Please help a noob out…forgive me if in the wrong forum. I just need to get input.
I am new to computer builds. After 20 years of college and career I decided to get back into desktop gaming. Out of the game this long, I need advice. I’d like to be at or around $1,500.00 for the tower only.
I have done a ton of research. But it’s time I ask questions. I could attempt to build one but due to parts not being available and insane pricing, it doesn’t make sense. I put these builds in picker and NZXT costs $400 more and the Alienware actually came out just at or below…but I laid out the cons as to probably why.
I play RTS and sim games, with a little dabbling in FPS. I want a build that will be solid for the next 5 years. Solid, not amazing. Hoping to take advantage of SAM, that’s important.
I will be using on 1080p, 144/240 MHz monitor and I do not plan to go 4K for the next 5 years at all. I do not want any lag or frame rate issues when I build massive cities/armies etc., period.
It has come down to these two models.
Build 1:
NZXT:
Case
NZXT H510
CPU
AMD Ryzen 5 5600X 6-Cores 3.7GHz
GPU
NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX™ 3060 TI - EVGA FTW3 ULTRA GAMING LHR
Motherboard
ASRock X570 PHANTOM GAMING 4
RAM
Team T-FORCE Delta RGB 3200MHz
SSD
Samsung 970 EVO Plus 1TB
CPU Cooler
NZXT Kraken X63
Power Supply
XPG Core Reactor 850W Gold
Software
Windows 10 Home
Service
Standard Service (US)
Price: $2,050.00
Pros: Easily upgradeable, better/non proprietary motherboard, slightly better quality of products, ideal cooling case.
Cons: $400.00 more than Alienware and PC pick a part for same essential components, smaller power supply for further upgrading, payment up front.
Build 2:
Alienware R10:
Processor
AMD Ryzen™ 5 5600X (6-Core, 35MB Total Cache, Max Boost Clock of 4.6GHz)
Operating System
Windows 10 Home English
Video Card
NVIDIA® GeForce RTX™ 3060 Ti 8GB GDDR6
Memory
16GB Dual Channel DDR4 XMP at 3200MHz; up to 128GB (additional memory sold separately)
Hard Drive
1TB M.2 PCIe NVMe SSD
Chassis Options
Dark Side of the Moon chassis with High-Performance CPU Liquid Cooling and 1000W Power Supply
Wireless
Killer™ Wi-Fi 6 AX1650 (2x2) 802.11ax Wireless LAN and Bluetooth 5.1
Keyboard
Multi-Media Keyboard
Mouse
Optical Mouse MS116AW
Base
Alienware Aurora R10
Driver
Wireless Driver for Killer 1650 Card
Price: $1,750.00
Pros: Matches pick a part PC pricing, no interest payments, higher PSU for upgrades (but unknown quality wise), comes with keyboard and mouse I can sell - small plus.
Cons: Harder to upgrade due to case design, poorer air circulation, unknown motherboard (support SAM? Conflicting reports).
Warranty: NZXT is twice as long, but reports say Dell is more responsive.
I am leaning toward the Aurora but I don’t want to be stuck with a motherboard I can’t upgrade or poor mobo/PSU that will crap out before 5 years and I heard changing the mobo is a pain in the R10. Also don’t want it to overheat (don’t think this will be an issue even with poor flow from crap Alienware casing).
I am more concerned about VALUE than initial costs.
As I said I want a solid build for the next 5 years. I want great, smooth gaming on high (not ultra) for all games. I do not plan for 4k/1440p gaming, 1080p only. I want to be able to take advantage of SAM. I will only upgrade essentials in the future - NOT a complete tear down. No overclocking.
Am I on the right track? I am new so forgive the questions this is a big investment. Which would you choose?
I am new to computer builds. After 20 years of college and career I decided to get back into desktop gaming. Out of the game this long, I need advice. I’d like to be at or around $1,500.00 for the tower only.
I have done a ton of research. But it’s time I ask questions. I could attempt to build one but due to parts not being available and insane pricing, it doesn’t make sense. I put these builds in picker and NZXT costs $400 more and the Alienware actually came out just at or below…but I laid out the cons as to probably why.
I play RTS and sim games, with a little dabbling in FPS. I want a build that will be solid for the next 5 years. Solid, not amazing. Hoping to take advantage of SAM, that’s important.
I will be using on 1080p, 144/240 MHz monitor and I do not plan to go 4K for the next 5 years at all. I do not want any lag or frame rate issues when I build massive cities/armies etc., period.
It has come down to these two models.
Build 1:
NZXT:
Case
NZXT H510
CPU
AMD Ryzen 5 5600X 6-Cores 3.7GHz
GPU
NVIDIA GEFORCE RTX™ 3060 TI - EVGA FTW3 ULTRA GAMING LHR
Motherboard
ASRock X570 PHANTOM GAMING 4
RAM
Team T-FORCE Delta RGB 3200MHz
SSD
Samsung 970 EVO Plus 1TB
CPU Cooler
NZXT Kraken X63
Power Supply
XPG Core Reactor 850W Gold
Software
Windows 10 Home
Service
Standard Service (US)
Price: $2,050.00
Pros: Easily upgradeable, better/non proprietary motherboard, slightly better quality of products, ideal cooling case.
Cons: $400.00 more than Alienware and PC pick a part for same essential components, smaller power supply for further upgrading, payment up front.
Build 2:
Alienware R10:
Processor
AMD Ryzen™ 5 5600X (6-Core, 35MB Total Cache, Max Boost Clock of 4.6GHz)
Operating System
Windows 10 Home English
Video Card
NVIDIA® GeForce RTX™ 3060 Ti 8GB GDDR6
Memory
16GB Dual Channel DDR4 XMP at 3200MHz; up to 128GB (additional memory sold separately)
Hard Drive
1TB M.2 PCIe NVMe SSD
Chassis Options
Dark Side of the Moon chassis with High-Performance CPU Liquid Cooling and 1000W Power Supply
Wireless
Killer™ Wi-Fi 6 AX1650 (2x2) 802.11ax Wireless LAN and Bluetooth 5.1
Keyboard
Multi-Media Keyboard
Mouse
Optical Mouse MS116AW
Base
Alienware Aurora R10
Driver
Wireless Driver for Killer 1650 Card
Price: $1,750.00
Pros: Matches pick a part PC pricing, no interest payments, higher PSU for upgrades (but unknown quality wise), comes with keyboard and mouse I can sell - small plus.
Cons: Harder to upgrade due to case design, poorer air circulation, unknown motherboard (support SAM? Conflicting reports).
Warranty: NZXT is twice as long, but reports say Dell is more responsive.
I am leaning toward the Aurora but I don’t want to be stuck with a motherboard I can’t upgrade or poor mobo/PSU that will crap out before 5 years and I heard changing the mobo is a pain in the R10. Also don’t want it to overheat (don’t think this will be an issue even with poor flow from crap Alienware casing).
I am more concerned about VALUE than initial costs.
As I said I want a solid build for the next 5 years. I want great, smooth gaming on high (not ultra) for all games. I do not plan for 4k/1440p gaming, 1080p only. I want to be able to take advantage of SAM. I will only upgrade essentials in the future - NOT a complete tear down. No overclocking.
Am I on the right track? I am new so forgive the questions this is a big investment. Which would you choose?