[SOLVED] New Gaming PC Build - Details Included In Post

[Skrad]

Approximate Purchase Date: Within a month

Budget Range: $2000-$2500

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Gaming

Are you buying a monitor: Yes

Parts to Upgrade: This will be a new build\pre-built

Do you need to buy OS: Yes

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: N/A

Overclocking: Maybe

SLI or Crossfire: No

And Most Importantly, Why Are You Upgrading: It's been 6 or 7 years since my last upgrade, so it's time. I am wanting a build that can support VR.

To sum up what I am asking, I am looking for advice on whether or not I should go pre-built or build my own PC. I was initially looking to build my own PC with an RTX 3060 GPU over a year ago, however due to the GPU shortage, it seemed that a pre-built would be the best option. I took a look at Best Buy and found the PC below:

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/hp-ome...080-1tb-ssd-jet-black/6487503.p?skuId=6487503

I wanted to think on it for a few days, so I did some research in the meantime. Surprisingly, I received an email from EVGA that said I was being notified of an RTX 3060 that would be in stock that I could purchase. I went ahead and bought it, but after pricing parts on PC PartPicker, it seems like the pre-built would be the better option since it's an RTX 3080. Any thoughts? If you believe the 3060 would be the better option, is there anything that I should replace from the list?

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/29L8ht

Thank you for your input and I look forward to any discussions.

Quick Edit*: I compared the pricing. Roughly, the New Build would be $1622.92. That's taking away the 500GB SSD, the extra stick of RAM, adjusting the $450 (tax included) for the RTX 3060, and taking off the monitor.

The pre-built would be right around $2200, so there is a noticeable difference in price. The Pre-Built would also come with Total Tech for 1 year that would keep me from having to troubleshoot on my own. It also comes with an AMD processor (not knocking AMD) which I'm not familiar with.

 

[Hellfire13]

The prebuilt looks good for its price but its surely skimped on other parts to include that CPU and GPU combo. For your build, you can do this...

PCPartPicker Part List

Type|Item|Price
:----|:----|:----
CPU | Intel Core i7-12700K 3.6 GHz 12-Core Processor | $404.77 @ Newegg
CPU Cooler | be quiet! Dark Rock Pro 4 50.5 CFM CPU Cooler | $89.90 @ Amazon
Motherboard | Asus TUF GAMING Z690-PLUS WIFI D4 ATX LGA1700 Motherboard | $289.99 @ Amazon
Memory | Silicon Power GAMING 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR4-3200 CL16 Memory | $92.99 @ Amazon
Storage | Western Digital WD_BLACK SN750 SE 500 GB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive | $49.99 @ Amazon
Storage | Samsung 870 QVO 2 TB 2.5" Solid State Drive | $179.99 @ Amazon
Video Card | EVGA GeForce RTX 3060 12 GB XC GAMING Video Card | $879.00 @ Amazon
Case | Corsair 4000D Airflow ATX Mid Tower Case | $79.98 @ Amazon
Power Supply | SeaSonic FOCUS GX 750 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply | $70.99 @ Newegg
Operating System | Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM 64-bit | $108.78 @ Other World Computing
Monitor | LG 27GN750-B 27.0" 1920x1080 240 Hz Monitor | $266.99 @ Adorama
| Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts |
| Total (before mail-in rebates) | $2533.37
| Mail-in rebates | -$20.00
| Total | $2513.37
| Generated by PCPartPicker 2021-12-16 08:00 EST-0500 |

If you want to cut some cost, then activate Windows later. It doesnt have any performance penalty.

 

[Skrad]

The prebuilt looks good for its price but its surely skimped on other parts to include that CPU and GPU combo. For your build, you can do this...

PCPartPicker Part List

Type|Item|Price
:----|:----|:----
CPU | Intel Core i7-12700K 3.6 GHz 12-Core Processor | $404.77 @ Newegg
CPU Cooler | be quiet! Dark Rock Pro 4 50.5 CFM CPU Cooler | $89.90 @ Amazon
Motherboard | Asus TUF GAMING Z690-PLUS WIFI D4 ATX LGA1700 Motherboard | $289.99 @ Amazon
Memory | Silicon Power GAMING 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR4-3200 CL16 Memory | $92.99 @ Amazon
Storage | Western Digital WD_BLACK SN750 SE 500 GB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive | $49.99 @ Amazon
Storage | Samsung 870 QVO 2 TB 2.5" Solid State Drive | $179.99 @ Amazon
Video Card | EVGA GeForce RTX 3060 12 GB XC GAMING Video Card | $879.00 @ Amazon
Case | Corsair 4000D Airflow ATX Mid Tower Case | $79.98 @ Amazon
Power Supply | SeaSonic FOCUS GX 750 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply | $70.99 @ Newegg
Operating System | Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM 64-bit | $108.78 @ Other World Computing
Monitor | LG 27GN750-B 27.0" 1920x1080 240 Hz Monitor | $266.99 @ Adorama
| Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts |
| Total (before mail-in rebates) | $2533.37
| Mail-in rebates | -$20.00
| Total | $2513.37
| Generated by PCPartPicker 2021-12-16 08:00 EST-0500 |

If you want to cut some cost, then activate Windows later. It doesnt have any performance penalty.

Are the pre-built parts excluding the CPU and GPU that awful? It still provides a 1TB SSD, 16 GB DDR4 RAM, and 750W PSU. It also provides liquid cooling.

I noticed you replaced most of the parts I had selected from the PC PartPicker list. Was there an issue with the items I had selected? I just need enough power to not bottleneck the RTX 3060. 1 thing in particular was the CPU Cooler. I had thought it would be better to try my hand at liquid cooling as I hear it's better than air cooling. You replaced the liquid cooling I had with an air cooler. Any particular reason?

 

[Hellfire13]

Are the pre-built parts excluding the CPU and GPU that awful? It still provides a 1TB SSD, 16 GB DDR4 RAM, and 750W PSU. It also provides liquid cooling.

Let us get to spec. sheet of the prebuilt...

As you can see the specific details that can identify any part in there is missing. For the layman those specs look awesome. I will pick them one by one...

SSD, no mention of SATA/NVME(which is way way faster by the way), it can be a SATA Tier D for eg...

SSD TIER LIST

Welcome to the SSD tier list. SSD or Solid State Drive is a storage device containing non-volatile flash memory, used in place of hard drive because of its much greater speed. Unlike a hard drive, a solid state drive doesnt have any moving parts. It has two main components - A flash controller an...

linustechtips.com

RAM has no timing, it can be CL 16 which should be ideal or CL 22 which could be pathetic or anything in between. Remember, these assemblers purchase the least expensive(performing) units in bulk for max discounts and then use them as standard.

Motherboard, again no mention of any detail. There are 2 RAM slots means it is most likely a current gen. budget(poor VRM) line small form factor board or a last gen chipset.

Power wattage is 750w but again no detail. This is one place where these prebuilds make most cuts all though it is as important as any other part if not more. More wattage doesn't guarantee better efficiency or performance. A low quality unit has higher probability of failure even it is twice the required wattage. And sometimes it takes other parts along withy it. Then there is the factor of clean power delivery.
A 750w from Tier C onward is not worth it...

Article - [psucultists] PSU tier list rev. 14.8 (Final Update Jul '21)

PSU Tier List 4.0 rev. 14.8 (outdated) Last Update: 12-07-2021 Legend : Gray - EoL/obsolete and/or otherwise not recommended for purchase. Green - small form-factor (gold and blue colors are disregarded due to scarcity of SFX PSUs) Gold - best units in the tier (includes requirements for blue...

forums.tomshardware.com

I noticed you replaced most of the parts I had selected from the PC PartPicker list. Was there an issue with the items I had selected? I just need enough power to not bottleneck the RTX 3060. 1 thing in particular was the CPU Cooler. I had thought it would be better to try my hand at liquid cooling as I hear it's better than air cooling. You replaced the liquid cooling I had with an air cooler. Any particular reason?

Whatever you have heard about liquid cooling being better is not accurate. It only applies to the top Tier very expensive units which you wont need here. A good quality air cooler is equally effective if not more. And it is fire and forget so you dont have to worry about any pump failure or liquid damage...

CPU Cooler Performance Tier List

Last edited 2024.07.14 Cooler performance varies depending on the system. This list ranks coolers using generalized cooling performance from available benchmark results. Quality, aesthetics, acoustics, and ease of installation aren't accounted for. This is not a list of recommendations. A low tie...

linustechtips.com

The warranty on individual parts remains the same as pre built. The difference is that you dont have to chase individual manufacturers yourself for the pre built. But the flip side to that is you compromise on quality. End of day its your call.

 

[helper800]

Whatever you have heard about liquid cooling being better is not accurate. It only applies to the top Tier very expensive units which you wont need here. A good quality air cooler is equally effective if not more. And it is fire and forget so you dont have to worry about any pump failure or liquid damage...

CPU Cooler Performance Tier List

Last edited 2024.07.14 Cooler performance varies depending on the system. This list ranks coolers using generalized cooling performance from available benchmark results. Quality, aesthetics, acoustics, and ease of installation aren't accounted for. This is not a list of recommendations. A low tie...

linustechtips.com

I agree with all of what you said except the above mentioned. The 280mm AIO from arctic for 100 (80 on sale) dollars is more performant in at least 2 aspects than even the Noctua NH-D15S (the best air cooler made). One, temperatures seen are on average 1-2 degrees cooler than the Noctua. Two, the heat soak takes roughly 3x longer on an AIO in general compared to the best air coolers. Heat soak is the amount of time it takes for a cooler to initially heat up its heat dissipating mass, and since there is much more mass to heat up in an AIO this takes on average 3x longer for an AIO. What this means is that CPUs with turbo boosting algorithms (all modern CPUs) can potentially turbo to their maximum for much longer because the CPU will heat up more slowly (temps determine CPU boosting).

 

[Hellfire13]

I agree with all of what you said except the above mentioned. The 280mm AIO from arctic for 100 (80 on sale) dollars is more performant in at least 2 aspects than even the Noctua NH-D15S (the best air cooler made). One, temperatures seen are on average 1-2 degrees cooler than the Noctua. Two, the heat soak takes roughly 3x longer on an AIO in general compared to the best air coolers. Heat soak is the amount of time it takes for a cooler to initially heat up its heat dissipating mass, and since there is much more mass to heat up in an AIO this takes on average 3x longer for an AIO. What this means is that CPUs with turbo boosting algorithms (all modern CPUs) can potentially turbo to their maximum for much longer because the CPU will heat up more slowly (temps determine CPU boosting).

Yes there are some good budget options but I have had a bad experience many years ago and never been a fan since then. Again the differences are are not so significant for me to choose water over air so never recommend them either, atleast not with sub 16 core CPUs. OP can go for it if he wants. Here are some comparisons with the Noctua for reference...

Arctic Liquid Freezer II all-in-one CPU Cooler Review - KitGuru

Arctic is back with a brand-new all-in-one liquid CPU cooler. The Liquid Freezer II is a follow up t

www.kitguru.net

 

[King_V]

@Hellfire13 I could well be remembering wrong, but doesn't the Omen use mostly standard parts? I thought that was supposed to be one of its saving graces..... but I might be confusing it with a different OEM machine.

If my memory is correct, then, given the additional capability of the RTX 3080Ti, would it be worth it to purchase the Omen, then replace the PSU, and possibly the SSD and RAM, and still be money ahead and with a more capable system?

 

[Hellfire13]

@Hellfire13 I could well be remembering wrong, but doesn't the Omen use mostly standard parts? I thought that was supposed to be one of its saving graces..... but I might be confusing it with a different OEM machine.

If my memory is correct, then, given the additional capability of the RTX 3080Ti, would it be worth it to purchase the Omen, then replace the PSU, and possibly the SSD and RAM, and still be money ahead and with a more capable system?

I have no idea if they use standard parts or otherwise. I have always observed generally as well as in this case, that system integrators usually provide as much details about good quality parts as possible and vice versa. One thing that OP can do is talk to them and find out the details of the remaining parts and if they are good quality then there is no defeating that combo at that price for sure.

 

[Skrad]

@Hellfire13 1 bad experience shouldn't soil the possibility of better options. I understand 1 bad experience out of 99 good ones can turn anyone away from certain things, but I do prefer to have a maintenance-free machine, though I know that's impossible. I did speak with the Best Buy associate and he seemed pretty knowledgeable. I was initially looking at an MSI machine and he heavily pushed me away from MSI stating their customer service isn't the greatest as he had an experience which took 3 months to repair. That 1 bad instance for him was enough for him to shun MSI, though I don't know about your perspectives on MSI. He took a look at all the machines Best Buy had available and picked out the Omen PC. I can dig further and get the specs on exactly what parts are included.

@King_V The GPU is an RTX 3080, without the the TI suffix. Not sure if that changes your stance on the pre-built being a better buy.

 

[King_V]

Ok, this was nagging at my brain WAY too much . . best I can tell, the models starting with GT13-(whatever) are the Omen 30L.

I thought it was reviewed by GamersNexus, and drove myself a little batty on YouTube for a bit trying to find it...

... and I was embarrassed to find out it was reviewed here, albeit a year ago.

Tomshardware HP Omen 30L review

They did note that the cooling came up short, though. But overall, not too bad, actually. Looks like it's going for standard parts rather than proprietary... assuming they haven't change that practice for the Omen in the past year.
(edit: while the Ryzen 7 5800X runs a bit cooler than the i9-10900K that was in the reviewed model, I'm guessing at least another fan might be warranted... )

Could be worth considering - and is a relief compared to how Dell is running pell-mell in the "Make ALL THE THINGS proprietary!!" direction.

 

[King_V]

@King_V The GPU is an RTX 3080, without the the TI suffix. Not sure if that changes your stance on the pre-built being a better buy.

Ack, I realized that after I typed it, and forgot to correct my post. But, yes, even with the 3080, my opinion stays the same.

I'd suggest reading the link to last years review of the HP Omen that I provided in my post above... if none of the potential downsides seems to be a problem for you, then it should definitely be considered.

My guess is that maybe the PSU should be replaced, but I don't know what exact model of PSU would be in there, so, that's just a maybe. Also, probably worth keeping the original PSU at least as long as the HP warranty is still in effect (a year? Not sure...)

 

[Hellfire13]

@Hellfire13 1 bad experience shouldn't soil the possibility of better options. I understand 1 bad experience out of 99 good ones can turn anyone away from certain things, but I do prefer to have a maintenance-free machine, though I know that's impossible. I did speak with the Best Buy associate and he seemed pretty knowledgeable. I was initially looking at an MSI machine and he heavily pushed me away from MSI stating their customer service isn't the greatest as he had an experience which took 3 months to repair. That 1 bad instance for him was enough for him to shun MSI, though I don't know about your perspectives on MSI. He took a look at all the machines Best Buy had available and picked out the Omen PC. I can dig further and get the specs on exactly what parts are included.

@King_V The GPU is an RTX 3080, without the the TI suffix. Not sure if that changes your stance on the pre-built being a better buy.

The AIO is a non factor here as I have mentioned you can go for it. But I have serious reservations about the quality of storage, PSU and RAM timing in that build. These are some important factors while building a PC and directly affects its performance.

The review for that machine isnt that good either with a single star if you scroll down...
"First off wow this runs hot. It idles the 5800x around 65 and will be around 85 while in use if you turn the turbo from extreme to normal which is also the only way to get it to stop sounding like a jet engine. The 3080 is lhr and the fan has a horrible clicking noise on the gpu in the 55-65% range."

 

[Skrad]

Ok, this was nagging at my brain WAY too much . . best I can tell, the models starting with GT13-(whatever) are the Omen 30L.

I thought it was reviewed by GamersNexus, and drove myself a little batty on YouTube for a bit trying to find it...

... and I was embarrassed to find out it was reviewed here, albeit a year ago.

Tomshardware HP Omen 30L review

They did note that the cooling came up short, though. But overall, not too bad, actually. Looks like it's going for standard parts rather than proprietary... assuming they haven't change that practice for the Omen in the past year.
(edit: while the Ryzen 7 5800X runs a bit cooler than the i9-10900K that was in the reviewed model, I'm guessing at least another fan might be warranted... )

Could be worth considering - and is a relief compared to how Dell is running pell-mell in the "Make ALL THE THINGS proprietary!!" direction.

That model looks the same, but the build is different than the Omen I had linked. I ran through the parts and it looks to be an RTX 3060 and has air cooling vs liquid cooling. That may mean the pre-built I am looking at won't have the heat issue since it had liquid cooling installed already. Unfortunately, there aren't many reviews I can find for the pre-built, but past models may be a good indicator.

 

[Skrad]

The AIO is a non factor here as I have mentioned you can go for it. But I have serious reservations about the quality of storage, PSU and RAM timing in that build. These are some important factors while building a PC and directly affects its performance.

The review for that machine isnt that good either with a single star if you scroll down...
"First off wow this runs hot. It idles the 5800x around 65 and will be around 85 while in use if you turn the turbo from extreme to normal which is also the only way to get it to stop sounding like a jet engine. The 3080 is lhr and the fan has a horrible clicking noise on the gpu in the 55-65% range."

I understand. I haven't messed with liquid cooling, so it'd be a new experience with potential mistakes. I asked about the extra specs you had mentioned and didn't get far with the Best Buy agent. I'll have to keep digging. 1 review isn't enough of an indicator of the quality, but I realize it isn't off to a good start. The other review that King provided of the Omen model are decent, so maybe that would speak for their later models?

 

[Hellfire13]

I understand. I haven't messed with liquid cooling, so it'd be a new experience with potential mistakes. I asked about the extra specs you had mentioned and didn't get far with the Best Buy agent. I'll have to keep digging. 1 review isn't enough of an indicator of the quality, but I realize it isn't off to a good start. The other review that King provided of the Omen model are decent, so maybe that would speak for their later models?

That review is for Intel which is not so sensitive to RAM. The SSD looks good in the review but the PSU looks like a CM budget unit. I would keep digging for more details.

 

[Why_Me]

@Skrad I just noticed your new monitor is 1080P. That means your current RTX 3060 is fine. With that said look at these changes.

https://www.arctic.de/us/LGA1700-Mounting-Kit-Liquid-Freezer-II-Series/MPSAS00891A
ARCTIC COOLING Liquid Freezer II LGA 1700 Mounting Kit $6.99

Exhaust fan for that case in your build.

https://www.amazon.com/ARCTIC-P12-Slim-PWM-Pressure-optimised/dp/B08QDKGCCW/

ARCTIC P12 Slim PWM 120mm 4-Pin Case Fan $10.99

https://www.newegg.com/gigabyte-aorus-z690-gaming-x-ddr4/p/N82E16813145347
GIGABYTE Z690 GAMING X DDR4 $229.99

https://www.newegg.com/intel-core-i5-12600k-core-i5-12th-gen/p/N82E16819118347
Intel Core i5-12600K $299.99 + $10 off w/ promo code SSAZA622

or ...

https://www.newegg.com/intel-core-i7-12700kf-core-i7-12th-gen/p/N82E16819118345
Intel Core i7-12700KF $394.88

You want one set of RAM, not two. 2x16GB ftw

https://www.newegg.com/ballistix-32gb-288-pin-ddr4-sdram/p/N82E16820164174
Crucial Ballistix DDR4 3600MHz 32GB (2x16GB) CL16 $199.99

https://www.gigabyte.com/Motherboard/Z690-GAMING-X-DDR4-rev-10

 

[Skrad]

@Hellfire13
@King_V

If I were to stay around this build, would you both be able to recommend some solid RAM? Just trying to see my options here. I did some more research and it looks like I only need 16 GB of RAM instead of 32. I also had 4 sticks, so I took Why_Me's advice and will only buy 1 set of RAM. I took HellFire's advice and replaced the air cooler I had with the Dark Rock Pro. Looking at the build as it is, are there any parts that just don't quite sync with another part. I.E. PSU isn't good enough for the build, or CPU/GPU bottlenecks each other. Things of that nature. Also wouldn't mind some recommendations for a better case if you all have anything to share (are dust filters on cases useful?)

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/F42hsX

 

[Skrad]

@Why_Me I actually swapped the cooler with 1 that Hellfire mentioned if you'd like to take a quick look at it. https://pcpartpicker.com/product/F3gzK8/be-quiet-dark-rock-pro-4-505-cfm-cpu-cooler-bk022

Not sure if I need a mounting kit for that one as well. I will end up buying a few case fans but they are cheap enough that I haven't included them in the main build. But I will definitely consider the ones you had mentioned.

Does the motherboard I chose need to be swapped out for a different one? Is the Gigabyte MB you mentioned a needed upgrade to the current build? Same for the CPU.

Good to know about the RAM. I hadn't even realized I had 4 sticks of RAM in there. I'm going to drop it down to a set of 2. I did some reading and noticed that I may not need 32GB of RAM if I'm focused on gaming. Do you know if that's correct? I plan to use this build for VR, so I want to be sure. If I don't need that, I would only need 16GB (2x8GB), so do you have any recommendations for that?

 

[Why_Me]

@Why_Me I actually swapped the cooler with 1 that Hellfire mentioned if you'd like to take a quick look at it. https://pcpartpicker.com/product/F3gzK8/be-quiet-dark-rock-pro-4-505-cfm-cpu-cooler-bk022

Not sure if I need a mounting kit for that one as well. I will end up buying a few case fans but they are cheap enough that I haven't included them in the main build. But I will definitely consider the ones you had mentioned.

Does the motherboard I chose need to be swapped out for a different one? Is the Gigabyte MB you mentioned a needed upgrade to the current build? Same for the CPU.

Good to know about the RAM. I hadn't even realized I had 4 sticks of RAM in there. I'm going to drop it down to a set of 2. I did some reading and noticed that I may not need 32GB of RAM if I'm focused on gaming. Do you know if that's correct? I plan to use this build for VR, so I want to be sure. If I don't need that, I would only need 16GB (2x8GB), so do you have any recommendations for that?

32GB is nice but 16GB will work. As far as case fans go you want 4-pin fans but tbh one 120mm exhaust fan in the back of that case should be good for now.

btw not to overload you with info but five weeks from now the locked intel cpu's will be released along with the H670 and B660 boards. $200 for the i5 12400F and $280 - $300 for the i7 12700F. Expect a decent B660 board to run you right around $150.

https://www.techpowerup.com/289923/intel-core-i5-12400-early-review-dubs-it-a-game-changer
Intel Core i5-12400 Early Review Dubs it a Game Changer

 

[Hellfire13]

@Hellfire13
@King_V

If I were to stay around this build, would you both be able to recommend some solid RAM? Just trying to see my options here. I did some more research and it looks like I only need 16 GB of RAM instead of 32. I also had 4 sticks, so I took Why_Me's advice and will only buy 1 set of RAM. I took HellFire's advice and replaced the air cooler I had with the Dark Rock Pro. Looking at the build as it is, are there any parts that just don't quite sync with another part. I.E. PSU isn't good enough for the build, or CPU/GPU bottlenecks each other. Things of that nature. Also wouldn't mind some recommendations for a better case if you all have anything to share (are dust filters on cases useful?)

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/F42hsX

Everything better than this build has been recommended in above posts. If you are getting back to this build, then there seems to be some serious discrepancy in your research. Still clueless why you would revert to a previous gen. when the current gen. is in your budget. Still clueless why you would omit a faster NVME drive for a slower SATA drive. Even rejected a better case.

 

[Skrad]

Everything better than this build has been recommended in above posts. If you are getting back to this build, then there seems to be some serious discrepancy in your research. Still clueless why you would revert to a previous gen. when the current gen. is in your budget. Still clueless why you would omit a faster NVME drive for a slower SATA drive. Even rejected a better case.

I'll take a look at it further and swap things out. I'm assuming to mean the CPU I would be using is last gen. Does it make that much a difference between gens? Always thought they were fairly close. Anyways, thanks for the suggestions.

 

[King_V]

I would definitely agree with moving away from the older generation CPUs.

With Intel, it's relatively easy to figure out what generation it is based on the model number...
8th gen - iX-8xxx
9th gen - iX-9xxx
10th gen - iX-10xxx
11th gen - iX-11xxx
12th gen - iX-12xxx

The 12th gen CPUs are much more capable, and more efficient than the previous generations.

If you go the AMD route - their latest and greatest are the 5000 series CPUs. Their model numbers have no relation to the Intel model numbers.


Yeah, given that you have a 1080p monitor, I concur with the previous posts that the RTX 3060 will be more than sufficient.


I'd also agree with going to an M2 NVMe drive... probably best to go with a single large drive there . . MAYBE additional drives can be SATA if you need it.

The M2 drives look like an undersized RAM stick, and don't need to deal with power cables and SATA data cables. They just connect right to the motherboard. The "traditional" SATA drives are like what you have listed... 2.5" form factor, and require cables to connect for power and data.

Now, with M2, there are M2 SATA drives, and M2 NVMe drives. In the case of M2 SATA, there's still no cables, but it runs on the slower (but still fast for most typical use) SATA protocol. Still, it usually costs the same, or only very slightly more, to get an equivalent M2 NVMe drive, and they perform either the same, or better, depending on what kind of workload you're dealing with.

 

[Skrad]

I'm about to hop on a plane, so if you can give me until tomorrow to take a look again, it'd be much appreciated. I was worried that the M2 drives were worse than the larger SSD's, but it sounds like you all vouch for them. I had upgraded my laptop with one so I didn't think that it was a viable option for desktop computers, but I must've thought incorrectly. Will I need to worry about the MB Hellfire mentioned having enough space for 2 M2 drives?

 

[helper800]

I'm about to hop on a plane, so if you can give me until tomorrow to take a look again, it'd be much appreciated. I was worried that the M2 drives were worse than the larger SSD's, but it sounds like you all vouch for them. I had upgraded my laptop with one so I didn't think that it was a viable option for desktop computers, but I must've thought incorrectly. Will I need to worry about the MB Hellfire mentioned having enough space for 2 M2 drives?

The motherboard @Hellfire13 recommended has 4 m.2 slots and they do not interfere with the other parts on the motherboard. They also go u to 4tb in capacity of all the ones that I know. I hope that answers your question.

 

[Skrad]

@Hellfire13 The reason I didn't swap out the motherboard initially was that I couldn't select it from the list of compatible parts on the PC Part picker list. I thought that meant it wasn't suited for what I had selected at the time. The highest listed was the Z590, so maybe it's a newer part that hasn't made it on their yet. Nonetheless, I'll go ahead and get that MB you mentioned. Minor edit* I swapped the CPU to the 12th gen and it's now compatible with the Z690 MB. Hurray.

For the RAM, https://pcpartpicker.com/product/B8...6-gb-ddr4-3200-cl16-memory-sp032gxlzu320bdaj7 was listed, but is 32GB. Hellfire mentioned 32GB as well, so would either of the 16GB (2x8GB) in those brands be a good alternative?

For CPU, I'll go with the Intel Core i7-12700K. I did notice there is a KF version, but I'd assume having integrated graphics is useful when it comes to testing. Also, a big thanks to @King_V for explaining the gens and RAM speeds to me. As I mentioned, it's been awhile since I've looked at these things and forgotten quite a bit.

For storage, @Hellfire13 mentioned the NVME SSD, which I've already swapped, but still had the regular QVO SSD from my previous build. Should I swap this out for the same NVME SSD for the speed since my games will be on this SDD? or was it due to the cost difference between the 2? I went ahead and added a 2nd NVME SSD from WesternDigital as @Hellfire13 suggested from the first one. I want to separate my OS and personal use.

For PSU, @Hellfire13 mentioned https://pcpartpicker.com/product/97...d-fully-modular-atx-power-supply-focus-gx-750 @ $70.99.
In my list, I had https://pcpartpicker.com/product/6p...fully-modular-atx-power-supply-220-p2-0650-x1 @ $90. I figured since it was EVGA and was platinum certified, that'd it'd be a good option. Is 650 just not enough and that's why the 750W is better?

For the case, I swapped out what I had with the https://pcpartpicker.com/product/bCYQzy/corsair-4000d-airflow-atx-mid-tower-case-cc-9011200-ww

How does this look? https://pcpartpicker.com/list/d9GmVc
@Hellfire13 @King_V @helper800 @Why_Me

Also, just to give another thank you to everyone for giving me your thoughts and opinions. Helps a ton.