First Time PC Build

monkeyjuice · February 3, 2023

Budget (including currency): $1000 +/- $200

Country: USA

Games, programs or workloads that it will be used for: Small 3d Models/Assemblies (Solidworks, Autodesk), The Last of Us, Minecraft, Cities: Skylines, God of War, Stardew Valley, Halo MCC

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):

- Upgrading from an old Macbook to play some PC games not available on xbox, as well as to get more experience with 3d modeling

- Will use an older existing monitor and peripherals while I save up more money for later

- Targeting a mostly white and RGB aesthetic

The parts list below was started after I saw a Motherboard/CPU combo available at my local Microcenter for $300, which seems to drop the price closer to $1000 compared to PCPartPicker below.

This will be my first time building a PC so let me know if there's any ways to optimize the build or if any of the parts are not worth it compared to others.

Thanks in advance for all the help!! Excited for my first PC

PCPartPicker Part List: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/vssWqm

CPU: *AMD Ryzen 7 5800X 3.8 GHz 8-Core Processor ($236.00 @ B&H)
CPU Cooler: *Vetroo V5 52 CFM CPU Cooler ($34.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: *Asus ROG STRIX B550-F GAMING WIFI II ATX AM4 Motherboard ($189.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: *Corsair Vengeance RGB Pro SL 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR4-3600 CL18 Memory ($100.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: *Samsung 970 Evo Plus 1 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 3.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive ($104.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: *MSI MECH 2X OC Radeon RX 6650 XT 8 GB Video Card ($259.99 @ Newegg)
Case: *Lian Li Lancool II Mesh C RGB ATX Mid Tower Case ($129.90 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: *Corsair RM850 850 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply ($139.95 @ B&H)
Total: $1196.80
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
*Lowest price parts chosen from parametric criteria
Generated by PCPartPicker 2023-02-03 18:17 EST-0500

tddk25 · February 4, 2023

These are good picks. I would recommend getting an AIO for a top-tier Ryzen 7 though. You can probably fit it in your budget by finding a cheaper case and/or mobo. Thermaltake makes some good bang for your buck cases.

Queen Chrysalis · February 4, 2023

You can optimize this a bit. If you are near microcenter, get the 12600k/mobo combo for $300, it's a better CPU for gaming and solidworks:

Faster CPU with more cores and faster cores
Bigger CPU cooler for $5 more
Faster SSD Gen 4 SSD for $10 less
The 6700xt is A LOT faster than the 6650xt, has a much bigger memory bus, and more VRAM. It's worth the $80 price difference and some.
Some features of solidworks do better on nvidia GPUs as their performance in openGL is better. If it's not a big deal, a 6700xt is a way better deal on an AMD GPU than a 6650xt. Otherwise, get a 3060, 3060ti or 3070. The new prices on all of those cards suck, but microcenter may have some open box, or the ones on eBay are barely used and go for much fairer prices. For gaming, the 6700xt is a way, way better deal than any of the 3070s or 3060s, though. It still does ok in solidworks.
Your PSU was way overkill. The leadex III is a very high-end PSU, and 650w is plenty for any of the GPUs mentioned above. It also has white cables and an RGB fan. It's one of the only high-end 650s at a decent price right, now, your lucky the white one is on sale.

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: Intel Core i5-12600K 3.7 GHz 10-Core Processor ($200.00)
CPU Cooler: Thermalright Peerless Assassin 120 SE WHITE ARGB 66.17 CFM CPU Cooler ($40.90 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Asus PRIME Z690-P WIFI D4 ATX LGA1700 Motherboard ($100.00)
Memory: Silicon Power XPOWER Zenith RGB Gaming 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR4-3200 CL16 Memory ($72.97 @ Amazon)
Storage: Crucial P5 Plus 1 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive ($89.99 @ B&H)
Video Card: MSI MECH 2X OC Radeon RX 6700 XT 12 GB Video Card ($349.99 @ Newegg)
Case: *Lian Li Lancool II Mesh C RGB ATX Mid Tower Case ($129.90 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: Super Flower Leadex III ARGB 650 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply ($84.99 @ Newegg Sellers)
Total: $1068.74
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
*Lowest price parts chosen from parametric criteria
Generated by PCPartPicker 2023-02-03 20:17 EST-0500