#MicroCenter Bundle Advice - Value over Performance

1 messages · Page 1 of 1 (latest)

outer pike
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I'm sure there are a ton of posts about which MicroCenter Bundle to go with, so I apologize for adding to the pile.

I'm currently running an i7-7700k and a 1070ti and am needing to upgrade. I plan on reusing my Case, Storage devices (and adding a new NVME drive), and the 1070 ti (temporarily)

I currently mostly use my PC for Gaming and some Streaming, and am currently running at 1080p resolution.

With this upgrade, I will probably step up to 1440p on my primary monitor when I eventually get a new GPU as well

I'm perfectly content with getting decent value over trying to get top of the line performance -I'm not greedy, and I know I'm not gonna really push the system too hard for top of the line performance. I'm not a super competitive gamer, and the most intense workloads would just be gaming and streaming, but I also don't want to end up having to rebuild for 5-7 years.

I'm thinking between these two bundles from MicroCenter for the base of this upgrade:

Intel Core i9-12900K, MSI Z690-A PRO WiFi DDR5, G.Skill Ripjaws S5 32GB Kit DDR5-6000, Computer Build Bundle - $399.99

&

Intel Core i7-13700K, ASUS Z790-P Prime WiFi DDR5, G.Skill 32GB DDR5-6000 Kit, Computer Build Bundle - $549.99

I guess I the questions I really have is:

  1. Is the i7 13th gen bundle worth the extra $150, or should I put that savings towards the eventual GPU Upgrade?
  2. What GPU would pair nicely with either of these bundles that I can look for with the upcoming holiday season? (not afraid to go with a used GPU either)
  3. What PSU should I get to futureproof my rebuild (I might as well save myself the headache and upgrade that now since I'm practically rebuilding the whole PC)
  4. I understand these newer generation intel cpus run warmer than my i7-7700k - What cooling solution should I look at? I'm leaning towards an AIO. But my case is only capable of up to a 360mm rad/fan on the front and a single 120mm out the rear (Thinking a 360mm rad exhausting out the front, but I I'm open to suggestions - including upgrading the case if needed)

Thanks!

tired crystal
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If it’s for gaming go with Ryzen

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Microcentre has a 7700x bundle with a Msi B650-P and 6000mhz CL36 ddr5 ram

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Also did you mean 360mm rad? They don’t make 320mm ones

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For gpu the 7800xt just launched and you can get it at microcentre for $500

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For psu I’d get a Corsair RM*e powersupply

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Also also air cooling should be fine unless you go with an i7/i9 or Ryzen 9

steel birch
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pa/ps120se PogChomp

tired crystal
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A good air cooler is the Thermalright PA120 SE or PS120 SE

outer pike
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Yes I meant 360

tired crystal
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Okay, if you really want an AiO the Deepcool LS/LT720 is the best

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Best budget aio would be the Thermalright Frozen Notte 360

outer pike
tired crystal
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Core count doesn’t really mean anything

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Half of them are e cores on 13th gen anyway

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Also Ryzen has better upgradeability

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As soon as 14th gen drops LGA1700 is as dead as a dodo

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AM5 will be supported atleast until 2025

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So you save money not having to buy a new motherboard whenever you upgrade cpu

outer pike
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I guess I'm so used to my current 4 core 8 thread being the bottleneck because of the core count that's why I asked

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Good to know

tired crystal
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Well the 7700x has 8 cores and 16 threads

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I think thats the same as the 13700K without the e cores

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Yea 8 performance cores

outer pike
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What about a GPU that would pair well with it?

tired crystal
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6950xt if your willing to spend a little more

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And 4070 if you want power efficiency

tired crystal
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And raytracing

outer pike
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Yeah I was looking at maybe a used 3080/4070 but I want to minimize any bottlenecking in the performance

tired crystal
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You shouldn’t get any bottlenecks with any ryzen cpu on am5 or intel cpu above i3 on lga1700

outer pike
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Thanks for your help

steel birch
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not as good as nvenc but