Best PC build for under $2,500?

Hello everyone,

I am currently looking to put together a new PC with a budget somewhere between $2,200 and $2,300.
I realize I might not have all the technical details perfectly mapped out yet, so please bear with me while I explain what I'm thinking.
Ideally, I would love to go with an Core i7-13700K, paired with 16GB of DDR5 memory, and perhaps an Intel graphics card, maybe something like the XFX SPEEDSTER QICK 319 AMD...

Of course, I’m fully aware that my initial ideas might not be the most balanced configuration, so I would truly appreciate some expert advice.

My plan is to purchase everything from Accenture, as they offer a 12% discount if I pay the full amount upfront in cash.

I don't need any peripherals to go with the tower; I already have a monitor and a mouse that I really like, and since they serve my needs perfectly, I have no intention of replacing them.

Thank you all so much for your help!

And what exactly are we talking about here? What needs are you trying to meet? If this is just for gaming, honestly, you should probably just go with a weaker processor and put that extra cash toward a better graphics card.

If you can just hold out until the end of the month, it’d be fucking worth it. We've got Core non-X processors (7600, 7700, 7900) dropping, new 7900(XT) GPUs, maybe even a TRX 4070Ti or an RX7800XT... hell, even some Intel non-K chips are on the horizon too.

urbanheron4 said:But what kind of workload are we actually talking about? If your main focus is gaming, wouldn't it make more sense to pick a slightly less powerful CPU and put that extra budget toward a better graphics card?

I don't play many games, really; instead, my day-to-day involves running a pretty heavy suite of creative tools like Microsoft software (Sketch, Photoshop, Illustrator, and a bit of After Effects), plus I use Figma, LocalWP, WAMP, Adobe Photoshop & Illustrator, Premiere Pro, Google Workspace, and Browserstack... it's quite a diverse mix.

I am looking for something that feels truly optimized, where there is a healthy balance between the GPU and the processor. I wasn't necessarily aiming for the absolute top-of-the-line flagship components, but rather a solid, well-rounded middle ground that can handle everything smoothly.

wiredotter14 said:If you can hold out until maybe the end of the first month, it would be awesome; we've got those Core non-X processors (7600, 7700, 7900) coming, some new graphics cards like the 7900(XT), maybe even a TRX 4070Ti or an RX7800XT... heck, even the Intel non-K chips are on the horizon too.

Waiting one month doesn't bother me much, but I am curious—what is the actual performance gap between those Core non-X processors and the Core X series?

The non-X models are actually cheaper while giving you pretty much the same performance