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New PC Build For a Friend

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Yamitoko

Member
​
Joined
May 2, 2012
Location
Cheyenne, Wyoming, USA
Hello everyone,

I was recently approached by a coworker about helping her Fiance build his first PC.
I don't really stay super up to date on the market as I haven't build from the ground up since 2015.

His budget is $1,200 for the actual desktop, he has peripherals already selected and they are not included in the $1,200 budget so what I'm looking at mainly is:
https://pcpartpicker.com/list/dvsrkd

His main aim for the build is gaming, though he doesn't have anything particularly taxing on his list of preferred titles to play:
Rainbow Six Siege
Dead by Daylight
League of Legends
Magic The Gathering: Arena

I'm running into some difficulties with piecing together the PC budget wise. I'm thinking the safest bet is going to be dropping the processer/mobo down to an older Gen combination, as that seems to be where the largest savings would come in. The issue is GPU overhead, as it would be with the prices of cards being what they currently are where a 1070 FTW 2 is still fetching around $600. I was wondering if anyone would be able to help me trim some fat while not sacrificing integrity and pushing to the $1,200 budget without exceeding. I know the provided hardware is much greater than the required specifications for the games that he is looking to play but I always try to build with a bit of future proofing in mind as well.

Thanks in advance,
Yami
 
Last edited:
If you could use pcpartpicker, it is easier for everyone to see the list without opening a tab for each component.

Not sure if the hyper 212 is going to be adequate for a heavy overclock or not. I'm not super familiar with the cooling needs of the 6 core 9000 series.

At this budget, instead of an NVMe you should use a 1 or 2 tb SATA m.2 or 2.5" SSD, instead of having two drives. The performance difference is negligible for gaming, and this will free up funds for a CPU cooler, faster memory, and GPU.

Great choice on the PSU

The ram is OK, but faster ram could be beneficial.

Leaving only $200 for the GPU is a little slim in the budget. For a little more I would suggest the 1660Ti.

Edit: if he likes the case, it looks OK, but if there are probably more fresh looking cases available for the money. Look at NZXT, phanteks, Fractal design etc.
 
Zerileous said:
If you could use pcpartpicker, it is easier for everyone to see the list without opening a tab for each component.

Not sure if the hyper 212 is going to be adequate for a heavy overclock or not. I'm not super familiar with the cooling needs of the 6 core 9000 series.

At this budget, instead of an NVMe you should use a 1 or 2 tb SATA m.2 or 2.5" SSD, instead of having two drives. The performance difference is negligible for gaming, and this will free up funds for a CPU cooler, faster memory, and GPU.

Great choice on the PSU

The ram is OK, but faster ram could be beneficial.

Leaving only $200 for the GPU is a little slim in the budget. For a little more I would suggest the 1660Ti.

Edit: if he likes the case, it looks OK, but if there are probably more fresh looking cases available for the money. Look at NZXT, phanteks, Fractal design etc.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the response,

He does like the case, not really one for flashy chassis. I made some adjustments based off of what was available and created it on PCPartPicker instead and corrected the original post.

I don't believe he has any intention at all of overclocking after further discussion so a K chip/Z board will be unnecessary expenses that I was able to cut out. I settled for an 860 evo 1TB as well for the HDD which simplifies it a bit.

I was also able to squeeze in a 1070.

Let me know if there's anything that you would change on the build.
 
Little suggestion, may I?

Rtx 2060 should be similar performance and, in case your friend will like to play BF5 or Lara with rays, he will have that capability?:)
 
Agreed with the 2060, although the 1660Ti will serve him well if the 2060 ends up being out of budget.

It looks like you've selected a 4 core I3 K CPU. I would still suggest using a 6 core CPU. In the sub $200 price range for CPU, I would suggest looking at the AMD Ryzen 2600 instead of the 4 Core Intel. There is also the possibility of using the i5-8400 or 8500, although the performance benefit for the increased cost is marginal at best.

Maybe the balance of CPU/GPU cost has shifted a bit too far to the GPU for this build, if you wish to stick with Intel.
 
If he is not going to overclock the stock coolers that come with Intel non k chips is fine to save some money.
 
You have one drive (and a small - in terms of physical size - SSD at that). One expansion card (the graphics card) and a standard size ATX motherboard. NO WAY do you need anything near a "full" tower case. There are tons of top quality mid tower cases that will serve his needs just fine. Remember, depending on the case, the depth and width are the same. Only the height is more with a full tower. So working inside a mid tower is not a problem. Plus, the first time he has to lug the case outside for thorough cleaning, a mid tower will be greatly appreciated.

I like Fractal Design cases. They exceptionally well made. Provide excellent cooling options. Are very quiet. Come with excellent fans. And have great looking, conservative designs that will look "in style" forever.
 
With Mr.Scott's pick, you might want to swap the 1700 for a 2600X since it has the higher boost clocks and your friend isn't interested in overclocking
 
Any particular reason you choose the 1070 over the 1660ti? Is the price difference worth the small boost in performance for a 3 year old card?

Otherwise I like wingman’s part picks.
 
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