Build Advice Help with building two dektop computers at the same time for the kids ?

[xerocool83]

Approximate Purchase Date: Thinking of buying and building around Cyber Monday to help save some money but would be interested in other options on that idea.

Budget Range: $1000-1100 (for each desktop, but willing to move around a bit if there is a sweet spot for cost vs. performance)

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming with my kids primarily, but kids will use these computers for schoolwork, YouTube, etc.

Are you buying a monitor: I will need 1 monitor (will re-use old one)


Parts to Upgrade: I have 1 x mouse/keyboard combo so will need 1 additional set.

Do you need to buy OS: Yes


Preferred Website(s) for Parts: Probably Newegg, and Amazon

Location: Washington State

Parts Preferences: Not really. (a bit hesitant with Intel after their CPU issues several months ago)

Overclocking: No

SLI or Crossfire: No

Your Monitor Resolution: 1920x1080 to start off.

Additional Comments:

 

[turtletarget111]

For 1100 dollars, the two big components I went with were the Ryzen 7600 and Radeon RX 7800XT. Those products are competitively priced and deliver stellar gaming performance. For gaming, this system will shred, and for your kids' schoolwork, this machine will destroy any school-assigned Chromebooks (I would sure hope so). Here's the full list.

As mentioned earlier, if these machines are used primarily for gaming, the Ryzen 7600 is a decent performer for the money. 200 dollars for this CPU is a steal of a deal, and AM5 will give you room for upgrades down the road.

Because this is intended for gaming, I quite literally went with the cheapest B650 that came with WiFi. At 120 dollars, it comes with decent IO and BIOS flashback for troubleshooting. It's nothing to write home about, but more than adequate for your use case.

The memory was a similar story to the motherboard, although instead of B650 serving as the baseline, the kit required 6000 speeds and 30 CAS latency. With that in mind, this 32GB kit of Corsair Vengeance fit the bill nicely. It also has a First Word latency of ten, so that Ryzen CPU will be able to really flex its muscles and perform well.

As far as storage, it's easy to cheap out on a mediocre SSD, but this 1TB GM7000 is fairly inexpensive, while boasting fast speeds and more importantly, DRAM cache. It also comes with a 5 year warranty and is rated for a staggering 750TBW.

The video card is a little tricky. The Radeon 7800XT is a great performer for the price at 500 bucks. However, if you want to save some money, or want something more modest, the 7700XT would be your best bet, especially if you play older games and aren't looking to upgrade your 1080p monitors. That being said, if you are upgrading soon, or play newer games, stick with the 7800XT. But it gets more complicated. If you are willing to spend 600 dollars or more on a card, go with the RTX 4070 Super. Anything less than that, do not buy anything from Nvidia, as outside of that 600+ dollar window, they get shredded by AMD in terms of price to performance. If you, for example, find a decent deal on a 4070 Super or 4070 Super Ti, and want the extra performance, make the switch.

The case isn't anything fancy, and you can swap it for something more appealing to your personal tastes. This case has a single USB 3.0 port, comes with 3 pre-installed fans, and is less than 50 bucks. This will serve you well.

This Corsair RM750 watt will be more than enough PSU horsepower for years to come, even if you are looking to throw in extra fans, storage, or memory a few years down the line. If you can find the cheaper 650 model in stock, then throw it in if you're looking to save a few bucks.

 

[xerocool83]

Awesome. Thank you for the build.

Do you recommend waiting until Cyber Monday to order or do you think that those prices are pretty much stagnant?

Thanks,

X

 

[punkncat]

For further down the road upgradability I would absolutely suggest seeing if an AM5 platform fits budget. AM4 is "done". A couple of years down the road when they are looking to upgrade a bit you will be forced to consider platform again. IMO the value in AM4 right now is based in whether you actually currently own one. No reason to buy into that platform at this point.

 

[xerocool83]

Any suggestions on what AM5 CPU/MOBO to switch to? That would allow my kids to possibly upgrade and take to college at a later date.

 

[geofelt]

Some thoughts:
How old are the kids?
I would try to get them involved. Perhaps let them select the case.
I would build with the platform you now use, either AMD or Intel.
If you go Intel, I would not worry about 13/14 gen. The issue has been resolved and warranties extended.
The only caveat is to have a current bios.
If you go amd, pay attention to ram support.

You will become the support team and it will be easier for you if you have common parts.
The same applies to nvidia or amd for graphics.
Price/performance will be comparable.

Buy a quality psu that is much stronger than what you need.
It will support a future graphics upgrade.
A quality psu will have a 10 year warranty.

As a rule of thumb budget 2x the cost of the cpu for the graphics card.
Here is a handy chart of the capabilities of graphics cards:
https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gpu-hierarchy,4388.html

 

[thestryker]

Going with AM4 at this point isn't a good choice unless you're trying to save every last dollar on the overall purchase. It gives you no future CPU upgrades and limits connectivity options. The following is just an idea as to where to start from:

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 7600 3.8 GHz 6-Core Processor ($192.97 @ Newegg)
Memory: TEAMGROUP T-Create Expert 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR5-6000 CL30 Memory ($85.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Klevv CRAS C925 1 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive ($66.98 @ Amazon)
Case: Montech AIR 903 BASE ATX Mid Tower Case ($65.00 @ B&H)
Power Supply: NZXT C750 (2022) 750 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply ($84.95 @ Amazon)
Total: $495.89
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2024-10-27 17:32 EDT-0400

Motherboard options- depending on how much expandability/connectivity you want to have:
Motherboard: ASRock B650 Steel Legend WiFi ATX AM5 Motherboard ($179.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock B650M Pro RS Micro ATX AM5 Motherboard ($129.99 @ Newegg)

Video card options- raster performance 7800 XT > 4070 > 7700 XT (nvidia does have a feature and ray tracing performance advantage):
Video Card: ASRock Challenger OC Radeon RX 7800 XT 16 GB Video Card ($469.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: PNY XLR8 Gaming VERTO EPIC-X RGB GeForce RTX 4070 12 GB Video Card ($499.00 @ Walmart)
Video Card: Acer Nitro OC Radeon RX 7700 XT 12 GB Video Card ($379.99 @ Newegg)

 

[xerocool83]

Thats a great idea. I was planning on getting them involved in the actual building process. I found when I built my first computer that getting over my nerves was the hardest part.

 

[Why_Me]

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

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: *Intel Core i5-12400F 2.5 GHz 6-Core Processor ($111.35 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: *ID-COOLING SE-214-XT ARGB 68.2 CFM CPU Cooler ($18.98 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: *ASRock B760 Pro RS/D4 ATX LGA1700 Motherboard ($109.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: *Silicon Power XPOWER Turbine 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR4-3200 CL16 Memory ($45.97 @ Amazon)
Storage: *Silicon Power UD90 2 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive ($97.97 @ Amazon)
Video Card: *Gigabyte GAMING OC Radeon RX 7700 XT 12 GB Video Card ($399.97 @ Amazon)
Case: *Phanteks XT PRO ULTRA ATX Mid Tower Case ($75.98 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: *MSI MAG A750GL PCIE5 750 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply ($69.99 @ Newegg)
Monitor: *MSI G244F E2 23.8" 1920 x 1080 180 Hz Monitor ($109.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $1040.19
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
*Lowest price parts chosen from parametric criteria
Generated by PCPartPicker 2024-10-27 17:54 EDT-0400

 

[turtletarget111]

Any suggestions on what AM5 CPU/MOBO to switch to? That would allow my kids to possibly upgrade and take to college at a later date.

I didn't realize the 7600 was under 200 dollars. Just keep in mind you will be paying 50 to 100 dollars more to get on an AM5 system, although, if you are willing to make some compromises, being on an up-to-date platform is ideal for the reasons others have already mentioned. The 7600 also comes with a box heatsink, so you can also save the 40 bucks on a cooler. As for the motherboard, keep it modest, but buy one that packs in the features you require, such as WiFi or lots of USB ports. I edited the original parts list I posted to give you a system with better upgradeability, albeit, at the cost of some value.

 

[xerocool83]

Awesome, Thanks for the all the help everyone.
Why_Me and Punkncat you both have helped me over the years (since 2006) several times when I have asked for help building and double-checking builds for computers since. Thank you!