Help With Build

OK, if I google for "8643 Erica" that is from an HP Pavillion, is that correct?

The specs for that on HP's site says it supports 2 memory modules. With 12GB you must have mismatched size and maybe also mismatched speed, which makes Ryzen 3500 very, very sad. I suspect getting a matching kit of 3200Mhz DDR4 (preferably a pair of 8GB modules) would work wonders for this system.

Your system actually meets the "Recommended" level for Deathloop in terms of CPU and GPU! Do you have the details on the two memory modules that are installed now?

OK so the question is whether you want to bring better life to this HP or you just really want to buy a whole new system.

To update the HP:

1) Matched pair of 8GB DDR4 3200Mhz memory because at 2667 and mismatched sizes that's really killing the CPU's performance: Corsair Vengeance LPX 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3200 C16 Dual Channel Desktop Memory Kit CMK16GX4M2E3200 - Black - Micro Center

2) Upgraded power supply: I don't know what you have now and HP is known to usually put in exactly as much power supply as needed to sell the system as is and not leave any headroom for upgrades. You'd want a 550 W to be able to handle either choice in item 3. You very likely would need to buy a proprietary HP physical size model and I don't think Microcenter carries those. Amazon or HP would be where you could get that.

3) New video card, both of these choices have 8GB and are not very long (will probably fit in the HP case): MSI NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Ventus 2X Overclocked Dual Fan 8GB GDDR6 PCIe 4.0 Graphics Card - Micro Center or MSI AMD Radeon RX 6600 MECH 2X Dual-Fan 8GB GDDR6 PCIe 4.0 Graphics Card - Micro Center

So that's just under $500 plus however much a power supply would cost.

If you want a whole new system, use the configurator and pick out parts to fit your budget as a starting point and we can make some suggestions starting with that: Custom PC Builder | Micro Center Note if you get a socket AM4 motherboard with a 550 chipset you can reuse the CPU you already have.

My personal preference would be to sell the HP while it's still sellable and get custom parts but that's because I'm completely comfortable building my own. Looking on eBay I see those HP Pavillions with similar specs being asked for 500-600 (no idea if they actually get those prices). If you didn't include that in your 1200 then you can really get a good custom system.

It's totally up to your comfort level of complete build vs putting in new parts.

For a CPU get the 5600X instead of the 5700G. The 7G has integrated graphics which you do not need and is limited to PCIe 3.0 while the 6X can use PCIe 4.0 and that's what any decent graphics card wants to be best. The 3050 is a good choice, so is a Radeon 6600/6600XT (depends what is in stock).

Are you really, really sure you want a hard drive and not an m.2 SSD?? Or do you have an m.2 already from another source? Trust me, an m.2 is what you should have.

Before deciding on a case you should go look at them in person. Do you live near a Microcenter? They have a most cases on display. Those all glass ones look good but tend to be hot. Look at something with "Mesh" or "Airflow" in the name for happiness, like Corsair 4000D Airflow or LianLi Lancool Mesh

Oh sure, you can have an m.2 and a hard drive. I only mentioned it bc I only saw the hard drive listed.

Asus is a good brand for motherboards and their "gaming" models are decent quality. My two most important "don't cheap out" are motherboard and power supply. Good choices in your list for both.

PS - the cooler that comes with the 5600X includes thermal paste pre-applied so you don't need an extra tube of the stuff.

Any AMD processor that states "AMD Wraith Stealth Cooler" come with paste pre-applied.

You're welcome. Please let us know if you have any other questions!