Gaming PC for Son

Only

My teen is looking for a Gaming PC and we are going to attemp to build it ourselves.

His friend tells him this is what he needs:

NVIDA GeForce RTX 3080

Intel Core i5 13600k

H5 Elite Case

ASUS TUF Gaming Z790-Plus Wifi D4

Patriot Viper Steel DDR4 16GB (2 x 8GB)

NZXT Kraken X53 240mm

Corsair RM1000e

Asiahorse white cble extension

So DS is saying he wants to be able to run the likes of Eleden Ring, COD etc at 240fps

I am far from technical (most I have done is replace a couple of laptop screens) but am willing to learn and give it a go.

Any advice / recommendations?

To start off, I have found a WD_BLACK 500GB SN850 for €34 - would this be good enough? Or even 2 of them? ... does he really need 2TB??

Thanks for any guidance!

Lumen

Do you have a monitor already? I don't see one in that list. What screen resolution?

Only

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120226262#Comment_120226262

Apologies, missed that - No monitor yet either

Spear

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120226508#Comment_120226508

Do you need help mostly with the parts choice, or with assembly?

The assembly part should be fairly trivial, if you're already happy to have done more fiddly things like replace laptop screens.

In terms of those parts, that's a fairly high end machine. The need for 240 FPS sounds dodgy though. It's the kind of thing wannabe esports players tell themselves. Plus you'd need to pay the cost of a 240hz capable screen to get the full use of it.

But if you're happy to spend on this, an RTX 4080 is about 50% faster than the RTX 3080, for about €150 to €200 or so more.

Only

I need help mostly with parts choice for the moment. Hoping to keep an eye and watch for deals that might crop up but need to know what I'm really looking for.

I know DS wants 'the best' but I'm more a value for money ... I don't mind spending a bit more for the right part but if something else will be pretty near and better value for money I'm in ... if that makes any sense.

DS is a typical teen and hearing 'this is the best ... its what you need' versus thinking about what he actually does need and vfm.

So for what he wants to run and him wanting 'good' graphics, what am I really looking for parts wise?

K.O.Kiki

I'll draw up a build this weekend if I get a chance. Most of the budget will go into GPU. Will check up what model gets 240 in COD.

Lumen

Reality check: "the best" will cost 5k, at least.

Now I'm guilty of spoiling my kids as much as anyone, but the way I look at it if they have the best now, they'll be deprived of the adult joy of spending inadvisable amounts of money on "the best that I never had as a kid". That's a great feeling, I'm still living it now decades later 😂

A decent mid-range build still won't be cheap, GPU prices are nuts at the moment compared to previously, but it also won't be noticeably worse.

For context, the current performance king is the 4090. It costs 2k and has roughly ten times the raw graphics grunt of a PS5. Nobody needs that. I have one.

The reality is that I don't really notice the difference from my 3080 (which was about half as powerful). All the in game settings just go up a notch, but you'd have to compare screenshots to tell the difference.

The only thing it does really matter for is VR, but that's a whole different rabbit hole.

Keep budget aside for a decent Xbox controller, it's a nice alternative to mouse and keyboard.

Anyway, I suggest you set a budget.

Kurooi

Your sons friend sure didn't work with a budget. I would just argue that's overkill. You are about to spend 3 grand on this set up with the peripherals (and please note there is no sense getting a massive rig like this and hooking it up to discount bucket peripherals)

You don't need 240 FPS, everyone is quite happy at around 60. I value the fluidity when it's say 60-120 and it means it's future proof, new games come out it will play great. But 240 is a stupid aim to pay extra for. Note also that your monitor can only display so fast... Those monitors are extra expensive. Do decide on a monitor and include it as part of the build because the different resolutions and refresh rates are important for the specs.

Regarding SSD - 500gb is a good start. You can buy and expand with a 1tb or 2tb SSD it takes no time at all to add that in later.

Only

Thanks very much for everyone's help and advice!

DSs friend priced that lot I listed up as being around E2,000 .... and that is really the max of his budget ... and there is no way in he'll he's getting a PC remotely near 5,000 😱!! He is still saving towards it and will be paying for the most of it himself.

As a teen, his head is a bit in the clouds and that's where I come in and take it back down to reality and see what is really needed!!

I actually bought the 500GB ssd ... got it for E34 In Argos thanks to the Bargains Alert Board.

K.O.Kiki

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058283790/gaming-pc-for-son

Very quick spitballing here:

• AMD Ryzen 5600 - 155eur
• Thermalright Assassin King SE CPU cooler - 27eur
• Gigabyte B550M AORUS Elite motherboard - 115eur
• 16Gb DDR4-3200 CL16 RAM (memory) - 45eur
• 1Tb SSD - 57eur
• Any case with included fans: 60eur for a budget case, or (preferably) 80-100 eur for a Lian Li Lancool 205 series
• 750-850W Gold-rated Power supply from Corsair, Seasonic, be quiet, NZXT, Phanteks or EVGA: 80-100eur

So about 550-580 for the guts, then add a graphics card.

RX 6700 XT (420-450eur) would get 60fps+ in any title.

As for monitors, 1080p (1920x1080) and 1440p (2560x1440) resolution with at least 144Hz refresh are all around 170-250eur now. Usually you can get a good student discount from Dell.ie or Lenovo.ie that works out cheaper than Amazon, etc.

Only

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120229698#Comment_120229698

Thanks very much for going to all that trouble - I will take a look into what you are suggestion (although I have a feeling DS is going to be saying he will wait to save more to get better fps knowing him)

Can I ask where are the best places to look to purchase?

K.O.Kiki

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120233091#Comment_120233091

• Amazon is usually reliable. Check if UK or DE site has better prices/stock.
• Caseking.DE has a lot of variety & decent prices.
• MemoryC.ie & Maxburns.ie are based in Ireland (with UK stock) so can be a good shout.

Only

Thanks a million!!

I actually just spotted Amazon have a warehouse sale and there is one of these for €301 .... thoughts????

Intel® Core™ i5-13600K Desktop Processor 14 cores (6 P-cores + 8 E-cores) 24M Cache, up to 5.1 GHz

Only

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120235389#Comment_120235389

That should be £301 - so €345

K.O.Kiki

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120235416#Comment_120235416

That's not even a sale price - that's 6 EUR more than on Caseking.

To get the best out of a 13600K, you'd want a Z690/Z790 motherboard too.

So you double the budget of CPU & motherboard (540 vs 270) for a modest 10-20% performance increase (game/resolution dependent).

If, however, you spend that budget on a better GPU (e.g. go from 6700 XT -> 6800) you'd get a 27-30% performance increase AND the benefit of increased VRAM. (6800 XT: +44%).

Only

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120235772#Comment_120235772

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120235772#Comment_120235772

THANK YOU!!!! DS youtubed comparison of the Ryzen 5600 vs the i5 13600 and was insisting on the 13600 being a lot better graphics so I checked Amazon and spotted that warehouse one ... I am trying to learn but am a total beginner with this - hence the stupid questions 😖 ..... DS is instisting on the better graphics🙄

K.O.Kiki

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120235830#Comment_120235830

😅 Well the gist of it is:

GPU (graphics card) makes the games run & makes it all pretty.

CPU (processor) just tells the GPU what to do & how often.

GPU is more important than CPU for gaming.

minitrue

That suggests they are completely focused on framerates and have it in their head that they need 240fps. They also want to think about resolution, settings and things like keyboard, mouse, headset and the fact they have to actually fit everything into a budget ;)

240 fps in COD is about what you might just scrape by on getting on minimal settings at 1080p from a 13700K and a 6800xt.

If instead they focused on 144/165 fps at 1440p they could do it with a 5600 and 6700xt and if they moved up to a 6800xt they wouldn't quite manage ultra settings but they'd probably be fine with balanced settings at least. 1440p with sane settings at 144/165 fps with a decent keyboard and mouse is going to be vastly better all around and if they turn out to be on the path to a career as a professional esports player will be more than good enough to show it and probably even earn the money to spend €5k+ on a stupid rig to get the last 1% edge.

Basically 144/165 is "easy" but 240 means throwing money at the cpu/ram/board/cooling for all the small gains. If you have €5k+ in pocket change grabbing a 13900K/4090 and super ultrawide 240Hz monitor that's one thing but on a €2k (give or take) budget taking the low hanging fruit will get something much better then blowing hundreds extra of it on one aspect at the expense of everything else.

If they just can't let go of the cpu and frames obsession I'd say going with a Ryzen 7600 (or 5800X3D) would be a better move than the 13600K. The 7600 would mean they would at least be blowing the money on a platform they can upgrade going forward while the 5800X3D would be "the best" of AM4 where the savings on the motherboard/cooler (and I'd say ram as going with a 13600K for these reasons suggests going with fast DDR5) would at least save them from having to cut too many corners elsewhere.

Putting it all together, something LIKE:

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 5600 3.5 GHz 6-Core Processor (€144.69 @ Computeruniverse)

CPU Cooler: Thermalright Peerless Assassin 120 SE WHITE ARGB 66.17 CFM CPU Cooler (£36.50 @Amazon UK)

Motherboard: Gigabyte B550 GAMING X V2 ATX AM4 Motherboard (€120.90 @ Amazon Deutschland)

Memory: Kingston FURY Renegade 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR4-3600 CL16 Memory (€102.88 @ Computeruniverse)

Storage: Western Digital Black SN850 500 GB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive (€34.00 bought already)

Storage: Crucial P3 2 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 3.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive (€121.66 @ Amazon Deutschland)

Video Card: PowerColor Red Dragon OC Radeon RX 6800 XT 16 GB Video Card (€703.44 @ Computeruniverse)

Case: Phanteks Eclipse P400A Digital ATX Mid Tower Case (€109.83 @ Computeruniverse)

Power Supply: Enermax Revolution D.F. 850 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply (€136.57 @ Computeruniverse)

Monitor: ViewSonic VX2718-2KPC-MHD 27.0" 2560 x 1440 165 Hz Curved Monitor (€228.51 @ Amazon Deutschland)

Total: €1750ish

Should leave them enough for a decent keyboard, mouse, headset. I included the 2TB drive on top of your 500GB because COD is something like 175GB, Elden Ring I think is 60GB (but I also see some things saying 150GB) so 500GB is going to be gone very quickly with the size of games now. You could just leave it out completely to start which might just let them upgrade to a 5800X3d or 7900xt or ultrawide. I swapped the motherboard KOKiki had chosen just because it only has a x2 second M.2 slot but it's not likely to make any practical difference.

The case is white with RGB bling because of what's in stock (the Lancools don't seem to be) at a remotely sane price and the starting list was throwing money at looks ;) The cooler is white just because it's fractionally cheaper and will kinda match the case. The cooler is also overkill for the 5600 but a massive steal at the price.

I haven't bought from computeruniverse in years but think they should still be fine as another option to buy from.

If you ask them what monitor, mouse, keyboard, headset they have in mind and then start adding it all up they might realise just how long they could be saving for to tick every box in their dreams.

You could buy the above list but really it was more about "adding it all up" to help present a complete picture. I've bumped up a little from KOKiki (e.g. the ram) just to help the "teen acceptance factor" and the feeling that the teen is raging to spend all their money on the best they can get.

p.s. I'd generally say a nice and wise parental move is to say "I'll buy the power supply cause I don't want the house burning down and/or something horribly inefficient"

p.p.s. I'd try and avoid buying parts one at a time over the next month as you could end up discovering one of the first parts has to be returned and you end up too late for a simple return and stuck waiting for it to be dealt with as a warranty issue (I think 30 days is the threshold). It can also help with shipping costs.

Homelander

Well, kids will always be kids. Of course he wants to run the latest games at 240fps, in the same way that a teenager would love a brand new Audi A4 as their very first car.

It's not economical though nor a realistic expectation of a gaming PC unless money means absolutely nothing. Once you move past the mainstream mid-range, value for money goes down the toilet completely, and the parts devalue like a rock in water as well after a short period.

They are far better off getting a good, solid mid-range PC that can run all the latest games at ultra settings at a high framerate rather than laying down extreme markers like "must be 240fps". It'll cost half the price, perform very well, hold value better, and be more economical to upgrade down the line to stay on top.

The build posted above is a far more sensible option (though I would at the very least get a Ryzen 5800 with that budget). €1800 including the monitor, all the accessories, and would run all the latest games at 1440P resolution, ultra settings, at a very high framerate.

Coyler

https://www.pcgamer.com/how-many-frames-per-second-can-the-human-eye-really-see/

Nice explainer here. It's not hard and fast rule on what we can precieive but 200+ fps is certainly beyond mere mortals.

Even if it were, as minitrue says, the money you could spend trying to reach that goal can be spent on good keyboard, mouse, and headset which have far more tangible impact on the experience at that point. Also while not a huge expense there is a chair and desk needed. Aim for 1440p@120/144 in COD and then focus of those. You'd get far more return for your money and a way better experience all round.

Only

Thanks a million all - I'm still working through the recommendations and comments.

I am certain I will be back with questions!

Only

OK so i think hes having a reality check and realising what hes looking for is above what he has to fund it.

He has sent me this - thoughts???

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/2310153815809122/

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/528303599419868/?ref=facebook_story_share

K.O.Kiki

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120361206#Comment_120361206

If the spec is correct (Ryzen 5-5600X, RTX 3060, 16Gb RAM, Corsair RM850) that Facebook machine is a very good buy.

Ask seller for proof, e.g. ask them to run DXDiag and show the System & Display screens.

Only

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120362412#Comment_120362412

Ah - seller (second link I posted) has just told us its sold