Question New build advice, AMD

[GD3]

Hi all, new to the forum and doing a new build as a retirement present (my current PC is dated and will retire too ). Here is a list of what I've liked based on reviews and such:

CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D 4.2 GHz 8-Core Processor
CPU Cooler: Thermalright Peerless Assassin 120 SE 66.17 CFM CPU Cooler
Motherboard: ASRock X670E Taichi EATX AM5 Motherboard
https://www.newegg.com/asrock-x670e-taichi/p/N82E16813162071
Memory: G.Skill Trident Z5 Neo RGB 64 GB (2 x 32 GB) DDR5-6000 CL32 Memory
Storage: Western Digital Black SN850X 2 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive
Video Card: XFX Speedster MERC 310 Black Edition Radeon RX 7900 XT 20 GB Video Card Thoughts on which GPU?
Video Card: Gigabyte WINDFORCE OC GeForce RTX 4070 Ti SUPER 16 GB Video Card
Case: be quiet! Shadow Base 800 FX ATX Mid Tower Case
Power Supply: Corsair RM1000e (2023) 1000 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply

I want to future proof as much as possible so went with the AM5 Tachi motherboard, which should allow for future upgrades... I'm also leaning toward at least 16 gigs of Vram for future games but can upgrade the GPU in the future if the new gen is worth it. Going to pair with probably two new 1440p 27" monitors, so 1440p gaming is where I'm currently looking... 4k is a bit pricey for now but may upgrade that down the road. Probably purchase the above wishlist within the next 3 months, finishing some pricey home improvements first.

System usage, some light gaming (a new build will probably increase gaming) but like current gen titles, surfing the net, and some streaming entertainment when not on a TV. Need WIn11 as my current PC can't upgrade, so OEM? I'm in the Denver, CO metro area for local options, but also using PC Part Picker for checking prices but also have a Microcenter locally where I might be able to get a 10% discount. Like Newegg (used them for decades) and Amazon not an issue, but would prefer local if any issues crop up. Overclocking, probably not... maybe memory.

I'm reading a lot of reviews and watching YouTube videos but have some questions due to my newness to current tech:

Can I use the above GPUs in the PCIe 5.0 slot? I'm not a huge gamer now at my age, but want good FPS when I do play.
Am I oversizing the PS, I saw one review that transients are a thing so power needed x 1.5?
My tech buddy steered my away from AIO so think air cooling sould be sufficient with the good case and CPU cooler...
Can I put the NVME PCIe 4.0 drive in a PCIe 5.0 slot? Any issues doing so? Might be a 5.0 drive down the road when prices come down.

Any other thoughts or concerns? Price is a price/performance consideration but I don't mind going up a bit based on advice. Thanks!

 

[Roland Of Gilead]

Hey there,

Very strong build. Everything is top notch for a gaming machine. The only thing I would change is the PSU. RMe is decent enough but not as strong as the RMx. I'd swap them out and go with the RMx.

You could argue going with the Thermaltake Phantom Spirit EVO, instead of the Peerless. Both are excellent, but the Phantom tops the charts. Perfectly suited for your 7800X3d. If you wanted to go AIO, the any good quality 280 will do fine for that CPU. AIO's have a much smaller internal footpring. It looks great. The big air will take over the entire centre of the case due to it's size. Big air coolers can last many years. AIO's typically 5 years before things start to go wrong, which necessitate a new cooler.

Yes, you can use the GPU in the 5.0 slot. They are backward compatible.

 

[geofelt]

No such thing as "future proofing"
Buy what you think you need for today or the next two years.
Plan for a possible graphics card upgrade which is easy and the most common likely upgrade.
Both Intel and amd will likely introduce new processors in that time frame that require new motherboards.

Some thoughts on your picks:
The 7800X3D processors are something of a one trick pony.
Very good for gaming, but not for anything else compared to the base 7700X processor.
If your use is light gaming, you might want to look at a more general purpose processor.
A comparable Intel processor might be the I7-14700K.
At any price point, intel and amd are comparable.
I find that Intel users have more problems upgrading to ryzen than previous amd users do.
There is a learning curve.
Ditto on the gpu upgrade. Nvidia to Nvidia or amd to amd is easiest.
The drivers are different.
If there is any issue with amd is that they are very dependent on fast ram for performance and they are picky about compatibility.
Take the time to verify that your selected ram is on the motherboard RAM QVL list for your processor.
Or, on the G.skil ram selection list.
You want supported ram.
DDR5 2 x 16gb 6000 speed is good.

I like the case.
3 140mm front intakes will be fine to deliver fresh air to a cpu air cooler, the motherboard vrm's and the graphics cards.
the tr120 is good, but, if you are looking for the best, look at the 140mm units or Noctua NH-D15s which cools well with quiet fans.

Do not worry about pcie 2/3/4/5 for graphics cards. They are both forward and back compatible.
And.. any difference in performance between pcie 3 and higher is in the low single digits.

You can no longer get something for nothing via overclocking.
Nobody overclocks processors any more.
Chips are binned so there is very little headroom.
Motherboard makers will boost a couple of cores to their thermal limits automatically .

You might rethink your monitor selection.
A monitor is a long term investment.
Bust your budget or delay to get the one you really want.
I would look for a 32" or wider 4k monitor.
You can always run at less than 4k.
Keep an old monitor as a side monitor for static stuff like email or performance monitors.

Microcenter is a good idea if you can find current gen at good prices.
It is handy to be local if you have a part to return.
I also have found Newegg to be good, but only when parts are sold and shipped by Newegg, and not by affiliated partners.

Over provisioning a psu is generally a good thing.
The down side is only the cost.
A 950w psu will loaf in the most efficient part of it's range and can handle gpu demand peaks better.
Buy only a quality psu.
Not having access to a qualified review, look at the warranty. 10 years gets you good quality.
Since atx3.0 is now out, I would add that to the requirement.
Look, for example at the Seasonic vertex GX-1000 with a 12 year warranty.

 

[RaidHobbit]

Hi all, new to the forum and doing a new build as a retirement present (my current PC is dated and will retire too ). Here is a list of what I've liked based on reviews and such:

CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D 4.2 GHz 8-Core Processor
CPU Cooler: Thermalright Peerless Assassin 120 SE 66.17 CFM CPU Cooler
Motherboard: ASRock X670E Taichi EATX AM5 Motherboard
https://www.newegg.com/asrock-x670e-taichi/p/N82E16813162071
Memory: G.Skill Trident Z5 Neo RGB 64 GB (2 x 32 GB) DDR5-6000 CL32 Memory
Storage: Western Digital Black SN850X 2 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive
Video Card: XFX Speedster MERC 310 Black Edition Radeon RX 7900 XT 20 GB Video Card Thoughts on which GPU?
Video Card: Gigabyte WINDFORCE OC GeForce RTX 4070 Ti SUPER 16 GB Video Card
Case: be quiet! Shadow Base 800 FX ATX Mid Tower Case
Power Supply: Corsair RM1000e (2023) 1000 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply

I want to future proof as much as possible so went with the AM5 Tachi motherboard, which should allow for future upgrades... I'm also leaning toward at least 16 gigs of Vram for future games but can upgrade the GPU in the future if the new gen is worth it. Going to pair with probably two new 1440p 27" monitors, so 1440p gaming is where I'm currently looking... 4k is a bit pricey for now but may upgrade that down the road. Probably purchase the above wishlist within the next 3 months, finishing some pricey home improvements first.

System usage, some light gaming (a new build will probably increase gaming) but like current gen titles, surfing the net, and some streaming entertainment when not on a TV. Need WIn11 as my current PC can't upgrade, so OEM? I'm in the Denver, CO metro area for local options, but also using PC Part Picker for checking prices but also have a Microcenter locally where I might be able to get a 10% discount. Like Newegg (used them for decades) and Amazon not an issue, but would prefer local if any issues crop up. Overclocking, probably not... maybe memory.

I'm reading a lot of reviews and watching YouTube videos but have some questions due to my newness to current tech:

Can I use the above GPUs in the PCIe 5.0 slot? I'm not a huge gamer now at my age, but want good FPS when I do play.
Am I oversizing the PS, I saw one review that transients are a thing so power needed x 1.5?
My tech buddy steered my away from AIO so think air cooling sould be sufficient with the good case and CPU cooler...
Can I put the NVME PCIe 4.0 drive in a PCIe 5.0 slot? Any issues doing so? Might be a 5.0 drive down the road when prices come down.

Any other thoughts or concerns? Price is a price/performance consideration but I don't mind going up a bit based on advice. Thanks!

Its overkill for gaming.

The CPU, you`ll get to use all the cores at some point over the next decade, but why the £550 motherboard? You could knock £400 off that and jump to 4k gaming now, or save it.

If its for overclocking then for a few 100 extra mhz just spend it on a better CPU instead.

Also you don`t need 64 GB DDR5. In a decade you might for gaming. I`d buy 32GB now, and then in the future when RAM is cheaper and you find you need some extra, add another duel channel set then.

You`re overdoing the wattage on the PSU too. The 40** series GPUs have quite a low power draw.

 

[GD3]

No such thing as "future proofing"
Buy what you think you need for today or the next two years.
Plan for a possible graphics card upgrade which is easy and the most common likely upgrade.
Both Intel and amd will likely introduce new processors in that time frame that require new motherboards.

Some thoughts on your picks:
The 7800X3D processors are something of a one trick pony.
Very good for gaming, but not for anything else compared to the base 7700X processor.
If your use is light gaming, you might want to look at a more general purpose processor.
A comparable Intel processor might be the I7-14700K.
At any price point, intel and amd are comparable.
I find that Intel users have more problems upgrading to ryzen than previous amd users do.
There is a learning curve.
Ditto on the gpu upgrade. Nvidia to Nvidia or amd to amd is easiest.
The drivers are different.
If there is any issue with amd is that they are very dependent on fast ram for performance and they are picky about compatibility.
Take the time to verify that your selected ram is on the motherboard RAM QVL list for your processor.
Or, on the G.skil ram selection list.
You want supported ram.
DDR5 2 x 16gb 6000 speed is good.

I like the case.
3 140mm front intakes will be fine to deliver fresh air to a cpu air cooler, the motherboard vrm's and the graphics cards.
the tr120 is good, but, if you are looking for the best, look at the 140mm units or Noctua NH-D15s which cools well with quiet fans.

Do not worry about pcie 2/3/4/5 for graphics cards. They are both forward and back compatible.
And.. any difference in performance between pcie 3 and higher is in the low single digits.

You can no longer get something for nothing via overclocking.
Nobody overclocks processors any more.
Chips are binned so there is very little headroom.
Motherboard makers will boost a couple of cores to their thermal limits automatically .

You might rethink your monitor selection.
A monitor is a long term investment.
Bust your budget or delay to get the one you really want.
I would look for a 32" or wider 4k monitor.
You can always run at less than 4k.
Keep an old monitor as a side monitor for static stuff like email or performance monitors.

Microcenter is a good idea if you can find current gen at good prices.
It is handy to be local if you have a part to return.
I also have found Newegg to be good, but only when parts are sold and shipped by Newegg, and not by affiliated partners.

Over provisioning a psu is generally a good thing.
The down side is only the cost.
A 950w psu will loaf in the most efficient part of it's range and can handle gpu demand peaks better.
Buy only a quality psu.
Not having access to a qualified review, look at the warranty. 10 years gets you good quality.
Since atx3.0 is now out, I would add that to the requirement.
Look, for example at the Seasonic vertex GX-1000 with a 12 year warranty.

Thanks for the time you took to comment... I agree future proofing is hard, but I did want an upgrade path thus the expensive motherboard. I think the AM5 socket is new and will allow for CPU upgrades down the road... I initially wanted the 7950X3D, but the 7800X3D is good enough for now and half the price for 90% of the power.

Bumping back from 64 gigs of memory to 32, I read something that more memory was helpful with multi-threading on the X3D processor but that can wait.

Being retired, I want to do more gaming as I did when I was younger and don't need to worry about performance with business apps. So that is less of a concern... probably review 4k monitors as suggested and use my current 27" 1080p as a side monitor.

Might also bump back the video card to maybe the 4070 Super though I was concerned about the 12 gig of Vram, but want the better visuals so might do that.

Based on my current computer, this is a large upgrade so will scream compared to what I have which honestly is adequate but showing its age.

 

[geofelt]

What are the specs of your current pc?
Yes, with AM5 you have an upgrade to 7950X3d.

But, if history is any guide, in two years, there will be perhaps a 15% boost in price/performance and a range of offerings for AM6.
Consider the history of AM4 which was considered to be a "future proof" platform.
Processor releases for AM4 included 8000 series with better graphics. But, to really get better performance you needed to upgrade to a 7000 series processor and AM5.
The truth is that most people looking for a significant processor upgrade will also upgrade the motherboard.
I can't talk about the value of an expensive motherboard vs. something more ordinary.
Usually the expensive ones are of value to hobbyists who want to overclock
The motherboard you picked seems excellent. Since budget is not a big issue for you, buy it and enjoy it.
If you bought anything lesser, you would forever be second guessing yourself.

On ram, the amount of ram should be sufficient to hold the working set of the apps you will run concurrently.
No idea what that might be for you.
Some apps use ram as a workfile.
Chrome tabs take considerable space.
More ram is never a negative. But you may be getting rapidly diminishing benefits once you have enough.

On ryzen look for faster ram which helps processor performance.

I see Vram specs as mostly marketing.
Graphics card makers select what they think is appropriate for their card.
Vram works like motherboard ram. If you have enough, the app gets things from vram.
If it is not in vram, it takes more time to fetch from ram or from a ssd.
And, the way Nvidia and amd use ram differs. a direct comparison is not absolute.

 

[Niklas_13]

- AMD Ryzen 7 7700X, MSI B650-P Pro WiFi, G.Skill Flare X5 Series 32GB DDR5-6000 Kit, Computer Build Bundle
SKU: 999999
25+ IN STOCK
$399.99

Core Components​

CPU
Included in Bundle Selection

AMD - Ryzen 7 7700X Raphael AM5 4.5GHz 8-Core Boxed Processor - Heatsink Not Included
Special Savings with 32GB DDR5-6000 RAM plus Motherboard Bundle Savings
SKU: 643700
25+ IN STOCK
$299.99
$113.95with bundle discount


Motherboard
Included in Bundle Selection


MSI - B650-P PRO WiFi AMD AM5 ATX Motherboard
SKU: 507947
25+ IN STOCK
$219.99
$181.70with bundle discount


RAM
Included in Bundle Selection

G.Skill - Flare X5 Series 32GB (2 x 16GB) DDR5-6000 PC5-48000 CL32 Dual Channel Desktop Memory Kit F5-6000J3238F16GX2-FX5 - Black
SKU: 661397
25+ IN STOCK
$114.99
$104.34with bundle discount



Video Card


PowerColor - Radeon RX 7900 GRE Fighter Overclocked Triple Fan 16GB GDDR6 PCIe 4.0 Graphics Card
SKU: 669093
25+ IN STOCK - Buy In Store
$559.99
Qty


M.2 / NVMe SSD


WD - Black SN850X 2TB 112L 3D TLC NAND Flash PCIe Gen 4 x4 NVMe M.2 Internal SSD
SKU: 433771
25+ IN STOCK
$169.99
Qty


2.5" SSD


Hard Drive


Case


Lian Li - Lancool 216 RGB Tempered Glass ATX Mid-Tower Computer Case - Black
SKU: 512251
25+ IN STOCK
$99.99


Power Supply


Corsair - RMx Series RM1000x 1000 Watt 80 Plus Gold ATX Fully Modular Power Supply
SKU: 225185
4 IN STOCK
$189.99


Video Capture

Optical Drive
Please select a case with a 5.25" external drive bay before selecting an optical drive.

CPU Cooling​

Heatsink

DeepCool - AK620 CPU Air Cooler
SKU: 388132
25+ IN STOCK
$64.99


Thermal Compound

Water Cooling Kits


Please select either a Heatsink Option OR a Water Cooling Kit.
Water Cooling Accessories

Software​

Operating System

Microsoft - Windows 11 Home 64-bit DSP OEM DVD
SKU: 352138
25+ IN STOCK
$119.99


Antivirus Software

Office Suites

Peripherals​

Keyboard

Mouse

Mouse Pads

Speakers

Headsets

Monitors

LG - 32GP750 31.5" 2K QHD (2560 x 1440) 165Hz Gaming Monitor
Platinum Collection Item
SKU: 541045
24 IN STOCK
$299.99
Qty

Imo something like this will fit your needs , you can spend 400 bucks on a mobo but for 99% of the people this microcenter mobo-cpu-ram combo will be just fine. This build will allow you to game at 1440P 144hz + , upgrade to a new AMD cpu to the end of AM5s life end of 2025 ? also the psu is top tier you can run a 4090 on it if you like. i wouldn't worry about PCI Express 5.0 for your needs.


Whatever you do i would buy the parts at microcenter that way if somethings is DOA you can go back that day and swap it out. They have a very good return policy. They will also price match the others ie Amazon newegg bestbuy B&H ect like the psu is 189.99 but best buy has it for 164.00
https://www.bestbuy.com/site/corsai...p.ds&msclkid=d8afc81a4b8d14f25760ae065c78685d


they will give it to you for 164.00 so you buy it all at one place

 

[GD3]

What are the specs of your current pc?
Yes, with AM5 you have an upgrade to 7950X3d.

But, if history is any guide, in two years, there will be perhaps a 15% boost in price/performance and a range of offerings for AM6.
Consider the history of AM4 which was considered to be a "future proof" platform.
Processor releases for AM4 included 8000 series with better graphics. But, to really get better performance you needed to upgrade to a 7000 series processor and AM5.
The truth is that most people looking for a significant processor upgrade will also upgrade the motherboard.
I can't talk about the value of an expensive motherboard vs. something more ordinary.
Usually the expensive ones are of value to hobbyists who want to overclock
The motherboard you picked seems excellent. Since budget is not a big issue for you, buy it and enjoy it.
If you bought anything lesser, you would forever be second guessing yourself.

On ram, the amount of ram should be sufficient to hold the working set of the apps you will run concurrently.
No idea what that might be for you.
Some apps use ram as a workfile.
Chrome tabs take considerable space.
More ram is never a negative. But you may be getting rapidly diminishing benefits once you have enough.

On ryzen look for faster ram which helps processor performance.

I see Vram specs as mostly marketing.
Graphics card makers select what they think is appropriate for their card.
Vram works like motherboard ram. If you have enough, the app gets things from vram.
If it is not in vram, it takes more time to fetch from ram or from a ssd.
And, the way Nvidia and amd use ram differs. a direct comparison is not absolute.

My current specs are dated, Ryzen 7 2700x, X470 Aorus Gaming 7 and 16 gig of DDR4 ram. I see on the QVL for the Asrock Tachi motherboard I can get Gskill 6800 ram, so will move that up in speed. Thanks for the feedback, and budget is not a huge issue but I tend to be conservative while getting what I want even if I have to go up in price

 

[GD3]

- AMD Ryzen 7 7700X, MSI B650-P Pro WiFi, G.Skill Flare X5 Series 32GB DDR5-6000 Kit, Computer Build Bundle
SKU: 999999
25+ IN STOCK
$399.99

Core Components​

CPU
Included in Bundle Selection

AMD - Ryzen 7 7700X Raphael AM5 4.5GHz 8-Core Boxed Processor - Heatsink Not Included
Special Savings with 32GB DDR5-6000 RAM plus Motherboard Bundle Savings
SKU: 643700
25+ IN STOCK
$299.99
$113.95with bundle discount


Motherboard
Included in Bundle Selection


MSI - B650-P PRO WiFi AMD AM5 ATX Motherboard
SKU: 507947
25+ IN STOCK
$219.99
$181.70with bundle discount


RAM
Included in Bundle Selection

G.Skill - Flare X5 Series 32GB (2 x 16GB) DDR5-6000 PC5-48000 CL32 Dual Channel Desktop Memory Kit F5-6000J3238F16GX2-FX5 - Black
SKU: 661397
25+ IN STOCK
$114.99
$104.34with bundle discount



Video Card


PowerColor - Radeon RX 7900 GRE Fighter Overclocked Triple Fan 16GB GDDR6 PCIe 4.0 Graphics Card
SKU: 669093
25+ IN STOCK - Buy In Store
$559.99
Qty


M.2 / NVMe SSD


WD - Black SN850X 2TB 112L 3D TLC NAND Flash PCIe Gen 4 x4 NVMe M.2 Internal SSD
SKU: 433771
25+ IN STOCK
$169.99
Qty


2.5" SSD


Hard Drive


Case


Lian Li - Lancool 216 RGB Tempered Glass ATX Mid-Tower Computer Case - Black
SKU: 512251
25+ IN STOCK
$99.99


Power Supply


Corsair - RMx Series RM1000x 1000 Watt 80 Plus Gold ATX Fully Modular Power Supply
SKU: 225185
4 IN STOCK
$189.99


Video Capture

Optical Drive
Please select a case with a 5.25" external drive bay before selecting an optical drive.

CPU Cooling​

Heatsink

DeepCool - AK620 CPU Air Cooler
SKU: 388132
25+ IN STOCK
$64.99


Thermal Compound

Water Cooling Kits


Please select either a Heatsink Option OR a Water Cooling Kit.
Water Cooling Accessories

Software​

Operating System

Microsoft - Windows 11 Home 64-bit DSP OEM DVD
SKU: 352138
25+ IN STOCK
$119.99


Antivirus Software

Office Suites

Peripherals​

Keyboard

Mouse

Mouse Pads

Speakers

Headsets

Monitors

LG - 32GP750 31.5" 2K QHD (2560 x 1440) 165Hz Gaming Monitor
Platinum Collection Item
SKU: 541045
24 IN STOCK
$299.99
Qty

Imo something like this will fit your needs , you can spend 400 bucks on a mobo but for 99% of the people this microcenter mobo-cpu-ram combo will be just fine. This build will allow you to game at 1440P 144hz + , upgrade to a new AMD cpu to the end of AM5s life end of 2025 ? also the psu is top tier you can run a 4090 on it if you like. i wouldn't worry about PCI Express 5.0 for your needs.


Whatever you do i would buy the parts at microcenter that way if somethings is DOA you can go back that day and swap it out. They have a very good return policy. They will also price match the others ie Amazon newegg bestbuy B&H ect like the psu is 189.99 but best buy has it for 164.00
https://www.bestbuy.com/site/corsai...p.ds&msclkid=d8afc81a4b8d14f25760ae065c78685d


they will give it to you for 164.00 so you buy it all at one place

 

[GD3]

No such thing as "future proofing"
Buy what you think you need for today or the next two years.
Plan for a possible graphics card upgrade which is easy and the most common likely upgrade.
Both Intel and amd will likely introduce new processors in that time frame that require new motherboards.

Some thoughts on your picks:
The 7800X3D processors are something of a one trick pony.
Very good for gaming, but not for anything else compared to the base 7700X processor.
If your use is light gaming, you might want to look at a more general purpose processor.
A comparable Intel processor might be the I7-14700K.
At any price point, intel and amd are comparable.
I find that Intel users have more problems upgrading to ryzen than previous amd users do.
There is a learning curve.
Ditto on the gpu upgrade. Nvidia to Nvidia or amd to amd is easiest.
The drivers are different.
If there is any issue with amd is that they are very dependent on fast ram for performance and they are picky about compatibility.
Take the time to verify that your selected ram is on the motherboard RAM QVL list for your processor.
Or, on the G.skil ram selection list.
You want supported ram.
DDR5 2 x 16gb 6000 speed is good.

I like the case.
3 140mm front intakes will be fine to deliver fresh air to a cpu air cooler, the motherboard vrm's and the graphics cards.
the tr120 is good, but, if you are looking for the best, look at the 140mm units or Noctua NH-D15s which cools well with quiet fans.

Do not worry about pcie 2/3/4/5 for graphics cards. They are both forward and back compatible.
And.. any difference in performance between pcie 3 and higher is in the low single digits.

You can no longer get something for nothing via overclocking.
Nobody overclocks processors any more.
Chips are binned so there is very little headroom.
Motherboard makers will boost a couple of cores to their thermal limits automatically .

You might rethink your monitor selection.
A monitor is a long term investment.
Bust your budget or delay to get the one you really want.
I would look for a 32" or wider 4k monitor.
You can always run at less than 4k.
Keep an old monitor as a side monitor for static stuff like email or performance monitors.

Microcenter is a good idea if you can find current gen at good prices.
It is handy to be local if you have a part to return.
I also have found Newegg to be good, but only when parts are sold and shipped by Newegg, and not by affiliated partners.

Over provisioning a psu is generally a good thing.
The down side is only the cost.
A 950w psu will loaf in the most efficient part of it's range and can handle gpu demand peaks better.
Buy only a quality psu.
Not having access to a qualified review, look at the warranty. 10 years gets you good quality.
Since atx3.0 is now out, I would add that to the requirement.
Look, for example at the Seasonic vertex GX-1000 with a 12 year warranty.

Thanks for the great feedback, while I initially looked at 1440p, I've convinced myself to get a decent 4k monitor at 144hz and not look back.

 

[GD3]

Lots of great advice provided, thanks all... I did modify some of my parts based on recommendations. I did have a follow-up on an NVMe drive, there are 2 options, with and without a heat sink. The Asrock Tachi does come with a NVMe cooler but may be part of a larger heatsink covering other heat producers on the mobo. Better to get an NVMe without a heatsink and use the Asrock provided option?

 

[ohio_buckeye]

Shouldn’t matter which heatsink you use. A lot of drives don’t even use a heatsink but on the faster ones it’s not a bad idea for sure.

 

[Niklas_13]

https://www.bing.com/images/search?...dex=9&itb=0&ajaxhist=0&ajaxserp=0&vt=0&sim=11

The board comes with a heat sink cover. If you buy a sdd with a heat sink you don't put on the cover that comes with the mobo, but make sure it won't cause problems with the top PCIE slot that where you want your GPU to go......

I would get one without a heat sink.

https://www.bing.com/shop/productpa...7137978589&overlayId=116998859125&FORM=SSAPC1

https://www.amazon.com/WD_BLACK-SN8...&hvlocphy=&hvtargid=pla-4584345037137522&th=1