[SOLVED] To build now, or not to build now, that is my question. New Build

Gamerboy

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Aug 13, 2010
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Approximate Purchase Date: As soon as I have enough saved.
Budget Range: Saving until I can buy a machine I’ll be happy with. I was originally aiming at around $1,500, but GPU prices are disgusting. Ideally, I would stay below $2,000, but this is going to be my primary school/work/gaming pc for the next while, so I’m willing to splurge a little if I end up having to.
System Usage from Most to Least Important:
  • College now, software development sometime in the future
  • Gaming, streaming, recording, editing
Are you buying a monitor: No
Parts to upgrade: Full build potentially, possibly re-using GPU. This is what I’m here for.
Do you need to buy OS: Yes
Preferred Website(s) for Parts: Newegg, Amazon, doesn’t really matter as long as it’s reputable. Looking for quality components at decent prices.
Location: Nebraska, USA
Parts Preferences: No preference
Overclocking: Probably not, but I don’t see a reason to limit myself unless the price difference is prohibitive
SLI or Crossfire: Maybe later
Monitor Resolution: 1080p, will be upgrading to 1440p 240hz main later and running a dual setup
Additional Comments: A quiet rig would be nice.
The most resource-intensive games I will be playing in the near future:
  • Hunt Showdown
  • Escape from Tarkov
  • New World
  • Any new releases I find interesting
Why are you upgrading:
My rig is 7 years old and I can’t play/record/stream the games I want to. Also, video editing is limited and takes ages to process.
Current specs:
  • i5 4460
  • GTX 970 SLI
  • 1000W 80+
  • 8GB DDR3 1600 RAM
  • MSI Gaming Z97-G45 LGA 1150
  • 1TB SATA SSD
  • 2x 1TB HDD

Current Earmarked Shopping list:
I’ll be honest, I haven’t done the math to determine if the case or PSU are big enough. I’m not stuck on this stuff. This is just preliminary.

My plan is to hand my current PC down to my kids, so if I do a fresh build right now, without buying a GPU, I’ll be rocking a blisteringly fast snail's pace with one GTX 970 for a time. I’ll leave one in this build for them to use.

So, here’s my question. Do you folks think it’s worth it to build a new rig without buying a GPU, or should I wait until I have enough saved or GPU prices come back down and build the entire system then?

Thanks for any assistance.
 
Solution
You want an exhaust fan for that case or it's going to be a hotbox for sure.

https://www.amazon.com/ARCTIC-ACFAN00119A-P12-Black-Pressure-Optimized/dp/B07GB5JRTZ/
ARCTIC P12 PWM 120mm Case Fan $7.99

Coolermaster psu's are bad .. as in horrible. Super Flower manufactures the high end psu's for EVGA and they're solid to the point they come with a 10 year warranty.

https://www.newegg.com/super-flower-leadex-iii-sf-750f14hg-750w/p/1HU-024C-00006
Super Flower Leadex III 750W 80+ Gold Modular Power Supply $109.99
+ $20 off w/ promo code 97LVSPC95, limited offer By Super Flower

Either of these boards have excellent VRM's that will allow you to run that cpu with the power limits turned off in the bios. It's a round a...
Approximate Purchase Date: As soon as I have enough saved.
Budget Range: Saving until I can buy a machine I’ll be happy with. I was originally aiming at around $1,500, but GPU prices are disgusting. Ideally, I would stay below $2,000, but this is going to be my primary school/work/gaming pc for the next while, so I’m willing to splurge a little if I end up having to.
System Usage from Most to Least Important:
  • College now, software development sometime in the future
  • Gaming, streaming, recording, editing
Are you buying a monitor: No
Parts to upgrade: Full build potentially, possibly re-using GPU. This is what I’m here for.
Do you need to buy OS: Yes
Preferred Website(s) for Parts: Newegg, Amazon, doesn’t really matter as long as it’s reputable. Looking for quality components at decent prices.
Location: Nebraska, USA
Parts Preferences: No preference
Overclocking: Probably not, but I don’t see a reason to limit myself unless the price difference is prohibitive
SLI or Crossfire: Maybe later
Monitor Resolution: 1080p, will be upgrading to 1440p 240hz main later and running a dual setup
Additional Comments: A quiet rig would be nice.
The most resource-intensive games I will be playing in the near future:
  • Hunt Showdown
  • Escape from Tarkov
  • New World
  • Any new releases I find interesting
Why are you upgrading:
My rig is 7 years old and I can’t play/record/stream the games I want to. Also, video editing is limited and takes ages to process.
Current specs:
  • i5 4460
  • GTX 970 SLI
  • 1000W 80+
  • 8GB DDR3 1600 RAM
  • MSI Gaming Z97-G45 LGA 1150
  • 1TB SATA SSD
  • 2x 1TB HDD
Current Earmarked Shopping list:
I’ll be honest, I haven’t done the math to determine if the case or PSU are big enough. I’m not stuck on this stuff. This is just preliminary.

My plan is to hand my current PC down to my kids, so if I do a fresh build right now, without buying a GPU, I’ll be rocking a blisteringly fast snail's pace with one GTX 970 for a time. I’ll leave one in this build for them to use.

So, here’s my question. Do you folks think it’s worth it to build a new rig without buying a GPU, or should I wait until I have enough saved or GPU prices come back down and build the entire system then?

Thanks for any assistance.
There's never a good time to upgrade because there's always something newer and better just around the corner and then some more around next.
Real time to upgrade is when you are not satisfied with performance of present setup.
 
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You want an exhaust fan for that case or it's going to be a hotbox for sure.

https://www.amazon.com/ARCTIC-ACFAN00119A-P12-Black-Pressure-Optimized/dp/B07GB5JRTZ/
ARCTIC P12 PWM 120mm Case Fan $7.99

Coolermaster psu's are bad .. as in horrible. Super Flower manufactures the high end psu's for EVGA and they're solid to the point they come with a 10 year warranty.

https://www.newegg.com/super-flower-leadex-iii-sf-750f14hg-750w/p/1HU-024C-00006
Super Flower Leadex III 750W 80+ Gold Modular Power Supply $109.99
+ $20 off w/ promo code 97LVSPC95, limited offer By Super Flower

Either of these boards have excellent VRM's that will allow you to run that cpu with the power limits turned off in the bios. It's a round a bout way of OC these locked cpu's seeing how it keeps them in turbo boost mode for much longer.

https://www.newegg.com/p/N82E16813144396
MSI MAG B560M BAZOOKA $139.99

or ...

https://www.newegg.com/gigabyte-b560m-aorus-pro/p/N82E16813145332
GIGABYTE AORUS B560M AORUS PRO $139.99

8 cores/16 threads. Excellent for streaming, editing, etc ...

Intel Core i7-11700F $319.13

32GB is more than ample for your uses/needs. AMD Ryzen cpu's benefit from higher clocked RAM such as 3600Mhz .. Intel 10/11 gen cpu's not so much. 3200Mhz is the sweet spot for those cpu's.

https://www.amazon.com/Crucial-Ballistix-Desktop-Gaming-BL2K16G32C16U4B/dp/B083TSLDF2/
Crucial Ballistix DDR4 3200MHz 32GB (2x16GB) CL16 $152.99

Excellent deal on this SSD atm. One big SSD and then your storage drives.

https://www.amazon.com/PNY-CS2130-Internal-Solid-State/dp/B0869C35V2/
PNY CS2130 2TB M.2 PCIe NVMe Gen3 x4 Internal SSD $199.99

https://www.msi.com/Motherboard/MAG-B560M-BAZOOKA

https://www.gigabyte.com/Motherboard/B560M-AORUS-PRO-rev-10#kf
 
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Solution

Gamerboy

Distinguished
Aug 13, 2010
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There's never a good time to upgrade because there's always something newer and better just around the corner and then some more around next.
Real time to upgrade is when you are not satisfied with performance of present setup.

Fair enough. This is why I was wondering what you all thought. It's probably better to wait until I can buy an entire system then. Components may have evolved and gotten cheaper then.

Thanks
 

Gamerboy

Distinguished
Aug 13, 2010
86
1
18,635
You want an exhaust fan for that case or it's going to be a hotbox for sure.

https://www.amazon.com/ARCTIC-ACFAN00119A-P12-Black-Pressure-Optimized/dp/B07GB5JRTZ/
ARCTIC P12 PWM 120mm Case Fan $7.99

Coolermaster psu's are bad .. as in horrible. Super Flower manufactures the high end psu's for EVGA and they're solid to the point they come with a 10 year warranty.

https://www.newegg.com/super-flower-leadex-iii-sf-750f14hg-750w/p/1HU-024C-00006
Super Flower Leadex III 750W 80+ Gold Modular Power Supply $109.99
+ $20 off w/ promo code 97LVSPC95, limited offer By Super Flower

Either of these boards have excellent VRM's that will allow you to run that cpu with the power limits turned off in the bios. It's a round a bout way of OC these locked cpu's seeing how it keeps them in turbo boost mode for much longer.

https://www.newegg.com/p/N82E16813144396
MSI MAG B560M BAZOOKA $139.99

or ...

https://www.newegg.com/gigabyte-b560m-aorus-pro/p/N82E16813145332
GIGABYTE AORUS B560M AORUS PRO $139.99

8 cores/16 threads. Excellent for streaming, editing, etc ...

Intel Core i7-11700F $319.13

32GB is more than ample for your uses/needs. AMD Ryzen cpu's benefit from higher clocked RAM such as 3600Mhz .. Intel 10/11 gen cpu's not so much. 3200Mhz is the sweet spot for those cpu's.

https://www.amazon.com/Crucial-Ballistix-Desktop-Gaming-BL2K16G32C16U4B/dp/B083TSLDF2/
Crucial Ballistix DDR4 3200MHz 32GB (2x16GB) CL16 $152.99

Excellent deal on this SSD atm. One big SSD and then your storage drives.

https://www.amazon.com/PNY-CS2130-Internal-Solid-State/dp/B0869C35V2/
PNY CS2130 2TB M.2 PCIe NVMe Gen3 x4 Internal SSD $199.99

https://www.msi.com/Motherboard/MAG-B560M-BAZOOKA

https://www.gigabyte.com/Motherboard/B560M-AORUS-PRO-rev-10#kf

Thanks for the tips. I'll downgrade my plans to 32gb RAM then and maybe look at a different case, or else include an exhaust fan.

I've been on the fence about buying right now or waiting. I really want a newer system, but I just can't stomach the current price of GPU's. You guys have helped me clear my head.

Thanks.
 
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Afro_ninja199

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Aug 10, 2019
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Thanks for the tips. I'll downgrade my plans to 32gb RAM then and maybe look at a different case, or else include an exhaust fan.

I've been on the fence about buying right now or waiting. I really want a newer system, but I just can't stomach the current price of GPU's. You guys have helped me clear my head.

Thanks.


if you have the money already, you could buy everything apart from GPU and use your 970 until you find something