Wrathful wrote Hey everybody, I've decided to invest in a more powerful PC. Currently I'm on a laptop and it doesn't perform, I've been browsing around and I've never built a ful PC personally so I could use some help if possible. Thank you.


Budget & Currency: $1200.00 USD

Peripherals & Monitor: N/A

Games: Fortnite, BF4, Farcry, Overwatch

Software: Nothing too crazy, maybe some Photoshop time to time

Aesthetics: Black/Blue if possible, I can compromise if some parts can't follow

Rebates/Promos: Totally fine

When: Will be purchasing all parts throughout the next two months

Thank you again!

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CPU: [ Register or Signin to view external links. ] ($199.88 @ OutletPC)
CPU Cooler: [ Register or Signin to view external links. ] ($19.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: [ Register or Signin to view external links. ] ($139.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: [ Register or Signin to view external links. ] ($94.89 @ OutletPC)
Storage: [ Register or Signin to view external links. ] ($59.79 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: [ Register or Signin to view external links. ] ($529.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: [ Register or Signin to view external links. ] ($79.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: [ Register or Signin to view external links. ] ($69.89 @ OutletPC)
Total: $1194.41
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

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The only other thing that I personally would add but I couldn't fit it in there because of budget is an SSD of some kind. Cheers.

R5 2600 isn't worth $50+ more than an R5 1600, since you can grab a 1600 for $175, and B350 mobo for <$100 ez. You also don't want 2133MHz RAM with any Ryzen CPU/APU anyway since Ryzen very much benefits from faster RAM. 2666MHz is the absolute minimum I'd recommend, 3000/3200MHz is ideal. 212 EVO is a poor choice of cooler. It'll do the job, but you'd be better off using the stock cooler with an R5 1600/2600 than wasting the $30. Either that, or spend an extra $5-10 for a significantly better cooler than the 212 EVO. Even $20 coolers perform the same as a 212 EVO, and are newer/better. Also, assuming you're running a 1080p monitor, a 1070Ti would be a waste. Anything higher end than 1080p, sure, go for it. 1080p or lower, I wouldn't bother spending more than $300, at most(which is already over spending since 1060s and 580s are over-priced).

However, you said this;

Wrathful wrote When: Will be purchasing all parts throughout the next two months

Don't do that. Trust me. B450 motherboards might be around by then, in which case an R5 2600(X) might make the most sense for you. Or you mind up buying a part which arrives DOA, and have no idea until a few months later when you try to build the system and something doesn't work - it's unlikely, but still possible. There are plenty of other reasons not to do it.

Save up enough money that you're comfortable spending, and then buy everything within a week, maybe 2 at most. Even if that means spending $800 instead, that's fine. Or, you could even do something like this;

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CPU: [ Register or Signin to view external links. ] ($186.37 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: [ Register or Signin to view external links. ] ($65.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: [ Register or Signin to view external links. ] ($74.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: [ Register or Signin to view external links. ] ($59.89 @ OutletPC)
Case: [ Register or Signin to view external links. ] ($38.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: [ Register or Signin to view external links. ] ($46.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $473.22
You could even drop the i5 to an i3-8100 and get this down to $400.

Have a working PC with the i5's integrated graphics, and then when you have $200-300(or whatever you can save), add a discrete GPU and you'll be able to play games. Just whatever you do, don't buy components bit by bit, it's more hassle than it's worth, so you want to buy CPU, Mobo, RAM, PSU, case, and some form of storage all around the same time, at least.

13 wrote R5 2600 isn't worth $50+ more than an R5 1600, since you can grab a 1600 for $175, and B350 mobo for <$100 ez. You also don't want 2133MHz RAM with any Ryzen CPU/APU anyway since Ryzen very much benefits from faster RAM. 2666MHz is the absolute minimum I'd recommend, 3000/3200MHz is ideal. 212 EVO is a poor choice of cooler. It'll do the job, but you'd be better off using the stock cooler with an R5 1600/2600 than wasting the $30. Either that, or spend an extra $5-10 for a significantly better cooler than the 212 EVO. Even $20 coolers perform the same as a 212 EVO, and are newer/better. Also, assuming you're running a 1080p monitor, a 1070Ti would be a waste. Anything higher end than 1080p, sure, go for it. 1080p or lower, I wouldn't bother spending more than $300, at most(which is already over spending since 1060s and 580s are over-priced).

However, you said this;

Wrathful wrote When: Will be purchasing all parts throughout the next two months

Don't do that. Trust me. B450 motherboards might be around by then, in which case an R5 2600(X) might make the most sense for you. Or you mind up buying a part which arrives DOA, and have no idea until a few months later when you try to build the system and something doesn't work - it's unlikely, but still possible. There are plenty of other reasons not to do it.

Save up enough money that you're comfortable spending, and then buy everything within a week, maybe 2 at most. Even if that means spending $800 instead, that's fine. Or, you could even do something like this;

[ Register or Signin to view external links. ] / [ Register or Signin to view external links. ]

CPU: [ Register or Signin to view external links. ] ($186.37 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: [ Register or Signin to view external links. ] ($65.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: [ Register or Signin to view external links. ] ($74.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: [ Register or Signin to view external links. ] ($59.89 @ OutletPC)
Case: [ Register or Signin to view external links. ] ($38.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: [ Register or Signin to view external links. ] ($46.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $473.22
You could even drop the i5 to an i3-8100 and get this down to $400.

Have a working PC with the i5's integrated graphics, and then when you have $200-300(or whatever you can save), add a discrete GPU and you'll be able to play games. Just whatever you do, don't buy components bit by bit, it's more hassle than it's worth, so you want to buy CPU, Mobo, RAM, PSU, case, and some form of storage all around the same time, at least.

I suppose I was uniformed about the purchasing process, I didn't understand how quickly some of these parts can become obsolete. At the same time I guess I am still looking to budget the 1200.00 but I may have to condense it down to two weeks time. I appreciate all the input and I was just looking to get a basic understanding of what my budget puts me into. I guess there are a ton of options out there as far as builds go and maybe I'll have to research a little bit more.


With that being said +rep to both of you for the help, I'll be sure to post more questions when I get closer to my purchase dates.

Thank you.

Wrathful wrote I suppose I was uniformed about the purchasing process, I didn't understand how quickly some of these parts can become obsolete. At the same time I guess I am still looking to budget the 1200.00 but I may have to condense it down to two weeks time. I appreciate all the input and I was just looking to get a basic understanding of what my budget puts me into. I guess there are a ton of options out there as far as builds go and maybe I'll have to research a little bit more.


With that being said +rep to both of you for the help, I'll be sure to post more questions when I get closer to my purchase dates.

Thank you.

Not necessarily obsolete, it's just much smarter to buy everything around the same time.

It also depends what you're looking for, $1200 is a reasonable budget if you need peripherals and/or are wanting to overclock. If you have no interest in overclocking and/or have peripherals already, you could easily get a very nice system for $800-1000. Or, if you're just looking to get something built asap and add some parts when you have more money, you can spend $400-600 when you have that much, then add a GPU later, maybe an HDD(or another SSD), some more RAM potentially.

99/100 times someone tries to buy a PC 1 or 2 parts at a time, it's just more hassle than it's worth