Help me build a new gaming PC

I built my last gaming/general use PC a decade ago, and I'm still using it, but it's increasingly clear that it's time to upgrade to something with more horsepower. For reference, here's the previous build.

Intel i5 4690K @3.50GHz

MSi z97 PC Mate (MS-7850)

32GB DDR3

EVGA GeForce GTX 1650 Super 4Gb (this was an upgrade a few years ago)

Samsung SSD QVO 1TB (OS drive; there are additional drives for games and storage)

IIRC, I built it for around $1k, and I'd like to stay in that neighborhood. I'm set for a monitor, and I'll transfer some of the drives (SATA) across to the new machine as long as it's not a huge PITA. I'd prefer to stick with Intel for the CPU and nVidia for the GPU. The current machine is in a reasonably large tower case, and that's fine - I prefer more space for future expansion, as I tend to keep these things going for a long time. I know Amazon's Prime Day is closing in, and I can probably save a few bucks if I buy then; if not, there's always Black Friday in a few months.

The real choice is do you go to the most recent generation Intel/AMD or stay one generation behind and put that money in to a better graphics card.   Or go current gen but get a lessor CPU that can be upgraded later. That lets you go to DDR5 memory and again you can put a bit more towards a better graphics card.  
 

Basic building $$$ is put about 40 percent of your budget towards the GPU and the rest towards everything else. 

Another decision I would recommend making is if you want to go mini-tower or smaller. I really like the Mini-ITX based, very compact machine I built a couple of years ago, but smaller tends to be pricier.

Upgradability matters. I'm inclined to go with a motherboard that allows me to bump the CPU later; it looks like LGA 1200 is the current standard, so that's what I'll use. I have no problem going with a CPU that's lower than top-of-the-line, as long as I can change it out later if need be (FWIW, I'm still running the original CPU on my old box, though I had the same thoughts about upgrading when I built it).

As far as case size, I have a space on the side of my desk where the computer lives. The tower case fits there fine, and I really don't gain much by going smaller. I always preferred larger cases for flexibility and heat dissipation. Speaking of which, am I going to need to consider cooling beyond the usual fans? Do modern CPUs want more than that?

For the graphics card, 40% of the purchase price seems to be pointing to the 4060 ti 8GB - any major pluses or minuses to that card?

What games do you intend to play?

I saved a lot by capitalizing on Black Friday/holiday deals for the build I finished earlier this year.

Intel 13700k bundle from microcenter with 32gb ram and mobo was like $450 I think

nvidia 4070 oc 12gb for $529...it was a small difference for better performance over the 4060 for me

i also found a sale on a Samsung 1tb nvme I think was like $60...half off basically. 
 

transferred my old drives like you, and then I splurged on an aio and case, but you can get away with using your current case and a good fan cooler. Look at Gamers Nexus for good cheap fan coolers, you can get a fantastic one for $30-50 but I can't remember the brand 

also if it's in the budget, I would look at maximizing cooling as much as possible. My particular cpu is known to run hot, as are most intel CPU's I think. So the more fans the better. 

Hoppps said:

What games do you intend to play?

It's a good question. Generally speaking, my demands are relatively low, hence my ability to stretch out an old machine. At most, I'd like to have enough juice to run Starfield at decent settings (I don't own it yet, as I doubt my current machine would handle it well at all, so this is a sort of theoretical point), and max out some of the stuff I still play regularly, like RDR2 and Elite:Dangerous. I do not need to max everything all the time - I grew up at a time when the jump from CGA to VGA was looked upon as witchcraft.

In reply to 02Pilot :

I had to google cga lol.

But that information is super helpful. If you're able to wait a little, AMD and Intel should have their next gen CPU release, which would mean better deals on 1-2 gen old parts.

I would also recommend a bundle from a reputable company like micro center or Newegg, just cause it saves you worrying about part compatibility. 
 

Something else to keep in mind is your power supply. You might be able to get by with what you have, but I would plan to upgrade it in the future. New cpus have more power demand, especially intel. AMD tend to run both cooler and consume less power.

my upgrade was similar to yours, went from 3rd gen intel to 13th gen.

Regarding the drive thing, note that modern motherboards all have NVME M2 slots on them, and that interface is MUCH faster than a SATA SSD.  IMHO this is an area where it's worth considering an update.

In reply to codrus (Forum Supporter) :

So is this to say that my SATA drives are not going to be compatible with a new motherboard? If so, I'll have to budget a bit more for storage than I anticipated.

02Pilot said:

In reply to codrus (Forum Supporter) :

So is this to say that my SATA drives are not going to be compatible with a new motherboard? If so, I'll have to budget a bit more for storage than I anticipated.

They should be fine. Just get a 1tb m.2 drive as your boot drive.  You can go 500gb but would really recommend 1tb.  
 

Something else to consider is a power supply. Don't be cheep here. Good clean power is key. Also go bigger on the PSU. Future proofing a PSU is a good thing.  

If I get a chance I will play around at pc parts picker and see what I can build for 1k.

Oh do you need a new copy of windows?

In reply to dean1484 :

That's a good resource, thanks. I will need a new copy of Windows; the last one I bought was 7, then upgraded it to 10 while it was free to do so.

02Pilot said:

In reply to codrus (Forum Supporter) :

So is this to say that my SATA drives are not going to be compatible with a new motherboard? If so, I'll have to budget a bit more for storage than I anticipated.

No, they will work fine.  NVME is just about 8 times faster than SATA, and IMHO that's a performance improvement that's worth exploring.

Hopefully more computer savvy people will chime in, but here's something I threw together to kinda give you a rough idea for your budget. 

https://www.microcenter.com/site/content/custom-pc-builder-intel.aspx?load=5cb2edf3-4fae-45fa-bf25-1b6e36f93345

Pair that with a Thermalright Peerless Assassin CPU Cooler and thermal paste for $40

i also have 5 be quiet pure wings 3 fans ($10 each) that do a great job and aren't terribly loud.

That seems to be a good solid system.  Looks to be a really good bundle deal.  If you had a little extra scratch I would consider going up to a 4070 series card but absolutely not needed. 

Regarding fans. More is better as you can run them slower with less noise.  Same for bigger is better for the same reason. 

Thanks for the suggestions. I don't have a Micro Center near me; chances are, merely for convenience, I'll be ordering everything from Amazon in one shot. I'll have to see what deals emerge on Prime Day and see if I can make it work.

02Pilot said:

In reply to dean1484 :

That's a good resource, thanks. I will need a new copy of Windows; the last one I bought was 7, then upgraded it to 10 while it was free to do so.

You should be able to upgrade that to 11 for free. May need a call to MS to move your license to the new hardware, but you shouldn't need it.

With that said...Linux gaming has made some impressive strides thanks to the Steam Deck - if your game library is in Steam, I'd consider giving it a whirl.

I've dabbled with Linux, but never on the gaming side. I have an old box around here that I could experiment with, but I don't think I'll be going that way for a primary machine. I do have some non-Steam stuff that sees some use.

Unrelated, after partially melting my brain with searching for components, I decided to peruse complete machines. It's a little more than I was looking to spend, but if it drops on Prime Day this one might be a candidate, unless someone sees a fatal flaw I've overlooked in my ignorance.