PC build under $1,300?

wanderingbison9 said:Honestly, picking up a 2070 just doesn't make much sense when you look at the value of the 2060 Super; wouldn't it be a smarter move to $167 take those extra savings and put them toward an X470 motherboard with solid VRMs instead?

And really, why on earth would anyone need a 750W unit? It feels like overkill to suggest that kind of wattage for a single high-end CPU, unless you were planning on running two graphics cards simultaneously...

Can you drop a link to the exact motherboard you mean?

That RAM isn't doing you any favors. Honestly, what’s the point of 3200MHz if you're stuck with CL18? You’d be better off putting that extra cash toward a faster NVMe SSD or a higher-quality case. As for the 750W power supply, that’s mostly about getting a longer warranty and keeping things quiet—less strain on the unit means less heat and less noise. Plus, it gives you some breathing room if you decide to upgrade to a bigger monitor down the road.

1 * Monitor 27" AOC C27G1, VA, 144Hz, 1ms, Curved, VGA/DP/2xHDMI, FreeSync, Black
password: aoc-c27g1 - $726

1 * AMD Ryzen 7 3700X
password: 0400500 - $961

1 * MSI B450 Tomahawk, AM4, DDR4, U3, m.2, ATX
password: msi-b450-thawk - $330

1 * G.SKILL 16 GB (2x8 GB) DDR4, 3200 MHz, DIMM, Ripjaws V
password: F4-3200C16D-16GVGB - $256

1 * Intel SSD 660 p Series (1.0TB, M.2 80mm PCIe 3.0 x4, 3D2, QLC) Retail Box Single Pack
password: SSDPEKNW010T8X1 - $365

1 * Gainward GF RTX2060Super Ghost, 8GB
password: gai-2060s-gh-8g - $1127

1 * Thermaltake Toughpower Grand RGB 750W Power Supply
password: 0151347 - $230

1 * NZXT H500 Black, ATX (No PSU included)
password: nzx-h500-black - $238

Total: $4233 (-2%=$4.25)
Free assembly and shipping

Price includes sales tax

swiftfalcon89 said:That RAM isn't doing you any favors. Honestly, what’s the point of 3200MHz if you're stuck with CL18? You’d be better off putting that extra cash toward a faster NVMe SSD or a higher-quality case. As for the 750W power supply, that’s mostly about getting a longer warranty and keeping things quiet—less strain on the unit means less heat and less noise. Plus, it gives you some breathing room if you decide to upgrade to a bigger monitor down the road.

1 * Monitor 27" AOC C27G1, VA, 144Hz, 1ms, Curved, VGA/DP/2xHDMI, FreeSync, Black
password: aoc-c27g1 - $726

1 * AMD Ryzen 7 3700X
password: 0400500 - $961

1 * MSI B450 Tomahawk, AM4, DDR4, U3, m.2, ATX
password: msi-b450-thawk - $330

1 * G.SKILL 16 GB (2x8 GB) DDR4, 3200 MHz, DIMM, Ripjaws V
password: F4-3200C16D-16GVGB - $256

1 * Intel SSD 660 p Series (1.0TB, M.2 80mm PCIe 3.0 x4, 3D2, QLC) Retail Box Single Pack
password: SSDPEKNW010T8X1 - $365

1 * Gainward GF RTX2060Super Ghost, 8GB
password: gai-2060s-gh-8g - $1127

1 * Thermaltake Toughpower Grand RGB 750W Power Supply
password: 0151347 - $230

1 * NZXT H500 Black, ATX (No PSU included)
password: nzx-h500-black - $238

Total: $4233 (-2%=$4.25)
Free assembly and shipping

Price includes sales tax

Maybe do a little digging before recommending one thing over another? It hits 3200MHz/CL18 at 1.2V and uses Micron E-die chips, which have been surprisingly flexible on Ryzen—almost hitting that Samsung B-die level.

I don't even need to run the benchmarks to know that 3200MHz at CL16 is going to outclass the exact same frequency running at CL18 any day of the week.

That Intel NVMe SSD isn't a great value at all, especially when you consider what you can get from ADATA for basically the same price.

So, I finally pulled the trigger on this build... though I’m still second-guessing the case choice. It comes with air cooling—maybe an AIO would be a better move if this setup ends up being too bulky?
I also swapped in a different CPU cooler... went with a second SSD this time, and the RAM is 2x8GB at 3600 MHz...

1 * Intel Core i7-3700x equivalent
password: 0400500 - $961

1 * Thermaltake Toughpower Grand RGB 750W PSU
password: 0151347 - $230

1 * MSI X570 GAMING PLUS, AM4
password: msi-x570-g-plus - $466

1 * ASRock DDR4 Team XPG RGB 16GB (2x8GB), 3600Mhz
password: asr-txpg-3600k-16g - $318

1 * Gainward GF RTX2070 Super Phantom GS, 8GB
password: gai-2070s-pgs-8g - $1556

1 * 1TB AD SX6000 Pro PCIe Gen3x4 M.2 2280 SSD
password: 0141106 - $381

1 * Thermaltake View28 Riing Edition Case with window
password: 0151391 - $209

1 * Noctua NH-D15S Cooler, Intel/AMD + AM4
password: NH-D15S - $225

1 * Acer Nitro XV272UPbmiiprzx LED QHD Monitor
password: ACR-2104 - $1145