Build Advice First gaming PC. Am I missing something?

[mjda]

I should start by saying this isn't my first PC build. It's just that the last one I built was in 2015 and it used onboard graphics, stock CPU fan, and a $26 case, if that tells you anything about how simple that build was.

This will be my first time building a gaming PC and I'll be honest in that I almost have no idea what I'm doing but I've been watching a ton of videos and doing a ton of reading. Anyways, I was hoping some of y'all would take a look at what I've got in my cart and give me any tips/pointers or let me know if I'm flat out missing something.

I should start by saying that the graphics card isn't something I can change. I was lucky enough to get one from Newegg Shuffle so, at least for now, I'm just going to stick with what I was able to get.

CPU: Intel i7-12700K
Cooler: Corsair iCUE H150i Elite Capellix (this is another part I'd really rather not change because I already have it and the LGA 1700 retrofit)
MOBO: ASUS TUF Gaming Z690-Plus WiFi D4
RAM: Corsair Dominator Platinum RGB 32GB (4x8) DDR4 3600
GPU: Gigabyte Gaming OC RTX 3070 (this is something I know absolutely nothing about but it's what I was able to get so we're rolling with it)
Case: Corsair iCUE 5000X RGB
PSU: Corsair 750w RMx Series
Storage: 1Tb WD Black SN850 NVMe M.2 2280

I've also added Win10 as my OS and picked up some thermal paste (not sure if I even need it or if it's pre-applied).

I'm using a lot of Corsair stuff mainly because I want to play with the RGB colors and I figure if everything, or almost everything, is the same brand it's probably going to be easier to control for someone who has never done anything with this stuff before. Also, I do like having matching brands as much as possible because of my OCD.

Also, I'm still not 100% sure what keyboard/mouse or monitor I'll be going with. I'm guessing I'll just pick up one of the Corsair sets they have at Best Buy for my keyboard/mouse combo. May do the same with the monitor (pick it up at Best Buy that is). Any recommendations here would be awesome.

I guess also worth noting is that I'm not a huge gamer (yet). Right now I have an Xbox One and I only play CoD, Farming Sim, and The Hunter (mostly Farming Sim these days). I'd like to be able to play all of those games, and possibly add more to my lineup in the future.

Thanks, in advance, for any advice y'all are willing to give. Any and all feedback here is much appreciated.

 

[Roland Of Gilead]

I should start by saying this isn't my first PC build. It's just that the last one I built was in 2015 and it used onboard graphics, stock CPU fan, and a $26 case, if that tells you anything about how simple that build was.

This will be my first time building a gaming PC and I'll be honest in that I almost have no idea what I'm doing but I've been watching a ton of videos and doing a ton of reading. Anyways, I was hoping some of y'all would take a look at what I've got in my cart and give me any tips/pointers or let me know if I'm flat out missing something.

I should start by saying that the graphics card isn't something I can change. I was lucky enough to get one from Newegg Shuffle so, at least for now, I'm just going to stick with what I was able to get.

CPU: Intel i7-12700K
Cooler: Corsair iCUE H150i Elite Capellix (this is another part I'd really rather not change because I already have it and the LGA 1700 retrofit)
MOBO: ASUS TUF Gaming Z690-Plus WiFi D4
RAM: Corsair Dominator Platinum RGB 32GB (4x8) DDR4 3200
GPU: Gigabyte Gaming OC RTX 3070 (this is something I know absolutely nothing about but it's what I was able to get so we're rolling with it)
Case: Corsair iCUE 5000X RGB
PSU: Corsair RMx Series (not sure what size to go with here...right now I've got the 1000w in my cart so I know I'm covered)
Storage: 1Tb WD Black SN850 NVMe M.2 2280

I've also added Win10 as my OS and picked up some thermal paste (not sure if I even need it or if it's pre-applied).

I'm using a lot of Corsair stuff mainly because I want to play with the RGB colors and I figure if everything, or almost everything, is the same brand it's probably going to be easier to control for someone who has never done anything with this stuff before. Also, I do like having matching brands as much as possible because of my OCD.

Also, I'm still not 100% sure what keyboard/mouse or monitor I'll be going with. I'm guessing I'll just pick up one of the Corsair sets they have at Best Buy for my keyboard/mouse combo. May do the same with the monitor (pick it up at Best Buy that is). Any recommendations here would be awesome.

I guess also worth noting is that I'm not a huge gamer (yet). Right now I have an Xbox One and I only play CoD, Farming Sim, and The Hunter (mostly Farming Sim these days). I'd like to be able to play all of those games, and possibly add more to my lineup in the future.

Thanks, in advance, for any advice y'all are willing to give. Any and all feedback here is much appreciated.

Hey there,

That's a pretty solid build all round, and specially so with the 12700k. A stellar CPU. You've chosen some really decent parts, and will stomp all over 1440p high hz and high FPS gaming (for whatever games you choose to play).

There are some small things to look at. I'd suggest getting faster ram. You're CPU/Mobo can do much more than 3200mhz. I'd say 3600mhz as a min, but you should be able to get all the way up to 4400/4600mhz with the right choice. edit: actually up to 5333mhz!! Which is insane. You could make the argument for getting a DDR5 mobo, so as to not have to upgrade that down the line, when DDR5 overtakes DDR4 in terms of performance.

For PSU, you defo don't need a 1000w. The general rule of thumb is your GPU requirements +20%. So for the 3070 it's 650w, but getting a decent 750w will give you room for a little more power hungry components down the line. There are lots of decent PSU, like the aforementioned RMx, there's also RMi, AX, Seasonic Prime, EVGA Supernova Ga.

In terms of monitors a 1440p 165hz Gsync/freesync or so would really compliment your system. With a stronger GPU you could go 4k, but 1440p is very nice.

Other than that, I wouldn't change much else.

P.S I have a similar affinity with certain brands, and Corsair is one.! A good keyboard, and my next buy, is the K70 Low profile mechanical. It's glorious! I go to my local store to use one, until I get paid this month Then it's MINE!

 

[King_V]

I'd concur with @keith12 the PSU . . going with a known good model, 750W should be plenty, and the Corsair RM or RMx are excellent choices in that regard.

Likewise I agree on the faster RAM would also give a bit of an edge. Not sure if it gives a whole lot of benefit, but faster RAM can generally be had for not much more money.

I'm something of a fan of ultra-wide monitors (21:9 or so aspect ratio) for gaming, so I'd suggest going either with 2560x1080, or 3440x1440, for resolution. I'm not a believer in the ultra-high-refresh rates, though, so I personally wouldn't pay extra for faster. 144Hz is very common, though, honestly, I'd go with a monitor that topped out at even only 100Hz, if it had all the other features I wanted.

 

[mjda]

There are some small things to look at. I'd suggest getting faster ram. You're CPU/Mobo can do much more than 3200mhz. I'd say 3600mhz as a min, but you should be able to get all the way up to 4400/4600mhz with the right choice. edit: actually up to 5333mhz!! Which is insane. You could make the argument for getting a DDR5 mobo, so as to not have to upgrade that down the line, when DDR5 overtakes DDR4 in terms of performance.

I was considering a faster RAM but I saw that those speeds had the (OC) next to them so I wasn't sure if that would work out of the box or if I'd have to do something that I have no clue about to get it to work. I've never overclocked a system before and really haven't even looked into it at all, which is why I just decided to go with the one that didn't have the (OC) with it. I also wasn't sure what kind of actual difference it would make. I may do some reading today and find out if it's something I can do easily or if it's too complicated for me to attempt right now.

Also thank you @keith12 and @King_V for the info regarding the PSU. I'll definitely swap that out for a smaller one.

 

[helper800]

Personally this is what I would do; I would change over to the 12600k considering you will be gaming the vast majority of time and the difference in the 12x00k possessors is minimal for gaming. I added some Corsair peripherals that I know are good and have personally used or own/ed. I added a 600 dollar 1440p monitor as a placeholder because monitor preference is extremely varied. I am personally fine with a 144-170hz 1440p screen with a 16:9 ratio at 27 inches. I would avoid 1440p at 32inches because the pixels per inch are low enough that it bothers me personally. I also added the corsair 4000D airflow because air is good for components. With the x5000 case it has a large glass panel in front of the front case fans blocking most of the readily available airflow.

*edit; 4x8gb kits of RAM are not as good as 2x16gb kits because it limits you to 32gb and it is harder to run 4 sticks stable than 2 sticks.

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: Intel Core i5-12600K 3.7 GHz 10-Core Processor ($294.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: Corsair iCUE H150i ELITE CAPELLIX 75 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler (Purchased For $0.00)
Motherboard: Asus TUF GAMING Z690-PLUS WIFI D4 ATX LGA1700 Motherboard ($289.99 @ ASUS)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance RGB RT 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR4-3600 CL16 Memory ($154.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 970 EVO Plus 2 TB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive ($213.00 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce RTX 3070 8 GB GAMING OC Video Card (Purchased For $0.00)
Case: Corsair 4000D Airflow ATX Mid Tower Case ($97.49 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: Corsair RMx (2018) 750 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply ($104.57 @ Amazon)
Monitor: Asus ROG Strix XG27AQM 27.0" 2560x1440 270 Hz Monitor ($692.23 @ Adorama)
Keyboard: Corsair K70 RGB TKL CHAMPION SERIES Wired Gaming Keyboard ($89.99 @ Amazon)
Mouse: Corsair M65 RGB ELITE Wired Optical Mouse ($46.73 @ Amazon)
Headphones: Corsair HS70 PRO 7.1 Channel Headset ($79.99 @ Best Buy)
Total: $2063.97
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2022-01-24 14:01 EST-0500

 

[helper800]

I was considering a faster RAM but I saw that those speeds had the (OC) next to them so I wasn't sure if that would work out of the box or if I'd have to do something that I have no clue about to get it to work. I've never overclocked a system before and really haven't even looked into it at all, which is why I just decided to go with the one that didn't have the (OC) with it. I also wasn't sure what kind of actual difference it would make. I may do some reading today and find out if it's something I can do easily or if it's too complicated for me to attempt right now.

Also thank you @keith12 and @King_V for the info regarding the PSU. I'll definitely swap that out for a smaller one.

The RAM speeds and timings are not very beneficial considering the cost increase for it over some of the "slower" RAM kits on Intel CPUs. However if you want fast RAM i'd say go big or get the cheaper RAM. Fast DDR4 RAM would be something like a 2x16gb kit at 3600mghz with CL14-14-14-34 or CL14-15-15-35 or CL14-16-16-36.

 

[DRagor]

Others covered most topics, so I'll just add a word or two about

I'm using a lot of Corsair stuff mainly because I want to play with the RGB colors and I figure if everything, or almost everything, is the same brand it's probably going to be easier to control

That's actually a very smart move, because if you would go with different brands controlling RGB could become VERY difficult, if not outright impossible in some cases.

 

[NightHawkRMX]

I would agree that your parts list is all compatible and looks good.

The 12600k will offer roughly the same gaming performance but the 12700k does offer better power overall so it's still a good choice if you can afford it. Neither is a bad choice.

A 750w RMx would do the trick, although higher wattage would never be a bad idea if you can afford it as it may be beneficial if you choose to upgrade your graphics card down the line.

I like the choice of ddr4 as it is more available and much better value than ddr5 at the current time. 3200mhz is fine, faster ram such as 3600mhz will provide a very slight performance increase but probably not very noticable at all

 

[Roland Of Gilead]

I was considering a faster RAM but I saw that those speeds had the (OC) next to them so I wasn't sure if that would work out of the box or if I'd have to do something that I have no clue about to get it to work. I've never overclocked a system before and really haven't even looked into it at all, which is why I just decided to go with the one that didn't have the (OC) with it. I also wasn't sure what kind of actual difference it would make. I may do some reading today and find out if it's something I can do easily or if it's too complicated for me to attempt right now.

Also thank you @keith12 and @King_V for the info regarding the PSU. I'll definitely swap that out for a smaller one.

So for the ram, whilst it technically 'is' an overclock, it's simply takes a switch of an option in the bios to enable it (XMP). Pretty straight forward.

Some good all round advice from the other posters too. You can make some minor improvements to maximize your experience.

I don't disagree with the 12600k as the best band for buck gamer, but the 12700k will give you a little more longevity and will ensure that you will not have any issues either in gaming or any kind of multitasking.

 

[Roland Of Gilead]

Personally this is what I would do; I would change over to the 12600k considering you will be gaming the vast majority of time and the difference in the 12x00k possessors is minimal for gaming. I added some Corsair peripherals that I know are good and have personally used or own/ed. I added a 600 dollar 1440p monitor as a placeholder because monitor preference is extremely varied. I am personally fine with a 144-170hz 1440p screen with a 16:9 ratio at 27 inches. I would avoid 1440p at 32inches because the pixels per inch are low enough that it bothers me personally. I also added the corsair 4000D airflow because air is good for components. With the x5000 case it has a large glass panel in front of the front case fans blocking most of the readily available airflow.

*edit; 4x8gb kits of RAM are not as good as 2x16gb kits because it limits you to 32gb and it is harder to run 4 sticks stable than 2 sticks.

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: Intel Core i5-12600K 3.7 GHz 10-Core Processor ($294.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: Corsair iCUE H150i ELITE CAPELLIX 75 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler (Purchased For $0.00)
Motherboard: Asus TUF GAMING Z690-PLUS WIFI D4 ATX LGA1700 Motherboard ($289.99 @ ASUS)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance RGB RT 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR4-3600 CL16 Memory ($154.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 970 EVO Plus 2 TB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive ($213.00 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce RTX 3070 8 GB GAMING OC Video Card (Purchased For $0.00)
Case: Corsair 4000D Airflow ATX Mid Tower Case ($97.49 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: Corsair RMx (2018) 750 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply ($104.57 @ Amazon)
Monitor: Asus ROG Strix XG27AQM 27.0" 2560x1440 270 Hz Monitor ($692.23 @ Adorama)
Keyboard: Corsair K70 RGB TKL CHAMPION SERIES Wired Gaming Keyboard ($89.99 @ Amazon)
Mouse: Corsair M65 RGB ELITE Wired Optical Mouse ($46.73 @ Amazon)
Headphones: Corsair HS70 PRO 7.1 Channel Headset ($79.99 @ Best Buy)
Total: $2063.97
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2022-01-24 14:01 EST-0500

Oh, nice. Drooling.com Really nice build.

 

[Roland Of Gilead]

Personally this is what I would do; I would change over to the 12600k considering you will be gaming the vast majority of time and the difference in the 12x00k possessors is minimal for gaming. I added some Corsair peripherals that I know are good and have personally used or own/ed. I added a 600 dollar 1440p monitor as a placeholder because monitor preference is extremely varied. I am personally fine with a 144-170hz 1440p screen with a 16:9 ratio at 27 inches. I would avoid 1440p at 32inches because the pixels per inch are low enough that it bothers me personally. I also added the corsair 4000D airflow because air is good for components. With the x5000 case it has a large glass panel in front of the front case fans blocking most of the readily available airflow.

*edit; 4x8gb kits of RAM are not as good as 2x16gb kits because it limits you to 32gb and it is harder to run 4 sticks stable than 2 sticks.

*edit; 4x8gb kits of RAM are not as good as 2x16gb kits because it limits you to 32gb and it is harder to run 4 sticks stable than 2 sticks.

Does a 2 x 16gb dual ranked set make sense here?

 

[Roland Of Gilead]

*edit; 4x8gb kits of RAM are not as good as 2x16gb kits because it limits you to 32gb and it is harder to run 4 sticks stable than 2 sticks.

Does a 2 x 16gb dual ranked set make sense here?

 

[mjda]

So based on some of your suggestions, I did decide to go with a smaller (750w) PSU and I used that savings to upgrade to 3600Mhz RAM. Probably won't be a difference that I'll notice, but I'd rather have it and not need it then need it and not have it, especially if it doesn't affect the budget.

I did decide to keep with the 4x8Gb sticks of RAM, simply because I like the look of having all 4 slots full. I may see a slight performance hit that way, but (at least for me, for now) I think it'll be worth it to have them all full.

I'm also looking at the other Corsair cases (4000D and 5000D). While I do like the look of the 5000X much more, I don't want the glass front to limit the airflow so much that I have heat issues.

Thanks, everyone, for your replies so far. Hopefully in the next day or so I'll get things pinned down and be able to get everything ordered and on the way.

 

[helper800]

Does a 2 x 16gb dual ranked set make sense here?

It certainly can, 16gb has been nice for a few years now. With DDR4 eventually going the way of the dinosaur I believe right now that a 32gb kit will save some money in the long term if the op is going to keep the build for 4+ years as DDR4 becomes more scarce.

 

[mjda]

It certainly can, 16gb has been nice for a few years now. With DDR4 eventually going the way of the dinosaur I believe right now that a 32gb kit will save some money in the long term if the op is going to keep the build for 4+ years as DDR4 becomes more scarce.

My current PC was built in 2015. I certainly don't want the new one to last that long, but I'd imagine around 4 years will be somewhere in the ballpark of when I'd expect to be in the market again.

By the way, I went ahead and pulled the trigger on everything tonight. It should all be here by Thursday or Friday so hopefully I'll have time this weekend to put it all together and see what it can do. I'll be hitting up Best Buy this weekend for the monitor and keyboard/mouse. Definitely going to go with something that was suggested here, assuming they have anything close in stock.

Thanks, again, for all of your tips. I may end up having to come back to this thread and do a little re-ordering if something doesn't work. Ha!

 

[mjda]

Just wanted to stop in and say thanks to all of you who pitched in with your advice on my build. I'm happy to say that I finally got time to put it all together this weekend and everything, so far, seems to be working perfectly.

I still haven't gotten a new monitor so I'm still on an old 1080p but I don't foresee any issues when I upgrade to a 1440p monitor.

Everything in this build is what is listed in my original post in this thread, except I did add a single fan to the back of the case to fill that void where one goes.

Here's how it turned out.

I'll probably be adding some RGB strips somewhere just to add some more internal case lighting and will probably add some to the back of my monitor once I settle on which me I'm going to get. It's also obvious to me that I'm in need of a much larger desk now. Other than that, I'm pretty happy with how it turned out and, especially, with the fact that my first gaming computer was a success. That's definitely, in part, thanks to you all for helping me make sure all my parts were mailed down before I ordered. Thanks again!

 

[DRagor]

Here's how it turned out.

That's a really nice Christmas tree! Hopefully it will work as good as it looks. And yeah, you definitely need larger desk.

 

[King_V]

Lookin' pretty good, @mjda !

 

[helper800]

Looks sweet man, nice job!

 

[Roland Of Gilead]

Just wanted to stop in and say thanks to all of you who pitched in with your advice on my build. I'm happy to say that I finally got time to put it all together this weekend and everything, so far, seems to be working perfectly.

I still haven't gotten a new monitor so I'm still on an old 1080p but I don't foresee any issues when I upgrade to a 1440p monitor.

Everything in this build is what is listed in my original post in this thread, except I did add a single fan to the back of the case to fill that void where one goes.

Here's how it turned out.

I'll probably be adding some RGB strips somewhere just to add some more internal case lighting and will probably add some to the back of my monitor once I settle on which me I'm going to get. It's also obvious to me that I'm in need of a much larger desk now. Other than that, I'm pretty happy with how it turned out and, especially, with the fact that my first gaming computer was a success. That's definitely, in part, thanks to you all for helping me make sure all my parts were mailed down before I ordered. Thanks again!

Nice!! Like the dark blue accent. So.......how are the numbers? Up to expectations? Throw some CPUz and Cinebench numbers our way

 

[mjda]

Nice!! Like the dark blue accent. So.......how are the numbers? Up to expectations? Throw some CPUz and Cinebench numbers our way

No clue what that even means, but I'll try to figure it out this afternoon and see what I can do.

 

[helper800]

No clue what that even means, but I'll try to figure it out this afternoon and see what I can do.

Cinebench R23 is a CPU synthetic test and stress testing program. It gives you a score for your CPU after its done. CPUz gives you a lot of valuable information about most of your motherboard settings for your CPU and also has a CPU benchmarking tool.

 

[mjda]

Cinebench R23 is a CPU synthetic test and stress testing program. It gives you a score for your CPU after its done. CPUz gives you a lot of valuable information about most of your motherboard settings for your CPU and also has a CPU benchmarking tool.

Thank you, I found them. The CPU-Z results are here: https://valid.x86.fr/a7yzdv

There was some kind of error during the Cinebench test. I'm not sure what it was and the debug file isn't where it said it would be, or I misread it. I'll let the system cool of a bit and try it again later.

 

[helper800]

Thanks you, I found them. The CPU-Z results are here: https://valid.x86.fr/a7yzdv

There was some kind of error during the Cinebench test. I'm not sure what it was and the debug file isn't where it said it would be, or I misread it. I'll let the system cool of a bit and try it again later.

You need a gaming monitor my friend.

 

[mjda]

You need a gaming monitor my friend.

Definitely at the top of the list. Just haven't found one where I think "that's the one" just yet. Been looking on Newegg but I just don't know enough about it to know what I'm looking for and none of the ones at Best Buy were "the one" either.