Question Buying parts for my sons' build but looking for last minute suggestions

[Proprioceptive]

My son plays a lot of FPSs including Apex, Overwatch, etc. He mostly uses his computer for gaming and general productivity. His brother loves to play with space and universe simulators and wants a PC that can actually run Kerbal Space Program 2 (mine sucks ass at this). We don't anticipate doing any overclocking, but it's certainly not out of the question down the line. We're buying in the US and in the next day or so. We already have a monitor (Gigabyte G34WQC), keyboard and mouse. The following parts are what my son has put together. This will be his second build but I just want to make sure we have the best bang for our buck. The budget is ~$1200. I'm open to any and all suggestions. Thanks!

PCPartPicker Part List: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/KY8pJy

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 7600X 4.7 GHz 6-Core Processor ($213.99 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Thermalright Peerless Assassin 120 SE 66.17 CFM CPU Cooler ($33.90 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: MSI B650 GAMING PLUS WIFI ATX AM5 Motherboard ($179.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Flare X5 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR5-6000 CL36 Memory ($105.00 @ Amazon)
Storage: Crucial P3 Plus 2 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive ($114.99 @ Adorama)
Video Card: Gigabyte GAMING OC Radeon RX 7700 XT 12 GB Video Card ($419.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Corsair 4000D Airflow ATX Mid Tower Case ($89.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: Corsair RM750e (2023) 750 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply ($99.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $1257.84
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2024-02-27 08:47 EST-0500

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[Brainonska511]

Do you have a Micro Center nearby? There are some bundles I linked below that might be a better deal if I did my math right before having coffee.

• This 7800x3D/Gigabyte B650/32 GB DDR5 bundle is a bit of a better deal ($470): https://www.microcenter.com/product...ies-32gb-ddr5-6000-kit,-computer-build-bundle
• There is also a 7700X/MSI B650/32GB DDR5 bundle ($370): https://www.microcenter.com/product...ies-32gb-ddr5-6000-kit,-computer-build-bundle

You could then fold some of the savings into a slightly better GPU, since you have a 4K monitor. The 7800 XT Hellhound is $500, and I can say that it is a fantastic card: https://pcpartpicker.com/product/Bt...x-7800-xt-16-gb-video-card-rx-7800-xt-16g-loc

For SSD - the P3 Plus is probably fine, but you could also consider looking for an NVME drive with DRAM cache for the primary drive.

Not sure about your case fan situation at home either. I have the 4000D case; the 2 stock fans are at the back and top/rear, and I put 3 120mm PWM fans in the front for intake, so I could run them all fairly slow. (All are controlled by the motherboard, thanks to my MSI board's 6 or so fan headers).

 

[Proprioceptive]

Do you have a Micro Center nearby? There are some bundles I linked below that might be a better deal if I did my math right before having coffee.

• This 7800x3D/Gigabyte B650/32 GB DDR5 bundle is a bit of a better deal ($470): https://www.microcenter.com/product...ies-32gb-ddr5-6000-kit,-computer-build-bundle
• There is also a 7700X/MSI B650/32GB DDR5 bundle ($370): https://www.microcenter.com/product...ies-32gb-ddr5-6000-kit,-computer-build-bundle

You could then fold some of the savings into a slightly better GPU, since you have a 4K monitor. The 7800 XT Hellhound is $500, and I can say that it is a fantastic card: https://pcpartpicker.com/product/Bt...x-7800-xt-16-gb-video-card-rx-7800-xt-16g-loc

For SSD - the P3 Plus is probably fine, but you could also consider looking for an NVME drive with DRAM cache for the primary drive.

Not sure about your case fan situation at home either. I have the 4000D case; the 2 stock fans are at the back and top/rear, and I put 3 120mm PWM fans in the front for intake, so I could run them all fairly slow. (All are controlled by the motherboard, thanks to my MSI board's 6 or so fan headers).

Indeed, I do have a Microcenter nearby. Thanks for the info! I'll look into those bundles for sure!

 

[Brainonska511]

Indeed, I do have a Microcenter nearby. Thanks for the info! I'll look into those bundles for sure!

They also price match some retailers, so you can also pick up other parts you might want at the same price.

 

[In2Photos]

I agree with everything Brain mentioned in the post above.

I'll add that you may look at the Lian Li 216 case. For $95-100, you get 2-160mm intake fans (2 models, one offers RGB) on the front and 1-140mm exhaust on the back. This was plenty of airflow for my daughter's 7600X/6800XT build. It also has an extra USB A port on the front that the Corsair 4000D does not if that interests you. The front ports are also able to be moved from the top to the side.

 

[Proprioceptive]

I agree with everything Brain mentioned in the post above.

I'll add that you may look at the Lian Li 216 case. For $95-100, you get 2-160mm intake fans (2 models, one offers RGB) on the front and 1-140mm exhaust on the back. This was plenty of airflow for my daughter's 7600X/6800XT build. It also has an extra USB A port on the front that the Corsair 4000D does not if that interests you. The front ports are also able to be moved from the top to the side.

Checked it out and my son likes it even better. All my builds in the past have been Lian Li cases so I suppose we should stay in the family. Lol...

 

[Proprioceptive]

Do you have a Micro Center nearby? There are some bundles I linked below that might be a better deal if I did my math right before having coffee.

• This 7800x3D/Gigabyte B650/32 GB DDR5 bundle is a bit of a better deal ($470): https://www.microcenter.com/product...ies-32gb-ddr5-6000-kit,-computer-build-bundle
• There is also a 7700X/MSI B650/32GB DDR5 bundle ($370): https://www.microcenter.com/product...ies-32gb-ddr5-6000-kit,-computer-build-bundle

You could then fold some of the savings into a slightly better GPU, since you have a 4K monitor. The 7800 XT Hellhound is $500, and I can say that it is a fantastic card: https://pcpartpicker.com/product/Bt...x-7800-xt-16-gb-video-card-rx-7800-xt-16g-loc

For SSD - the P3 Plus is probably fine, but you could also consider looking for an NVME drive with DRAM cache for the primary drive.

Not sure about your case fan situation at home either. I have the 4000D case; the 2 stock fans are at the back and top/rear, and I put 3 120mm PWM fans in the front for intake, so I could run them all fairly slow. (All are controlled by the motherboard, thanks to my MSI board's 6 or so fan headers).

Looked at both of these and we're gonna go with the $370 bundle and upgrade to the hellhound as you suggested. We're also going to move to a 1TB SSD with NVME and DRAM cache and potentially add more later. My son says "thank you so much!". I really appreciate the input!

 

[Brainonska511]

Looked at both of these and we're gonna go with the $370 bundle and upgrade to the hellhound as you suggested. We're also going to move to a 1TB SSD with NVME and DRAM cache and potentially add more later. My son says "thank you so much!". I really appreciate the input!

Happy to help! Enjoy the new build!

 

[blckgrffn]

Looked at both of these and we're gonna go with the $370 bundle and upgrade to the hellhound as you suggested. We're also going to move to a 1TB SSD with NVME and DRAM cache and potentially add more later. My son says "thank you so much!". I really appreciate the input!

I like the MSI board better but after going with a high cache CPU I am not looking back. Please consider the 7800X3D cpu if you can, for gaming it will be in the top 3-4 CPUS for the next 5 years plus, barring something crazy.

I went with a 12700K combo for my son for ~$370 all in and at least you are getting a non-dead socket. If I could do it again, I'd get the AMD setup for him - but I needed an mATX board and that made it more complicated. I'd just have gotten him a compact ATX case if had my head on right.