Build Advice New build for great gaming at 32:9

[LordMikeus]

Hey all. I'm trying to figure out how reasonable it is to get a future proof gaming PC that can really upgrade my gameplay. I play all sorts of games but just in the past day or two I've been craving to do the Oblivion Remaster at the max. Things like Indiana Jones would be great too. I don't do much work, this is mostly gaming and casual youtube etc. I do stream here and there so I tend to stick to Nvidia for the Encoder designed for that.
My current PC isn't ancient but it's struggling. I especially struggle with serious VR since it guzzles down VRAM. Can't VR and Stream many games which is a shame. I'd like to be able to do that with this new build.
I also got a new monitor recently (Samsung Odyssey G9) since it was a great deal but widescreen is totally new to me, pretty intensive on the system and not all games support it which is a pita. When it does work it's stunning.

My current specs:
AMD Ryzen 5 3600X
32GB RAM G.Skill RAM
B450 TOMAHAWK MAX
RTX 2080 (Gigabyte)
An 870 EVO, 970 EVO, WD 500gb SSD and a Seagate HDD. Can prob reuse the SSD;s at least?
PSU is some 650W EVGA Gold I think

Stealing from someone else's post here but they had a list like this: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/q8JhTM.
It's around what I was thinking at £2k or so but I can give or take a little bit as needed if it's worthwhile. No guarantee I can go for it but if I get an idea of costs and what works then I can decide to take the plunge. Even better if I can get pre-built and save myself the hassle but I'm confident on building. Done it plenty of times but it's just a pita.
Liquid cooling would be new to me, I don't really care about the case appearance and so on but if it looks cool then great. I was leaning towards the X3D processor's since they've got pretty solid specs and seem well received. Again, I lean towards Nvidia for the Nvenc Encoder and it being what I'm used to. I still hear the AMD horror stories about drivers but might be nonsense so I'm open to opinions here too. Main thing is I'm just not sure on this so help is appreciated. Something solid around the £2k mark give or take would be great assuming that meets the goals I've mentioned.

Thanks for any and all help!

 

[Lutfij]

There's no such thing as future proof since anything you buy is going to be rendered obsolete, just around the corner.

It's around what I was thinking at £2k or so but I can give or take a little bit as needed if it's worthwhile.
If you look at the top right hand corner you'll see a drop down menu for location. Select United Kingdom and your listing's prices and perhaps product availability will change. The RTX 5000 series is actually one people have been saying to avoid, actually. You didn't mention anything about the OS.

The PCPartPicker link you have is good to go but I'd ditch all SSD's except for the 990 Evo Plus. What capacity are the SSD's in your possession?

 

[LordMikeus]

just around the corner.

Yeah, I know it won't be forever. Though just around the corner makes it seem super quick! Something for 4-5 years would be good. Similar to what I normally do with PC's.

Select United Kingdom and your listing's prices and perhaps product availability will change.

This was a great shout. The card doesn't seem available but that's the only thing missing there. There's an ASUS TUF for about £1300 but a lot of the others with prices push into £2k on their own. I've completely taken that build from someone else's post to use as my reference and framework so adjusting it is fine. Starting to think I'd need to if I want a price I can afford. Unsure how far I can downgrade anything or if I need to upgrade to get what I want out the system. I'm using Windows and the OS is currently on the 870.

What capacity are the SSD's in your possession?

The EVO's are both 1TB, so is the HDD. The last SSD is 500gb.

It's looking far more likely to be £2500 at least for this sort of spec. Plenty of pre-builds that are near identical though and also for this region of price so might save me the hassle if I'm lucky.

 

[LOGAN54321]

At the moment, the cheapest 5070TI is £ 730 and the cheapest 5080 is £ 980, £ 250 difference for 10 to 15% increase in performance(best to find out for yourself how much exactly is the difference, because it varies from title to title, and also setings) , you decide for yourself, but I think it is not worth it. ( and the VRAM capacity of both cards is the same)
I'm not a gamer, and in my mind it's a waste of money to get a little bit of performance increase, for a lot more money.

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D 4.7 GHz 8-Core Processor (£439.76 @ Amazon UK)
CPU Cooler: Thermalright Peerless Assassin 140 77.8 CFM CPU Cooler (£44.99 @ Overclockers.co.uk)
Motherboard: Asus ROG STRIX B650E-F GAMING WIFI ATX AM5 Motherboard (£208.95 @ AWD-IT)
Memory: TEAMGROUP T-Create Expert 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR5-6000 CL30 Memory (£98.23 @ Amazon UK)
Storage: Crucial T500 2 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive (£124.75 @ Amazon UK)
Video Card: Palit GamingPro GeForce RTX 5070 Ti 16 GB Video Card (£728.99 @ Overclockers.co.uk)
Case: Lian Li LANCOOL 216 ATX Mid Tower Case (£85.99 @ Overclockers.co.uk)
Power Supply: NZXT C1200 1200 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply (£136.87 @ Amazon UK)
Total: £1868.53
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2025-04-24 15:28 BST+0100

WARNING:
The Asus ROG STRIX B650E-F GAMING WIFI ATX AM5 Motherboard supports the AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D 4.7 GHz 8-Core Processor with BIOS version 2613. If the motherboard is using an older BIOS version, updating the BIOS will be necessary to support the CPU.

 

[LordMikeus]

Much closer to the £2k I was thinking about, appreciate the build! There's some names I don't recognise like TeamGroup but 32GB CL30 sounds solid. 1200W seems like overkill but I say that without knowing for sure. Updating Bios is no issue I reckon. Still a 9800X3D which is nice to see.
Will a 5070 and the rest of this build handle something like Indiana Jones at it's best quality on a 32:9? VR I think sounds like it won't be an issue with that VRAM even if I make it more intense so I guess it's just wondering where I'll hit the limits on modern games?
Thanks again! It's nice to have options of where I head here. If my budget pushes up to that 2.5k mark I can consider the 5080 builds that all look fancy. Always thought the small screens on CPU's looked fun to have.

Lutfij, you mention that the 5000 series might be one to avoid and I'm sure you know what you're on about. Is this the general belief and should I consider an AMD then? I guess at this sort of specs it will handle gaming + streaming at the same time just fine?

 

[Roland Of Gilead]

Will a 5070 and the rest of this build handle something like Indiana Jones at it's best quality on a 32:9?

Sadly, no. The 5070 is prob one of the most underwhelming cards right now. Even a 4070 Super is superior in every way, bar MFG. It's barely a standard 1440p capable card with high settings for AAA games.

You really need to be looking higher than that GPU for that res. Which exact monitor are we talking about here?

I would strongly suggest to stay away from 'pre-build'. Look for a custom build provider, so you have more control over the quality of the components and have choices to look at, that is should you decide not to build yourself.

The 9070XT is a great card, and is up there with a 5070ti in terms of performance. It's a really great card, and IMO the best new gen card out of the lot, in terms of performance and price.

1200w is overkill. However, that really depends on what card you choose. The RMX 1000w is a great choice for anything up to a 4080 Super/5070 TI range, which would be more capable at the res you're looing at.

 

[LordMikeus]

Which exact monitor are we talking about here?

Hi. I mentioned in the intro message I think but it's the Samsung Odyssey G9.
By Pre-Build I mean custom build that do the build. I still control all the specific parts and things. Places like PC Specialist, Overlockers and Chillblast all allow for that sort of thing. Just costs me more since I'm lazy. I'll build it myself if that difference is too much.
If the 9070XT is that good then I'm happy to consider it, especially if it's going to run games at the quality I'm after. As long as the price works out too. I guess it was the years of seeing fear of AMD drivers about the internet that makes me wonder how it actually does. I'm pretty impressed by DLSS too I guess and the NVenc encoder which has kept me towards Nvidia.

 

[Roland Of Gilead]

Samsung Odyssey G9

Sorry, I missed that. Ok, so that's a different beast altogether.

Neither of those cards will really do your monitor justice. You're gonna be making a trade off with mid to high end cards.

DLSS is a great tech, IMO. It can give a good boost to FPS. FG/MFG are different and it can help in some games if you have ahigh native rendering FPS. However, FG/MFG are not good for multiplayer games at all and also games that need good latency. Otherwise you will feel lag when you are playing.

Also, not all games support the 32:9 screen size. You will be playing in boxed format for some.

You really need to be aiming for a 4080 Super/5080 type cards for high FPS in modern AAA, specially those with UE5 game engine. UE5 hits GPU particularly hard.

 

[LordMikeus]

However, FG/MFG are not good for multiplayer games at all and also games that need good latency.

I do plenty of multiplayer games too like CS2 so in those cases where it might be a hinderance I wouldn't want it. I believe DLSS handles that much better though.

Also, not all games support the 32:9 screen size. You will be playing in boxed format for some.

I've noticed this and it has been a real pain sometimes. Then again, I also don't mind just using 2540 x 1440 for games, again like CS2 or other simpler games. It's the cinematic stuff like Indiana Jones and Oblivion where I'd want it at full view and power.

You really need to be aiming for a 4080 Super/5080 type cards for high FPS in modern AAA, specially those with UE5 game engine. UE5 hits GPU particularly hard.

The standard 5080? If that's how it needs to be then I'm fine with that. It might take be a little bit longer to get to that point but I can definitely aim for it if needed. Something closer to the initial build I shared then.
There's plenty of pre-builds that are almost identical so far where I can just make a few changes but the price seems far higher than if I just build it myself, closer to £3k. I'd need to confirm one by one with the parts in partpicker or something but it seems viable to aim for £2.5k so far.

Threw together one with a few changes like a case style I liked and stuff in stock. I don't know much about why different types of the same GPU matter like Asus to MSI etc but it's a baseline. Pre-built stuff will cost an extra £100 or £200 but with long warranties and so on maybe I'll consider it: https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/list/xsf79C

 

[LOGAN54321]

RTX 5070 and RTX 5070 TI are not the same cards! (there is bigger difference between RTX 5070 and RTX 5070 TI, than there is between RTX 5070 ti and RTX 5080 ! ) If we wanna go with mentality "Oh it's just bellow the top one(RTX 5090), so it must be great/special/magical"...oh well. let's disregard common sense, and ignore what others have said ....
HARDWARE UNBOXED YOUTUBE - The RTX 5080 is Actually an RTX 5070

​

 

[LordMikeus]

RTX 5070 and RTX 5070 TI are not the same cards! (there is bigger difference between RTX 5070 and RTX 5070 TI, than there is between RTX 5070 ti and RTX 5080 ! ) If we wanna go with mentality "Oh it's just bellow the top one(RTX 5090), so it must be great/special/magical"...oh well. let's disregard common sense, and ignore what others have said ....
HARDWARE UNBOXED YOUTUBE - The RTX 5080 is Actually an RTX 5070

​

Sorry, I totally missed the TI part when I asked my question earlier. As for the actual performance of 5070Ti vs 5080, I haven't researched that. I came for the smart opinions first before trying to make my own 😅
I believe there was a comparison between the 5070Ti and 9070XT and that it would likely not be up to par for high end on my monitor but I'm more than happy to see the thoughts and numbers from people. I'll give the video a check too.

 

[LOGAN54321]

My post was mainly aimed at the claims that the RTX 5080 is so much different/better performing than RTX 5070 TI .

 

[LordMikeus]

So looking about and researching a bit more, I'm still pretty unsure on the GPU. The rest of the stuff seems easier to sort. The 7900xtx seems like a great card roughly on par with the 5070Ti. Both seem similar in price with the xtx being more expensive more often. The 5080 does seem better but if it's just 10-15% then I'm unsure how much that's going to matter. I don't know if some of the elements of a 5080 make that worthwhile or not.
A 5080 is more expensive for sure by at least £300 in most cases.
Nvidia does seem like the route to go though. DLSS seems great, my monitor is gsync and it does seem to perform better. The encoder for streaming is also a little bonus. Saying that, the VRAM of an xtx would be great for my super modded Skyrim VR runs + streaming at same time.
Am I missing anything obvious here or is that the main points and it's really not much different which one I pick? Maybe I should just go with whichever I can get cheapest?

I put together different kinds of builds and so on. This one for example I can get pre-built for an extra £200 or so. Bit much but nice to see the numbers when deciding: https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/list/Xjd9v4
I often find I have issues realising if a certain PSU, Cooler and so on really matters. I just pick based on reviews so far 😅

Really makes me feel like I'm best off just using other peoples lists! I guess I really need to decide on which GPU I need to go for. That's the part I mostly need help with here, especially if it matters with my monitor.

 

[Why_Me]

Hey all. I'm trying to figure out how reasonable it is to get a future proof gaming PC that can really upgrade my gameplay. I play all sorts of games but just in the past day or two I've been craving to do the Oblivion Remaster at the max. Things like Indiana Jones would be great too. I don't do much work, this is mostly gaming and casual youtube etc. I do stream here and there so I tend to stick to Nvidia for the Encoder designed for that.
My current PC isn't ancient but it's struggling. I especially struggle with serious VR since it guzzles down VRAM. Can't VR and Stream many games which is a shame. I'd like to be able to do that with this new build.
I also got a new monitor recently (Samsung Odyssey G9) since it was a great deal but widescreen is totally new to me, pretty intensive on the system and not all games support it which is a pita. When it does work it's stunning.

My current specs:
AMD Ryzen 5 3600X
32GB RAM G.Skill RAM
B450 TOMAHAWK MAX
RTX 2080 (Gigabyte)
An 870 EVO, 970 EVO, WD 500gb SSD and a Seagate HDD. Can prob reuse the SSD;s at least?
PSU is some 650W EVGA Gold I think


Stealing from someone else's post here but they had a list like this: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/q8JhTM.
It's around what I was thinking at £2k or so but I can give or take a little bit as needed if it's worthwhile. No guarantee I can go for it but if I get an idea of costs and what works then I can decide to take the plunge. Even better if I can get pre-built and save myself the hassle but I'm confident on building. Done it plenty of times but it's just a pita.
Liquid cooling would be new to me, I don't really care about the case appearance and so on but if it looks cool then great. I was leaning towards the X3D processor's since they've got pretty solid specs and seem well received. Again, I lean towards Nvidia for the Nvenc Encoder and it being what I'm used to. I still hear the AMD horror stories about drivers but might be nonsense so I'm open to opinions here too. Main thing is I'm just not sure on this so help is appreciated. Something solid around the £2k mark give or take would be great assuming that meets the goals I've mentioned.

Thanks for any and all help!

Add required storage.

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D 4.2 GHz 8-Core Processor (£378.85 @ Amazon UK)
CPU Cooler: *ID-COOLING FROZN A620 PRO SE 58 CFM CPU Cooler (£29.99 @ Amazon UK)
Motherboard: *MSI X670E GAMING PLUS WIFI ATX AM5 Motherboard (£199.99 @ Amazon UK)
Memory: Patriot Viper Venom 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR5-6000 CL30 Memory (£89.99 @ Amazon UK)
Video Card: MSI SHADOW 3X OC GeForce RTX 5080 16 GB Video Card
Case: *Montech AIR 903 BASE ATX Mid Tower Case (£49.99 @ Overclockers.co.uk)
Power Supply: *Super Flower Leadex III Gold UP 1000 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply (£149.99 @ Overclockers.co.uk)
Total: £898.80
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
*Lowest price parts chosen from parametric criteria
Generated by PCPartPicker 2025-04-25 21:02 BST+0100

A better look at that cooler, case and board.

https://www.idcooling.com/product/detail?id=496&name=FROZN A620 PRO SE

https://www.techpowerup.com/review/id-cooling-frozn-a620-pro-se-cpu-air-cooler/6.html

https://www.tomshardware.com/pc-components/air-cooling/id-cooling-frozn-a620-pro-se-review

https://www.montechpc.com/air-903-base

https://www.techpowerup.com/review/montech-air-903-base/

https://www.msi.com/Motherboard/X670E-GAMING-PLUS-WIFI

 

[LordMikeus]

A better look at that cooler, case and board.

Great! Thanks for the help! A much cheaper setup overall! Might not look as fancy but def cheaper and looks strong. That specific GPU isn't available but I can choose an alternative. That still brings it close to 2.5k in the end with some fresh storage but it's a 5080 instead of a 5070ti which is better for sure!
I do think I need to buy Windows again too but that's not so bad. Doubt I have the old setup for windows anywhere around.

I guess this does imply I should stick to Nvidia then too! Makes it a bit easier to make a final decision if I;m sure that's right. Thanks again!

 

[Why_Me]

Great! Thanks for the help! A much cheaper setup overall! Might not look as fancy but def cheaper and looks strong. That specific GPU isn't available but I can choose an alternative. That still brings it close to 2.5k in the end with some fresh storage but it's a 5080 instead of a 5070ti which is better for sure!
I do think I need to buy Windows again too but that's not so bad. Doubt I have the old setup for windows anywhere around.

I guess this does imply I should stick to Nvidia then too! Makes it a bit easier to make a final decision if I;m sure that's right. Thanks again!

https://www.tomshardware.com/software/windows/windows-11-free-or-cheap

 

[LordMikeus]

So, I've probably gotten much closer to figuring this out and deciding on something. I did have some questions and wanted some opinions though. I've been looking at what I can and can't do to try make this easier for me to decide on. It is possible I can push closer to 3k than 2k, just might mean waiting a little bit longer. But if that's hugely more worth doing then I'd do so pretty happily. It's not totally out of budget.
It does seem like I should go the 5080 for my monitor and goals. If I'm right then at least that's settled? Works with the gsync monitor and streaming parts too.

For the CPU, I noticed there's actually a few X3D's. 7800, 9800, 9900? I'm guessing the 9900 is overkill but is the £100 jump from 7800 to 9800 very worth doing, especially if this is my pc for the batch of years?
I've also seen debates on if Mobo needs to be B850/x870 chipset but does it matter? Same thing with PSU. As long as it's gold and 850+ wattage is it really going to matter?
For RAM, I've seen something about making sure to get a AMD's E.X.P.O.?
Different GPU brands. What's it matter? So many versions of the same GPU.

With all the in mind I've got the few lists shared by the far more knowledgeable people:

Why_Me: https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/list/pWtWwY (Changed the GPU to one available) - £2200
Logan54321: https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/list/TQPzjn (GPU again) - £2444

Then I threw together a fancy one, just cases and coolers I liked the look of mostly with some considerations for the things I mentioned above that I've seen about. Mobo comments, cpu comments, EXPO Ram (Which I struggled to figure out) and so on 😅

https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/list/8sKhZc - £2686

With the GPU being the same in all these, the main dif is CPU's and odd bits. Is my put together one wasteful or silly? Am I better off going with one of the earlier ones or taking parts of them all?

Again, thanks for the help all. This is hopefully near the end of all my questions and thinking.

 

[Why_Me]

So, I've probably gotten much closer to figuring this out and deciding on something. I did have some questions and wanted some opinions though. I've been looking at what I can and can't do to try make this easier for me to decide on. It is possible I can push closer to 3k than 2k, just might mean waiting a little bit longer. But if that's hugely more worth doing then I'd do so pretty happily. It's not totally out of budget.
It does seem like I should go the 5080 for my monitor and goals. If I'm right then at least that's settled? Works with the gsync monitor and streaming parts too.

For the CPU, I noticed there's actually a few X3D's. 7800, 9800, 9900? I'm guessing the 9900 is overkill but is the £100 jump from 7800 to 9800 very worth doing, especially if this is my pc for the batch of years?
I've also seen debates on if Mobo needs to be B850/x870 chipset but does it matter? Same thing with PSU. As long as it's gold and 850+ wattage is it really going to matter?
For RAM, I've seen something about making sure to get a AMD's E.X.P.O.?
Different GPU brands. What's it matter? So many versions of the same GPU.

With all the in mind I've got the few lists shared by the far more knowledgeable people:

Why_Me: https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/list/pWtWwY (Changed the GPU to one available) - £2200
Logan54321: https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/list/TQPzjn (GPU again) - £2444

Then I threw together a fancy one, just cases and coolers I liked the look of mostly with some considerations for the things I mentioned above that I've seen about. Mobo comments, cpu comments, EXPO Ram (Which I struggled to figure out) and so on 😅

https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/list/8sKhZc - £2686

With the GPU being the same in all these, the main dif is CPU's and odd bits. Is my put together one wasteful or silly? Am I better off going with one of the earlier ones or taking parts of them all?

Again, thanks for the help all. This is hopefully near the end of all my questions and thinking.

You can save 150 quid on the gpu.

PCPartPicker Part List

Video Card: *Gigabyte WINDFORCE OC SFF GeForce RTX 5080 16 GB Video Card (£1149.99 @ Box Limited)
Total: £1149.99
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
*Lowest price parts chosen from parametric criteria
Generated by PCPartPicker 2025-04-27 00:27 BST+0100

https://www.gigabyte.com/Graphics-Card/GV-N5080WF3OC-16GD#kf

 

[Why_Me]

That set of Patriot RAM I posted just jumped up in price by 15+ quid. btw that RAM is AMD EXPO certified as is this set of RAM down below. £2039 not including storage.

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D 4.2 GHz 8-Core Processor (£361.72 @ Amazon UK)
CPU Cooler: *ID-COOLING FROZN A620 PRO SE 58 CFM CPU Cooler (£29.99 @ Amazon UK)
Motherboard: *MSI X670E GAMING PLUS WIFI ATX AM5 Motherboard (£199.99 @ Amazon UK)
Memory: *Kingston FURY Beast 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR5-6000 CL30 Memory (£97.00 @ MoreCoCo)
Video Card: *Gigabyte WINDFORCE OC SFF GeForce RTX 5080 16 GB Video Card (£1149.99 @ Box Limited)
Case: *Montech AIR 903 BASE ATX Mid Tower Case (£49.99 @ Overclockers.co.uk)
Power Supply: *Super Flower Leadex III Gold UP 1000 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply (£149.99 @ Overclockers.co.uk)
Total: £2038.67
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
*Lowest price parts chosen from parametric criteria
Generated by PCPartPicker 2025-04-27 01:26 BST+0100

Your resolution sits somewhere between 1440 and 4K.

 

[LordMikeus]

You can save 150 quid on the gpu.

Thanks! I still have no idea if the brands matter so that works for me!

That set of Patriot RAM I posted just jumped up in price by 15+ quid. btw that RAM is AMD EXPO certified as is this set of RAM down below. £2039 not including storage.

Great, thanks. I was struggling to figure out which ones were and weren't.

I still want to wait for the answers to my questions, at least mostly, so I can feel more confident but I appreciate you updating the list and prices to make it better! Thanks!