Question Need New PC

[Yankee_LT]

I thought I would come here to get some advice. What type of PC (and where could I purchase it) could I get around the 1200.00 dollar mark for gaming?

Thank you.

 

[USAFRet]

I thought I would come here to get some advice. What type of PC (and where could I purchase it) could I get around the 1200.00 dollar mark for gaming?

Thank you.

Start here:

*How to Ask for New Build or Upgrade Advice*

How to Ask for New Build or Upgrade Advice First off, respect where respect is due - this is an adaptation of the Animal's *How To Ask For New Build Advice* Sticky. I created this because there's a lot of posts nowadays asking for upgrade advice both on here and on the CPU forums, and I feel...

forums.tomshardware.com

Post in the systems forum.

 

[Yankee_LT]

Oh, so there's proper etiquette for me to follow? It's a simple question. If it can't be answered simply, I have come to the wrong site.

 

[Eximo]

Not that simple. And knowing what types of games you want to play inform the hardware choices.

At $1200 the difference between needing a monitor, mouse, keyboard, operating system, headphones or anything else beyond a basic tower will make for a huge swing in performance.

Doesn't sound like you are interested in building a system either.

If you just want something off the shelf. HP Omen series, MSI, perhaps ASUS are decent places to get computers that you may be able to upgrade/maintain.

There are also dozens of boutique builders out there that charge a hefty premium for basic components like Cyberpower, iBuyPower. Newegg's house brand ABS. NZXT's build service.

 

[USAFRet]

Oh, so there's proper etiquette for me to follow? It's a simple question. If it can't be answered simply, I have come to the wrong site.

We're just trying to help you to not buy a $1200 piece of crap.

 

[Yankee_LT]

My mistake, USAF. I had no idea that you were looking out for my best interest. Thank you. Eximo. Correct, I couldn't build a PC myself. And I'm aware of the companies you listed.

 

[logainofhades]

My mistake, USAF. I had no idea that you were looking out for my best interest. Thank you. Eximo. Correct, I couldn't build a PC myself. And I'm aware of the companies you listed.

Yea following that guide makes it easier for us to help you get the best system for your money, even if going with a prebuilt. Games you want to play, what resolution, and whether you need monitor and peripherals are vital to that. Do you happen to live near a Microcenter? They also do builds under their Power Spec branding, and even can build a system for you, from parts your purchase yourself.

 

[Yankee_LT]

I believe there is a Microcenter south of me, which may be 45 minutes away. I considered finding a PC with an Nvidia 3080 Ti Founders Edition instead of the 4080 Super. Maybe I can save more money that way. Stick with an i7 and not go with the i9 32 gigs of memory instead of 64 gigs. But still stick with a 1000w power supply.

 

[Eximo]

Little point in buying a 3080 Ti retail. 4070 Super is about the same performance. 4080 Super bumps you up a whole tier in terms of GPU size. 4070 Ti Super is a cut down 4080.

 

[Zerk2012]

I believe there is a Microcenter south of me, which may be 45 minutes away. I considered finding a PC with an Nvidia 3080 Ti Founders Edition instead of the 4080 Super. Maybe I can save more money that way. Stick with an i7 and not go with the i9 32 gigs of memory instead of 64 gigs. But still stick with a 1000w power supply.

A video card in that price range is going to eat up most of your budget.
If you refuse to help us help you then not much we can even do.

*How to Ask for New Build or Upgrade Advice*

How to Ask for New Build or Upgrade Advice First off, respect where respect is due - this is an adaptation of the Animal's *How To Ask For New Build Advice* Sticky. I created this because there's a lot of posts nowadays asking for upgrade advice both on here and on the CPU forums, and I feel...

forums.tomshardware.com

 

[Yankee_LT]

Ok, how about I do this? I could keep my current PC and build it off the motherboard, which is an MSI Z270 M5. If I do this and go with the 3080 (ti) or 3090, what would be my best options for upgrading the CPU and Memory?

 

[USAFRet]

Ok, how about I do this? I could keep my current PC and build it off the motherboard, which is an MSI Z270 M5. If I do this and go with the 3080 (ti) or 3090, what would be my best options for upgrading the CPU and Memory?

Here is the applicable CPU list for your motherboard:
https://www.msi.com/Motherboard/Z270-GAMING-M5/support#cpu

What CPU do you have now?

 

[Yankee_LT]

With that reference, do you believe the i7-6700K would be the best choice?

 

[Yankee_LT]

My current CPU is the i7 7700k 4.2 GHz.

 

[USAFRet]

My current CPU is the i7 7700k 4.2 GHz.

You already have the best CPU for that motherboard.

A 6700K would be a significant downgrade.

 

[Eximo]

i7-7700k is roughly equivalent to an i3-12100.

https://www.cpubenchmark.net/compar...-i3-12100-vs-Intel-i7-7700K-vs-Intel-i3-10100

With support for Windows 10 ending next October, really should consider a platform upgrade sooner rather than later. 7th gen does not support Windows 11.

But yes, you could get a GPU and drop it in there as long as you have a decent enough power supply.


At Microcenter, if you wanted to stick with Intel:

12900K bundle $420, Z790 motherboard and 32GB of DDR5 6000.
Adding a 4070 (not a 4070 Super), a 1TB drive, 750W ATX 3.0 PSU, Cheap CPU cooler comes to a total of $1215, + $150 build service. No OS.

With a Ryzen 7600X bundle (with 32GB memory as well) the total comes to $1150 + $150 build service. No OS.

If you don't mind open box and refurbished systems some decent deals at Newegg:

I rather like this one 7700X + 3070
https://www.newegg.com/abs-ala284-gladiator/p/N82E16883360249C?Item=N82E16883360249C

12700KF + 3070 Ti
https://www.newegg.com/abs-ali603-gladiator/p/N82E16883360268C?Item=N82E16883360268C

https://www.newegg.com/abs-ali603-gladiator/p/N82E16883360268R

https://www.newegg.com/abs-sa13700f4070-stratos-aqua/p/N82E16883360404C?Item=N82E16883360404C

 

[Yankee_LT]

Thank you, Eximo. I'm currently having an issue, and I won't make a move until I find out what's wrong. Is my motherboard or CPU faulty, or maybe both are? Why? When I go into my bios and load settings that were saved to clock my CPU at 4.7 (4.20 base), it doesn't hold the configuration when rebooting, nor does it hold its base setting. Instead, it loads at 2.10 GHz, which makes my PC balk at games that are over ten years old. So what I have now is a PC that's basically a paperweight.

 

[Yankee_LT]

My CPU has a base clock of 4.20 GHz. So why, if it is not a motherboard issue and the CPU is not failing, am I getting under 7% utilization at 2.10 GHz and 12% utilization at .016 GHz?

 

[Eximo]

Base isn't the minimum clock. That can go quite low when the system isn't under much of a load.

I don't believe 0.016Ghz can be a real reading. If I recall, Intel desktop CPUs usually drop down to 800Mhz as a minimum. It could go lower but always a clock multiple. I never let my 7700k drop below 5Ghz, so I can't recall.

CMOS battery would be something to look into. Resetting the BIOS to all defaults is probably a good starting point as well. You could remove your OS from the equation by booting up a Linux distro, that can launch entirely from a USB drive without installing anything.

Double check CPU temperatures and cooler performance.

Something like Hardware Monitor may be able to give you some motherboard temperatures to see if there is a problem there,

The only way to prove a CPU or motherboard would be to have known working parts to test with.

 

[Yankee_LT]

Yeah, the CMOS can be the issue here. When I removed the CMOS battery and placed it back in, ALL this trouble started. If I never removed it, I would have never started this thread. MSI tells me that it might be a bad chip in the motherboard, but there is no software program that I can run to test it like I can with the CPU, GPU, and Memory. As for testing the temps, I ran two different tests. First, the OCCT, and second, the Cinebench. Temps were good on both tests, BUT my CPU running Cinebench scored 85 points on Multi-Core and 3 points for single-core. All I know now is that the motherboard not only holds the changes I make in the BIOS but doesn't even recognize the changes I make when I save the settings.

 

[Eximo]

Certainly possible. Bad sensors could trick the motherboard into constantly throttling. A faulty CMOS chip could be failing to save settings, and/or have corrupted data already.

Z170/Z270 boards aren't that easy to come by. It is more cost effective to get a replacement CPU and Motherboard.

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: Intel Core i5-12600KF 3.7 GHz 10-Core Processor ($146.44 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock Z690M Phantom Gaming 4 Micro ATX LGA1700 Motherboard ($99.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $246.43
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2024-08-06 14:56 EDT-0400

 

[Yankee_LT]

That's what I was thinking. But replacing the motherboard could be challenging, at least for me. I don't think taking it out would be the challenge, but putting the new one in and reconnecting all the cables.

 

[Eximo]

Plenty of video guides out there for the internal cables. For the most part it is plugging in things that have the same shape. Only common exception is front panel I/O and that isn't too bad, just five little connectors generally. And for testing you only need the basics and you can leave the front I/O off completely and jump start the system by jumping the pins for the power switch with a screwdriver.

 

[Yankee_LT]

Thank you. I'll give it some thought.

 

[Yankee_LT]

Ok, so let me run this configuration by you all. The changes I made were with the CPU and GPU. Going with the AMD Ryzen 7 9700X over the
Intel Core i9-14900K need some feedback on whether this is a good move or not. I also changed the Nvidia 4080 Supper to the 4090.

Thus the following will be the configuration I would like to go with.

Case : Corsair 7000D Airflow
Exterior Color : Black
Processors : AMD Ryzen 7 9700X 8-Core 3.8GHz (up to 5.5GHz Max Boost)
Motherboard : MSI X670E GAMING PLUS WIFI
Memory : 64GB CORSAIR DOMINATOR TITANUM RGB DDR5 (2x32GB) 6000MT/s
System Cooling : iCUE H150i ELITE CAPELLIX XT Liquid CPU Cooler
System Fans : CORSAIR AF120 ELITE
Graphics Cards : NVIDIA 24GB GeForce RTX 4090
Operating System : MS Windows 11 Home
Operating System Drive : Corsair MP600 CORE XT 1TB
Hard Drive : Corsair MP600 CORE XT 2TB
Hard Drive : 1
Power Supply : Corsair RM1000x Series PLUS GOLD
Audio : Integrated High-Definition Audio
Networking : Onboard Network Port

Ideas/Suggestions?
Thank you all once again.