Looking to build a PC for the first time. Any advice on where to look / what to buy?
Posted by Competitive-Wrap-175@reddit | buildapc | View on Reddit | 8 comments
I had my current rig gifted to me about 7 years ago, but it recently started having some serious issues and won't run the games I want to play. I know very little about what most shorthands mean, so I'm having a very hard time looking at things myself. Any tips on finding/putting together a good quality build that'll perform well? I'm hoping to keep the budget to around 2,500, any advice would really help!
Killawut@reddit
USD? Where are you located? Is 2500 what you're willing to spend comfortably, or would you prefer something cheaper? For 2500 u can build an absolute beast, but even for around 1800, you can get a very powerful and modern PC. It also depends on whether you need a monitor or other peripherals.
Competitive-Wrap-175@reddit (OP)
I'm located in US. I've got a good keyboard, moouse, and headset, but would likely need a new monitor. I could spend up to around 2,500 comfortably, so I'd like to get as nice of a rig as possible.
Killawut@reddit
https://pcpartpicker.com/list/hMVHt3 This build is already super solid, even a bit overkill. AIO (liquid cooling) isn’t really necessary for this CPU, I just went with it because the budget allows it, it looks nice, and gives slightly lower temps and quieter operation. You can swap it for a good air cooler like the Phantom Spirit 120 or Peerless Assassin 120, way cheaper and still excellent. Also air coolers are more reliable long term since there’s nothing that can really fail. If you want to push the budget closer to 2500, you could throw in more storage or RAM, but 2TB SSD and 32GB RAM is more than enough for pretty much anything, it's just up to you for some sort of future proofing. The case is personal preference, you can swith it. The one I chose has great airflow and value though. And u could upgrade to a 5080 16GB, but it’s basically only 5–10% more performance for like $600 extra, so not really worth it unless you just wanna flex.
Competitive-Wrap-175@reddit (OP)
That looks awesome, thank you! What's a monitor that you would recommend for this setup? The one's I've got are pretty old, and I'd like one that can take full advantage of having a good computer behind it
Killawut@reddit
You’re better off doing a bit of research yourself, monitor choice depends a lot on your budget, use case, room lighting, and personal preferences. Just make sure it’s high refresh rate, I’d say 180Hz minimum. If you mostly play competitive games like CS2, then 240Hz+ is definitely worth it. OLED is outstanding and looks absolutely amazing for gaming and media, but it’s hella expensive and prone to burn-in, so not ideal for work or anything with static elements. Personally I love 3440x1440 ultrawide monitors, also looks amazing and super immersive for single-player games and everyday use. Not the best for competitive titles though, since the higher pixel density makes UI elements smaller
Competitive-Wrap-175@reddit (OP)
Sounds good, I'll do some research myself. Thank you so much for the advice, you've been a big help!
Elii2022@reddit
I would recommend watching some youtube videos, channels like "PC Builder" "Hardware unboxed" and "gamers nexus" are all good channels altho stick to PC Builder if you are a beginner and the other channels are too complicated for you.
You can also use the website pcpartpicker.com to learn by putting together different parts and seeing if they would be compatible or not, it's a great tool!
I hope that helped, feel free to message me if you have any questions or need any help 😊
Competitive-Wrap-175@reddit (OP)
Thanks for the recommendations, I'll check those out!