Question Builds at different price points based on these parts I already have.

[DJMTheDev]

Budget (including currency): Max budget is $700 before tax not including the parts I already have.
Country: US, willing to go to MicroCenter but would prefer not too since it's 4 hours away.
Games, programs or workloads that it will be used for: Nothing specific just gaming mostly.
Other details: I would like to know of multiple builds at different price points so I can do some research on what build will be best for me. 1080p 144Hz is good enough for me but I don't need a monitor included. I plan as buying as soon as I make a final decision. Im upgrading from a 750 Ti and an i5-3470 it's bad Ik .
List of parts I already have: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/krpZ4s
The difference price point builds I would like would be around $700 including the parts I already have and a $900-$1K build including the parts I already have.
(Weird request Ik just want to see what would be best for me)

 

[punkncat]

That air cooler has been well reviewed as of late, if the one I am thinking of. Alongside that cases ventilation should be a good combo as a start.

Purchasing a PSU up front is somewhat limiting, but also feel like it is realistic for the price point.

I guess the decisions after this are along the lines of do you wish to go AMD/Intel, DDR4/5 and whether you want to (stick) AMD on graphics or have any desire for the Ray Tracing? Sorry, I don't recommend Intel graphics cards yet.
Edit- I do realize that you picked DDR4 which will be limiting on the AMD side as far as generational gains. I don't 'think' that the AM5 boards offer a DDR4 option? I could be wrong. (total side note- I purchased that same make and brand of DDR4 for a budget rig I am doing and it has been awesome so far, just heat sink on one side though, if it matters to you.)

You should readily be able to piece together a nice mid/high end system out of this budget. I would probably consider allocating about half on the GPU within your PSU restraint and then fill the blanks with what you have left. Micro Center offers great pricing as well as nice combo deals on CPU/mobo in particular, but don't forget to budget your time and gas getting there.

 

[DJMTheDev]

That air cooler has been well reviewed as of late, if the one I am thinking of. Alongside that cases ventilation should be a good combo as a start.

Purchasing a PSU up front is somewhat limiting, but also feel like it is realistic for the price point.

I guess the decisions after this are along the lines of do you wish to go AMD/Intel, DDR4/5 and whether you want to (stick) AMD on graphics or have any desire for the Ray Tracing? Sorry, I don't recommend Intel graphics cards yet.

You should readily be able to piece together a nice mid/high end system out of this budget. I would probably consider allocating about half on the GPU within your PSU restraint and then fill the blanks with what you have left. Micro Center offers great pricing as well as nice combo deals on CPU/mobo in particular, but don't forget to budget your time and gas getting there.

I prefer Intel but I'm fine with AMD too. I already have DDR4 ram. I've looked at AMD and Nvidia GPUs some and AMD seems to offer better pricing compared to Nvidia. I've seen that MicroCenter does have very good deals that might be worth the 4 hour drive.

 

[punkncat]

So, to me, here is the 'rub', as it were.

AM5 is supposed to be supported in a similar way that AM4 was. So, even if you bit the bullet, returned the RAM you have to get a low/mid level R3/R5 rig with a GOOD motherboard, decent RAM and a decent GPU, then come around next year or so you have a nice possible upgrade path. Things to consider would be this BIOS snafu thing about burning CPU/mobo. I hear it is fixed but worth consideration.

IDK if 14th gen Intel is supposed to be supported by the current chipset. Intel's traditional methodology would indicate not so. That makes 13th gen a question as to whether it is a dead end product. (same as always with Intel). This would lead into questions about whether it was smart to wait and as it said all over this forum, if you are waiting on the next thing, there is always a next thing.

If you wanted to save some money and stay a touch behind the curve there are some smoking deals around for AM4 and with the release of the new "3D" Ryzen 5 it would seem to indicate support from the manufacturer for some time forward.

My normal scheme is stay behind the curve. Buy the best product you can for a fraction of the launch price, bugs known and likely resolved. I think Ryzen 5xxx and Intel 12th gen fit that bill.

 

[Eximo]

14th gen is supposed to be a refresh of RaptorLake, so yes, one last hurrah for socket. No longer going to be Meteor/Arrow Lake. Probably see mobile next gen chips with the new naming scheme and 15th gen Arrow Lake on the desktop.

$1000

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 5800X3D 3.4 GHz 8-Core Processor ($299.99 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Thermalright Assassin X Refined SE ARGB 66.17 CFM CPU Cooler (Purchased For $20.00)
Motherboard: ASRock B550M PG RIPTIDE Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard ($109.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Silicon Power GAMING 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR4-3200 CL16 Memory (Purchased For $50.00)
Storage: TEAMGROUP Cardea Zero Z440 Graphene 1 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive (Purchased For $50.00)
Video Card: ASRock Radeon RX6700XT CLD 12G Radeon RX 6700 XT 12 GB Video Card ($329.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Lian Li LANCOOL 205M MESH MicroATX Mini Tower Case (Purchased For $80.00)
Power Supply: Corsair RM750e (2023) 750 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply (Purchased For $75.00)
Total: $1014.97
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2023-07-17 16:57 EDT-0400

$900, just drop the CPU to a regular 8 core.

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 5700X 3.4 GHz 8-Core Processor ($205.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: Thermalright Assassin X Refined SE ARGB 66.17 CFM CPU Cooler (Purchased For $20.00)
Motherboard: ASRock B550M PG RIPTIDE Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard ($109.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Silicon Power GAMING 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR4-3200 CL16 Memory (Purchased For $50.00)
Storage: TEAMGROUP Cardea Zero Z440 Graphene 1 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive (Purchased For $50.00)
Video Card: ASRock Radeon RX6700XT CLD 12G Radeon RX 6700 XT 12 GB Video Card ($329.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Lian Li LANCOOL 205M MESH MicroATX Mini Tower Case (Purchased For $80.00)
Power Supply: Corsair RM750e (2023) 750 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply (Purchased For $75.00)
Total: $920.97
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2023-07-17 16:58 EDT-0400

$700
Drop CPU to Ryzen 5500, you could stretch for the 5600X.
Drop down to the RX7600 or possibly RX6600XT if you can find a decent one.

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 5500 3.6 GHz 6-Core Processor ($99.00 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Thermalright Assassin X Refined SE ARGB 66.17 CFM CPU Cooler (Purchased For $20.00)
Motherboard: ASRock B550M PG RIPTIDE Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard ($109.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Silicon Power GAMING 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR4-3200 CL16 Memory (Purchased For $50.00)
Storage: TEAMGROUP Cardea Zero Z440 Graphene 1 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive (Purchased For $50.00)
Video Card: MSI MECH 2X CLASSIC OC Radeon RX 7600 8 GB Video Card ($269.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Lian Li LANCOOL 205M MESH MicroATX Mini Tower Case (Purchased For $80.00)
Power Supply: Corsair RM750e (2023) 750 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply (Purchased For $75.00)
Total: $753.98
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2023-07-17 16:59 EDT-0400

Intel would be closer to $900, or you could drop down to something like the i5-12400F and get it around $825

I would not bother replacing an i7-12700K at a later date, that is a pretty decent gaming chips for many years to come.

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: Intel Core i7-12700KF 3.6 GHz 12-Core Processor ($219.99 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Thermalright Assassin X Refined SE ARGB 66.17 CFM CPU Cooler (Purchased For $20.00)
Motherboard: ASRock B760M Pro RS/D4 Micro ATX LGA1700 Motherboard ($129.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Silicon Power GAMING 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR4-3200 CL16 Memory (Purchased For $50.00)
Storage: TEAMGROUP Cardea Zero Z440 Graphene 1 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive (Purchased For $50.00)
Video Card: MSI MECH 2X CLASSIC OC Radeon RX 7600 8 GB Video Card ($269.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Lian Li LANCOOL 205M MESH MicroATX Mini Tower Case (Purchased For $80.00)
Power Supply: Corsair RM750e (2023) 750 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply (Purchased For $75.00)
Total: $894.97
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2023-07-17 17:02 EDT-0400

 

[DJMTheDev]

14th gen is supposed to be a refresh of RaptorLake, so yes, one last hurrah for socket. No longer going to be Meteor/Arrow Lake. Probably see mobile next gen chips with the new naming scheme and 15th gen Arrow Lake on the desktop.

$1000

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 5800X3D 3.4 GHz 8-Core Processor ($299.99 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Thermalright Assassin X Refined SE ARGB 66.17 CFM CPU Cooler (Purchased For $20.00)
Motherboard: ASRock B550M PG RIPTIDE Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard ($109.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Silicon Power GAMING 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR4-3200 CL16 Memory (Purchased For $50.00)
Storage: TEAMGROUP Cardea Zero Z440 Graphene 1 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive (Purchased For $50.00)
Video Card: ASRock Radeon RX6700XT CLD 12G Radeon RX 6700 XT 12 GB Video Card ($329.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Lian Li LANCOOL 205M MESH MicroATX Mini Tower Case (Purchased For $80.00)
Power Supply: Corsair RM750e (2023) 750 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply (Purchased For $75.00)
Total: $1014.97
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2023-07-17 16:57 EDT-0400

$900, just drop the CPU to a regular 8 core.

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 5700X 3.4 GHz 8-Core Processor ($205.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: Thermalright Assassin X Refined SE ARGB 66.17 CFM CPU Cooler (Purchased For $20.00)
Motherboard: ASRock B550M PG RIPTIDE Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard ($109.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Silicon Power GAMING 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR4-3200 CL16 Memory (Purchased For $50.00)
Storage: TEAMGROUP Cardea Zero Z440 Graphene 1 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive (Purchased For $50.00)
Video Card: ASRock Radeon RX6700XT CLD 12G Radeon RX 6700 XT 12 GB Video Card ($329.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Lian Li LANCOOL 205M MESH MicroATX Mini Tower Case (Purchased For $80.00)
Power Supply: Corsair RM750e (2023) 750 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply (Purchased For $75.00)
Total: $920.97
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2023-07-17 16:58 EDT-0400

$700
Drop CPU to Ryzen 5500, you could stretch for the 5600X.
Drop down to the RX7600 or possibly RX6600XT if you can find a decent one.

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 5500 3.6 GHz 6-Core Processor ($99.00 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Thermalright Assassin X Refined SE ARGB 66.17 CFM CPU Cooler (Purchased For $20.00)
Motherboard: ASRock B550M PG RIPTIDE Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard ($109.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Silicon Power GAMING 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR4-3200 CL16 Memory (Purchased For $50.00)
Storage: TEAMGROUP Cardea Zero Z440 Graphene 1 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive (Purchased For $50.00)
Video Card: MSI MECH 2X CLASSIC OC Radeon RX 7600 8 GB Video Card ($269.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Lian Li LANCOOL 205M MESH MicroATX Mini Tower Case (Purchased For $80.00)
Power Supply: Corsair RM750e (2023) 750 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply (Purchased For $75.00)
Total: $753.98
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2023-07-17 16:59 EDT-0400

Intel would be closer to $900, or you could drop down to something like the i5-12400F and get it around $825

I would not bother replacing an i7-12700K at a later date, that is a pretty decent gaming chips for many years to come.

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: Intel Core i7-12700KF 3.6 GHz 12-Core Processor ($219.99 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Thermalright Assassin X Refined SE ARGB 66.17 CFM CPU Cooler (Purchased For $20.00)
Motherboard: ASRock B760M Pro RS/D4 Micro ATX LGA1700 Motherboard ($129.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Silicon Power GAMING 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR4-3200 CL16 Memory (Purchased For $50.00)
Storage: TEAMGROUP Cardea Zero Z440 Graphene 1 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive (Purchased For $50.00)
Video Card: MSI MECH 2X CLASSIC OC Radeon RX 7600 8 GB Video Card ($269.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Lian Li LANCOOL 205M MESH MicroATX Mini Tower Case (Purchased For $80.00)
Power Supply: Corsair RM750e (2023) 750 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply (Purchased For $75.00)
Total: $894.97
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2023-07-17 17:02 EDT-0400

Out of all these builds which do you think could run 1080p 144Hz for maybe 3-4 years before a new build?

 

[DJMTheDev]

So, to me, here is the 'rub', as it were.

AM5 is supposed to be supported in a similar way that AM4 was. So, even if you bit the bullet, returned the RAM you have to get a low/mid level R3/R5 rig with a GOOD motherboard, decent RAM and a decent GPU, then come around next year or so you have a nice possible upgrade path. Things to consider would be this BIOS snafu thing about burning CPU/mobo. I hear it is fixed but worth consideration.

IDK if 14th gen Intel is supposed to be supported by the current chipset. Intel's traditional methodology would indicate not so. That makes 13th gen a question as to whether it is a dead end product. (same as always with Intel). This would lead into questions about whether it was smart to wait and as it said all over this forum, if you are waiting on the next thing, there is always a next thing.

If you wanted to save some money and stay a touch behind the curve there are some smoking deals around for AM4 and with the release of the new "3D" Ryzen 5 it would seem to indicate support from the manufacturer for some time forward.

My normal scheme is stay behind the curve. Buy the best product you can for a fraction of the launch price, bugs known and likely resolved. I think Ryzen 5xxx and Intel 12th gen fit that bill.

Good to know! I'll definitely look into everything and tell you when I come with a build so I can ask your opinion.

 

[punkncat]

@Eximo puts a great deal of thought and practice into his recommendations. I would trust any of those builds above for various reasons. The only part I would actually change would be if going with Intel, bite the $25-30 extra to get the skew WITH onboard graphics. Ryzen doesn't make that an option on the 5xxx parts outside of the G skew which wouldn't make sense for this build. If 14th gen is going to be compatible with that motherboard that is just a plus IMO.

The recommended 5800X3D build is, IMO on point for a great current system to cost. Good VRAM overhead for the future as well, even on the older RX card.

 

[DJMTheDev]

@Eximo puts a great deal of thought and practice into his recommendations. I would trust any of those builds above for various reasons. The only part I would actually change would be if going with Intel, bite the $25-30 extra to get the skew WITH onboard graphics. Ryzen doesn't make that an option on the 5xxx parts outside of the G skew which wouldn't make sense for this build. If 14th gen is going to be compatible with that motherboard that is just a plus IMO.

The recommended 5800X3D build is, IMO on point for a great current system to cost. Good VRAM overhead for the future as well, even on the older RX card.

I heard the 7600 isn't that good so if I do go with one of those builds do you think it would be good to switch the 7600 with a 6700xt or a 6750xt because I can fit it in my budget? Also do you think the i7 or 5800X3D would be better if I plan to do a little productivity on the side because I heard the Intel chips are better for that.

 

[NormalLOL]

heres my take
PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 5600 3.5 GHz 6-Core Processor ($138.00 @ B&H)
CPU Cooler: Thermalright Assassin X Refined SE ARGB 66.17 CFM CPU Cooler (Purchased For $20.00)
Motherboard: ASRock B550M Phantom Gaming 4 Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard ($86.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Silicon Power GAMING 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR4-3200 CL16 Memory (Purchased For $50.00)
Storage: TEAMGROUP Cardea Zero Z440 Graphene 1 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive (Purchased For $50.00)
Video Card: MSI MECH 2X CLASSIC OC Radeon RX 7600 8 GB Video Card ($269.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Lian Li LANCOOL 205M MESH MicroATX Mini Tower Case (Purchased For $80.00)
Power Supply: Corsair RM750e (2023) 750 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply (Purchased For $75.00)
Total: $769.98
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2023-07-17 19:07 EDT-0400

 

[punkncat]

In regard to the graphics card I would:

Consider the VRAM onboard with high priority to a larger amount, especially within that realm of similar expected performance.

Pick the one you like the way it looks with the build better, does it have a backplate, and so on.


All in all you will likely be using the computer for tasks that are so mundane at times that the only other outlet of enjoyment is how it all looks and presents to you. The builds linked above are within what? 15-20% on the outside of differing performance?

@NormalLOL - you are, if I understand the OP correctly, leaving a good deal of money on the table with that build. It was $700 beyond the parts already owned.

 

[DJMTheDev]

In regard to the graphics card I would:

Consider the VRAM onboard with high priority to a larger amount, especially within that realm of similar expected performance.

Pick the one you like the way it looks with the build better, does it have a backplate, and so on.


All in all you will likely be using the computer for tasks that are so mundane at times that the only other outlet of enjoyment is how it all looks and presents to you. The builds linked above are within what? 15-20% on the outside of differing performance?

@NormalLOL - you are, if I understand the OP correctly, leaving a good deal of money on the table with that build. It was $700 beyond the parts already owned.

Looks of the build do matter to me but I will most likely use all of my budget on parts that can last me a good amount of time. 15-20% difference in performance does sound like quite a loss too. The main reason I wanted to upgrade the GPU is because many modern games can take up a lot of VRAM. Given that I may get this 6700xt instead but I would also like your opinion on it. https://www.newegg.com/asrock-radeon-rx-6700-xt-rx6700xt-cld-12g/p/N82E16814930056
It also comes with Starfield and I do plan on playing it so 🤷‍♂️ .

 

[Eximo]

Out of all these builds which do you think could run 1080p 144Hz for maybe 3-4 years before a new build?

Pretty much all of them, though 1440p isn't out of the question depending on the game, the difference is how quickly CPU performance may become an issue. 5800X3D is pretty much top marks and I don't see any problems in 3-4 years

8P cores is good to go for a long time. I replace every 3 or 4 generations myself, but gaming is still possible with much older CPUs. People still on DDR3 are probably the ones in need of upgrading the most about now if they want to keep gaming. Recent multiplayer games seriously start stressing older quad cores and FX processors. (Though plenty of single player games that would have zero issues with a strong enough GPU)

GPUs are replaced more frequently, so I tend to not count that. 1440p 144/165hz is still the sweet spot to me. This latest crop of 8GB GPUs shouldn't have too much trouble going forward as long as you keep settings reasonable. When targeting 144FPS, no need to run the highest settings, but still. A new GPU in even 2 years is certainly feasible if some new level of performance is needed. (More likely to be a technological need, mandatory ray-tracing, some built in AI engine that games start to rely on, who knows)