DIY PC Rig Recommendations For 2026

[deepblue_82]

as far as i can remember, its a mix and match of old parts because of intermittent issues
intel 4570 (replaced with 4460)
gigabyte GA-H97N-WIFI
msi r9 380 (RMA'ed from R9 280x)
kingston 2x8gb ddr3 ram
(seasonic 520w cannot power up, superflower 600w psu had loud bangs and sparks during operation, replaced with old spare superflower 550w, newly bought replacement not yet opened from plastic seal)
samsung 250gb ssd (still got a couple ssds lying around unsure if still fit for use)

So may i presume pci-e gen 5 is more of future proofing?
based on past experiences, my builds are usually one-off, seldom nor hardly upgrade. Unless something fails and in need of replacement.

calling @NightRaven49

 

[NightRaven49]

I'm contemplating between full rig overhaul or mini pc or portable windows console (i.e. lenovo legion go). May i know if PCI-e Gen 5 is it worth spending extra on them? including Ryzen 5000 vs 7000 or likewise DDR4 vs DDR5?

if just daily use like surf web, watch video, office work this kind, portable console could be a good choice if u also want to use it on the go, then at home get a dock and plug in ur peripherals and monitor for an almost desktop experience. it will be much more expensive though, so if ur not looking to spend much, the entry level gaming reco in the first post is enough. and for daily use, u wont notice the difference between pcie gen3, 4 or 5 or between ryzen 5000 or 7000 or between ddr4 or ddr5, but u will notice the much larger hole in ur wallet.

High FPS, = 100 n above.
Acceptable/Adequate = Medium settings will do.

Resolutions wise, i guess a 24-27 inch monitor will do.

monitor size is not resolution, 27 inch models got 1080p, 1440p and (if ur insane) 4k. but most will either stay at 1080p or start going for 1440p at this size, so assuming 1440p, the 1.2k budget rig u can follow the value gaming reco in the first post. the productivity build i would go for something like this:

ryzen 9 5900x + msi b550m pro-vdh wifi	622	tradepac
patriot viper steel 2x 16gb 3200c16 ddr4	95	techdeals
thermalright peerless assassin 120	57	tradepac
samsung 980 pro 1tb	108	dynacore
msi rtx 3070 ti ventus 3x	589	dynacore
nzxt c650 gold	130	tradepac

add on $150 budget for case (recos in first post), total is $1751.

So may i presume pci-e gen 5 is more of future proofing?

yes, but it is so new that there are hardly any use cases now to justify the premium - u can count the number of available gen5 nvmes with ur hands and the only gen5 gpu out there is the mtt s80 that cant run anything outside of esports titles. gen4 is enough for most people (including consoles and 4090 users), and I'd say even gen3 is enough especially for general use well into the future.

 

[jas663]

Thinking of upgrading my PC and need some advise . Thank you!

Current set up:
Geforce GTX745 4GB DDR3
i7-4790
CPU 3.6ghz
Ram 12gb

Requirement for new PC:
WIFI
Bluetooth
Support M2
Support dual display
Type C port (preferably/ optional)
Support window 11
Support 4K (preferably)
At least 3 slot for ssd/ harddisk

Is the entry level sufficient for me?
Usage mainly for watching movie/ drama, some documentation work, browsing, playing music occasionally.
No gaming at all.

Intend to use back the current SSD and hard disk.
Does tradepac help to assemble the 4 items? Usually how much do I need to add-on?
Does asrock B550m Wifi SE support dual display, or anything to add-on to support dual display?
Or any mobo slightly higher grade that can support?

Is it possible to sell my old unit without hard disk hehee?

TIA!

 

[jrwong84]

Looking for any advises and recommendation. I lost touch to technology for some time. Reading the first post of build recommendations, I'm contemplating between full rig overhaul or mini pc or portable windows console (i.e. lenovo legion go). May i know if PCI-e Gen 5 is it worth spending extra on them? including Ryzen 5000 vs 7000 or likewise DDR4 vs DDR5?

Ryzen 5000 support pcie 4.0 only 7000 support pcie 5.0.

If you ask me worth anot hard to said because if you go the latest ryzen cpu not all motherboard got pcie 5.0 nvme slot even got only one slot and the price of nvme 5.0 is too expensive.

You can get 4tb nvme 4.0 at around $200 now the price to tb pcie 5.0 still cannot fight might need around 3-4 year for it to happen.

The performance difference is around 2-5 secs on loading game or windows os download speed like torrent or straight download files download speed will be bottleneck by your broadband mostly we are still at 1000mbs plan to maximum the use of pcie 4.0 or 5.0 you need at least two slot 5.0 to transfer files 5.0 nvme same as pcie 4.0.

For ddr 5 yes it worth to get it now as the price have already went down alot.

 

[deepblue_82]

Thinking of upgrading my PC and need some advise . Thank you!

Current set up:
Geforce GTX745 4GB DDR3
i7-4790
CPU 3.6ghz
Ram 12gb

Requirement for new PC:
WIFI
Bluetooth
Support M2
Support dual display
Type C port (preferably/ optional)
Support window 11
Support 4K (preferably)
At least 3 slot for ssd/ harddisk

Is the entry level sufficient for me?
Usage mainly for watching movie/ drama, some documentation work, browsing, playing music occasionally.
No gaming at all.

Intend to use back the current SSD and hard disk.
Does tradepac help to assemble the 4 items? Usually how much do I need to add-on?
Does asrock B550m Wifi SE support dual display, or anything to add-on to support dual display?
Or any mobo slightly higher grade that can support?

Is it possible to sell my old unit without hard disk hehee?

TIA!

value gaming pc, total: $1055

ryzen 5 5600 + asrock b550m wifi se	287	tradepac
patriot viper steel 2x 8gb 3600c18 ddr4	57	techdeals
wd blue sn570 1tb	68	dynacore
sapphire rx 7600 pulse	389	dynacore
super flower legion gx pro 650w	104	techdeals

i am not sure if 5600g supports 4k output, but if u need dual display
1 can go via hdmi 1 can go via display port
this mb has wifi and bt plus good audio card.
this mb has 1 m.2 4 stata
yes u can sell your old unit without hdd.

 

[mike911]

First of all, i appreciate both of your opinions and inputs. its like im trying to catch up with yester years mentality. im nearly lost while reading up on nvme vs sata/achi. there's even 2.5Gbps and wifi 6 that i havent even touch on yet, i even seen SFP+ being introduced in home networks. still got the processor and gpu refresh'es to keep up with. its just very irritating with the PC not wanting to boot up on cold boot. i have to "wiggle" the graphics card in order for it to be detected.

if just daily use like surf web, watch video, office work this kind, portable console could be a good choice if u also want to use it on the go, then at home get a dock and plug in ur peripherals and monitor for an almost desktop experience. it will be much more expensive though, so if ur not looking to spend much, the entry level gaming reco in the first post is enough. and for daily use, u wont notice the difference between pcie gen3, 4 or 5 or between ryzen 5000 or 7000 or between ddr4 or ddr5, but u will notice the much larger hole in ur wallet.

so its either a premium pocketable solution with some performance compromise or an all-out desktop with wireless controller. Unlikely i'll be going anywhere with the desktop or handheld. It's more of a laze around solution that i might opt towards.

yes, but it is so new that there are hardly any use cases now to justify the premium - u can count the number of available gen5 nvmes with ur hands and the only gen5 gpu out there is the mtt s80 that cant run anything outside of esports titles. gen4 is enough for most people (including consoles and 4090 users), and I'd say even gen3 is enough especially for general use well into the future.

Gotcha. So i'm just overwhelmed with numbers and specs for now.

Ryzen 5000 support pcie 4.0 only 7000 support pcie 5.0.

If you ask me worth anot hard to said because if you go the latest ryzen cpu not all motherboard got pcie 5.0 nvme slot even got only one slot and the price of nvme 5.0 is too expensive.

You can get 4tb nvme 4.0 at around $200 now the price to tb pcie 5.0 still cannot fight might need around 3-4 year for it to happen.

The performance difference is around 2-5 secs on loading game or windows os download speed like torrent or straight download files download speed will be bottleneck by your broadband mostly we are still at 1000mbs plan to maximum the use of pcie 4.0 or 5.0 you need at least two slot 5.0 to transfer files 5.0 nvme same as pcie 4.0.

For ddr 5 yes it worth to get it now as the price have already went down alot.

okays, point noted on compatibility, performance and price/tb ratios.
but i noticed in order to use ddr5, need to up to 7000 series processors. so its more of whether the mobo has pcie 5.0 nvme slots.

 

[deepblue_82]

ddr 5 is for intel gen 13 and 14 and amd am5
2.5g and wifi 6, most fiber are only 1g well in my own option dont need it.
ddr 5 yes now and the future
unless u are looking at charts and pies or gaming at 1440p or 4k with 150fps
pcie 4 and 5 yes on paper it looks good, but in real time not that much.
but of coz hdd vs mvme thats a whole diff story, now hdd is just for store or backup.
mvme prices has come to the point where there is no point taking hdd
min start would be 1tb, gen 4 vs gen 5 the prices at the moment cant fight

the above are my own 2 cents please dont shoot me

 

[jrwong84]

okays, point noted on compatibility, performance and price/tb ratios.
but i noticed in order to use ddr5, need to up to 7000 series processors. so its more of whether the mobo has pcie 5.0 nvme slots.

You must understand now even gpu rtx 4090 are created using pcie 4.0 x16 generation slot not pcie 5.0 next generation rtx 5000 might use pcie 5.0 x 16

If you plan to overclock ram than you need good motherboard and CPU and good ram and still cannot 100% guarantee will not blue screen need a lot of testing and stress test fpu cpu memory.

If you don't plan overclocking too much normal motherboard will do just on xmp default ram package speed.

 

[jas663]

asrock b550m wifi se

value gaming pc, total: $1055

ryzen 5 5600 + asrock b550m wifi se	287	tradepac
patriot viper steel 2x 8gb 3600c18 ddr4	57	techdeals
wd blue sn570 1tb	68	dynacore
sapphire rx 7600 pulse	389	dynacore
super flower legion gx pro 650w	104	techdeals

i am not sure if 5600g supports 4k output, but if u need dual display
1 can go via hdmi 1 can go via display port
this mb has wifi and bt plus good audio card.
this mb has 1 m.2 4 stata
yes u can sell your old unit without hdd.

asrock b550m wifi se looks good. But it seems only has 1 HDMI port, no display port.
Can I get a HDMI splitter for dual display, will it work?

I also saw another combo from Techpac, not sure if this mobo is good to have or asrock b550m wifi se is better?
I dont play game, basically watching movie and some office work. Do I really need a graphic card?

MAG B550M Mortar Max WIFI + AMD4 5600G/5600 (ranging $401-407)

​

 

[NightRaven49]

Requirement for new PC:
WIFI
Bluetooth
Support M2
Support dual display
Type C port (preferrably/ optional)
Support window 11
Support 4K graphic
At least 3 slot for ssd/ harddisk

Is the entry level sufficient for me?
Usage mainly for watching movie/ drama, some documentation work, browsing, playing music occasionally.
No gaming at all.

Does asrock B550m Wifi SE support dual display, or anything to add-on to support dual display?
Or any mobo slightly higher grade that can support?

generally the specs of the entry level reco is more than enough, but the mobo as u noted only has 1 hdmi out. i suggest stepping up to the msi pro vdh wifi, which not only has hdmi and displayport but also vga if u really need it the digital outputs should support 4k. u also gain a type c front panel connector, so u can get a case with it for type c connectivity if u want (neither board has type c on the rear io panel), though that will further add on to the cost. there are some compact matx cases that do support type c and are quite cheap on taobao though.

Does tradepac help to assemble the 4 items? Usually how much do I need to add-on?

yes, not sure about build fee so u can inquire. some bros mentioned that going rate among sls shops is around $30, though if u do get all the parts from them i believe u may be able to bargain abit.

Is it possible to sell my old unit without hard disk hehee?

yes, though not for a lot. I recently sold a 4770 + gtx760 + 1tb hdd for $210, so urs with a slower gpu and no storage will probably be even lower. that said, the 4790 does command a premium (relative to other haswell cpus).

For ddr 5 yes it worth to get it now as the price have already went down alot.

ryzen 7000 (ddr5 only) is still significantly more expensive than ryzen 5000 (ddr4 only), so i wouldnt say it is worth it even though ddr5 itself is much cheaper than it used to be. for general use like watch video or surf web, there is also literally 0 performance uplift going from ddr4 to ddr5.

value gaming pc, total: $1055

ryzen 5 5600 + asrock b550m wifi se	287	tradepac
patriot viper steel 2x 8gb 3600c18 ddr4	57	techdeals
wd blue sn570 1tb	68	dynacore
sapphire rx 7600 pulse	389	dynacore
super flower legion gx pro 650w	104	techdeals

i am not sure if 5600g supports 4k output, but if u need dual display
1 can go via hdmi 1 can go via display port

5600g can support multiple 4k displays, so no need for a dgpu which significantly increases the cost. but as mentioned above, the b550m wifi se only has 1 hdmi, so a different mobo is required.

I also saw another combo from Techpac, not sure if this mobo is good to have or asrock b550m wifi se is better?
I dont play game, basically watching movie and some office work. Do I really need a graphic card?

MAG B550M Mortar Max WIFI + AMD4 5600G/5600 (ranging $401-407)

quite overkill for ur use case, the pro vdh wifi is enough for a lot cheaper. u will need a graphics card if u opt for the 5600 non g, no need if u go for the 5600g as this has integrated graphics, which is what i recommend for basic use.

 

[jas663]

generally the specs of the entry level reco is more than enough, but the mobo as u noted only has 1 hdmi out. i suggest stepping up to the msi pro vdh wifi, which not only has hdmi and displayport but also vga if u really need it the digital outputs should support 4k. u also gain a type c front panel connector, so u can get a case with it for type c connectivity if u want (neither board has type c on the rear io panel), though that will further add on to the cost. there are some compact matx cases that do support type c and are quite cheap on taobao though.

I look at the spec for msi pro vdh wifi, they say only support window 10. Will it be able to support window 11?
Otherwise, this is good choice.
I actually shortlisted Tecware NeoM2, guess I can only forgo the type C in the front hahaa.
Most likely I will probably get the shop to assemble for me, so ordering from TB may not be feasible.

quite overkill for ur use case, the pro vdh wifi is enough for a lot cheaper. u will need a graphics card if u opt for the 5600 non g, no need if u go for the 5600g as this has integrated graphics, which is what i recommend for basic use.

Thanks for the explanation!
I still wonder whats the diff btw the 2 and cant figure out

By the way MAG B50M Mortar MAx WIFI has WIFI 6, and Bluetooth 5.2.
Is there much diff and value for the price upgrade?

Thank you very much!

 

[jas663]

Anyone bought SSD/ M2 from Taobao before?
Any reliable brand to recommend?

 

[mike911]

ddr 5 is for intel gen 13 and 14 and amd am5
2.5g and wifi 6, most fiber are only 1g well in my own option dont need it.
ddr 5 yes now and the future
unless u are looking at charts and pies or gaming at 1440p or 4k with 150fps
pcie 4 and 5 yes on paper it looks good, but in real time not that much.
but of coz hdd vs mvme thats a whole diff story, now hdd is just for store or backup.
mvme prices has come to the point where there is no point taking hdd
min start would be 1tb, gen 4 vs gen 5 the prices at the moment cant fight

the above are my own 2 cents please dont shoot me

theres no reason for anyone to shoot anyone, when everyone is/are all just sharing with their fair share of understanding or interpretation. and for me whom lost speed to current tech, i think i should be grateful and appreciative that there is someone who is willing to spend time to reply and shed some light.

fibre? for home PCs? or are talking about network level switching? I hope consumer PCs dont need fibre connectivity bah?
reading from the above comments, i have taken note that basically pci-e gen 5 is just specification numbers difference where real life wont feel the feasibility yet. taken note on DDR5 rams and nvme's recommendation.

For me, im still on the old ultrasharp 1440p display. so probably have to put GPU into considerations. Even if its lenovo legion go, i have to worry if docked to desktop, how will the Z1 Extreme holds.

i'm still pondering between rebuild, or replace suspected faulty parts, or notebook or portable gaming console.

You must understand now even gpu rtx 4090 are created using pcie 4.0 x16 generation slot not pcie 5.0 next generation rtx 5000 might use pcie 5.0 x 16

If you plan to overclock ram than you need good motherboard and CPU and good ram and still cannot 100% guarantee will not blue screen need a lot of testing and stress test fpu cpu memory.

If you don't plan overclocking too much normal motherboard will do just on xmp default ram package speed.

think those graphics card are beyond my reach, despite needing something that can perform on 1440p. but i have taken note that current GPUs are basically all pci-e 4.0 x16 now.

nah, note really gona play ram timings, i played in the past with some minor numbers, got a few burn test numbers difference, but didn't really feel any much gains in daily use.

 

[zjllee]

I am looking at building a balanced build (gaming/productivity/energy efficiency) "performance" build around the 7800x3d and 4070. I am aiming for 64GB with expo, 1tb storage with at least 1tb backup storage. Scientific computing and 1440p gaming.

Any advice on a good full-build based on what is available at Sim Lim now? Comments on the CPU/GPPU is more than welcome.

 

[Alyeska]

the enthusiast rig reco in the first post is sufficient for even 4k ultra gaming, and should last for quite a while. u can just fit it in a 1.8k budget if u get a cheaper ssd and case and skip the 3rd party cooler.

they had the deal on their price list in sept, now no more. ive updated the recommendations in the first post (which people have been quoting) to reflect this. u can maybe try to find similar deals on carou (like what jrwong mentioned), since I do remember seeing a few places running the same combo but at slightly different prices.

that said, quite a few prices have gone up in the latest revision, especially ram and ssd prices

i know aftershock is not really something that is preferred here but their price is so competitive i can't turn my eye away.

https://www.aftershockpc.com/products/amd-unbeatable-6700xt
https://www.aftershockpc.com/products/amd-unbeatable-7700xt
https://www.aftershockpc.com/products/amd-unbeatable3x

I tried to look around the price list with similar build and they easily hit 2k :/

 

[jrwong84]

nah, note really gona play ram timings, i played in the past with some minor numbers, got a few burn test numbers difference, but didn't really feel any much gains in daily use.

Yes you are right overclocking ram speed really don't have much performance increase, unless you are those very hardcore fps gamer they intend to juice every little performance out for framrate.

But of you are building new rig recommend is 2x16gb ram for peace of mind, and easily to over clock lesser stress on ram don't go 4 X slot like 4x8gb.

 

[jrwong84]

i know aftershock is not really something that is preferred here but their price is so competitive i can't turn my eye away.

https://www.aftershockpc.com/products/amd-unbeatable-6700xt
https://www.aftershockpc.com/products/amd-unbeatable-7700xt
https://www.aftershockpc.com/products/amd-unbeatable3x

I tried to look around the price list with similar build and they easily hit 2k :/

Only gpu cpu alright nvme cooler psu is a joke.

 

[X15]

morning all, need your advise on this set up, is it worth? quote 1.25k

AMD Ryzen 5 5400
ASROCK B550m WIFI SE
16GB Lexar Ares RGB DDR4 3600Mhz (8x2)
Gigabyte RTX 4060Ti Eagle - 8GB
800W FSP Hydro Pro 80+ Bronze
1TB LExar NM620 Gen3 SSD

 

[mike911]

just when i'm about to consider new rig, current pc decides to show no issues now, instead of the usual intermittent display problems. now i don't know what to do with the spare PSU that i originally bought.

Yes you are right overclocking ram speed really don't have much performance increase, unless you are those very hardcore fps gamer they intend to juice every little performance out for framrate.

But of you are building new rig recommend is 2x16gb ram for peace of mind, and easily to over clock lesser stress on ram don't go 4 X slot like 4x8gb.

okays, got it.

 

[Alyeska]

Only gpu cpu alright nvme cooler psu is a joke.

What do you think if i get the base from them and top up with my own nvme, cooler and psu?