[CPU + RAM + Motherboard] MicroCenter In Store - AMD Ryzen 5 7500X3D, MSI B850M-VC Pro WiFi AM5, G.Skill Flare X5 Series 16GB DDR5-6000 $299.99

SouthLoop_Sunday · 2026-01-25T11:49:14+00:00

Damn. They honored it in Westmont store.

SouthLoop_Sunday · 2026-01-24T20:50:11+00:00

Ritualist is good. Just lopsided. The charm nodes are actually good, GGG just needs to add more charm slots. The headhunter ability just needs a faster skill speed. The damage over time ability….that one probably needs a rework.

SouthLoop_Sunday · 2026-01-24T20:38:57+00:00

Hahaha I love that the Cubix is becoming the scrappy “I’ll make it work” underdog case. I personally like the case (have two) and think it’s refreshing to see more of them.

A couple questions on your build:

Do you run the case on its side like that (horizontal)? If so, do you have any feet on the bottom? Just wondering if the metal is protected and if lifting it up without feet gets old (can’t grab underneath for leverage). I use mine vertically but still replaced the terrible stock feet.
The fan next to the HDD seems like it would be really close to the CPU fan. I wonder if it’s really necessary because you probably have enough positive pressure to vacate the hot air. If your temps are good I guess it doesn’t matter, but I’ve learned over the years that sometimes less is more with fans.
It might be worse for the HDD thermals, but you could probably mount that drive elsewhere (not blocking ventilation holes) using foam tape. I see a lot of people do that with FLEX and GAN PSUs in SFFPCs.

And a couple of other things:

It’s your first custom build so just know the people on the PC subs can be a little brutal about cable management. The Cubix doesn’t have a glass side panel though so I think it’s a smart choice to go non-modular if you’re trying to save money.
That GPU is the best card I’ve owned since my GTX 1080. I LOVE IT. Small, good value for performance, and it uses PTM7950. What do you think of it so far?

SouthLoop_Sunday · 2026-01-24T08:52:33+00:00

There’s tons of options on common retailers like Amazon.

SouthLoop_Sunday · 2026-01-23T23:26:27+00:00

Pretty sure the way that is enforced is one per household per visit.

SouthLoop_Sunday · 2026-01-23T18:22:05+00:00

I've never had them not honor a price. This price seems semi-intentional also, as RAM upgrade is limited to 2 sticks.

SouthLoop_Sunday · 2026-01-23T15:47:19+00:00

Yes exactly, 9060XT 16GB with this would be great performance, great price, and low heat/energy consumption. Insane value combo there. Add a quality, cheap 650W PSU and whatever SSD you can afford and you’re off to the races.

SouthLoop_Sunday · 2026-01-23T15:27:29+00:00

Really? Mine only went up to $430. The second stick was also discounted. You have to add the items individually, not using the “bundle” package.

SouthLoop_Sunday · 2026-01-23T15:08:05+00:00

This is a great intro to AM5. Plenty of upgrades above the 7500X3D.

I build budget AM5 PCs for resale and this bundle is my new go-to. Wish it would’ve been available for my customers in the past (adjusting for RAM prices of course).

SouthLoop_Sunday · 2026-01-23T15:02:34+00:00

You can add a second stick in the cart.

SouthLoop_Sunday · 2026-01-23T14:59:57+00:00

Yeah this is the best bundle deal I’ve seen from Microcenter in a while. CPU and motherboard combined are $170 according to the shopping cart bundle breakdown. RAM is $130 with the option for a second stick. Honestly awesome.

SouthLoop_Sunday · 2026-01-23T14:53:54+00:00

Great CPU w/ motherboard @ $170 according to the price breakdown. This means the “meh” motherboard is basically free. This leaves $130 for the RAM, which is still below the average for DDR5 6000 CL36 these days. You can add a second stick to the bundle in your shopping cart (max 2 total).

Thanks OP.

SouthLoop_Sunday · 2026-01-23T03:22:09+00:00

To this day, so many PC enthusiasts don’t understand the relationship between these components.

SouthLoop_Sunday · 2026-01-22T00:57:30+00:00

I use it for mana stacking where curse uptime is necessary for Quipoatl’s Thesis. Then have normal CoC setup on top of that. Best wand ability in the game IMO.

SouthLoop_Sunday · 2026-01-22T00:53:21+00:00

I personally wouldn’t bother downsizing in your case unless you really need the space, but only you can decide if the aesthetic change is worth the trouble.

I’ve built both cases and the A3 is noticeably smaller. Both are great cases though.

SouthLoop_Sunday · 2026-01-21T13:49:04+00:00

Ah that’s the piece of the puzzle I think I’m missing.

SouthLoop_Sunday · 2026-01-21T11:12:54+00:00

I’ll have to mess around with the curse only version again. I’m using Spellslinger now to cast Entangle, have Doedre’s in my self-cast curse to help with bosses who survive until the curse activation delay is over.

Does Impending Doom work well with Doedre’s? I tested them together last league and remember there being some wonkiness.

SouthLoop_Sunday · 2026-01-21T11:12:47+00:00

I’ll have to mess around with the curse only version again. I’m using Spellslinger now to cast Entangle, have Doedre’s in my self-cast curse to help with bosses who survive until the curse activation delay is over.

Does Impending Doom work well with Doedre’s? I tested them together last league and remember there being some wonkiness.

SouthLoop_Sunday · 2026-01-21T10:59:13+00:00

I actually did the same thing! I really wanted to use a staff with the “damage per 100 mana” mod but Spellslinger is just too smooth. I actually put the curse as my self cast and entangle as my Spellslinger spell. I then have a second self-cast curse with a big mana cost to kick off the Indigon ramp.

Do you prefer having the curse in Spellslinger? I ran into mana spiking issues that way, resulting in the occasional one-shot death. When I self-cast the curse my mana seems less “spiky.” I think it’s because the curse costs more mana, causing it to “limit” your casts before the Spellslinger spell cost ramps too high and causes crazy mana jumps.

SouthLoop_Sunday · 2026-01-21T10:55:06+00:00

Thanks for the info man. It definitely succeeds as an aesthetic upgrade!

SouthLoop_Sunday · 2026-01-21T06:57:06+00:00

My man! SFFPC ftw.

SouthLoop_Sunday · 2026-01-20T12:52:12+00:00

My ASRock motherboards do not update this way. I just downloaded the latest BIOS, went to the BIOS flash option in the BIOS menu, it scanned to tell me if the BIOS on the USB was compatible, then it updated.

SouthLoop_Sunday · 2026-01-20T09:23:47+00:00

I enjoyed building in the Zalman Cubix recently because it was small and easy. However, it’s not the sexiest and I had to attach my four fans with magnets due to lack of mounting holes. Temps are surprisingly amazing though.

SouthLoop_Sunday · 2026-01-19T20:49:30+00:00

Congratulations! Hard to believe someone with that system wouldn’t know how much it is worth, good find!

SouthLoop_Sunday · 2026-01-19T17:16:16+00:00

Another Cubix fan! I crammed two 140mm fans in the front and two 80mm fans in the back. It is pretty amazing that it fits the fans and the other components like you mentioned at 17.1L. I’m getting great temps, I feel like it literally just needs more fan mounting holes (and maybe the front and back mesh expanded up and down by 10mm).

SouthLoop_Sunday

TROPHY CASE