…yeah, it’s time. I’ve finally found games I actually want to play that require a half-decent machine, I make all my money on the computer, and I regularly do video editing as well. I always keep my machines for a long time, so they need to be as future-proof as possible and I can’t justify saving up for a PC unless it’s going to be good enough for the foreseeable future. So here’s where my head is at, I’d be grateful for any advice.
tl;dr https://pcpartpicker.com/list/xjP3yF for the general idea, but I’m open to other ideas. It’s going to be a linux machine, and all AMD since I hear the drivers work better/are less fiddly. Aesthetically, I like an all-white motif but looks are secondary to pure power and long life. I would like to be able to emulate PS4, Xbox 360, run S&box so my kid can make games, and render my clip shows at high speed. The budget I’m targeting is about £2k. Will mean saving up for a couple months. Parts I’m considering:
CPU
- Ryzen 9 9950X3D (I’m most excited about having a strong CPU, this one appeals to me even though it’s a bit of a splurge)
- Ryzen 9 7950X3D
- Ryzen 9 7900X3D
GPU
Anything AMD, 16gb preferred but at least 12gb. AMD RX 6800XT or higher perhaps. RX 7800 XT or similar would be great.
Memory
16gb preferred, DDR5, not too fussy about brand. Maybe someday another 16gb if it becomes worthwhile.
Storage
1 or 2TB M.2 NVMe SSD, any really who cares. I don’t need a lot of storage, most of my games are lightweight indies or backed up on my server.
Power Supply
Anything 850-1000w, preferably modular? I dunno.
Cooling
Possibly an AIO liquid cooler. I’m iffy on that, would be happy with a fan if it’s more recommended.
Case
Fractal does a nice white wood effect one (North XL), as does Antec (Flux Pro). Happy with anything that matches, but don’t really love showy RGB, prefer understated and clean looks.
In my case, I have 3x 120 on the 360mm radiator and 2x120 on top for the 240mm radiator, and one exhaust fan that is also 120.
That said, I think you could easily get away with three to five case fans depending on cooling, fan size, etc.
140mm fans can also move a lot of air, and I used those for years. 120s just fit my current and prior case a bit better.
That’s cool. I’ll probably do something similar to you. I’m sticking with the white+wood aesthetic, but after all this research and advice I’m going with a Lian li A3 MATX instead. It’ll fit everything nicely enough, and I’ll have room for 3x120 bottom, 3 on top, and 1 in rear. I might have the rear one as an intake, ducted into the CPU cooler so it’s always getting ambient air. The GPU will be sucking in air from below so that should be fine too. Also, 4 intake Vs 3 out will ensure positive pressure, minimise dust. 140s would be nicer, but I don’t think they fit this case.
That sounds great!
Funny timing, I just pulled the trigger on my parts orders. In excited. He’s the very final parts list: https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/list/rMgyK7
note: the mobo is actually a Sapphire PURE B850M WIFI AM5 DDR5 PCIe 5.0 MicroATX, but pcpp didn’t have that in their lists.
I’m glad I went with building my own. I managed to spend a grand total of £2093 including shipping, which is within kicking distance of my original budget - and a prebuilt of this calibre would cost about double that. At least!