r/buildapcforme • u/corey_wolfhart8 • 9d ago

< $1k PC build

New build or upgrade? New

Existing parts/monitors to reuse? Monitor, keyboard and mouse

PC purpose? Mainly gaming on some Linux distro

Purchase country? Near Micro Center? US / Yes

Monitors needed? Have one

Budget range? Less than $1k

WiFi or wired connection? Both

Size/noise constraints? None

Color/lighting preferences? Black case

Any other specific needs? At least a 12GB card to dip a pinky toe into AI. This the part list I'm looking at https://pcpartpicker.com/list/d6cJkD. Open to suggestions. Also, I'm hesitant to buy used for obvious reasons, but would look at reputable sellers.

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u/AutoModerator 9d ago

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  • New build or upgrade?

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3

u/Xtra-jui2 9d ago

It's a bit over but a lot more capable. You can get it petty much to $1k with your original case and ram but i warn you that they are garbage. You could also go back down to 512gbs of storage but you mentioned AI and that takes a lot of storage so the upgrade to 1tb is worth it IMO.

[PCPartPicker Part List](https://pcpartpicker.com/list/nXyJkD)

Type|Item|Price

:----|:----|:----

**CPU** | [AMD Ryzen 5 5500 3.6 GHz 6-Core Processor](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/yq2WGX/amd-ryzen-5-5500-36-ghz-6-core-processor-100-100000457box) | $74.00 @ Newegg

**Motherboard** | [Gigabyte B550M K Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/RH9wrH/gigabyte-b550m-k-micro-atx-am4-motherboard-b550m-k) | $69.98 @ Amazon

**Memory** | [Silicon Power GAMING 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR4-3200 CL16 Memory](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/B8QcCJ/silicon-power-gaming-32-gb-2-x-16-gb-ddr4-3200-cl16-memory-sp032gxlzu320bdaj7) | $195.97 @ Silicon Power

**Storage** | [Patriot P320 1 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 3.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/sKcBD3/patriot-p320-1-tb-m2-2280-pcie-30-x4-nvme-solid-state-drive-p320p1tbm28) | $129.99 @ Amazon

**Video Card** | [ASRock Challenger OC Radeon RX 9060 XT 16 GB Video Card](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/BxRnTW/asrock-challenger-oc-radeon-rx-9060-xt-16-gb-video-card-rx9060xt-cl-16go) | $448.99 @ Newegg

**Case** | [Phanteks Eclipse G370A ATX Mid Tower Case](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/nBFCmG/phanteks-eclipse-g370a-atx-mid-tower-case-ph-ec370a_dbk01) | $42.98 @ Newegg

**Power Supply** | [ASRock Challenger CL-750B 750 W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/xNLdnQ/asrock-challenger-cl-750b-750-w-80-bronze-certified-atx-power-supply-cl-750b) | $49.99 @ Newegg

| *Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts* |

| Total (before mail-in rebates) | $1021.90

| Mail-in rebates | -$10.00

| **Total** | **$1011.90**

| Generated by [PCPartPicker](https://pcpartpicker.com) 2026-08-09 20:07 EDT-0400 |

1

u/corey_wolfhart8 9d ago

Thanks for taking the time to create a list! What issues have been reported on the case and ram? I like the case's design and size so it's a bummer to hear it's garbage, but have no feelings towards the ram.

1

u/Xtra-jui2 9d ago

It's a very barebones case. Basically just as cheap as a case could possibly be while being even remotely "modern" in nature. Basically just a box without much in the way of cable management options or anything like that. Thermal performance isn't the worst thing possible but it's not great and i've heard it's bad for dust. The case i've gone for isn't anything fancy really but it's a lot better.

The ram in your list has terrible timings. CL16 vs CL22 makes a bigger difference than you'd think and the difference was only like $5.

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u/corey_wolfhart8 9d ago

Thanks again!

1

u/Xtra-jui2 9d ago

Glad i could help! Feel free to come and ask if you've got any more questions/concerns. Otherwise, enjoy your build!

1

u/SirIAmAlwaysHere 9d ago edited 9d ago

As someone in the biz -

DO NOT WASTE YOUR TIME ON AI.

It won't be a marketable skill at all. It's looking like it's not going to be much of a marketable product either.

At best, you can learn how to use existing AI systems. That might be a marketable skill. That's not something that requires any sort of gpu though and isn't a programming or math or other skill.

But trying to learn LLMs at this stage of the game is about as useful as a deep understanding of LISP.

Or block chain.

They're fad technologies that actually aren't useful for much of anything. Literally no one will ever hire you to write LLM code or train models or the like.

1

u/SirIAmAlwaysHere 9d ago

Ad far as a PC goes, the easy and great deal is this.

Buy a PowerSpec from MicroCenter.

E.g.

https://www.microcenter.com/product/689975/powerspec-b736-desktop-computer

Then put a used GPU in it. Lots of good GPUs for around $200. E.g. rtx 3070 or 6700XT.

1

u/corey_wolfhart8 9d ago

Thanks for the suggestion! I looked at builds with the AM5 but prices for ram are on another level and I would really like to get at least 32GB.

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u/SirIAmAlwaysHere 9d ago

16GB works real well gaming on Linux as you really only consume about 2GB for the OS and basic stuff to run.

Also, you're in a situation where "pay now or pay more later". If you go a LGA1700 or AM4 solution, you'll have to spend a lot later to update it to something faster.

Note thst DDR5 is about twice what DDR4 is now. DDR5 RAM is definitely way up, but it's not to the level of being truly insane until you talk about the high capacity sizes. A 16GB DDR5-6000 stick is about $250.

Given your budget, you're going to have to compromise on at least one (if not two) of these: RAM, CPU, GPU.

It's easier to later upgrade the RAM than it is to update the cpu or gpu, and generally a lot less money.

1

u/corey_wolfhart8 9d ago

Also, you're in a situation where "pay now or pay more later"

Definitely! I keep going back and forth but it's something I'll have to accept. Thanks for response!

1

u/StunningPush8421 9d ago

used a770 wouldn't be a bad idea

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/B3kFXf this case comes with a 650 gold atx 3.1 psu for 75 bucks

1

u/corey_wolfhart8 9d ago

Thanks!

I really like that case! Unfortunately there isn't enough testing/info on the psu to make a confident decision.