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Solved Best Intro PC Build for 2021

Lucky

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Looking for a good place to start getting into PC stuff over the next few months.
Of course, this is a general question, and I'm looking to build a thread moving forward for people to reference back to. I'd love to fill in my questions below, with insight from other users (w/credits) over the next few weeks/months/years even...Just to help anyone in my shoes currently.

What steps should a newbie focus one?
-As of May 2021, it seems community feels the best reach for a newbie is a prebuilt. It seems to avoid scalper prices and beats most of the shortages the world is seeing.

What brands are a huge miss?
-Cyberpower ( HYX HYX )

What brands are a hit?
-Newegg for parts. ( Habofro Habofro )
-NZXT & Newegg to help decide how to build your PC - what parts to buy. ( HYX HYX , Habofro Habofro

What should I build for? The current realm of PC? Or, plan to upgrade over the next decade or so?
-Find the hardest game you plan on playing, and build for that game to run @ minimum 60fps. ( Habofro Habofro & HYX HYX credits)

We all know graphics cards are crazy $ at the moment, who/what is the best bang for the buck?
-The more expensive the card, typically the better. It is thought currently to buy from a store if possible to avoid scalper pricing. The graphics cards are still in shortage due to crypto miners, as well as production delays due to the past year and a half - covid.

How does one calculate what power supply should be used?
-

How much Ram is good enough?
-Look up what game you're trying to play, grab it's specs, and build for slightly better. This way, over the next couple years as technology increases, you'll be sitting pretty without worrying if you're RAM can support.
-16GB DDR4 will suffice but I say 32GB DDR4 ( Vegeta Vegeta )

Does anything change when building for gaming vs. working? (Maybe a CAD Designer, engineer, graphics designer?)
-Yes, though more research is needed by me*

What should an intro level PC build cost, not buying 2nd hand or aftermarket?
-A beginner build can run for $1000-$1300 on Newegg, or similar sites. This is actually a good price due to the websites being able to bulk-buy products resulting in an overall cheaper end product for us (consumer).

What monitors are good to buy? -Good warranty, good quality?
-
There are so many variables when it comes to picking a monitor such as:
  1. Do you want HDR? Only FALD displays offer true HDR (X35 & PG35VQ), the budget option is Alienware or LG line of gaming monitors with edge-lit backlighting technology (gimmicky)
    1. Dell offers the best monitor warranty in the industry with a 3-5 years warranty and AR service, LG offers 1-year, and Acer/Asus offer 3-years.
    2. Don't bother looking at other brands unless you are on a very tight budget.
  2. Do you want a 4K resolution? 2K? 1080p?
  3. Refresh-Rate: 60Hz, 120Hz, 144Hz, 240Hz, etc.
  4. Ultrawide? Widescreen? 4:3? Super Ultrawide (Samsung G9)?
  5. 27in, 31in, 34in, 38in, 43in, etc.
Your decision should be based on what games you play and what they demand to be truly beautiful in your eyes.

*Hopefully this hasn't been asked. If so, I will change the thread slightly to encompass more of my goal - getting this subs input overall to create a megathread - to replace/add onto Psycho Homer's post (inactive since 2019).
please, if anyone has anything to add to this list of questions that's important for newbies, please do! I will edit the response in, along with insight periodically!

-Updated July 8th, 2021
 
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The best thing I can say is... Don't buy a PC right now. And if you really want a PC, get a pre-build PC. It'll be much cheaper than to build it yourself because of all the crazy prices...
 
Lucky

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The best thing I can say is... Don't buy a PC right now. And if you really want a PC, get a pre-build PC. It'll be much cheaper than to build it yourself because of all the crazy prices...
Is that more so due to the graphics card prices at the moment? Since the crypto crash a week or two ago, I noticed the prices of some of them dropping second hand. But still near impossible to get first hand.

Do you have recommendations on any prebuilts? Maybe companies to steer away from or companies to go torwards?
 
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Is that more so due to the graphics card prices at the moment? Since the crypto crash a week or two ago, I noticed the prices of some of them dropping second hand. But still near impossible to get first hand.

Do you have recommendations on any prebuilts? Maybe companies to steer away from or companies to go torwards?
I think the main I would stray away from is CyberPower. Now NZXT has a PC builder you can use or a few others. Newegg sells them as well but make sure you get something with at least a decent rating.
 
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Is that more so due to the graphics card prices at the moment? Since the crypto crash a week or two ago, I noticed the prices of some of them dropping second hand. But still near impossible to get first hand.

Do you have recommendations on any prebuilts? Maybe companies to steer away from or companies to go torwards?
Yeah pretty much. But there's also a chip shortage at the moment so, even if crypto crashes even more, there will still be stupidly high prices for the GPUs

Honestly, as HYX HYX said, as long as they have good ratings and a good build for gaming, it's not a bad idea.

I personally like to buy on places like Newegg, they usually have good prices and good service!
 
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The best way to get a 30 series GPU at the moment is to do a raffle. I can link some sites, as far as best builds it's all based on what you need the PC for. (coding, gaming, ect.)

I don't buy for Cyberpower, I think Ibuypower is bad as well IMO, I have seen slow orders, over priced builds and poor builds on their ratings on the site and for personal friends that have bought from them. Newegg and Nvidia have GPU raffles for 30 series so you don't have to sell your soul to buy one. OT I build, I enjoy over clocking my stuff and if I were to buy an already built PC I would go with look on Cyberpower or Artesianbuilds. You can also watch their streams to learn how to build.
 
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Unless you are willing to pay scalper prices or wait weeks/ months to get parts to build your own get prebuilt. That being said

Q: How much Ram is good enough?
A: 16gb of DDR4 3200 will run most games/ programs fine. (Photoshop is slowish but not bad.)
Q:What monitors are good to buy?
A: I run AOC C24G1 (1080p) only because to lazy to try and get a RTX graphics card.

Last for the love of god get an M.2 SSD, and if that is to rich for your blood at least an SSD to run windows

Pro Tip: Don't let thermal paste drip into your ram slots and into the CPU socket.... Don't ask.. 4 hours of Q-tips and rubbing alcohol I will never make that mistake again
 
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Yes, there is a silicon shortage, yes, the prices of computer components are inflated (the law of economics, supply, and demand, blame covid), and yes, you will be waiting weeks if not months for a 3000 series GPU unless you’re on top of all the purchasing opportunities. I got my FTW3 ULTRA 3080 two months after pre-ordering and I just pre-ordered my 3080 Ti today for $1,700, I expect I’ll be waiting a similar amount of time if not longer this time. I personally know people who have had no trouble getting an RTX card in less than a month because they either a) stayed up all night for a couple of days to score a card on a drop, b) used a bot, or c) camped overnight at a store (depends on location).

Anyways, to answer some of your questions...
What should an intro level PC build cost, not buying 2nd hand or aftermarket?
$1,000 and under.
How much Ram is good enough?
16GB DDR4 will suffice but I say 32GB DDR4
What monitors are good to buy? -Good warranty, good quality?
There are so many variables when it comes to picking a monitor such as:
  1. Do you want HDR? Only FALD displays offer true HDR (X35 & PG35VQ), the budget option is Alienware or LG line of gaming monitors with edge-lit backlighting technology (gimmicky)
    1. Dell offers the best monitor warranty in the industry with a 3-5 years warranty and AR service, LG offers 1-year, and Acer/Asus offer 3-years.
    2. Don't bother looking at other brands unless you are on a very tight budget.
  2. Do you want a 4K resolution? 2K? 1080p?
  3. Refresh-Rate: 60Hz, 120Hz, 144Hz, 240Hz, etc.
  4. Ultrawide? Widescreen? 4:3? Super Ultrawide (Samsung G9)?
  5. 27in, 31in, 34in, 38in, 43in, etc.
Your decision should be based on what games you play and what they demand to be truly beautiful in your eyes.
How does one calculate what power supply should be used?
I recommend EVGA and Corsair for PSUs, 750W-850W for any starter build and 850W only if you plan on any OC or upgrading to more demanding components in the future.
We all know graphics cards are crazy $ at the moment, who/what is the best bang for the buck?
Honestly, they're all based on the same architecture with slight variations with each partner card. Do your research and see what brand resonates with you the most and then look at their card's performance, some cards cool better than others whereas some clock higher in certain areas. You seem to be a guy who cares about the warranty so, I would recommend EVGA, I've been with them since my first card and will continue to support them as they truly stand by their customers, provide the best customer support and exchange service, and provide superior cards every generation.

What brands are a huge miss?
Don't know about huge misses but stick to Corsair, NZXT, EVGA, and ASUS (ROG).

AIOs are a completely different story and so are cases, fans, and peripherals.
What steps should a newbie focus one?
  1. Start on PC Part Picker, make an account, start a build, and start your adventure.
  2. Choose if you are going to be an AMD or Intel fanboy, then choose if you are going to be an Nvidia or AMD fanboy.
  3. I am an Intel and Nvidia fanboy and I always will be, I do not like AMD but I will say that their CPUs are the best bang for your buck right now and for the foreseeable future until Intel releases more pro-consumer chips.
  4. Liquid cooling or Aircooling? The liquid cooling option is more expensive and has to be maintained more often
  5. If your Operating System isn't on an M.2 NVMe SSD, you're doing something wrong...
  6. Get a Seagate 7TB Barracuda or FireCuda for everything else, I also recommend a second M.2 NVMe SSD for your favorite games
What should I build for? The current realm of PC? Or, plan to upgrade over the next decade or so?
Never think a decade ahead, you'll always have your expectations let down because technology advancements move at an insane pace. Previous generation silicon, specifically high-end CPUs and GPUs tend to still hold their own and perform in a lot of today's games, the 1060 for example is the king of budget cards and still kicks *** today. There is a reason besides greed Nvidia was/is willing to reproduce last generation's 2000 series RTX cards.
 
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