We include explanations for every one of our choices, so that you could make alternative and informed purchases.
Add a graphics card, and this build will become even more capable in that area.
With a 65W TDP, it should be kept cool by the stock cooler in a properly ventilated case.
Fractal Design’sFocus G Minicombines old and new, with two external 5.25" bays and top 240mm radiator support.
If you don’t need those things, theThermaltake Versa H18is a good alternative for the same price.
The HP X27q is a great 1440p option when available for about$200.
More options for different budgets can be found in ourbest monitorsfeature.
Logitech’s highly ergonomicMK570is our recommended keyboard and mouse combo at this price point.
For more options, see our lists of bestkeyboardsandmice.
Our CPU of choice ships with the middlingWraith Stealthcooler, which you should probably replace with something better.
We chose thePure Rock 2 Blackfrom Be Quiet!
for its combination of looks, compact size, acoustic efficiency and price.
TheArctic Freezer 34 eSports Duoand theNoctua U12S Reduxwould also work fine.
DDR5-6000 is the sweet spot for Ryzen 7000 processors when it comes to memory speed.
With small price differences between same-speed kits, you might as well chooseone of the kitswith the lowest latency.
These days, it’s not even more expensive than older PCIe 4.0 drives such as the Samsung980 Pro.
The Radeon RX 6600 willconsistently outperformNvidia’s more expensive GeForce RTX 3050 by a large margin.
For our build recommendation we pushed things a bit further.
Thanks to recent discounts, the Radeon 6650 XT is a good upgrade option.
For an extra 20% over the vanilla model, you get 20% more performance.
TheThermaltake Toughpower GF1PSU provides 650W at 80 Plus Gold-level efficiency, a 10-year warranty and a fully modular design.
If you plan to put yourPC on a desk, you may prefer the shorterLian Li 011 Air Mini.
Anyway, our general best cases guide includesmore great optionsfor under $100.
TheLogitech G502 Herois a safe bet for a mouse, and so is Corsair’sK55 RGB Profor a keyboard.
Once again, our bestgaming monitors,miceandkeyboardsguides include more options for more specific needs and budgets.
Our memory and storage recommendations remain the same as in the previous build.
If you are set on Nvidia’s Ada architecture, then theGeForce RTX 4070is your cheapest option.
With two front 200mm fans, the Cooler MasterMastercase H500will see to it that the system remains cool.
More expensive versions of it include features like front USB-C and more flexible radiator support.
Again, ourbest cases,best short casesandbest old-school casesguides include more good options.
Thebest gaming monitorfor you depends on what games you play.
Similarly, the CorsairK100 RGB Optical-Mechanicalkeyboard comes with an aluminum body and premium switches.
Our bestmiceandkeyboardguides include more options.
It’s not cheap, but for what it can do, it’s a really good value.
We chose theNoctua NH-D15.
The Asrock X670E Pro RS offers great storage expandability with five M.2 slots and 6 SATA ports.
For future upgrades, we chose 64GB of RAM in just 2 sticks.
You may be able to save some money with a higher latency of CL32 and the same 6000MHz speed.
A 2TB drive should be sufficient for regular work unless you have very specific storage demands.
An archive of all your work will probably be safer on external drives oron a NAS.
Choosing the best graphics card for this system greatly depends on the programs you’ll be working with.
We recommend that you search the web for relevant benchmarks before making your choice.
With Nvidia’sGeForce RTX 4090selling near its MSRP these days, it may be the best option for you.
As always, ourbest cases,best short casesandbest old-school casesguides include more options.
Some of the most comfortable and accurate mice and keyboards we use include the LogitechMX Master 3mouse andMX Mechanicalkeyboard.
Choosing a monitor may be more complex.
As with storage, you may have special needs and requirements for work.
It also has a true 10-bit panel, and can display colors that very few monitors can.
Masthead credit: Tuxedo byJMTsujioka
