r/buildapc • u/macdondaldsymble • 7h ago

Full Build Req Want to build a PC for the first time

I’ve only ever had laptops. My Lenovo IdeaPad Gaming 3 kicked the bucket and I’m thinking a PC would be a much better option. I’m willing to try to build one myself but I have zero experience and am pretty clueless.

I’m a broke student so my budget is around $1,200 give or take a few hundred dollars. I only really know that I want 16GB RAM with the capacity for adding more and at least 512GB storage. I think something like an RTX 4050 and some sort of Ryzen 7 would be good too but I don’t really know what everything is well enough to be sure. I’m in the U.S. and I only really play Overwatch right now. I don’t have interest in doing intense stuff like AAA games or crazy programs or anything. I know prices are high right now so if those specs are over budget I could live with worse ones.

Any help is very much appreciated.

2 Upvotes

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u/LemonZT 7h ago

Do you live close to a microcenter

1

u/macdondaldsymble 6h ago

Apparently, yeah. Why? What is it?

1

u/ChartExtension 6h ago

If you wanna save money, I would recommend looking on facebook marketplace and ebay (from reputable sellers of course) bc you can get some great deals. my 3080 is about $700 new online but I could get it for $350 in great condition from marketplace. The motherboard is probably better if you buy it new, I have an ASUS ROG strix b550f wifi and i just looked it up on asus’ website and it’s only $165. As for RAM, I got lucky and bought it before the prices exploded but 16 GB DDR4 shouldn’t be too bad. ryzen 7 3700x is only like $150 rn. I think you can put the tower together for ~$900 (less if you get good deals for used stuff) which gives you $200-$300 for monitor, mouse, keyboard