Question CPU and GPU Advice need for new 1000-1500 Build

[bguile]

Did this back in 2020 and anandtech advice was pretty good (computer is going fine) so I am trying again. This time the PC will be for my son with a 1000-1500 budget. It will be used for gaming, school work, and entertainment. 1080 and 1440 gaming/resolution. Buying in the USA. Prefer Nvidia GPU's (generally had better luck with nvidia) Not using any old parts, but I already have a 750 watt power supply, & a 4TB drive. Not gonna overclock, and am planning on building in the summer. Only software is windows, but maybe some other software for school (college), don't know yet.

Need help deciding on CPU & ram. I like my ryzen CPU (3600 I think), so was thinking of getting him a 7700, but I don't know how they match up vs intel these days. Seems people like i5-13600K.

Also not sure on DDR4 and DDR5. For GPU, I was going to get him a 3060, but not sure on that yet. Graphics card prices were so expensive last few years I quit even paying attention to them so I have no idea what is what, or what is fair price. One thing I was considering is trying to make it roughly match up to specs of PS5 and whatever the latest xbox is (I believe 8 Core).

Thanks in advance.

 

[DAPUNISHER]

Let's start by addressing the intended purposes. If he is going to be playing the latest AAA titles, an HDD isn't going to cut it anymore. Games are starting to require an SSD to handle things like the asset streaming smoothly. Going forward this is going to be the norm. There is also no point in buying SATA anymore. NVME is close enough in cost, and so much faster, that it is the only logical choice for a modern build IMO.

ON CPU: You can't go wrong with either for gaming, schoolwork, etc. Ryzen has the advantage of future CPU support, if long term value is a factor. If the platform just needs to last through college, it won't matter. That can be a problem for future you/son.

On RAM: I would not build a modern system with DDR4. Also, by summer DDR5 will likely have dropped further in price, making the choice even easier.

ON GPU: Since you are team green, you have few choices that fit in the budget without making compromises. If he intends to play the more demanding AAA games moving forward, particularly at 1440. I'd suggest waiting to see if Nvidia has the new lower tier 40 series cards out by the time you build and revisit the issue then. If none of them have more then 8GB of vram, the 3060 will be looking really attractive for a budget friendly pick. He can always use DLSS at 1440 for a good target FPS.

 

[VirtualLarry]

Don't forget to mention that the 7000-series (Zen4) are going to have their X3D version start to trickle out on Feb 28th.

 

[bguile]

Let's start by addressing the intended purposes. If he is going to be playing the latest AAA titles, an HDD isn't going to cut it anymore. Games are starting to require an SSD to handle things like the asset streaming smoothly. Going forward this is going to be the norm. There is also no point in buying SATA anymore. NVME is close enough in cost, and so much faster, that it is the only logical choice for a modern build IMO.

ON CPU: You can't go wrong with either for gaming, schoolwork, etc. Ryzen has the advantage of future CPU support, if long term value is a factor. If the platform just needs to last through college, it won't matter. That can be a problem for future you/son.

On RAM: I would not build a modern system with DDR4. Also, by summer DDR5 will likely have dropped further in price, making the choice even easier.

ON GPU: Since you are team green, you have few choices that fit in the budget without making compromises. If he intends to play the more demanding AAA games moving forward, particularly at 1440. I'd suggest waiting to see if Nvidia has the new lower tier 40 series cards out by the time you build and revisit the issue then. If none of them have more then 8GB of vram, the 3060 will be looking really attractive for a budget friendly pick. He can always use DLSS at 1440 for a good target FPS.

I do have a 1 TB nvme Samsung 980 which I forgot to mention, but it was an impulse buy. There are probably better NVME drives out there. For graphics card, I am not sure when the 4060 series gets released? And now intel has a graphics card out, but I don't know much about them.

 

[bguile]

Don't forget to mention that the 7000-series (Zen4) are going to have their X3D version start to trickle out on Feb 28th.

Thanks, I didn't even know that x3d was a thing.

 

[snoopy7548]

I'm currently building a new gaming PC with a budget of $1500 and I exceeded it by a little bit. If you have a Microcenter nearby, they tend to have great deals on CPUs and motherboards. You'll need to check r/buildapcsales often for deals on GPUs and other parts. Not sure if Microcenter still has it, but they were giving away free 32GB DDR5 when you bought an AMD/mobo combo.

For 1440p/1080p, you simply can't beat an AMD GPU right now especially if you pick up a card on sale, even moreso if you don't care much about ray-tracing. The RX 6800 XT is the sweet spot if you can get it in the low-$500 range.

Here's what I've got; you can substitute lower-spec parts (i.e. a $200 Z790 or Z690 mobo with cheaper DDR5 RAM), and remove the 2TB NVME since you already have one, to get it closer to ~$1300. Note I bought most of these parts on sale. The PSU is incorrect - I bought the more expensive RM850x Shift version, but PCPartPicker doesn't have it yet.

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/WvGmMb

 

[DAPUNISHER]

That's a great build. And thanks for rubbing it in that the closest MC is 8.5hrs away from me.

@bguile

Any decent NVME is going to be a great choice. I'd get him a second one and get that spinning rust completely out of the equation if possible. NVME are the cheapest they have ever been. Well worth the investment.

I would not worry about upcoming 3D CPUs, either of the ones you mentioned will drive the GPU class you are shopping.

 

[In2Photos]

Things will change quite a bit by summer. The 7800X3D will be available on the AMD side as others have mentioned, but I don't think it's in your budget. The GPU side of things though is highly unknown. Most likely new 4070 and 4060 GPUs may be available, but cost and performance are unknown.

Here is my daughter's build I did at Christmas for ~$1530. I got some great deals on a few parts though. Building that same PC today would probably be $1600-$1650. Since you have a PSU and NVME drive you could do it within your budget.

https://pcpartpicker.com/user/Familyman_19/saved/#view=Z4pXRB

 

[Tech Junky]

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I picked up a 12700H / 3060 from them though last year for $1300 which has more P cores and then amped things up a bit with a 4K120 panel swap.

I would figure a student having a laptop vs desktop would make more sense with being able to tote it around to classes and other locations would be more convenient. Adding a drive + ram shouldn't be a huge expense ~$200 and that hits the budget cap of $1500. The 4070 will power a decent monitor as well just by connecting a cable when gaming at home

@bguile

 

[bguile]

I'm currently building a new gaming PC with a budget of $1500 and I exceeded it by a little bit. If you have a Microcenter nearby, they tend to have great deals on CPUs and motherboards. You'll need to check r/buildapcsales often for deals on GPUs and other parts. Not sure if Microcenter still has it, but they were giving away free 32GB DDR5 when you bought an AMD/mobo combo.

For 1440p/1080p, you simply can't beat an AMD GPU right now especially if you pick up a card on sale, even moreso if you don't care much about ray-tracing. The RX 6800 XT is the sweet spot if you can get it in the low-$500 range.

I do have a microcenter about 1 hour away. Currently they have a deal for a 7900x, asus mb and ddr5 for 599, but there are so many other deals I get overwhelmed with choices.

 

[bguile]

Just to follow up, ended up getting a 7700x with free RAM bundle from microcenter, plus a 6800 xt as well. Total cost will probably come in around 1600 dollars after I purchase the fans and case and mobo. Going with a fractal North just because I like the look of it.

 

[In2Photos]

Nice! I really like the look of the North as well. A very classy case for sure. Which mobo are you considering and what ram did you get?

 

[bguile]

Nice! I really like the look of the North as well. A very classy case for sure. Which mobo are you considering and what ram did you get?

The Fractal North is in white (I opted for the window vs mesh) and I came across the Asrock X670E Steel Legend which also has a lot of white color on the mobo. Its pricier than I was originally thinking (was figuring on spending 250ish). I am not 100% on the mobo just yet, it was one of the first that came up. I think 650 is the other model for AM5 motherboards, and I haven't looked at those yet. Will probably decide on the mobo later this month.

Also...memory is Gskill flare x5, 32 GB.

 

[In2Photos]

The Fractal North is in white (I opted for the window vs mesh) and I came across the Asrock X670E Steel Legend which also has a lot of white color on the mobo. Its pricier than I was originally thinking (was figuring on spending 250ish). I am not 100% on the mobo just yet, it was one of the first that came up. I think 650 is the other model for AM5 motherboards, and I haven't looked at those yet. Will probably decide on the mobo later this month.

Also...memory is Gskill flare x5, 32 GB.

Check out the MSI B650 Edge if you are considering white. I've been very pleased with mine.

 

[bguile]

Check out the MSI B650 Edge if you are considering white. I've been very pleased with mine.

Ending up going with the Asrock 670e in the end. I do have an MSI B550 in my current computer and its been fine.