Skip to content
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
75Fit for the job

Enthusiast

$1,500 for content creation

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

$1,493 for 8 parts, $7 under budget

The Intel Core Ultra 7 270K Plus and the GeForce RTX 5070 are well matched at 1440p.

PartScore for the jobTypical priceBuy
ProcessorIntel Core Ultra 7 270K Plus

Highest content creation score near $360: 24 cores, boosts to 5.5 GHz.

3 swaps that still fit
95
$290
Buy on Amazon
MotherboardASRock B860M Pro RS WiFi

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

2 swaps that still fit
62
$149
Buy on Amazon
MemoryG.Skill Trident Z5 RGB 32GB (2x16GB) DDR5-6400 CL32

32 GB DDR5 at 6400 MT/s CL32; 32 GB or more is the floor for content creation.

4 swaps that still fit
85
$129
Buy on Amazon
Graphics cardGeForce RTX 5070

12 GB of video memory, index 58 at 1440p; tuned for export times: many cores, a card with good encoders, lots of memory.

4 swaps that still fit
57
$549
Buy on Amazon
CPU coolerThermalright Aqua Elite 360 V3

Rated 300 W for a chip that turbos to 250 W.

2 swaps that still fit
76
$59
Buy on Amazon
Power supplyMSI MAG A750GL PCIE5

750 W, 80 Plus gold; this build draws about 700 W at full tilt, native 12V-2x6 cable.

2 swaps that still fit
78
$89
Buy on Amazon
CaseMontech Air 903 Max

Takes EATX/ATX/MATX/ITX boards and cards up to 400 mm, 4 fans included.

4 swaps that still fit
82
$79
Buy on Amazon
StorageWD Black SN850X

2 TB PCIe 4.0 NVMe, 7,300 MB/s reads, with cache.

4 swaps that still fit
88
$149
Buy on Amazon
Total, typical prices8 parts$1,493

Is another $500 worth it?

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

-$500$1,000 all in, fit 56 -19
  • ProcessorIntel Core Ultra 5 250K Plus instead of Intel Core Ultra 7 270K Plus
  • MemoryG.Skill Flare X5 32GB (2x16GB) DDR5-6000 CL30 instead of G.Skill Trident Z5 RGB 32GB (2x16GB) DDR5-6400 CL32
  • Graphics cardIntel Arc B580 instead of GeForce RTX 5070
  • CPU coolerThermalright Assassin X 120 Refined SE instead of Thermalright Aqua Elite 360 V3
  • CaseThermaltake Versa H18 instead of Montech Air 903 Max
  • StorageLexar NM790 instead of WD Black SN850X
See the step down+$500$1,993 all in, fit 82 +7
  • MotherboardASUS TUF Gaming B860-Plus WiFi instead of ASRock B860M Pro RS WiFi
  • MemoryG.Skill Trident Z5 Royal 32GB (2x16GB) DDR5-8000 CL38 instead of G.Skill Trident Z5 RGB 32GB (2x16GB) DDR5-6400 CL32
  • Graphics cardGeForce RTX 5070 Ti instead of GeForce RTX 5070
  • CPU coolerArctic Liquid Freezer III 360 instead of Thermalright Aqua Elite 360 V3
  • Power supplySeasonic Focus GX-750 ATX 3.0 instead of MSI MAG A750GL PCIE5
  • CaseLian Li Lancool 216 instead of Montech Air 903 Max
  • StorageSamsung 9100 Pro instead of WD Black SN850X
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.