Question Help researching and buying a prebuilt gaming pc

[thtimberwolf]

I am currently gaming with the machine below.

Current Machine
HP 3400 Pro
CPU : intel i5-2300 @2.80GHz , cores:4 threads: 4
Chipset: Sandy Bridge
GPU: Integrated Intel HD 2000
RAM: 8 GB DDR 3 @ 665.1 MHz
Storage: Seagate 1TB Desktop HDD Hard Drive - Internal (ST1000DM003)
ST3250410AS SEAGATE 250GB 7200RPM SATA-II BUFFER: 16MB INTERNAL HD-ST25S41 HARD DRIVE P/n: ST3250410AS -SEAGATE
optical drive: hp DVD-RAM SW810
Monitor: DELL 2214 Resolution: FHD 1080p Refresh Rate: 60Hz Ports: VGA, DisplayPort, DVI-D (excluding DVI-D cables), USB
Peripherals: Keyboard: Dell M/N: Y-UK-Dell-1
Mouse: Titan Wired LED Gaming Mouse GA-0536
OS: Windows 10 Pro

budget $500~$1500

I am kooking at getting a gaming pc, I would like to be able to transfer my hard drives and optical drive to the new machine. I would also be using the monitor, keyboard and mouse from my current machine. I am looking mainly at system integrators. I am not sure which ones are good or bad. Looking for a machine that is durable and long lasting.

Future Gaming PC
Processor: I have heard they have problems with 13th and 14th gen intel processors. So I am looking towards the following processors:
AMD Ryzen 7
7700, 7700x, 7800x3d.
AMD Ryzen 5
7500, 7600, 7600x, 7600x3d.
I am not sure whether 6 cores and 12 threads or 8 cores and 16 threads would be better. Iam not interested in the AMD Ryzen 9 series. Are there other processors I should be looking at?

Video card: not sure what video card I know there is Radeon or NVIDIA RTX 4060, I am thinking about a video card with at least 8 GB of VRAM. I know I want to play in at least 1080p.

Storage; 1 or 2 Gb SSD

Memory: either 16 GB or 32 GB.

Games I own or would like to eventually play
Hogwarts Legacy, Cyberpunk 2077, Detroit Become Human, The Sims 4, Skyrim Special Edition, Ghostwire Tokyo, The Outer Worlds Spacer's Choice Edition, Deliver Us from Mars, Saints Row, Midnight Suns, Q.U.B. E 10th edition , Ghostrunner. I play many older games as well.

The machine would not only be used for gaming, but daily tasks (e-mail, word processing, spreadsheets) . I am not interested in streaming my games online.

Any help you can give me would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Lafong]

7800x3D is likely the best gaming choice among those you list.

Any "pre-built" you buy will likely include drives, whether you want them or not. Maybe you have some use for your existing spinner drives.

What system integrators are you considering?

May you can narrow down that 500 to 1500 budget. You aren't going to get any prebuilt "gaming" PC for 500 worth talking about.

Would you say this will be 70 percent a gaming machine or 30 percent? The importance of gaming will influence your GPU and CPU choices...and therefore your budget and how to split it up. I reckon any of your CPU choices would be at least tolerable for spreadsheets, Word, email.

 

[Why_Me]

You could do something such as this and with all the youtube vids along with the posters here, building your new PC would be easy as pie.

https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256806810965036.html
AMD Ryzen 5 7500F $134.49

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU Cooler: *ID-COOLING FROZN A620 PRO SE 58 CFM CPU Cooler ($29.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: *MSI PRO B650-S WIFI ATX AM5 Motherboard ($129.99 @ MSI)
Memory: *TEAMGROUP T-Create Expert 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR5-6000 CL30 Memory ($84.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: *MSI SPATIUM M482 Eco-Pack 2 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive ($89.99 @ MSI)
Video Card: *ASRock Challenger OC Radeon RX 7700 XT 12 GB Video Card ($389.97 @ Newegg)
Case: *Montech AIR 903 BASE ATX Mid Tower Case ($59.88 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: *NZXT C750 (2022) 750 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply ($84.95 @ Amazon)
Monitor: *MSI G244F E2 23.8" 1920 x 1080 180 Hz Monitor ($109.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $979.75
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
*Lowest price parts chosen from parametric criteria
Generated by PCPartPicker 2024-11-20 18:03 EST-0500

https://www.tomshardware.com/software/windows/windows-11-free-or-cheap

 

[Misgar]

Case: *Montech AIR 903 BASE ATX Mid Tower Case ($59.88 @ Newegg)

I would like to be able to transfer my hard drives and optical drive to the new machine.

From what I can see, that Montech case does not have a 5.25in bay with front panel access for transferring an optical drive from the old case.

Modern prebuilt "gaming" systems tend to dispense with "old fashioned" 3.5 and 5.25in bays, in favour of multiple cooling fans.

 

[Why_Me]

From what I can see, that Montech case does not have a 5.25in bay with front panel access for transferring an optical drive from the old case.

Modern prebuilt "gaming" systems tend to dispense with "old fashioned" 3.5 and 5.25in bays, in favour of multiple cooling fans.

PCPartPicker Part List

Case: *Fractal Design Pop Air ATX Mid Tower Case ($79.97 @ Amazon)
Total: $79.97
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
*Lowest price parts chosen from parametric criteria
Generated by PCPartPicker 2024-11-30 19:22 EST-0500

Pop Air

Fractal fuse flair with function in the new Pop series of cases that doesn’t skimp on aesthetics or flexibility. The entire series offers a solid foundation and excellent build quality, giving all users plenty of options and room to maneuver.

www.fractal-design.com

 

[Misgar]

Case: *Fractal Design Pop Air ATX Mid Tower Case ($79.97 @ Amazon)

I'm confused by the description of the Pop Air which says it has "two 5.25in drive mounts". Looking at a picture taken from the link above, I cannot work out where you'd mount a DVD/Blu-ray drive.

This view of a white case Pop Air case provides a clearer view of the front panel. which appears to be taken up by fans only.

Gamers Nexus talks about 20 different variants of the Pop Air, so perhaps there's one with the necessary hardware to mount several 5.25 and 3.5in drives? Obviously you'd need to choose the correct version for your needs.

I have an older design Fractal Design Core 1100, with two clearly visible 5.25in bays at the top. The vertical panel inside (near the front) allows the mounting of three 3.5" (inward facing) and three 2.5" drives (outward facing). Not ideal and it won't take a full ATX mobo, but it does provide free air flow for a large GPU card.
https://www.fractal-design.com/products/cases/core/core-1100/black/

I also have a TrueNAS server build in a Fractal Design R5 case, with 8 hard disks (mounted in the white cradles). Just to add to the confusion, the R5 comes in a number of different versions, with various arrangements and numbers of hard disk cradles. Some variants have fewer drive cradles. The R5 takes a full ATX mobo.

In the version below, you can unscrew and remove the upper 5-bay drive housing, or the lower 3-bay housing, or both bays (if you have no hard drives).

https://www.fractal-design.com/products/cases/define/define-r5/blackout/

These cases aren't much use if you like pretty coloured lights shining out of every orifice.

 

[Why_Me]

I'm confused by the description of the Pop Air which says it has "two 5.25in drive mounts". Looking at a picture taken from the link above, I cannot work out where you'd mount a DVD/Blu-ray drive.

This view of a white case Pop Air case provides a clearer view of the front panel. which appears to be taken up by fans only.

Gamers Nexus talks about 20 different variants of the Pop Air, so perhaps there's one with the necessary hardware to mount several 5.25 and 3.5in drives? Obviously you'd need to choose the correct version for your needs.

I have an older design Fractal Design Core 1100, with two clearly visible 5.25in bays at the top. The vertical panel inside (near the front) allows the mounting of three 3.5" (inward facing) and three 2.5" drives (outward facing). Not ideal and it won't take a full ATX mobo, but it does provide free air flow for a large GPU card.
https://www.fractal-design.com/products/cases/core/core-1100/black/

I also have a TrueNAS server build in a Fractal Design R5 case, with 8 hard disks (mounted in the white cradles). Just to add to the confusion, the R5 comes in a number of different versions, with various arrangements and numbers of hard disk cradles. Some variants have fewer drive cradles. The R5 takes a full ATX mobo.

In the version below, you can unscrew and remove the upper 5-bay drive housing, or the lower 3-bay housing, or both bays (if you have no hard drives).

https://www.fractal-design.com/products/cases/define/define-r5/blackout/

These cases aren't much use if you like pretty coloured lights shining out of every orifice.

1:05 mark. They're located at the bottom (covered by a drawer).

View: https://youtu.be/W79wfESM4SU?si=806zT5ykGWuMLNx4&t=65