Question New PC Build

[Whirlwind]

It has been 10 or 11 years since my last pc build and I am thinking of building another to play some of the newer stuff on.

My current system is
Asus P8Z68V Pro/Gen 3 Mobo

I5 2500K at 3.30Ghz CPU

16GB G-Skill Ram

MSI GTX 570 video card

I know that GPU's are drastically over priced right now, so I thought I would get a used one until the prices settle down a bit.

If anybody has any thought on mobo's and cpu that would be a great start. I want intel and an Asus mobo, because I have always had great luck in the past.

I will have many more questions, but thought this would be a nice place to start...hoping 2K will get a nice rig not including the video card.

 

[BTRY B 529th FA BN]

Do you have any concern about platform longevity, e.g. upgrading the cpu..?

 

[Whirlwind]

Do you have any concern about platform longevity, e.g. upgrading the cpu..?

I guess that would be a nice option to be able to upgrade the cpu. Is this not usually an option with most good mobo's.

I have not upgraded the cpu in my current pc, mainly because I think it is pointless at this time.

 

[BTRY B 529th FA BN]

I guess that would be a nice option to be able to upgrade the cpu. Is this not usually an option with most good mobo's.

I have not upgraded the cpu in my current pc, mainly because I think it is pointless at this time.

I wouldn't upgrade the CPU in that thing either.

For me, I'll probably stick with AMD as the AM5 platform is suggested to stick around for relatively as long as AM4 did. But my point is that, platform longevity and if it matters.

So you want to go Intel w/Asus mb. Are you looking at mid-tier, DDR4, DDR5.. etc.

 

[Whirlwind]

I wouldn't upgrade the CPU in that thing either.

For me, I'll probably stick with AMD as the AM5 platform is suggested to stick around for relatively as long as AM4 did. But my point is that, platform longevity and if it matters.

So you want to go Intel w/Asus mb. Are you looking at mid-tier, DDR4, DDR5.. etc.

Yeah, I think 16GB of mid tier ram would do the trick, the best bang for the dollar in that market

 

[BTRY B 529th FA BN]

Yeah, I think 16GB of mid tier ram would do the trick, the best bang for the dollar in that market

What have you looked into so far for RAM? and were you thinking DDR4 or DDR5?

What tier CPU? e.g. 12700k?

Will you be reusing any components? like the monitor? Keyboard? Mouse? PSU? Or will you be upgrading those components too?

 

[Whirlwind]

I will reuse mouse and keyboard.

2K budget for mobo/cpu/ram/case/ps/hd's/monitor

 

[Charlie98]

I'm still running my 2500K as a gaming rig... I've got a GTX970SSC in mine, however. Depending on how serious you want to get with gaming, couldn't you just upgrade your GPU, and maybe bump the clocks on your K-chip? Granted, the most modern title I run is BF4 and FSX...

 

[OlyAR15]

I'd get a 12700K or KF with a cheap Z690 board using DDR4. Either 16 or 32GB RAM is fine, especially since DDR4 is relatively cheap. A decent 1 or 2TB SSD and you're done, apart from the GPU. For case and PSU, it's your choice, depending on what GPU you get.

 

[Whirlwind]

I know I want an intel cpu so I was thinking the new alder lake cpu on a mobo that uses ddr 4 ram (32GB)....I have always had good luck with Asus
mobo's , so I would like to stick with one of those.

I have a question about these new ss hard drives like this one
https://www.newegg.com/western-digi...820250161?Item=N82E16820250161&quicklink=true

These were not around for my last build, they just look like a stick of ram to me....do they just plug into the mobo and no power or plug from the power supply is needed ?
Are they reliable, the price seems decent....do I even need sata ss drive theses days...what are the pros and cons of these ?

Also with the right GPU would these new alder lake cpus and 32 GB of DDR4 do gaming at 4K ?

Thanks for any info.

 

[Charlie98]

You will need a mobo with an M.2 NVMe slot for that. Yes, you just plug it in, secure it, and you are good. Downside is they seem to run hot... my WD SN750 runs at about 40C.

 

[Whirlwind]

You will need a mobo with an M.2 NVMe slot for that. Yes, you just plug it in, secure it, and you are good. Downside is they seem to run hot... my WD SN750 runs at about 40C.

So it is not a good idea to run like 2 or three of these ? i like that it just eliminates more cables that can get messy inside the case

 

[In2Photos]

So it is not a good idea to run like 2 or three of these ? i like that it just eliminates more cables that can get messy inside the case

You can run multiple M.2 drives. Just make sure that they each have a heatsink, either a cover on the motherboard or their own. The SN850 you linked has the option of purchasing with or without a heatsink.

 

[Whirlwind]

You can run multiple M.2 drives. Just make sure that they each have a heatsink, either a cover on the motherboard or their own. The SN850 you linked has the option of purchasing with or without a heatsink.

OK, I thought on the Asus mobo I was looking at that were some heatsinks on it that I did not know why or what they were for,,,,will some boards support three of these ?

For gaming purpose and nothing else DDR 4 is fine...no need for DDR 5 ?

 

[Charlie98]

Your mobo needs to have as many M.2 slots as drives you wish to run.

I was under the impression the heatsinks on the NVMe drives were basically worthless unless they had direct air running over them. By their very nature, usually tucked down on the mobo, and usually under a GPU, it's very hard to get airflow over them.

 

[Whirlwind]

Your mobo needs to have as many M.2 slots as drives you wish to run.

I was under the impression the heatsinks on the NVMe drives were basically worthless unless they had direct air running over them. By their very nature, usually tucked down on the mobo, and usually under a GPU, it's very hard to get airflow over them.

Yeah, the heat seems like it could be an issue, especially if you had like three of them...maybe this is where sata has the advantage
The Speed of them is suppose to be very good, correct?

I may get a mobo with 3 slots and heatsinks on the mobo

I have always had luck with WD drives....this ok

Are you a human?

www.newegg.com

If there are better options for a 2TB drive I am open to it....I just like the reliability I have always had with WD...PCIE 4 a big deal over 3 ?

 

[BTRY B 529th FA BN]

The 2TB WD 850 is $270.

https://www.amazon.com/WD_Black-SN850-Internal-Gaming-Solid/dp/B08KFRFL8F

 

[Whirlwind]

The 2TB WD 850 is $270.

https://www.amazon.com/WD_Black-SN850-Internal-Gaming-Solid/dp/B08KFRFL8F

Is this worth the extra money compared to the one I linked ?

 

[BTRY B 529th FA BN]

Is this worth the extra money compared to the one I linked ?

To you? I don't know; but it's on my list of items to buy and I have the 1TB version and it's already over half full,,, about 300GB of storage left. When I do buy a larger capacity NVME drive I'll use the 1TB in an enclosure like this:

https://www.amazon.com/Sabrent-Type-C-Tool-Free-Enclosure-EC-SNVE/dp/B08RVC6F9Y

 

[Whirlwind]

To you? I don't know; but it's on my list of items to buy and I have the 1TB version and it's already over half full,,, about 300GB of storage left. When I do buy a larger capacity NVME drive I'll use the 1TB in an enclosure like this:

https://www.amazon.com/Sabrent-Type-C-Tool-Free-Enclosure-EC-SNVE/dp/B08RVC6F9Y

The one i linked is 2TB it is just PCIE 3 insted of PCIE 4 ...is that a big deal.

I am having a tough time finding a mid size tower with one drive bay for DVD drive ....looks like drive bays are a thing of the past, but I still use one.

I am going to get a ssd drive for windows 11....how big does that need to be ?

Also going to get a 2TB ssd drive for games and i have a couple spinners that I would like to transfer over that have my music on them, if they still make bays to mount those in these new cases....man times have changed....lol

 

[BTRY B 529th FA BN]

@Whirlwind Ah sorry, I was looking at an earlier post with the 1TB.

 

[In2Photos]

The one i linked is 2TB it is just PCIE 3 insted of PCIE 4 ...is that a big deal.

I am having a tough time finding a mid size tower with one drive bay for DVD drive ....looks like drive bays are a thing of the past, but I still use one.

I am going to get a ssd drive for windows 11....how big does that need to be ?

Also going to get a 2TB ssd drive for games and i have a couple spinners that I would like to transfer over that have my music on them, if they still make bays to mount those in these new cases....man times have changed....lol

We just used the 750 SE in my son's build. Speeds are plenty fast enough.

Fractal has a couple of cases with drive bays still. Or you could always use an external.

 

[kschendel]

PCIe 3.0 vs 4.0 is basically irrelevant for most users. You have to be doing large sequential transfers of 10's of gigabytes to really see the difference. For a 1 GB game executable you're talking roughly 1/3 second (3.0) vs 1/6 second (4.0) which is pretty hard to notice.

For a game store and/or boot drive, I'd buy on price.

 

[Whirlwind]

PCIe 3.0 vs 4.0 is basically irrelevant for most users. You have to be doing large sequential transfers of 10's of gigabytes to really see the difference. For a 1 GB game executable you're talking roughly 1/3 second (3.0) vs 1/6 second (4.0) which is pretty hard to notice.

For a game store and/or boot drive, I'd buy on price.

Thanks for this.....that is what I will do

 

[blckgrffn]

Thanks for this.....that is what I will do

At $2K for PC with no GPU, no way I would skimp on the storage. I would go PCIe4 and a nice drive, just watch for any sort of deal. I’ve never had issues with heat when using the heat sinks - and even not using heatsinks…

32GB of ram is also a minimum for that type of build too, I think.

Do you have a budget breakdown?

What is your GPU budget?

Sounds fun as you have the budget to do it right!