Question New build for School work/Surfing/Possible video editing and light gaming

[welchs101]

Hi, I am thinking about building a new computer for my kids.
It will be used for
(1) homework in Jr /High school.
(2) light gaming not ultimate hardcore gaming but given that prices are coming down i was thinking of getting a video card to go with system.

In addition to a SSD hard drive i would like to have the memory that you plug into the MOB (not sure of the name).
I built one with this for my wife a few yrs ago and she really likes how fast it boots up.
I would like to have WAY MORE RAM than one needs ...i was thinking like either 16G or 32G of ram.

i already have OS , monitor and keyboard.

Any help you can give would be appreciated.

Budget: $500 to $700..........if you think i need more i can do more but will need to justify it to my wife......

 

[Eximo]

You are thinking of M.2 NVMe drives. You don't actually need anything else to start with. You can add additional M.2 drives later, or a SATA SSD, or SATA Hard Drive.

Well, 2x8GB of memory is basically standard these days. Enough for gaming and web browsing up to pretty silly levels.

2x16GB is possible for 32GB of memory, but adds another $50.

RX6600 is the cheapest GPU worth having, actually enough for pretty high end gaming.

CPU is little on the light side. If you can stretch I really recommend the i5-12400F instead, as well as a non-stock CPU cooler. I will put the recommended build below the budgeted one.

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: Intel Core i3-12100F 3.3 GHz Quad-Core Processor ($106.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock B660M Steel Legend Micro ATX LGA1700 Motherboard ($109.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Silicon Power GAMING 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 CL16 Memory ($46.97 @ Amazon)
Storage: Intel 660p 512 GB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive ($39.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: XFX Radeon RX 6600 8 GB Speedster SWFT 210 Video Card ($279.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Deepcool MATREXX 40 MicroATX Mid Tower Case ($62.98 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Antec High Current Gamer Gold 650 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply ($69.98 @ Amazon)
Total: $716.89
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2022-07-14 15:16 EDT-0400

 

[Eximo]

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: Intel Core i5-12400F 2.5 GHz 6-Core Processor ($149.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: Vetroo V5 52 CFM CPU Cooler ($34.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock B660M Steel Legend Micro ATX LGA1700 Motherboard ($109.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws V 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR4-3200 CL16 Memory ($94.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Samsung 970 Evo Plus 1 TB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive ($99.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: XFX Radeon RX 6600 8 GB Speedster SWFT 210 Video Card ($279.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Deepcool MATREXX 40 MicroATX Mid Tower Case ($62.98 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Antec High Current Gamer Gold 650 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply ($69.98 @ Amazon)
Case Fan: ARCTIC P12 56.3 CFM 120 mm Fan ($8.85 @ Amazon)
Case Fan: ARCTIC P12 56.3 CFM 120 mm Fan ($8.85 @ Amazon)
Total: $920.60
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2022-07-14 15:22 EDT-0400

 

[Why_Me]

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1543118-REG/cougar_mx330_g_air_gaming_mid_tower.html
COUGAR MX330-G Air Mid Tower Computer Case $61.99

https://www.newegg.com/super-flower-leadex-iii-argb-sf-550f14rg-550w/p/1HU-024C-00004
Super Flower Leadex III ARGB 550W 80+ Gold Modular Power Supply $69.99 + $10 off w/ promo code FTSBUAA588, limited offer By Super Flower

https://www.newegg.com/p/N82E16813162047
ASRock B660M STEEL LEGEND $109.99

https://www.newegg.com/intel-core-i5-12400f-core-i5-12th-gen/p/N82E16819118360
Intel Core i5-12400F $154.99 + $5 off w/ promo code FTSBUAA55, limited offer

Amazon.com: DEEPCOOL GAMMAXX400 CPU Air Cooler with 4 Heatpipes, 120mm PWM Fan and Blue LED for Intel/AMD CPUs (AM4 Compatible): Computers & Accessories

Buy DEEPCOOL GAMMAXX400 CPU Air Cooler with 4 Heatpipes, 120mm PWM Fan and Blue LED for Intel/AMD CPUs (AM4 Compatible): CPU Cooling Fans - Amazon.com ✓ FREE DELIVERY possible on eligible purchases

www.amazon.com

DeepCool GAMMAXX 400 CPU Cooler $14.99

https://www.newegg.com/team-16gb-288-pin-ddr4-sdram/p/N82E16820331354
Team T-FORCE VULCAN Z DDR4 3200MHz 16GB (2x8GB) CL16 $48.99

https://www.newegg.com/team-group-1tb-cx2/p/N82E16820331561
Team Group CX2 2.5" 1TB SATA III 3D NAND Internal SSD $61.99

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09HHLX543
XFX Speedster SWFT 210 Radeon RX 6600 8GB Video Card $279.99

Total: $787.92 *including shipping & promo codes

https://www.amazon.com/Microsoft-Windows-11-USB/dp/B09V6R9QZZ
Microsoft Windows 11 Home 64-Bit USB $139.00

A better look at those components.

COUGAR MX330-G Air - Mid Tower Gaming Case - COUGAR

MX330-G Air Glass Window Mid-Tower Excellent cooling, plenty of space for upgrading, a sleek design and a tempered glass window to see all your components in action. If you’re looking for this, MX330-G Air is what you need. One Window to View Them All MX330-G Air features a tempered glass...

cougargaming.com

https://www.asrock.com/mb/Intel/B660M Steel Legend/index.asp

https://ark.intel.com/content/www/u...2400f-processor-18m-cache-up-to-4-40-ghz.html

i5 12400 / 12400F gaming benchmarks.

 

[Eximo]

Ooh, the Gammaxx 400 is $15 again, time to buy. Always like to have a spare.

Used the last one up on my nephew's computer. I plonk a nice 120mm fan on them and they make a good little cooler. Versatile mounting hardware as well, a few screws and washers and they bolt right up to Dell OEM backplate/chassis.

 

[King_V]

How light of gaming are we talking? And, at what resolution?

Depending on how light the gaming is, you could likely get by with a Ryzen 5 5600G based system, using the integrated graphics.

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 5600G 3.9 GHz 6-Core Processor ($167.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Gigabyte A520M DS3H Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard ($79.98 @ Amazon)
Memory: TEAMGROUP T-FORCE DARK Za 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3600 CL18 Memory ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 970 Evo Plus 1 TB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive ($99.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Phanteks Eclipse P360A ATX Mid Tower Case ($69.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair RMx (2021) 550 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply ($69.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $537.93
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2022-07-14 16:37 EDT-0400

Depending on your needs, you can drop down to a 512GB SSD instead of 1TB.

I chose the A520M board as, while PCIe 4.0 is good, compared to 3.0, you probably won't notice much difference in regular day-to-day use, so that kept the costs a little lower.

Why the white case? It's $30 less than the black version, and, it has black offsets inside. I used it for my son, and it looks pretty nice. Might do to throw in an exhaust fan for the back as well, though.

Please note: The prices for the case and the PSU involve a $20 mail-in rebate for each of them.


A separate GPU could be added in the future if needed.

EDIT: Not sure why you want way more RAM than you need, but, you can either get two sets of the RAM I suggested, or a single 2x16GB kit of the same type.

 

[welchs101]

thanks all for making suggestions. i will review them all thanks again.

 

[welchs101]

one quick question: is there a difference between i5-12400 and i5-12400F

 

[egda23]

Thé 12400F does not have an iGPU, meaning that you need a GPU.
Thé 12400 has an iGPU

 

[welchs101]

hi all, had another question

i really like the performance of the i5 you all selected i think its really nice and i like the price. I was wondering how the i5-12400f compares to the amd Ryzen 5 5600x...........i know this cpu is $20 more but just curious.......i do not want to start a war of intel vs amd.......i am just asking about these two cpu......and thoughts from people who know more than i do about them.

 

[egda23]

They are equivalent. Simply look at this chart
https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/cpu-hierarchy,4312.html

Could depend of the price you can get for a CPU + motherboard package.
Beside that, the choice is almost religious.

 

[welchs101]

i dont do a lot of builds....mainly family.........but when i do them one thing i look at is how many people are buying say a given MOB. When i select the intel cpu i dont see a lot of people who have bought MOB for this chipset..........however, if i select the amd ryzen 5 5600x i see a lot of people have bought MOB for this chip set..........again i am not trying to start an intel vs amd .....................is the reason more people have bought the amd MOB because that chip set has been out longer or what? if they have both been out the same then should one really consdier the intel one.....there has to be some viable reason why not many people have purchased MOB fo this chipset........thoughts? am i thinking about this wrong?

 

[egda23]

At the moment the i5-12400 is one of the most popular CPU.
It is usually paired with a B660 chipset motherboard, as you can not overclock this CPU and Z690 are motherboards allowing overclocking and are more expensive than B660 mobos

 

[Why_Me]

hi all, had another question

i really like the performance of the i5 you all selected i think its really nice and i like the price. I was wondering how the i5-12400f compares to the amd Ryzen 5 5600x...........i know this cpu is $20 more but just curious.......i do not want to start a war of intel vs amd.......i am just asking about these two cpu......and thoughts from people who know more than i do about them.

I posted the benchmarks up above,

 

[King_V]

They are equivalent. Simply look at this chart
https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/cpu-hierarchy,4312.html

Could depend of the price you can get for a CPU + motherboard package.
Beside that, the choice is almost religious.

I concur. When it comes to choosing between the 12400f vs the 5600 or 5600X, pick whichever has the better price for motherboard + CPU.

EDIT: Also, if you happen to live within a reasonable distance of a Micro Center, they often have coupons for CPUs, and a $20 additional discount for buying a CPU and a motherboard together.