Build Advice Help with a planned gaming build ?

[Jawzzzzz]

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: Intel Core i5-13600K 3.5 GHz 14-Core Processor ($270.00 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Thermalright Frost Commander 140 BLACK 95.5 CFM CPU Cooler ($47.90 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: MSI MAG Z790 TOMAHAWK WIFI ATX LGA1700 Motherboard ($218.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws S5 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR5-6000 CL36 Memory ($91.00 @ Amazon)
Storage: Seagate FireCuda 520 500 GB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive ($35.00 @ Amazon)
Storage: Crucial MX500 2 TB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($79.99 @ B&H)
Video Card: Gigabyte GAMING OC GeForce RTX 4070 Ti 12 GB Video Card ($790.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Corsair 4000D Airflow ATX Mid Tower Case ($79.98 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: Corsair RM850x (2021) 850 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply ($129.99 @ Amazon)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 11 Home OEM - DVD 64-bit ($104.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $1848.83
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2023-11-22 23:23 EST-0500

This helps! Thanks so much

 

[Darkbreeze]

 

[Lucky_SLS]

Few thing to keep in mind:

@Darkbreeze suggested a MX500 Sata based SSD, i dont know why. and a 500gb nvme ssd. when the budget is not constrained, you can definitely go for 2tb pcie 4.0 models. once you start to install more than 5 AAA games, it fills up fast.

i know games dont benefit much from pcie 4.0 speeds, but for the price difference its definitely justified.

Ryzen 7800X3D is the current gaming cpu king. it runs cooler and uses less power than the 13600k.

The Intel Z790 is end of life and wont support next gen CPUs. So it makes sense to get the AM5 platform and have upgrade paths and generally enjoy better performance.

for a 2k 240hz monitor, a 4080 would be more than enough. a 4070ti with 12gb VRAM might be ok for most games, but if you play games with mods, you would want the extra VRAM.

CPU Benchmarks and Hierarchy 2025: CPU Rankings

We've run thousands of CPU benchmarks on all new and older Intel and AMD CPUs and ranked them.

www.tomshardware.com

GPU Benchmarks and Hierarchy 2023: Graphics Cards Ranked

We've run hundreds of GPU benchmarks on Nvidia, AMD, and Intel graphics cards and ranked them in our comprehensive hierarchy.

www.tomshardware.com

The mobo supports pcie 5.0 ssd for future upgrades.

quiet and big air cooler

fast and snappy pcie 4.0 2tb ssd

decent gpu with good factory overclock

case with included fans and a configurable digital readout and front panel type C

ATX 3.0 psu with 16 pin power connector

240hz HDR1000 certified 32" monitor

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D 4.2 GHz 8-Core Processor ($358.99 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Thermalright Phantom Spirit 66.17 CFM CPU Cooler ($37.90 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Gigabyte B650 AORUS ELITE AX ATX AM5 Motherboard ($182.11 @ Newegg)
Memory: OLOy Blade 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR5-6400 CL32 Memory ($91.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Crucial T500 2 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive ($101.99 @ B&H)
Video Card: Zotac GAMING AMP Extreme AIRO GeForce RTX 4080 16 GB Video Card ($1129.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Deepcool CH510 MESH DIGITAL ATX Mid Tower Case ($77.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: MSI MPG A850G PCIE5 850 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply ($114.99 @ Amazon)
Monitor: Gigabyte AORUS FI32Q-X 32.0" 2560 x 1440 270 Hz Monitor ($459.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $2555.94
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2023-11-24 05:13 EST-0500

 

[Jawzzzzz]

Few thing to keep in mind:

@Darkbreeze suggested a MX500 Sata based SSD, i dont know why. and a 500gb nvme ssd. when the budget is not constrained, you can definitely go for 2tb pcie 4.0 models. once you start to install more than 5 AAA games, it fills up fast.

i know games dont benefit much from pcie 4.0 speeds, but for the price difference its definitely justified.

Ryzen 7800X3D is the current gaming cpu king. it runs cooler and uses less power than the 13600k.

The Intel Z790 is end of life and wont support next gen CPUs. So it makes sense to get the AM5 platform and have upgrade paths and generally enjoy better performance.

for a 2k 240hz monitor, a 4080 would be more than enough. a 4070ti with 12gb VRAM might be ok for most games, but if you play games with mods, you would want the extra VRAM.

CPU Benchmarks and Hierarchy 2025: CPU Rankings

We've run thousands of CPU benchmarks on all new and older Intel and AMD CPUs and ranked them.

www.tomshardware.com

GPU Benchmarks and Hierarchy 2023: Graphics Cards Ranked

We've run hundreds of GPU benchmarks on Nvidia, AMD, and Intel graphics cards and ranked them in our comprehensive hierarchy.

www.tomshardware.com

The mobo supports pcie 5.0 ssd for future upgrades.

quiet and big air cooler

fast and snappy pcie 4.0 2tb ssd

decent gpu with good factory overclock

case with included fans and a configurable digital readout and front panel type C

ATX 3.0 psu with 16 pin power connector

240hz HDR1000 certified 32" monitor

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D 4.2 GHz 8-Core Processor ($358.99 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Thermalright Phantom Spirit 66.17 CFM CPU Cooler ($37.90 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Gigabyte B650 AORUS ELITE AX ATX AM5 Motherboard ($182.11 @ Newegg)
Memory: OLOy Blade 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR5-6400 CL32 Memory ($91.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Crucial T500 2 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive ($101.99 @ B&H)
Video Card: Zotac GAMING AMP Extreme AIRO GeForce RTX 4080 16 GB Video Card ($1129.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Deepcool CH510 MESH DIGITAL ATX Mid Tower Case ($77.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: MSI MPG A850G PCIE5 850 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply ($114.99 @ Amazon)
Monitor: Gigabyte AORUS FI32Q-X 32.0" 2560 x 1440 270 Hz Monitor ($459.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $2555.94
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2023-11-24 05:13 EST-0500

Thanks for the detail and explanations! Those benchmark links are very helpful. Def going to look into this build.

 

[sonofjesse]

No idea where your at but you if go to MC you can save some money.

Here is a tentative build, under the 2500 budget.

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/3q4yVW

Thanks

 

[Darkbreeze]

@Darkbreeze suggested a MX500 Sata based SSD, i dont know why. and a 500gb nvme ssd. when the budget is not constrained, you can definitely go for 2tb pcie 4.0 models. once you start to install more than 5 AAA games, it fills up fast.

I'll tell you, exactly why.

99% of users don't need more than a 500GB drive for the OS and installed applications. Windows itself rarely takes up more than 50GB, rarely, and even with installed applications so long as the games themselves are not installed on the OS drive (And they SHOULDN'T be anyhow if possible) it would be rare to see disc usage exceed 250GB. I have FAR MORE applications installed than the vast majority of users and my primary OS drive is only using about 125GB. Only game loaders need to be installed on the OS drive and those take up very little space. Actual game files, when possible, should be installed to a secondary drive for a number of reasons.

For one, the OS drive will perform MUCH faster the more free space it has on it.

For another, if your game files are installed on the OS drive, and something happens such as a virus, malware, corrupt registry or any number of things that happen ALL THE TIME to Windows drives up to and including a physical failure of the drive, then ALL those game files are toast. It is FAR more likely for something to happen to the OS drive than it is to a secondary drive. So putting the game files on a secondary drive just makes much more sense from practically ANY point of view.

As well, it is MUCH less expensive to buy a 2TB SATA drive than it is for a 2TB NVME drive, and the different in performance in this kind of scenario where the majority of reads and writes are going to be either small consecutive or for the most part, random, isn't going to be that much different between a SATA drive and an NVME drive. It's really only when working with large consecutive reads and writes that you even begin to come anywhere near the advertised maximum throughput on those NVME drives. For game file access loading maps or levels etc., or saves, you are never going to see anything near those speeds. Not even in the same realm. So spending like half the price for a SATA SSD that can, at 2TB, store a significant amount of games and other backup files, just makes far more sense.

Now, if money is no option and you can afford to go with a 2TB NVME drive instead, then more power to you, whoever you are, but for most people saving 100 bucks is often kind of a big deal. I mean, that's the cost of the Windows license, or another piece of hardware, or the ability to get a graphics card that has somewhat better performance. And, the MX500 drives are VERY reliable and have very good performance, yet are significantly less expensive than any of the Samsung models that are not dram-less. Sure there are less expensive models from other brands out there, but just like so many of the Sandisk SSDs have died early deaths, I simply don't trust most of them and try to avoid them in favor of brand models I KNOW I can trust when possible.

 

[King Dranzer]

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: Intel Core i5-13600K 3.5 GHz 14-Core Processor ($270.00 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Thermalright Frost Commander 140 BLACK 95.5 CFM CPU Cooler ($47.90 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: MSI MAG Z790 TOMAHAWK WIFI ATX LGA1700 Motherboard ($218.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws S5 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR5-6000 CL36 Memory ($91.00 @ Amazon)
Storage: Seagate FireCuda 520 500 GB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive ($35.00 @ Amazon)
Storage: Crucial MX500 2 TB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($79.99 @ B&H)
Video Card: Gigabyte GAMING OC GeForce RTX 4070 Ti 12 GB Video Card ($790.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Corsair 4000D Airflow ATX Mid Tower Case ($79.98 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: Corsair RM850x (2021) 850 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply ($129.99 @ Amazon)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 11 Home OEM - DVD 64-bit ($104.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $1848.83
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2023-11-22 23:23 EST-0500
If your friend already has case fans in their current build they can reuse in this build, that would be helpful since this case only comes with a single 120mm front and 120mm rear case fans, and I'd really recommend maybe moving the 120mm front case fan to the TOP rear location as a second exhaust, and putting at least two front 140mm fans, but if they already have fans they could use those in here at least to begin with and worry about additional fans and aesthetics later. Or you could just do this from the start.

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: Intel Core i5-13600K 3.5 GHz 14-Core Processor ($270.00 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Thermalright Frost Commander 140 BLACK 95.5 CFM CPU Cooler ($47.90 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: MSI MAG Z790 TOMAHAWK WIFI ATX LGA1700 Motherboard ($218.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws S5 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR5-6000 CL36 Memory ($91.00 @ Amazon)
Storage: Seagate FireCuda 520 500 GB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive ($35.00 @ Amazon)
Storage: Crucial MX500 2 TB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($79.99 @ B&H)
Video Card: Gigabyte GAMING OC GeForce RTX 4070 Ti 12 GB Video Card ($790.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Corsair 4000D Airflow ATX Mid Tower Case ($79.98 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: Corsair RM850x (2021) 850 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply ($129.99 @ Amazon)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 11 Home OEM - DVD 64-bit ($104.99 @ Newegg)
Case Fan: ARCTIC P14 72.8 CFM 140 mm Fan ($11.29 @ Amazon)
Case Fan: ARCTIC P14 72.8 CFM 140 mm Fan ($11.29 @ Amazon)
Total: $1871.41
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2023-11-22 23:30 EST-0500


And if they want to put higher quality fans there we can definitely do that, but of course, it's also going to cost about double the price of those two case fans so it's totally up to you or the owner.

I would I highly recommend staying away from MSI boards. It seems they dint resolve the issues with their QC yet. I got another MSI Intel Board fail. It was MSI PRO B660M-A board. And it was not registering the GPU till a good 5-10min on startup with white VGA error light on for that initial time period. We tried everything Driver Update. BIOS update. Clear CMOS, Re-seat GPU, Different GPU. Different Monitor. We finally replace it with ASUS PRIME B660M-A.

Man I have given MSI too many chances to redeem itself across past decade and it successfully always fails.

 

[Jawzzzzz]

No idea where your at but you if go to MC you can save some money.

Here is a tentative build, under the 2500 budget.

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/3q4yVW

Thanks

Thanks! This helps for sure

 

[Jawzzzzz]

I would I highly recommend staying away from MSI boards. It seems they dint resolve the issues with their QC yet. I got another MSI Intel Board fail. It was MSI PRO B660M-A board. And it was not registering the GPU till a good 5-10min on startup with white VGA error light on for that initial time period. We tried everything Driver Update. BIOS update. Clear CMOS, Re-seat GPU, Different GPU. Different Monitor. We finally replace it with ASUS PRIME B660M-A.

Man I have given MSI too many chances to redeem itself across past decade and it successfully always fails.

This is good to know. Will def take your suggestion.

 

[Lucky_SLS]

I'll tell you, exactly why.

99% of users don't need more than a 500GB drive for the OS and installed applications. Windows itself rarely takes up more than 50GB, rarely, and even with installed applications so long as the games themselves are not installed on the OS drive (And they SHOULDN'T be anyhow if possible) it would be rare to see disc usage exceed 250GB. I have FAR MORE applications installed than the vast majority of users and my primary OS drive is only using about 125GB. Only game loaders need to be installed on the OS drive and those take up very little space. Actual game files, when possible, should be installed to a secondary drive for a number of reasons.

For one, the OS drive will perform MUCH faster the more free space it has on it.

For another, if your game files are installed on the OS drive, and something happens such as a virus, malware, corrupt registry or any number of things that happen ALL THE TIME to Windows drives up to and including a physical failure of the drive, then ALL those game files are toast. It is FAR more likely for something to happen to the OS drive than it is to a secondary drive. So putting the game files on a secondary drive just makes much more sense from practically ANY point of view.

As well, it is MUCH less expensive to buy a 2TB SATA drive than it is for a 2TB NVME drive, and the different in performance in this kind of scenario where the majority of reads and writes are going to be either small consecutive or for the most part, random, isn't going to be that much different between a SATA drive and an NVME drive. It's really only when working with large consecutive reads and writes that you even begin to come anywhere near the advertised maximum throughput on those NVME drives. For game file access loading maps or levels etc., or saves, you are never going to see anything near those speeds. Not even in the same realm. So spending like half the price for a SATA SSD that can, at 2TB, store a significant amount of games and other backup files, just makes far more sense.

Now, if money is no option and you can afford to go with a 2TB NVME drive instead, then more power to you, whoever you are, but for most people saving 100 bucks is often kind of a big deal. I mean, that's the cost of the Windows license, or another piece of hardware, or the ability to get a graphics card that has somewhat better performance. And, the MX500 drives are VERY reliable and have very good performance, yet are significantly less expensive than any of the Samsung models that are not dram-less. Sure there are less expensive models from other brands out there, but just like so many of the Sandisk SSDs have died early deaths, I simply don't trust most of them and try to avoid them in favor of brand models I KNOW I can trust when possible.

Valid and a good point about having separate os and game drives.

The price difference between the sata and nvme 2tb models is 20 usd. For a 2k usd build, I would say it's money well spent.

You can feel the difference when you install games from backups or even software installs and photos and video backups. The nvme would be much faster. Daily use won't matter much but the occasional large size usage scenarios will definitely feel slow. Now is that worth the extra 20 usd in a 2k budget? Most of us would say yes to that.

 

[Darkbreeze]

Valid and a good point about having separate os and game drives.

The price difference between the sata and nvme 2tb models is 20 usd. For a 2k usd build, I would say it's money well spent.

You can feel the difference when you install games from backups or even software installs and photos and video backups. The nvme would be much faster. Daily use won't matter much but the occasional large size usage scenarios will definitely feel slow. Now is that worth the extra 20 usd in a 2k budget? Most of us would say yes to that.

I wouldn't argue that, too much. Even so, having 2TB of space on a drive that is plenty fast enough, in ADDITION to a very fast OS drive with more than enough space for 90% of users, for less money, doesn't seem like a bad thing to me.