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 Asking For Some New Build Advice, (i7-12700F, B660M, DD4, RTX3060)

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chocobo7779
post Jun 11 2022, 11:36 PM

Power is nothing without control
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QUOTE(babylon52281 @ Jun 9 2022, 01:21 AM)
Hey guys,
I'm considering building a midrange PC as the above specs, which I target to do around Nov or Dec 2022 when the new Core series & Geforces are out, hoping prices would drop a bit more by then.

Details of the parts below:
Core i7-12700F + RM1 box cooler
Gigabyte B660M GAMING DDR4
https://www.gigabyte.com/Motherboard/B660M-...-DDR4-rev-10#kf

or MSI PRO B660M-E (I read that MSI mobo has unrestricted PL limit?)
https://www.msi.com/Motherboard/PRO-B660M-E-DDR4

8GB Gskill Aegis / Kingston Fury Beast nonRGB (depend on which available)
https://www.gskill.com/product/165/185/1567...4-3200C16S-8GIS
https://www.kingston.com/en/memory/gaming/k...ast-ddr4-memory

GIGABYTE NVMe SSD 256GB PCIE3.0 x4 (a local promo with the Gigabyte mobo)
https://www.gigabyte.com/SSD/GIGABYTE-NVMe-SSD-256GB

EVGA 600W PSU BQ 80+ Bronze
https://www.evga.com/products/product.aspx?pn=110-BQ-0600-K1

Colorful GeForce RTX 3060 NB DUO 12G L-V
https://en.colorful.cn/product_show.aspx?mid=102&id=1848

Monitor will be the cheapest 24" 1080P available

This PC is built to a maximum budget cap so I'm not able to go for the fancy ROG/Mortar/Aorus/etc stuffs.

Mainly for gaming AAA titles @1080P with RT if it does not go under 30FPS, general purpose, light CAD & Solidworks, and perhaps dabble in coin mining to see what's it all about. I'm not gonna OC much, maybe a light one if I could later on but my goal is to keep this system as my main for the next 5-7 years so stability & longevity is key.

My upgrade plan is minimal which is why I spec in the i7 so I don't have to replace it, for the rest perhaps something like; 2023 1H another 8GB RAM stick > 2023 2H/2024 CPU tower cooler(thinking ID SE-224-XT, Silverstone AR12 maybe?) > 2025 1TB(or more?) PCIE 4.0 SSD > 2026/2027 xx60/xx70 level GPU + higher watt PSU.

I'm hoping for some inputs/feedback/comments if such system will last me for that duration (5-7years) with the incremental upgrades laid out. I'm a bit concern if the RAM will be enough (8GB +8 later), but my current system is using 8GB for daily usage no issues unless I loaded Chrome with dozens of tabs.

Appreciate any thoughts. Thanks. icon_rolleyes.gif
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QUOTE
Gigabyte B660M GAMING DDR4
For a 12700F (with no power limits) the VRMs board may not handle it well and may result in VRM throttling, so I'd recommend something like the MSI Pro B660M-A instead icon_idea.gif

QUOTE
MSI PRO B660M-E

The MSI B660M-E has no VRM heatsinks so it's really meant for a Core i5 or even a Core i3 at best (or unless you like the idea of running the 12700F at 65W and willing to live with lesser performance) icon_idea.gif

A 256GB SSD isn't really enough for games these days so I'd recommend paying a bit more for a 512GB one instead. The Gigabyte SSD is DRAMless but with a host memory buffer which acts as a substitute for DRAM, also the reads and write speeds aren't exactly very good for a NVMe drive either icon_idea.gif

QUOTE
EVGA 600W PSU BQ 80+ Bronze
You mean the EVGA BR? The BQ is not sold here icon_idea.gif

The EVGA BR is a rather low end unit for such build (Tier C on the PSU tier list), double forward + DC-DC design which is quite unsuitable for high powered GPUs, especially when you consider that you are going to upgrade to a higher end GPU in the future icon_idea.gif

I'd probably recommend you to spend a bit more on a nicer PSU, something like the Silverstone Viva Gold will be a good step up over that EVGA icon_idea.gif

QUOTE
Monitor will be the cheapest 24" 1080P available
Might be better to spend a bit and go 144Hz whenever you can, if you are coming from a run of the mill 60Hz panel icon_idea.gif

QUOTE
as my main for the next 5-7 years so stability & longevity is key

If you are looking for platform longevity then neither AM4/LGA1700 will satisfy this especially that AM4 is pretty much a dead end platform, and LGA1700 only supports one future CPU generation (aka 13th gen, Raptor Lake) and the 14th gen CPUs coming next year will use a new socket icon_idea.gif

The only platform that kind of satisfies this would be the upcoming AM5 platform, but you are essentially spending a lot of money (especially on DDR5 memory) on a platform with potentially stability issues due to the newness of the platform itself, and there's no guarantee that AM5 will get the same platform longevity like AM4 did icon_idea.gif
chocobo7779
post Jun 11 2022, 11:37 PM

Power is nothing without control
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QUOTE(babylon52281 @ Jun 9 2022, 11:19 PM)
@xxboxx
Yeah, RAM I start with 8GB due to budget cap for system but I'm fully going to get another stick of 8GB in 1st half 2023. If I get Kingston, likely it will be the same basic stuff they produce all the time. As for SSD, it will be for windows and certain fast games but majority data will be in my reused 4TB HDD. I do plan to get a better SSD around 2025 tho. Will these future upgrades be sufficient to last my system?

@TristanX
Actually I am targeting to get right after the new Cores & Geforces will be released so as to catch the time retailers want to clear inventory. If the price drops are substantial, I might just topup another stick of RAM to 16GB or move up the GPU to 3060TI. Otoh, it also depends on the swing of our currency exchange rate so there is a risk prices might go up instead. So its a toss up there.
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QUOTE
Yeah, RAM I start with 8GB due to budget cap for system but I'm fully going to get another stick of 8GB in 1st half 2023.

Why would you cripple your system with single channel RAM? It's not like RAM are expensive these days? sweat.gif
chocobo7779
post Jun 11 2022, 11:38 PM

Power is nothing without control
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QUOTE(TristanX @ Jun 9 2022, 09:06 AM)
Asking now but buying it a few months time.... Some parts might become obselete due to new CPU and GPU, or price adjustments. 5-6 months is a long time.
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There's also the issue of potential price hikes due to economic uncertainties as well icon_idea.gif
chocobo7779
post Jun 14 2022, 11:58 PM

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QUOTE(babylon52281 @ Jun 12 2022, 10:19 PM)
@chocobo7779
Thanks for the long and detailed reply!
About mobo: Yeah im reconsidering to get MSI B660m-A as my budget does allow it but its either this board (versus the -E) or add another 8GB RAM. Thing is I do intend to add another stick anyways in 2023 so yeah.

Speaking of RAM: It is a cost decision to start with 8GB and later on to get another 8GB but its between this or a better MSI mobo.

SSD: That gigabyte is part of the Gigabyte mobo promo but if I go for MSI one I prolly will reuse my SATA SSD/4TB HDD for a while and look to get a 1TB nvme Gen4 SSD sooner than I planned.

PSU: I put my system thru a PSU calculator and that 600W EVGA BR is plenty enough for now. I do plan on upgrading that when I upgrade the GPU in 4 years time or so.

Monitor: I think max 120Hz is my limit, I read fast monitors could be bad for the eyes and anything above it is purely for twitchy FPS gamers that could tell the difference. Not me tho, haha.

Overall, you gave me a lot of food for thought. If I ditch the cheapo SSD, I could use that money and get both a better MSI mobo plus another 8GB RAM. Then my next year plan instead I could upgrade to a 512/1TB nvme Gen4 SSD. This idea is very compelling now that I think about it.

Yeah the economic uncertainties are there but I'm hoping it countered with the retailers going to clear off these stuff with next gen launched. Thanks for the input & insight.
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QUOTE
Thing is I do intend to add another stick anyways in 2023 so yeah.
If you go with that route, do note that you will need to buy the identical stick of RAM, otherwise dual channel may not work properly, and there's also the issue of that particular RAM SKU may be EOL'd by that time and may not be purchasable brand new icon_idea.gif
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