Question New build - Help Please

[elitech]

Hi all,

Thank you all for your help and expertise. Building a whole new machine from scratch and planning to give away my old one to a family member. Without further ado:

Approximate Purchase Date: within 1 month. Ready to pull the trigger now if needed (i.e. a great deal), but I can wait a bit

Budget Range: ~$1500 (can go a bit higher if justified)

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming, browsing

Are you buying a monitor: Yes

Do you need to buy OS: Yes, but don't include in the price please

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: MicroCenter, BestBuy, and anything that delivers (Amazon, NewEgg, B&H Photo...)

Location: MD, USA

Overclocking: I will not be overclocking

Multiple GPUs: Not planned

Your Monitor Resolution: Currently gaming in 1920x1080 and satisfied. Would consider going to 1440p, but not a must.

Additional Comments: No need for any RGB or anything on the outside. Quiet is good. No water cooling

And Most Importantly, Why Are You Upgrading: Giving away my old computer, building a new one

Please let me know if you have any other questions. As in my other requests through the years, looking for best bang for buck. Hopefully a decent machine that can run current AAA games, with upgrade capability down the road that won't break bank.

Thanks again!

 

[dark_globe]

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: Intel Core Ultra 7 265KF 3.9 GHz 20-Core Processor ($229.99 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: ID-COOLING FROZN A620 PRO SE 58 CFM CPU Cooler ($29.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock Z890 Pro-A WiFi ATX LGA1851 Motherboard ($149.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: Patriot Viper Xtreme 5 48 GB (2 x 24 GB) DDR5-7600 CL36 Memory ($139.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Crucial T500 2 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive ($124.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Gigabyte WINDFORCE OC SFF GeForce RTX 5070 12 GB Video Card ($549.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Montech AIR 903 BASE ATX Mid Tower Case ($64.98 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: NZXT C850 (2024) 850 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply ($124.99 @ Best Buy)
Monitor: ASRock PG27QFT2A 27.0" 2560 x 1440 180 Hz Monitor ($150.76 @ Newegg)
Total: $1565.67
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2025-06-24 17:14 EDT-0400

best bang for the buck in my opinion but most likely zero options to upgrade your cpu in the future .
if you want a platform with better upgrade path here is a different solution:



PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 9600X 3.9 GHz 6-Core Processor ($174.99 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: ID-COOLING FROZN A620 PRO SE 58 CFM CPU Cooler ($29.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: MSI PRO B850-P WIFI ATX AM5 Motherboard ($159.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Patriot Venom 64 GB (2 x 32 GB) DDR5-6000 CL30 Memory ($159.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Crucial T500 2 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive ($124.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Gigabyte WINDFORCE OC SFF GeForce RTX 5070 12 GB Video Card ($549.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Montech AIR 903 BASE ATX Mid Tower Case ($64.98 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: NZXT C850 (2024) 850 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply ($124.99 @ Best Buy)
Monitor: ASRock PG27QFT2A 27.0" 2560 x 1440 180 Hz Monitor ($150.76 @ Newegg)
Total: $1540.67
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2025-06-24 17:25 EDT-0400

 

[helper800]

This is the most performance per cost optimized build for 1500ish with a monitor, but you only get a 1TB drive for the OS and games until you can get another drive in the future, and 32gb of RAM as opposed to 64gb. 64gb is really nice to have, but not necessary right now. This build gets the most performance now. Here is the link to the microcenter bundle for 400 dollars.

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 7600X3D 4.1 GHz 6-Core Processor ($400.00)
CPU Cooler: Thermalright Peerless Assassin 120 SE V3 70.84 CFM CPU Cooler ($34.90 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Asus TUF GAMING B650-E WIFI ATX AM5 Motherboard ($0.00)
Memory: G.Skill Flare X5 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR5-6000 CL36 Memory ($0.00)
Storage: Crucial T500 1 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive ($75.19 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Asus PRIME OC Radeon RX 9070 XT 16 GB Video Card ($719.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Montech AIR 903 BASE ATX Mid Tower Case ($64.98 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: Thermaltake Toughpower GF3 TT Premium 750 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply ($89.99 @ Newegg)
Monitor: ASRock PG27QFT1B 27.0" 2560 x 1440 180 Hz Monitor ($152.77 @ Amazon)
Total: $1537.82
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2025-06-24 20:10 EDT-0400

 

[logainofhades]

I would start with the 7800x3d bundle, from Microcenter.

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D 4.2 GHz 8-Core Processor ($0.00)
CPU Cooler: Thermalright Royal Pretor 130 BLACK 81.88 CFM CPU Cooler ($49.69 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Asus TUF GAMING B650E-PLUS WIFI ATX AM5 Motherboard ($0.00)
Memory: G.Skill Flare X5 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR5-6000 CL36 Memory ($0.00)
Storage: SK Hynix Platinum P41 2 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive ($114.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: ASRock Challenger Radeon RX 9070 16 GB Video Card ($599.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Montech AIR 903 MAX ATX Mid Tower Case ($89.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: Thermaltake Toughpower GF A3 - TT Premium Edition 850 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply ($109.99 @ Amazon)
Custom: Microcenter 7800x3d bundle ($499.99)
Total: $1464.64
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2025-06-24 20:26 EDT-0400

 

[Why_Me]

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: *AMD Ryzen 5 9600X 3.9 GHz 6-Core Processor ($174.99 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: *ID-COOLING FROZN A620 PRO SE 58 CFM CPU Cooler ($29.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: *Asus B650E MAX GAMING WIFI ATX AM5 Motherboard ($169.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: *TEAMGROUP T-Create Expert 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR5-6000 CL30 Memory ($91.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: *Klevv CRAS C910 2 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive ($89.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: *Asus PRIME OC GeForce RTX 5070 12 GB Video Card ($549.99 @ Newegg)
Case: *Montech AIR 903 BASE ATX Mid Tower Case ($64.98 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: *Montech CENTURY II 850 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply ($89.90 @ Newegg)
Monitor: *MSI G244PF E2 23.8" 1920 x 1080 180 Hz Monitor ($109.99 @ B&H)
Total: $1371.81
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
*Lowest price parts chosen from parametric criteria
Generated by PCPartPicker 2025-06-24 22:32 EDT-0400

https://www.msi.com/Monitor/G244PF-E2

 

[dark_globe]

yeah those micro center bundles are hard to beat .
if you chose to go for some of the bundles
i would probably go for the cheap and effective 7600X3D combo for $399
and get the best video card that you can afford to go with it (preferably 9070xt or 5070Ti)

although i don´t advice to compromise on storage or memory capacity .
1tb drive will be full before you know it - some modern games require 250gb of space each ,
and 2x16gb is no longer too sufficient for a new gaming build in my opinion especially if you
like to run stuff in the background and to keep your browsers open while gaming (which many gamers do) .
furthermore you can run into problems with memory speeds and timings if you decide to upgrade and to
populate all 4 slots in the future , that´s why it is better to get either 2x24gb or 2x32gb straight out of the gate .

 

[elitech]

yeah those micro center bundles are hard to beat .
if you chose to go for some of the bundles
i would probably go for the cheap and effective 7600X3D combo for $399
and get the best video card that you can afford to go with it (preferably 9070xt or 5070Ti)

although i don´t advice to compromise on storage or memory capacity .
1tb drive will be full before you know it - some modern games require 250gb of space each ,
and 2x16gb is no longer too sufficient for a new gaming build in my opinion especially if you
like to run stuff in the background and to keep your browsers open while gaming (which many gamers do) .
furthermore you can run into problems with memory speeds and timings if you decide to upgrade and to
populate all 4 slots in the future , that´s why it is better to get either 2x24gb or 2x32gb straight out of the gate .

Thanks for the input. Would you be able to create a build recommendation that contains all you wrote? Just curious how much that would cost.

Thank you,

 

[dark_globe]

Thanks for the input. Would you be able to create a build recommendation that contains all you wrote? Just curious how much that would cost.

Thank you,

take a look at my second build (the AM5 one)
from this thread - just swap the cpu for 7800x3d or 7600x3d
and add a more powerful video card .
it would be roughly $1900 or $2000 after those two modifications .
($100 difference depending on if you go for 9070xt or 5070Ti - 5070ti is more expensive but
has better set of features in my opinion)
PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D 4.2 GHz 8-Core Processor ($359.50 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: ID-COOLING FROZN A620 PRO SE 58 CFM CPU Cooler ($29.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: MSI PRO B850-P WIFI ATX AM5 Motherboard ($159.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Patriot Venom 64 GB (2 x 32 GB) DDR5-6000 CL30 Memory ($159.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Crucial T500 2 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive ($124.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Gigabyte GAMING OC Radeon RX 9070 XT 16 GB Video Card ($729.99 @ Best Buy)
Case: Montech AIR 903 BASE ATX Mid Tower Case ($64.98 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: NZXT C850 (2024) 850 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply ($124.99 @ Best Buy)
Monitor: ASRock PG27QFT2A 27.0" 2560 x 1440 180 Hz Monitor ($150.76 @ Newegg)
Total: $1905.18
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2025-06-25 15:17 EDT-0400