Question Is this a good mindset to have when it comes to determining components for a build?

[ZepTepi49]

I am beginning the process of figuring out the components for my build and I decided that it was best to start by asking myself what things I would/might use this new PC for that would use the most resources(?) are and then determine what the min specs are for those programs and then determine what components met that min and bump them up 1 or 2 gens. I understand that going with components that meet the min specs is not a good plan as they will become insufficient as soon as the next new gen comes out hence why I figured bumping up 1 or 2 gens makes sense.

For me the programs I will or may use in the near to several years out future that I believe are relevant and the current min specs are:

Out of the Park 25(Baseball management sim) - OS: Win8.X/Win10, Processor: Intel or AMD 64 bit, Memory: 2 GB RAM, Graphics: OpenGL 3.1 or newer, min 512 MB GPU memory, Storage: 3 GB avail space.

MS Flight Simulator - OS: Win 10, Processor: Intel i5-4460 / AMD Ryzen 3 1200, Memory: 8 GB RAM, Graphics: NVIDIA GTX 770 / AMD Radeon RX 570, Storage: 150 GB avail space.

General website building(Nothing really intense) - Memory: 8GB RAM

As you can see I'm not a serious gamer and when I do anything on my PC(other than online poker) it's very rarely for more than a few hours at a time.
From those min specs I know that, for instance, the floor for a processor is an Intel i5-4460 or AMD Ryzen 3 1200 of which I believe both are 64 bit but I could be wrong about that, so those processors are not what I would want. Instead I would want, ideally, a couple of generations above those in order for my build to be able to play those programs and future new releases of them well into the future(at least more than a few years).
Am I on the right track with this thinking? If you don't believe so please feel free to tell me why.

Zep

 

[hotaru.hino]

I'm of the opinion that, if you're buying new parts, to always get the latest generation of hardware that you can afford. The only time to consider anything less is if there's a much better value proposition (i.e., it does what you want for a lot less) getting an older generation part.

 

[35below0]

Your way is a more difficult process. It is logical, but not reasonable. You have to investigate far too much in order to find out which are ideal components. Then you run into the problem of older components not being sold new anymore, or selling for a premium because they are all but gone.

The sweet spot is the one gen behind the latest and greatest, unless the latest gen has had some time to mature. But even that requires a bit of learning.

As an example, currently there are three generations of intel CPUs that are worth considering. The 12th, 13th, and 14th. There may be 11th and 10th gen CPUs around, but those are far behind the 12th gen.
Compared to 12th gen, 13th gen is impressive and offers more power for a reasonable increase in price. 14th gen goes further but not much. It's prices are not much higher than 13th gen.

Taking that into consideration, you would probably want to ignore the 14th gen, and look at good value in the 13th and 12th gen CPUs.
I am already eyeing the i3 12100 CPU. The weakest of the lot, but still plenty strong. Even overkill for your needs.
But if you try to buy a weaker CPU, you will have trouble finding it, plus lock yourself into older architecture so all other components will have to be limited. And the price? Higher than if you had chosen a 12th gen or newer CPU.
Alternatively, if you sink more money into a more powerfull 13th gen CPU, like the i5 13600, your PC will keep going longer.

There is definetly a lot to consider.

But to simplify:

- you have already explained what kind of gaming needs and wants you have. You could add what type of monitor you use, resolution and such.
- do you need a lot of storage space? movies and such?
- do you want a long term PC, or do you want to upgrade/change often. Again you answered this.
- where will you be buying this? The US?
- and finally, what is your budget?

Also, do you need WiFi? Or will you use ethernet cables?

Edit - i've put together a build that should suit you without breaking the bank. If you drop the graphics card from the build and use only integrated graphics, it drops the price under $500. The GPU i chose is more powerfull than iGPU, but may not be worth your time and money.

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: Intel Core i3-12100 3.3 GHz Quad-Core Processor ($121.98 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Thermalright Assassin X 120 V2 66.17 CFM CPU Cooler ($18.19 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Gigabyte B760M DS3H DDR4 Micro ATX LGA1700 Motherboard ($99.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws V 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 CL16 Memory ($33.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital Green SN350 1 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 3.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive ($64.99 @ Western Digital)
Video Card: MSI GAMING X GeForce RTX 3050 6GB 6 GB Video Card ($179.00 @ MSI)
Case: Phanteks XT PRO ATX Mid Tower Case ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: SeaSonic FOCUS Gold 550 W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-modular ATX Power Supply ($79.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $648.12
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2024-04-08 20:03 EDT-0400

Note - no WiFi on this motherboard!

 

[ZepTepi49]

- you have already explained what kind of gaming needs and wants you have. You could add what type of monitor you use, resolution and such. I have been eyeing this one that's being sold at Costco. LG Monitor

- do you need a lot of storage space? movies and such? I do not plan to store movies or music but may store pics though not in any huge numbers.

- do you want a long term PC, or do you want to upgrade/change often. Again you answered this.

- where will you be buying this? The US? I live in the US and will likely purchase online from one of the online stores.

- and finally, what is your budget? I'm not locked in on a specific dollar amount but ideally somewhere between $800-$1200. I'm keeping it undetermined at this point simply because I'm not yet sure what is realistic for what I'm looking for.

Also, do you need WiFi? Or will you use ethernet cables? I will be using WiFi at our current apartment but if a future home has cabled ethernet I would prefer that.

Zep

 

[ZepTepi49]

Your way is a more difficult process. It is logical, but not reasonable. You have to investigate far too much in order to find out which are ideal components. Then you run into the problem of older components not being sold new anymore, or selling for a premium because they are all but gone.

The sweet spot is the one gen behind the latest and greatest, unless the latest gen has had some time to mature. But even that requires a bit of learning.

As an example, currently there are three generations of intel CPUs that are worth considering. The 12th, 13th, and 14th. There may be 11th and 10th gen CPUs around, but those are far behind the 12th gen.
Compared to 12th gen, 13th gen is impressive and offers more power for a reasonable increase in price. 14th gen goes further but not much. It's prices are not much higher than 13th gen.

Taking that into consideration, you would probably want to ignore the 14th gen, and look at good value in the 13th and 12th gen CPUs.
I am already eyeing the i3 12100 CPU. The weakest of the lot, but still plenty strong. Even overkill for your needs.
But if you try to buy a weaker CPU, you will have trouble finding it, plus lock yourself into older architecture so all other components will have to be limited. And the price? Higher than if you had chosen a 12th gen or newer CPU.
Alternatively, if you sink more money into a more powerfull 13th gen CPU, like the i5 13600, your PC will keep going longer.

There is definetly a lot to consider.

But to simplify:

- you have already explained what kind of gaming needs and wants you have. You could add what type of monitor you use, resolution and such.
- do you need a lot of storage space? movies and such?
- do you want a long term PC, or do you want to upgrade/change often. Again you answered this.
- where will you be buying this? The US?
- and finally, what is your budget?

Also, do you need WiFi? Or will you use ethernet cables?

Edit - i've put together a build that should suit you without breaking the bank. If you drop the graphics card from the build and use only integrated graphics, it drops the price under $500. The GPU i chose is more powerfull than iGPU, but may not be worth your time and money.

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: Intel Core i3-12100 3.3 GHz Quad-Core Processor ($121.98 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Thermalright Assassin X 120 V2 66.17 CFM CPU Cooler ($18.19 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Gigabyte B760M DS3H DDR4 Micro ATX LGA1700 Motherboard ($99.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws V 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 CL16 Memory ($33.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital Green SN350 1 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 3.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive ($64.99 @ Western Digital)
Video Card: MSI GAMING X GeForce RTX 3050 6GB 6 GB Video Card ($179.00 @ MSI)
Case: Phanteks XT PRO ATX Mid Tower Case ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: SeaSonic FOCUS Gold 550 W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-modular ATX Power Supply ($79.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $648.12
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2024-04-08 20:03 EDT-0400

Note - no WiFi on this motherboard!

I should also add that there is a case I really love but it's not a standard case so it has a reduced # of components that will work with it. I'm not married to this particular case but would be quite happy if I could make it work. Yes, I also know it would mean a higher budget.
AZZA Pyramid Mini

Zep

 

[Eximo]

Microsoft flight sim really likes CPU cores, so the more the merrier. I would say what is your max budget for this build?

That is an expensive case, and it will mean a fairly expensive motherboard.

 

[logainofhades]

Microsoft flight sim actually likes AMD's x3d chips, more than anything else.

 

[CelicaGT]

Microsoft flight sim really likes CPU cores, so the more the merrier. I would say what is your max budget for this build?

That is an expensive case, and it will mean a fairly expensive motherboard.

I'm a pretty hardcore simmer, and it really only hits a few cores, even on DX12(Beta). It also runs surprisingly OK on a quad core. What it does love however is CACHE. That's why the X3D parts spank its arse so hard. My basic recommendation for MSFS is almost always an X3D part, unless that person has a certain need productivity wise for Intel or faster general purpose cores. The 5800X3D even bests a 13900K, unsure of the 14900K but it hardly matters at the price point difference.

 

[Eximo]

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 5700X3D 3 GHz 8-Core Processor ($244.00 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Thermalright AXP90-X47 42.58 CFM CPU Cooler ($22.90 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Gigabyte B550I AORUS PRO AX Mini ITX AM4 Motherboard ($189.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LPX 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR4-3600 CL16 Memory ($94.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital Black SN850X 1 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive ($84.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: ASRock Challenger D Radeon RX 6600 8 GB Video Card ($189.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Azza Pyramid Mini 806 Mini ITX Tower Case ($279.99 @ Newegg Sellers)
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA 650 GM 650 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular SFX Power Supply ($118.83 @ Amazon)
Total: $1225.68
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2024-04-10 15:27 EDT-0400

 

[ZepTepi49]

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 5700X3D 3 GHz 8-Core Processor ($244.00 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Thermalright AXP90-X47 42.58 CFM CPU Cooler ($22.90 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Gigabyte B550I AORUS PRO AX Mini ITX AM4 Motherboard ($189.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LPX 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR4-3600 CL16 Memory ($94.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital Black SN850X 1 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive ($84.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: ASRock Challenger D Radeon RX 6600 8 GB Video Card ($189.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Azza Pyramid Mini 806 Mini ITX Tower Case ($279.99 @ Newegg Sellers)
Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA 650 GM 650 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular SFX Power Supply ($118.83 @ Amazon)
Total: $1225.68
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2024-04-10 15:27 EDT-0400

I'm impressed at that cost! A little higher than my range but not by much! I'm looking at cheaper case options(Thermaltake Tower 300 series for instance) but that's not bad. Thanks Eximo!

 

[logainofhades]

That case really does eat up a lot on pricing.

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 5700X3D 3 GHz 8-Core Processor ($244.00 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Thermalright AXP90-X47 42.58 CFM CPU Cooler ($22.90 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Gigabyte B550I AORUS PRO AX Mini ITX AM4 Motherboard ($189.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: TEAMGROUP T-Force Vulcan Z 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR4-3200 CL16 Memory ($54.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: TEAMGROUP MP44 1 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive ($74.98 @ Amazon)
Video Card: XFX Speedster SWFT 210 Core Radeon RX 6650 XT 8 GB Video Card ($229.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Azza Pyramid Mini 806 Mini ITX Tower Case ($279.99 @ Newegg Sellers)
Power Supply: Cooler Master V750 SFX GOLD 750 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular SFX Power Supply ($104.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $1201.83
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2024-04-10 15:48 EDT-0400

 

[Eximo]

That alone lets us ditch the tiny PSU and CPU cooler.

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 5700X3D 3 GHz 8-Core Processor ($244.00 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Thermalright Assassin X 120 Refined SE 66.17 CFM CPU Cooler ($17.89 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Gigabyte B550I AORUS PRO AX Mini ITX AM4 Motherboard ($189.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LPX 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR4-3600 CL16 Memory ($94.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital Black SN850X 1 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive ($84.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: ASRock Challenger D Radeon RX 6600 8 GB Video Card ($189.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Thermaltake The Tower 300 MicroATX Mid Tower Case ($149.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: MSI MAG A650GL 650 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply ($79.98 @ Amazon)
Total: $1051.82
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2024-04-10 15:49 EDT-0400

 

[logainofhades]

The Tower 100 is also an option.

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 5700X3D 3 GHz 8-Core Processor ($244.00 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Thermaltake TH120 ARGB Sync 59.28 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($59.99 @ Best Buy)
Motherboard: Gigabyte B550I AORUS PRO AX Mini ITX AM4 Motherboard ($189.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: TEAMGROUP T-Force Vulcan Z 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR4-3200 CL16 Memory ($54.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: TEAMGROUP MP44 1 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive ($74.98 @ Amazon)
Video Card: XFX Speedster SWFT 210 Core Radeon RX 6650 XT 8 GB Video Card ($229.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Thermaltake The Tower 100 Mini ITX Tower Case ($89.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: be quiet! Pure Power 12 M 750 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply ($89.90 @ Amazon)
Total: $1033.83
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2024-04-10 15:54 EDT-0400

 

[ZepTepi49]

Are there any cases that would allow me one of those or a very similar build but without the need for a cooler?

 

[logainofhades]

Are there any cases that would allow me one of those or a very similar build but without the need for a cooler?

You have to get a cooler no matter what case you get.

 

[ZepTepi49]

You have to get a cooler no matter what case you get.

That's how I thought it would likely be with more current/powerful components but I wasn't sure.

Thanks Logainofhades!