I'm about to finish my doctorate and want to treat myself by building my very first PC! I've been doing a lot of research and found a sweet deal on a Zotac Gaming 5070 TI, which I got for $830 after taxes. I want the PC to be aesthetically pleasing without being over-the-top and also somewhat portable so I can move it to a TV in another room if I want. I'm considering the Lian Li A3 wood edition case. I'm looking to complete my build with a budget around $2,000. Any tweaks you would suggest? Will everything fit in the case? I've linked the graphics card for reference. Appreciate your help!
6 Answers
I recommend checking out this build layout: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/qsqgh7. If you're trying to treat yourself, consider going with AMD. Are you near a Microcenter? They often have great deals!
What do you plan to use the PC for? Just gaming or something else?
If this is mainly for gaming, I'd suggest going with an AMD CPU like the Ryzen 9600X. It's faster, uses less power, and the platform will keep receiving updates. You could pair that with a B850 motherboard like the Aorus Elite.
Your link doesn't work for me, but PCPartPicker is amazing for planning builds! With a $2000 budget and a GPU at $830, you can create a high-performance system. The A3 case is a solid choice—small yet has decent airflow.
I'd swap out the 64GB RAM for something like this instead: [Team Group T-CREATE EXPERT 32GB DDR5 7200](https://www.newegg.com/team-group-32gb-ddr5-7200/p/N82E16820985064). Unless you need 64GB, the faster RAM can really boost performance, especially with your 14th-gen CPU.
Consider upgrading to the Ryzen 9600X and changing the CPU cooler to a Peerless Assassin 120 Mini. It offers better performance and cooling for less than the Intel option you picked. However, keep in mind the 14600K is faster, but the upgrade path could be limited.
I'll be gaming and maybe doing some light photo editing.