Smart enough to put pieces together not smart enough to know...

[IIamaKing]

which pieces to pick. Could any one help me with a build for DF in the 1200$ range?

[Nerph-]

https://www.mmo-champion.com/threads...-build-Read-me!

[Goat7]

which pieces to pick. Could any one help me with a build for DF in the 1200$ range?

PCPartPicker Part List: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/dQ3Xd9

CPU: Intel Core i5-12600K 3.7 GHz 10-Core Processor ($274.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: be quiet! Pure Rock 2 Black CPU Cooler ($44.90 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: MSI PRO Z690-A WIFI DDR4 ATX LGA1700 Motherboard ($214.99 @ Adorama)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LPX 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR4-3600 CL18 Memory ($99.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Samsung 970 Evo Plus 1 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 3.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive ($99.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: MSI GeForce RTX 3060 Gaming X12G GeForce RTX 3060 12 GB Video Card ($379.99 @ B&H)
Case: Phanteks Eclipse P300A Mesh ATX Mid Tower Case ($69.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: MSI MPG A750GF 750 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply ($99.99 @ Adorama)
Total: $1284.83
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2022-10-09 12:38 EDT-0400

Doesnt include windows or monitor. may also need thermal paste.

[Kagthul]

PCPartPicker Part List: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/dQ3Xd9

CPU: Intel Core i5-12600K 3.7 GHz 10-Core Processor ($274.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: be quiet! Pure Rock 2 Black CPU Cooler ($44.90 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: MSI PRO Z690-A WIFI DDR4 ATX LGA1700 Motherboard ($214.99 @ Adorama)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LPX 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR4-3600 CL18 Memory ($99.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Samsung 970 Evo Plus 1 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 3.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive ($99.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: MSI GeForce RTX 3060 Gaming X12G GeForce RTX 3060 12 GB Video Card ($379.99 @ B&H)
Case: Phanteks Eclipse P300A Mesh ATX Mid Tower Case ($69.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: MSI MPG A750GF 750 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply ($99.99 @ Adorama)
Total: $1284.83
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2022-10-09 12:38 EDT-0400

Doesnt include windows or monitor. may also need thermal paste.

Wont need thermal paste, BeQuiet! definitely includes good quality paste.

Changes i'd make:

stake out your local Best Buy and kick that GPU up to a 3060Ti. They sell the 3060Ti Founders Edition for its MSRP of 399$ and get shipmets every week.

while RAM is cheap, there's no real benefit to a gaming rig for 32GB of RAM, particularly when you're going with CL18. Consider dropping to 16GB with better latency.

As i seriously doubt you (the OP, not the guy im quoting) want to manually OC this thing, ditch the Z690 board for a cheaper B660 board. The 12600K still hits 4.8ghz turbo and will sustain that if the cooling is good enough (which the Pure Rock 2 should be). Its still worth using even on a board that you cant OC it on because of the MUCH faster base and boost clocks over the 12400 and the exta 4 E-cores.

Otherwise, this is similar to what id recommend.

If you can wait a few weeks, get the upcoming 13600K instead of the 12600K. It will work in the that motherboard (or a B660 board) and has even better base and boost clocks, and 4 additional E-cores over the 12600K. Its only going to be marginally more expensive than the 12600K (launcing at the same MSRP the 12600 did, though the 12600K goes a little cheaper than its launch price these days).

If not, its not like the 12600K is going to suddenly turn into a bad chip or something.