Please rate my build selection choices

Ghengisahn

PC Builder: Build Your Own PC | Micro Center.pdf

Hello community,

I am looking to help my son put together his first PC and working on parts selection.

Here is the build list (PDF attached).

Please rate my build and let me know where I can potentially do better and/or save money. He is primarily playing Minecraft and Roblox, Since he is 8 years old, won't be playing FPS games yet.

What I am particularly confused and unsure on is my choice of motherboard and SSD. I chose the motherboard because it was the cheapest option that offered DDR5 ram. I don't think im lacking in any other features as it has usb 3.x and don't need wifi on the board.

For the SSDs, I chose two. a smaller 500GB for the core install of windows and any core programs to run and the 2TB SSD where data, games, etc will be installed.

magarity

The i5 level is better for games like Minecraft and Roblox. And a 3070 is especially overkill for those two. My 5950X and 6800XT are practically sleeping while running Minecraft at 4K. A 12400 paired with a 3060 would save you a lot.

1Bored_soul_editor

Ya definitely agree there with magarity, 

1Bored_soul_editor

And did you know that you could get an MSI 12 gig 6700xt for literally like $370 on Newegg, and by the way, I don’t think there’s any point in running DDR5, it just costs more and will maybe give you 2-6 more fps, like you could that same kit in ddr4 for 100 bucks

1Bored_soul_editor

And you could  pair that with a i5 12600k and motherboard combo from micro center  for just $298 which would I think will work just as well as the 12700k and it’s much cheaper

Ghengisahn

Thank you all for the helpful comments!

what about the NVME SSD? Is a 256gb standalone enough for an OS + core programs and a separate SSD for games?

i remember not being able to install certain programs on a separate hard drive from the OS (ie solid works) for some reason.

magarity

nvme is about 10x faster so get the largest you can afford now and only add a sata type ssd later when you need more space.

Ghengisahn

Nice to know we don’t need to do the stand-alones anymore. 

Thanks all I’ll update the build!

Ghengisahn

PC build list V2.pdf

Hey folks,

thank you all for the inputs! Updated the list but having a few choice issues.

Motherboard: I cant find the Cpu / MOBO deal online or in the build part list.. and therefore can't find the right motherboard. Would like to know which board it is and just using the ASUS ROG as a placeholder so I can choose other components.

Anyone have specific suggestions on a mobo? I don't plan on expansion other than possibly a second SSD if somehow 1 or 2 TB is not enough. Originally I planned a dedicated SSD for the OS + core programs and a data SSD for games, but I guess NVME2 makes that setup obsolete? Motherboards I am the least knowledgeable on and since I don't really need wifi or DDR5, not sure how to separate out motherboards other than size, which does not matter to me.

GPU: I was going to go with a 3070 but I found some really good deals for used 3080's I can shop around for, especially for the 10G versions. I know it's overkill, but at around $500 I think it's a pretty good deal considering people selling out of crypto rigs. So the 3080 there is a placeholder as well. Any reason to counter this proposal for hunting down a 3080 for approximately $500, +/- $75?

SSD NVME2: I found the inland ones but there is a performance and performance plus. Haven't looked much into the differences yet, but anyone have good experience with inland SSDs vs premium Samsungs? It's a small savings there and NVME2 is faster than standard SSD , so I'm interested in knowing more about getting brand here vs trying inland.

1Bored_soul_editor

To find the cpu mobo combos, search micro center, on the front page you should see a  “save with build combos” advertisement with an Intel cpu and mobo on one half and amd on the other, click on it and then scroll down to the bottom where there is an i5 12600k and a few different motherboards for only $50 to choose from

Ghengisahn

thanks @1Bored_soul_editor for pointing me in the right direction. Wow.. these deals are really great. and it think I narrowed it down to either to 4 selections but 2 of DDR4 and DDR5

(Sorry, board won't let me post links)

DDR 4:ASUS z690-p prime wifi DDR4 or the ASUS z690-plus-TUF ddr4

DDR5: Asus z690-p-prime DDR5 or the Asus z690-plus TUF

Since price is all the same essentially with the combo deal, it seems like it's the prime P versions vs the TUF versions.

Anyone have any insight as I read through the spec differences? Is there really not a reason to upgrade to DDR5 right now since the cost is a lot less of a factor right now?

*Post edit- I think I am narrowd down to the TUF series but still DDR4 vs DDR5. I chose the TUF simply due to more USB IO available. The extra PCIe slots on the 690-P aren't necessary for me because I don't plan on adding any secondary GPU. Don't know what else I'd use those slots for.

I am seeing mixed reports about DDR5 but it mainly comes down to very incremental performance with additional cost. For me, I think software fixes later in the future will alleviate the DDR5 issues and the cost for me is not that much more of a hindrance. In fact thanks to the board I was able to get a huge savings on the mono / cpu deal itself.

Ghengisahn

This is the near finalized build list. Again, a huge thank you to this community for the help! The price listed there is not accurate As it does not take any advantage of any market deals at this time.

the PC parts chooser actually isn't helping with choosing the correct heatsink...anyone have suggestions here?

Axel's build list V3.pdf

1Bored_soul_editor

thanks @1Bored_soul_editor  for pointing me in the right direction. No problem, I love helping people with these kinda things, especially knowing a kid will be happy because of it (being I’m a kid myself lol). And ya the deals are insane, and about the DDR5, if the price factor really isn’t a difference it makes a bit more sense but I still feel like at the moment it’s just not worth it even if the bugs will be fixed later, as doing the research proves that there isn’t really a difference between D4 and 5, unless you wanna call the 3-5 frame differences at certain times a big deal, but the build itself looks great! And about the cooler, there isn’t really a ONE best cooler, but let me know if you want an AIO or a regular air cooler and I’ll try to find the best of either one.

Ghengisahn

Just a regular air cooler! Just want to make sure it will fit. 

I never did liquid cooling and I don’t think it’s necessary since we’re not over clocking the system or pushing it to the limits. 

I’m not opposed to getting a DDR4 board I supposed whichever is available. 

1Bored_soul_editor

Alright perfect 

1Bored_soul_editor

ok as ok so assuming you wanna stick with the black color scheme, the Dark Rock Pro 4 BK022, would perform incredibly well, it IS $90 on Amazon, so if you want me to find a cheaper option I can, but that thing is gonna literally be amazing even if you plan on over clocking soon, NOTE: there is no option for RGB

1Bored_soul_editor

So if you don’t like the looks or anything, there are more options, just keep in mind: the be quiet is guaranteed to work

Ghengisahn

Thanks @1Bored_soul_editor! I’ll add the dark rock pro ! 

1Bored_soul_editor

Alright, so I guess there’s your build! I think it’ll perform amazingly well!

Ghengisahn

heh @1Bored_soul_editor ! my son's birthday is next week and everything is finally in stock, ready for pick up. here is the list! I had to get the darkrock pro in store vs amazon because shipping wouldn't have been in time. 20 bucks more but that's okay since I won't be available outside of a week window.

All he needs to do is pick out his computer case in store!

Can you think of anything missing from this list that'll prevent us from building and going? I don't have an optical drive but I got a USB dvd reader I can plug in on the side for the OS install.

Image 2-15-23 at 6.54 PM.jpg

1Bored_soul_editor

@Ghengisahn so sorry I haven’t been on lately! I’m assuming his birthday already passed and I hope all went well! Didn’t look like anything was missing except for the fact that you don’t have to pay $120 for a windows license, as you can get them from trustworthy 3rd Party sellers for like 20, but if you don’t mind then that’s cool! Hope your son loves the pc!!

1Bored_soul_editor

Oh and  I think this is a bit late but although MicroCenter has a great selection of cases, they have so many more on Amazon and Newegg, but I’m assuming he was able to find one he like which is really all that matters!

Ghengisahn

Yep! We’re 99% done!..l have some issues so I’m starting a new thread. I don’t know if RAM is bad, mobo is bad or instructions are bad.

magarity

from the picture you have the memory in the wrong slots. move the one on the left over one space, so there is: cpu, empty slot, memory module, empty slot, memory module.

The two fans really close to each other, the one in the rear of the case and the one kinda hanging off the left of the cpu cooler look like they are blowing in opposite directions. with barely an inch between them, it would be better if they blew the same direction. But anyway it looks like the clip that's supposed to hold the one onto the cooler has come off and the fan is just resting on the graphics card. the one in the center of the cooler towers should also blow the same direction but i can't see which way it is set.

Ghengisahn

Magarity,

Fans are corrected. And I wrote about my issue about my ram, it’s not necessarily in the wrong slots, one of my dual channel DIMMs was bad. I actually went to micro center today to replace my mobo and I have them in the correct channels now. Everything works as intended. 

I did indeed have a bad dimm slot as everything taken apart showed no damage or misplacement.