$1.5-2k Build for Gaming, Birthday Gift for Teen Son

[Charlemagne1]

Budget (including currency): $1.5-2K

Country: US 

Games, programs or workloads that it will be used for: Kerbal Space Program, Rust

Other details I'm a newbie trying to make an air cooled dual monitor setup with an ATX case with good airflow. I have no preexisting parts to go off of. I'm looking to maximize performance, I don't care for aesthetics. Any help is greatly appreciated.

 

Thanks!

[manikyath]

there's a lot left on the table here, it's a lot of "first thing on pcpp" picks, but it's what i feel to be roughly the direction to go in:

 

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 7600X 4.7 GHz 6-Core Processor  ($196.00 @ Amazon) 
CPU Cooler: Thermalright Peerless Assassin 66.17 CFM CPU Cooler  ($32.90 @ Amazon) 
Motherboard: MSI B650 GAMING PLUS WIFI ATX AM5 Motherboard  ($159.99 @ MSI) 
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR5-6000 CL30 Memory  ($114.99 @ Amazon) 
Storage: Samsung 980 Pro 2 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive  ($169.99 @ B&H) 
Video Card: PNY VERTO OC GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER 12 GB Video Card  ($580.60 @ Amazon) 
Case: Fractal Design North ATX Mid Tower Case  ($109.99 @ B&H) 
Power Supply: Corsair RM750e (2023) 750 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply  ($99.99 @ Amazon) 
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 11 Home Retail - Download 64-bit  ($129.99 @ Newegg) 
Monitor: Acer VG271U M3bmiipx 27.0" 2560 x 1440 180 Hz Monitor  ($159.99 @ Newegg) 
Monitor: Acer VG271U M3bmiipx 27.0" 2560 x 1440 180 Hz Monitor  ($159.99 @ Newegg) 
Keyboard: Cooler Master MS110 RGB Wired Gaming Keyboard With Optical Mouse  ($98.00 @ Amazon) 
Total: $2012.42
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2024-07-14 01:39 EDT-0400

 

short summary;

- ryzen 5, midrange pick, nothing fancy

- i like dual tower coolers, so i added one.. cool and quiet is the mindset here.

- a motherboard. didnt even look at the specs past ATX, 4 RAM slots, and wifi.

- 32GB RAM, for a bit of "future-resistance"

- the first SSD off pcpartpicker, 2TB may be way too much, it may even be better to go 1TB + HDD if the recipient might store a lot of video. kind of depends on the plans i suppose.

- RTX 4070 super.. expect someone who's more on point with GPU's to replace this with something AMD.

- FD north case.. because i like the look. cases are ENTIRELY subjective.

- tossed in a windows key, do with that what you will.

- two 27" 1440p high-ish refresh rate monitors, because they are apparently affordable these days. makes me feel like a fool for spending 60 bucks to make my old bangers talk to my shiny new GPU.

- a keyboard + mouse combo, if you care about peripherals you might swap this out, but this one should be non-offensive enough to actually get some use. in fact, it's my spare set.

[Somerandomtechyboi]

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/VFbXDZ

7600 + 4070tis + 32gb 6000c30

 

max spec build for 1500$ all new

 

4070tis may not be the best value considering used 6800xt are ~350$ and 6900xt/6950xt are 400-450$ then youd be able to get even better peripherals with the money saved but ive left 500$ for those already

 

if you live near a microcenter they have a 7700x bundle for 380$ thatd upgrade the cpu to a 7700x and save 70$

 

if you dont live near a microcenter and need a wifi board the msi b650-p is at the same price as the pg lightning

 

im not a peripherals guy so i have no reccomendations for peripherals and i dont even have a reccomendation for a mouse unless you dragclick (maybe glorious model o/i then theres the roccat kone pro)

[FlyingPotato_is_taken]

2 hours ago, Charlemagne1 said:

Kerbal Space Program

KSP (1) or KSP 2?

 

Assuming KSP1:

PCPartPicker Part List: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/sxWD9c

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 5600X 3.7 GHz 6-Core Processor  ($135.97 @ Amazon) 
CPU Cooler: Thermalright Assassin X 120 Refined SE 66.17 CFM CPU Cooler  ($17.89 @ Amazon) 
Motherboard: ASRock B450M/ac R2.0 Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard  ($69.99 @ Newegg) 
Memory: TEAMGROUP T-Force Vulcan Z 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR4-3600 CL18 Memory  ($54.99 @ Amazon) 
Storage: TEAMGROUP MP33 PRO 2 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 3.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive  ($110.99 @ Amazon) 
Video Card: XFX Speedster QICK 309 Radeon RX 7600 XT 16 GB Video Card  ($309.99 @ Best Buy) 
Case: NZXT H7 Flow (2022) ATX Mid Tower Case  ($69.99 @ Best Buy) 
Power Supply: be quiet! Pure Power 12 M 650 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply  ($79.90 @ Amazon) 
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 11 Home OEM - DVD 64-bit  ($119.99 @ Amazon) 
Total: $969.70
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

 

This leaves $500-1000 for mousepad, mouse, keyboard and displays:

Mouse: Depends on personal preference. I like the Logitech G305 ($40): https://www.bestbuy.com/site/logitech-g305-lightspeed-wireless-optical-6-programmable-button-gaming-mouse-with-12000-dpi-hero-sensor-black/6214343.p

Keyboard: Again. Personal preference. To be on the safe side set $100 aside. Keychron K8 would be an option.

Mousepad: There are performance differences but they aren't that significant.

Displays: I would go with 34" (21:9) and 1440x3440p resolution. The Dell AW3423DWF would be a premium option with 165Hz OLED. Same panel as the Dell with Ambilight would be the PHILIPS Evnia 34M2C8600. 

At the budget options stay away from VA-panels and get IPS. Budget IPS would be the AOC U34G3X.

For the secondary display a 16:9 IPS in 24/25" or 27" with WQHD (1440x2560) resolution. If you don't want a VESA mount for this select a display that can be rotated 90° to portrait (pivot). 

I run a 34" 21:9 and 25" Dell U2515H (if there is a used one close to you on craigslist/ebay get it. Old display but still great (colours aren't as good  as new displays but excellent eye comfort and good factory calibration combined with Dell display-stand ergonomics).

 

VESA-Monitor arm: Amazon basic from craigslist or ebay. Looks like Amazon nolonger sells this type (they where Ergotrons at a significantly lower price)

 

1 hour ago, manikyath said:

Storage: Samsung 980 Pro 2 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive  ($169.99 @ B&H) 

Not a Samsung drive as it is likely that a critical firmware will be released which isn't ideal in this setup/user. Samsung has a bad track record.

 

 

[manikyath]

29 minutes ago, FlyingPotato_is_taken said:

KSP (1) or KSP 2?

KSP2 is dead.

 

[FlyingPotato_is_taken]

@manikyath KSP2 would require a significantly stronger CPU.

For KSP1 it is more than enough.

 

My suggestion is going with bang for the buck AM4 build which still has an upgrade path.

In my opinion, for the best experience,  is the money better spend on a good display.

 

GPU is worthy a discussion a RX6750XT with 12GB VRAM or RX7600XT with 16GB VRAM. Both cost the same. The RX6750XT is faster but the RX7600XT has more VRAM which will be beneficial in the future.

[Why_Me]

https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256807071205641.html
AMD Ryzen 5 7500F $139.92

This cpu cooler shows out of stock on PC Partpicker yet you can nab it off of Amazon.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0D1CGL7D1
ID-COOLING FROZN A620 PRO SE CPU Cooler $29.99

 

PCPartPicker Part List

Motherboard: *MSI PRO B650-S WIFI ATX AM5 Motherboard  ($129.99 @ MSI) 
Memory: *Silicon Power Value Gaming 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR5-6000 CL30 Memory  ($89.97 @ Amazon) 
Storage: *Silicon Power UD90 2 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive  ($102.97 @ B&H) 
Video Card: *Gigabyte GAMING OC Radeon RX 7900 GRE 16 GB Video Card  ($539.99 @ B&H) 
Case: *MagniumGear Neo Air 2 ATX Mid Tower Case  ($49.99 @ Newegg) 
Power Supply: *Thermaltake Toughpower GF1 (2024) 850 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply  ($94.99 @ Amazon) 
Monitor: *MSI MAG 275QF 27.0" 2560 x 1440 180 Hz Monitor  ($179.99 @ MSI) 
Total: $1187.89
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
*Lowest price parts chosen from parametric criteria
Generated by PCPartPicker 2024-07-14 04:07 EDT-0400

 

Total: $1357.80

 

A better look at those components.

 

https://www.msi.com/Monitor/MAG-275QF 

 

https://www.techspot.com/review/2728-ryzen-7500f-vs-core-13400f/ 

 

https://www.techpowerup.com/review/id-cooling-frozn-a620-pro-se-cpu-air-cooler/ 

 

https://www.techpowerup.com/320715/amd-24-3-1-drivers-unlock-rx-7900-gre-memory-oc-limits-additional-performance-boost-tested 

 

https://www.techpowerup.com/review/silicon-power-ud90-1-tb/ 

 

https://www.phanteks.store/products/magniumgear-neo-air-2-atx-mid-tower-high-airflow-wood-texture-front-panel-design-black

[manikyath]

2 minutes ago, FlyingPotato_is_taken said:

@manikyath KSP2 would require a significantly stronger CPU.

For KSP1 it is more than enough.

 

23 minutes ago, manikyath said:

KSP2 is dead.

 

[Millios]

4 hours ago, FlyingPotato_is_taken said:

My suggestion is going with bang for the buck AM4 build which still has an upgrade path.

In my opinion, for the best experience,  is the money better spend on a good display.

 

Considering that the "new" AM4 gpus are just rehushed older ones isnt AM4 basically dead? For 1.5k to 2k i think AM5 would be great since it has ryzen 7000 and ,potentially, 9000 series cpus that are plenty worth it like 7800x3D or a 7700(x) or even a 7600 cause they are plenty capable at reasonable to ,again potentially cause of the 9000 series coming, low prices. Gpu tho yeah that is a deiscussion of vram vs speed

[FlyingPotato_is_taken]

3 hours ago, Millios said:

For 1.5k to 2k i think AM5 would be great since

1.5-2k for the entire setup.

If you want decent displays and peripherals it is more like $1k for the PC.  

4 hours ago, Millios said:

Considering that the "new" AM4 CPUs are just rehushed older ones isnt AM4 basically dead?

There a dozens of good CPUs already out there. With X3D variants for gaming or the other 16 core CPUs for productivity so I wouldn't call it a dead end but won't expect major new releases either.

 

@Why_Me spends $360 on RAM, CPU and mainboard. The AM4 is at $260. So for $100 extra going with AM5 could make sense. Pushing the build suggestion from me from $1k to $1.1k including windows. 

 

 

@Why_Me The SSD is QLC. Highly not recommended to buy this version.

The MSI display is a bad option without a third party VESA mount. For ergonomic reasons a display requires height adjustment. Everything else is a horrible decision that requires janky solutions like books below the display to adjust the height.

21:9 is in my opinion is also worth the cost. While on paper only a few cm difference in the real world it is a game changer for gaming (immersion/field of view) and productivity (2 programs side by side).

[Millios]

6 minutes ago, FlyingPotato_is_taken said:

There a dozens of good CPUs already out there. With X3D variants for gaming or the other 16 core CPUs for productivity so I wouldn't call it a dead end but won't expect major new releases eitheρ.

Oh no i didnt mean dead as in not viable. if you have a relatively low budget id say up to around 800 for gaming AM4 will get you there. I meant dead as in nothing (truly) new will come out for it, at least in the logical forseable future. But we are talking about 1.5K to up to 2k dollars USD, not going am5 imo is not fulling utilizing the budget given