First Build, Plan and any Tips

[FortunateIdiot]

Budget (including currency): Upto INR ₹2,00,000

Country: India (metro city, Hyderabad)

 

 

Games, programs or workloads that it will be used for: 

1) Gaming: CS2 and TF2 although I understand they can run on a potato, Control, Horizon zero dawn and forbidden west, Hogwarts Legacy, Fortnite, COD (any COD from 2019 onwards basically), Halo Infinite. I would prefer that the computer run these really well so even if I want to play more demanding games in the future I won’t have to upgrade a lot.

 

2) 2D and 3D CAD

 

3) Very light video editing on Resolve (like of home or holiday videos).

 

4) Would like to contribute to any scientific research to which I can donate my computer’s resources. Please suggest some trusted orgs.

 

 

Other details: Will be my first build. Upgrading from a laptop that ran on an i5 10th gen intel and integrated graphics. It couldn’t even load any COD or Halo Infinite, I only played Horizon and COD on my PS5. 

 

I’m currently using a random used Dell IPS 1080p 60Hz monitor. I want to be able to game at 1440p, so please suggest a monitor with the suitable refresh rate and any changes to my existing parts list to accommodate that. Would also appreciate your input on the case and cooler since I have no idea about them.
 

I am aware that like most expensive hobbies, PC building is only more expensive in India and am willing to overpay (if needed) to get what I want (please don’t judge me). Here’s what I was thinking of:

 

CPU: Intel Core i7-14700F

GPU: AMD 9070XT (a Sapphire Pulse seems to be the cheapest yet still wildly overpriced option for me) — If this is truly truly overkill, can I go for a 7800XT?

Mobo: MSI B760 WiFi DDR5

RAM: Crucial Pro DDR5 2x16GB 6400MT/s CL-38

STORAGE: Samsung 990 Pro 2TB or just anything 2TB and works well with the rest of the system

PSU: Corsair SF850 Platinum ATX 3.1

Cooler: ???

Case: ASUS A-21 M-ATX (?)

 

[podkall]

What about am AM5 build?

 

• A nice 8 core 7000/9000 series CPU.
• With 6000Mhz CL30 2x16GB RAM.
• A decent powerful motherboard
• A good middleground, not overpriced 2-4TB NVME
• Decent 850W ATX 3.0 PSU
• Simple dual-tower cooler that supports AM5 socket, maybe Peerless Assassin or Phantom Spirit from Thermalright.
• And a nice case that already comes with fans.

 

25 minutes ago, FortunateIdiot said:

Cooler: ???

Case: ASUS A-21 M-ATX (?)

Cooler and case aren't complicated.

 

You want nice cooler, compatible with the CPU's socket and good cooling capacity, also not loud fan(s).

 

And case, is just a box that holds the parts, with fans. Airflow cases with mesh areas are popular and great. Your only concern is having case big enough for GPU and CPU's cooler.

[podkall]

11 minutes ago, podkall said:

• A nice 8 core 7000/9000 series CPU.
• With 6000Mhz CL30 2x16GB RAM.
• A decent powerful motherboard
• A good middleground, not overpriced 2-4TB NVME
• Decent 850W ATX 3.0 PSU
• Simple dual-tower cooler that supports AM5 socket, maybe Peerless Assassin or Phantom Spirit from Thermalright.
• And a nice case that already comes with fans.

For example, you can go to the list, and see all the different options that are included there, and any option, even the cheapest one that is on the list's selection can work:

 

PCPartPicker Part List: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/NZr9FZ

CPU: *AMD Ryzen 7 7700 3.6 GHz 8-Core Processor  ($255.00 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: *Thermalright Peerless Assassin 120 SE 66.17 CFM CPU Cooler  ($34.90 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: *MSI B650 GAMING PLUS WIFI ATX AM5 Motherboard  ($149.99 @ MSI)
Memory: *TEAMGROUP T-Create Expert 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR5-6000 CL30 Memory  ($90.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: *Acer Predator GM7000 2 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive  ($132.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: *Gigabyte GAMING OC Radeon RX 9070 XT 16 GB Video Card  ($729.99 @ Amazon)
Case: *Lian Li Lancool 207 ATX Mid Tower Case  ($86.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: *Cooler Master MWE Gold 850 V3 850 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply  ($104.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $1585.84
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
*Lowest price parts chosen from parametric criteria
Generated by PCPartPicker 2025-04-01 14:13 EDT-0400

[FortunateIdiot]

51 minutes ago, podkall said:

What about am AM5 build?

 

• A nice 8 core 7000/9000 series CPU.
• With 6000Mhz CL30 2x16GB RAM.
• A decent powerful motherboard
• A good middleground, not overpriced 2-4TB NVME
• Decent 850W ATX 3.0 PSU
• Simple dual-tower cooler that supports AM5 socket, maybe Peerless Assassin or Phantom Spirit from Thermalright.
• And a nice case that already comes with fans.

 

Cooler and case aren't complicated.

 

You want nice cooler, compatible with the CPU's socket and good cooling capacity, also not loud fan(s).

 

And case, is just a box that holds the parts, with fans. Airflow cases with mesh areas are popular and great. Your only concern is having case big enough for GPU and CPU's cooler.

Hey, thanks for the reply. Yes AM5 is good as well. I completely forgot that I didn’t include it. I started with an AM5 build but then thought I should stick with DDR4 RAM but I ended up changing my mind. 

Does X in Ryzen 9600X and 9700X just mean they’re unlocked for overclocking? I’m not interested in that and don’t want to spend extra on an X series motherboard. Also, are the X3D chips really worth it? Just want to know, but anyway those are out of my price range in India. 
 

How do I find out if the fans are going to be too loud? And how do I know if there’s enough width in the case for the CPU’s tower cooler and the length for the GPU? There are not many stores near my area. And how do I make sure that my power supply is in the right form factor for the case? Really thank you for keeping up with my silly questions. 

[podkall]

5 minutes ago, FortunateIdiot said:

Does X in Ryzen 9600X and 9700X just mean they’re unlocked for overclocking?

It means they're simply faster, even the non-X variants can be overclocked or have all the features.

 

6 minutes ago, FortunateIdiot said:

I’m not interested in that and don’t want to spend extra on an X series motherboard. Also, are the X3D chips really worth it? Just want to know, but anyway those are out of my price range in India. 

So for board you don't need X series board, you can get a nice B650 board and still have enough power for CPUs like 9950x no problem.

 

7 minutes ago, FortunateIdiot said:

How do I find out if the fans are going to be too loud?

Reviews, or people like me can just know.

 

7 minutes ago, FortunateIdiot said:

And how do I know if there’s enough width in the case for the CPU’s tower cooler and the length for the GPU?

Parts should list these specs almost always, at least on their official website.

 

8 minutes ago, FortunateIdiot said:

And how do I make sure that my power supply is in the right form factor for the case?

Things like this are standardized, so is Motherboard form factor. For example some cases support ATX motherboards, some don't because they're too small.

 

9 minutes ago, FortunateIdiot said:

Really thank you for keeping up with my silly questions. 

I've seen sillier questions.

[FortunateIdiot]

2 minutes ago, podkall said:

It means they're simply faster, even the non-X variants can be overclocked or have all the features.

 

So for board you don't need X series board, you can get a nice B650 board and still have enough power for CPUs like 9950x no problem.

 

Reviews, or people like me can just know.

 

Parts should list these specs almost always, at least on their official website.

 

Things like this are standardized, so is Motherboard form factor. For example some cases support ATX motherboards, some don't because they're too small.

 

I've seen sillier questions.

Thank you.

 

How would a Ryzen 7 7700 compare to a i7-14700F? Is the GPU (9700XT) a good pair with either of them or am I better off with an 7800XT?
 

Also the product page for Ryzen 7 7700 says it supports B650 and B650E motherboards. What does E in the chipset name signify?
 

 

[podkall]

1 minute ago, FortunateIdiot said:

Thank you.

 

How would a Ryzen 7 7700 compare to a i7-14700F? Is the GPU (9700XT) a good pair with either of them or am I better off with an 7800XT?
 

Also the product page for Ryzen 7 7700 says it supports B650 and B650E motherboards. What does E in the chipset name signify?
 

 

9070 XT is way faster than 7800 XT,

 

The Ryzen 7700 is good option, 8 cores are nice to have. Compared to 14700 it's quite similar, can be bit worse or better depending on context, 14700 has many cores.

 

The 14700k is overall faster than 7700 on average, however, if you take into consideration the only upgrade is 14900k, the difficulty of cooling, and the next upgrade is entire new platform. AMD is better here.

 

If you upgrade to x3D chips, those are on average faster in gaming vs 14700k.

 

The E means Extreme and it's not really required, it just has more features or more higher-end features, like certain PCIe 5.0 instead of PCIe 4.0.

 

The CPU is compatible with all AM5 motherboards, but you should only focus on B650, X670, B850 and X870, those are price efficient, and even the cheapest one of these can be good choice, B650 has select motherboards, in range between 150-180$ US price that have everything most people would need.