r/buildapcforme

Student build for mechanical engineering/gaming

  • New build or upgrade?

New build

  • Existing parts/monitors to reuse? (List with models/links)

No.

  • PC purpose?

Primarily for college engineering work. (Modeling/design, simulation/analysis, programming, etc.). I would love for this to last me all four years. Will probably use for gaming every once in a while. (multiplayer games like rocket league, valorant, fortnite, overwatch, etc.)

  • Purchase country? Near Micro Center?

US. Not really (1 hr drive, won't have a car)

  • Monitors needed?

One IPS monitor, ideally 1440p 120Hz.

  • Budget range? (Include tax considerations)

PC: Ideally under 1200$ USD but have the flexibility to go up to 1500$ USD if that makes a big difference.

Monitor: 200 USD hard cap pre-tax.

  • WiFi or wired connection?

Will have ethernet in my dorm.

  • Size/noise constraints?

Would prefer mid tower but full tower is probably fine. Volume shouldn't matter too much, but preferably not loud enough to piss off my roommate.

  • Color/lighting preferences?

Don't care about RGB. Would prefer less to more though.

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u/j64156199 — 18 hours ago

£900 pc or £900 phone

my friend has been screaming at me to get a £900 pound phone instead of a £900 pound pc because its better, i already got a phone and i dont need another one. sure the one i got right now is bad, but as long as i got emergency contact and can listen to music im fine with it. but hes still telling me to get a phone. what should i do, get a phone or a pc?

Not a request

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u/Swimming-Wealth5950 — 17 hours ago

New build/looking for good recs for a pre owned

Hi everyone! I know.. not a lot about computers but I want to get a PC for gaming and possibly getting into streaming and digital art! My only problem is that I want high quality PC without spending all my money on stuff I know nothing about, so if yall could help me out, I’d greatly appreciate it 💕

⁠New build or upgrade? New build
⁠PC purpose? Gaming, possible streaming/ digital art software. Gaming wise, I’d love to be able to play games like Genshin impact, Dead by Daylight, Identity V, Minecraft with mods and other indie games with as little lag as possible!
⁠Purchase country? United States, I do have a micro center not far from me
⁠Monitors needed? Probably 2? High-medium resolution, high refresh rate
⁠Budget range? I’d say the cap is probably $3,500 USD with a little wiggle room, the cheaper, the better though!
⁠WiFi or wired connection? WiFi
⁠Size/noise constraints? Nothing too big, I would probably like it a bit quieter
⁠Color/lighting preferences? Changeable RGB would be sick!

Thank you for reading!! 💕

reddit.com
u/Spiritual-Ad-9716 — 16 hours ago

First Time PC Build for Gaming (UK)

  • New build or upgrade?

    • New build
  • Existing parts/monitors to reuse? (List with models/links)

    • I have already purchased the RAM: Team T-force Delta Rgb 32Gb Kit 2 X 16Gb Ddr5 6000Mhz Pc5-48000 Cl30 Ecc Xmp 3.0
  • PC purpose? (Gaming, editing, etc. List apps/games)

    • It will be for gaming, with my main game being Jurassic world evolution, so I would like it to focused on the graphics and looking pretty
    • It would also be used for running finite element analysis
  • Purchase country? Near Micro Center?

    • UK
  • Monitors needed? (Number, size, resolution, refresh rate)

    • I already have a monitor
  • Budget range? (Include tax considerations)

    • Around £1500 would like lower but understand its expensive
  • WiFi or wired connection?

    • wired connection but would like possibility of WiFi if I move house and can't connect with wire
  • Size/noise constraints?

    • I would like it to be quiet but don't mind too much as will be playing with headphones
  • Color/lighting preferences?

    • I would like white box to match white monitor
  • Any other specific needs?

    • Nope
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u/CompetitiveEgg3341 — 19 hours ago
▲ 2 r/buildapcforme+1 crossposts

New Build for light Gaming 1000$CAD

​

- New build or upgrade? New

- Existing parts/monitors to reuse? (List with models/links) No

- PC purpose? (Gaming, editing, etc. List apps/games) Gaming

- Purchase country? Near Micro Center? (If you're not in a country supported by PCPartPicker, please list some local vendors) Canada, Québec

- Monitors needed? (Number, size, resolution, refresh rate) No

- Budget range? (Include tax considerations) 1000$ CAD

- WiFi or wired connection? Wire

- Size/noise constraints? No

- Color/lighting preferences? If the case could have light( fan), but it's not a deal braker

- Any other specific needs? No

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u/ParticularTechnical9 — 18 hours ago

I9 9900k Upgrade Northern Europe

  • Planing to upgrade
  • Current specs are I9 9900k with decent AIO, 32gb ddr4 and RTX 4060 8gb.
  • i play mostly PUBG, GTA5E, BeamNG, Operator, DayZ and would also like to play Squad and few others i cant quite run currenly, a few games of these are quite cpu heavy so thus thinking of upgrading CPU, also as gpu is the latest upgrade.
  • Northern Europe
  • Hoping not to use much more than 300€ but can wait a bit and stretch budged, dont need the newest and best, just hoping to get decent jump now as likely will build a new PC in a year or so and this will be left as a secondary.
  • WiFi and Bluetooth no needed but would be nice upgrade
  • got full atx case and no size constraints
  • dont need any rgb, will turn them off anyway if there is any
  • Any other specific needs? If possible i would like to keep the RAM and AIO, i believe i have all brackets, can also get some if needed, most likely buying used so end parts may vary depending on what is available currently, also if there are European wide used parts sites, let me know, only have bought from local marketplaces.
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u/JamesM3E30 — 18 hours ago

Building a pc around £400-£600 please

⁠New build or upgrade? New build
• ⁠Existing parts/monitors to reuse? MSI monitor that in happy with
• ⁠PC? Gaming and some designing on fusion360
• ⁠Purchase country? In UK so overclockers, Amazon, Currys, or any others that deliver (free) in the uk
• ⁠Monitors needed? (Number, size, resolution, refresh rate) No monitor needed
• ⁠Budget range? (Include tax considerations) £400-£600 if I have to I could go over slightly
• ⁠WiFi or wired connection? I have Ethernet
• ⁠Size/noise constraints? No massive constraints, just not incredibly loud
• ⁠Color/lighting preferences? White would be cool and rgb but if it hinders the budget a lot I could do without
• ⁠Any other specific needs? I need at least 3 usb top slots, 2 usb back slots, 2 HDMI back slots and Ethernet slot

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u/Silver-Being-279 — 1 day ago

New to PC building and Need help building a Gaming PC

New build or upgrade? New build

Existing parts/monitores to reuse? No

PC Purpose? Mostly gaming and composing on FL Studio

Purchase Country? Portugal

Monitors needed? 1, about 27 inches maybe, 1440P, not picky about refresh rate

Budget Range? 2000€, not much more than that, i want something really good that can last since i’ll probably not have money like this again to spend on a PC any time soon. Oh and the monitor doesn’t really have to be included in the 2000€, i can buy it outside of that budget, as long as it isn’t too expensive.

WiFi or wired connection? WiFi

Size/noise constraints? I live in an apartment with others so hopefully doesn’t make a lot of noise but aside from that not really no

Color/Lighting preferences? Not really

Any other specific needs? No, that’s about it

Would really appreciate the help guys, this is all very confusing to me atm, thanks 🙏

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u/Busy-Wall-689 — 20 hours ago

New PC build, need some guidance on a good gaming setup

I’m wanting to get a new gaming pc and with the large amount of options out there, I’d love a good idea of what would get me the best value for my budget

New build or upgrade?
New pc build, last built one about 10 years ago

Existing parts/monitors to reuse?
No existing parts to use

PC purpose?
This setup will be almost 100% for gaming, while also being able to run apps like discord. I would mainly play AAA games along with multiplayer games like Escape from Tarkov and Hunt Showdown.

Purchase country?
I’m buying in the United States, I have a microcenter that is about 1.5 hours away

Monitors needed?
I do need a monitor, not sure what size is best for gaming though. I feel like a 27” sounds the best to me, but I’m open to suggestions on what might be the best option. I would like to run a two monitor setup eventually, but it is not required for my initial build in order to keep the price down.

Budget range?
My budget is right around $1600, I’m willing to go over that a little bit if it would give me more value in my final build.

WiFi or wired connections?
It will definitely be a wired connection, although having WiFi as a back up doesn’t sound like a bad idea, unless it will raise the cost significantly.

Size/noise constraints?
I don’t really have any size constraints, I would like for it to not sound like a jet engine while it’s running though.

Color/lighting preferences?
I would like the case to look pretty clean, while also including some rgb to make it look really cool.

Any other specific needs?
I’d like for the opportunity to upgrade some components in a couple years if it’s possible.

Thank you to anyone who responds, I’ve done a lot of research but I would value the opinion of someone who is more knowledgeable than I am.

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u/HaydenKllr — 1 day ago

$1200 quiet no-RGB all-rounder — coding, Photoshop, 3D printing, light AI. Near Micro Center Cambridge

New build or upgrade? New build, nothing bought yet.

Existing parts/monitors to reuse? 2x Dell S2722QC (27", 4K 3840x2160, 60Hz, IPS, USB-C), plus keyboard and mouse. Nothing else — list needs to cover everything. No OS license either; see the OS note below.

PC purpose? All-rounder, in priority order:

  1. Coding — IDEs, Docker, a couple of VMs, many browser tabs
  2. Creative — Photoshop and GIMP, plus 3D CAD for my 3D printer (modeling and modifying parts to print, then slicing). Not tied to a specific CAD package — FreeCAD/Onshape/Blender/Plasticity are all on the table.
  3. General desktop use
  4. Gaming — light only. I have a PS5 for real gaming; this is for my kids playing Minecraft, Factorio, and similar. Note Factorio is CPU/RAM-bound on big bases, not GPU-bound.

So please don't spec the GPU around gaming. Nothing here needs a gaming card, and my monitors are 4K but only 60Hz anyway. Let the GPU choice be driven by the creative work and the local-AI VRAM note below instead.

Also worth noting: CAD, Photoshop, and Factorio are all single-thread sensitive. I'd rather have strong per-core performance than a high core count, if that's a tradeoff at this budget.

OS is undecided — likely Windows, but I'm seriously considering Linux, so please don't assume a Windows license has to be in the budget. Related: I'd prefer an Intel WiFi card over MediaTek/Realtek for Linux driver reliability. Cheap insurance either way.

Purchase country? Near Micro Center? USA (MA), 10 min from Micro Center Cambridge. Please use their CPU/mobo/RAM bundles and in-store pricing.

Monitors needed? None. GPU just needs two outputs capable of 4K60 (DP or HDMI 2.0+).

Budget range? $1200 target, can stretch to ~$1300–1350 if you tell me what the extra buys. 6.25% MA tax is on top.

Buying within the next few weeks — not waiting. I know RAM and NAND pricing is rough right now and that this budget doesn't go as far as it did a year ago. I'd rather buy now at bad memory prices than wait for them to get worse. Please allocate accordingly and tell me where you'd take the hit if something has to give.

WiFi or wired? WiFi — please spec a board with WiFi 6E/7 + Bluetooth built in, ideally Intel-based (see OS note).

Size/noise constraints? Quiet is a top priority — it sits on my desk and runs all day. Good-airflow case with decent fans, a quality tower air cooler (please, no AIO), PSU with zero-RPM mode, and no GPUs known for coil whine. Standard mid-tower ATX is fine.

Color/lighting preferences? No RGB. Black or white, solid or clean mesh front, minimal branding. Lighting off or fully disableable. Glass side panel optional.

Any other specific needs?

  • Storage matters — 2TB NVMe minimum, plus spare M.2 slots to expand later
  • Local AI headroom — I want to run local LLMs (Ollama/LM Studio) later. Not blowing the budget on it, but favor more VRAM over marginal gaming gains (16GB if reachable), and prefer NVIDIA/CUDA unless there's a strong reason not to
  • 32GB RAM for the VMs/containers
  • PSU and case sized for a bigger GPU in 2–3 years — I'd rather buy the PSU once
  • Prefer a platform with an upgrade path over a dead-end socket
  • I'm fine building it myself and doing BIOS/EXPO setup
  • Please flag which parts are Micro Center in-store vs. online-only, and don't skimp on the PSU — I'd rather spend an extra $20 on a reputable unit

A PCPartPicker link would be ideal. Thanks!

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u/Ski-N-Board93 — 23 hours ago

New to pcs

• ⁠New build or upgrade?
New

• ⁠Existing parts/monitors to reuse? (List with models/links)

None, starting fresh

• ⁠PC purpose? (Gaming, editing, etc. List apps/games)

Honestly just looking for something that can handle streaming and gaming well preferably able to run up to ps3 games in terms of emulating and able to run most steam games (if possible)

• ⁠Purchase country? Near Micro Center? (If not US, list local vendors)

US

• ⁠Monitors needed? (Number, size, resolution, refresh rate)

1 but mostly not too worried about the external things outside of the pc itself

• ⁠Budget range? (Include tax considerations)

$1000-1300 (IF possible less)

• ⁠WiFi or wired connection?

Doesn't matter much to me but preferably wifi

• ⁠Size/noise constraints?

Neither bother me

• ⁠Color/lighting preferences?

Preferably a black case with purple lights but honestly not complaining if it doesn't fit budget

• ⁠Any other specific needs?

No

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u/Monsoon_13 — 1 day ago

Budget Small 1080p Machine

New build or upgrade? New Existing parts/monitors to reuse? 1080p/60Hz monitor + kb mouse PC purpose? Gaming, some CAD Purchase country? Near Micro Center? US, WA state (no microcenter :( ) Monitors needed? none Budget range? $1500 WiFi or wired connection? Wifi Size/noise constraints? MicroATX or smaller, and the quieter the better Color/lighting preferences? Greens and wood are nice, but not critical. RGB/glass adds no value for me.

I'm looking to build (or buy prebuilt, not picky but I imagine building will get me closer to target) a new machine with a smaller footprint, both noise- and size-wise. Not sure what to expect in terms of performance with these restrictions. I think I could get a system I'm happy with for my budget or less with a typical tower size, but I'd like something with less presence if possible.

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u/Whispering_Walrus — 1 day ago

1000€ gaming build in France

* New build or upgrade? New build

* Existing parts/monitors to reuse? (List with models/links) Crucial P3 Plus 1TB SSD, keyboard, mouse

* PC purpose? (Gaming, editing, etc. List apps/games) Gaming, heaviest games would probably be DOOM Eternal, Skyrim, Project Zomboid

* Purchase country? Near Micro Center? France, I'm buying the parts for my girlfriend and I'm not really sure what vendors are good since I don't live in France permanently

* Monitors needed? (Number, size, resolution, refresh rate) No monitor needed

* Budget range? (Include tax considerations) 1000€

* WiFi or wired connection? Both

* Size/noise constraints? Standard ATX size case, I'd be looking to upgrade the components in the future so a standard size seems great

* Color/lighting preferences? White would be nice, however it's not a necessity

* Any other specific needs? Would be cool if the case had a headphone jack on top, even better if it additionally has 1-2 usb-a ports. I'll be buying a 1440p 144hz monitor, so it's best if the pc can handle games at this quality

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u/Actual-Hawk6307 — 2 days ago

need help first pc

helloo! I’ve never had a pc before so I’m not really sure of anything. I don’t know basics for building or any of that so any advice and recommendations would be great, thank you! :D

• ⁠New build or upgrade?

New build

• ⁠Existing parts/monitors to reuse? (List with models/links)

None

• ⁠PC purpose? (Gaming, editing, etc. List apps/games)

Gaming

List of games: Roblox, Minecraft, Fortnite, Genshin Impact mainly but I also want to get into COD

• ⁠Purchase country? Near Micro Center?

Australia, Melbourne

Not near a micro center

• ⁠Monitors needed? (Number, size, resolution, refresh rate)

Looking at probably just one for now

I’m not really sure, any recommendations are okay

• ⁠Budget range? (Include tax considerations)

$2k - $2.5k AUD Im not too sure what the average price is but I’d prefer something on the cheaper end :D

• ⁠WiFi or wired connection?

Wifi

• ⁠Size/noise constraints?

I guess not too bulky but besides that I don’t really mind and noise doesn’t bother me

• ⁠Color/lighting preferences?

All white is preferred but just white case is okay if it’s a lot cheaper, with rgb if possible

• ⁠Any other specific needs?

No :D

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u/niodabomb — 2 days ago

need help building a pc for the first time

hi all ! i'm completely hopeless when it comes to understanding how to build a pc and pc's in general. whatever you think i know, i dont lol. any recommendations or tips are appreciated !! thank you in advance :)

- New build or upgrade?

• New build

- Existing parts/monitors to reuse? (List with models/links)

• None

- PC purpose? (Gaming, editing, etc. List apps/games)

• Gaming

• Uni work (Nothing demanding, just something to store notes and whatnot)

• List of games: Marvel Rivals, Minecraft (modded, preferably), Roblox, and occasionally Fortnite

• Would like to have Spotify and a game open at the same time without lag or interference

- Purchase country? Near Micro Center? (If you're not in a country supported by PCPartPicker, please list some local vendors)

• Australia, Sydney (Not near a Micro Center)

- Monitors needed? (Number, size, resolution, refresh rate)

• Up for recommendations, whatever is cheapish but performs well!

• Planning to start with only one monitor and go up to two eventually

- Budget range? (Include tax considerations)

• ≈ 2k AUD (if absolutely necessary, can go up to 2.5k but would prefer not to, obviously)

• Cheap (with good performance) recommendations are welcome and preferred !!

- WiFi or wired connection?

• WiFi

- Size/noise constraints?

• Nothing excessively bulky, but no specific size constraints - however would love to be able to display a figure inside (one thats around 10cm) but not necessary !

• Preferably not too loud?

- Color/lighting preferences?

• Would love for it to be all white, but am okay with a white case and black machinery that feature white lights (?? if those are the correct terms)

- Any other specific needs?

• Nope!

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u/ConnectMaintenance96 — 2 days ago

Graphic design and gaming pc

• ⁠New build or upgrade?

New

• ⁠Existing parts/monitors to reuse? (List with models/links)

no

• ⁠PC purpose? (Gaming, editing, etc. List apps/games)

I want to build a pc that’s good for both gaming/streaming and running adobe programs like illustrator and photoshop (possibly video editing in the future too). I don’t play too many heavy video games, I think the heaviest would be modded Minecraft or open world games tbh. I don’t play any fps games or league. Not planning on playing with the absolute highest fps or resolution either.

• ⁠Purchase country? Near Micro Center? (If not US, list local vendors)

US, near micro center but I’d rather not drive all the way over there lol

• ⁠Monitors needed? (Number, size, resolution, refresh rate)

Gonna start out with one, will eventually upgrade to 2. If anyone happens to know good monitors for design, I’d appreciate any recs. Idk the size exactly but on the bigger side, either 27 or 32”

• ⁠Budget range? (Include tax considerations)

~$1500, willing to go a little over

• ⁠WiFi or wired connection?

WiFi

• ⁠Size/noise constraints?

No

• ⁠Color/lighting preferences?

It would be nice if I could change the rgb colors if any but I realize my budget might not allow for that. (Altho tbh I’d prefer no color over just rainbow lol)

• ⁠Any other specific needs?

No

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u/peach_parade — 1 day ago

Need new GPU as fans stuck on 100% drive GF mad

Looking to replace / upgrade GPU after the fans are now stuck on 100% from the moment BIOS starts. Found a tech who is gonna try fix it but said it won't be cheap and may be better to just buy new one.

main priority is just getting a new GPU for now.

Is there anything else I should consider upgrading looking at these specs?

  • New build or upgrade?
    • Upgrade
  • Existing parts/monitors to reuse? (List with models/links)
    • This is the current build as recommended by you guys 3 and a half years ago.
  • Part List - AMD Ryzen 7 7700X, Radeon RX 6950 XT, Fractal Design Meshify 2 Compact ATX Mid Tower - PCPartPicker
  • PC purpose? (Gaming, editing, etc. List apps/games)
    • Gaming, currently diablo 4, Tainted Grail
  • Purchase country? Near Micro Center? (If not US, list local vendors)
    • UK
  • Monitors needed? (Number, size, resolution, refresh rate)
    • have monitor
  • Budget range? (Include tax considerations)
    • £500 ISH could be flexible depending on what is needed.
  • WiFi or wired connection?
    • Wired
  • Size/noise constraints?
    • N/A
  • Color/lighting preferences?
    • None
  • Any other specific needs?
    • N/A
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u/RemarkablyOk — 2 days ago

First PC build which a budget around 1000$~1500

I have been using laptops for over 5 years , I used ThinkPad and Hp , but they got broken and instead of wasting money on another one. I wanted to go and build my own pc I have been hunting for 2 years but the market changed a lot and I don't know what is good for this budget anymore , especially since I live in Morocco and I have no clue about the market here , I hope I will find some good suggestions.

New build or upgrade?

New build

•Existing parts/monitors to reuse? (List with models/links)

Starting fresh (none)

•PC purpose? (Gaming, editing, etc. List apps/games)

Gaming, (1080p medium settings mostly like CS2,Asseto Corsa,some AAAgames like RDR2 ) , School( browsing, programming..etc)

•Purchase country? Near Micro Center? (If not US, list local vendors)

Morocco

•Monitors needed? (Number, size, resolution, refresh rate)

1 , 24"~27" , 1080p , 120Hz/144Hz ,

•Budget range? (Include tax considerations)

1000$~1500$

•WiFi or wired connection?

WiFi

•Size/noise constraints?

Anything but huge and a mild noise

•Color/lighting preferences?

None

• Any other specific needs?

Also some mouse (3050$) I saw a lot of good reviews about Logitech g502 , and keyboard (4060$) suggestions

Thanks.

reddit.com
u/lamrini_ — 2 days ago

Thinkpad finally died, looking to get desktop replacement for gaming

Hello everyone, long story short my laptop was on its way out (constant overheating), and finally a short killed it. Saw the spark when the power button was pressed and instantly smelled the ozone/electrical burning smell coming out. Thankfully I had just recently backed up all my files that I needed. It has been a minute since Ive had to research computer components. I'm not scared of building my own, but Im not opposed to getting a prebuilt from Costco or similar. Really looking for something to just play some games after work. Luckily my laptop used M.2 NVMe slots so I have about 4tb that I would be able to use if needed. Please let me know your suggestions. I have only ever dealt with intel/nvidia systems and Macs. Would like at least 32 gb ram. Thank you for all help.

  • New build or upgrade?
    • New Build
    • .
    • Already have dual monitors, one with display port and one with HMDI. Have all peripherals as well
    • Already have dual monitors, one with display port and one with HMDI. Have all peripherals as well
    • Already have dual monitors, one with display port and one with HMDI. Have all peripherals as well
  • Existing parts/monitors to reuse? (List with models/links)
    • Already have dual monitors, one with display port and one with HMDI. Have all peripherals as well

4k@60 and 1440@120

Uses

  • Mainly will be used for gaming, I mainly play iRacing and Battlefield with friends

. Some CAD, 3d printing.

Location

  • United States, have local Micro Center

Peripherals

  • Not needed

Budget

  • 2-2.5k (not sure if can get away with cheaper)

WiFi/wired

  • Wifi

Size/noise constraint

  • None
  • Doesn't need to be RGB
  • Id prefer liquid cooling.

Would also be doing some cad work for 3d printing (fusion/slicer)

reddit.com
u/mkain01 — 3 days ago

Best gaming PC tower I can build for $3,750? 4K OLED / high-refresh gaming

- New build or upgrade?

New build. I’ll be building it myself.

- Existing parts/monitors to use? (List with models/links)

No existing PC parts.

Monitors will be purchased separately and are not included in the $3,750 budget.

Planned setup:

- Primary: LG 32GX870A-B — 32", 4K OLED, 240Hz / 1080p 480Hz Dual Mode

- Secondary: Alienware AW2725Q — 27", 4K QD-OLED, 240Hz, likely mounted vertically

- PC purpose? (Gaming, editing, etc. List apps/games)

Primarily gaming.

Games include:

- DayZ

- Competitive FPS games

- AAA/single-player games

- Future AAA releases

I want to take full advantage of a 4K/240Hz OLED when possible, while also being able to use the monitor's 1080p/480Hz mode for competitive games.

Secondary use will be school/productivity, including Computer Engineering coursework.

- Purchase country? Near Micro Center? (If not US, list local vendors)

USA — Florida Panhandle/Pensacola area.

Not near a Micro Center.

I'm fine purchasing parts online from reputable retailers such as Amazon, Newegg, Best Buy, B&H, etc.

Planning to purchase around Black Friday/Cyber Monday 2026, although I'll buy earlier in November if a component hits an unusually good price.

- Monitors needed? (Number, size, resolution, refresh rate)

Monitors are being purchased separately and are not part of this budget.

Dual-monitor setup:

- 32" 4K OLED — 240Hz / 1080p 480Hz primary

- 27" 4K OLED — 240Hz secondary/vertical

- Budget range? (Include tax considerations)

Up to $3,750 USD for the tower/components before tax.

I do not want to spend $3,750 just for the sake of spending it.

If a $3,000–$3,300 build gets me virtually the same real-world gaming performance, I'd rather save the money.

On the other hand, I'm willing to use the entire $3,750 if there is a meaningful performance, cooling, reliability, noise, or longevity benefit.

- WiFi or wired connection?

Primarily wired Ethernet, but I definitely want the motherboard to have Wi-Fi and Bluetooth as well.

- Size/noise constraints?

No major size restriction.

I'd prefer a reasonably quiet system, especially at idle/light loads, but I'm fine with some fan noise while gaming if necessary for cooling.

I have room for a large mid/full-tower case.

- Color/lighting preferences?

Prefer black.

RGB is welcome and I'd like the completed build to look premium, but performance comes before aesthetics. I don't want to waste hundreds of dollars purely on RGB or cosmetic parts.

- Any other specific needs?

A few:

- Gaming performance is the #1 priority

- Strong 4K performance

- High/ultra settings where practical

- High FPS for competitive games

- Ideally 4TB of NVMe storage

- Good cooling

- High-quality PSU

- Good airflow

- Wi-Fi + Bluetooth

- Reasonably quiet

- Strong upgrade path

- I'd like to keep the PC for several years before needing a major upgrade

- Overclocking is not a priority

- No preference between AMD/Intel CPUs

- Open to NVIDIA or AMD GPUs

- I care more about real-world performance than brand loyalty

- Windows, monitors, keyboard, mouse, headset, desk, chair, speakers, etc. are not included in the $3,750

I'm especially interested in opinions on how much of this budget should go toward the GPU.

Basically:

If you had up to $3,750 of your own money and wanted the best possible gaming tower for 4K OLED/high-refresh gaming without wasting money on parts that don't actually improve the experience, what would you build?

PCPartPicker lists would be greatly appreciated.

Also, since I'm targeting Black Friday/Cyber Monday, I'd love to know which components you think are worth waiting for and what prices you'd consider an instant buy.

reddit.com
u/USMCRunner — 2 days ago