Now is both a great time and a frustrating time to build a gaming PC. Some fierce competition between AMD, Intel, and Nvidia is creating some desirable products at reasonable prices. But these great parts, combined with a surge in people working from home due to the pandemic, has also caused a spike in demand. And you may find it challenging to track down everything you want or need to complete your build.
But that doesn’t mean you should give up. I’m here with a combination gift guide/build guide/deals guide for Black Friday 2020 and beyond. Here’s what you should look out for.
SSD
Crucial P2 1TB NVME SSD
Price: $84 (using promo code: 93XPY98)
Newegg
Crucial’s 3D NAND memory is ideal for gaming. It can slow down in some other tasks, but it’ll give you the speed you need as a Steam drive. Just make sure you use the promo code.
Motherboards
NZXT N7 Z490 (for Intel)
Price: $230
NZXT
A great and stylish mobo from NZXT that packs a ton of features.
Aorus Elite Wifi X570 (for AMD)
Price: $190
Newegg
Gigabyte has updated all of its X570 motherboards so that if you buy them from a vendor like Newegg, it’ll come with an updated BIOS for the new Ryzen 5000-series CPUs. And this is a great option if you want to overclock.
All-in-one liquid cooler
NZXT Kraken Z3
Price: $249
Newegg
The Kraken is an awesome CPU cooler thanks to its performance as well as its looks. That includes a LCD display that you can customize however you want.
The best gaming CPU
AMD Ryzen 5 5600X
Price: $300
Newegg
The new Ryzen CPUs are extraordinary, and that starts with the most affordable of the bunch: the $300 Ryzen 5 5600X. The biggest problem with this price is that it’s hard to find. But if you can find it at its list price, don’t hesitate to get it.
The best 4K GPU for most people
Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080/3070
Price: $700/$500
If you need a GPU for 4K gaming, Nvidia’s RTX 3080 is probably the best option for you. But that’s impossible to find. The RTX 3070 is also a good option, but its 8GB of VRAM may cause problems in the long run. And it’s not like that is easy to find, either. I’m writing this before I can talk about the new AMD GPUs, but the Radeon 5800, 5800 XT, and 5900 XT are likely great. But the RTX cards may have an advantage due to mature features like DLSS and ray tracing.
Power supplies
Corsair SF750 750 Watt 80+ Platinum
Price: $177
Amazon
This is a great deal on a PSU with enough wattage to power the high-end Ryzen 9 CPUs coupled with an RTX 3080.
Case
Rosewill Spectra C100 ATX Mid Tower Case
Price: $45
Ebay
This case is normally $75. But it’s available for $45 through eBay. It has four 120mm blue LED fans, so you don’t have to skip out on the glowy business just to save some money.
