First time building a PC

CJ_56

I am looking to build a gaming PC (I am also going to be using it for my new degree). I have a budget of about $2000. Could someone help me pick what is needed? (Essentially build a PC). I have played around with the builder but find myself going over budget or unsure of certain items. Thanks

This is me playing with a build
https://www.microcenter.com/site/content/custom-pc-builder.aspx?load=5a142e5d-07a4-43b9-bc0d-b468716df943

TSTonyV

You have a pretty good build going there, but there's a couple things I would change depending on what exactly you need to use the system for. 

If you're just gaming, you can easily go with the i5-10600k instead of the i7-10700k. It's basically identical in gaming performance but quite a bit cheaper. I would use that leftover to upgrade to a higher quality power supply. There's nothing wrong with the one you chose, but in a high-end build I'd go with a nice 80+ Gold certified PSU like these:

https://www.microcenter.com/product/513600/seasonic-usa-focus-plus-650-watt-80-plus-gold-atx-fully-modular-power-supply
https://www.microcenter.com/product/503517/evga-supernova-650-g-650-watt-80-plus-gold-atx-fully-modular-power-supply

Does your degree require the use of any special software beyond the basic Microsoft Office type stuff?

CJ_56

I appreciate you getting back to me. I am going to school for cyber security so it is unknown at this point what I will need. I just would rather have it now vs need it later. 

I have a few questions:
Would AMD Ryzen be a good fit (based on cost?)
For CPU cooling, would the water cooling kit I chose be all I would need? 
Is this list complete for a build or am I missing anything? 
Could I build this on my own with no experience building PCs? (I have watched YouTube videos). 

CJ_56

Sorry for the dumb questions but I have one more...is an optical drive necessary anymore? I cant remember the last time I have used one.

AlexS

Would AMD Ryzen be a good fit (based on cost?)

Ryzen's price points for their performance are a blessing for budget gamers.  While you have an amazing budget, the choice is really yours to go in the direction of Ryzen or Intel.  But if you wish to shave some dollars to put towards something else in your budget, Ryzen may be the way to go.

For CPU cooling, would the water cooling kit I chose be all I would need? 

The Corsair iCue should be more than efficient in keeping your processor cool and PC quiet, especially if you do not have plans to overclock (and if you do overclock, you'll already but in position to cool the processor)

Is this list complete for a build or am I missing anything? 

As long as the $2000 budget was primarily for just the computer itself, you should be set.  I'd also recommend ESET Anti-virus but that's at your discretion. 

Could I build this on my own with no experience building PCs? (I have watched YouTube videos). 

If Henry Cavill, the actor who played as Superman can do it, I'm sure you can as well!  I'd always recommend having a friend who has PC building experience present to provide guidance but if not, yes, plenty of Youtube and internet resources are there to help you along your way.  (And also, read the manuals!)

Sorry for the dumb questions but I have one more...is an optical drive necessary anymore? I cant remember the last time I have used one.

These are not dumb at all.  You're doing the smart thing if anything.  And for the optical drive question?  No.  Not necessary.  If anything, purchase an external drive if you really need to access old software or play a DVD on your computer 

CJ_56

Thank you, all great information and helps me a ton. I appreciate how helpful people are on here.

Do you think now is a bad time to build a PC with new graphics cards coming out? Some rumors are saying they will be out in about a month. Will this make my build "obsolete?" 

TSTonyV

CJ_56 said:

Thank you, all great information and helps me a ton. I appreciate how helpful people are on here.

Do you think now is a bad time to build a PC with new graphics cards coming out? Some rumors are saying they will be out in about a month. Will this make my build "obsolete?" 

So here's the thing about building a PC. At some point, no matter what you do, your build will be obsolete. That's just how hardware works so I wouldn't base my decisions on that. Make your decisions based on the needs and budget you have. 

The next gen cards aren't going to suddenly make a computer you build now unusable.  A PC built with a budget of $2000 is going to last for years regardless of if you purchase a 3000-series or 2000 series GPU. 

Now I personally would wait just to see what the new line of cards looks like performance and pricing wise to have more options available if you can wait, but that's just me. If you don't need to build a PC right now it might be worth it to wait, but if you can't or just don't want to, don't stress too much and build the PC you want now and realize that you'll still get an awesome system either way. 

CJ_56

The more I read the more I am torn between waiting and building one now. Lots of good information and I like the honest answers. The only issue I see is my budget changing (increasing) due to the price of the new hardware. It is what it is lol

TSTonyV

Hardware pricing usually stays somewhat consistent over generations, though we've definitely seen cases where that's not the case recently (with NVIDIA specifically and the crazy prices on their high end RTX cards). If the new hardware is overly expensive and not a bad value, you can still fall back on the current hardware which will likely see some price drops when the new stuff is out. 

CJ_56

So I have had a few people be skeptical about liquid coolers, saying that if it has any issues, its a catastrophic failure...meaning the entire computer is gone. 
Is this a common issue? What alternative suggestions would you have? 
https://www.microcenter.com/site/content/custom-pc-builder.aspx?load=f5b37892-ac46-41e4-9400-ec952b3f148f

TSTonyV

If liquid coolers fail, yes, sometimes it can be pretty bad, if you get a leak and liquid gets on other components while they're running. There are also more ways for liquid coolers to fail because they have more components, whereas if an air cooler fails it's basically only going to be a bad fan which is easy to replace. 

However, failures are very rare, even the more "common" failures like pumps not working. It's technically correct to say there's more risk with a liquid cooler, and if something goes bad it would probably be worse than if an air cooler goes bad, but that's a little bit like saying you're at higher risk of getting struck by lightning because you're a lot taller than other people. It's not significant enough of a difference that I think it should be something to worry about. 

That said, high-end air coolers can compete with AIO liquid coolers so if you're concerned, there's nothing wrong with going that route. Coolers like the Noctua NH-D15 are just as effective as AIO liquid coolers, so it really comes down to preference