Hey everyone! I'm looking to build my first PC since my laptop is starting to fail. I've always wanted to tackle this project, but I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed. I have a budget of around $3000 for everything besides my mouse and SSD, which I can salvage from my laptop.
I game occasionally, but I also do video editing for a podcast and create thumbnails with friends every couple of weeks. I've put together a build on PCPartPicker, but I'm confused about the differences between things like graphics cards, RAM, and monitors. I'm trying to ensure that all my components are compatible and that I'm investing wisely, especially since I expect software demands to keep increasing. Here's the parts list I've come up with:
[PCPartPicker Part List](https://pcpartpicker.com/list/9tJPmC)
I'd really appreciate any feedback or recommendations on whether to adjust my selections!
3 Answers
Nice build setup! One tip: you might want to drop the RAM to just one kit, which would save you some money to put into a larger hard drive instead. In terms of pricing, you can often get a 2TB drive for not much more than a 1TB, and the 4TB options are usually less than twice the cost of 2TB. If you balance your spending better across CPU, GPU, and storage, you'll get a more powerful and future-proof setup.
Also, just a heads-up—going for a Windows 10 key might be wise, as they upgrade to 11 for free and are much cheaper. If you're going with a 12th gen Intel, consider checking out the Frozen Warframe II 360 AIO cooler; it’s pretty fantastic and works great with those processors, provided your case has space for it. I've had amazing results with that in my recent builds!
Overall, your build looks solid and I'd say you could definitely go ahead as is. However, I feel like your RAM is a bit excessive. I typically find that 32GB is ample for video editing, and spending $700 solely on memory seems steep. Consider reallocating some of those funds into a better GPU, which would significantly help with your editing tasks. If you can, aim for at least a 5070Ti instead of the standard 5070. Plus, there are some fantastic AMD options out there that could outpace the Intel you're eyeing. Just my two cents!
That's good advice! Investing in the GPU sounds like a smart move for editing, especially if you plan to do more intensive work in the future.
Good idea! The larger hard drives really are better bang for your buck, especially if you're storing videos.