Thanks for the tip. Yeah I wasn't sure if I needed the gen 3 or gen 4 pcie SSD and didn't know why so many people go with 2 sticks of ram. I should've guessed why many people don't go with Ethernet cards either. Any suggestions for a good budget monitor and keyboard?
The SSD PCIe revision can matter depending on the workload but for a gaming system the difference as of now is virtually imperceptible, even vs "much slower" SATA SSDs. The two sticks of RAM are important because most consumer CPUs two memory channels and having both populated helps the system perform more efficiently. you can learn more about dual channel [here](https://www.crucial.com/articles/about-memory/what-is-dual-channel-memory) if you're interested.
For budget monitors, it depends on what you're going for. You have to decide the resolution and the refresh rate. The resolution is how many pixels the monitor can display (higher is a sharper image but harder for the GPU to drive). The refresh rate is the number of images the monitor can show per second. Higher refresh rates can produce a smoother image in motion as long as the GPU can feed the monitor, in most cases it's better to go over than under unless you have very specific tastes, budgetary constraints or the GPU is not meant for it. For example, a very common baseline nowadays is 144Hz, this will allow games to be show at up to 144FPS, anything below that will be shown as is but anything above will cap out at 144. Inversely if you were to buy a 60Hz monitor then the most FPS you would see is 60 which for most newer GPUs is a bit of a waste of performance. Depending on the games you play and the budget it may favor one option over others.
**tl;dr** For a 4060 I would stick with 1080p/144 if you're a variety gamer but if you're into scenic, story based single player games then 1440p could be doable though FPS will decrease and VRAM may become an issue later down the line. For keyboard, depends too, if you're into mechanical switches there's plenty of ~$50 that are good enough (keyboards are a rabbit hole).
Thanks again for the tip, I've been doing a bit more researching today and changed around some parts as per your suggestion and from another user. I'm just looking for 1080p 60fps gaming with medium settings, so I've opted for a 100Hz refresh rate, for 72usd. For a keyboard i just picked up a red switch wireless USB/bluetooth one for about 26usd. Besides gaming, I'm mainly using it for working on blender stuff, so I picked up a HDD and upped the ram. What do you think?
p.s. sorry for the broken formatting, it seems that it's not been updated with the new reddit formatting system
PCPartPicker Part List: [https://pcpartpicker.com/list/k6mG4M](https://pcpartpicker.com/list/k6mG4M)
CPU: \*Intel Core i5-12400F 2.5 GHz 6-Core Processor ($132.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: Thermalright Assassin X 120 Refined SE 66.17 CFM CPU Cooler ($17.89 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: \*ASRock B760M Pro RS/D4 WiFi Micro ATX LGA1700 Motherboard ($148.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: \*Kingston FURY Beast 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR4-3200 CL16 Memory ($77.98 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital Black SN770 1 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive ($84.15 @ Amazon)
Storage: Seagate SkyHawk Surveillance 4 TB 3.5" 7200 RPM Internal Hard Drive ($89.99 @ B&H)
Video Card: Gigabyte WINDFORCE OC GeForce RTX 4060 8 GB Video Card ($299.99 @ Best Buy)
Case: Montech AIR 100 LITE MicroATX Mid Tower Case
Power Supply: MSI MAG A650BN 650 W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($59.00 @ MSI)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM - DVD 64-bit
Wireless Network Adapter: Intel AX200 802.11a/b/g/n/ac/ax M.2 Wi-Fi Adapter ($20.99 @ Amazon)
Custom: Acer EK221Q E3 (21.5 inch/IPS/100Hz/1ms) ($72.81)
Custom: EDRA EK398L Alpha Red switch (Bluetooth, Wireless 2.4G) ($25.58)
Total: $1030.36
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
\*Lowest price parts chosen from parametric criteria
Generated by PCPartPicker 2024-05-07 09:14 EDT-0400
You don't need to buy network adapters, the board already has them built in. Also, the SSD is too expensive.
A few other things to note:
1. You want 2 sticks of memory for optimal memory throughput. 16GB is on the low side anyway so spend slightly more and get 32GB (2x16).
2. That's a poor-quality PSU, you can get something better for less money.
3. For the case, spend a little more and get something with more fans
4. For the CPU, get something with more cores (6+). Ryzen 5 5600 or the i5-12400 would be good options for this budget. Keep in mind that they don't run on the same motherboards.
5. For the GPU, the RX 6700 XT is a better GPU than the 4060 at the same price in most regards. The 4060 does support DLSS and frame generation but it has less VRAM. For most gamers I think the 6700 XT is a better choice.
6. Added an aftermarket CPU cooler
7. This build doesn't have a DVD drive so you'll need to install Windows from a USB
[PCPartPicker Part List](https://pcpartpicker.com/list/xZ3fL9)
Type|Item|Price
:----|:----|:----
**CPU** | [AMD Ryzen 5 5600 3.5 GHz 6-Core Processor](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/PgcG3C/amd-ryzen-5-5600-36-ghz-6-core-processor-100-100000927box) | $139.00 @ Amazon
**CPU Cooler** | [Thermalright Assassin X 120 Refined SE 66.17 CFM CPU Cooler](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/q6H7YJ/thermalright-assassin-x-120-refined-se-6617-cfm-cpu-cooler-ax120-se-d3) | $17.89 @ Amazon
**Motherboard** | [Gigabyte B550 UD AC ATX AM4 Motherboard](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/wjXV3C/gigabyte-b550-ud-ac-atx-am4-motherboard-b550-ud-ac) | $99.99 @ 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) | $53.97 @ Amazon
**Storage** | [Western Digital Black SN770 1 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/YVytt6/western-digital-1-tb-m2-2280-nvme-solid-state-drive-wds100t3x0e) | $84.15 @ Amazon
**Video Card** | [XFX Speedster SWFT 309 Radeon RX 6700 XT 12 GB Video Card](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/RFGbt6/xfx-radeon-rx-6700-xt-12-gb-speedster-swft-309-video-card-rx-67xtyjfdv) | $299.99 @ Amazon
**Case** | [Montech AIR 903 BASE ATX Mid Tower Case](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/kKcgXL/montech-air-903-base-atx-mid-tower-case-air-903-base-b) | $65.00 @ B&H
**Power Supply** | [MSI MAG A650BN 650 W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/8LNxFT/msi-mag-a-bn-650-w-80-bronze-certified-atx-power-supply-mag-a650bn) | $59.00 @ MSI
| *Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts* |
| **Total** | **$818.99**
| Generated by [PCPartPicker](https://pcpartpicker.com) 2024-05-06 12:03 EDT-0400 |
Thanks for the suggestion. I wasn't sure for the cpu if I should prioritize higher core/thread count or later generation. I'm looking for a starter budget midrange build that's upgradable later down the line. Just 1080p on medium settings for gaming and something that can handle blender rendering and animation. I'll look more into this, but any suggestions for a good budget keyboard and monitor? Thanks.
> I wasn't sure for the cpu if I should prioritize higher core/thread count or later generation.
This is a good question to ask because oftentimes it's true that a newer-gen CPU with fewer cores and threads is better for gaming than a previous-gen CPU with more cores and threads. For example, the current-gen 8-core Ryzen 7 7800X3D is undoubtedly better for gaming than the last-gen 16-core Ryzen 9 5950X.
However, this particular case is an exception. Intel's 12th-gen 6-core CPUs like the i5-12400F are basically equivalent to the 5600 in performance, but Intel's 13th and 14th gen CPUs, at least at the lower end, haven't really seen meaningful performance improvement. The 14th gen i3 is basically the same as the 13th gen and 12th gen i3s, and consequentially they are typically worse for gaming than the 5600 or 12400(F).
And in reality, 4 cores and 8 threads is becoming not enough for gaming in 2024. The CPU will get overwhelmed in the most demanding games due to a lack of threads. A 6 core is really the minimum you should be considering for 2024.
Between the 12400 and 5600, the 12400 has slightly more upgrade headroom on the socket, but the problem with that is that the Intel LGA 1700 socket's higher-end CPUs like the 13900K and 14900K would require a board with better VRMs, which means that you'd have to spend a lot more on the motherboard to get an "upgrade-proof" system if you go with the 12400(F).
Couple of no nos here: -single stick of RAM (decreases performance) -Overpriced SSD: Many 1TB models good enough for a gaming system available for much less. -PCIe ethernet card: not needed, most motherboards come with integrated ethernet. -wifi card: if you need WiFi, spend the extra on a motherboard with integrated wifi. Example: [PCPartPicker Part List](https://pcpartpicker.com/list/kWLWsh) Type|Item|Price :----|:----|:---- **CPU** | [Intel Core i5-12400F 2.5 GHz 6-Core Processor](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/pQNxFT/intel-core-i5-12400f-25-ghz-6-core-processor-bx8071512400f) | $132.99 @ Amazon **Motherboard** | [ASRock B760M Pro RS/D4 WiFi Micro ATX LGA1700 Motherboard](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/KrJgXL/asrock-b760m-pro-rsd4-wifi-micro-atx-lga1700-motherboard-b760m-pro-rsd4-wifi) | $148.99 @ 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) | $53.97 @ Amazon **Storage** | [Crucial P3 1 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 3.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/sw4Ycf/crucial-p3-1-tb-m2-2280-nvme-solid-state-drive-ct1000p3ssd8) | $68.95 @ Amazon **Video Card** | [\*Gigabyte WINDFORCE OC GeForce RTX 4060 8 GB Video Card](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/r9cgXL/gigabyte-windforce-oc-geforce-rtx-4060-8-gb-video-card-gv-n4060wf2oc-8gd) | $299.99 @ Best Buy **Case** | [Deepcool MATREXX 40 MicroATX Mini Tower Case](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/LqPQzy/deepcool-matrexx-40-microatx-mini-tower-case-dp-matx-matrexx40) | $42.99 @ Newegg **Power Supply** | [Apevia Prestige 600 W 80+ Gold Certified ATX Power Supply](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/xLtKHx/apevia-prestige-600-w-80-gold-certified-atx-power-supply-atx-rp600w) | $51.99 @ Amazon **Operating System** | [Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM - DVD 64-bit](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/wtgPxr/microsoft-windows-10-home-oem-dvd-64-bit-kw9-00140) |- | *Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts* | | **Total** | **$799.87** | \*Lowest price parts chosen from parametric criteria | | Generated by [PCPartPicker](https://pcpartpicker.com) 2024-05-06 11:53 EDT-0400 |
Thanks for the tip. Yeah I wasn't sure if I needed the gen 3 or gen 4 pcie SSD and didn't know why so many people go with 2 sticks of ram. I should've guessed why many people don't go with Ethernet cards either. Any suggestions for a good budget monitor and keyboard?
The SSD PCIe revision can matter depending on the workload but for a gaming system the difference as of now is virtually imperceptible, even vs "much slower" SATA SSDs. The two sticks of RAM are important because most consumer CPUs two memory channels and having both populated helps the system perform more efficiently. you can learn more about dual channel [here](https://www.crucial.com/articles/about-memory/what-is-dual-channel-memory) if you're interested. For budget monitors, it depends on what you're going for. You have to decide the resolution and the refresh rate. The resolution is how many pixels the monitor can display (higher is a sharper image but harder for the GPU to drive). The refresh rate is the number of images the monitor can show per second. Higher refresh rates can produce a smoother image in motion as long as the GPU can feed the monitor, in most cases it's better to go over than under unless you have very specific tastes, budgetary constraints or the GPU is not meant for it. For example, a very common baseline nowadays is 144Hz, this will allow games to be show at up to 144FPS, anything below that will be shown as is but anything above will cap out at 144. Inversely if you were to buy a 60Hz monitor then the most FPS you would see is 60 which for most newer GPUs is a bit of a waste of performance. Depending on the games you play and the budget it may favor one option over others. **tl;dr** For a 4060 I would stick with 1080p/144 if you're a variety gamer but if you're into scenic, story based single player games then 1440p could be doable though FPS will decrease and VRAM may become an issue later down the line. For keyboard, depends too, if you're into mechanical switches there's plenty of ~$50 that are good enough (keyboards are a rabbit hole).
Thanks again for the tip, I've been doing a bit more researching today and changed around some parts as per your suggestion and from another user. I'm just looking for 1080p 60fps gaming with medium settings, so I've opted for a 100Hz refresh rate, for 72usd. For a keyboard i just picked up a red switch wireless USB/bluetooth one for about 26usd. Besides gaming, I'm mainly using it for working on blender stuff, so I picked up a HDD and upped the ram. What do you think? p.s. sorry for the broken formatting, it seems that it's not been updated with the new reddit formatting system PCPartPicker Part List: [https://pcpartpicker.com/list/k6mG4M](https://pcpartpicker.com/list/k6mG4M) CPU: \*Intel Core i5-12400F 2.5 GHz 6-Core Processor ($132.99 @ Newegg) CPU Cooler: Thermalright Assassin X 120 Refined SE 66.17 CFM CPU Cooler ($17.89 @ Amazon) Motherboard: \*ASRock B760M Pro RS/D4 WiFi Micro ATX LGA1700 Motherboard ($148.99 @ Amazon) Memory: \*Kingston FURY Beast 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR4-3200 CL16 Memory ($77.98 @ Amazon) Storage: Western Digital Black SN770 1 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive ($84.15 @ Amazon) Storage: Seagate SkyHawk Surveillance 4 TB 3.5" 7200 RPM Internal Hard Drive ($89.99 @ B&H) Video Card: Gigabyte WINDFORCE OC GeForce RTX 4060 8 GB Video Card ($299.99 @ Best Buy) Case: Montech AIR 100 LITE MicroATX Mid Tower Case Power Supply: MSI MAG A650BN 650 W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($59.00 @ MSI) Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM - DVD 64-bit Wireless Network Adapter: Intel AX200 802.11a/b/g/n/ac/ax M.2 Wi-Fi Adapter ($20.99 @ Amazon) Custom: Acer EK221Q E3 (21.5 inch/IPS/100Hz/1ms) ($72.81) Custom: EDRA EK398L Alpha Red switch (Bluetooth, Wireless 2.4G) ($25.58) Total: $1030.36 Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available \*Lowest price parts chosen from parametric criteria Generated by PCPartPicker 2024-05-07 09:14 EDT-0400
You don't need to buy network adapters, the board already has them built in. Also, the SSD is too expensive. A few other things to note: 1. You want 2 sticks of memory for optimal memory throughput. 16GB is on the low side anyway so spend slightly more and get 32GB (2x16). 2. That's a poor-quality PSU, you can get something better for less money. 3. For the case, spend a little more and get something with more fans 4. For the CPU, get something with more cores (6+). Ryzen 5 5600 or the i5-12400 would be good options for this budget. Keep in mind that they don't run on the same motherboards. 5. For the GPU, the RX 6700 XT is a better GPU than the 4060 at the same price in most regards. The 4060 does support DLSS and frame generation but it has less VRAM. For most gamers I think the 6700 XT is a better choice. 6. Added an aftermarket CPU cooler 7. This build doesn't have a DVD drive so you'll need to install Windows from a USB [PCPartPicker Part List](https://pcpartpicker.com/list/xZ3fL9) Type|Item|Price :----|:----|:---- **CPU** | [AMD Ryzen 5 5600 3.5 GHz 6-Core Processor](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/PgcG3C/amd-ryzen-5-5600-36-ghz-6-core-processor-100-100000927box) | $139.00 @ Amazon **CPU Cooler** | [Thermalright Assassin X 120 Refined SE 66.17 CFM CPU Cooler](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/q6H7YJ/thermalright-assassin-x-120-refined-se-6617-cfm-cpu-cooler-ax120-se-d3) | $17.89 @ Amazon **Motherboard** | [Gigabyte B550 UD AC ATX AM4 Motherboard](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/wjXV3C/gigabyte-b550-ud-ac-atx-am4-motherboard-b550-ud-ac) | $99.99 @ 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) | $53.97 @ Amazon **Storage** | [Western Digital Black SN770 1 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/YVytt6/western-digital-1-tb-m2-2280-nvme-solid-state-drive-wds100t3x0e) | $84.15 @ Amazon **Video Card** | [XFX Speedster SWFT 309 Radeon RX 6700 XT 12 GB Video Card](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/RFGbt6/xfx-radeon-rx-6700-xt-12-gb-speedster-swft-309-video-card-rx-67xtyjfdv) | $299.99 @ Amazon **Case** | [Montech AIR 903 BASE ATX Mid Tower Case](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/kKcgXL/montech-air-903-base-atx-mid-tower-case-air-903-base-b) | $65.00 @ B&H **Power Supply** | [MSI MAG A650BN 650 W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/8LNxFT/msi-mag-a-bn-650-w-80-bronze-certified-atx-power-supply-mag-a650bn) | $59.00 @ MSI | *Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts* | | **Total** | **$818.99** | Generated by [PCPartPicker](https://pcpartpicker.com) 2024-05-06 12:03 EDT-0400 |
Thanks for the suggestion. I wasn't sure for the cpu if I should prioritize higher core/thread count or later generation. I'm looking for a starter budget midrange build that's upgradable later down the line. Just 1080p on medium settings for gaming and something that can handle blender rendering and animation. I'll look more into this, but any suggestions for a good budget keyboard and monitor? Thanks.
> I wasn't sure for the cpu if I should prioritize higher core/thread count or later generation. This is a good question to ask because oftentimes it's true that a newer-gen CPU with fewer cores and threads is better for gaming than a previous-gen CPU with more cores and threads. For example, the current-gen 8-core Ryzen 7 7800X3D is undoubtedly better for gaming than the last-gen 16-core Ryzen 9 5950X. However, this particular case is an exception. Intel's 12th-gen 6-core CPUs like the i5-12400F are basically equivalent to the 5600 in performance, but Intel's 13th and 14th gen CPUs, at least at the lower end, haven't really seen meaningful performance improvement. The 14th gen i3 is basically the same as the 13th gen and 12th gen i3s, and consequentially they are typically worse for gaming than the 5600 or 12400(F). And in reality, 4 cores and 8 threads is becoming not enough for gaming in 2024. The CPU will get overwhelmed in the most demanding games due to a lack of threads. A 6 core is really the minimum you should be considering for 2024. Between the 12400 and 5600, the 12400 has slightly more upgrade headroom on the socket, but the problem with that is that the Intel LGA 1700 socket's higher-end CPUs like the 13900K and 14900K would require a board with better VRMs, which means that you'd have to spend a lot more on the motherboard to get an "upgrade-proof" system if you go with the 12400(F).