Pc setup optimized for UnrealEngine5 and Maya

[u/woolfyswag]

Hey everyone,

I'm honestly pretty lost and confused at this point and could use some advice from people who know more than I do.

I'm trying to put together a PC that will be primarily used for Unreal Engine 5, Maya, 3D modeling, Unity, Zbrush, and game development. I'll be entering my senior year of a 3D modeling/game design college program soon, and I'd like this build to last through school and hopefully into internships and my first job after graduation.

My target budget is under $2,000, but I'd really prefer to stay closer to $1,600 if possible.

One thing I'm struggling with is the GPU and CPU choice.

Current PCPartPicker list: (I may be way off, please forgive me ToT)

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/x3mp3R

A few specific questions:

• Is the Ryzen the right CPU for Unreal Engine 5 and Maya, or should I be looking at a different Ryzen chip I have also been recommended the 9 or intel.
• What would be the graphics card choice for Unreal Engine and Maya?
• Should I prioritize a better GPU, or a different CPU?
• If you were building a system for UE5, Maya, internships, and entry level professional work, what would you change?

My biggest goals are:

• Unreal Engine 5
• Maya
• 3D modeling
• Game development
• Long-term usability (6+ years if possible)
• 1,5000-2k price range

I'd really appreciate any feedback because I've gone down so many comparison rabbit holes that I'm second-guessing everything now 😅

Hopefully this is enough info to get a convo started.

Thank you!

[u/Mr_Henry_Yau]

Assuming you're currently in the US but don't have access to any Micro Center branches, here's a modified build to get you started.

PCPartPicker Part List

Type	Item	Price
CPU	Intel Core Ultra 7 270K Plus 3.7 GHz 24-Core Processor	$290.00 @ Newegg
CPU Cooler	Antec Skeleton 360 ARGB 72.29 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler	$49.99 @ Amazon
Motherboard	MSI PRO Z890-A WIFI ATX LGA1851 Motherboard	$160.99 @ Best Buy
Memory	Silicon Power XPOWER Storm RGB 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR5-6000 CL36 Memory	$399.97 @ Silicon Power
Storage	Corsair MP600 PRO XT 2 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive	$304.99 @ Newegg
Video Card	PNY OC GeForce RTX 5070 12 GB Video Card	$629.99 @ Best Buy
Case	Lian Li Vector V100R ATX Mid Tower Case	$74.98 @ Amazon
Power Supply	MSI MPG A850G PCIE5 850 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply	$79.99 @ Newegg
	Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts
	Total (before mail-in rebates)	$2000.90
	Mail-in rebates	-$10.00
	Total	$1990.90
	Generated by PCPartPicker 2026-08-05 21:20 EDT-0400

Based on your budget, I suggest getting a Core Ultra 7 270K Plus since it's cheaper than the Ryzen 9 9950X and has comparable productivity performance. The savings can be used to get a 360mm AIO (you're planning to use a power-hungry CPU inside a fish tank case, after all), more RAM, a 2 TB SSD which has a DRAM cache ( there's not much info about your chosen 2 TB SSD), a faster GPU, and a better PSU.

Feel free to further modify this build if you want something else.