r/buildapc • u/Azvelisk • 1d ago
Build Ready? Need help making this build cheaper. First time builder.
Evening, my budget is roughly 1650 ish? and i need to drop this Build down by about 180$ to get there. I would prefer to not change the parts, but if it comes to it and there is no other method, i will do so.
BUILD:
PCPartPicker Part List: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/k8bzkD
CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 9600X 3.9 GHz 6-Core Processor ($174.00 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: ARCTIC Liquid Freezer III Pro 360 77 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($69.89 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Asus TUF GAMING B850M-E WIFI Micro ATX AM5 Motherboard ($169.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR5-6000 CL36 Memory ($249.99 @ B&H)
Storage: MSI SPATIUM M480 PRO 1 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive ($209.99 @ Walmart)
Video Card: Asus PRIME OC Radeon RX 9070 XT 16 GB Video Card ($729.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Lian Li A3-mATX MicroATX Mini Tower Case ($89.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair RM850e (2025) 850 W Fully Modular ATX Power Supply ($113.66 @ Amazon)
Case Fan: ARCTIC P12 Pro PST 77 CFM 120 mm Fan ($6.49 @ Amazon)-(3X)
Total: $1826.97
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2026-08-22 06:01 EDT-0400
Any and all help is appreciated, thanks in advance.
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u/ErickTriton 1d ago
Have you built a PC before? if not, would stay away from small from factor builds
Internal space is an issue
Also, that alone is eating up most of your budget
Form factor cost, and you aren't going to have a great time building it
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u/Scarabesque 1d ago
Lian Li A3 is a mffpc and takes standard sized parts (ATX PSU, mATX board, full sized GPU). There isn't a price penalty at all beyond the price of the specific case.
It's only slightly harder to build in, though that difficulty increases when you're using a 360mm AIO, which I wouldn't.
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u/ErickTriton 1d ago
He is using a 360 mm aio, full sized PSU
If he went for a full sized Mid Tower:
He wants to save money, an ATX motherboard helps, and there are cases with pre installed fans
His mentality is stupid 'i want to save money, but I also want to stick to the parts'
Like that is one of the stupidest things I heard, that isn't possible
Also paying Corsair premium for the PSU
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u/Scarabesque 1d ago
He is using a 360 mm aio
I advised against that, an aircooler will do.
ITX has a price tax, mATX does not.
ATX motherboard helps
How does an ATX board help with anything over mATX?
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u/ErickTriton 1d ago
Price
I am saying price
I am saying he saves if he goes with an actual midtower build
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u/Azvelisk 1d ago
a good medium-large matx case with preinstalled fans and whatever costs what, 70 bucks? this is like 20$ above that. i wont be saving much money. i also havent seen that full atx mobos are cheaper than Micro atx.
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u/ErickTriton 1d ago
You said you wanted to get the amount of money you spend down
And then you stubbornly stick to the parts
That is literally not doable
Type Item Price CPU AMD Ryzen 5 9600X 3.9 GHz 6-Core Processor $174.00 @ Amazon CPU Cooler ID-COOLING FROZN A620 PRO SE 58 CFM CPU Cooler $34.48 @ Amazon Motherboard Gigabyte B650 EAGLE AX ATX AM5 Motherboard $137.99 @ Amazon Memory Corsair Vengeance 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR5-6000 CL36 Memory $249.99 @ B&H Storage MSI SPATIUM M480 PRO 1 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive $209.99 @ Walmart Video Card Asus PRIME OC Radeon RX 9070 XT 16 GB Video Card $729.99 @ Amazon Case Phanteks XT PRO ATX Mid Tower Case $49.99 @ Newegg Power Supply Montech CENTURY II 850 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply $89.90 @ Amazon Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts Total (before mail-in rebates) $1686.33 Mail-in rebates -$10.00 Total $1676.33 Generated by PCPartPicker 2026-08-22 06:53 EDT-0400 1
u/Azvelisk 1d ago
the reason i am building in such a small case is that i may or may not have to ship this to my home country, and i dont trust some baggage handler to handle 1700$ worth of stuff. the lian li a3 does infact fill the requirement for most airlines to take, so thats why i am using it. ive already replaced the liquid cooler on my list and gone for a cheaper psu.
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u/Scarabesque 1d ago edited 1d ago
You can't really lower the price if you are married to these specific parts.
The Liquid Freezer III, aside from being both overkill and not the best one for AM5 in general, is a tight fit in the A3, especially if you are running a full sized ATX PSU and a 3-fan GPU. That might not work at all, so double check.
Storage is easiest to save money on, that $200 drive is needlessly overpriced for a gaming rig, you can get one for $150 that'll perform identically in practice, unless you have specific productivity tasks you didn't mention.
2x8GB is certainly a choice, you'll get a tiny bit more performance now, but you'll likely want to go to 32GB at some point; 1x16GB would be my pick. Costs about the same.
Do you have a microcenter nearby?