My pc died, need help putting together a new one on budget

[Maxthrust]

Well it happened, again.. 

I only play DCS and I need to build a machine for it again. Last time I have done this was back in 2017, when prices were somewhat still sane. 
 

my budget would be around $2K, so this will be an another 1080p, non-vr built. Objective is to have smooth mp play at medium settings.

I am not sure if I should go AMD, it seems most people stick to intel and nvidia. 

I am open to refurbished backbones as well.

so the question is what is the best bang for buck for the cpu and gpu when DCS is the only game you will ever need. I have not played anything else in a long time and am not interested in other sims

[LucShep]

2000$ for a kickass PC gaming system... here's a good selection of parts according to myself (long read ahead).

I'll list links for NEWEGG, merely as example. The coolers sold there have price inflated for some reason, better get it from AMAZON instead.
Of course, feel free to take reference of models and their codes/numbers, search around and buy them wherever you prefer (and yes, perhaps also consider refurbished items of these parts, it's far less expensive):
 

 CPU (Processor):  

• $273.90  - - - INTEL i5 13600KF 13th Gen Raptor Lake 14-Core (6P+8E) LGA 1700 
  https://www.newegg.com/intel-core-i5-13600kf-core-i5-13th-gen/p/N82E16819118417?Description=INTEL I5 13600KF&cm_re=INTEL_I5 13600KF-_-19-118-417-_-Product&quicklink=true
  
  ...or as a cheaper alternative...
  
  $205.19  - - - INTEL i5 12600KF 12th Gen Alder Lake 10-Core (6P+4E) LGA 1700 
  https://www.newegg.com/intel-core-i5-12600kf-core-i5-12th-gen/p/N82E16819118349?Description=12600KF&cm_re=12600KF-_-19-118-349-_-Product&quicklink=true 

CPU cooler: 

• ...if air cooler (and not overclocking)....
  
  $39.90  - - - Thermalright Peerless Assassin 120 (LGA 1700 compatible)
  https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09S35X72H/ref=twister_B0B17SLHP3?_encoding=UTF8&th=1
  
  ...or...
  $42.90  - - - Thermalright Peerless Assassin 120 SE (LGA 1700 compatible)
  https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09LGY38L4/ref=twister_B0B17SLHP3?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1
  
   
• ...or if overclocking and need a AIO Liquid Cooler:
  
  109.99 - - - ARCTIC Liquid Freezer II 280 - CPU AIO (LGA 1700 compatible)
  https://www.amazon.com/ARCTIC-Liquid-Freezer-All-One/dp/B07WP6M7P7/ref=sr_1_6?crid=3NUP118JU49WQ&keywords=arctic+cooler+freezer+2+280&qid=1677266314&sprefix=arctic+cooler+freezer+2+280%2Caps%2C144&sr=8-6
  
  ...or...
  129.99 - - - ARCTIC Liquid Freezer II 360 - CPU AIO (LGA 1700 compatible)
  https://www.amazon.com/ARCTIC-Liquid-Freezer-All-One/dp/B07WNJCVNW/ref=sr_1_2?crid=1S2FK6I8L8RTR&keywords=arctic+cooler+freezer+2+360&qid=1677266452&sprefix=arctic+cooler+freezer+2+360%2Caps%2C149&sr=8-2

Motherboard:

• ..if prefering a DDR4 motherboard (of course, choose DDR4 memory accordingly if so) 
  
  $224.99 - - - MSI PRO Z790-A WIFI DDR4 LGA 1700
  https://www.newegg.com/p/N82E16813144570?Item=9SIBBSFJKJ1282&Description=MSI Z790&cm_re=MSI_Z790-_-13-144-570-_-Product
  
   
• ...or if prefering a DDR5 motherboard (of course, choose DDR5 memory accordingly if so) 
  
  $259.99 - - - MSI PRO Z790-A WIFI DDR5 LGA 1700
  https://www.newegg.com/p/N82E16813144569?Item=N82E16813144569&Description=MSI Z790&cm_re=MSI_Z790-_-13-144-569-_-Product

 

RAM (memory):

• ...if prefering DDR4 memory (of course, choose a DDR4 motherboard accordingly if so) 
  
  $179.99 - - - Kingston FURY Beast RGB 64GB (2x32GB) DDR4 3600MHz CL18 (18-20-20-40) - KF436C18BBAK2/64
  https://www.amazon.com/Kingston-FURY-3600MHz-KF436C18BBAK2-64/dp/B097HPT64T/ref=sr_1_2?keywords=KF436C18BBAK2%2F64&qid=1677273064&sr=8-2
  
   
• ...or if prefering DDR5 memory (of course, choose a DDR5 motherboard accordingly if so) 
  
  $259.99 - - -G.SKILL Ripjaws S5 Series 64GB (2 x 32GB) DDR5 5600MHz CL28 (28-34-34-89) - F5-5600J2834F32GX2-RS5K
  https://www.newegg.com/g-skill-64gb/p/N82E16820374403?Description=64GB ddr5 5600&cm_re=64GB_ddr5 5600-_-20-374-403-_-Product
   

Storage:

• $145.58 - - - SAMSUNG 980 PRO M.2 2280 2TB PCIe Gen 4.0
  https://www.newegg.com/samsung-2tb-980-pro/p/N82E16820147796?Description=SAMSUNG 980PRO 2TB&cm_re=SAMSUNG_980PRO 2TB-_-20-147-796-_-Product&quicklink=true

...or as a cheaper alternative...

• $119.99 - - - Western Digital WD_BLACK SN770 M.2 2280 2TB PCIe Gen4
  https://www.newegg.com/western-digital-2tb-sn770/p/N82E16820250218?Description=WD SN770 2TB&cm_re=WD_SN770 2TB-_-20-250-218-_-Product
  
   

GPU (graphics card):

• ...if prefering the ideal option (most recommended, faster and newest, good even for 1440P and 4K, but yes it's expensive)...
  
  $799.99 - - - ASUS TUF Gaming NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070Ti  (12GB GDDR6X, PCIe 4.0, HDMI 2.1a, DisplayPort 1.4a)
  https://www.newegg.com/asus-geforce-rtx-4070-ti-tuf-rtx4070ti-12g-gaming/p/N82E16814126607?Description=4070ti&cm_re=4070ti-_-14-126-607-_-Product&quicklink=true

 

• ...or if prefering the minimum recommended option (far cheaper and awesome at 1080P, but older and much slower if compared to the one above)...
  
  $479.99 - - - ASUS TUF Gaming NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060Ti OC Edition (8GB GDDR6X, PCIe 4.0, HDMI 2.1a, DisplayPort 1.4a)
  https://www.newegg.com/asus-geforce-rtx-3060-ti-tuf-rtx3060ti-o8gd6x-gaming/p/N82E16814126620?Description=RTX3060ti&cm_re=RTX3060ti-_-14-126-620-_-Product

PSU (Power Supply Unit):

• $134.90 - - - be quiet! PURE POWER 12 M 850W 80+ Gold, Full Modular, ATX 3.0 compliant, PCIe 5.0 compatible
  https://www.newegg.com/be-quiet-pure-power-850w-850-w/p/1HU-004H-000S2?quicklink=true
   

...or as equivalent alternative...

• $139.54 - - - MSI - MPG A850GF PCIE5 850W 80+ Gold, Full Modular, ATX 3.0 compliant, PCIe 5.0 compatible
  https://www.newegg.com/msi-mpg-a850gf-850w/p/N82E16817701009?Description=MSI 850 PCIE 5.0&cm_re=MSI_850 PCIE 5.0-_-17-701-009-_-Product&quicklink=true

PC case (ATX) :

• $99.99 - - - LIAN LI LANCOOL 216 X Black Steel / Tempered Glass ATX Case (2x160MM FRONT FANS AND 1x140MM REAR FAN INCLUDED)
  https://www.newegg.com/p/2AM-000Z-000A7?Item=2AM-000Z-000A7&Description=lian li mesh&cm_re=lian_li mesh-_-2AM-000Z-000A7-_-Product&quicklink=true

...or as another alternative...

• $109.99 - - - LIAN LI LANCOOL II MESH C PERFORMANCE Black Steel / Tempered Glass ATX Case (Type C, 2x140MM FRONT FANS AND 1x120MM REAR FAN INCLUDED)
  https://www.newegg.com/black-lian-li-lancool-ii-performance-atx-mid-tower/p/2AM-000Z-00086?Description=lian li mesh&cm_re=lian_li mesh-_-2AM-000Z-00086-_-Product&quicklink=true

Operating System (O.S.):  

• $31.68  ---  WINDOWS 11 PRO x64 (SERIAL KEY TO LEGALLY REGISTER YOUR OS)
  https://www.gvgmall.com/software-cdkey/microsoft-windows-11-pro-oem-cd-key-global.html
  
  You'll need to install an operating system on your new computer, Windows 11 x64 (= 64 bit) is recommended with these systems. I prefer the "Pro" version, as the serial key price of it is usually just a few dollars more than the regular "Home" version (that one is also available in that website if prefered).
  Before the process of building a PC, you should take care of this.
  To prepare your Windows installation get a USB pen (a flash drive) with at least 8GB of space (note, it'll be formated). Then create the bootable USB pen of Windows 11 (which you'll use to create a fresh installation of Windows on the new PC) with Media Creation Tools, from Microsoft.
  There are many written and video tutorials on the internet if you look for it (one HERE, for example).
  At some point a key will be asked to register your Windows, you insert that serial key you bought... Next.... Done.

 

I think there's enough parts there for you to consider.... those are all in my opinion, of course.  
Worst scenario (with most expensive parts from that list) is about $2150 total. 

 

Edited February 25, 2023 by LucShep

[BitMaster]

Actually, eBay has 11 for 5-15€ everyday multiple times. No need to pay 30+

When you choose DDR5 for your build then I'd wait for the 7000X3D series CPU's and see if they are better than Intel's offer.

The rest is great, looking at that 2TB 980Pro...damn, I paid that much for each of my 980Pro's, just all 1TB. Nice to see that at least some PC parts have gone down in price.

Think I'll grab a 2TB as well once those low prices reach Germany.

[Maxthrust]

This was great, much appreciated!

[L4key]

Do whatever Lucshep says x

[TheFreshPrince]

I had smooth gameplay in multiplayer with a setup around a used 980ti and 1440p with medium to high settings. Whole thing cost around 500, although I recently upgraded. For the suggested 2k setup you should be able to use high to ultra settings with 1440p or even more with 1080p.