New build for my son

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Space_Coyote

Gawd
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Feb 2, 2007
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I'm out of touch with recent hardware so I tried to help as much as I could. I'm sure there are better cost/benefit options out there so I'm hoping you guys can help tweak the build. It will be used for gaming at 4k and he said he can spend up to 3k (Dad would prefer less, lol).

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/kzkznt
 
What games? What he's playing could have a drastic effect on what hardware is acceptable @4k.

My notes:
  • CPU: Absolutely no reason to consider something as old as a 9700k. Minimal I'd say is a 13600K or 7700X. If you can wait, Intel is expected to have 14th generation CPUs out around October.
  • CPU Cooler: That Thermalright is a good unit on the right CPU, but might be insufficient for newer/hotter higher-end units such as those above. I'd go with at least a 140 mm tower or a 240 mm CLC radiator.
  • Mainboard: You'll need something more current as well to match the CPU. Z790 chipset for Intel, B650E for AMD.
  • RAM: No reason not to go with DDR5 now that the price isn't at so much a premium. DDR5-6000 is about the price/performance sweet spot AFAICT. 32 GB is a good amount.
  • SSD: The 970 Evo+ is fine, but if you hunt for good sales it's possible to find good newer PCIe 4 units (e.g., WD SN850X, SK Hynix P41, Solidgm P44) for not too much more. Ignore any PCIe 5 units you find, they're not worth the price premium and run stupid-hot.
  • GPU: The 3070ti might be OK for some older games, but I'd go at least a 4070 if only for the increased VRAM for 4k gaming.
  • PSU: A bit overkill. A good 750 W unit, such as a Seasonic or Corsair, should be fine.
  • Case: Probably fine, though personally I'm not a fan of anything obstructing the front fans.
  • Display: No idea, hunt for reviews.
  • OS: Go Win11. It has features useful for gaming and especially handling Intel's current performance/efficiency CPU core setup. Also, that's awfully expensive for a Win10 Home license. MSRP is ~$130 IIRC, if you can still find it, that's what Win11 Home goes for at least. You can save ~$10 getting the OEM/system builder version, but then it's locked to the hardware and can't be moved to a new system. There are also the far cheaper gray-market options if you're willing to risk that.
 
I like that a lot better, but still think there's room for improvement:
  • Go with DDR5 instead. That DDR4 kit is silly-expensive and I doubt it's any faster than a good set of DDR5 modules. Also, Intel CPUs aren't nearly as sensitive to RAM timings as AMD, so it's rarely a good idea to go overboard here. Whatever RAM you get make sure it's XMP for Intel and not the EXPO stuff intended for AMD.
  • I picked what I believe to be a solid DDR5 mainboard (considering it for myself), make sure it has everything you need.
  • Upgraded the SSD to a PCIe 4 unit for ~$10 more currently.
  • I picked a CPU cooler that's roughly the average going price, only because the one chosen came up blank (i.e., no price) for me. Check out reviews, I have no knowledge of it other than being from a decent manufacturer. The EVGA should be fine also assuming it's around the same price. Also, FWIW, I believe that case will support a 280 mm unit up top, and those are typically only ~$10-20 more.
PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: Intel Core i5-13600K 3.5 GHz 14-Core Processor ($312.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: be quiet! Pure Loop 240 Liquid CPU Cooler ($99.90 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Asus TUF GAMING Z790-PLUS WIFI ATX LGA1700 Motherboard ($269.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws S5 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR5-6000 CL36 Memory ($94.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital Black SN850X 1 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive ($59.99 @ B&H)
Video Card: MSI GAMING X TRIO GeForce RTX 4070 12 GB Video Card ($625.65 @ Newegg)
Case: Corsair 4000D Airflow ATX Mid Tower Case ($89.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: Corsair RM750x (2021) 750 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply ($114.99 @ Walmart)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 11 Home OEM - DVD 64-bit ($117.98 @ Other World Computing)
Monitor: Gigabyte M28U Arm Edition 28.0" 3840 x 2160 144 Hz Monitor ($559.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $2346.46
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2023-07-22 21:04 EDT-0400

Roughly the same price, maybe a bit less, as your revised build once you account for the missing CPU cooler.

I don't know that game at all, so make sure to get data about it to ensure the build is adequate for running at 4k. If your son has any friends doing so and getting decent FPS, see about getting info on that hardware they're using. Or maybe consider that 1440p is sufficient, which could also considerably drop costs and would still look very good on a ~28" display.

(Edit: some minor rewording and added thoughts.)
 
Last edited:
I don't know that game at all, so make sure to get data about it to ensure the build is adequate for running at 4k. If your son has any friends doing so and getting decent FPS, see about getting info on that hardware they're using. Or maybe consider that 1440p is sufficient, which could also considerably drop costs and would still look very good on a ~28" display.

1440p on a 28" monitor yes, but 4K should be on a 30" screen MINIMUM. He should ditch the Gigabyte M28U Arm Edition 28.0, take that $560, add $336 and get this instead

https://www.amazon.com/LG-42-Inch-R...690211505&sprefix=lg+c1+42+oled,aps,84&sr=8-1
 
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BlueLineSwinger said:
My notes:
  • CPU: Absolutely no reason to consider something as old as a 9700k. Minimal I'd say is a 13600K or 7700X. If you can wait, Intel is expected to have 14th generation CPUs out around October.
Click to expand...
lol...And here I am building a replacement gaming system with in i7 8700!
 
If you need a specific feature yes, look at 690 vs 790 platforms the only difference is a TB port I believe. I went 690 and am satisfied. DD5 is more affordable now not a deal breaker. I went from X99/5820K to 12700K and after the novelty wore off the only diff is in higher min FPS.
My days of number crunching are over, retired analytical center director with a extensive SEM and XRD background.
 
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