First time building a gaming PC (€3000 budget) – need help picking parts
Posted by SAMOAN_BEAST@reddit | buildapc | View on Reddit | 27 comments
Hey everyone,
I’ve always been a console player and never really thought about owning a gaming PC, but I think it’s finally time to make the switch and leave consoles behind.
The thing is, I’ve never owned or built a PC before, so I’m pretty lost when it comes to choosing parts. I’ve looked at some prebuilt/custom PCs online, but every time I check their specs people say they have “bottlenecks,” so I’d rather build one properly from scratch.
I’d really appreciate help putting together a good gaming PC part-by-part with a budget of up to €3000.
A few extra details:
Main use: Gaming (open to suggestions on performance targets)
Experience: Complete beginner
Location: Cyprus
If possible, I’d also love recommendations for reliable websites or stores (EU or that ship to Cyprus) where I can buy the parts.
Thanks in advance 🙏 any advice is appreciated!
Disastrous-Target602@reddit
Look buddy First you should to know what monitor will go for It's a 4k or 2k ,then you can know what exactly system Wana build If it's just for gaming 8 core will be more than enough as the 32 gb ram Nothing less than this if Wana keep getting good FPS in next 5 years iDk about AMD GPU but simple is rtx 5070ti for 2k 5080 for 4k also the 4070ti super great for 2k You can play almost all games max settings,
AMD CPU it's better now in market Amd 9700x or 9800x3d if Wana get 10 to 20 % performance
Motherboard x870e I prefer Asus tuf or strix X870e it's the last Chip and can do anything in future on this to upgrade GPU ,CPU any thing
Ram 32 any thing like 6000MH
Storage for sure at least 1 nvmeSSD for OS like 1 TB if you can get 2 TB corsair , WD or Lexi is good
Power supply 850w gold it's more than enough for 5080 GPU
Cooler and case as you like
And remember it's all about the monitor you will get 4k or 2k
And don't get crazy about all hight end parts and hr or something after all you will play and have fun
Good luck 🤞
GSON26@reddit
HI
So a few questions first (i will spec out something for you even before you asnwer but if u asnwer these questions to yourself u can choose the parts from my list that will fit)
What resolution will u be playing at? if 1080p an X3D chip from AMD is probably best choice 7800X3D probably the cheapest option if you play 1440p and up the gpu gets way more important
Will you try to get into stuff like video editing or anything like that? if yeah than intel becomes a valid option in which field of platform i am not well versed but generally amd should be fine there as well but is noticably slower in those kinds of workloads
but if your asnwers to my 2 questions is i play 1440p and up and u only want to game
These specs will do a fine job:
CPU: 9600x for cpu is a really good budget option, 9700x in case u want to do work that needs more cores, and 7800X3D if u want the best gaming cpu and mainly play 1080p
CPU cooler: an air cooler will do just the finest job something like thermlalright peerless assassin 120
Motherboard: a mid range B850 is a safe choice something like gigabte B850 gaming x wifi6e or msi b850 gaming pro wifi6e (if u want a smaller build u should be looking at these specs with an M being behind the B850 that indicates smaller form factor board)
GPU: if u can afford 9070XT or 5070TI (nvidia only worth in my opinion if u really want ray tracing) if budget tight the no XT 9070 is great too
RAM: u probably can get away with 16GB but u should really be looking at 32GB as for specs look at something 6000MHz with CL36 (or lower number after the CL)
Storage: a 255 or 512GB gen 4 SSD for OS will do the job and another 1TB for games also u could get away with 1 1tb drive but than u will probably need to shuffle around with games cuz of their size nowadays
PSU: there is SPL's PSU tierlist where u could find something but with the above mentioned specs i would only look at PSU's that are B+ at least and 850W minimum (the montech century II gold atx 3.1 is really good option)
Case: u either start with this and find something that u like and shuffle with parts so everthing fits your budget or buy a case that fits your leftover budget
Case fans: Arctic p12's are great but PRO version can be noisy if u want cheap rgb fans asiahorse is a chinese brand which has lian li knock off fans that look great
Also u didn't mention if monitor keyboard and mouse needs to fit into the budget or not so i haven't included them
Sorry if this is too much to take in at once but feel free to dm me for more detail
And have a great journey in this vast land of PC gaming
SAMOAN_BEAST@reddit (OP)
Hi there,
Wow, there’s a lot of information here. I honestly didn’t realise how much resolution affects part selection, so thanks for pointing that out. 1440p would be great for me, but if that pushes the build significantly above my €3000 budget (just for the PC), I wouldn’t mind dropping down to 1080p instead.
I also saw your detailed explanation, but as a beginner it’s a bit hard for me to fully follow. Would it be possible to simplify it a bit so I can look up the parts individually and start building a list?
Thanks a lot for taking the time to explain everything.
GSON26@reddit
also here is a pcpartpicker list https://de.pcpartpicker.com/list/NhGLPf as well and i mean its way lower than your budget but it should handle any games u throw at it, it won"t run every game at max settings but would give u a really great time
with this list the things u can swap out if u want to fill your budget cpu go with 9800X3D and add a arctic liquid freezer III pro 360mm AIO and swap GPU for either 5070TI or 5080
SAMOAN_BEAST@reddit (OP)
It seems like I’ve got quite a few options. I’ll definitely check the builds you recommended and make a decision based on what’s available in my region. Really appreciate the help. You’re a legend.
GSON26@reddit
also for one last thing u can use this website for putting together your choosen parts and checking out how they look together on this website BuildCores: 3D PC Builder and Part Picker there a lot of parts 3D modeled but there are a few that's missing but generally u can build out your config here and with this u can also checkout how it would look in the end
GSON26@reddit
It's nothing also one thing to add if u go nvidia GPU so 5070TI or 5080 than i probably would go with a Zotac variant i have read the least failures ragarding the 12v-2x6 cable with this brand's card's or asus rog astral but thats the top of the line variant so u pay a big premium
also with a card that has 12v-2x6 connector on it always try to use a cable that has this connection on both ends thats waht PSU manufacturers recommend also
GSON26@reddit
I mean if u want 1440p than there is less of a performance uplift to the 9800X3D over the 9600X so u can save budget there, since GPU gonna matter way more
as for parts list anotehr guy who asnwered pretty much has a perfect list Lil_Hater112 and from his list to swap to what i would be looking at is CPU over the 9800X3D u can look at the 9600X since at and over 1440p the performance difference relies more on GPU and over the 5070TI i would look at amd 9070XT but if budget fits in the end u can go with what he mentioned
as for PSU Montech century II gold atx 3.1 is a great budget option either it's 850 or 1050W option will be fine
SAMOAN_BEAST@reddit (OP)
Really appreciate you taking the time to walk me through the build, honestly means a lot. I checked everything over and it looks solid. Super excited to get this going. Thanks again for all your help!
Lil_Hater112@reddit
https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/list/8HpHzv
GPU:u can switch 5070ti with 5080 if u wish for like 20% better performance( i think the pricing is too much for 20% performance, up to you)
you can get AIO , never done it
CASE: can choose from a lot of cases, fishtank, normal ones, just makesure it s not a small one
SSD: 2/4tb up to you
RAM: any 32gb ddr5 will do
MOBO: i love my msi tomahawk no issues
CPU: 9800x3d best gaming cpu for the price
u can use this as a base for ur shopping list
SAMOAN_BEAST@reddit (OP)
Oh okay, thank you so much for the recommendations. I can see the list. I’ll check if any of those stores can ship to Cyprus. Thanks a lot!
korpisoturi@reddit
I don't know cypros tariff rules, but remember that UK isn't EU zone if you order from there.
Mindfactory and other German/Netherland companies have usually better prices but won't ship usually to other countries. You can do p.o box shenanigans to get them to deliver with German prices but I have never tried this myself.
If parts are defective and you need to return them, it gets more complicated, so that's a risk your taking on.
Lil_Hater112@reddit
These are UK stores i think, so i suggest you search individually from europe or from cyprus shops each item?
also, maybe find a better/nicer case, but the main components in my list should work flawlessly
SAMOAN_BEAST@reddit (OP)
Understood. Thank you so much!
korpisoturi@reddit
There are always bottlenecks, it just means some component has reached its full usage but others could still have capacity left. You should just make system so that not one part is ridiculously powerful while one is complete shit and don't worry about it.
What resolution are you going to be playing? 4k gaming takes a lot more gpu power so in it you will need more power from gpu than cpu.
So you enjoy simulation games? Some really really like x3D cpus.
Does 3k budget include monitor, keyboard, etc.?
SAMOAN_BEAST@reddit (OP)
I’m not sure if the whole “bottleneck” thing actually ruins a build or not.
That said, if it’s basically unavoidable anyway, could someone help me figure out whether a specific build is actually bad, good, or well-optimized for the price?
I won’t post links since I’m not sure if that breaks the rules, but I can list the full specs if that’s okay.
Also, just to clarify — the €3k budget is for the PC only.
SAMOAN_BEAST@reddit (OP)
Here is the prebuild i found for 2700 euros.
Intel Core i7-12700F
GeForce RTX 5080 16GB WINDFORCE OC
GIGABYTE B760M D3HP DDR4 motherboard
MSI MAG Core Liquid A240 (White/Black) AIO cooler
MSI MAG FORGE 100R case
DDR4 RAM (4 DIMM slots)
M.2 SSD storage
Could you please let me know if it is an actual good build or is it a rip-off?
korpisoturi@reddit
I wouldn't pay almost 3k for build with CPU that's 5 years old. I just bought old corporate PC for home server that has newer gen CPU.
As I said before, I would need to know if you only use PC for gaming and what monitor/tv you use so I know what resolution you use.
korpisoturi@reddit
Bottlenecks always exist, if I have learned anything it's not something to worry about as long as your general build is sane. Maybe in the future if you are replacing one part you might need to think about it.
I can tell somewhat how balanced the build is, but I need to know what you will be using your PC for and what resolution. AMD CPUs are great for gaming but Intel has edge on productivity if you use PC for work.
Amnes1a27@reddit
https://pcpartpicker.com/list/7sv3ZQ
I put this together on skroutz dot cy (i dont know how to share my cart from that site) for 2037.5€
You could fit whatever kind of monitor you would want into that 1000€ extra budget
SAMOAN_BEAST@reddit (OP)
Thank you so much for the recommendation. I’ll check it out.
I can see there’s a bit more room in the budget, so I was wondering: is there anything you would personally upgrade from the list, or is it already a solid “set and forget” type build that won’t really need changes for a while?
Amnes1a27@reddit
There are things you can upgrade, ill write a quick list. The reason i chose these components is beacuse in my opinion this gives the best price/performance.
Motherboard - if you want, you could spend an extra 50€ for something more high end, but im 95% sure you wouldnt even notice the difference
Cpu - this is the best price/performance cpu, but the 9800X3D is better(3%to20%, depending on resolution), if you think its worth the extra money(140€), then get that
Ram - you could get one with rgb or a bit better timings(still 6000mhz, but cl30), but honestly this again would not make a difference in performance
Gpu- one of the best gpus if you can find, its 680€, the 5070ti is ~5% better for 930€, the 5080 is ~20% better for 1350€
Cpu cooler - you could get a 360 aio from arctic or thermalright, but i wouldnt, these cpu air coolers are enough for this cpu and these wont fail, unlike a pump in an aio
Storage - you could eithet get another 1 or 2 tb nvme ssd for more storage, or you could get a better one, but just like with the motherboard, i dont think youd see a difference in performance, but do get another ssd if you need more storage
Case - this is a cheap, good looking, decent build quality, but if you dont like how it looks, then try to find one you like
Power supply - if you want to upgrade, get the same but with higher W, but i wouldnt, for this cpu&gpu, this is plenty enough
Tell me what you think and feel free to ask any questions!
SAMOAN_BEAST@reddit (OP)
That looks solid. I’ll check your original build, seems like a pretty efficient price-to-performance setup. Really appreciate you taking the time to explain everything and help me out.
hurdurdur7@reddit
Unfortunate timing to build a new computer. The memory shortage is making things unreasonably expensive.
Try to invest more into things that will be reusable in the future (gpu, proper PSU).
SAMOAN_BEAST@reddit (OP)
I hear that. would you recommend just building a lower-end PC for now and upgrading later, or waiting it out?
If going the lower-budget route, are there certain parts that aren’t really affected by the shortages right now that would be worth buying upfront and keeping long-term?
Amnes1a27@reddit
Hello!
Are you planning on building it yourself?
Im not from cyprus so im not sure about websites, do you know anything about skroutz cy? I have read good things about it. Another option would be amazon, have you ever ordered from there?
I have a few questions for the pc: Do you need a monitor? Do you need a kesboard, mouse, mousepad, headset, maybe a dedicated microphone? Do you have any colour or other preferences for the pc?
SAMOAN_BEAST@reddit (OP)
Hi there!
Yeah I’m planning to build it myself. I’m not an expert or anything, but I want to give it a shot—if that sounds like a terrible idea, feel free to call me out 😅
I already have most of the peripherals covered. I used to run keyboard and mouse on my PlayStation, and I’ve got a solid headset, so that part’s sorted.
For the monitor, my plan is to build the PC first and then see what’s left from the total budget. That way I can adjust depending on how things go—like if the build comes in under 3k, I can put more into the monitor, but if there’s a significantly better build slightly over 3k, I’d probably shift some budget away from the monitor to make it work.