Building a new PC

Hello Everyone,

I wish to build a new PC for home. This will be a home and work pc. My work involves working with general products such as MS Office, PDF Readers, Browsing a lot. I also do development using Visual Studio 2010. Plus since I am into stock market research my task involves scanning data etc. I live outside the US.

Occasionally I wish to do gaming also. For e.g. I like FPS games and if there is a new title then I want to play it. However, it will not be very frequent. I also wish to try the new upcoming Microsoft Flight Sim 2024.

I was thinking of:

> Intel i7 - 14000K/KF

> 2 TB SSD [Samsung 990 Evo 2Tb M.2 Nvme Gen4 Internal SSD > $190]
> 32 GB RAM

> A Good Motherboard

> RTX 4070 Super

> Antec NE850 Gold PSU

Questions :

1) For work i5 is sufficient but since I wish to do gaming (whenever a good FPS title is released or MS Flight Sim) I am going for i7. What do you guys think? Should I go with or without onboard graphics.

2) What type of SSD gives good performance ? M2.NVME or  2.5" SSD or M2.SSD ? Should I go for NVME vs normal SATA SSD.

3) Please suggest a good motherboard (between range of $100 - $170). It should support my GPU & NVME SSD (if I go for it).

4) PSU. please suggest a PSU which can do the job. Should I go for 850 watt or 1000 watt. I dont know.

5) The most expensive component is the graphics card which is going to cost me around $670. Should I buy it later when I feel I wanna play. Is the graphics card model okay?

6) I have a 24" monitor (HP) which has a refresh rate of (75 hz).

     a) Should I buy a new monitor.

     If yes should I stick to 24" or go for 27"

     c) lastly all my life I have worked on 1920x1080. If I go for 27" is it okay to stick to that only or should I go for higher resolution.

7) RAM: Is 32 GB okay or should I go for 16 GB ? In case of 32 GB should I go for 2 sticks 16x2 or 1x32 or 8x4 sticks.

8) Any other suggestions you may have

Please suggest me what should I go for. My budget is around $1100-$1500.

Thank you,

Regards,

GR

Edited by greatchap, 23 March 2024 - 10:37 PM.

1 i7-14700K, but a 13700K or a 13600k or a 14600K would be OK too and are cheaper.

2 NVMe is superior but not by that much for general/office use

3 depends as most are good or pricier. Even a 760 instead 790 is OK and cheaper.

4 850 watts Gold rated is OK. But if going with a much higher tier graphic card, then go with 1000 watts. And for any new Nvidia (4070 and higher) pick a PSU with the newer graphic card cable (get newer ATX 5.0 not the older and out of date ATX 3.0). So  no to this Antec.

5  Yes that can be done. Yes is OK for 1080p and 1440p the RTX 4070 Super is OK ( I like it and it is a very good card). You could go even lower or older - RTX 3070/3080 or RTX 4070 or 4060Ti for MS Flight Sim,  especially at 1080p or 1440p.

    You could even consider AMD - a RX 6700/6750 XT or RX 6800 (non XT) or  RX 6800XT or a RX 7700 XT or RX 7800XT.

    Realistically a RTX 3060 can play MS FS at 1080p. As will the RX 6700 XT from AMD. So anything higher is better. So a good RTX 3060 maybe the card you want?

6 a depends - lock the game to 75FPS and play at 75 FPS is OK. But latency and other monitor performance can be bad for MS FS, so it depends without any further details.

   b depends - 24 has more PPI, but 27 is larger of course for more screen

   c is OK at 27  but depends on your vision, how far or close you sit from the desk, quality of the screen, etc.

7 2x16GB 

8 Case to be used? Included the cost of  a License for Windows in the estimate? CPU cooler?

You meant something like this?

Edited by 0lds0d, 24 March 2024 - 01:03 AM.

Or something like this and it is cheaper and will do the same job and basically the same performance?

PCPartPicker Part List: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/BzFN7R

CPU: Intel Core i7-12700K 3.6 GHz 12-Core Processor  ($224.99 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Deepcool LS520 SE 85.85 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler  ($74.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Gigabyte Z690 AORUS ELITE AX DDR4 ATX LGA1700 Motherboard  ($207.00 @ Amazon)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LPX 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR4-3600 CL18 Memory  ($69.98 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital Black SN770 2 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive  ($138.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Gigabyte EAGLE GeForce RTX 4060 Ti 8 GB Video Card  ($390.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Lian Li LANCOOL 216 ATX Mid Tower Case  ($99.99 @ Newegg Sellers)
Power Supply: MSI MAG A850GL PCIE5 850 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply  ($89.99 @ Amazon)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 11 Home Retail - Download 64-bit  ($119.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $1416.91
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2024-03-24 04:29 EDT-0400

The 12700K is very close to the latest i7, and you will never really see any performance differences between the two CPUs.

A Z690 is cheaper and is basically the same as a Z790.

DDR4 isn't really different from DDR5 - again you won't see any visible differences between the two when doing tasks, running your programs or gaming for that matter.

A 750 watt PSU will suffice. 850 watts is OK too.  But the MSI 850 watt was cheaper than the 750 watt model ATM, so I picked the 850 watt version.

The RTX 4060 Ti does have models with more VRAM for just a slightly higher price, if interested.

Within spec'd budget.

Edited by 0lds0d, 24 March 2024 - 03:43 AM.

Thank you very much for your reply.

1) Regarding the PSU you said "And for any new Nvidia (4070 and higher) pick a PSU with the newer graphic card cable (get newer ATX 5.0 not the older and out of date ATX 3.0)". Did you mean get new PCIe 5.0 as I dont see any ATX 5.0.

2) Isn't SAMSUNG a more reliable brand for SSD or is western digital better ?

3) DDR5 is faster than DDR4 so I think I should go for it.

The thing is if I build this PC I want it to last at least 4-5 years thus I was thinking if going back a generation or two is okay or not.

Cheers

Agree with most of the parts suggested by 0lds0d but with the exception of PSU and RAM.

Never purchase any speed of RAM that is faster than what the CPU can handle and when it comes to PSUs I only ever use or recommend four brands, Corsair RM or above range, EVGA Gold efficiency or above and the same from Seasonic and Super Flower, you want stability and long life stick with the long established rather than newbies dipping their toe in to test the water 

ATX 5.0 comes with the new PCIe 5 cable and socket, while ATX 3.0 does not. You then must use the cable supplied with the graphic card if using ATX 3.0.

Look closely at the web sites for the PSU - it is always specified as to which ATX version.

DDR5 is of course faster, but there isn't  a real difference. Because you can't see or feel any difference between the two of them, especially for daily uses, running office and so forth.

DDR4 is still cheaper, so for the build within the budget, then DDR4 is the better option.

Which isn't to say you must get DDR4, it is only an opinion.

Both the Samsung and the Western Digital are basically the same regarding performance. The SN850X has it's own DRAM cache , while the SN770 doesn't and then it uses the system memory for caching, hence it is cheaper. Either one will be OK. So will be a Samsung. And Crucial.

@PhilPower2 This selected  MSI's  PSU is 80+ Gold rated and has a 10 year warranty and is well rated on the Cultist PSU Tier list. And is reasonably priced. So it seemed very safe to suggest it.

AFAIK Super Flower and EVGA both use the same supplier from the same factory for their PSU products so it is very possible these are both twins with not any real difference between the two.

As far as Corsair's PSUs go, the RMx (10 year warranty and is well built) is very good and the RMe aren't that good but are still passable. I would recommend the Corasir RMx (still at ATX 3.0) as an alternative selection if it was a full true ATX 5.0 not ATX 5.0 compatible (with it's none existent 12HPR socket). Selecting the ATX 5.0 is future proofing if ever upgrading the graphic card to a higher tier that does need the 12VHPWR connection.

"The thing is if I build this PC I want it to last at least 4-5 years thus I was thinking if going back a generation or two is okay or not."

Is OK to go with 12th generation. You could go with 13th generation as well if you want, I just picked the 12th gen to stay within budget.

But for the price per performance the 12th gen is still very good.

Another way to look at this CPU selection or to put in perspective is even an older Intel i7-10700k could do the same job as  to your requirements, including running the MS FS.

Hardware wise, the hardware itself will last you at least 5-10 years. As for getting dated or becoming obsolete (?), then the answer is NO it won't be, not with the general or daily uses, using office and running a few business programs or even for using MS FS for that matter.

OTOH Intel will bring out a new series of CPU this Fall of this year, so even the present 14th gen will be considered dated. And this 15th gen maybe even better then what Intel has ever released before - so either build now or wait till Christmas for the ultimate  build if you want the very best and the latest, at higher costs.

But honestly going with the CPU series that is going out, not with the one coming in is the best bang for the buck approach to buying and building.

If you got money to burn, then go with the incoming line of CPUs and Graphic Cards. If you don't, then go with the older or outgoing lineups.

Edited by 0lds0d, 24 March 2024 - 07:48 AM.

12th gen vs 13th gen vs 14th gen I7s...do your own choosing...

https://www.cpubenchmark.net/compare/4609vs5060vs5719/Intel-i7-12700K-vs-Intel-i7-13700K-vs-Intel-i7-14700K

Thank you very much 0lds0d.

I appreciate your help.

Regarding PSU you said "ATX 5.0 comes with the new PCIe 5 cable and socket, while ATX 3.0 does not. You then must use the cable supplied with the graphic card if using ATX 3.0.

Look closely at the web sites for the PSU - it is always specified as to which ATX version"

The PSU (MAG A850GL PCIE5) you suggested says "ATX 3.0 compatible and PCIe 5.0 ready.". I cannot find anywhere where it says ATX 5.0. Does PCIe 5 ready means by default that its ATX 5.0 or am I missing something.

Regarding sound system, I need to purchase speaker and woofer. Will default sound output by MB do the job or I need a separate sound card. Sound is not extremely important, as long as its decent I am good. Any suggestion?

I saw the CPU link you shared, I think i7-13700K maybe good enough. However if I plan to use dedicated graphics card then should I go for KF or K ?

Edited by greatchap, 24 March 2024 - 07:38 AM.

It wasn`t a criticism of MSI 0lds0d, hence the reason why I said " stick with the long established rather than newbies dipping their toe in to test the water  "

When it comes to having a proven track record the four brands of PSU mentioned have one whereas the likes of ASUS and MSI do not.

Unless I am missing it I`m not seeing any MSI MAG A850GL on the tier list.

TY.

Oh what do you think about  brands like beQuiet or Thermaltake? Any good? Just curious.

You are correct - it's the MPG on the list, not the MAG. (no where to be found in actuality). My error. Got those two mixed up.

I suppose I will have to wait for the MAG to be rated and then decide upon recommending it or not.

I was thinking about buying it for myself, but after this, maybe I will look for another PSU to get instead!

TY.

Edited by 0lds0d, 24 March 2024 - 08:36 AM.

"Regarding PSU you said "ATX 5.0 comes with the new PCIe 5 cable and socket, while ATX 3.0 does not. You then must use the cable supplied with the graphic card if using ATX 3.0.
Look closely at the web sites for the PSU - it is always specified as to which ATX version"
The PSU (MAG A850GL PCIE5) you suggested says "ATX 3.0 compatible and PCIe 5.0 ready.". I cannot find anywhere where it says ATX 5.0. Does PCIe 5 ready means by default that its ATX 5.0 or am I missing something."

Nope you aren't missing anything. I was. Sorry. Got mixed up. See above post.

As for sound - the motherboards will have the audio outputs. Some better than others, but it will be adequate anyways. No extra sound card is needed.

Really any basic desktop speaker system will be OK if you aren't an audiophile that demands the best. So will headphones do too.

Go with the K not the KF for possible troubleshooting, just in case the graphic card gets broken/damaged or needs to be replaced, then you still have a video out from the CPU. Plus the CPU with it's own  graphics does some display features by itself, enhancing the system.

Both brands make some decent PSUs but only at the high end, likewise, both brands make units that are below par with even gold efficiency labelled supplies being rated as – Tier C • Low-end, for me any supply from a known brand that does not have at least a seven year warranty does not get included on a parts list, the PSU tier list and the now obsolete realhardtechx PSU database have been a great help with checking PSU quality over the years,

You are welcome btw 

PhilPower2 could you suggest a suitable PSU that is fitting for the budget for greatchap's build?

Edited by 0lds0d, 24 March 2024 - 09:15 AM.

Regarding PSU is it safe to say that there is no ATX 5.0. It is ATX 3.0 and support for PCIe 5.0. Right ?

PhilPower2 could you suggest a suitable PSU that is fitting for the budget for greatchap's build?

Be happy to once a parts list has been decided on, knowing the exact version of any add on GPU is a must as some brands of the same range of card require more power and additional power supply connectors.