Building a SOLID $1200 Gaming PC!

Summary

In this PC build guide, the narrator walks through assembling a $1,200 mid-range gaming PC in 2024. He chooses affordable yet capable components like a Ryzen 5 5600X CPU, B550 motherboard, RTX 4070 Super GPU, T-Force SSD, and Thermaltake case. After detailing the build process, he benchmarks the PC in 1440p across several games, achieving strong performance around 100fps average. Despite some minor software issues, the narrator is happy with the power and aesthetics of this balanced rig, making it a compelling option for smooth 1440p gaming without breaking the bank.

Takeaways

• 😊 The recommended budget for a good gaming PC in 2024 is $800 - $1200
• 👾 You can build a balanced $1200 gaming PC without the latest/greatest parts
• 💻 A previous gen CPU like the Ryzen 5 5600X is quite affordable at $150
• ⚙️ Paired an older, cheaper CPU with a motherboard and GPU to save money
• 💡 A cheaper CPU means you likely won't need an expensive power supply either
• 🎮 Tested performance at 1440p resolution to balance CPU and GPU load
• 📈 The system scored well in benchmarks and achieved 100+ fps in most games
• 😕 Did see some compatibility issues in one game - need to debug
• 🌈 Added some color with orange cabling to contrast the black components
• 👍 Very happy overall with the $1200 balanced gaming PC build

Q & A

What is the recommended budget for a good gaming PC in 2024?

The recommended budget is around $800 to $1,200. This allows flexibility to choose good components without overspending on things that won't improve performance.

Why was the Ryzen 5 5600X CPU chosen for this $1,200 gaming PC build?

The Ryzen 5 5600X is an affordable previous generation CPU that still offers great performance. Using an older CPU allowed budget for a better graphics card without compromising too much on the CPU.

What kind of motherboard was used with the Ryzen 5 5600X CPU?

An affordable B550 motherboard was chosen to pair with the Ryzen 5 5600X. Older, cheaper motherboards can still be purchased new to save money.

What graphics card was used in this gaming PC build?

The Nvidia RTX 4070 Super was used. It offers great 1440p performance at a reasonable price point for a $1,200 budget.

How did the system perform in game benchmarks?

It performed very well overall, averaging over 100 FPS in Call of Duty and up to 200 FPS in Shadow of the Tomb Raider at 1440p. Star Wars Battlefront 2 saw more variable frame rates due to possible driver optimization issues.

What case was used for the build?

The Lian Li LANCOOL 205 Mesh C case was used. It has great airflow and cable management options.

What power supply was chosen?

A 750W power supply was used. The older CPU and efficient GPU did not need an expensive high-wattage unit.

What storage was included in the $1,200 budget?

A 512GB T-Force M.2 SSD was used for primary storage. Additional hard drives could be added later if more space is needed.

What memory was used?

16GB (2x8GB) of DDR4 memory recycled from a previous build was used to save money.

What tips are provided for choosing a power supply?

Look for adequate wattage, good efficiency rating, and long manufacturer's warranty for confidence in build quality.

Outlines

00:00

🖥️ Overview of Ideal Budget for a Gaming PC in 2024

The ideal budget for a gaming PC in 2024 is around $800 to $1200. This provides flexibility to choose good components without overspending. For example, you can get an older, affordable CPU like the Ryzen 5 5600X for $150 and pair it with a cheaper compatible motherboard. The GPU doesn't need to be the latest either. A system in this budget range will have enough versatility and power for a great 1440p gaming experience.

05:00

👨‍💻 Assembling the $1200 Sample Gaming PC

The video assembles a sample $1200 gaming PC with a Ryzen 5 5600X CPU, B550 motherboard, RTX 4070 Super GPU, T-Force SSD, Be Quiet! power supply, and Lian Li 205 Mesh case. Key steps are installing the CPU, RAM, M.2 SSD, motherboard in the case, adding case fans, routing cables, and finally installing the GPU. There are some cable management challenges but overall it looks good.

10:01

🎮 Testing Performance of the Sample $1200 Gaming PC

The video tests performance of the sample gaming PC in 1440p on 3DMark Time Spy, Horizon Zero Dawn, Shadow of the Tomb Raider, and Star Wars Battlefront 2. It scores very well in synthetic benchmarks. Real game tests show 100+ FPS in Horizon and 130-200 FPS in Tomb Raider with the GPU and CPU both cruising. However Battlefront 2 has big frame rate drops, likely indicating a driver optimization issue.

15:02

📝 Final Thoughts on the $1200 Budget Gaming PC

Overall the $1200 gaming PC performs very well at 1440p with the RTX 4070 Super GPU and Ryzen 5600X CPU combination. The GPU delivers as expected. The video cautions not to cheap out too much on CPU either. There are some frustrations like clunky RGB software and limited VRAM capacity on the GPU. But overall it's a solid balanced build within a reasonable $1200 budget for 2024.

Keywords

💡Gaming PC

A gaming PC is a desktop computer optimized for playing video games. The video focuses on building a $1200 mid-range gaming PC in 2024 that balances price and performance. For example, it uses an older CPU like the AMD Ryzen 5 5600X which is affordable but still capable for high frame rate 1440p gaming paired with a new RTX 4070 GPU.

💡Components

Components refer to the different parts that make up a gaming PC build, like the CPU, GPU, RAM, storage, motherboard, power supply, cooling, and case. The video examines choosing cost-effective components like an older CPU and B550 motherboard that fit within the $1200 budget but don't sacrifice performance.

💡1440p

1440p refers to a display resolution of 2560 x 1440 pixels. The video focuses on 1440p gaming performance, which puts more demand on both the CPU and GPU compared to lower 1080p resolution. At 1440p high frame rates are possible but the CPU also matters more.

💡Bottleneck

A bottleneck refers to the weakest link in a PC build that limits performance. The video notes the CPU will likely be the bottleneck at 1440p gaming frame rates compared to the more powerful RTX 4070 GPU. This results in high GPU usage but high CPU utilization as well.

💡Value

Value refers to getting good performance for the price when choosing components. The build aims for a balance of value components like the 5600X CPU and B550 motherboard that offer good enough performance without being too expensive.

💡Future-proof

Future-proof means choosing components that will remain capable and relevant for a long time. Rather than the latest CPUs, the video uses a last-gen 5600X which saves money but will handle high frame rate 1440p gaming for years.

💡Pairing

Pairing involves matching a CPU and GPU that make sense together. The 5600X is paired with the RTX 4070 which makes sense since both offer good 1440p performance at moderate prices for a balanced mid-range build.

💡Airflow

Airflow refers to the airflow path through the PC case and components to cool them down. The Lian Li 205 mesh case is chosen specifically for its mesh front panel that allows for good airflow and cooling.

💡Cable management

Cable management involves routing and organizing the cables cleanly for aesthetics and also airflow. The build uses cable extensions and combs to better manage and hide away the cables.

💡Benchmark

Benchmarks refer to tests done to measure gaming performance, like 3DMark and in-game frame rate tests. The video benchmarks help quantify the 1440p gaming performance of the full build with the 5600X CPU and RTX 4070 GPU.

Highlights

For a $1200 gaming PC in 2024, a Ryzen 5600X and RTX 4070 Super provide good performance.

The Lian Li Lancool 205M case has good airflow and cable management options.

Using an older, cheaper CPU like the Ryzen 5600X allows budget for a better GPU.

With a $1200 budget, you don't need the most expensive components for a good experience.

The RTX 4070 Super is an efficient graphics card that doesn't require a high wattage PSU.

A B550 motherboard provides modern features at an affordable price.

Look for sufficient wattage, good efficiency, and a long warranty when choosing a PSU.

The RTX 4070 Super gets over 100 FPS at 1440p in tested games, limited mainly by the CPU.

Higher frame rates lead to higher CPU utilization, so balance your CPU and GPU.

The RX 4070 Super stays relatively cool, peaking around 65C under load.

Some games may have compatibility issues with new GPUs, so check carefully.

Use cable combs and extensions for a clean, professional build aesthetic.

RGB software can be tricky to work with - be prepared to troubleshoot.

The RX 4070 Super offers good 1440p performance around $600.

A $1200 budget allows a balanced gaming PC without buying excess components.

Transcripts

as you can imagine I'm asked all the

time what an ideal budget is for a

gaming PC and in 2024 well that depends

see if you're coming into this without a

budget in mind I like to push folks

somewhere around the $8 to $1,200 range

you can get a lot of Versatility from a

budget like that you can pick and choose

from several different components you're

not so locked down from a financial

perspective and at the same time you're

not just senselessly throwing money at

things that won't necessarily increase

your experience in game case in point

your case you could Cho a very expensive

case that ultimately won't give you any

better performance than a cheaper

airflow option like this 205 mesh C so

in this video we'll be building a $1,200

gaming PC that I think is quite balanced

it won't use the latest and greatest

platform and that's kind of the point

I'm trying to show you that you don't

have to spend I don't know $400 or $500

on a new gaming CPU you can choose

something from the last gen that's

actually quite affordable like our 5600

x here for about 150 USD brand new that

means you get to pair it with an older

usually cheaper motherboard as well and

these you can still actually buy new

today on sites like Amazon and you might

not even need the most expensive power

supply either because well if it's an

older cheaper CPU it's probably not

pulling a lot of power and the graphics

card you pair that with well isn't going

to be super power hungry if you buy

something modern because most graphics

cards today are actually quite efficient

when it comes to power usage so 1,200

bucks what will it get you it'll get you

something like this if you want to

follow along we'll have all these parts

linked below without further Ado let's

get to building are you ready stay with

me thermal Grizzly cryo sheets are

excellent substitutes for traditional

thermal paste thanks to their graphing

construction and extremely high thermal

conductivity making them more effective

than traditional carbonaut thermal pads

they're super easy to install never dry

out and can be purchased in various

sizes ranging from 24x 12 mm all the way

up to 50x 50 in theory you never have to

change one of these making them peace of

mind for servers gaming PCs and even

high-end workstations and best of all no

mess just keep in mind that these are

electrically conductive so be sure to

use them as directed check out thermal

Grizzly's cryo sheets via the links

below for your CPU or GPU today now I

don't usually start things off with the

case but I want to give the Lano 205

mesh C just a quick run through for

those who haven't seen us already

building this in a past video on the

channel I don't expect any of our

Hardware to conflict with the dimensions

of this chassis but if you want to build

something similar this will at least let

you know what you're getting yourself

into 12 seconds later

Jesus okay the anticipation I saw the

electricity I I just I knew that that

was going to be rough I literally could

see the little lightning bolt come up

from the case um material yeah that was

that was painful now for starters we've

got up to a 280 mil fan rad combo Mount

up front we do have a nice perforated

front panel that's going to be great for

airf flow you'll see this cable bar next

to it and this looks very in zxt and it

has the same functions here in the Le

and Le version so you write your cables

through these holes running all the way

down the motherboard tray speaking of up

to eatx motherboards here that's nice in

a case this Compact and up top you can

see mounts for up to a 280 mil AIO

although I recommend only 240s because

you might have some motherboard

clearance issues of course at the rear

we get a single 120 mil Mount that's

going to act as our exhaust and we can

slide that up or down the platform going

in that case is going to be pretty

straightforward to assemble you guys

know b550 by this point is going to be a

uh fairly affordable platform which is

why we chose it for this ,200 is build

if I can get this motherboard placed on

top of the box this will act as a nice

little test bench building assembly

setup we'll get our CPU in look at that

lovely ryzen 5 5600x you getting all

that Raymond looking all right okay and

uh let's see here I don't know if I've

actually built with this chip before

it's been sitting in the drawer for a

while and felt like putting it to some

good use so we're going going to install

it like that there lower the retention

arm we'll get both of our dims installed

now some of you might recognize these

specific modules we pulled these from

that broken eBay system that we

purchased and uh were able to fix for I

think like what what what what was the

issue I don't remember what the issue

was what was the issue uh it was a bad

motherboard that's right so everything

else worked and we recycled the ram so

it's going in here yeah not bad got our

trusty iFixit toolkit we'll install our

m.2 next just removing the single

Phillips screw ah there we go and uh

this I don't actually know the name of I

don't remember where I even got it from

but it's a team group one taby in V you

can find these all day on Amazon not

just from Team group from other

reputable manufacturers as well for

around 50 bucks or so we're going to use

a thermal Grizzly cryo sheet that should

uh make things a bit easier to clean up

later on so we'll set this nice nice and

gently on top of our CPU coolers going

down now I might have mixed these

coolers up I don't remember if the 5600

x comes with this cooler or the lower

profile one the W stealth but uh either

way I think you'll be okay unless you're

doing some serious overclocking all

righty and That Just About Does it for

our platform so uh have a look almost

totally matte black which is great it's

going to look nice when paired with our

4070 super speaking of let's go and get

this platform in the case now and

conveniently with this board we have an

integrated rear IO Shield just going to

line things up

like this you know I really wish case

manufacturers would just stick to one

type of screw like either a 3M or 6m I

forget which one this is or a 632s it

would just be nice to have things

uniform I think we have a type c uh we

don't have a type c what oh no we do

down here okay so it's way down there at

the bottom which is going to make this

uh keyable routing a bit awkward I'm not

even sure if Raymond's going to see what

I'm doing down here but uh just trying

to wiggle and jiggle this oh and it's

upside down why don't they make the

type-c connector for

cases like bir directional it's just

really annoying they make the regular

type-c cable bidirectional can we just

be consistent please please right so not

bad so far we're going to add just a few

fans and then it's time for the power

supply that's going to clutter things up

a bit more but you'll see Cable

Management behind the mother W tray she

ain't too bad going to Route front panel

cables first initially they were down

this side but I think they look better

and I'm just going straight down like so

and then we can run our fatter 24 pin

along the very front I found these two

pure Wings 31 140 mil fans in the closet

they are pwm which is nice and I think

for the record the 205 mesh C does come

with fans but I don't remember what I

did with them so we're putting these in

instead if you like to spend a few more

dollars on some extra fans just remember

to account for that in your budget I

think you'll have room to spare we

actually have a bit of room to spare in

our $1,200 budget for some custom cable

extensions which will look nice later on

in the video I'm debating on adding a

third fan you certainly could for

exhaust it wouldn't hurt I think

temperature- wise though we're going to

be okay and our graphics card especially

should have plenty of fresh air coming

in from the front thanks to this large

140 at the bottom and

here we are woo that was loud sorry

folks check out how clean she looks uh

it's not about to look this way after we

install the power supply speaking of

let's get to that right now and no

matter who you ask you'll always have

different opinions on power supplies the

three things I like to look for

obviously you want to make sure your W

is taken care of make sure that your

efficiency is also well expected and

then the third thing I look for is the

manufacturers warranty that tells me how

much confidence the brand has in their

own product you could also reference

other sites that'll create little tier

lists and things for units that'll kind

of give you an idea of the construction

the build quality and the just the

internal components being used voltage

Ripple and things like that you might

want to care about in a higher end

system in she goes it is going to be a

big help that this unit is not super

long uh it's getting snagged on this HD

audio cable okay did not see that one

coming a few moments later

Mount have you ever seen a cringier

power supply install I'd be willing to

bet you haven't just got to tighten it

down and now it's time for cable

extensions I thought we were going to go

with like pure black cables but I think

we're going to add a bit of color I saw

the orange and while nothing else in the

rig currently is orange I think just a

splash of color will do this rig a lot

of good space out these cable Combs a

bit and then connect the extension

cable to the 24 pin this one's always a

bit stubborn so to sit

sort of like that right there we'll

connect it to the power supply at the

back and uh be smooth sailing eight pin

EPS up top with of course accompanying

cable Combs and here's the outcome back

here now you notice two extra cables

just kind of dangling it's because we're

waiting on the final component the final

install that is our graphics card this

beautiful Nvidia RTX 4070 super like I

said it is matte black it does

unfortunately come with this stupid

12volt high power to dual 8 Pin adapter

and I don't have a 12vt high power cable

extension which means we're stuck using

this which means it's not going to look

as great as it otherwise

would which means we got to deal with it

two PCI slot covers to remove this

actually isn't a a big card at all it's

only going to stretch about the length

of our ATX motherboard which is nice

just be careful this is a bit of a

fingerprint magnet you know you can have

it both ways it's either got to look

really pretty and be a fingerprint

Magnet or it looks ugly and it's not so

I'll take this in she goes

then let's see yeah so there you get a

good perspective there of how long this

card is it's literally the length of a

standard ATX motherboard so I imagine

this will fit in a lot of smaller cases

as well which is nice considering how

much power this thing's packing this is

about as good as we can get it with this

dual a pin adapter at least you can see

a smidge of the orange to fit the theme

and here we are with an unexpected turn

toward a slightly orange theme but I

think it looks really really good

considering uh we were just going after

something that was rather monochromatic

and if you're curious this is what the

backside looks like so it's still not

bad just don't look at anything at all

down here perks of having a nonm modular

power supply and here comes the tricky

part so Raymond you're going to want get

a top down shot of this uh we are going

to try to fit this right panel on and

what I'm really worried about is this

piece right here because it kind of just

wants to stick up and I don't think it's

going to play well with this so let's

give it a shot

uh is

seriously that's like way easier than I

thought it would be okay um yeah I

totally expected that here's the hoping

the power on process is just as

simple I'm not gonna I'm not going to

jinx it we're just gonna go for it here

we go uh Power on nice got a little bit

of RGB we can fix that I think we're

just going to sync it up to straight

orange to fit the cabling we might need

to use the key flash plus function which

thankfully is included in this board oh

no look at that we get our post that's

great we just have to reset the uh TPM

and then we should be able to load into

windows and test a few games I know you

guys are curious about the 470 super I'm

personally curious about how the 470

super plays with the 5600x still in 2024

for the right price you can still

justify am4 in a, or so dollar PC build

budget so let's see how it fares now I

wanted to emphasize the 1440p resolution

you tend to find find a nice balance

between both CPU and GPU utilization in

this resolution and starting first with

3D Mark time spy which is a 1440p

synthetic in dx12 we score better than

85% of all submitted results our

Graphics score is around 21,000 but our

CPU score is around 8,000 suggesting

that this is where our true bottleneck

will lie with most titles out there

unless you're running in 4k uh you're

probably going to see some CPU

limitation in most games since the frame

rate is expected to be quite high with a

system of this caliber and in general a

higher frame rate leads to higher CPU

utilization in 1440p medium preset and

no dlss enabled you can see we're

averaging just over 100 FPS which is

great no frame time spikes this game is

extremely smooth very well optimized for

especially noer Hardware I don't think

you're going to sweat this one at all

and you can see a Peak at our GPU and

CPU utilizations here uh both are kind

of just cruising and temperatures

actually look really good as well next

up shadow of the Tomb Raider now this

was an Nvidia touted title but we don't

have dlss enabled no Ray tracing uh

anything of that sort we're just running

the medium preset with TAA and depending

on the scam we're averaging somewhere

between 130 FPS and upwards of 200 which

I think is very very acceptable for a

title that looks this good even in 2024

this game NOS how attack a graphics card

and despite this being a built-in

Benchmark this is actually the hottest

AR graphics card ever got somewhere

around the mid 60s with utilization

peaking at around 90 to 95 and in this

scene where it's probably the most

intensive around 150 FPS is still

excellent last up the remake of Star

Wars Battlefront 2 now this one

surprised me a bit because while the

frame rate seems okay at this point in

1440p medium preset TAA only you'll see

that when scenes get especially

intensive the frame rate dips quite

alarmingly down to around 30 40 50 FPS a

place you would never expect a game this

well optimized historically to be with

something like a 470 super and all I can

really chalk this up to is just young

drivers maybe the game isn't well

optimized for the new driver release in

this graphics card maybe it it's the

driver itself I don't have enough uh

data at my disposal to make a claim one

way or the other regardless it's clear

this specific title seems to have an

issue so just be careful with the games

you play if you notice some

incompatibilities or some frame rate

dips that are unexpected uh be sure to

reach out to either Nvidia directly or

the game developer hopefully can get

these Kinks worked out I also want to

point out that the main menu was

averaging around 9 FPS which yeah Count

Dooku is looking a bit rough now

Battlefront to a side I'm sure most of

you aren't surprised by the performance

the system is packing the graphics card

is going to be doing a lot of the work

but you want to make sure that you don't

cheap out too much on your CPU because

it will play a role especially if you

play in lower resolution starting with

something like the 5600x we used here at

around 150 USD you'll also probably

notice we managed to sync up the orange

LEDs that was a bit of a pain I've never

worked with thermal take RGB software

before but like most RGB software Suites

out there it was um difficult to say the

least and I also cannot for the life of

me get this outer RGB ring in this AMD

cooler to sync up with the other orange

ones so it does look a tad clunky but

all in all still very happy with the way

this rig looks and of course like I said

earlier we're going to have all these

parts linked below if you want to build

something similar today so that's it for

this one thank you so much for watching

leave some feedback in the comment

section below consider subscribing if

you haven't already let us know what you

think about this build uh what do you

think about the 470 super we haven't

actually published a review and I don't

think we will a lot of other channels do

far more thorough jobs than we ever

could in the review department at this

point so we'll defer to them but we at

least wanted to build with it kind of

give you a taste of performance it's

where you'd expect it to be right above

a 4070 and uh for a price that I don't

think will shock too many folks which in

this day and age I guess will take it

could could be worse it's sad that

that's the mentality we have nowadays

but uh I guess the the one other

complaint I could voice is the fact that

it still only has what 12 gigs of vram

um and I know that's going to be a point

of contention for a lot of folks who are

not keen on paying $600 for a 12 gig

card it is what it is but uh overall I

think it looks really good obviously it

performs well it actually stays quite

cool and I'm super happy with the

entirety of this build as it stands

subscribe like I already said this stuff

why am I saying it again what the heck

I'll catch you in the next one my name

is Greg thanks for learning with

[Music]

me