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ScoutSpecs

Build a PC

A budget and a purpose. Every part is chosen for the job, checked against every other part for fit, and explained. Prices are typical, not live: the Amazon page decides.

Start from a build people pick

Live from the catalogue
  1. Office & everyday for $1,000Intel Core Ultra 5 250K PlusGeForce RTX 5050$996 all in, 8 parts, fit 61 of 10061fitOpen this build
  2. Gaming for $1,500Intel Core Ultra 5 250K PlusRadeon RX 9070 XT$1,490 all in, 8 parts, fit 76 of 10076fitOpen this build
  3. Content creation for $3,000AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3DGeForce RTX 5080$2,932 all in, 8 parts, fit 87 of 10087fitOpen this build

Every row is worked out from today's catalogue. Open one, then change anything.

  1. 1Pick a budget from the rail
  2. 2Pick what the PC is for
  3. 3Every part appears, checked for fit
  4. 4Buy each part, or pay less through ScoutPrices

A demonstration with example parts. Hover to pause.

Budget, in US dollars

Steps of $500. $1,000 is the least that buys every part a content creation PC needs; a screen, keyboard and mouse come on top.

What the PC is for
56Fit for the job

Capable

$1,000 for content creation

Tuned for export times: many cores, a card with good encoders, lots of memory.

$1,000 for 8 parts, $0 under budget

The Intel Core Ultra 5 250K Plus has headroom to spare. The Intel Arc B580 sets the frame rate at 1440p, so a faster card is the upgrade that shows.

PartScore for the jobTypical priceBuy
ProcessorIntel Core Ultra 5 250K Plus

Highest content creation score near $240: 18 cores, boosts to 5.3 GHz.

2 swaps that still fit
77
$210
Buy on Amazon
MotherboardASRock B860M Pro RS WiFi

B860 board for the LGA1851 socket, DDR5, 3 M.2 slots, Wi-Fi.

62
$149
Buy on Amazon
MemoryG.Skill Flare X5 32GB (2x16GB) DDR5-6000 CL30

32 GB DDR5 at 6000 MT/s CL30; 32 GB or more is the floor for content creation.

4 swaps that still fit
80
$95
Buy on Amazon
Graphics cardIntel Arc B580

12 GB of video memory, index 30 at 1440p; tuned for export times: many cores, a card with good encoders, lots of memory.

3 swaps that still fit
30
$269
Buy on Amazon
CPU coolerThermalright Assassin X 120 Refined SE

Rated 180 W for a chip that turbos to 159 W.

2 swaps that still fit
62
$20
Buy on Amazon
Power supplyMSI MAG A750GL PCIE5

750 W, 80 Plus gold; this build draws about 500 W at full tilt, native 12V-2x6 cable.

4 swaps that still fit
78
$89
Buy on Amazon
CaseThermaltake Versa H18

Takes MATX/ITX boards and cards up to 350 mm, 1 fans included.

2 swaps that still fit
50
$49
Buy on Amazon
StorageLexar NM790

2 TB PCIe 4.0 NVMe, 7,400 MB/s reads.

4 swaps that still fit
76
$119
Buy on Amazon
Total, typical prices8 parts$1,000

Is another $500 worth it?

Same job, same brand choices, only the budget moves one step. These are the parts that change.

+$500$1,493 all in, fit 75 +19
  • ProcessorIntel Core Ultra 7 270K Plus instead of Intel Core Ultra 5 250K Plus
  • MemoryG.Skill Trident Z5 RGB 32GB (2x16GB) DDR5-6400 CL32 instead of G.Skill Flare X5 32GB (2x16GB) DDR5-6000 CL30
  • Graphics cardGeForce RTX 5070 instead of Intel Arc B580
  • CPU coolerThermalright Aqua Elite 360 V3 instead of Thermalright Assassin X 120 Refined SE
  • CaseMontech Air 903 Max instead of Thermaltake Versa H18
  • StorageWD Black SN850X instead of Lexar NM790
See what the step up buys
Already own some of these?Take this build's processor and board into the matcher and fill only the gaps.Upgrading instead of starting over?Check the PC you have first; the one part holding it back may be the only one worth buying.