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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 i3-14100FRadeon RX 6600$999 all in, 8 parts, fit 52 of 10052fitOpen this build
  2. Gaming for $1,500Intel Core i5-14600KFRadeon RX 7700 XT$1,482 all in, 8 parts, fit 61 of 10061fitOpen this build
  3. Content creation for $3,000Intel Core Ultra 7 270K PlusGeForce RTX 5070 Ti$2,994 all in, 8 parts, fit 82 of 10082fitOpen 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. $2,500 is the least that buys every part a 3D & rendering PC needs; past $10,000 the catalogue has nothing faster to add. A screen, keyboard and mouse come on top.

What the PC is for
88Fit for the job

Enthusiast

$7,000 for 3D & rendering

Tuned for all-core throughput and render speed.

$6,995 for 8 parts, $5 under budget

The Intel Core Ultra 5 250K Plus and the GeForce RTX 5090 are well matched at 1440p.

Lian Li O11 Dynamic EvoRTX 50901000 W

Build order

Eight steps, the way a builder works through the case. $6,995 all in.

  1. Gigabyte B860 Aorus Elite WiFi7 on the tray
  2. Core Ultra 5 250K Plus in the socket
  3. Thermalright Phantom Spirit 120 SE on top
  4. 2 sticks of memory
  5. Lexar NM790 2 TB on the board
  6. RTX 5090 in the x16 slot
  7. 1000 W supply in the basement
  8. Panel on, power on
PartScore for the jobTypical priceBuy
ProcessorIntel Core Ultra 5 250K Plus

Highest 3D & rendering score the budget allows next to this card: 18 cores, boosts to 5.3 GHz.

2 swaps that still fit
75
$220
Buy on Amazon
MotherboardGigabyte B860 Aorus Elite WiFi7

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

2 swaps that still fit
76
$170
Buy on Amazon
MemoryG.Skill Ripjaws S5 64GB (2x32GB) DDR5-6000 CL30

64 GB DDR5 at 6000 MT/s CL30; 64 GB or more is the floor for 3D & rendering.

2 swaps that still fit
88
$1,199
Buy on Amazon
Graphics cardGeForce RTX 5090

32 GB of video memory, index 100 at 1440p; tuned for all-core throughput and render speed.

2 swaps that still fit
100
$4,830
Buy on Amazon
CPU coolerThermalright Phantom Spirit 120 SE

Rated 260 W for a chip that turbos to 159 W.

3 swaps that still fit
88
$36
Buy on Amazon
Power supplyCorsair RM1000x (2024)

1000 W, 80 Plus gold; this build draws about 1000 W at full tilt, native 12V-2x6 cable.

4 swaps that still fit
93
$167
Buy on Amazon
CaseLian Li O11 Dynamic Evo

Takes EATX/ATX/MATX/ITX boards and cards up to 422 mm, 0 fans included.

4 swaps that still fit
90
$73
Buy on Amazon
StorageLexar NM790

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

2 swaps that still fit
76
$300
Buy on Amazon
Total, typical prices8 parts$6,995

Is another $500 worth it?

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

-$500$6,496 all in, fit 88 same
  • ProcessorAMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D instead of Intel Core Ultra 5 250K Plus
  • MotherboardMSI MEG X870E Godlike instead of Gigabyte B860 Aorus Elite WiFi7
  • MemoryG.Skill Trident Z5 Royal 64GB (2x32GB) DDR5-6400 CL32 instead of G.Skill Ripjaws S5 64GB (2x32GB) DDR5-6000 CL30
  • Graphics cardGeForce RTX 5080 instead of GeForce RTX 5090
  • CPU coolerNoctua NH-D15 G2 instead of Thermalright Phantom Spirit 120 SE
  • Power supplySeasonic Vertex GX-1000 instead of Corsair RM1000x (2024)
  • CaseCorsair 9000D RGB Airflow instead of Lian Li O11 Dynamic Evo
  • StorageWD Black SN8100 instead of Lexar NM790
See the step down+$500$7,484 all in, fit 97 +9
  • ProcessorIntel Core Ultra 7 270K Plus instead of Intel Core Ultra 5 250K Plus
  • MotherboardASUS ROG Maximus Z890 Hero instead of Gigabyte B860 Aorus Elite WiFi7
  • CPU coolerArctic Liquid Freezer III Pro 360 instead of Thermalright Phantom Spirit 120 SE
  • Power supplyThermaltake Toughpower GF3 1200W instead of Corsair RM1000x (2024)
  • StorageSamsung 9100 Pro 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.