and denied it); I got my money back from PayPal. If you don't mind taking a risk, this is the BEST place to look for great prices. Just be careful and you should be fine. eBay will take down scammers (I've reported several).
NewEgg has one of the best shopping experiences I've seen, including a PC parts picker, wish list, comparison charts, favorites and frequent deals. It rarely beats out Amazon on prices but, whereas I don't often see rebates mentioned on Amazon, NewEgg makes sure you know about them. I had a HORRIBLE customer service experience with them because of their fraud control team's poor handling of all the gift cards I wanted to convert into NE credit. I was only able to get it resolved by being a VERY, VERY, VERY persistent consumer; but I can't say that they did amazing things to make it up to me - just the sale price I should've got, and free shipping. I definitely recommend avoiding any vendors from China (due to past experiences). I assume NewEgg will deplatform scammers, but I haven't looked into it.

 

That's it. Any questions?