A real mid-tier PC build for half the price/non-sponsored.
Foreword
I've been putting together PCs since I was a wee lad, young enough to remember getting AOL Internet trial CDs in the mail and playing Unreal Tournament at LAN parties. While I don't entirely disagree with the list on the new Builds tab - which I don't understand why it's even a thing - if you want to promote hardware, maybe at least add some benchmarks against comparable hardware? Like this one or maybe this one?
(small disclaimer before we continue: the following is my personal opinion /thoughts and mine alone - think for yourself - don't go out of your way to spend less or more; do your research to budget out something you can afford and won't regret.)
So IDK about the other users here - but I feel that $1800 before taxes is a way bit too rich for the average consumer to just burn - at least I know it would be for me if I was still in college or fresh out of school. I'm also assuming this total is without any warranty(unless there are current deals going on right now).
I've been meaning to upgrade my own hardware and have been putting together my next build. It's time to retire my dusty old LGA1151(even though my i7-8700k is still running like a champ) to an LGA 1700. Luckily I can still bring over my PSU/RAM/GPU and M.2 SSD.
Advice for your first build and upgrading in the future
I've always made continuous updates to my rig, swapping out parts only when necessary and only make big changes like a new chassis when running out of space for these increasingly large GPUs(btw your build guide is missing a chassis/tower CivitAI.)
I recommend those who are comfortable building their own rigs do the same if you aren't already, sell your old pieces on a local marketplace or online if you have to and you'll barely spend anything year-to-year.
The Build(or at least a rough template for you)
[url=https://www.userbenchmark.com/PCBuilder/Custom/S254412-M1694285.2114359.1302577.92132vsS0-M]Userbenchmark PC Build Comparison[/url]
Baseline Bench: Game 164%, Desk 114%, Work 180%
CPU: [url=https://cpu.userbenchmark.com/Intel-Core-i7-12700K/Rating/4119]Intel Core i7-12700K[/url] $237
GPU: [url=https://gpu.userbenchmark.com/Nvidia-RTX-4060-Ti/Rating/4149]Nvidia RTX 4060-Ti[/url] $375
SSD: [url=https://ssd.userbenchmark.com/SpeedTest/1302577/Samsung-SSD-980-PRO-1TB]Samsung 980 Pro NVMe PCIe M.2 1TB[/url] $90
RAM: [url=https://ram.userbenchmark.com/GSKILL-Ripjaws-V-DDR4-3200-C16-4x16GB/Rating/3564]G.SKILL Ripjaws V DDR4 3200 C16 4x16GB[/url] $135
MBD: [url=https://www.userbenchmark.com/System/Gigabyte-GA-Z690-AERO-G-DDR4/254412]Gigabyte GA-Z690 AERO G DDR4[/url]
Chassis: [url=https://www.newegg.com/p/N82E16811445008 GAMEMAX Master M905 Black Steel ATX Full Tower[/url]
Total: $~900(before tax/warrantty/etc)
Some notes on the build/why I chose what I did:
I don't game nearly as much as I used to - so this build would work great for me, and with advances in G-Sync & DLSS - if I did want to game this rig should be able to handle it no problem.
The key differences between my build and Civit's mid-range build:
VRAM > EVERYTHING. You want a rig that can make ridiculous animations with 5 controlnets + ipadapter + SDXL? Cheap out on the rest of the components and grab the Nvidia card with as much VRAM as possible - though it should be a 3xxx series or higher to make full use of CUDA/TENSOR/XFORMERS/etc. Create a text/email alert on a site like slickdeals or a retailer to notify you of when the price of a GPU drops below into your budget.
I'd honestly recommend just grabbing two sticks of DDR4/5 16Gb SDRAM(with a low CAS 14/15) - you can always add more RAM later - and RAM is SO GODDAMN CHEAP RIGHT NOW. The CPU IMO is still overkill - as long as you get a motherboard with an LGA1700 socket - you can always upgrade for gaming or other tasks in the future or as you see fit.
Civit recommending an 8Gb card at ALL even at the MINIMUM-tier let alone the medium-tier(?!) is bonkers to me. It may take longer per iteration - but the difference in capabilities a 16/24Gb card has over an 8/6Gb card and the workloads they can handle in each individual run is enormous and can't be understated.
Do not buy an 8Gb card - even a 4080TI that's 8Gb unless you're only planning to game with it - until there's advancements in this space to reduce the amount of VRAM it takes per run or somehow cache memory into RAM much more efficiently than we have now, you need a card with a butt load of VRAM.