Configuring for a friend :]

[BlueTrue]

Budget (including currency): $850 USD (soft budget)

Country: USA

Games, programs or workloads that it will be used for:  A split between light indie games and older AAA titles with SOME modern AAA titles. Games are expected to run at at least 60 fps at 1080p

 

Well howdy there, I've got a friend with a PS4 who wants to get into PC gaming on a FAIR budget, a soft budget of 850 bucks for the computer AND all of the peripherals since she doesn't really have anything besides a desk. She could MAYBE find an old keyboard and mouse lying around but I wouldn't count on it so I'd rather fit everything she'll need into the budget: PC, mouse and keyboard, headset, aaaaaand monitor.
She has concerns about fitting it into her room so MATX or even ITX would be great especially if she can comfortably set it on her desk without having it in the way too much.
The expected performance is 1080p on at LEAST medium setting at 60fps or higher in modern games. Yes, many of the games she plays are older AAA titles like Horizon Zero Dawn, but she also plays newer titles and she even wants to get into Cyberpunk. I understand that the budget doesn't exactly give room for path tracing but I've cobbled together a build focused on being able to play the games she wants at comfortable setting without sacrificing too much graphical fidelity while not having to worry about bottlenecking and sifting through system settings. To put it simply, as much ease of use as possible so that she can comfortably make her way into PC gaming. Thanks!!!

Link to PCpartpicker list here :)

[Why_Me]

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: Intel Core i5-13400F 2.5 GHz 10-Core Processor  ($115.00 @ Amazon) 
Motherboard: Gigabyte B760M GAMING PLUS WIFI DDR4 Micro ATX LGA1700 Motherboard  ($139.69 @ Amazon) 
Memory: *Patriot Viper Steel 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR4-3200 CL16 Memory  ($59.99 @ Newegg) 
Storage: Patriot P300 512 GB M.2-2280 PCIe 3.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive  ($33.49 @ Amazon) 
Video Card: MSI GeForce RTX 3060 Ventus 2X 12G GeForce RTX 3060 12GB 12 GB Video Card  ($279.99 @ Amazon) 
Case: Cooler Master MasterBox Q300L MicroATX Mini Tower Case  ($39.99 @ Amazon) 
Power Supply: Montech APX 550 W 80+ Certified ATX Power Supply  ($45.99 @ Amazon) 
Monitor: *MSI G244PF E2 23.8" 1920 x 1080 180 Hz Monitor  ($109.99 @ MSI) 
Keyboard: Razer Ornata V3 X RGB Wired Gaming Keyboard  ($29.99 @ Amazon) 
Mouse: Razer DeathAdder Essential Wired Optical Mouse  ($20.98 @ Amazon) 
Total: $875.10
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
*Lowest price parts chosen from parametric criteria
Generated by PCPartPicker 2025-07-14 20:25 EDT-0400

[BlueTrue]

Huh, interesting. The monitor is cheaper AND better... and that is DOUBLE the memory I had in mind...

Very similar but some VERY nice upgrades. I'll DEFINETLY keep this build in mind! Thanks!!!

[UnusualDevices]

the 12gb on the 3060 is a gimmic.

the performance is so low today it is even outperformed in most cases by the 5050.

 

You say "SOME" AAA gaming but in reality "ANY" AAA gaming will eventually lead you to a bottleneck.

just go for a bit more, get modern AI features, and you won't come across ANY AAA Games that will be limited by vram.

 

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/d6Q4VF