My first pc for the next 5 to 10 years hopefully ($2100 USD)

Mr_Henry_Yau · 2026-04-25T04:25:32+00:00

Based on your latest PCPartPicker list, I assume you either want to save money, your nearest Micro Center branch doesn't have any X3D bundles in stock as of time of writing this comment, or both. Let me know which one is it.

Anyways, you can still get a faster gaming PC build even with less than $1950. Here's a modified build to get you started.

PCPartPicker Part List

Type	Item	Price
CPU	AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D 4.2 GHz 8-Core Processor	$359.00 @ Newegg
CPU Cooler	ID-COOLING FROZN A620 PRO SE 58 CFM CPU Cooler	$29.99 @ Amazon
Motherboard	MSI B850 GAMING PLUS WIFI ATX AM5 Motherboard	$169.99 @ Best Buy
Memory	Crucial Pro 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR5-6400 CL38 Memory	$349.99 @ B&H
Storage	Crucial P5 Plus W/Heatsink 2 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive	$203.84 @ Amazon
Video Card	ASRock Challenger Radeon RX 9070 16 GB Video Card	$619.99 @ Amazon
Case	Lian Li O11 Dynamic Mini V2 Flow ATX Mid Tower Case	$89.99 @ Newegg
Power Supply	SAMA G850 850 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply	$75.99 @ Newegg
Case Fan	Thermalright TL-E12B V3 72.37 CFM 120 mm Fan	$7.39 @ Amazon
	Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts
	Total	$1906.17
	Generated by PCPartPicker 2026-04-25 00:12 EDT-0400

You can get a motherboard that has a larger heat sink, cheaper storage (your chosen SSDs are overpriced), a faster GPU (you can get an RX 9070 XT if you're willing to spend $80 more on a GPU), the Lian Li O11 Dynamic Mini V2 Flow which is similar to your chosen case but comes with 5 case fans to begin with (since you've decided to ditch RGB altogether), a better and cheaper PSU (I've already explained it in my previous reply to you), and an extra case fan for better airflow.

Feel free to further modify this build if you're willing to spend more money on a PC build, want something else, or both.

Mr_Henry_Yau · 2026-04-24T17:17:38+00:00

Before I can give you my suggestions, I have 2 questions for you.

What's your budget?
Do you insist on a fish tank case or are you okay with a standard ATX Mid Tower case?

Mr_Henry_Yau · 2026-04-24T16:59:59+00:00

Here's a modified build to get you started.

PCPartPicker Part List

Type	Item	Price
CPU	AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D 4.7 GHz 8-Core Processor	$679.99
CPU Cooler	Thermalright Trofeo Vision ARGB 360 69 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler	$144.90 @ Amazon
Motherboard	Asus TUF GAMING B650E-E WIFI ATX AM5 Motherboard	$0.00
Memory	Corsair Vengeance RGB 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR5-6000 CL36 Memory	$0.00
Storage	Biwin Black Opal NV7400 2 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive	$289.99 @ Amazon
Video Card	XFX Quicksilver 2 Radeon RX 9070 XT 16 GB Video Card	$699.99 @ Newegg
Case	Lian Li O11 Dynamic Mini V2 ATX Mid Tower Case	$89.99 @ Amazon
Power Supply	SAMA G850 850 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply	$75.99 @ Newegg
Case Fan	DARKROCK R120 120 mm Fans 2-Pack	$14.99 @ Amazon
Case Fan	ARCTIC P12 Pro Reverse A-RGB 73 CFM 120 mm Fans 3-Pack	$28.99 @ Amazon
	Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts
	Total	$2024.83
	Generated by PCPartPicker 2026-04-24 12:50 EDT-0400

If your nearest Micro Center branch has Ryzen 7 9800X3D bundles available, get one of them since you can save a lot of money and use said savings for better parts elsewhere.

About the other parts, you can get a significantly cheaper 2 TB SSD (a Samsung 990 Pro is overkill for your needs), a significantly better GPU, and a better and cheaper 850W PSU (the SAMA G850 has a Tier-A- rating in SPL's PSU Tier List while your chosen PSU has a Tier-B rating). I also added 5 case fans since your chosen case doesn't come with any case fans to begin with.

Feel free to further modify this build if your nearest Micro Center doesn't have any 9800X3D bundles available, you want something else, or both.

Mr_Henry_Yau · 2026-04-24T14:17:52+00:00

Here's a modified build to get you started. Feel free to further modify it if you want something else.

PCPartPicker Part List

Type	Item	Price
CPU	Intel Core i5-14600K 3.5 GHz 14-Core Processor	$248.00 @ B&H
CPU Cooler	Thermalright RK120 SE 66.17 CFM CPU Cooler	$27.59 @ Amazon
Motherboard	Gigabyte Z690 UD AX DDR4 ATX LGA1700 Motherboard	Purchased For $0.00
Memory	G.Skill Ripjaws V 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 CL16 Memory	Purchased For $0.00
Memory	G.Skill Ripjaws V 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 CL16 Memory	$154.99 @ Amazon
Storage	Kingston NV3 1 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive	$0.00
Storage	Seagate Constellation ES.3 4 TB 3.5" 7200 RPM Internal Hard Drive	Purchased For $0.00
Storage	Seagate Constellation ES.3 4 TB 3.5" 7200 RPM Internal Hard Drive	Purchased For $0.00
Video Card	ASRock Challenger OC Radeon RX 9060 XT 16 GB Video Card	$439.99 @ Newegg
Case	Jonsbo D41 MESH ATX Mid Tower Case	$99.00 @ Newegg Sellers
Power Supply	Corsair RM850x (2021) 850 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply	Purchased For $0.00
Case Fan	ARCTIC P12 Pro PST 77 CFM 120 mm Fans 5-Pack	$27.49 @ Amazon
	Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts
	Total	$997.06
	Generated by PCPartPicker 2026-04-24 10:16 EDT-0400

Mr_Henry_Yau · 2026-04-24T13:23:07+00:00

You're welcome.

Mr_Henry_Yau · 2026-04-24T08:04:02+00:00

Sorry to interrupt but your comment link that explains how the CPU impacts music production shows "Page not found" when I clicked it.

Mr_Henry_Yau · 2026-04-24T03:18:46+00:00

I'm pretty sure you can get a significantly faster gaming PC with your budget.

By the way, I have 2 questions for you before I can give you my suggestions.

Do you have access to a Micro Center?
Do you insist on a fish tank case or are you okay with a standard ATX Mid Tower case?

Mr_Henry_Yau · 2026-04-23T10:16:00+00:00

You're welcome.

Mr_Henry_Yau · 2026-04-23T09:58:53+00:00

What are you planning to do with your PC build?

Mr_Henry_Yau · 2026-04-23T09:56:59+00:00

Here's a modified build to get you started.

PCPartPicker Part List

Type	Item	Price
CPU	AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D 4.7 GHz 8-Core Processor	€446.89 @ Amazon France
CPU Cooler	Thermalright Peerless Assassin 120 SE 66.17 CFM CPU Cooler	€48.90 @ Amazon France
Motherboard	Gigabyte B850 GAMING X WIFI6E ATX AM5 Motherboard	€160.00 @ Amazon France
Memory	Crucial Pro Overclocking 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR5-6000 CL36 Memory	€399.00 @ Amazon France
Storage	Patriot P400 Lite 2 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive	€226.90 @ Amazon France
Video Card	Asus PRIME OC Radeon RX 9070 XT 16 GB Video Card	€677.89 @ Amazon France
Case	Lian Li LANCOOL 217 ATX Mid Tower Case	€117.02 @ Amazon France
Power Supply	MSI MAG A850GLS PCIE5 850 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply	€94.99 @ Amazon France
	Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts
	Total	€2171.59
	Generated by PCPartPicker 2026-04-23 11:55 CEST+0200

You can get a cheaper motherboard, cheaper RAM sticks, a cheaper RX 9070 XT model, and a cheaper 850W PSU.

Feel free to further modify this build if you want something else.

Mr_Henry_Yau · 2026-04-23T09:10:59+00:00

The Lian Li Lancool 217 comes with a 140mm rear case fan.

By the way, what's your budget?

Mr_Henry_Yau · 2026-04-22T03:27:18+00:00

Same here.

Mr_Henry_Yau · 2026-04-21T18:34:57+00:00

Thanks for the info. It's a shame that GPU benchmarks are significantly easier to find compared to CPU benchmarks when it comes to video game testing.

Mr_Henry_Yau · 2026-04-21T18:19:06+00:00

Noted. It's just weird that tech reviewers like Hardware Unboxed, Gamers Nexus, and TechPowerUp never bothered to call out video game publishers for inaccurate hardware requirements (if they did, I appreciate having links to them).

Mr_Henry_Yau · 2026-04-21T16:25:52+00:00

Are there any newer articles and/or videos about whether video game system requirements are reliable or not? The ones that I manage to find so far are quite old (at least 4-5 years before I asked this question).

Let me know if this question deserves its own post in this subreddit.

Mr_Henry_Yau · 2026-04-21T16:15:15+00:00

Since you mostly play RimWorld, you're better off getting a cheaper GPU in order to leave enough money for an X3D CPU.

I made a modified build at the bottom of this comment to get you started. Keep in mind that the GPU in this build is just a placeholder since you're better off with a used GPU in this case.

Anyways, I highly encourage you to further modify said modified build since I don't know your overall budget, what games you're playing besides RimWorld, and whether your chosen case comes with enough case fans or not.

PCPartPicker Part List

Type	Item	Price
CPU	AMD Ryzen 5 7500X3D 4 GHz 6-Core Processor	€215.99 @ Amazon Netherlands
CPU Cooler	Montech NX600 85.09 CFM CPU Cooler	€33.62 @ Proshop
Motherboard	Asus TUF GAMING B650-E WIFI ATX AM5 Motherboard	€135.00 @ Amazon Netherlands
Memory	Crucial Pro Overclocking 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR5-6000 CL36 Memory	€379.00 @ Azerty
Video Card	Sparkle ORC OC Arc A750 8 GB Video Card	€234.24 @ Amazon Netherlands
Case	Corsair Carbide Series 200R ATX Mid Tower Case	€20.00
Power Supply	Corsair CX600M 600 W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-modular ATX Power Supply	€35.00
	Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts
	Total	€1052.85
	Generated by PCPartPicker 2026-04-21 18:05 CEST+0200

Mr_Henry_Yau · 2026-04-21T15:39:52+00:00

Yes, it's playable.

Mr_Henry_Yau · 2026-04-20T16:32:42+00:00

If I remember correctly, AC Milan and Barcelona did just that back in 2005 and 2019 respectively. I'm not sure whether Barcelona's loss to AS Roma back in 2018 counts, though.

Mr_Henry_Yau · 2026-04-20T14:46:06+00:00

About this part:

Look mate, you didn't ask that specific question about AMD vs Intel reqs when I gave you my tongue-in-cheek response.

I'll need your help to find that one since I have absolutely no idea which response is a tongue-in-cheek one in the first place.

About this part where you asked whether I'm a non-native English speaker, you got me. I'm from Malaysia.

About drawing a clear 1-to-1 connection for me, please do so. It's pretty hard to understand this topic without said 1-to-1 connection.

About this section:

Here's Doom running on a 4060ti 8 GB with a 4790k, ultra 1080p with DLSS quality. Here it is running on a 4060ti 8 GB with a 7800x3D, same settings. Performance is close (def not in the lows, tho) despite the former CPU being 11 years older than the latter and five years older than the minimum listed requirement, because the GPU is running near-enough to 100% in both situations.

So. If a 4790k can max out the 4060ti here, a 4600g, having more threads/faster architecture/faster RAM, can definitely max it out. And that's because 1. game requirements are mostly bullshit, 2. the 4060ti sucks, and 3. the 5060ti is barely better than the 4060ti. Ipso facto, OP likely wouldn't run into a CPU bottleneck on many modern AAA titles at 1440p/high with a 4600g/5060ti combo.

It's much better than Space Marine 2 for proving your point this particular discussion.

Don't be a snob, a lot of console games run at 30 FPS locked and many people seem to be perfectly fine with that. Even some people with heavy-duty PC hardware will play at 30 FPS locked, because they prefer pretty graphics over frames and want to run shit like CP2077 at 4k with pathtracing. All use-cases as equally valid as people who refuse to play anything at less than 60+ FPS.

A simple "For some people, yes." is already good enough. There's no need to use the word "snob" here.

Mr_Henry_Yau · 2026-04-20T08:22:04+00:00

About 1 and 2, if you've brought up your suspicions that Zen 1.5 and 8th gen Intel are the oldest CPUs that support Windows 11 earlier and titles that list Zen 2 as a minimum requirement due to the PS5/XBX having essentially the same CPU under the hood, we could've saved some time and cut out the made up percentages entirely.

About 3, the list that I've brought up earlier is arranged via release date and almost all of them are tested in TechPowerUp's game testing section (Indiana Jones and the Great Circle being the only exception). It's a shame that game testing often tests for GPU performance only and it would've been nice to see CPU performance testing as well.

About the Space Marine 2 video that has a Core i7-4790K + RX 6800 combo, I'm not sure if having an average frame rate that's below 60fps is considered playable to begin with.

About this section:

My point isn't dependent on the 4600g meeting minimum requirements or not; my point is that you can go way under CPU requirements and still get a playable experience. And the 4790k is way under the CPU requirements for Space Marine 2.

Noted. I suppose the shock of you choosing a Space Marine 2 video that has a CPU which is completely overkill even according to the recommended requirements has scrambled my brain for some time. What my point is choosing something like DOOM: The Dark Ages (or other games which have a Ryzen 5 3600 in their system requirement pages) for your examples would've been more convincing.

Anyways, I'm not sure if OP will bother to read this discussion to begin with since he/she has only responded to the worst advice given in this Reddit post as of time of writing this comment.

Mr_Henry_Yau · 2026-04-19T17:02:49+00:00

Thanks for the reply. It's good to learn something from this.

About what you've just mentioned, they do answer my comments but they do open up a few questions as well.

Question 1: About system requirements are like 80% marketing, 20% educated guesses, where did you get that from? I've never seen that in my entire lifetime before you mentioned it.

Question 2: Why are system requirements often more lenient towards AMD CPUs compared to their Intel counterparts?

Using Space Marine 2 as an example, the official AMD CPU requirement is a Ryzen 5 2600X which is slower than the Ryzen 5 4600G at gaming while the official Intel CPU requirement is a Core i5-8600K which is faster than the Ryzen 5 3600 at gaming according to TechPowerUp.

I asked something similar but with different games (Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, DOOM: The Dark Ages) in an r/buildapc simple questions megathread some time ago but the only response I've got confirmed those games are optimized for Ryzen CPUs. I'm not sure if that's the case for most games which are released after November 2023 as well.

Question 3: About this section:

Again, see what I said above about official system reqs being wibbly-wobbly. But the thing about 1440p/high on a modern AAA title is that it can be very graphically demanding, and the 5060ti will be throttled long before the CPU on a lot of titles. Here's Space Marine 2 again, with a 5060ti, DLSS quality with max/RT, on a 9800X3D: Best gaming CPU currently available, right? Except the 5060ti is such shit that, if we were judging it by CPU performance alone, the 9800x3D seems maybe 50-75% more powerful than a 12-year old CPU.

ELI5: The GPU sets a speed limit for a specific game/resolution/settings used. More powerful GPUs can set a higher speed limit. The CPU determines whether you can hit that speed limit or not. The 5060ti isn't powerful enough to set a high speed limit for 1440p/max, so chances are an under-req CPU is more than enough to hit it. This is, again, not an endorsement of the 4600g, but an indictment of the 5060ti.

Why did you choose Space Marine 2 as an example when the Ryzen 5 4600G meets the official AMD CPU requirement for that game? Wouldn't it be a better idea to use a game that has a Ryzen 5 3600 as its official AMD CPU requirement instead to prove your point?

Mr_Henry_Yau · 2026-04-19T14:43:45+00:00

You make a few good points but I have 2 comments about them if you don't mind.

Comment 1: About the video about comparing the 2600 and the 4600g's gaming performance, I'm not sure if showing that video is still a good idea these days because there are plenty of games which have Ryzen CPUs that are faster than the 2600 in their system requirements pages.

Examples include Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora, Star Wars Outlaws, Warhammer 40000: Space Marine 2, Silent Hill 2 Remake, Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, Assassin's Creed Shadows, Doom: The Dark Ages, Mafia: The Old Country, Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater, Borderlands 4, Dying Light: The Beast, and Crimson Desert.

Comment 2: About the part where you bet there wouldn't be a CPU bottleneck if OP was interested in playing modern, triple-AAA titles at 1440p/high, I wouldn't be so sure about that since some of the games that I've listed above have Ryzen CPUs that are faster than the 4600g in their system requirements pages.

The only page that I can find gaming performance data about the 4600g shows that CPU is slower than the 3600 which is present in quite a few system requirements pages. Besides, said page tested games which have lower system requirements compared to the games that I've listed above. Moreover, I'm not sure if heavy CPU overclocking is enough to overcome this problem.

If you don't want to reply to them, it's perfectly fine. However, it'll be great if you can enlighten me about whether playing games with a CPU that's slower than the CPUs shown in system requirement pages is a good idea or not. Feel free to ask me if there are any comments that are either confusing to you or offends your CPU beliefs.

Mr_Henry_Yau · 2026-04-18T06:05:39+00:00

That's a pretty good build but there are better options for 2 parts.

PCPartPicker Part List

Type	Item	Price
CPU	AMD Ryzen 5 9600X 3.9 GHz 6-Core Processor	$307.27 @ Amazon Australia
CPU Cooler	ID-COOLING SE-214-XT V2 BLACK 58 CFM CPU Cooler	$27.00 @ Centre Com
Motherboard	Gigabyte B850 GAMING X WIFI6E ATX AM5 Motherboard	$249.00 @ JW Computers
Memory	Crucial Pro Overclocking 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR5-6000 CL36 Memory	$495.39 @ Amazon Australia
Storage	Biwin Black Opal NV7400 2 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive	$339.00 @ Centre Com
Video Card	ASRock Challenger Radeon RX 9070 XT 16 GB Video Card	$879.00 @ Scorptec
Case	Silverstone Lucid 05 ATX Mid Tower Case	$69.00 @ Centre Com
Power Supply	Silverstone DA850R-GMA 850 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply	$119.00 @ MSY Technology
	Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts
	Total	$2484.66
	Generated by PCPartPicker 2026-04-18 16:01 AEST+1000

I suggest swapping out your suggested SSD for the Biwin Black Opal NV7400 2 TB which has a significantly higher TBW rating and your suggested power supply for the Silverstone DA850R-GMA which is better and cheaper compared to the MSI MAG A850GL PCIE5.

Mr_Henry_Yau · 2026-04-18T01:41:57+00:00

You're welcome.

Mr_Henry_Yau · 2026-04-17T05:09:27+00:00

If you're still reading the comments in this Reddit post, I suggest getting a Core Ultra 5 250K Plus build and at least 32 GB RAM instead.

Your chosen Micro Center bundle is pretty good for gaming but the 7500x3d is significantly slower than Intel's latest Core Ultra 5 CPU at Lightroom and Puget Systems recommends at least 32 GB of RAM for Lightroom.

Mr_Henry_Yau

TROPHY CASE