$1300 RTX 4070 SUPER Gaming/Workstation Build!? Intel 12700K DDR5

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CPU

Bang for buck, the Intel i7-12700K is one of the best CPUs you can get for a gaming + productivity build. It delivers great performance in games, being quite competitive, and not far from both the AMD Ryzen 5 7600X and the Intel i5-13600K.

The Intel i7 CPU also has a high core count that helps with productivity tasks, and can be paired with high-end GPUs without an issue.

Our Recommendation: Intel i7-12700KF or Intel i7-12700K (If you can benefit from Intel Quick Sync support)

CPU Cooler

For CPU Cooling, Thermalright offers some of the best cooling performance you can get at a very affordable cost. Dual Tower Air Coolers like the Thermalright Peerless Assassin 120 or the Thermalright Phantom Spirit 120 are highly recommended for the Intel i7 12700K CPU, and quite effective at cooling the CPU.

• Other excellent options like the Cooler Master Hyper 620S, ID-COOLING FROZN A620, Scythe Fuma 3 and the Montech DT24 Base are also available at a similar price.

Our Recommendation: Thermalright Phantom Spirit 120 or similar Dual Tower CPU Air Cooler around $35-50

Motherboard

Deciding on a motherboard for Intel is quite easy. If you have plans to upgrade the CPU later, it is worth spending a bit more money on a motherboard with a high-end VRM, as more powerful CPUs like the Intel i7-13700K and Intel i7-14700K, are quite power hungry and require a good VRM design. For those who won’t upgrade in the same platform, a more affordable motherboard with a good VRM, like the ASRock B760M PG Riptide for example, is all you need.

The ASUS TUF GAMING B760-PLUS WIFI and the Gigabyte B760 AORUS ELITE AX DDR5 are both excellent B760 Chipset motherboards, with VRMs that can power the entire Intel CPU lineup without issues. Both have a great list of features and specs, and are not as expensive as Z790 motherboards with similar specifications.

Other excellent options like the ASRock Z790 PRO RS WiFi, the ASRock Z790 Lightning WiFi and the GIGABYTE Z790 UD AC can sometimes be found at very interesting prices. They are based on Intel Z790 Chipset, which offers support for PCIe 5.0 devices and are able to overclock Intel unlocked CPUs.

• The ASUS TUF GAMING B760-PLUS WIFI also offers PCIe 5.0 support for X16 slot.

Our Recommendation: ASUS TUF GAMING B760-PLUS WIFI or Gigabyte B760 AORUS ELITE AX DDR5 (or similarly priced Z790 Motherboard.

Memory

For memory, in order to ensure overall system stability, compatibility and performance, the recommended speed for an Intel 12th gen CPU, to run reliably on a B760/Z790 platform, would be a 2x16GB DDR5 6000 CL30 Kit, up to a 2x16GB DDR5 6400 CL32 Kit.

Teamgroup, G.SKILL, Silicon Power and other brands all offer excellent 6000 CL30 and 6400 CL32 options at a very affordable price range.

Our Recommendation: Sub $90 2x16GB DDR5 6000 CL30 Kit or similarly priced 2x16GB DDR5 6400 CL32 Kit.

Storage

For games, a SSD is a must have, fast loading times, fast access times, better usability of your new PC. Everything will be faster and more responsive. Intel 12th gen CPUs and B760 motherboards have support for PCIe 4.0 SSDs. A 1TB PCIe 4.0 M.2 SSD would be highly recommended.

For a gaming build, there is no real need to buy a high-end SSD with DRAM Cache. Modern SSDs, such as Teamgroup MP44, Lexar NM790, Crucial P3 Plus etc, have HMB (Host Memory Buffer), meaning a small portion of system memory will be used as cache. That cache will help during heavy write and read usage, a scenario a gaming PC is unlikely to encounter.

• Higher-end PCIe 4.0 HMB options are also worth considering: Silicon Power US75, TEAMGROUP MP44 and other SSDs can usually be found for similar prices during sales.

Our Recommendation: Crucial P3 Plus 1TB, TEAMGROUP MP44L 1TB or similar $55-60 PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD.

Cases

For a case, the recommendation is to get something that could be used on a future build, something that will fit future upgrades, larger components, ATX motherboards, 360mm AIOs etc. A good ATX case with good airflow, good cooling and lots of space would be recommended, that would allow you to fit everything you can think of.

• In order to ensure overall compatibility, all cases listed here are ATX in size, have enough clearance for the CPU Coolers listed and have enough space for large GPUs.
• For those looking for an mATX Case, our recommendation is the ASUS A21, as it has excellent compatibility with large components, good airflow and great price.

Our Recommendation: Lian Li Lancool 207 or Montech AIR 903 cases, or similar in the $70-90 price range.

Power Supply

The power supply is the one component not worth saving money on. A high quality PSU is always the recommendation. Trusted brands like Seasonic, Thermaltake, MSI, Corsair and others, all have excellent 750W options in the $90 range.

A good quality 750W PSU is more than enough to power this system, and it also enough to handle a few upgrades. The Corsair RM750x and Thermaltake GF1 750W are some of the highest quality power supplies available, and usually found in the $90 range.

A few other excellent options are the Thermaltake GF A3 750W and MSI MAG A750GL PCIE5. Both PSUs offer PCIe 5.0 and ATX 3.0 support, with updated specs and 12+4-pin connectors for compatible GPUs.

• High-end 850W ATX 3.0 & PCIe 5.0 PSUs can also be found at similar prices, worth checking it out for some future proofing and more headroom for upgrades.

Our Recommendation: Corsair RM750x or ATX 3.0 PSU (Thermaltake GF A3 750W or similar).

GPU

The GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER 12GB is one of the best price to performance GPUs Nvidia has to offer. It delivers excellent 1440p gaming performance, much better value than the $800 RTX 4070 Ti SUPER 16GB, while still maintaining a good amount of VRAM for 1440p gaming.

It’s main competitor in terms of performance is the AMD Radeon RX 7900 GRE 16GB (and sometimes the RX 7900 XT 20GB in price). While both Nvidia and AMD GPUs have similar performance in games, Nvidia has much better Ray Tracing performance and more mature technologies, like DLSS for example.

Extra Case Fans

For most use cases, it is recommended to have at least two intake fans and two exhaust fans. Additional fans can be used for improved component cooling and to help exhaust the hot air from inside the case.

High quality and affordable fans like the ARCTIC P12 PWM PST or ARCTIC P12 MAX can be found in the $35 range for a pack of 5 fans. Other excellent options like ID-COOLING, Thermalright, Montech and Antec can also be found around that same price range, or even lower.

Our Recommendation: Thermalright or ARCTIC Fan pack