New PC advice

[Bird87_ZA]

I am currently saving for a new PC to last me the next 7-8 years. I'm not big on playing the latest games with the highest graphics, so that's how my philosophy of keeping a PC for semi forever has come about.

The plan is to buy it during BlackFriday, but with the new launches, I don't know what to get. My budget is max €2000. This is what I have been looking at:

i7 12700K (not really a restriction here - I'm not going to overclock, so if another CPU has similar out of the box performance, but cheaper, I'll go for that)
MSI MEG Z690I (This is the major limitation, needs to be mini ITX board, so this is what limits moving to AM5)
32/64GB DDR5 5200 min
750W min SFX PSU
3080Ti (wanted to go 40 series but the pricing is mad, so looking at 30 series second hand)

What would you change here? A cheaper PC with similar performance is obviously ideal, but are there some major red flags here?

 

[goldfritter]

I am currently saving for a new PC to last me the next 7-8 years. I'm not big on playing the latest games with the highest graphics, so that's how my philosophy of keeping a PC for semi forever has come about.

The plan is to buy it during BlackFriday, but with the new launches, I don't know what to get. My budget is max €2000. This is what I have been looking at:

i7 12700K (not really a restriction here - I'm not going to overclock, so if another CPU has similar out of the box performance, but cheaper, I'll go for that)
MSI MEG Z690I (This is the major limitation, needs to be mini ITX board, so this is what limits moving to AM5)
32/64GB DDR5 5200 min
750W min SFX PSU
3080Ti (wanted to go 40 series but the pricing is mad, so looking at 30 series second hand)

What would you change here? A cheaper PC with similar performance is obviously ideal, but are there some major red flags here?

In terms of CPU. Maybe wait for Intel 13th gen to launch in a couple of weeks, it's possible there will be a 13th gen CPU that will outperform the 12700K for less. You could even wait a few more months until the Ryzen 7x00X3D CPUs come out, and maybe by that time AM5 ITX boards will be available. But if you don't want to wait then the 12700K is a great choice.

Many RTX 3080Tis require an 850W PSU though. And even the ones that require a 750W one, might have issues where short peaks in power draw causes the PSU to trip. For the 3080Ti and above you may be more comfortable with a 1000W PSU, or if you do go 850W, make sure it's a very high-quality one.

If that is unfeasible with an SFX PSU, then maybe rather go for a 3080, or wait until the newer gen of Nvidia (and maybe even AMD) GPUs come out to see if you can get better performance at a more reasonable power draw.

Other than that, what you have put together looks decent and well-matched.

 

[ThatGuyJD]

How'd you get that title? Lol damn.

So PC, you'd likely want to hold out for Raptor lake and just grab a 13600k, seeing as all the K skews are mostly very similar. Nothing wrong with the board choice ITX is limited. There's no possible need for 64GB of Ram at this point, stick to 32GB. You'd probably want something more like 6000-6400 as opposed to 5200. Small form factor PSUs mean not too much choice, the Corsair SF750 platinum is the best of the bunch or the FSP Dagger Pro 850W if you're looking for some more headroom. Nothing wrong with the 30 series at this point.

 

[Bird87_ZA]

I will use the PC for gaming and sometimes some light editing. Don't know if that changes the view on the 64gb ram? If 32GB really satisfies that need, then perhaps I can drop the difference into something else.

Yeah, there's limitation on mini-itx. Reason I am mini-itx is because I have the ssupd Meshlicious case, and I love it to bits.

 

[ThatGuyJD]

I will use the PC for gaming and sometimes some light editing. Don't know if that changes the view on the 64gb ram? If 32GB really satisfies that need, then perhaps I can drop the difference into something else.

Yeah, there's limitation on mini-itx. Reason I am mini-itx is because I have the ssupd Meshlicious case, and I love it to bits.

Nah can do lite editing on 16GB if you have to. 32 is plenty.

 

[Switch]

Your budget pricing is in euros and your location is outside sa? While technical performance is uniform across markets, your buying power vs the advice based on a foreign market may not be truly reflective on what you should be buying within your budget.

 

[Bird87_ZA]

I realise that, however, I'm trying to get a general idea of what is good. I haven't built a PC in a few years. When I got to DE, I bought an 6th gen i7 (because I had a board that supported 6th gen - wife's board from SA) and slapped 32gb ram in with a rx580 that i mined with in SA.

So looking to build my first proper PC here. The advice has already helped. Thanks to all.

 

[ThatGuyJD]

I realise that, however, I'm trying to get a general idea of what is good. I haven't built a PC in a few years. When I got to DE, I bought an 6th gen i7 (because I had a board that supported 6th gen - wife's board from SA) and slapped 32gb ram in with a rx580 that i mined with in SA.

So looking to build my first proper PC here. The advice has already helped. Thanks to all.

Wait you're in Germany? Yeah lol your pricing is absolutely f-ed.

 

[Bird87_ZA]

what do you mean by that?

 

[ThatGuyJD]

It means your pricing is horrible, like worse than it should be.

 

[StangV2_0]

Yeah this is like asking an American in South Africa to quote you in rupees to service your car in Lesotho.

 

[Bird87_ZA]

It means your pricing is horrible, like worse than it should be.

all those components dont cost 2000. My budget is 2000. Not a target. If that's what you mean.

 

[Bird87_ZA]

Yeah this is like asking an American in South Africa to quote you in rupees to service your car in Lesotho.

not really. I wont trust anyone in Lesotho to service my car.

What is it with you guys having an issue with me asking advice here? I can't ask in DE, because my german is so bad that I'll probably end up with an overclocked potato peeler instead of a PC

 

[StangV2_0]

not really. I wont trust anyone in Lesotho to service my car.

What is it with you guys having an issue with me asking advice here? I can't ask in DE, because my german is so bad that I'll probably end up with an overclocked potato peeler instead of a PC

Because we cant work according to a budget. The exchange rates and pricing here is totally different to what you will pay over there. What may seem reasonable there will make the middle class poor here. Decide what you can get for your budget then ask about those specific items rather.

Your budget pricing is in euros and your location is outside sa? While technical performance is uniform across markets, your buying power vs the advice based on a foreign market may not be truly reflective on what you should be buying within your budget.

This is spot on!!

 

[moedeez]

It means your pricing is horrible, like worse than it should be.

Just like home

not really. I wont trust anyone in Lesotho to service my car.

What is it with you guys having an issue with me asking advice here? I can't ask in DE, because my german is so bad that I'll probably end up with an overclocked potato peeler instead of a PC

No man, basically 2000eu can buy you x amount of components in EU but y amount of Components in RSA.
So we can only advise best value in Rands as we aren't clued up in the EU market.
2000eu can get you a baller pc in RSA, but in DE you might get an ok PC, or vice versa.
I hope that clears it up.

 

[Bird87_ZA]

Ok, fair point.

In that case, advise on my future setup then, and ignore pricing

 

[StangV2_0]

Here is an example. 2000EU is currently R 35,520.00. But it still early in the day and our politicians are sleeping. You never know when one will say something stupid to make it R 32,000.00.

Now fortunately I can understand Afrikaans so I am fluent in German. This card here is 675eu.

https://www.caseking.de/en/Gigabyte-Aorus-GeForce-RTX-3070-Master-8G-LHR-8192-MB-GDDR6-GCGB-387.html?tplview=desktop

So in direct exchange it is R 11,988.00. Except its not. Its actually R 14,599.00 or 822eu.

Gigabyte GeForce RTX 3070 AORUS MASTER 8G GV-N3070AORUS M-8GD 8GB GDDR6 256-bit PCI-E 4.0 Desktop Graphics Card (Lite Hash Rate) - Wootware

Buy Gigabyte GeForce RTX 3070 AORUS MASTER 8G GV-N3070AORUS M-8GD 8GB GDDR6 256-bit PCI-E 4.0 Desktop Graphics Card (Lite Hash Rate) at Wootware with fast shipping & superb service.

www.wootware.co.za

See what we mean?

 

[Areola Grande]

Ok, fair point.

In that case, advise on my future setup then, and ignore pricing

Give us the name of a large e-tailer in Germany so we can help.

 

[Bird87_ZA]

Here is an example. 2000EU is currently R 35,520.00. But it still early in the day and our politicians are sleeping. You never know when one will say something stupid to make it R 32,000.00.

Now fortunately I can understand Afrikaans so I am fluent in German. This card here is 675eu.

https://www.caseking.de/en/Gigabyte-Aorus-GeForce-RTX-3070-Master-8G-LHR-8192-MB-GDDR6-GCGB-387.html?tplview=desktop

So in direct exchange it is R 11,988.00. Except its not. Its actually R 14,599.00 or 822eu.

Gigabyte GeForce RTX 3070 AORUS MASTER 8G GV-N3070AORUS M-8GD 8GB GDDR6 256-bit PCI-E 4.0 Desktop Graphics Card (Lite Hash Rate) - Wootware

Buy Gigabyte GeForce RTX 3070 AORUS MASTER 8G GV-N3070AORUS M-8GD 8GB GDDR6 256-bit PCI-E 4.0 Desktop Graphics Card (Lite Hash Rate) at Wootware with fast shipping & superb service.

www.wootware.co.za

See what we mean?

Yup. already realised and admitted my mistake.

Give us the name of a large e-tailer in Germany so we can help.

caseking.de (my preferred site as they have english 😂 )
alternate.de

 

[StangV2_0]

Yup. already realised and admitted my mistake.

Yeah I saw that as I was about to post. And I had multiple tabs open with a calculator and pen in my mouth and had been working on that post for a whole 10 minutes. You think I was gonna delete it? Sorry bro.. No ways.

 

[Bird87_ZA]

commitment and dedication. Much appreciated.

 

[jlags]

If you really want to go mini, I'd recommend trying to go with a mini-ITX case that supports a normal size PSU.

 

[goldfritter]

If you really want to go mini, I'd recommend trying to go with a mini-ITX case that supports a normal size PSU.

Looks like the Meshlicious actually does: Meshlicious

So @Bird87_ZA looks like you can actually get an 850W+ ATX PSU in there after all?

 

[Bird87_ZA]

I currently have a ATX psu in there. 650W if I'm not mistaken. The issue is, it severely limits you in space. I can squeeze in 1 ssd at the moment, but the cable is at such a bad angle, it might be more of a hazard than anything else.

 

[AinsleyHarriott]

I currently have a ATX psu in there. 650W if I'm not mistaken. The issue is, it severely limits you in space. I can squeeze in 1 ssd at the moment, but the cable is at such a bad angle, it might be more of a hazard than anything else.

That's why you're getting an NVMe drive.

 

[Bird87_ZA]

... Not sure where I gave my reasons for getting NVMe (or whether I already have NVMe) but that is definitely not the reason.

 

[dainluke]

IMO:

Z790i Edge
i5-13700K (7-8 years)
MSI P280 or P360 AIO (whichever fits into your case)
6800 XT/3080 10GB/3080 12GB/ 6900 XT/6950 XT/3080 Ti/3090 (Whatever is on a flash sale on Amazon)
2x16 TeamGroup/V-Color DDR5-7200 or potentially wait for a 7600-8000 kit (7-8 years)
850W SF PSU (maybe SilverStone)