Best PC build for around $1,600?

Since my current PC is basically a relic from 2015 and feels like a total brick, I’ve been struggling quite a bit lately. I record and edit a lot of 4K footage—well, I *try* to edit, if you can call it that, given how much time I waste just waiting on renders and exports 🤣. For example, the other day I had a simple 17-minute 4K video (with a massive 100,000 bitrate) that barely had any editing at all—just some basic cuts, transitions, and a few titles—and the export took a staggering 3 hours and 38 minutes...

So, I finally decided it was time to pull the trigger on a new build that will actually keep up with me for years to come
. What I care about most is video editing; I usually just stick to my Xbox Series X/S for gaming, so I don't really need a powerhouse rig for that side of things
.
Here is what I'm aiming for:

- An Intel i9 or one of those newer AMD Ryzen processors
- At least 32GB of RAM
- To be honest, I'm totally lost when it comes to the GPU—I have no clue which model or how much power I actually need
. - I'd definitely want at least a 512GB SSD
- And probably around 10TB of traditional HDD storage

For software, I'll be using Premiere Pro and Filmora (though I mostly stick to Premiere Pro)
.
I'm also looking to pick up a 4K monitor, at least 30 inches, but it absolutely has to be a 16:9 aspect ratio—not those weird ultra-wide 18:9 or 20:9 setups
. If anyone has recommendations there, I'm all ears! For me, color accuracy and image quality are way more important than refresh rates or response times since I won't be gaming on it, especially not anything fast-paced like shooters
.
So, please throw some suggestions my way! Do you think it's even possible to fit all this into a $1,600 budget?

Honestly, you couldn't pick a worse time to be putting together a video editing rig given how messy the whole GPU market is right now, between the supply issues and those ridiculous price hikes. If you're looking for the bare minimum, you'd probably end up settling for something like a 3060Ti, but even then, that's going to eat up at least half your entire budget—assuming you can even find one in stock at a reasonable price.

What kind of GPU are you rocking right now? Honestly, if you stick with an older card for now, you could build a killer system and save the rest of your budget to grab a high-end card down the road. At the end of the day, most video editing can be handled by the CPU if you absolutely have to.

So, basically, you're saying I should put together a build with a weaker graphics card for now, and then just swap it out for a better one once they're actually available and the prices stop being so ridiculous?
No, I don't have anything decent at all... right now I'm just struggling along with some basic integrated AMD Radeon R7 graphics that only has about 1GB to work with, which isn't exactly cutting it.

wanderingbison9 said:Honestly, you couldn't pick a worse time to be putting together a video editing rig given how messy the whole GPU market is right now, between the supply issues and those ridiculous price hikes. If you're looking for the bare minimum, you'd probably end up settling for something like a 3060Ti, but even then, that's going to eat up at least half your entire budget—assuming you can even find one in stock at a reasonable price.

I spotted these two options online

https://www.mediamarkt.at/de/product...s-1815563.html

https://www.mediamarkt.at/de/product...g-1812396.html

So, do I really need to go that big or expensive when it comes to the graphics card? I was thinking maybe a beefy processor and plenty of RAM would be enough to get the job done without breaking the bank...

Daniel Robinson59 said:I spotted these two options online

https://www.mediamarkt.at/de/product...s-1815563.html

https://www.mediamarkt.at/de/product...g-1812396.html

So, do I really need to go that big or expensive when it comes to the graphics card? I was thinking maybe a beefy processor and plenty of RAM would be enough to get the job done without breaking the bank...

This article is currently unavailable.

This article is currently unavailable.

Why are you linking to a German retailer? Are you shopping from overseas?

If those were truly available at that price point, I would tell you to grab one immediately.

How much the GPU actually matters is really up to your specific workflow, isn't it? It all comes down to how many effects you're stacking in Premiere Pro and which ones you prefer to use. While Premiere Pro isn't quite as dependent on the GPU as DaVinci Resolve is, if you start layering multiple heavy effects, you might find your CPU hitting a wall—especially since Adobe software isn't always perfectly optimized for multi-core processing....

But honestly, if you're currently running some kind of AMD APU, any plan involving an old GPU is probably going to fall short; in that case, even a GTX 1650 with 4GB would feel like a massive leap forward, and you can always upgrade later. Besides, does it really make sense to overspend on a high-end GPU right now when you could save that cash to invest in something much better down the road?

Just grab a used GPU from eBay that hits the bare minimum specs for your software, then dump every other cent you have into building the best damn rig possible.

wanderingbison9 said:This article is currently unavailable.

This article is currently unavailable.

Why are you linking to a German retailer? Are you shopping from overseas?

If those were truly available at that price point, I would tell you to grab one immediately.

How much the GPU actually matters is really up to your specific workflow, isn't it? It all comes down to how many effects you're stacking in Premiere Pro and which ones you prefer to use. While Premiere Pro isn't quite as dependent on the GPU as DaVinci Resolve is, if you start layering multiple heavy effects, you might find your CPU hitting a wall—especially since Adobe software isn't always perfectly optimized for multi-core processing....

But honestly, if you're currently running some kind of AMD APU, any plan involving an old GPU is probably going to fall short; in that case, even a GTX 1650 with 4GB would feel like a massive leap forward, and you can always upgrade later. Besides, does it really make sense to overspend on a high-end GPU right now when you could save that cash to invest in something much better down the road?

The link is actually for an Austrian site (not German)...I live in Austria, so that's why.

By the way, I read somewhere that for editing 4K video, you really need a graphics card with at least 6GB of VRAM (which seems to be the standard recommendation everywhere)...so if that's true, this 4GB option might be a non-starter right from the beginning.

I don't think I'll be stacking a mountain of effects just yet, though I am still learning the ropes in Premiere Pro, and I feel like every time I learn something new, I want to try it out... so who knows what I'll be doing in a few months! It might actually be smart to secure some stronger components early on. Since I don't play games, and I highly doubt 8K will become a standard anytime soon like 4K did, I'm thinking this setup could easily last me 7 or 8 years without any issues.

p.s. Yeah, I realized the article was unavailable too... I didn't pay much attention to it because usually, when something is out of stock at Best Buy, they just pull it from the search results entirely.

PCPartPicker

Daniel Robinson59 said:The link is actually for an Austrian site (not German)...I live in Austria, so that's why.

By the way, I read somewhere that for editing 4K video, you really need a graphics card with at least 6GB of VRAM (which seems to be the standard recommendation everywhere)...so if that's true, this 4GB option might be a non-starter right from the beginning.

I don't think I'll be stacking a mountain of effects just yet, though I am still learning the ropes in Premiere Pro, and I feel like every time I learn something new, I want to try it out... so who knows what I'll be doing in a few months! It might actually be smart to secure some stronger components early on. Since I don't play games, and I highly doubt 8K will become a standard anytime soon like 4K did, I'm thinking this setup could easily last me 7 or 8 years without any issues.

p.s. Yeah, I realized the article was unavailable too... I didn't pay much attention to it because usually, when something is out of stock at Best Buy, they just pull it from the search results entirely.

I actually moved away from Premiere, so I haven't kept up with its current GPU memory requirements. I was just trying to help you save some cash, but you're right—that gap between 4GB and 6GB could be the deciding factor. While 4GB is definitely not enough when you're working in Resolve for 4K, keep in mind that Resolve relies heavily on the GPU, unlike Premiere does. If you go with a 1660 Ti, you should probably look for a used 2060 Super instead.

As for the processor, given your budget, maybe you should check out the CPU recommendations in this article:

https://www.pugetsystems.com/labs/ar...formance-1960/

According to that Puget article, there isn't much of a performance gap between the 5000 and 3000 series Ryzen chips. Personally, I'd just grab a Ryzen 5 3600—you can pick one up for under $200 here in the States.

I haven't heard back from anyone on this yet,

so I figured I'd check in again! Regarding the processor... what are you guys thinking? Should I go with Intel or AMD?

Check out the Puget article and my last post 😉

I was just reading through this, and I really need to sit down and put all my components together on a spreadsheet with their current prices. Once I see the full breakdown, I'll figure out where I can squeeze a bit more budget out to level up the build—I'm thinking I might be able to push for a better processor, maybe even stepping up to an AMD Ryzen 7 5800X if the numbers make sense.

Based on the info in that link, I’m starting to think the 5800X isn't actually the best value here... wouldn't it make more sense to go with the R7 3800XT instead? It's sitting at around $340, while the 5800X is pushing up to $450, so why pay the extra premium if you don't have to?

Basically any 6 or 8 core 3000 series will do. Doesn't need to be the XT version—those are usually overpriced for nothing.

The Puget article doesn't actually list the 3800X, which is why I mentioned it, but you can find one for around $310, making it an even better deal... In my opinion, though, I wouldn't really recommend dropping down to a 6-core processor; isn't that just asking for trouble given what you're trying to achieve?
Since 32" 4K monitors aren't exactly cheap, wouldn't it make more sense to put that extra cash toward a high-quality display instead?

wanderingbison9 said:The Puget article doesn't actually list the 3800X, which is why I mentioned it, but you can find one for around $310, making it an even better deal... In my opinion, though, I wouldn't really recommend dropping down to a 6-core processor; isn't that just asking for trouble given what you're trying to achieve?
Since 32" 4K monitors aren't exactly cheap, wouldn't it make more sense to put that extra cash toward a high-quality display instead?

Just look at the numbers in the Puget article. There isn't actually a massive gap between 6-core and 8-core. If you need the money to finish the rest of the build, going with the Ryzen 5 3600 isn't a bad move.

Everything I’ve been looking at lately regarding prices has been an absolute train wreck, whether it's individual components or full laptops...
(whispering to the OP): I really hope you're talking about M.2 drives.
I've been running a Ryzen 5 3600 setup for about a year now—MSI B450 motherboard, 32GB of G.Skill RAM—and honestly, it's been doing just fine for me, mostly handling 3D modeling, 2D CAD, and the occasional game...
--
In my opinion, $1,500 feels a little light if the monitor is included, maybe it could go up a few bucks... though if you bill it to the company and write off the sales tax, that's definitely a smart move.

That's $1,600 to $2,200 without even touching a monitor
I was wondering, how much of a real difference do M.2 drives actually make compared to those standard old-school SSDs, and is it honestly worth shelling out the extra cash for them?
I don't have a business set up and I'm not living in the States either :P
Honestly, I’ve been looking at how everything is just constantly out of stock lately, and I really don't mind waiting a month or two if that's what it takes... but if this shortage is going to be the "new normal," it makes me wonder how long we're all supposed to sit around waiting for these "better times" when things might actually be back on the shelves again...