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Question Old PC Died. New PC Build

Lord Shaedow

Junior Member
Hey all,

My PC died so I’m building a new one. I have all the parts except the motherboard, CPU, and the case. A friend has promised to give me AMD Ryzen 7 5800x3d CPU and an AM4 motherboard. He didn’t tell me which motherboard.

The problem is it has been weeks and I still don’t have the motherboard or the CPU. I may have to get a motherboard and a CPU / cooling. I’m looking for some recommendations on a case, motherboard and CPU / cooler.

This computer is going to be mainly a gaming system, but I will also edit videos and live stream on YouTube and Twitch. A link to the rest of the system is below:

Can’t post the link so see attached file.

All advice is welcome.
 

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Welcome to the forum! Here's the link for anyone else to the build! https://pcpartpicker.com/list/CygqKq

Well if you are going to have to buy a new CPU and motherboard I don't think the 5800X3D/AM4 is the way to go. If you get this from your friend, great, if not buy AM5. Look for the 7800X3D or the 9800X3D. Then find a B650 motherboard (will be less expensive than the B850 or X870 boards) with the features you need in either a microATX or ATX variety unless you want a small form factor build (which will be more expensive). For RAM find a 32GB 6000 CL30 kit that you like, be prepared to spend some money here as RAM has gone through the roof! What is your budget for this build?

I like MSI boards, have had good luck with them. ASUS, AsROCK, and Gigabyte have had some issues as of late with either boards damaging CPUs or just bad overall support/RMA.
 
Thank you for your reply. I am the OP. I managed to remember my old account information. As you can see it’s been a while and I didn’t know Anandtech had said goodbye but stayed online. I deactivated the new account I made, but I can’t change my email address and username because that new account still has them.

Anyway, you asked what my budget was so let me give you a little more information. I live stream for a living and currently I am unable to. So what I’m trying to do is get back up and running as cheaply as I can and once I’m back live streaming, I can start saving to get a good upgrade.

I’ve been out of the tech world for over 10 years so I’m still getting caught up but I did some research and I’ve updated the PC parts list with a newer CPU and motherboard in case I need to purchase them. I can’t go with an AM5 right now because they’re more expensive and I would have to purchase DDR5 memory.

So as I wait to see if they’re going to come through with the motherboard and CPU, what case would you recommend?
 
Thank you for your reply. I am the OP. I managed to remember my old account information. As you can see it’s been a while and I didn’t know Anandtech had said goodbye but stayed online. I deactivated the new account I made, but I can’t change my email address and username because that new account still has them.

Anyway, you asked what my budget was so let me give you a little more information. I live stream for a living and currently I am unable to. So what I’m trying to do is get back up and running as cheaply as I can and once I’m back live streaming, I can start saving to get a good upgrade.

I’ve been out of the tech world for over 10 years so I’m still getting caught up but I did some research and I’ve updated the PC parts list with a newer CPU and motherboard in case I need to purchase them. I can’t go with an AM5 right now because they’re more expensive and I would have to purchase DDR5 memory.

So as I wait to see if they’re going to come through with the motherboard and CPU, what case would you recommend?
I'm a fan of Lian Li cases, their 216 case offers good bang for the buck and comes with 3 fans preinstalled. There are also some BeQuiet cases that are nice. In all honesty cases are one of those things that are very personal. Do you have some place locally that you can view some cases? If not just browse through the PC Part Picker builds for a style that you like. Once you find a particular style it's easier to narrow down the list to a few choices.

One way you can save some money is to not buy your Windows license from Newegg or Microsoft. You can find lots of retailers of OEM type keys for a fraction of the price. Lots of the tech YouTubers have ads for these places with discount codes as well. I like Greg Salazar in particular. That route would save you about $100 that you can put towards other components.

I hear you on the AM5 platform. If you can somehow manage to make the jump I think it's worth it, if not, I get it. Just not sure where you will find a 5800X3D. It will have to be from the used market for sure.
 
You’ve actually convinced me and I think I’m gonna stop waiting for my friend and bite the bullet and borrow the money and go with an AM5 motherboard. I’ll update the parts list and post here after pricing it out and seeing what looks good.

Edit: yikes I just priced some things and I can’t afford that at this point in time so back to looking at just getting back up and running for now. Man that DDR5 memory cost more than the SSD.
 
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Welcome back.


You’ve actually convinced me and I think I’m gonna stop waiting for my friend and bite the bullet and borrow the money and go with an AM5 motherboard. I’ll update the parts list and post here after pricing it out and seeing what looks good.
I would like to unconvince you. What DDR4 RAM were you planning to continue using in the upgrade build?

Here's the thing, I agree with the advice of choosing AM5 in 2026. That's a no-brainer since 2023.
However, DDR5 prices are currently insane and PC parts will always be a depreciating commodity. I would never borrow money to buy depreciating parts, unless those parts are somehow generating immediate income.

TBH I'm not saying don't go AM5, but carefully weigh both options before deciding. If you can do a cost-effective upgrade around a Ryzen 7 5800XT, reusing RAM you already have, that's at least worth considering before you go borrowing money.
 
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Maybe consider a prebuilt for now. I agree that borrowing money for a PC is not a good idea. Does this one have some shortcomings compared to building on your own? Yes. But I think these have some decent value considering the landscape today.


Or this one:

 
TBH I'm not saying don't go AM5, but carefully weigh both options before deciding. If you can do a cost-effective upgrade around a Ryzen 5 5700XT, reusing RAM you already have, that's at least worth considering before you go borrowing money.

Yeah, I got unconvinced very quickly when I saw how much the memory was. I do see some AMD Ryzen CPUs on Amazon. The RAM I’m currently using is a G.skill DDR4 32 GB. I also already have windows 11.

In the system build in my signature I have the memory that I’m currently wanting to use in the new system. I’ll look and see if there are some very cheap CPUs in case I have to purchase it.
 
Wait, so what parts do you currently have, everything except the CPU, mobo and case? I was thinking you were scrapping what you had for a new build, my mistake.
 
Maybe consider a prebuilt for now. I agree that borrowing money for a PC is not a good idea. Does this one have some shortcomings compared to building on your own? Yes. But I think these have some decent value considering the landscape today.

Too late for a prebuilt I’ve already purchased most of the parts except for the motherboard CPU and case. I got the Gigabyte 5060 TI 16 and I foolishly tried to install it in my current PC which is why that PC is no longer working. It was a prebuilt.

I had already planned to build a new PC and the graphics card was gonna be the first piece and I took donations and was able to purchase it. So I had my friend promised to give me that motherboard CPU and cooling so I got all the other parts using Affirm pay over time. I’ve been waiting for him to send it and I’m getting restless because I’m losing money while I can’t live stream.

So at this point I can get a case since that’s something that I’m gonna need to get anyway and then wait for the motherboard CPU and cooling until I can’t wait anymore and then try to get them as cheaply as I can.
 
Too late for a prebuilt I’ve already purchased most of the parts except for the motherboard CPU and case. I got the Gigabyte 5060 TI 16 and I foolishly tried to install it in my current PC which is why that PC is no longer working. It was a prebuilt.

I had already planned to build a new PC and the graphics card was gonna be the first piece and I took donations and was able to purchase it. So I had my friend promised to give me that motherboard CPU and cooling so I got all the other parts using Affirm pay over time. I’ve been waiting for him to send it and I’m getting restless because I’m losing money while I can’t live stream.

So at this point I can get a case since that’s something that I’m gonna need to get anyway and then wait for the motherboard CPU and cooling until I can’t wait anymore and then try to get them as cheaply as I can.
OK. For AM4 new parts I would opt for one of these 2 CPUs depending on budget:

For motherboard something like this would work well if it has all the ports you need.

For a case maybe this

For the CPU cooler you can use the cooler that comes with either of the 2 CPUs I listed or go with one of these for slightly better performance.

Or this for even better performance
 
OK. For AM4 new parts I would opt for one of these 2 CPUs depending on budget:

For motherboard something like this would work well if it has all the ports you need.

For a case maybe this

For the CPU cooler you can use the cooler that comes with either of the 2 CPUs I listed or go with one of these for slightly better performance.

Or this for even better performance
Awesome! Thanks!
 
You mention the Lian li cases. They look good. Eying this one.
The 216 is a nice case. I built my daughter's PC in one. The front fans move a lot of air at relatively low speed so it's quiet while providing plenty of airflow. I like that you can move the front panel I/O ports as well although she chose to leave them in the default position.
 
So now I just need to wait for the motherboard and CPU. If he takes much longer I’ll come back to this thread to check your recommendations.
The 5800X3D is highly desirable, and AMD stopped producing it a while ago. Shit's pretty crazy, actually:


That's a really good friend if he's actually willing to give it to you. I would try to meet him halfway, and just let him know you appreciate the offer and if he's able to part with the CPU before you go another direction.
In other words, I'd offer $150 to $200, hoping that helps convince him.

FWIW the 5800XT is $180 at Micro Center B&M.
 
The 5800X3D is highly desirable, and AMD stopped producing it a while ago. Shit's pretty crazy, actually:


That's a really good friend if he's actually willing to give it to you. I would try to meet him halfway, and just let him know you appreciate the offer and if he's able to part with the CPU before you go another direction.
In other words, I'd offer $150 to $200, hoping that helps convince him.

FWIW the 5800XT is $180 at Micro Center B&M.
Wow! Yeah I’m still waiting on him. After reading that article I’m gonna give him a bit more time before I even think about getting something.
 
Hey all, just wanted to say thanks for all the help. I am now up and running with my new system. My friend ghosted me and I'm actually worried that something happened to him. He's been a huge supporter of mine over the years so this is uncharacteristic of him. But I ended up just borrowing to get back up and running and folks are helping me pay it back. Here's my system specs:


Again thanks for all the help!
 
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