Build Advice First time building a PC

May 21, 2019
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Hello my name is Nick. I am a freshman in high school looking to build my own pc. I put together what I think is a good pc on pcpartpicker.com but I would like if some of you guys could look it over and help me out, since you guys definitely know what you are doing.

For some context:
I want to be able to play gta 5 with mods,
I want to be able to play Garry's Mod with out it crashing every 5 minutes,
My brother has a 750w power supply he is giving me,
I already have a good keyboard and mouse,
And I have a budget of $1,300.

Here is the link to my part list: https://pcpartpicker.com/user/powerball/saved/#view=nCGL23
Thank you in advance.
 
Quite an imbalanced build, using an outdated platform. For a $1300 budget, something like this would be miles better:

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD - Ryzen 5 2600X 3.6 GHz 6-Core Processor ($174.89 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: MSI - B450 TOMAHAWK ATX AM4 Motherboard ($109.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: Team - Vulcan 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3000 Memory ($72.89 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Samsung - 860 Evo 500 GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($77.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital - Caviar Blue 1 TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($45.40 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Zotac - GeForce RTX 2060 6 GB GAMING AMP Video Card ($369.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Cooler Master - MasterBox Pro 5 ATX Mid Tower Case ($69.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: Antec - Earthwatts Gold Pro 650 W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-modular ATX Power Supply ($69.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $991.13
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2019-05-21 22:07 EDT-0400


What exact power supply are you getting? Tell us the make and the model, it might not be good.

For lesser money, the above PC will give you better performance and will play more future games.
 

erik62905

Honorable
Jan 17, 2018
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Well add around $100 for an activated copy of windows and you can get this:

PCPartPicker Part List: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/9WTN8Y

CPU: AMD - Ryzen 7 2700X 3.7 GHz 8-Core Processor ($279.99 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master - MasterLiquid ML240L RGB 66.7 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($64.89 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: MSI - B450 TOMAHAWK ATX AM4 Motherboard ($109.89 @ OutletPC)
Memory: Corsair - Vengeance LPX 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 Memory ($94.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Samsung - 970 Evo Plus 250 GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive ($67.99 @ B&H)
Storage: Seagate - Barracuda 2 TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($59.89 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Gigabyte - GeForce RTX 2070 8 GB WINDFORCE Video Card ($478.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: Corsair - SPEC-05 ATX Mid Tower Case ($49.98 @ Newegg)
Total: $1206.61
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2019-05-21 22:23 EDT-0400
 

DMAN999

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Here is my recommendation:
https://pcpartpicker.com/list/jbYwLJ

The case I used is just a place holder because cases are a very personal choice.
You need to choose a case that you really like because you will probably be looking at it for 5 years or more.

PS
The Motherboard, CPU and RAM I listed are the same as my current rig and work extremely well together.
 
Last edited:
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I have to agree that you should be looking at newer parts. Even if you go with an Intel system, their newer processors add more cores at any given price level. As a result, even their $130 i3-8100 should be slightly faster than an i5-7400, and you certainly don't need a $200 motherboard for these processors, as it will make virtually no performance difference over one costing half as much. Likewise, unless you are shopping for a used graphics card, you can find newer, faster graphics cards in the GTX 1060's price range at this point.
 
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davew1860

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Feb 6, 2019
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Here is my recommendation:
https://pcpartpicker.com/list/jbYwLJ

The case I used is just a place holder because cases are a very personal choice.
You need to choose a case that you really like because you will probably be looking at it for 5 years or more.

PS
The Motherboard, CPU and RAM I listed are the same as my current rig and work extremely well together.

I also own the same motherboard and RAM. I can highly recommend them, too.
 
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davew1860

Prominent
Feb 6, 2019
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Well add around $100 for an activated copy of windows and you can get this:

PCPartPicker Part List: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/9WTN8Y

CPU: AMD - Ryzen 7 2700X 3.7 GHz 8-Core Processor ($279.99 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master - MasterLiquid ML240L RGB 66.7 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($64.89 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: MSI - B450 TOMAHAWK ATX AM4 Motherboard ($109.89 @ OutletPC)
Memory: Corsair - Vengeance LPX 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 Memory ($94.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Samsung - 970 Evo Plus 250 GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive ($67.99 @ B&H)
Storage: Seagate - Barracuda 2 TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($59.89 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Gigabyte - GeForce RTX 2070 8 GB WINDFORCE Video Card ($478.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: Corsair - SPEC-05 ATX Mid Tower Case ($49.98 @ Newegg)
Total: $1206.61
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2019-05-21 22:23 EDT-0400

This is my favorite build in the thread so far.

My best, succinct advice is to get at least 16GB of RAM and pool most of your funds into your GPU and CPU. However, do not skimp on anything, especially your PSU. Your budget allows for all of that to happen.
 
May 21, 2019
19
2
15
Quite an imbalanced build, using an outdated platform. For a $1300 budget, something like this would be miles better:

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD - Ryzen 5 2600X 3.6 GHz 6-Core Processor ($174.89 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: MSI - B450 TOMAHAWK ATX AM4 Motherboard ($109.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: Team - Vulcan 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3000 Memory ($72.89 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Samsung - 860 Evo 500 GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($77.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital - Caviar Blue 1 TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($45.40 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Zotac - GeForce RTX 2060 6 GB GAMING AMP Video Card ($369.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Cooler Master - MasterBox Pro 5 ATX Mid Tower Case ($69.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: Antec - Earthwatts Gold Pro 650 W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-modular ATX Power Supply ($69.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $991.13
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2019-05-21 22:07 EDT-0400


What exact power supply are you getting? Tell us the make and the model, it might not be good.

For lesser money, the above PC will give you better performance and will play more future games.

Honestly I think I might go with your build because it gives me enough money for a nice case and monitor. Also thank you so much as I have absolutely no clue as to what I’m doing. But just to be clear this will be able to run Gta 5 with mods on really good graphics right?
 
May 21, 2019
19
2
15
This is my favorite build in the thread so far.

My best, succinct advice is to get at least 16GB of RAM and pool most of your funds into your GPU and CPU. However, do not skimp on anything, especially your PSU. Your budget allows for all of that to happen.
I’m definitely getting 16gb of ram no matter what.
 
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DMAN999

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That Ryzen 5 2600x, MSI Tomahawk and RTX 2060 is a solid choice.
But I would recommend that you check to make sure that RAM will run at it's rated speed.
Check the Compatibility list on the MSI support page for that MB and/or check the RAM manufacturers site just to be safe.
If it only runs at 2133 MHz instead of 3000 MHz you will lose performance you paid for.
 
Honestly I think I might go with your build because it gives me enough money for a nice case and monitor. Also thank you so much as I have absolutely no clue as to what I’m doing. But just to be clear this will be able to run Gta 5 with mods on really good graphics right?
The build is more than capable of doing that, and I agree with DMAN999 about the RAM advice, you should check the motherboard's QVL for what RAM kit will run at 3000 MHz and buy that kit, since Ryzen CPU's benefit from fast RAM.
 
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DMAN999

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Just to give you an idea of how well that build will run current games, it should do as well as or slightly better than my Overclocked 2600 rig.
I game at 1080p/60 Hz and I get anywhere from 85 to 120 fps at Ultra settings on Far Cry 5, FC: New Dawn, AC Origins and every other current game I have played.
I have a GTX 1660 Ti and the GTX 2060 should do slightly better.