PC build suggestions

[Spicyegg_234]

First time posting

 

I am trying to help my older brother spec a build. He got a laptop looking thing that doesn't have any hardware inside but you connect a thunderbolt cable and use desktop level hardware like a laptop. He is looking for a desktop, and I wanted to try and help spec it. He is in total control of all decisions to buy stuff, but I wanted to see if I can create anything of good value for what he wants to do.

Budget (including currency): 500-700 USD

Country: USA Mainland

Games, programs or workloads that it will be used for: N64 emulation, Compiling code, other CPU bound workloads.

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): No peripherals needed, only computer. Ideally not too big, so no ATX mobos. Upgrading from a mobile workstation laptop with I don't remember his exact CPU, but it was a MQ 4th gen I7 with 4c 8t, probably comparable to the 6440HQ 4c 4t in my laptop. His requirements were : Good CPU for obvious reasons (Compiling code needs lots of threads to do fast), 500gb really fast storage, 1000gb extended storage, GPU powerful enough for N64 emulation and light gaming, no tempered glass panels.

 

 

I used pcpartpicker to spec

12600KF for about 150$

ThermalRight Peerless Assassin 120 SE for about 35$

MSI PRO B760M-P DDR4 M-ATX for about 100$

G.Skill Ripjaws V 2x16 GB DDR4-3200 CL16 for about 50$

Acer Predator GM7000 2tb for about 140$

Used 1050ti I found on eBay for about 60$

Case I found on eBay for about 40$

MSI MAG A650BE 650 W 80+ Bronze for about 70$

TOTAL : about 635$

Any suggestions?

EDIT: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/4cPX3w

EDIT2: case and GPU aren't exact, I found a similar M-ATX rosewill on ebay

Edited March 14, 2025 by Spicyegg_234
clarification for ATX case on pcpartpicker list

[strange13930]

9 minutes ago, Spicyegg_234 said:

First time posting

 

I am trying to help my older brother spec a build. He got a laptop looking thing that doesn't have any hardware inside but you connect a thunderbolt cable and use desktop level hardware like a laptop. He is looking for a desktop, and I wanted to try and help spec it. He is in total control of all decisions to buy stuff, but I wanted to see if I can create anything of good value for what he wants to do.

Budget (including currency): 500-700 USD

Country: USA Mainland

Games, programs or workloads that it will be used for: N64 emulation, Compiling code, other CPU bound workloads.

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): No peripherals needed, only computer. Ideally not too big, so no ATX mobos. Upgrading from a mobile workstation laptop with I don't remember his exact CPU, but it was a MQ 4th gen I7 with 4c 8t, probably comparable to the 6440HQ 4c 4t in my laptop. His requirements were : Good CPU for obvious reasons (Compiling code needs lots of threads to do fast), 500gb really fast storage, 1000gb extended storage, GPU powerful enough for N64 emulation and light gaming, no tempered glass panels.

 

 

I used pcpartpicker to spec

12600KF for about 150$

ThermalRight Peerless Assassin 120 SE for about 35$

MSI PRO B760M-P DDR4 M-ATX for about 100$

G.Skill Ripjaws V 2x16 GB DDR4-3200 CL16 for about 50$

Acer Predator GM7000 2tb for about 140$

Used 1050ti I found on eBay for about 60$

Case I found on eBay for about 40$

MSI MAG A650BE 650 W 80+ Bronze for about 70$

TOTAL : about 635$

Any suggestions?

EDIT: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/4cPX3w

EDIT2: case and GPU aren't exact, I found a similar M-ATX rosewill on ebay

try and find a ram kit with 3600 Mhz speed instead of 3200 Mhz

[Spicyegg_234]

5 minutes ago, strange13930 said:

try and find a ram kit with 3600 Mhz speed instead of 3200 Mhz

I found a patriot viper 3600 cl 18 kit for about the same price, thx for suggesting (10 ns latency)

Edited March 14, 2025 by Spicyegg_234
first word latency is 10 ns

[strange13930]

17 minutes ago, Spicyegg_234 said:

First time posting

 

I am trying to help my older brother spec a build. He got a laptop looking thing that doesn't have any hardware inside but you connect a thunderbolt cable and use desktop level hardware like a laptop. He is looking for a desktop, and I wanted to try and help spec it. He is in total control of all decisions to buy stuff, but I wanted to see if I can create anything of good value for what he wants to do.

Budget (including currency): 500-700 USD

Country: USA Mainland

Games, programs or workloads that it will be used for: N64 emulation, Compiling code, other CPU bound workloads.

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): No peripherals needed, only computer. Ideally not too big, so no ATX mobos. Upgrading from a mobile workstation laptop with I don't remember his exact CPU, but it was a MQ 4th gen I7 with 4c 8t, probably comparable to the 6440HQ 4c 4t in my laptop. His requirements were : Good CPU for obvious reasons (Compiling code needs lots of threads to do fast), 500gb really fast storage, 1000gb extended storage, GPU powerful enough for N64 emulation and light gaming, no tempered glass panels.

 

 

I used pcpartpicker to spec

12600KF for about 150$

ThermalRight Peerless Assassin 120 SE for about 35$

MSI PRO B760M-P DDR4 M-ATX for about 100$

G.Skill Ripjaws V 2x16 GB DDR4-3200 CL16 for about 50$

Acer Predator GM7000 2tb for about 140$

Used 1050ti I found on eBay for about 60$

Case I found on eBay for about 40$

MSI MAG A650BE 650 W 80+ Bronze for about 70$

TOTAL : about 635$

Any suggestions?

EDIT: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/4cPX3w

EDIT2: case and GPU aren't exact, I found a similar M-ATX rosewill on ebay

If you can for the gpu I would get the 1060 6gb version, its a little more powerful than the 1050 ti and is about the same price. I currently have one in my system.

[Spicyegg_234]

4 minutes ago, strange13930 said:

If you can for the gpu I would get the 1060 6gb version, its a little more powerful than the 1050 ti and is about the same price. I currently have one in my system.

I found one for about the same price on eBay

[podkall]

1 hour ago, Spicyegg_234 said:

I found one for about the same price on eBay

Does the build even need a good GPU?

[Spicyegg_234]

12 minutes ago, podkall said:

Does the build even need a good GPU?

requirements include n64 emulation, and you need a relativity good GPU to do it accurately. also im assuming my brother is going to want something powerful enough to play older (and newer at lower settings) games at medium-high at 1080p

Edited March 15, 2025 by Spicyegg_234

[podkall]

1 hour ago, Spicyegg_234 said:

requirements include n64 emulation, and you need a relativity good GPU to do it accurately. also im assuming my brother is going to want something powerful enough to play older (and newer at lower settings) games at medium-high at 1080p

What if I shaved off ~40$ of the build without affecting much performance?

[podkall]

Just now, podkall said:

What if I shaved off ~40$ of the build without affecting much performance?

Cheaper RAM and M.2, yes it doesn't have DRAM cache, but it's not slow if you don't necessarily "require" DRAM cache M.2: (G70 has DRAM but isn't significantly cheaper)

 

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/XcBLfd

 

• also cooler, this is all assuming shipping costs won't somehow affect the pricing

[Spicyegg_234]

new list, any final thoughts? write performance is important so i opted to keep the dram cache drive

you can ignore the fans those were a maybe thought

[PCPartPicker Part List](https://pcpartpicker.com/list/fPDZGJ)

Type|Item|Price
:----|:----|:----
**CPU** | [Intel Core i5-12600KF 3.7 GHz 10-Core Processor](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/Tk8bt6/intel-core-i5-12600kf-37-ghz-6-core-processor-bx8071512600kf) | $146.99 @ Amazon
**CPU Cooler** | [Thermalright Peerless Assassin 90 SE 32.77 CFM CPU Cooler](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/WtvD4D/thermalright-peerless-assassin-90-se-3277-cfm-cpu-cooler-pa90-se) | $23.90 @ Amazon
**Motherboard** | [MSI PRO B760M-P DDR4 Micro ATX LGA1700 Motherboard](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/M6nypg/msi-pro-b760m-p-ddr4-micro-atx-lga1700-motherboard-pro-b760m-p-ddr4) | $99.99 @ Amazon
**Memory** | [Silicon Power GAMING 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR4-3200 CL16 Memory](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/B8QcCJ/silicon-power-gaming-32-gb-2-x-16-gb-ddr4-3200-cl16-memory-sp032gxlzu320bdaj7) | $42.97 @ Newegg Sellers
**Storage** | [Acer Predator GM7000 2 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/Mjstt6/acer-predator-gm7000-2-tb-m2-2280-nvme-solid-state-drive-bl9bwwr106) | $132.99 @ Amazon
**Video Card** | [MSI GeForce GTX 1060 6G OCV1 GeForce GTX 1060 6GB 6 GB Video Card](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/Z2kwrH/msi-geforce-gtx-1060-6gb-6gb-ocv1-video-card-geforce-gtx-1060-6g-ocv1) | $60.00
**Case** | [Rosewill FBM-06 MicroATX Mini Tower Case](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/2w448d/rosewill-fbm-06-microatx-mini-tower-case-fbm-06) | $40.00
**Power Supply** | [MSI MAG A650BN 650 W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/8LNxFT/msi-mag-a-bn-650-w-80-bronze-certified-atx-power-supply-mag-a650bn) | $69.98 @ Amazon
**Case Fan** | [Thermalright TL-C12C X3 66.17 CFM 120 mm Fans 3-Pack](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/JmfnTW/thermalright-tl-c12c-x3-6617-cfm-120-mm-fans-3-pack-tl-c12c-x3-d6) | $11.99 @ Amazon
**Case Fan** | [Thermalright TL-P9 32.77 CFM 92 mm Fan](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/mcFmP6/thermalright-tl-p9-3277-cfm-92-mm-fan-tl-p9) | $8.90 @ Amazon
 | *Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts* |
 | **Total** | **$637.71**
 | Generated by [PCPartPicker](https://pcpartpicker.com) 2025-03-14 23:17 EDT-0400 |

[podkall]

10 hours ago, Spicyegg_234 said:

new list, any final thoughts? write performance is important so i opted to keep the dram cache drive

you can ignore the fans those were a maybe thought

 

10 hours ago, Spicyegg_234 said:

**CPU Cooler** | [Thermalright Peerless Assassin 90 SE 32.77 CFM CPU Cooler](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/WtvD4D/thermalright-peerless-assassin-90-se-3277-cfm-cpu-cooler-pa90-se) | $23.90 @ Amazon

This cooler is bit smaller than regular 120, it's 110mm tall.

 

The regular 120 fan cooler is almost 160mm tall. That's a lot of heatsink reduction.

 

No need for that many fans, does the case come with fans? The minimum fans you'd want is one front one back, and decent fan config is two front one back -> plenty fresh air + exhaust for warm.

 

There's a 10$ cheaper NVME with DRAM cache, but it's about as fast as the Acer, little bit slower maybe.

[Spicyegg_234]

3 hours ago, podkall said:

 

This cooler is bit smaller than regular 120, it's 110mm tall.

 

The regular 120 fan cooler is almost 160mm tall. That's a lot of heatsink reduction.

 

No need for that many fans, does the case come with fans? The minimum fans you'd want is one front one back, and decent fan config is two front one back -> plenty fresh air + exhaust for warm.

 

There's a 10$ cheaper NVME with DRAM cache, but it's about as fast as the Acer, little bit slower maybe.

For the CPU cooler I was concerned if it would fit in the case. Pcpartpicker said the 120mm version was incompatible with the rosewill fbm-06 M-ATX case I was looking at.

I can see if I can find a different case, as long as there isn't any silly glass side panels but it's a rural area with little local offers

As for the cheaper drive, what is it? my requirements for SSD are "has cache, is 2tb"

edit: for you a cheaper drive might be available but for me the acer is the cheapest 2 tb cached ssd

Edited March 15, 2025 by Spicyegg_234

[podkall]

24 minutes ago, Spicyegg_234 said:

For the CPU cooler I was concerned if it would fit in the case. Pcpartpicker said the 120mm version was incompatible with the rosewill fbm-06 M-ATX case I was looking at.

I can see if I can find a different case, as long as there isn't any silly glass side panels but it's a rural area with little local offers

As for the cheaper drive, what is it? my requirements for SSD are "has cache, is 2tb"

Nothing wrong with glass side cases, and yes that case actually is quite small, I think 140mm max CPU cooler height.

 

Not really necessary to go cheaper M.2, the Acer is very good M.2, but here:

TEAMGROUP T-FORCE G70 PRO Aluminum 2 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive

[Spicyegg_234]

51 minutes ago, podkall said:

Nothing wrong with glass side cases

Maybe. But the person I'm trying to help spec this for think glass panels are unnecessary and an extra liability for being easier to break

[podkall]

20 hours ago, Spicyegg_234 said:

Maybe. But the person I'm trying to help spec this for think glass panels are unnecessary and an extra liability for being easier to break

Some glass panels are plastic or made out of tempered glass.