My first attempt at PC building

[drknr]

Hey everyone,

Games, programs or workloads that it will be used for:  Photoshop, Illustrator, Godot engine dev (2D stuff), some light video editing is not outside of the realm of possibility, and some gaming on the side

 

My old 2020 Macbook Pro is getting up there in years, and it struggles with some features of Photoshop. I've been a Mac user for more than a decade now and before that I used laptops. Needless to say I'm not too familiar with PC building. Ideally, I'd like to have multiple applications open, say, Photoshop and Illustrator windows open with several browser tabs with a youtube video running in the background.

 

Here is what I'm thinking about:

 

CPU: Intel Core i7-12700KF 3.6 GHz 12-Core Processor 
CPU Cooler: Thermalright Phantom Spirit 120 SE 66.17 CFM CPU Cooler  
Motherboard: MSI B760 GAMING PLUS WIFI ATX LGA1700 Motherboard 
Memory: Kingston FURY Beast 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR5-5600 CL36 Memory
Storage: Kingston KC3000 2.048 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive
Video Card: Gigabyte EAGLE OC GeForce RTX 3070 8 GB Video Card 
Case: Fractal Design Pop Air ATX Mid Tower Case  
Power Supply: be quiet! Pure Power 12 750 W 80+ Gold Certified ATX Power Supply  
Monitor: AOC Q27G3XMN 27.0" 2560 x 1440 180 Hz Monitor  

I read that the i7-12700 is well suited to my needs, so I tried to build around it. For the GPU, I found a good deal on a used 3070. Aside from those, I’m not really sure what I should be looking for. This build is about the limit of what I’m willing to spend, but if you think I could get better performance for a small additional cost, I’m open to suggestions. Also, if you spot something egregious that I missed let me know. During my research, I came across a video about ASUS’s scummy practices, so I’d like to avoid anything from ASUS.

[strange13930]

2 minutes ago, drknr said:

Hey everyone,

Games, programs or workloads that it will be used for:  Photoshop, Illustrator, Godot engine dev (2D stuff), some light video editing is not outside of the realm of possibility, and some gaming on the side

 

My old 2020 Macbook Pro is getting up there in years, and it struggles with some features of Photoshop. I've been a Mac user for more than a decade now and before that I used laptops. Needless to say I'm not too familiar with PC building. Ideally, I'd like to have multiple applications open, say, Photoshop and Illustrator windows open with several browser tabs with a youtube video running in the background.

 

Here is what I'm thinking about:

 

CPU: Intel Core i7-12700KF 3.6 GHz 12-Core Processor 
CPU Cooler: Thermalright Phantom Spirit 120 SE 66.17 CFM CPU Cooler  
Motherboard: MSI B760 GAMING PLUS WIFI ATX LGA1700 Motherboard 
Memory: Kingston FURY Beast 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR5-5600 CL36 Memory
Storage: Kingston KC3000 2.048 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive
Video Card: Gigabyte EAGLE OC GeForce RTX 3070 8 GB Video Card 
Case: Fractal Design Pop Air ATX Mid Tower Case  
Power Supply: be quiet! Pure Power 12 750 W 80+ Gold Certified ATX Power Supply  
Monitor: AOC Q27G3XMN 27.0" 2560 x 1440 180 Hz Monitor  

I read that the i7-12700 is well suited to my needs, so I tried to build around it. For the GPU, I found a good deal on a used 3070. Aside from those, I’m not really sure what I should be looking for. This build is about the limit of what I’m willing to spend, but if you think I could get better performance for a small additional cost, I’m open to suggestions. Also, if you spot something egregious that I missed let me know. During my research, I came across a video about ASUS’s scummy practices, so I’d like to avoid anything from ASUS.

Looks good, of you can fit them in your budget get a ram kit with speeds of 6000mhz and a cl of 30 or 32.

[jaslion]

Budget?

Location?

 

The 12700k by now is old and often a poor buy compared to everythong else new you can get.

 

Else well nothing wrong really.

 

Whats the deal on the 3070? 8gb of vram is getting rough these days.

[Ha-Satan]

These are all 2020/2021-era components. Going for a used 3070 might be an appropriate choice for the right price (thought it would need to be pretty cheap - what are you planning to pay for it?) but getting 12th gen Intel doesn't make sense. Ryzen 9000 series will generally give you better performance in the applications you listed (though it is a bit more expensive).

[DJ_Jay125]

25 minutes ago, drknr said:

Hey everyone,

Games, programs or workloads that it will be used for:  Photoshop, Illustrator, Godot engine dev (2D stuff), some light video editing is not outside of the realm of possibility, and some gaming on the side

 

My old 2020 Macbook Pro is getting up there in years, and it struggles with some features of Photoshop. I've been a Mac user for more than a decade now and before that I used laptops. Needless to say I'm not too familiar with PC building. Ideally, I'd like to have multiple applications open, say, Photoshop and Illustrator windows open with several browser tabs with a youtube video running in the background.

 

Here is what I'm thinking about:

 

CPU: Intel Core i7-12700KF 3.6 GHz 12-Core Processor 
CPU Cooler: Thermalright Phantom Spirit 120 SE 66.17 CFM CPU Cooler  
Motherboard: MSI B760 GAMING PLUS WIFI ATX LGA1700 Motherboard 
Memory: Kingston FURY Beast 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR5-5600 CL36 Memory
Storage: Kingston KC3000 2.048 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive
Video Card: Gigabyte EAGLE OC GeForce RTX 3070 8 GB Video Card 
Case: Fractal Design Pop Air ATX Mid Tower Case  
Power Supply: be quiet! Pure Power 12 750 W 80+ Gold Certified ATX Power Supply  
Monitor: AOC Q27G3XMN 27.0" 2560 x 1440 180 Hz Monitor  

I read that the i7-12700 is well suited to my needs, so I tried to build around it. For the GPU, I found a good deal on a used 3070. Aside from those, I’m not really sure what I should be looking for. This build is about the limit of what I’m willing to spend, but if you think I could get better performance for a small additional cost, I’m open to suggestions. Also, if you spot something egregious that I missed let me know. During my research, I came across a video about ASUS’s scummy practices, so I’d like to avoid anything from ASUS.

Id really reccomend you swap that 12700k for a 7700 or 9700 and am5 as theyll do you better

[Dustinn]

I'm with the others on the CPU, you can pick up a Ryzen 9000 series chip for pretty cheap. As low as $185 for the 9600, nothing special but with the prices of 12th gen Intel chips (assuming you're going new) doesn't seem worth it. 

 

My personal recommendation is cheap out a little bit on your monitor and PSU and go the used route.

 

You can regularly pick up gaming monitors used for under $150 on Facebook marketplace or used retailers (if you have a Game Exchange, check there they buy use monitors and frequently put them on sale. Hell, I've seen Best Buy sell floor unit monitors for REALLLLYYY cheap before. That'll save you around $100ish from the monitor you're looking at.

 

As for power supplies, I couldn't find a listing for the power supply you're looking at, so I'm assuming you might be going used for this already, if not and you're paying more than $200, try eBay for some used NAME BRAND power supplies. Picked up my NZXT 1000w power supply for under $100, only a year old.

 

Motherboard wise, I don't recommend MSI because I've had a couple of their boards fail in different ways over the years, others swear by them MSI products, that's just personal preference.

 

RAM, definitely shoot for something 6000MHZ or over.

 

Would really need a budget before I can make other recommendations on cost cutting, however by dipping down to a used monitor and PSU you could easily toss that money into a more relevant and modern CPU.

 

Edit, forgot to mention GPU.

 

I'm with some of the other comments on this as well, you can get buy with an 8gb GPU but it is going to be a little rough. However, I wouldn't fault you, GPU market is a little rocky right now. You can go with a used GPU but if you do PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE buy a protection plan if it offers you one. I know eBay deals with Allstate and will offer it at checkout. For the extra $25 for 2-3 years of coverage you're better off spending it and not needing it than not spending it and needing it. Even if you don't buy used through eBay, Allstate will still let you insure it, albeit probably a little bit more pricy. Used GPUs can be pretty risky, especially 30 series as crypto mining was a bit more popular then and caused a lot of wear on those cards.

Edited April 29 by Dustinn
Missed information on GPU

[PDifolco]

It's ok, except 

- the 12700K, a 14600K would be better

You're in the rare use case where Intel still makes sense (and is cheaper)  

- 3070...nah, not sure it's even still sold new, if your software works well on AMD a 7700XT or 7800XT will crush it, else a 5060Ti 16GB (not 8!!!!!)

[Why_Me]

5 hours ago, drknr said:

Hey everyone,

Games, programs or workloads that it will be used for:  Photoshop, Illustrator, Godot engine dev (2D stuff), some light video editing is not outside of the realm of possibility, and some gaming on the side

 

My old 2020 Macbook Pro is getting up there in years, and it struggles with some features of Photoshop. I've been a Mac user for more than a decade now and before that I used laptops. Needless to say I'm not too familiar with PC building. Ideally, I'd like to have multiple applications open, say, Photoshop and Illustrator windows open with several browser tabs with a youtube video running in the background.

 

Here is what I'm thinking about:

 

CPU: Intel Core i7-12700KF 3.6 GHz 12-Core Processor 
CPU Cooler: Thermalright Phantom Spirit 120 SE 66.17 CFM CPU Cooler  
Motherboard: MSI B760 GAMING PLUS WIFI ATX LGA1700 Motherboard 
Memory: Kingston FURY Beast 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR5-5600 CL36 Memory
Storage: Kingston KC3000 2.048 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive
Video Card: Gigabyte EAGLE OC GeForce RTX 3070 8 GB Video Card 
Case: Fractal Design Pop Air ATX Mid Tower Case  
Power Supply: be quiet! Pure Power 12 750 W 80+ Gold Certified ATX Power Supply  
Monitor: AOC Q27G3XMN 27.0" 2560 x 1440 180 Hz Monitor  

I read that the i7-12700 is well suited to my needs, so I tried to build around it. For the GPU, I found a good deal on a used 3070. Aside from those, I’m not really sure what I should be looking for. This build is about the limit of what I’m willing to spend, but if you think I could get better performance for a small additional cost, I’m open to suggestions. Also, if you spot something egregious that I missed let me know. During my research, I came across a video about ASUS’s scummy practices, so I’d like to avoid anything from ASUS.

Asus responded to that video and upped their game afterwards so don't them out, especially when MSI and Gigabyte have been caught doing sketchy things in the past. You want faster RAM. Here's a few cost cutters.

 

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: *Intel Core i7-12700KF 3.6 GHz 12-Core Processor  ($154.00 @ Amazon) 
CPU Cooler: *ID-COOLING FROZN A620 PRO SE 58 CFM CPU Cooler  ($29.99 @ Amazon) 
Motherboard: *Asus TUF GAMING B760-PLUS WIFI ATX LGA1700 Motherboard  ($139.99 @ Amazon) 
Memory: *Patriot Viper Venom 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR5-6000 CL30 Memory  ($79.99 @ Newegg) 
Power Supply: *ADATA XPG Core Reactor II VE 750 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply  ($79.98 @ Amazon) 
Total: $483.95
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
*Lowest price parts chosen from parametric criteria
Generated by PCPartPicker 2025-04-29 22:00 EDT-0400

[drknr]

Thank you for all your advice. I'll get back to the drawing board and assemble build v2_final_FINAL.