Re: best specs for sims 4/3

@puzzlezaddict The i5 is perfect and it’s a reasonable price! thank you!!! I did also have trouble choosing a gpu, not only because of the price but also because i’m not sure which one I like more. I have an old GPU from my Alienware aurora r7. I want to choose the CPU & GPU before I pick the other parts but I do have some in mind! I also am unsure which mobo  to choose. I did like the asus.

Here’s my pc part picker link. I forgot to mention I also play spore, roblox, and minecraft.

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/hdvtQ6

@iheartjayde  The parts you've chosen so far are all very good or great.  You could probably save a little money here and there, but it kind of seems like you're going for a certain theme with this build, and that's a perfectly reasonable excuse to spend a few more dollars here and there.  As an example, you could get an equivalent high-quality RAM kit for $110, but not in white with RGB.

For the graphics card, if you want to play Minecraft with Raytracing, you'll need an Nvidia RTX 20- or 30-series, or an AMD 6000-series card.  Looking at some screenshots, I'm guessing you'll want this feature, so even though Sims games don't need quite such a fast GPU, it's probably worth the higher price.  Personally, I'd avoid AMD cards here just because there's some weirdness with Sims 4 and mirror reflections that hasn't been resolved in almost a year.  It's a small problem for sure, but the fact that it's still present means that other issues could show up and stick around for a maddeningly long time.  You'd save a little money by going AMD, but only around $50 right now, give or take, for equivalent performance.

Still, if you do want an AMD card, the 6600 XT is a great choice starting around $360, only about $60 more than the regular 6600 for a ~30% improvement.  Don't get a 6500 XT: it's a slow card under ideal circumstances and even worse if your motherboard doesn't support PCIe gen 4, which not all boards for your processor do.  (More on that below.)

For Nvidia cards, a 2060 would be fine and give you as much performance as Sims games can provide if you have a 1080p monitor or only need to see 60 or 75 fps.  If you're planning to play at a higher resolution and a higher refresh rate (for example, 2650x1440 at 144 Hz), I'd consider getting a 3060.  While the 2060 would still hit 144 fps or close to it under ideal conditions, as in, nothing's going on in-game to cause framerate drops, the faster card would buffer those inevitable drops better.  (Of course, on a 60 Hz monitor, you're not going to notice an fps drop from 144 to 90, so the point would be moot.)  A 2060 Super is slower than a 3060 and almost the same price; a 3060 ti is ~30% faster but more than $100 more expensive.

The rest of your build would support any GPU currently on the market, so it's perfectly reasonable to buy a good-enough card now and look for an upgrade in three years.  In fact, it may be the wiser option considering how quickly graphics cards are improving and the fact that none of your games could use more speed than a 3060 provides even at high resolution and high fps.

For the motherboard, Asus models are generally high quality, as are MSI and Gigabyte.  In all cases, skip the manufacturer-provided bloatware, which is easy to do when you're building the system yourself.  If this is your first build, I'd go with an ATX board just because you have more room to maneuver; you'll also have more upgrade options for later, for example more PCIe slots.  If you want a high-end board for cheap, this one has a promo offer and a rebate that puts the net cost at $130:

https://www.newegg.com/asus-rog-strix-z590-a-gaming-wifi/p/N82E16813119371

If you like Asus boards, the Prime line is also quite good and affordable.  I have a friend who used a Prime Z190 for four years and was very happy with it, and he's picky and also a power user.

Otherwise, any Z590 board from one of the above manufacturers will be fine.  The only difference to pay attention to is whether a board has wifi, and that's only if you want it, although it's useful to have for troubleshooting connection issues even if you're always going to game on a wired connection.  You don't really need to worry about PCIe gen 4: no component you're considering will even max out gen 3 speeds.  And unless you're looking at buying a $1,000 GPU in a few years, you wouldn't need gen 4 down the line either.

In fact, your games would load just as quickly on a SATA SSD.  But given the prices and the fact that Windows is faster on an NVMe, that's definitely the way to go.

@puzzlezaddict  i’m not sure which mobo i like but  i’m choosing  the Nvidia RTX 2060. Although i do like the 3060 I can never seem to find it for a reasonable price. The hardest part of this all will be choosing a case. This is my own first custom build as i’m used to helping others so i’m a little nervous but again thank you! I appreciate it!

@puzzlezaddict you’re totally right! I’ve made my choice. I have it all on my pc part picker. you’ve been so helpful, again thank you so much!