Question Need some help deciding on mobo and cooling for i5-12600k for gaming build.

dmavro

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My nephew is getting a new gaming PC as a Christmas/13th bday present from my parents. Im chipping also so he can actually get a 3080 like he's wanted for over a year now.

At moment the build consists of....
cpu- i5-12600k (purchased on prime day)
RAM- 32GB of G.Skill Ripjaws V DDR4-3200 MHz PC4-25600 CL16(splitting up 64gb kit (4x16gb) that i use in my 2nd home office PC)
nvme- SAMSUNG 980 SSD 1TB PCle 4.0 NVMe M.2
Case- Antec Dark League DF600 FLUX, Mid-Tower ATX Gaming Case
GPU- EVGA GeForce RTX 3080 XC3 ULTRA GAMING, 10G-P5-3885-KL, 10GB GDDR6X
mobo- ?
AIO- ?
PSU- ?

Ive been trying to keep price of PC below $2000 which originally wouldnt have been an issue but now with purchase of the 3080 its going to be close. Originally, I was looking at the Corsair iCUE H115i RGB Elite 280mm AIO and the RM850x PSU both for about $139.99 because i wanted to get a quality AIO and PSU but i have no idea if they both may be overkill for this build. Should i save some money and get something like a Cooler Master MasterLiquid ML280 Mirror ARGB AIO for $79.99 or even a 240mm unit like the Enermax AQUAFUSION ADV 240 ARGB AIO CPU Liquid Cooler for $99.99 so i could buy a better mobo for him? There are quite a few available that are in the $79-$99 price range at newegg and amazon so if there are better options then the 2 i just mentioned then im open to ideas.

Here are the mobo's Ive been looking at on the newegg site...
$184.99-ASRock Z690 Steel Legend WiFi 6E LGA 1700 DDR4 ATX Intel Motherboard - Newegg.com
$196.99-ASRock Z690 EXTREME WiFi 6E LGA 1700 DDR4 ATX Intel Motherboard - Newegg.com
$209.99-GIGABYTE Z690 UD AX DDR4 LGA 1700 Intel Z690 ATX Motherboard with DDR4, Triple M.2, PCIe 5.0, USB 3.2 Gen2X2 Type-C, WiFi 6, 2.5GbE LAN - Newegg.com
$219.99-ASUS Prime Z690-P WiFi D4 LGA 1700(Intel® 12th&13th Gen) ATX motherboard (PCIe 5.0,DDR4,14+1 Power Stages,3x M.2, WiFi 6,Bluetooth v5.2,2.5Gb LAN, front panel USB 3.2 Gen 1 USB Type-C) - Newegg.com
$229.99-MSI PRO Z690-A WIFI DDR4 LGA 1700 Intel Z690 SATA 6Gb/s ATX Intel Motherboard - Newegg.com

Wondering if anyone had advice as to which one would be better for this build or more importantly if i should avoid any of them? Would i be better off seeing if my RAM is on the QVL for any of the boards listed above before i go any further or is that not of any real importance??


One thing to note...
He wont be OC'ing anytime soon! At the moment, he will use PC for schoolwork, playing VR games on his Quest2 via Steam and for some PC gaming. I also do not plan on upgrading this build for him for at least a few years(except for maybe an SSD when he needs more storage down the road.)


Thanks in advance!
 
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https://www.newegg.com/p/N82E16813119537
ASUS TUF GAMING H670-PRO WIFI D4 $179.99


https://www.newegg.com/deepcool-gammaxx-ag620/p/N82E16835856214
DeepCool GAMMAXX AG620 $49.99

https://www.deepcool.com/products/C...-AG620-Dual-Tower-CPU-Cooler/2022/15900.shtml
 

dmavro

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https://www.newegg.com/p/N82E16813119537
ASUS TUF GAMING H670-PRO WIFI D4 $179.99


https://www.newegg.com/deepcool-gammaxx-ag620/p/N82E16835856214
DeepCool GAMMAXX AG620 $49.99

https://www.deepcool.com/products/C...-AG620-Dual-Tower-CPU-Cooler/2022/15900.shtml

Thanks! I see you listed a H670 board over a Z690. Assuming thats because i said he wont be OC'ing anytime soon? Im thinking that giving him the capability to OC down the road is worth a few extra dollars now which was why ive been looking at Z690's. Either way ill chk out that AIO and mobo later on when i get a chance.

Thanks again.
 
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On the motherboard, you can go much simpler.
The main difference between a Z690 board and a B660 is that you can oc the Z.
Not that you would want to anyway, games perform better using the trubo mechanism.
How many of the 7 expansion slots of a AXX board do you plan to use?
My guess is exactly one for the graphics card.
To that end a MATX size would do as well.
For example, this MSI MAG B660M:
https://www.newegg.com/p/N82E16813144528?Item=N82E16813144528

Your case is outstanding for air cooling.
One of the best air cooling deals around is the Thermalright peerless asassin:
https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/thermalright-peerless-assassin-120-se

DO NOT buy a cheap psu.
You will need at least a 750w quality psu.
http://www.realhardtechx.com/index_archivos/Page362.htm
3080 cards are known to have high peak power draws so 850w is in order.
A quality Corsair rm or Seasonic psu will have a 10 year warrant. No less than 7,
https://www.newegg.com/corsair-rm850-cp-9020235-na-850w/p/N82E16817139281?Item=9SIAPMXJBN4983
 

dmavro

Distinguished
Feb 11, 2010
223
5
18,685
On the motherboard, you can go much simpler.
The main difference between a Z690 board and a B660 is that you can oc the Z.
Not that you would want to anyway, games perform better using the trubo mechanism.
How many of the 7 expansion slots of a AXX board do you plan to use?
My guess is exactly one for the graphics card.
To that end a MATX size would do as well.
For example, this MSI MAG B660M:
https://www.newegg.com/p/N82E16813144528?Item=N82E16813144528

Your case is outstanding for air cooling.
One of the best air cooling deals around is the Thermalright peerless asassin:
https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/thermalright-peerless-assassin-120-se

DO NOT buy a cheap psu.
You will need at least a 750w quality psu.
http://www.realhardtechx.com/index_archivos/Page362.htm
3080 cards are known to have high peak power draws so 850w is in order.
A quality Corsair rm or Seasonic psu will have a 10 year warrant. No less than 7,
https://www.newegg.com/corsair-rm850-cp-9020235-na-850w/p/N82E16817139281?Item=9SIAPMXJBN4983

Im going to look at that mobo later on. Yes, I will be only using one expansion slot for GPU. I will also check out that cooling fan later. Would save some $$ if i decided to go with those parts instead. Thanks for that!

In the meantime im going to order the corsair RM850x PSU ive been looking at on Amazon.

Thanks again.
 
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