UE5 beginner budget?

Potential-Monke

So it's bonus season again, and I'm yet again thinning about learning UE5. But the bonus won't be massive so just wondering what the rough budget for a UE5 capable pc is these days. I tried looking, but im still hopeless at the minor differences. I won't need a case or windows, but my donor pc doesn't have anything else of use (10+ years old, unless an i5-3570k is still any good...). Recommended spec as per Epic:

Recommended Hardware

Operating System

Windows 10 64-bit version 1909 revision .1350 or higher, or versions 2004 and 20H2 revision .789 or higher.

Processor

Quad-core Intel or AMD, 2.5 GHz or faster

Memory

8 GB RAM

Graphics Card

DirectX 11 or 12 compatible graphics card

RHI Version

• DirectX 11: Latest drivers
• DirectX 12: Latest drivers
• Vulkan: AMD (21.11.3+) and NVIDIA (496.76+)

I will be starting from scratch with no prior experience. So I don't need a beast, but something to be able to learn with, and future upgrades can be considered if I stick with it. I've also heard Intel are better for UE than AMD? I know very little about the modern pc market. The naming conventions don't help...

Thanks!

Coyler

Budget? That's really what will decide a lot of things.

Coyler

And just to clear things up, there is essentially good arguements to make for CPUs from both AMD and Intel and even looking for deals in previous generations. They are supported identically in UE5 development and older i9-9900k or 3900x will perform just fine for example so don't go overboard here unless you have some particular need to.

On the GPU side you are looking at Nvidia really. AMD will work and be better value but just not as well in productivity as well as not having some features. So, this is where budget is important but use case is too. Knowing it's Nvidia doesn't make it any easier. VRAM is the most vital part of the UE5 development at Nvidia pulled a fast one over the last few generations on it. The 4060ti 16GB is probably where you start which are around €550-600.

The rest of the parts are fairly straight forward. Just go for the sweet spot right now. 32GB RAM, 2TB drive (maybe 2), 850 PSU.

Oh, and AIO coolers are nicer to look at but simple heatsink/fans are cheaper and last infinitely longer while performing similarly. No need to go crazy on the case either. €100 will land you a good mid tier brand case that are nice to work with. Possibly less.

Potential-Monke

I don't have a budget yet, should know this week some time, was more hoping someone could give me a target, to see if it's even worth bothering. €800? I have the case, but will need everything else (except Windows). But I've no idea if that's even a realistic figure to do what UE5 needs. From what I'm seeing, things are still quite expensive in the world of pc building. I'm reluctant to spend a hape on something I may not be able for/keep up and seeing the prices of GPUs are still crazy high, I may not be able to afford it right now. But something to get me in the door, and get to me a stage where I know I'll either keep with it, and subsequently upgrade further if needs be, or know it's not for me and not have wasted too much money... I don't really have a need for a pc outside of this idea/intent.

Coyler

Ok, buying new is going to be tricky to get close to €800 without buying some very poor quality parts and/or being practical for your use case

PCPartPicker Part List: https://de.pcpartpicker.com/list/TQv6N6

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 3600 3.6 GHz 6-Core Processor (€99.24 @ Amazon Deutschland)

Motherboard: Gigabyte B550M DS3H Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard (€90.05 @ Amazon Deutschland)

Memory: Corsair Vengeance LPX 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3600 CL18 Memory (€38.90 @ Amazon Deutschland)

Storage: Western Digital Black SN770 1 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive (€64.98 @ Amazon Deutschland)

Video Card: Zotac GAMING Twin Edge GeForce RTX 4060 Ti 16 GB Video Card (€472.99 @ Amazon Deutschland)

Power Supply: Corsair RM750e (2023) 750 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply (€99.90 @ Amazon Deutschland)

Total: €866.06

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2023-12-12 10:19 CET+0100

The 4060 is going to be over half your budget and you are facing the Xmas run in where all the prices are now slightly increased. Honestly, at that budget I'd recommend two things. Wait until January and/or get something second hand. Seeing as you are just tinkering I'd really advise spending a little as you can. I'd say you could put together a decent enough system if you hung on even from some here.

What case do you have? They've change quite a bit and you'd be surprised how big GPUs have gotten. Also, good performace these days relies on good airflow. Before systems would just crash now they throttle down reducing performace. Something to be aware of.

K.O.Kiki

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121486424#Comment_121486424

That's a decent build.

Wouldn't worry about GPU size since that 4060 Ti is a 2.2-slot model and only 226mm long.

Potential-Monke

Sound for the reply. Yeah, January sales may be the best, as you said I don't want to be spending hapes on something I may not continue with, but you've given me an affordable starting point! I have a Bitfenix Shinobi case, massive yoke so should be alright. Crazy the gpu is more than the rest combined. Will they ever become cheap again.

But, thanks again, it's exactly what I was looking for. Kudos!

Coyler

Talk in January and have a good Xmas :)

K.O.Kiki

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121487623#Comment_121487623

You could get an RTX 3060 12GB for 285eur+ shipping.

Obviously has less VRAM & lower performance, but nearly 200eur cheaper.

Potential-Monke

That's a nice call, and from what I'm reading would be more than sufficient for my current level of understanding (none) of ue5. I can always upgrade individual parts later if needed. Would also allow me to double the ram, which I again read would be more recommended? (For 40 quid if saving 200 it's nearly a no brainer)

January sales and the 3060 is looking most likely.

minitrue

Along with the 32GB I'd also look closely at the price of better cpus when it's time for you to shop. If the price is right and you are still happy to go to about €800 with the 3060 then you could probably grab a Ryzen 5700X and €20ish Thermalright cooler. Best I can tell UE can be cpu single-thread bottlenecked when working with it and scales well over cores when compiling so it should be a solid bang-per-buck/quality-of-life improvement on a €700-€800 purchase (i.e. ballpark 10% more for 30%-50% more performance). If the 5700X/5800X prices aren't great the 5600/5600X would be worth a look but right now I'd say the 5700X is the sweet spot to land on if your wallet can take it.

And I'd guess that if you end up deciding it's not for you that you would actually get the difference back reselling it as long as it doesn't take you too many years to decide to let it go.

Potential-Monke

Nice one. If I can stretch, I'll stretch. I can't see myself needing huge power/performance, as surely if I stick with it until that becomes a problem I'll know then whether it's worth upgrading or not. And it'll be quick enough, I'll either click with it or I won't. I'll probably be back in January to hopefully finalise it. Thanks for all the help so far!

Potential-Monke

Alrighty, bad and good luck, I did have unexpected car issues but I also won €503 in the lotto so this is happening.

I've decided to go with the 3060 and better processor. Looking for the suggested 5700x, I found a 5800x for €189 which seems like good value for a small increase on the 5700x? 32Gb ram, and the 3060 will be available on Caseking from 15/01. But I can see similar 3060's on Amazon.de for around €300 so may add that to the total order rather than 2 sites, if someone can make a suggestion as I see ones with 1 fan and 2 fans and the single fan is more expensive.... Seems like a great deal on (a better?) Corsair PSU too, 40% off and the 750e is €119 now. Also will need small assistance with picking a correct cooler.

What I've found on Amazon.de (and only €12.87 to deliver the whole lot!):

AMD Ryzen 7 5800X Box ProcessorAMD Ryzen 7 5800X Box Processor €188.99

Corsair RM750x 80 PLUS Gold Fully Modular 750 Watt ATX Power Supply (135 mm Fan with Magnetic Levitation Bearing, Comprehensive Compatibility, Japanese Capacitors, Extremely Fast Wake Up) EU €109.90

WD_BLACK SN770 NVMe SSD 1 TB (High-Performance Gaming SSD, PCIe Gen4, M.2 2280, Read 5150 MB/s, Write 4900 MB/s) BlackWD_BLACK SN770 NVMe SSD 1 TB (High-Performance Gaming SSD, PCIe Gen4, M.2 2280, Read 5150 MB/s, Write 4900 MB/s) Black €69.00 (giggitty)

Corsair Vengeance LPX 32GB (2 x 16GB) DDR4 3600MHz C18, High Performance Desktop RAM Kit (AMD Optimized) - BlackCorsair Vengeance LPX 32GB (2 x 16GB) DDR4 3600MHz C18, High Performance Desktop RAM Kit (AMD Optimized) - Black €75.90

Gigabyte B550M DS3H Motherboard BlackGigabyte B550M DS3H Motherboard Black €89.90

Subtotal (5 items): €533.69

Add in the GPU for €300, and a total of €833-€900 isn't too bad, if not above my original intent but lotto monies! Or am I unnecessarily overstretching. Also, Amazon sellers really like using buzzwords to confuse people like me... gotta get them Japanese capacitors though!

K.O.Kiki

I'd recommend a Thermalright dual tower (in order: Peerless Assassin <= Frost Commander < Phantom Spirit < Phantom Spirit EVO).

Can be found on Amazon DE or UK for under 40eur.

Potential-Monke

Ok, my waiting has worked against me and a few things are out of stock on Amazon, so I've the following laid out in 2 carts, one Amazon and one Caseking (paid via Amazon...), just want to double check all is compatible (according to PCPartPicker it should be...) or if I'm doing myself over with some component. And don't laugh at the case, I heard it has excellent air flow and I'll probably end up turning off the lights, so I'm open to alternatives (so much case choice! And the Shinobi I have had a rubber coating on the top and front, which is now sticky due to non-use...):

Amazon.de:

Gigabyte B550M DS3H: €90.86

Corsair RM750x: €113.59

Thermalright Peerless Assassin 120SE: €36.79

Corsair Vengeance LPX 32Gb DDR4 3600: €78.45

Empire Gaming Onyx + 4 fans: €72.35

Total: €392.04 + €22.83 delivery

Caseking.de:

Inno3D RTX 3060 Twin X2 12GB: €298.61

WD_Black SN770 1Tb: €72.38

Ryzen 7 5800x 3.8Ghz: €210.56

Total: €582.45 + €19.99 shipping

Overall total: €1017.31, which with the €500 lotto win means I'm only spending €517.31 so under budget!

Ready to order both now, just checking in here if someone can give it a one over and ok it for me! Thanks!

Coyler

Personally you could probably do better on the case end of things. The fans included are old 3 pin DC fans which are surpassed now by PWM fans which can spin a lot slower and quieter when not needed. I'd argue foir aomething like this https://www.caseking.de/en/phanteks-eclipse-g360a-midi-tower-tempered-glass-argb-schwarz-phanteks-sk-pwm-d-rgb-luefter-1-gabu-452.html

Eveything else will be all good.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uvaQMua1Ldo

Potential-Monke

Boom. Case changed (thankfully black), orders placed. Cheers for the help everyone!

Potential-Monke

Update: Received and built. Fairly simple process, the further the years pass the easier PC building is getting, even installing Windows is simple now. That is one chonky cooler. Loaded up Windows 10 Pro, mate cleaned up Windows so it's not tracking and reporting everything. Not using it proper yet as the motherboard only had 3 fan headers, including cpu, so waiting on a fan header splitter. One works, so that's a good sign. Didn't get the RGB working either, but didn't really try so maybe it won't work until all fans are properly powered. Anyway, all important parts working good at least, cheers again for the advice/help! Now the hard part...