- Feb 23, 2020
- 89
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After years of Nintendo Switch, it was finally time for a new system for my son. Didn't really want to go in the direction of a new console because I figured a new PC could also be used for school work and some streaming, so I started laying out the possible parts a few weeks ago. Wound up hitting the go button when a couple parts went on sale...
Motherboard: MSI Pro Z790-A WiFi ProSeries (133.66) Amazon Warehouse
CPU: Intel 14600K (299.99) Amazon
Cooler: Thermalright Phantom Spirit 120 SE ARGB (35.99) Amazon
SSD: NVMe M.2 AData Legend 900 (109.99) Amazon
RAM: Crucial 32 GB - 2x16gb DDR5 (94.99) Amazon
GPU: ZOTAC Gaming GeForce RTX 3060 Twin Edge OC 12GB GDDR6 (266.79) Amazon Warehouse
Sound Card: Creative Sound BlasterX AE-5 Plus Pure Edition (95.28) Amazon Warehouse
PSU: Seasonic GX-850 (129.00) - Micro Center
Case: Musetex ATX Y6 (84.99) Amazon
-----pack of 3 ARGB fans to replace the case fans (12.99) Amazon
OS: Windows 10 Pro - OEM ($21.00) ...updated to Win11 Pro.
The CPU drove the build. I had it narrowed down to a couple versions of i5 and i7 cores. The decision became easy with the performance of the i5-14600K. For anywhere from $20-$40 more over the other CPUs I had eyes on and the increased performance (PassMark) it had over all of them, I pulled the trigger. Found a AmWarehouse MB that I had some experience with on the cheap and then the other components were buying high on performance over newness and slightly increased prices.
Flashed the BIOS on the MB before putting the 14th gen CPU in. No issues. Had my son working with me so we Installed the CPU, the RAM, NVMe, and the cooler. Fired it up on another PC and it posted w/o any issues. Installed OS. No issues. Fast AF!
We installed the MB in the case. The case is a little odd. It was not difficult to work with, but the cabling was at the top rather than the bottom, as I am used to. Nevertheless, got all the cables managed, then had to deal with the fans and ARGB - something I had never done before. Getting that fit-a-ment right was frustrating at times - just really close quarters and making sure wires weren't near fans was a little bit of a challenge.
Anyway, we got it done and it is fast and plays all of his games. Red Dead 2, Fortnight, NBA... It's a winner.
Did the stress tests, CPU-Z and HWMonitor the and PassMark Performance Test and it's running fast and cool. CPU never reached 72C. Amazed.
I know at some point the GPU will probably be upgraded, but there's no rush on that now. Maybe some more storage if he gets the Playstaion Pass or the XBox Pass, who knows. It's running great.
If there are any tweek suggestions on this build, I'm listening. I'll post a couple pics tomorrow.
Motherboard: MSI Pro Z790-A WiFi ProSeries (133.66) Amazon Warehouse
CPU: Intel 14600K (299.99) Amazon
Cooler: Thermalright Phantom Spirit 120 SE ARGB (35.99) Amazon
SSD: NVMe M.2 AData Legend 900 (109.99) Amazon
RAM: Crucial 32 GB - 2x16gb DDR5 (94.99) Amazon
GPU: ZOTAC Gaming GeForce RTX 3060 Twin Edge OC 12GB GDDR6 (266.79) Amazon Warehouse
Sound Card: Creative Sound BlasterX AE-5 Plus Pure Edition (95.28) Amazon Warehouse
PSU: Seasonic GX-850 (129.00) - Micro Center
Case: Musetex ATX Y6 (84.99) Amazon
-----pack of 3 ARGB fans to replace the case fans (12.99) Amazon
OS: Windows 10 Pro - OEM ($21.00) ...updated to Win11 Pro.
The CPU drove the build. I had it narrowed down to a couple versions of i5 and i7 cores. The decision became easy with the performance of the i5-14600K. For anywhere from $20-$40 more over the other CPUs I had eyes on and the increased performance (PassMark) it had over all of them, I pulled the trigger. Found a AmWarehouse MB that I had some experience with on the cheap and then the other components were buying high on performance over newness and slightly increased prices.
Flashed the BIOS on the MB before putting the 14th gen CPU in. No issues. Had my son working with me so we Installed the CPU, the RAM, NVMe, and the cooler. Fired it up on another PC and it posted w/o any issues. Installed OS. No issues. Fast AF!
We installed the MB in the case. The case is a little odd. It was not difficult to work with, but the cabling was at the top rather than the bottom, as I am used to. Nevertheless, got all the cables managed, then had to deal with the fans and ARGB - something I had never done before. Getting that fit-a-ment right was frustrating at times - just really close quarters and making sure wires weren't near fans was a little bit of a challenge.
Anyway, we got it done and it is fast and plays all of his games. Red Dead 2, Fortnight, NBA... It's a winner.
Did the stress tests, CPU-Z and HWMonitor the and PassMark Performance Test and it's running fast and cool. CPU never reached 72C. Amazed.
I know at some point the GPU will probably be upgraded, but there's no rush on that now. Maybe some more storage if he gets the Playstaion Pass or the XBox Pass, who knows. It's running great.
If there are any tweek suggestions on this build, I'm listening. I'll post a couple pics tomorrow.
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