Need Help Choosing Parts

Tobin8r

I put this parts list together and am looking for some advice. It's expensive and I wanted to know if I'm doing this right? Ive never built one before but have wanted to for the longest time.  https://www.microcenter.com/site/content/custom-pc-builder.aspx?load=035e474b-9fc9-4c6e-ba38-966a26856ed9

AdamL

That is definitely a great parts list. That cooler you chose actually comes with pre-applied thermal paste, so you don't need to buy additional paste. $20 saved there. Also, just a small tip, the H100i Platinum cooler comes with White LL120 fans, and you added an additional LL120 fan (I assume for the rear exhaust fan), but its black, and I see you're going with a white theme build. Consider switching that to a White LL120 fan . Other than that for a full setup that is an outstanding rig for some great gaming, and even some light productivity! 

You could also get a Windows 10 key for much much much cheaper online, or even go without purchasing Windows for a while until you decide you want to. If you don't purchase Windows and want to customize your desktop screen, try Wallpaper Engine on Steam. It usually covers the "Activate Windows 10" watermark in the bottom right corner, and its only like $4? 

I hope you decide to build this!

USS_Ustafish

3 thoughts:
1: There's also a huge imbalance between your CPU and GPU. Maybe you intended the RX 570 as a placeholder until the market settles down a little? It's pretty low-end to be paired with a much higher-end CPU. If you're looking to save some money and this is purely a gaming rig, the R7 3700X is pretty overkill. A R5 3600 will do the job admirably.
2: Also, for around the price of that 2.5in SSD, you can get an NVMe 3.0 SSD. You could even get an NVMe 4.0 SSD if you're willing to go down to 500GB, and add more storage later. The later is worth thinking about. The former is definitely the way to go if you want 1TB of fast storage.
3: I'd cut back on some of the RGB in favor of a better PSU. That's not the type of component you're going to want to swap out in the future. You're definitely leaving room for the future growth with the B550 motherboard, so that's a good call. CPUs, GPUs, storage and fans are relatively easy to upgrade, but motherboards and power supplies basically require tearing down and rebuilding the whole system. If you get a decent 750W gold PSU, you'll be all set for whenever you get that RTX 3090.