re: PC Discussion - Gaming, Performance and Enthusiasts

wut

What do you play, at what resolution and settings? What’s your budget range, low and high? Do you have any specific needs?

Eta: I didn’t mean pc case; I meant usage case as in how you use your PC

$1,000 for a new build is tough, but it can be done. This is what I just threw together:

PCPartPicker Part List: LINK

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 5600 3.5 GHz 6-Core Processor ($136.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: MSI B550-A PRO ATX AM4 Motherboard ($139.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws V 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3600 CL16 Memory ($59.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: SK Hynix Gold P31 1 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 3.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive ($83.39 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Gigabyte GAMING OC Radeon RX 6750 XT 12 GB Video Card ($379.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Corsair 4000D Airflow ATX Mid Tower Case ($89.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: Corsair RM750x (2021) 750 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply ($99.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $990.33
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2022-12-21 18:32 EST-0500

Down the road, if you find yourself CPU bound, you'll get a significant performance jolt by slotting in a 5800x3D. And while 750w PSU is a touch lower than would be my ideal, it's plenty for this build and gives you enough room for GPU upgrades in the future, even if it would preclude you from upgrading to the most power hungry GPUs.

quote:

---

SSD may be nice instead of HDD though...

---

If you're still on spinning rust, let's please fix that asap

As for the rest, post the specs/skus of all of your current components. I'll see if we can salvage anything, and if so, we can make some decisions either on saving money or upgrading components a bit while still staying within your price target.

Oh right, the CPU you broke. I remember now

From that list, we should save the case, the PSU, and I suppose the SSD (it can be the target of a future upgrade). Your RAM is DDR3, so it unfortunately can't be brought forward.

That would leave you with this:

PCPartPicker Part List: LINK

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 5600 3.5 GHz 6-Core Processor ($136.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: MSI B550-A PRO ATX AM4 Motherboard ($139.99 @ B&H)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws V 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3600 CL16 Memory ($59.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: SK Hynix Gold P31 1 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 3.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive ($79.64 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Gigabyte GAMING OC Radeon RX 6750 XT 12 GB Video Card ($379.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $796.60
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2022-12-21 22:19 EST-0500

Now, I'll reiterate what I said last time: if it's me, I'm trying to hold off until the end of 23Q1 before I build, as I think there's going to be a lot of value to be had then. But, if you want to pull the trigger now, the above is what I would do with your usage case and price point.

You're very welcome. And just to reiterate, the reason I'm suggesting people wait is that we are right on the edge of a chipset shift, from AM4 to AM5. The latter has already been released, but prices are still very, very high. You can't put together a passable AM5 build for less than $1,000 right now. But, I think prices for AM5 motherboards and DDR5 RAM are on their way down, and if you can get into AM5 at your current budget, you will have the opportunity for massive upgrades for the next half decade without having to upgrade your platform.

quote:

---

But, I think prices for AM5 motherboards and DDR5 RAM are on their way down, and if you can get into AM5 at your current budget, you will have the opportunity for massive upgrades for the next half decade without having to upgrade your platform.

---

Sold me

I want to get away from the console wars and want the abilty to play some PC games and mod them occasionally. the catch is I would want to have a setup similar to a console where i can play with a controller from bed on my TV. any suggestions for a modest setup that would suit my needs?

TIA.

You can buy adapters that plug into your USB port as well

quote:

---

guess I'm looking at around $1000. I play on a OF PS4 rightnow so i dont need it to perform that much better than what i'm used too. i like to play Battlefield, Warzone, Total War games, Minecraft. just as long as it runs smoothly at decent settings. Prebuilt or DIY? thats part of my question i suppose. IDK.

---

My advice to most people looking to build lately has been to hold off until the middle/end of 23Q1, and I think that holds for you as well. Now, if you desperately need to build immediately, we can talk about it, but I would hold off if I could.

quote:

---

I'm ignorant. Why would this be the case? I've had my PS4 since 2013, I'm certainly in no rush.

---

We are right on the edge of a chipset shift, from AM4 to AM5. The latter has already been released, but prices are still very, very high. You can't put together a passable AM5 build for less than $1,000 right now. But, I think prices for AM5 motherboards and DDR5 RAM are on their way down, and if you can get into AM5 at your current budget, you will have the opportunity for massive upgrades for the next half decade without having to upgrade your platform. GPU prices are also likely to come down a bit by the end of 23Q1.