New Build or buy already built?

[PP Mguire]

Hello all and Happy Thanksgiving and Black Friday to all!! I am looking at my new build components to catch black friday prices on Amazon and New egg.
My choices so far are
CPU: Intel Core i5-13600k
CPU Cooler: ID-Cooling FrostFlow X280 water cooler,2x 140 fans
GPU: Asus Dual GeForce RTX 4070 OC edition 12gb GDD R6X
MB : Gigabyte Z790 ATX DDR5
PSU: ARESGAME AGV 750W 80 plus Bronze Certified, semi-modular, 5 year warranty
RAM: Crucial Pro 32Gig (2x16) DDR5 5600MTs
Storage: Samsung 990 Pro 2TB PCIe Gen 4 NVME 2.9c Internal SSD
Case: Corsair 4000D Airflow Mid Tower ATX
That's what I have, for now, looking about at about $1500, for these parts. I generally look at Toms Hardware, the Best $1500 PC for gaming.
The only thing I'm not sure of is the motherboard. I have not shopped for parts in many years, so I don't really understand why all the MBs I looked at include WIFI , with the two Cable connections on the back, I have a good router in my house, I get fast wifi anywhere, the PC will have CAt5 cable with the internet, so why do all the mbs want to include wifi??

​

Wish I woulda seen this prior, as I would have suggested running an Asus TUF Z790 and definitely 100% change that PSU to something that won't potentially kill your new components. That PSU is a turd.

 

[Runfox]

Ok so I had no idea that was a sub-par PSU, it has a 5-year warranty... I guess I could return it to Amazon if you can give me a better choice??
How about Corsair RM750X 750 watts 80+ gold rated, fully modular.
I have already purchased all the parts. One other question, I bought two sticks of Crucial memory, 16gb x 2, and it never came so Amazon gave me a refund, I bought a different brand of memory, then today the first order came in. So now I have G-Skill FLare x5 DDR5 32gig (16x2) 6000mts and Crucial Pro Ram 32 gig (16x2) DDR5 5600MTS.
So my MB is GIGABYTE Z790, It has 4 memory slots, could I use both memories in this build to have 64 gig?
And why is the Asus TUF Z790 better than the Gigabyte Z790??
I have purchased all these parts but promised my Wife I would not build it till after Christmas as it is my Christmas gift from her. So I could still return some things as I bought them all from Amazon.

 

[PP Mguire]

How about Corsair RM750X 750 watts 80+ gold rated, fully modular.

This is significantly better. Another good option is the eVGA G7 which is on sale right now (all models from 650 to 1000W).

I have already purchased all the parts. One other question, I bought two sticks of Crucial memory, 16gb x 2, and it never came so Amazon gave me a refund, I bought a different brand of memory, then today the first order came in. So now I have G-Skill FLare x5 DDR5 32gig (16x2) 6000mts and Crucial Pro Ram 32 gig (16x2) DDR5 5600MTS.
So my MB is GIGABYTE Z790, It has 4 memory slots, could I use both memories in this build to have 64 gig?

Do you have links for these so I can see the CL on each one? And no, do not do 4 sticks. DDR5 platforms are rather unstable with 4 sticks in use.

And why is the Asus TUF Z790 better than the Gigabyte Z790??

Bang for buck really as I'm assuming whichever board you got was more expensive. You didn't list the model so I only assumed. On the flip side, I don't recommend anybody buying their products anyways due to how piss poor they treat their customers. Watching them struggle to even acknowledge their exploding PSUs and not care was the final straw for me. I'm not a huge fan of Asus either but I can't really ignore how good their TUF board is for the price compared to all the other options out there and that's the only reason I even have one myself.

 

[Adammurray4129]

Hey Techist community! So, I'm on the brink of upgrading my PC, and I'm torn between building it from scratch or just snagging a pre-built one. I've been down the rabbit hole of customization and tweaking with my current rig, but part of me is itching for the simplicity of a ready-made system. What are your thoughts on this eternal debate?

I get the appeal of building – it's like putting together your own tech masterpiece. Choosing every component, creating a system that's uniquely yours – it's a tech enthusiast's dream. But then there's the allure of a pre-built setup. Plug and play, minimal troubleshooting, and hey, it leaves more time for gaming or other projects. What's your take? Any horror stories or success tales to share?

Also, side note – anyone found a sweet spot for reducing electricity usage with their gaming rigs? With the ongoing emphasis on eco-friendly practices, optimizing our PC setups for energy efficiency is something we should all be thinking about. How are you managing your electricity consumption without compromising performance? Share your insights!

 

[Runfox]

Thank you so much for your input PP Mguire, I did return the ARESGAME AGV 750 power supply and now have the Corsair.
here are the links from Amazon.
CPU Intel i5 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BCF5CZ16/?coliid=ILFYNNKM90SYU&colid=3FEZHT2T82GCE&ref_=_sed_dp&th=1
GPU Geforce GTX 4070OC https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BZTF7LFK/?coliid=I1J86AXC9YH51H&colid=3FEZHT2T82GCE&ref_=_sed_dp&th=1
MB Gigabyte Z790 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B083R7T5P4/?coliid=I3V4GWH2ZK7225&colid=3FEZHT2T82GCE&ref_=_sed_dp&th=1
Power Supply https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08R5W27JS/?coliid=I2Q7GJW87XVPDV&colid=3FEZHT2T82GCE&ref_=_sed_dp&th=1
Ram https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C1TKSDKR/?coliid=I2VN427YN91FQM&colid=3FEZHT2T82GCE&psc=1&ref_=_sed_dp
SSD storage https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BHJJ9Y77/?coliid=I12UHW1052S5GS&colid=3FEZHT2T82GCE&ref_=_sed_dp&th=1
Case https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08C7BGV3D/?coliid=I1PEZTJHRVL7PU&colid=3FEZHT2T82GCE&ref_=_sed_dp&th=1
CPU Cooler https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09W2GLV3D/?coliid=IMVBWTSXMFWAN&colid=3FEZHT2T82GCE&ref_=_sed_dp&th=1
That is the basics, I also bought a new keyboard, mouse, 27" monitor, and gaming keyboard

Adammurray41, I also looked at both prebuilt and build your own. What I saw was most prebuilt sacrifice component quality for a set build. In other words, to buy this build I might save some money on a prebuilt, but the power supply or GPU would be a less costly component, that I would want to replace later, but might not be able to. I know a build like this would cost way more prebuilt because I chose a top-tier GPU. When I look at building I go to Toms Hardware , Best PC builds for gaming. Then look at builds for your budget. Their list of components all work together for the best bang for your buck at a price point. This is how I built my current PC back in 2013 ! Yes my current build is over 10 years old.

That's my best advice.

 

[PP Mguire]

Thank you so much for your input PP Mguire, I did return the ARESGAME AGV 750 power supply and now have the Corsair.
here are the links from Amazon.
CPU Intel i5 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BCF5CZ16/?coliid=ILFYNNKM90SYU&colid=3FEZHT2T82GCE&ref_=_sed_dp&th=1
GPU Geforce GTX 4070OC https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BZTF7LFK/?coliid=I1J86AXC9YH51H&colid=3FEZHT2T82GCE&ref_=_sed_dp&th=1
MB Gigabyte Z790 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B083R7T5P4/?coliid=I3V4GWH2ZK7225&colid=3FEZHT2T82GCE&ref_=_sed_dp&th=1
Power Supply https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08R5W27JS/?coliid=I2Q7GJW87XVPDV&colid=3FEZHT2T82GCE&ref_=_sed_dp&th=1
Ram https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C1TKSDKR/?coliid=I2VN427YN91FQM&colid=3FEZHT2T82GCE&psc=1&ref_=_sed_dp
SSD storage https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BHJJ9Y77/?coliid=I12UHW1052S5GS&colid=3FEZHT2T82GCE&ref_=_sed_dp&th=1
Case https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08C7BGV3D/?coliid=I1PEZTJHRVL7PU&colid=3FEZHT2T82GCE&ref_=_sed_dp&th=1
CPU Cooler https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09W2GLV3D/?coliid=IMVBWTSXMFWAN&colid=3FEZHT2T82GCE&ref_=_sed_dp&th=1
That is the basics, I also bought a new keyboard, mouse, 27" monitor, and gaming keyboard

Adammurray41, I also looked at both prebuilt and build your own. What I saw was most prebuilt sacrifice component quality for a set build. In other words, to buy this build I might save some money on a prebuilt, but the power supply or GPU would be a less costly component, that I would want to replace later, but might not be able to. I know a build like this would cost way more prebuilt because I chose a top-tier GPU. When I look at building I go to Toms Hardware , Best PC builds for gaming. Then look at builds for your budget. Their list of components all work together for the best bang for your buck at a price point. This is how I built my current PC back in 2013 ! Yes my current build is over 10 years old.

That's my best advice.

Yea, that board is about 130 bucks cheaper so no comparison there. Going to list that board to keep it for budget customer builds going forward. Keep the G.Skill RAM as the CL is good, I'd keep the other RAM as a spare.
I have doubts about the cooler but I don't see much negative about it so probably fine. All looks good to me.
After you build it, install drivers, etc you need to install Samsung Magician and make sure that SSD has the updated firmware. If it does, you can uninstall it since that software is a startup time hog.

 

[Runfox]

Thanks for the input, I guess once I start the software installation Ill look for all my drivers online. This is my first build without driver cds to install.

 

[Joe C]

I think it would be best to download all of your drivers first and put them on another media like a thumb drive before you install your O.S. so you can have everything ready because you might need your ethernet drivers after you do a new install

 

[Runfox]

New problem, the motherboard is Gigabyte Z790 UD AX , in the case Corsair 4000D, case fans are three-pin. Corsair iCUE ARE 120 fans , set of 3, they have 4 pin if installed individually, but fans have a locking tab that will not align with the mb 4 pin connector, which has a tab sticking up . ?? I just dont understand how this MB has " standard 4 pin fan ports, but all the two case fans that came with are three-pin, and my three RGB fans are not going to connect with the lock tab on the MB either!!!

 

[Joe C]

You'll need an RGB hub for those RGB fans
https://www.coolermaster.com/catalog/coolers/rgb-accessories/argb-led-controller/