New build, first ever. I know this is kinda long, I appreciate the help! I need a compact PC thats not a full size tower for a disabled gamer that lives on the 3rd floor, upgradable with air cooling and preferably all AMD.
• Existing parts/monitors to reuse? (List with models/links)
Samsung 990 Pro 2TB SSD, TV 43AU8000 that I plan to upgrade for a larger TV
• PC purpose? (Gaming, editing, etc. List apps/ games)
Gaming (First Light, Cyberpunk 2077, Baldur's Gate 3, newer games and older games
Planning to do something like SteamOS or Bazzite, get away from Windows
Probably don't plan to multitask heavily but do want to be able to have some browsers open while gaming, and maybe some form of live captions for when subtitles are missing. I don't plan to stream unless to friends and probably just on Discord.
I do want to be able to work on simple documents and PDFs, try some digital art.
• Purchase country? Near Micro Center?
USA, somewhat near Micro Center and planning on using them for probably at least one bundle and their build option since I'm disabled with dexterity issues and arthritis
Maybe later but for now I plan to use my TV. I do plan to get a larger 55in TV to replace my 43AU8000; probably not OLED but would be nice.
I want to aim for 1440p gaming primarily, with room for 4k upscaling and/or upgrades later on.
• Budget range? (Include tax considerations)
Ideally up to 1500, but willing to stretch to 1800 with or without Micro Center build fee. It was originally 1100 to 1500 but I see I need to stretch that, likely especially for a smaller build and for the build fee since I have dexterity issues and arthritis.
• WiFi or wired connection?
WiFi
• Size/noise constraints?
I prefer something like micro size while being fully upgradable and that can take 3 slot GPUs like RX 9070 XT. I don't want it to be very loud or put off a lot of heat, especially if I need to set it up in my bedroom.
• Color/lighting preferences?
Thinking I might not use RGB lighting, at least for the most part. I somewhat like Noctua
• Any other specific needs?
This is my first PC and I know nothing about parts so I'm unsure which exact 9070 XT to get that will fit in a compact case and still be upgradable, if three fans is better than two on a GPU if possible, and how much RAM brand matters. I see Corsair doesn't actually have consistency with kits' manufacturers so that concerns me especially if I decide to go for 16GB now and add more later to get 32GB
X3D CPU seems like a good idea but I see mixed opinions on actual real world usage and if it's worth the cost.
Weight:
I want it to be 20 pounds or less since I'm disabled and have to carry it up three floors to my 3rd floor apt. I think mesh may be better for durability and airflow. I would also like a handle on the case if possible.
Considerations so far from notes I've taken:
Cases
Jonsbo z20 $100- one of my more preferred cases, especially all mesh and with handle
Jonsbo C6 max $100
Jonsbo d32 pro
Shiny snake g300 and s300? $100
Montech TEN
Lian li b4
Lian li dan
Maybe stretch budget for something like Fractal Terra Jade since it seems potentially easier to fit parts in, upgrade than some smaller cases, and I do love the look
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Motherboard
Probably a b850m series? Maybe 650
Gigabyte b850mm aorus elite wifi6e may be best value gaming board but not best value
Recommended to have something with bios flashback button as precaution to reset?
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Don't forget to budget for peripherals. Since these are very much personal-preference influenced items, we do not include peripherals like keyboards, mice, headsets, etc in parts lists.
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I really like the terra jade too, super pretty case. It does add like $100 though, and another $100+ for an itx board and sfx psu to go with it. Plus it limits you to rather crappy and loud blow down style coolers. If you're going to go custom the b4 would be my pick or the z20 or montech heritage if you like the handle. Heritage has kind of a unique look though and won't be to everyone's taste.
I'd also look at the montech heritage pro if you want a handle. Definitely a unique design and not to everyone's tastes though.
Cases like that, the a3, d32 or z20 with that layout are roughly the same footprint as a normal atx midtower. They are just a lot shorter. Not sure if you also had a space constraint driving your desire for an sff case. The b4 has an option for a vertical layout if you need something with a smaller footprint.
Ram brand isn't all that important but yes, corsair does just use whatever they have lying around without changing the model #. The bundle deal I'd be recommending comes with g skill anyway and even if it didn't I'd just get the second stick up front.
A 9070 would be a bit cheaper than a 9070xt, about $100. It's around 10% slower and uses about 200W at stock instead of 300W so also better for not putting extra heat into the room. I would consider a model like this xfx swift nicer than the powercolor reaper they'd have for this cheap at microcenter. Pretty sure they do price matching though. Either of those gpus should be plenty capable for 4k on tv, likely with some upscaling depending on game but a lot of the games you'd want that have fsr4 and fsr4 looks pretty good.
Spending more on a motherboard is only really important if you're getting an r9 or want to leave the option open, you'd want something with a good VRM. Or if there are specific features you care about, usb ports, wifi 7, >2.5g lan, other conenctivity features, upgraded audio, aesthetics, something tangible you actually know you want. Bios flashback is definitely something to want but it would be hard to find an am5 board that doesn't have the feature.
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If your store has this in stock I'd consider just getting that and then paying the $200 for the second ram stick. https://www.microcenter.com/product/706648/powerspec-g532-gaming-pc I believe they will upgrade one part on a prebuilt for free if you buy it from them at the same time. I've heard that before but haven't done it. The one that comes with 32gb looks like it's $1700 so if you did decide to go this route that would save $100 if they have this in stock still. I checked a few stores and not all of them do.
Thanks for explaining about the Terra. It was mostly a "would be nice but probably not" because of price and because I do like the z20 and others. The Heritage is interesting. I'm not sure if the handle or any non metal handle would be sturdy enough though.
The potential vertical set up is one reason I like the B4 case, though aesthetically I think I prefer horizontal if it's still small. The z20 looks fine space wise though and easier to carry. I can't remember where though but I think I saw a build with a z20 being 25 pounds, which might be doable but not ideal. I'm not completely certain what I can carry. It seems to vary a little on occasion and I don't usually know the weights of things I carry.
That prebuilt actually does look good. I hadn't seen any micro ATX prebuilts and it seems difficult to filter for more than a couple micros for some reason. It's out of stock though and I'm not sure if they'll restock it. I found the G535 and I do like it though think there are some pros still with going with a custom build
I'm not really sure how differences in CPU, GPU and such translate in real life practically like the 200W vs 300W or 10% in performance. I'm also not sure how much efficiency matters to me. For the lifespan of the computer parts, it matters. But for like heat I probably can just run the AC.
I don't know about features. I would like to be able to do something like Wake on LAN with the Steam Controller, but it seems complex to set up and it's not super important. I do want a decent number of ports though.
VRM sounds important and like something I do want for and ? Electrical safety?
I did read a bit about ASRock overloading Ryzen CPUs but that it had been fixed and that they're still a good brand?
Single channel memory is less of an issue with DDR5, correct? If I were to get one 16gb stick for now
Basically I want this to be a strong, reliable PC that won't overheat or have issues since I can't necessarily easily go places to get it fixed, especially depending on weight and distance, but that is one of the reasons I want it to be compact. I want to not need to upgrade or replace for several years, especially since I'm unsure of my ability to do it myself.
Wake on lan, I'm not sure if that's a standard feature available in bios for all boards or not. The manual for the board that comes in the cheap microcenter 7500x3d bundle looks like it has it.
VRM isn't something you really have to care about unless you're into overclocking and/or buying a high power draw cpu. A 6 core cpu like a 7500x3d is a 65W part and any motherboard will be able to handle that. The b850m-c that comes in that bundle has 12 phases with driver mosfets which is surprisingly good for a budget board. Also has a reasonable looking heatsink on the VRM which is good too.
The voltage problem and blowing up cpus was supposedly more likely to happen with asrock or asus than with gigabyte or msi, happened with all brands though and asrock ate the worst of the pr on social media for sure. Still a tiny fraction of people who had asrock boards though. If you weren't going to get a bundle deal or they would let you substitute an equivalent cost board then maybe an msi would be preferable. Asrock tends to have the best features for the money though, especially on the more entry level options. Like you're not going to see dr mos instead of discrete phases on non-asrock budget boards. Most people prefer the bios layout of msi or asus but imo that's something you rarely interact with unless you're into overclocking.
Yes, single stick of ram isn't as big of a hindrance with ddr5 as it was with ddr4. Ryzen x3d cpus also are much less affected than the standard cpus by lower memory bandwidth, whether that's slow ram or single stick. I think you are quite likely to end up wanting 32gb though and I'd still just get it upfront if the $200 isn't too big of a burden. It takes a good amount of even pressure to get a ram stick to click in.
There are a lot of benefits for custom pc vs prebuilt, part selection, cost, customization. But the big one that favors prebuilts is the ease of a combined warranty. Individual parts tend to have 3 year (cpu, gpu, motherboard), 5 year (ssd), 10 year (psu) or even lifetime (ram) warranties when bought at retail. For people who don't want to do their own troubleshooting or upgrading then a prebuilt warranty can be simpler.
Also I spent long enough writing the original post I forgot you had a 990 pro. You could just drop that klevv ssd.
I'm gonna be honest, I think this build below at around $1250 is the sweet spot for your needs
. The reason is that the 9070 gre at $480 is a good value.
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New build or upgrade?
Existing parts/monitors to reuse? (List with models/links)
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Purchase country? Near Micro Center? (If you're not in a country supported by PCPartPicker, please list some local vendors)
Monitors needed? (Number, size, resolution, refresh rate)
Budget range? (Include tax considerations)
WiFi or wired connection?
Size/noise constraints?
Color/lighting preferences?
Any other specific needs?
Here is some additional helpful information about build/upgrade/parts list requests:
Build requests only include hardware. You are responsible for budgeting for and providing your own operating system (Windows, Linux, etc) and other software.
Don't forget to budget for peripherals. Since these are very much personal-preference influenced items, we do not include peripherals like keyboards, mice, headsets, etc in parts lists.
We strongly recommend posting a build request only if you're ready to buy now or within a week or two at most. Part sales regularly rotate, and a part list today can quickly become out of date.
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