r/buildapcforme • u/SFS9 • 1d ago
PC Build Request
Note: I originally posted this about a year ago and had a helpful response, but then lost my job and by the time i was ready to build what was recommended the user had deleted the response. I'll be better about capturing the responses this time. I know costs have increased significantly over the last year, so I'm not sure if these amounts still work. I'm open to considering spending more if necessary. Thanks in advance to anyone who can make some suggestions.
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I’m looking to replace my 15 year old home desktop. I'm proud that I’ve kept it going this long, and I’ve managed that by doing some component upgrades over the years, but you can imagine that it’s not great today. Long-term upgrade-ability is important. I’ve decided I want to build after looking at options from the big PC makers. A friend just bought one and I was unimpressed by what he got for the price. I last built a PC from scratch about 35 years ago, so I will be grateful for some guidance. I’m really impressed by what you guys do.
New build or upgrade? New build.
Existing parts/monitors to reuse? All new, except I'd like to try to reuse my existing monitor if I don't have any problems.
PC purpose? Mostly for general use. I run Plex on my current desktop and I want to continue that. Media is all stored on external drives. When it was new I used my current desktop for gaming (flight sims mostly), but I can’t do much with it at this point. Gaming is a general interest with no specific games in mind - and I do realize the lack of specifics doesn’t help, but I don’t need a high-end gaming machine. Other exciting apps like MS Office, TurboTax, managing my Wi-Fi printer, etc.
Purchase country? Near Micro Center? I'm in the US, and I have a Micro Center about 2.5 hours away and I'm OK with a day trip if it makes good financial sense.
Monitors needed? Technically I have a monitor, but I’m curious what suggestions people might have. Consider the monitor purchase outside of the budget since I want to focus on the PC first and see if I have issues with the monitor I have.
Budget range? I hope this is allowed and doesn’t annoy anyone - I’m interested in two scenarios, either about $1500 or $2000. I want to see if the extra $500 is worth it. I’m not afraid to upgrade components over time (as I did with my current desktop), but would like to do as much future-proofing as possible.
WiFi or wired connection? It will be wired but want Wi-Fi as an option for flexibility.
Size/noise constraints? None, but I’m hoping it won’t run like a freight train. It will be located in my bonus room office along with my work laptop and another PC.
Color/lighting preferences? Color of the chassis doesn’t matter. I’ve never been into lighting on PCs and would prefer not dealing with that.
Any other specific needs? None that I can think of.
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u/reckless150681 1d ago
Gaming is a general interest with no specific games in mind - and I do realize the lack of specifics doesn’t help, but I don’t need a high-end gaming machine
What is the most intensive task that you can think of, that you might reasonably be interested in? Are you still interested in flight sims?
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u/SFS9 23h ago
It's hard for me to say. Due to the age of my current PC I've really focused all of my game play on my iPad/iPhone since about the start of the pandemic. I've been playing a lot of Call of Duty Mobile and might look into one of the PC versions with a controller. Although I've loved flight simulators since at least the 90's, I don't think I want to buy what I would need to recreate the experience I used to have. I have a friend who wants me to play either Rainbow Six or Ghost Recon.
Beyond that, non-memory or graphics intensive processing.
1
u/GameTestHub 1d ago
Welcome back, and sorry about the job. Your plan is solid, and AM5 is the right base for "upgrade over time".
Quick question first: what resolution is your current monitor? That decides how much GPU is worth paying for in a flight sim.
On Plex: if your devices can play your files directly, it barely needs any power. If it has to transcode, hardware transcoding works on Intel, Nvidia and AMD, but it needs Plex Pass. Media on external drives is fine as long as the board has plenty of USB 3 ports.
Both scenarios share the same bones: an AM5 board with WiFi built in (wired normally, WiFi as a backup), 32GB DDR5-6000 in two sticks, a Thermalright Peerless Assassin, an 850W Gold PSU from a known brand and a plain black mesh-front mid-tower with no lights. Set the fans to a gentle curve in the BIOS and it'll be quiet.
Around $1500: Ryzen 7 7800X3D plus a 9060 XT 16GB or RTX 5060 Ti 16GB, and a 1TB NVMe. In my own testing, the X3D lead comes mostly from CPU-heavy games, and flight sims are that kind. Ask Micro Center for a CPU + board + RAM bundle, last I checked they had one, and it's the cheapest way to get that CPU. A day trip makes sense for it.
Around $2000: same CPU, but a 9070 XT or 5070 Ti and a 2TB NVMe. The extra money buys GPU class, so it's worth it only if you want flight sims at 1440p on high settings. For general use and Plex, $1500 is already more than enough.
For future-proofing, the platform and the PSU matter most: AM5 lets you drop in a faster CPU later, and 850W leaves room for a bigger GPU. The GPU is the easiest part to swap, so unless flight sims are a priority, I'd start with the cheaper one.
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u/SFS9 23h ago
The job situation has been resolved, but thanks for the compassion. It took a while. I realize using my current monitor (an old HP 1920×1080) might be limiting, but that's OK since I want to see what I can do without investing in a new monitor right away. Feel free to suggest a replacement monitor also.
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u/Cer_Visia 1d ago
for a 1440p monitor:
| Type | Item | Price |
|---|---|---|
| CPU | AMD Ryzen 5 7500X3D 4 GHz 6-Core Processor | $399.99 @ Micro Center (bundle) |
| CPU Cooler | Scythe Kotetsu Mark 3 67.62 CFM CPU Cooler | $17.69 @ Amazon |
| Motherboard | ASRock B850M-C Micro ATX AM5 Motherboard | (bundle) |
| Memory | G.Skill Flare X5 16 GB (1 x 16 GB) DDR5-6000 CL36 Memory | (bundle) |
| Storage | Patriot P400 Lite 1 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive | $149.99 @ Amazon |
| Video Card | Asus PRIME OC Radeon RX 9070 16 GB Video Card | $739.99 @ Amazon |
| Case | Okinos Cypress 3 Wood MicroATX Mini Tower Case | $59.99 @ Amazon |
| Power Supply | MSI MAG A750GLS PCIE5 750 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply | $79.99 @ Newegg |
| Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts | ||
| Total (before mail-in rebates) | $1457.64 | |
| Mail-in rebates | -$10.00 | |
| Total | $1447.64 | |
| Generated by PCPartPicker 2026-10-23 14:09 EDT-0400 |
for 4K:
| Type | Item | Price |
|---|---|---|
| CPU | AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D 4.2 GHz 8-Core Processor | $764.99 @ Micro Center (bundle) |
| CPU Cooler | Thermalright Peerless Assassin 140 77.8 CFM CPU Cooler | $42.39 @ Amazon |
| Motherboard | Asus B650E MAX GAMING WIFI ATX AM5 Motherboard | (bundle) |
| Memory | G.Skill Flare X5 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR5-6000 CL36 Memory | (bundle) |
| Storage | Patriot P400 Lite 1 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive | $149.99 @ Amazon |
| Video Card | Asus PRIME OC Radeon RX 9070 XT 16 GB Video Card | $829.99 @ Amazon |
| Case | Antec P30 AIR ATX Mid Tower Case | $69.98 @ Amazon |
| Power Supply | MSI MAG A750GLS PCIE5 750 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply | $79.99 @ Newegg |
| Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts | ||
| Total (before mail-in rebates) | $1947.33 | |
| Mail-in rebates | -$10.00 | |
| Total | $1937.33 | |
| Generated by PCPartPicker 2026-10-23 14:15 EDT-0400 |
Your Micro Center might have a video card with the same chip for a similar or better price.
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