Complete and utter newbie: fed up with broken PC & wanting to start fresh

[fauxfireash]

My husband's PC has been broken for about 7 months now and nothing has worked to fix it. He's replaced numerous parts, taken it in for diagnostic tests at a reputable local shop, and no solutions have been found as to why it's acting up the way it is. He's so disheartened. So, I want to get/create a new one for him. However I know very little about computer hardware.

 

Budget (including currency): $2k? $2.5k? I don't entirely know how much things should cost but I'm aware it'll be a good amount. But I'd prefer not to break the bank.

Country: USA

Games, programs or workloads that it will be used for: Gaming for things from Elden Ring, to Baldur's Gate, to Halo, to Dragon Age, to Yakuza, just to name the ones that I think would be the biggest power draws; running online TTRPG games through Roll20 and Discord; remote working (though he primarily uses a company laptop for that)

Other details: We live in an apartment complex so power draw is a major factor, since it might not always be a strong flow. He uses dual monitors and a Snoball microphone, and I don't know what the make/brand of his keyboard and mouse are, but I don't think he'd want those replaced. It's primarily about the actual computer itself. We use Windows for OS.

 

My brother-in-law suggested AMD Radeon for graphics card and that's as far as I've gotten in literally anything.

Biggest issue I am concerned about is the power usage. I would appreciate any input. I am 100% fine with suggestions for pre-built computers, since although I am fairly handy I really know nothing about putting a whole computer together. However I am willing to try for his sake!

 

Thanks!

 

[Dedayog]

A good start to read and get feet wet...  peruse a few more posts in the New Builds forum as well, to see what others with your budget are buying.

 

While this has a productivity side to it, it's still a good discussion of gaming PC...

 

Before we get into it, do you live near a Microcenter?

 

Also, @filpo probably has a 7800X3d and 7900XTX build saved.

 

[QuantumSingularity]

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D 4.2 GHz 8-Core Processor  ($385.00 @ Newegg) 
CPU Cooler: Thermalright Peerless Assassin 120 SE 66.17 CFM CPU Cooler  ($34.90 @ Amazon) 
Motherboard: Gigabyte B650 GAMING X AX ATX AM5 Motherboard  ($179.99 @ Amazon) 
Memory: G.Skill Flare X5 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR5-6000 CL30 Memory  ($99.99 @ Amazon) 
Storage: Crucial P5 Plus 2 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive  ($109.99 @ Adorama) 
Video Card: Sapphire NITRO+ Radeon RX 7900 XTX 24 GB Video Card  ($979.99 @ Newegg) 
Case: Phanteks Eclipse G360A ATX Mid Tower Case  ($89.99 @ Newegg) 
Power Supply: Corsair RM850x (2021) 850 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply  ($134.99 @ Amazon) 
Total: $2014.84
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2023-10-03 13:53 EDT-0400

 

This is pretty much right on the money. Especially if multi monitor support is at play. AMD are much better at handling multiple monitors than Nvidia.

[filpo]

32 minutes ago, Dedayog said:

Also, @filpo probably has a 7800X3d and 7900XTX build saved.

you read my mind

Needs some editing tho cuz I made it in the summer

but @fauxfireash try this edited version 

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D 4.2 GHz 8-Core Processor  ($385.00 @ Newegg) 
CPU Cooler: Thermalright Peerless Assassin 120 SE 66.17 CFM CPU Cooler  ($34.90 @ Amazon) 
Motherboard: Gigabyte B650 AORUS ELITE AX ATX AM5 Motherboard  ($219.99 @ Amazon) 
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws S5 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR5-5600 CL28 Memory  ($93.99 @ Newegg) 
Storage: Crucial P5 Plus 2 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive  ($109.99 @ Adorama) 
Video Card: ASRock Phantom Gaming OC Radeon RX 7900 XTX 24 GB Video Card  ($929.99 @ Newegg) 
Case: Lian Li LANCOOL 216 ATX Mid Tower Case  ($104.99 @ Adorama) 
Power Supply: Thermaltake Toughpower GF A3 - TT Premium Edition 1050 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply  ($129.99 @ Newegg) 
Total: $2008.84
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2023-10-03 14:17 EDT-0400

17 minutes ago, QuantumSingularity said:

Video Card: Sapphire NITRO+ Radeon RX 7900 XTX 24 GB Video Card  ($979.99 @ Newegg) 

all I'd change is this gpu to an asrock phantom gaming oc since it's 50 bucks cheaper

 

18 minutes ago, QuantumSingularity said:

Case: Phanteks Eclipse G360A ATX Mid Tower Case  ($89.99 @ Newegg) 

then you can get a lian li lancool 216

 

18 minutes ago, QuantumSingularity said:

Power Supply: Corsair RM850x (2021) 850 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply  ($134.99 @ Amazon) 

a 1000w psu

 

18 minutes ago, QuantumSingularity said:

Motherboard: Gigabyte B650 GAMING X AX ATX AM5 Motherboard  ($179.99 @ Amazon) 

and possibly a b650 aorus elite ax

[venomtail]

Your worries are stability, power efficiency and airflow?

 

Intel and NVIDIA for software stability. Being the juggernauts they are at least they should at least be easiest to troubleshoot incase anything does go wrong.

For power efficiency and power use, best PSU and NVIDA has uses less power for same that AMD achieves right now.

Case has great airflow and your husband will have on beautiful computer. Definitely a conversation starter.

Lots of storage so that he can install all the games he wants, work documents and family pictures and still have plenty left over to do it all over again and again.

 

P5 plus would be the boot drive, what OS gets installed on. Would go in M.2_1 slot. 4TB M.2 for everything else, a spare drive for movies, games, documents and so on would go in M.2_2 slot.

Buy windows 11 from a reseller for a fraction of the cost. Downside is the windows version on that PC is now locked to it, can't transfer it. Worth it for 99.99% of all people.

 

13600K and 4070 is plenty for all modern games, even for 1440p.

 

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: Intel Core i5-13600K 3.5 GHz 14-Core Processor  ($284.99 @ Newegg) 
CPU Cooler: be quiet! Dark Rock Pro 4 50.5 CFM CPU Cooler  ($73.90 @ Newegg Sellers) 
Motherboard: MSI B760 GAMING PLUS WIFI ATX LGA1700 Motherboard  ($159.99 @ Amazon) 
Memory: TEAMGROUP T-Create Expert 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR5-6000 CL30 Memory  ($96.99 @ Amazon) 
Storage: Crucial P5 Plus 1 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive  ($59.99 @ Amazon) 
Storage: MSI SPATIUM M461 4 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive  ($179.99 @ Newegg) 
Video Card: Gigabyte GAMING OC GeForce RTX 4070 12 GB Video Card  ($599.99 @ Newegg) 
Case: Fractal Design Torrent Compact RGB ATX Mid Tower Case  ($169.99 @ B&H) 
Power Supply: be quiet! Dark Power 13 750 W 80+ Titanium Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply  ($209.90 @ Amazon) 
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 11 Pro OEM - DVD 64-bit  ($25.00) 
Total: $1860.73
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2023-10-04 05:18 EDT-0400

[filpo]

16 hours ago, fauxfireash said:

We live in an apartment complex so power draw is a major factor, since it might not always be a strong flow. He uses dual monitors and a Snoball microphone, and I don't know what the make/brand of his keyboard and mouse are, but I don't think he'd want those replaced. It's primarily about the actual computer itself. We use Windows for OS.

In hindsight if power draw is a main issue try this build

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D 4.2 GHz 8-Core Processor  ($399.00 @ Newegg) 
CPU Cooler: Phanteks Glacier One 240 T30 101 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler  ($210.65 @ Amazon) 
Motherboard: Gigabyte B650 AORUS ELITE AX ATX AM5 Motherboard  ($219.99 @ Amazon) 
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws S5 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR5-5600 CL28 Memory  ($93.99 @ Newegg) 
Storage: Crucial P5 Plus 2 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive  ($109.99 @ Adorama) 
Video Card: Zotac GAMING Trinity OC GeForce RTX 4080 16 GB Video Card  ($1099.99 @ Amazon) 
Case: Deepcool CC560 ATX Mid Tower Case  ($66.98 @ Newegg) 
Power Supply: MSI A1000G PCIE5 1000 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply  ($169.99 @ Amazon) 
Total: $2370.58
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2023-10-04 05:18 EDT-0400

[QuantumSingularity]

20 hours ago, filpo said:

you read my mind

Needs some editing tho cuz I made it in the summer

but @fauxfireash try this edited version 

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D 4.2 GHz 8-Core Processor  ($385.00 @ Newegg) 
CPU Cooler: Thermalright Peerless Assassin 120 SE 66.17 CFM CPU Cooler  ($34.90 @ Amazon) 
Motherboard: Gigabyte B650 AORUS ELITE AX ATX AM5 Motherboard  ($219.99 @ Amazon) 
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws S5 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR5-5600 CL28 Memory  ($93.99 @ Newegg) 
Storage: Crucial P5 Plus 2 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive  ($109.99 @ Adorama) 
Video Card: ASRock Phantom Gaming OC Radeon RX 7900 XTX 24 GB Video Card  ($929.99 @ Newegg) 
Case: Lian Li LANCOOL 216 ATX Mid Tower Case  ($104.99 @ Adorama) 
Power Supply: Thermaltake Toughpower GF A3 - TT Premium Edition 1050 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply  ($129.99 @ Newegg) 
Total: $2008.84
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2023-10-03 14:17 EDT-0400

all I'd change is this gpu to an asrock phantom gaming oc since it's 50 bucks cheaper

 

then you can get a lian li lancool 216

 

a 1000w psu

 

and possibly a b650 aorus elite ax

I put the Nitro+, because the budget isn't super tight and it's THE BEST 7900XTX. With the 6000 series it used to be the RedDevil, but with 7000, NITRO+ is the best lineup of AMD GPUs. Both ot thermals and performance. 

[GSTARR]

22 hours ago, fauxfireash said:

My husband's PC has been broken for about 7 months now and nothing has worked to fix it. He's replaced numerous parts, taken it in for diagnostic tests at a reputable local shop, and no solutions have been found as to why it's acting up the way it is. He's so disheartened. So, I want to get/create a new one for him. However I know very little about computer hardware.

 

Budget (including currency): $2k? $2.5k? I don't entirely know how much things should cost but I'm aware it'll be a good amount. But I'd prefer not to break the bank.

Country: USA

Games, programs or workloads that it will be used for: Gaming for things from Elden Ring, to Baldur's Gate, to Halo, to Dragon Age, to Yakuza, just to name the ones that I think would be the biggest power draws; running online TTRPG games through Roll20 and Discord; remote working (though he primarily uses a company laptop for that)

Other details: We live in an apartment complex so power draw is a major factor, since it might not always be a strong flow. He uses dual monitors and a Snoball microphone, and I don't know what the make/brand of his keyboard and mouse are, but I don't think he'd want those replaced. It's primarily about the actual computer itself. We use Windows for OS.

 

My brother-in-law suggested AMD Radeon for graphics card and that's as far as I've gotten in literally anything.

Biggest issue I am concerned about is the power usage. I would appreciate any input. I am 100% fine with suggestions for pre-built computers, since although I am fairly handy I really know nothing about putting a whole computer together. However I am willing to try for his sake!

 

Thanks!

 

If power draw is a concern, you should really get a UPS to protect the computer from spikes (and dips).

~200$ (USD) to ensure your computer is safe

 

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0BCMLLSHL/ref=ox_sc_act_image_2?smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER&psc=1

[fauxfireash]

On 10/4/2023 at 11:14 AM, GSTARR said:

If power draw is a concern, you should really get a UPS to protect the computer from spikes (and dips).

~200$ (USD) to ensure your computer is safe

 

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0BCMLLSHL/ref=ox_sc_act_image_2?smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER&psc=1

We do have a UPS, my father gave us a spare one in trying to troubleshoot the issues with the current PC. So we do have one to use!

[fauxfireash]

On 10/3/2023 at 1:43 PM, Dedayog said:

A good start to read and get feet wet...  peruse a few more posts in the New Builds forum as well, to see what others with your budget are buying.

 

While this has a productivity side to it, it's still a good discussion of gaming PC...

 

Before we get into it, do you live near a Microcenter?

 

Also, @filpo probably has a 7800X3d and 7900XTX build saved.

 

Apparently a Micro Center will be coming to my state soon (North Carolina), but it'd be a two hour drive to get to it. So presently, no. I'd never heard of it before though so it'd be neat to check out in the future!

[fauxfireash]

On 10/4/2023 at 5:15 AM, venomtail said:

Your worries are stability, power efficiency and airflow?

 

Intel and NVIDIA for software stability. Being the juggernauts they are at least they should at least be easiest to troubleshoot incase anything does go wrong.

For power efficiency and power use, best PSU and NVIDA has uses less power for same that AMD achieves right now.

Case has great airflow and your husband will have on beautiful computer. Definitely a conversation starter.

Lots of storage so that he can install all the games he wants, work documents and family pictures and still have plenty left over to do it all over again and again.

 

P5 plus would be the boot drive, what OS gets installed on. Would go in M.2_1 slot. 4TB M.2 for everything else, a spare drive for movies, games, documents and so on would go in M.2_2 slot.

Buy windows 11 from a reseller for a fraction of the cost. Downside is the windows version on that PC is now locked to it, can't transfer it. Worth it for 99.99% of all people.

 

13600K and 4070 is plenty for all modern games, even for 1440p.

 

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: Intel Core i5-13600K 3.5 GHz 14-Core Processor  ($284.99 @ Newegg) 
CPU Cooler: be quiet! Dark Rock Pro 4 50.5 CFM CPU Cooler  ($73.90 @ Newegg Sellers) 
Motherboard: MSI B760 GAMING PLUS WIFI ATX LGA1700 Motherboard  ($159.99 @ Amazon) 
Memory: TEAMGROUP T-Create Expert 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR5-6000 CL30 Memory  ($96.99 @ Amazon) 
Storage: Crucial P5 Plus 1 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive  ($59.99 @ Amazon) 
Storage: MSI SPATIUM M461 4 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive  ($179.99 @ Newegg) 
Video Card: Gigabyte GAMING OC GeForce RTX 4070 12 GB Video Card  ($599.99 @ Newegg) 
Case: Fractal Design Torrent Compact RGB ATX Mid Tower Case  ($169.99 @ B&H) 
Power Supply: be quiet! Dark Power 13 750 W 80+ Titanium Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply  ($209.90 @ Amazon) 
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 11 Pro OEM - DVD 64-bit  ($25.00) 
Total: $1860.73
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2023-10-04 05:18 EDT-0400

Wow thank you for explaining everything to me! This seems pretty reasonable all things considered. Thank you!