This is based off the “Great tier” AMD build, but I’m waffling a bit on the price. I don’t really know a whole lot about PC specs, but I read this is supposed to be a good long-lasting build based on the DDR5 and something newer in the CPU or Video card. That being said, I’ve only really ever build mid-tier and while I do want something nice, I’m just not sure it’s necessary for me? I tend to stick to Indie titles and the most demanding game I’ve played lately was BG3 (which my current PC has to be on med-low settings to run).
Also, if anyone has a good 22" monitor recommendations I’ll take them.
| Type | Item | Price |
|---|---|---|
| CPU | AMD Ryzen 5 7600 3.8 GHz 6-Core Processor | $218.98 @ Amazon |
| CPU Cooler | Thermalright Peerless Assassin 66.17 CFM CPU Cooler | $37.90 @ Amazon |
| Motherboard | *Gigabyte B650M K Micro ATX AM5 Motherboard | $119.99 @ Amazon |
| Memory | *TEAMGROUP Elite 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR5-4800 CL40 Memory | $37.99 @ Amazon |
| Storage | Intel 670p 2 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 3.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive | $79.99 @ B&H |
| Video Card | *PowerColor Fighter Radeon RX 6700 XT 12 GB Video Card | $319.99 @ Amazon |
| Case | Lian Li LANCOOL 216 ATX Mid Tower Case | $104.99 @ Adorama |
| Power Supply | *Thermaltake Toughpower GX2 600 W 80+ Gold Certified ATX Power Supply | $66.98 @ Amazon |
| Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts | ||
| Total | $986.81 | |
| *Lowest price parts chosen from parametric criteria | ||
| Generated by PCPartPicker 2023-10-06 20:02 EDT-0400 |
I also went down the “is AM4 still good?” Rabitthole and decided because I don’t have a Microcenter near me, I could not get a 5800X3D, so I didn’t want to build it. After watching many videos though, AM4 is a mature platform and so thoroughly developed. Sales are on fantastic products, and the GPU and RAM will remain upgradeable for years, just that upgrading the CPU would require a new MOBO as well. Building AM5, seems OP already knows a great deal, but the news is that it can be finicky and returning products because they don’t work so well is more common than usual.
I think in this case AM4 is fine. I recommended it because OP mentioned the price was a bit much, and AM4 at the moment gets you a lot of value. Especially given they are someone who plays indie games primarily with some heavier games occasionally and isn’t on all the latest AAA games. I’m actually very similar to them where I’ll play the occasional AAA game, but I mainly stick to Minecraft and KSP (which is stupid CPU intensive). My R5 3600 was more than enough for this and my upgrade was 100% unnecessary, so the 5600X should last them quite a while. There is also a decent upgrade path from a 5600X to a 5800X3D or 5900X3D.
We’re starting to see gaps between generations get smaller as Moore’s law fails, so I think parts are going to start lasting a bit longer now anyway. Hell, my 4970k lasted me almost 7 years, and my mom ran it in her work PC I built her for another 3 after that.
I honestly don’t think either path is a bad one, just up to them if they want to save some money or get a little bit more upgradability.
Excellent points.