My first PC build #need help

[Ezra Lewis]

Budget (including currency): 500usd

Country: US

Games, programs or workloads that it will be used for: Apex Legends, Fortnite, maybe some open world games and Photoshop 

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):

I have a Corsair Spec-04 case and a Gigabyte Radeon Eagle rx 6500. I am looking at getting AMD Ryzen 5 2600 3.4 GHz 6-Core Processor
ASRock B450 Steel Legend ATX AM4 Motherboard
Corsair Vengeance LPX 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 CL16 Memory
Kingston A2000 500 GB M.2-2280 PCIe 3.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive
Cooler Master MasterWatt 550 550 W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-modular ATX Power Supply
Thermalright TL-C12C 66.17 CFM 120 mm Fans 3-Pack
Thermaltake CT120 ARGB Sync 57.05 CFM 120 mm Fans 2-Pack

 

I want to play on medium settings. 

 

[stenchlord]

PCPartPicker Part List: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/gkkm34

 

CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 5700X 3.4 GHz 8-Core Processor  ($169.00 @ Newegg) 
CPU Cooler: Thermalright Assassin X Refined SE ARGB 66.17 CFM CPU Cooler  ($18.89 @ Amazon) 
Motherboard: MSI B550-A PRO ATX AM4 Motherboard  ($114.99 @ Amazon) 
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LPX 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3600 CL18 Memory  ($39.99 @ Amazon) 
Storage: TEAMGROUP T-Force Cardea Z44L 1 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive  ($43.99 @ Newegg) 
Video Card: Gigabyte EAGLE Radeon RX 6500 XT 4 GB Video Card  (Purchased For $0.00) 
Case: Corsair Carbide Series SPEC-04 ATX Mid Tower Case  (Purchased For $0.00) 
Power Supply: Corsair CX650M (2021) 650 W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-modular ATX Power Supply  ($64.98 @ Amazon) 
Case Fan: ARCTIC P12 56.3 CFM 120 mm Fans 5-Pack  ($24.59 @ Amazon) 

Total: $476.43
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2023-11-22 01:20 EST-0500

 

I put the 5700X in since you mention Photoshop usage but unless you're doing particularly large edits with lots of layers etc, then a 5600 would do the job just as well and save you even more cash. Upping the RAM to 32GB might also be an option but again, depends on what the exact usage will be.

[Ezra Lewis]

thanks for the feedback, stenchlord

 

is there a different SSD that you suggest because  TEAMGROUP T-Force Cardea Z44L 1 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME is out of stock/ curranty unavailable 

[stenchlord]

You can pick up a Sabrent Rocket 4.0 1TB for $60 which will do the job nicely.

[Queen Chrysalis]

22 hours ago, stenchlord said:

PCPartPicker Part List: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/gkkm34

 

CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 5700X 3.4 GHz 8-Core Processor  ($169.00 @ Newegg) 
CPU Cooler: Thermalright Assassin X Refined SE ARGB 66.17 CFM CPU Cooler  ($18.89 @ Amazon) 
Motherboard: MSI B550-A PRO ATX AM4 Motherboard  ($114.99 @ Amazon) 
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LPX 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3600 CL18 Memory  ($39.99 @ Amazon) 
Storage: TEAMGROUP T-Force Cardea Z44L 1 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive  ($43.99 @ Newegg) 
Video Card: Gigabyte EAGLE Radeon RX 6500 XT 4 GB Video Card  (Purchased For $0.00) 
Case: Corsair Carbide Series SPEC-04 ATX Mid Tower Case  (Purchased For $0.00) 
Power Supply: Corsair CX650M (2021) 650 W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-modular ATX Power Supply  ($64.98 @ Amazon) 
Case Fan: ARCTIC P12 56.3 CFM 120 mm Fans 5-Pack  ($24.59 @ Amazon) 

Total: $476.43
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2023-11-22 01:20 EST-0500

 

I put the 5700X in since you mention Photoshop usage but unless you're doing particularly large edits with lots of layers etc, then a 5600 would do the job just as well and save you even more cash. Upping the RAM to 32GB might also be an option but again, depends on what the exact usage will be.

a few things:

• The 12600k is gonna do better in photoshop and games, and it’s on a steep discount right now.
• The assassin king has a 5th heat pipe for $1.50 more
• I wouldn’t do a $60 1tb on a $500 system
• $40 is too much for 16gb of RAM.  Brand doesn’t matter with basic kits like this, and expensive RAM is mostly worthless anyway.  You can get 32GB for $10 more and never have to upgrade.
• $60 is a bit much for a 1tb on a sustem like this when it really won’t affect usage.  Performance numbers on gen 4 SSDs are meaning less to most users, they’re all faster than they need to be.  A 2tb for $80 is probably a better move.
• The CX is a decent PSU, but the BM3 is actually pretty good too (compared to previous garbage iterations of the tt smart).  It also has a pcie 5.0 connector, which given OP is using a 6500xt, I have a feeling they’ll want a new GPU sooner than later.  It’s also an extra 100w for the same price.
• The P12s are good, but this case already comes with a fan, and the TLC12s (same fan as the cooler) are also good, especially for case fans that aren’t even gonna ever go that fast and a 3 pack is more than enough.  The price is too good to resist.

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: Intel Core i5-12600K 3.7 GHz 10-Core Processor  ($153.00 @ Amazon) 
CPU Cooler: Thermalright Assassin King SE ARGB 66.17 CFM CPU Cooler  ($19.29 @ Amazon) 
Motherboard: ASRock B660M Pro RS Micro ATX LGA1700 Motherboard  ($89.99 @ Newegg) 
Memory: Silicon Power GAMING 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR4-3200 CL16 Memory  ($50.97 @ Amazon) 
Storage: Silicon Power UD90 2 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive  ($79.99 @ Newegg Sellers) 
Case: Corsair Carbide Series SPEC-04 ATX Mid Tower Case  (Purchased For $0.00) 
Power Supply: Thermaltake Smart BM3 750 W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-modular ATX Power Supply  ($64.99 @ Newegg) 
Wireless Network Adapter: Intel AX200 802.11a/b/g/n/ac/ax M.2 Wi-Fi Adapter  ($20.99 @ Amazon) 
Case Fan: Thermalright TL-C12C 66.17 CFM 120 mm Fans 3-Pack  ($12.90 @ Amazon) 
Total: $492.12
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2023-11-23 00:15 EST-0500

[stenchlord]

6 hours ago, Queen Chrysalis said:

a few things:

• The 12600k is gonna do better in photoshop and games, and it’s on a steep discount right now.
• The assassin king has a 5th heat pipe for $1.50 more
• I wouldn’t do a $60 1tb on a $500 system
• $40 is too much for 16gb of RAM.  Brand doesn’t matter with basic kits like this, and expensive RAM is mostly worthless anyway.  You can get 32GB for $10 more and never have to upgrade.
• $60 is a bit much for a 1tb on a sustem like this when it really won’t affect usage.  Performance numbers on gen 4 SSDs are meaning less to most users, they’re all faster than they need to be.  A 2tb for $80 is probably a better move.
• The CX is a decent PSU, but the BM3 is actually pretty good too (compared to previous garbage iterations of the tt smart).  It also has a pcie 5.0 connector, which given OP is using a 6500xt, I have a feeling they’ll want a new GPU sooner than later.  It’s also an extra 100w for the same price.
• The P12s are good, but this case already comes with a fan, and the TLC12s (same fan as the cooler) are also good, especially for case fans that aren’t even gonna ever go that fast and a 3 pack is more than enough.  The price is too good to resist.

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: Intel Core i5-12600K 3.7 GHz 10-Core Processor  ($153.00 @ Amazon) 
CPU Cooler: Thermalright Assassin King SE ARGB 66.17 CFM CPU Cooler  ($19.29 @ Amazon) 
Motherboard: ASRock B660M Pro RS Micro ATX LGA1700 Motherboard  ($89.99 @ Newegg) 
Memory: Silicon Power GAMING 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR4-3200 CL16 Memory  ($50.97 @ Amazon) 
Storage: Silicon Power UD90 2 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive  ($79.99 @ Newegg Sellers) 
Case: Corsair Carbide Series SPEC-04 ATX Mid Tower Case  (Purchased For $0.00) 
Power Supply: Thermaltake Smart BM3 750 W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-modular ATX Power Supply  ($64.99 @ Newegg) 
Wireless Network Adapter: Intel AX200 802.11a/b/g/n/ac/ax M.2 Wi-Fi Adapter  ($20.99 @ Amazon) 
Case Fan: Thermalright TL-C12C 66.17 CFM 120 mm Fans 3-Pack  ($12.90 @ Amazon) 
Total: $492.12
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2023-11-23 00:15 EST-0500

Nice alternative. I'm sure OP would be happy with it.

I would however recommend an SSD with DRAM for any intensive editing work processes.

[Queen Chrysalis]

56 minutes ago, stenchlord said:

Nice alternative. I'm sure OP would be happy with it.

I would however recommend an SSD with DRAM for any intensive editing work processes.

Sure, but when someone tells me ‘maybe’ photoshop, that tells me it’ll be infrequent and/or light as they aren't doing it professionally.  They’re just getting into it.  People have been doing that level of editing on old macbooks with hard drives flawlessly for over a decade.  Your phone can do that kinda stuff in the blink of an eye.  Until you’re an expert doing that stuff all day, the marginal benefits that really only show up in intense edits or very large files aren’t worth it.

[stenchlord]

10 minutes ago, Queen Chrysalis said:

Sure, but when someone tells me ‘maybe’ photoshop, that tells me it’ll be infrequent and/or light as they aren't doing it professionally.  They’re just getting into it.  People have been doing that level of editing on old macbooks with hard drives flawlessly for over a decade.  Your phone can do that kinda stuff in the blink of an eye.  Until you’re an expert doing that stuff all day, the marginal benefits that really only show up in intense edits aren’t worth it.

I find it's better to prepare for the worst. Better to have and not need than need and not have, specially if it can still be done within budget and adding more storage later isn't a difficult or expensive process so why not have a more reliable and potentially faster drive for the use case. OP originally listed a 500GB drive which is why I figured a 1TB would be an added luxury.

[Queen Chrysalis]

8 minutes ago, stenchlord said:

I find it's better to prepare for the worst. Better to have and not need than need and not have, specially if it can still be done within budget and adding more storage later isn't a difficult or expensive process so why not have a more reliable and potentially faster drive for the use case. OP originally listed a 500GB drive which is why I figured a 1TB would be an added luxury.

People underestimate how much space windows and games use these days.  But sure, maybe a smaller drive would be fine.  But rules of thumb like you describe are based in a bygone era of conventional wisdom when it comes to home PCs.  ‘Preparing’ really just equates to overspending on stuff today that will only get cheaper and faster with time, if that improvement is ever even needed (unlikely).  There was a day and age when hardware specs mattered to normal users for less-than-professional tasks outside of gaming.  That has since passed, and even a lot of pros are proving more and more difficult to sell new hardware to.  Any home hasn’t needed a new PC in over a decade outside of a small SSD for windows.  When it comes to brand new hardware, outside of GPUs and power supplies, for all intents and purposes it’s all fast and it all works well.  Faster than it will ever need to be, to the point that very, very few users will ever be able to tell the difference between the cheapest part and one with a ‘moar biggerer’ spec sheet.

[stenchlord]

5 minutes ago, Queen Chrysalis said:

People underestimate how much space windows and games use these days.  But sure, maybe a smaller drive would be fine.  But rules of thumb like you describe are based in a bygone era of conventional wisdom when it comes to home PCs.  There was a day and age when hardware specs mattered to normal users for less-than-professional tasks outside of gaming.  That has since passed, and even a lot of pros are proving more and more difficult to sell new hardware to.  Any home hasn’t needed a new PC in over a decade outside of a small SSD for windows.  When it comes to brand new hardware, outside of GPUs and power supplies, for all intents and purposes it’s all fast and it all works well.  Faster than it will ever need to be, to the point that very, very few users will ever be able to tell the difference between the cheapest part and one with a ‘moar biggerer’ spec sheet.

Agreed on all points but unless the OP mentions something specifically about upgrading parts regularly, I'd personally prefer recommending hardware I've personally used, built into a PC of someone I know or has been tested/used by someone whose opinion I trust and I'd have better peace of mind recommending reliable hardware that has the best chance at longevity. Specially considering the OP is reusing a potentially 5 year old PC case and 2 year old GPU.

 

That's just how I tend to do things as I'm used to people having to come back to me to ask advice on troubleshooting for any future issues.

 

As I mentioned earlier, I'm sure the OP would be just as happy with the PC build you recommended. From what they currently have, I've no doubt either machine will be a vast upgrade over it.

[Ezra Lewis]

Hi Queen Chrysalis and stenchlord,

 

Thanks for all of your help, I really appreciate it. Sorry for the late reply, I have been busy because final exams and other things popped up. 

I made some memory and storage changes to Queens build so it would be cheaper and I don't think I'll need a terabyte of storage at least not right now, but if I do I have some hard drives I might be able to use lying around. I also got ethernet put in my room and got a CPU cooler from an old workspace PC that might work.

 

PCPartPicker Part List: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/N3Ygrv

CPU: Intel Core i5-12600K 3.7 GHz 10-Core Processor  ($179.99 @ Amazon) 
Motherboard: ASRock B660M Pro RS Micro ATX LGA1700 Motherboard  ($89.99 @ Newegg) 
Memory: Silicon Power XPOWER Turbine 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 CL16 Memory  ($34.99 @ Amazon) 
Storage: Kingston NV2 500 GB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive  ($37.99 @ Amazon) 
Video Card: Gigabyte EAGLE Radeon RX 6400 4 GB Video Card 
Case: Corsair Carbide Series SPEC-04 ATX Mid Tower Case  (Purchased For $0.00) 
Power Supply: Thermaltake Smart BM3 750 W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-modular ATX Power Supply  ($79.98 @ Amazon) 
Case Fan: Thermalright TL-C12C X3 66.17 CFM 120 mm Fans 3-Pack  ($11.49 @ Amazon) 
Total: $434.43
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2023-12-13 04:22 EST-0500