Build Advice New gaming build for around 1500 bucks ?

[true_messiyah]

Hi guys,

My old system, an 8yo gaming rig, broke down, well, it was about time to upgrade anyway. I won't reuse anything as I'll try to fix it as a secondary computer later:

What I need it for:
- Gaming
- 4k video editing

Games I (want to) play:
- RPGs like Bethesda stuff, Witcher, Cyberpunk (no raytracing needed, happy with 1440p and ultra settings)
- Strategy and simulations like Civ, City Skylines, Planet Coaster (which is extremely single-thread performance hungry, still a challenge for modern CPUs)

I have pretty much decided that the graphics card will be either RX 7800 XT or RX 7900 GRE. That will more than suffice for my current needs plus a couple of years into the future.

What I can't decide about (just too much data to acquire and compute) is the heart of the system, CPU, cooler, board, RAM (gen and speed). The board should accommodate two SSDs (thinking about 1TB for system and applications, 4 TB for games and editing workspace, advice with regard to the bus generation welcome). No special requirements apart from that. No more than two HDDs might be added later to dump data. How big a power supply does this add up to? The case preferably roomy, boring and SILENT. I'm used to not hearing anything from underneath the desk most of the time, and I like that more than fancy lights behind a window. Not the overclocking, water cooling type of guy.

I don't have a fixed budget, it should just make sense in terms of value towards the requirements. Roughly 500 bucks for the graphics board, not more than 1000 for the rest, I would say. No screens needed. I'd prefer to buy soon but I could wait if you're telling me that Ryzen 9000 (or whatever) will change the game for me.

I'd be grateful for suggestions, especially with some hints why it seems appropriate for my use case.

 

[jeremyj_83]

According to the benchmarks I've seen it's more around 7% performance difference.
The reason why I'm not buying now is that I've seen better deals before. 490 for a 7800XT and 524 for an ASrock 7900GRE. I don't think I'll have to wait too long for something similar. Special offers come up every few days.

With those you need to be very careful that they are what they say they are. On Amazon.de there was a "7800XT" for 480 Euro from the pcpartpicker tool. When I actually looked at the card, it was actually a Vega VII GPU for 410 Euros sold by Amazon Returned Sales and relisted as a 7800XT.

Do I really need a cooler this fancy? Let's wait for thorough info about thermal loads of next-gen CPUs...

That is one of the best coolers available AND it is cheap. Getting a Noctua of equal performance will set you back almost double the money. Alternatively with the 9700X you could probably go with a Be Quiet Shadow Rock 3, but that is only 5 Euros less expensive, or the Deepcool AK400 for about half the price.

 

[jeremyj_83]

Do you really need 64gb ram? 6 core CPU, in 2024, just seems wrong as games are becoming more CPU heavy.

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 7700X 4.5 GHz 8-Core Processor (€279.52 @ Amazon Deutschland)
CPU Cooler: Thermalright Peerless Assassin 120 SE ARGB 66.17 CFM CPU Cooler (€36.49 @ Amazon Deutschland)
Motherboard: ASRock B650 Steel Legend WiFi ATX AM5 Motherboard (€224.16 @ Amazon Deutschland)
Memory: Kingston FURY Beast 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR5-6000 CL30 Memory (€112.90 @ Amazon Deutschland)
Storage: SK Hynix Platinum P41 2 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive (€137.99 @ Amazon Deutschland)
Case: Fractal Design Pop Air ATX Mid Tower Case (€69.90 @ Amazon Deutschland)
Power Supply: Thermaltake Toughpower GF3 TT Premium 850 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply (€109.90 @ Amazon Deutschland)
Total: €970.86
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2024-07-17 18:43 CEST+0200

OP is looking at doing 4k video editing as well. While 32GB is enough for 4k editing now, more RAM never hurts. If OP decides to do higher resolution editing then RAM requirements go up.

 

[logainofhades]

OP is looking at doing 4k video editing as well. While 32GB is enough for 4k editing now, more RAM never hurts. If OP decides to do higher resolution editing then RAM requirements go up.

Yea but unless they are using a software that can take advantage of GPU, I would think 6 cores is not going to be enough for that really either. I do think waiting for Ryzen 9000 is the best course of action here, as it is only 2 weeks away from being released.

 

[true_messiyah]

Do you really need 64gb ram? 6 core CPU, in 2024, just seems wrong as games are becoming more CPU heavy.

Well observed! I was considering to start with 32 GB and add another 32 later when the 12-core X3D CPU is in but I was told that using all banks would slow my RAM down, so why?
It's for video editing, not for gaming.

Power Supply: Thermaltake Toughpower GF3 TT Premium 850 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply (€109.90 @ Amazon Deutschland)

Seems like a good option. I was now considering this one for 109€.
MSI MPG A850G PCIE5 850 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply

Can't really tell which one's better.

 

[jeremyj_83]

Seems like a good option. I was now considering this one for 109€.
MSI MPG A850G PCIE5 850 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply

Can't really tell which one's better.

I recommend going through HWbusters PSU reviews or at least looking at the newest list of best ATX 3.0 PSUs. The person who runs the site used to be a writer for Tomshardware and is one of the very few reputable PSU reviewers anymore.

 

[Lucky_SLS]

Regarding mobo, why do you need more pcie 5.0 lanes?

The aorus pro has pcie 5.0 M.2 Slot and 5.0 gpu slot on the primary pcie. I would say save some cash with the cheaper B650 mobo.

 

[true_messiyah]

Regarding mobo, why do you need more pcie 5.0 lanes?

The aorus pro has pcie 5.0 M.2 Slot and 5.0 gpu slot on the primary pcie. I would say save some cash with the cheaper B650 mobo.

What would be the cheaper one compared to my €186.89 Steel Legend, and for which price?

 

[Lucky_SLS]

What would be the cheaper one compared to my €186.89 Steel Legend, and for which price?

https://de.pcpartpicker.com/product...ifi-atx-am5-motherboard-b650e-pg-riptide-wifi

This case does not have sound dampening foam, but with the included 160mm fans, it would be quieter.
https://www.techpowerup.com/review/lian-li-lancool-216-rgb/8.html

cheaper and a better PSU model: https://de.pcpartpicker.com/product...ular-atx-power-supply-corereactorii850g-bkcus

 

[true_messiyah]

https://de.pcpartpicker.com/product...ifi-atx-am5-motherboard-b650e-pg-riptide-wifi

Seriously? It's a solid board, main downside is the lousy sound though. In what respect would it be better than the Steel Legend?
Anyway, it's more expensive. The 174 € are for something else if you click on the link.

This case does not have sound dampening foam, but with the included 160mm fans, it would be quieter.
https://www.techpowerup.com/review/lian-li-lancool-216-rgb/8.html

You might be right, maybe not. Even the Dark Base does not perform so bad, and the Silent Base is not on that list. Silent Base is the model line where BeQuiet focusses on silence. I am confident the difference is not too severe, and it doesn't matter now since I bought the case yesterday.
I do like the Lian Li concept though, was tempted to buy another model I saw a test about but that one was too expensive.

cheaper and a better PSU model: https://de.pcpartpicker.com/product...ular-atx-power-supply-corereactorii850g-bkcus

Cheaper? Yes, a few bucks. I ended up paying €114.89 for 850 Watt Corsair RMx Shift Series RM850x Modular 80+ Gold. Just couldn't find the current model on PCPartPicker.
It's well rated on HWbusters while your Adata is not on the list. Can't know for sure but I find it highly unlikely that I made a mistake here when I bought it last night.

I will focus on the parts I haven't purchased yet which are CPU fan (not urgent since I'll have the stock cooler but 7600 can get hot with it), long-term the CPU for next year, the GFX card (waiting for a special deal), and the mainboard cause I was a minute late ordering my stuff, and the price for the Steel Legend went up again. 😅
Unfortunately, it is very difficult to keep track of not only the models but also the revisions of these.
I need a board with:
- a decent VRM ready for the fattest 9000 CPU to come (Don't want the board to overheat cause that would cause more noise.)
- decent sound
- Wifi
- at least three M.2 slots, one of them 5.0
- extra PCIe 5.0 is nice to have but not a real criteria

The Steel Legend checks all the boxes.
The AX ICE has a slightly inferior VRM, no extra PCIe but the main reason why I ruled it out first was that it had only 1+1 m.2 slots according to Hardware Unboxed.
As I found out at least now with its current revision it has 2+1 so it would be an option. Still don't see why it would be better than the Steel Legend for the same price tag.
Still open for new insights and suggestions here.

 

[Lucky_SLS]

IIRC, the V2 of the Aorus elite is 12 phase VRM design instead of 14 phases like the V1. I would not suggest the V2.

As long as you have atleast 14 phases and 70A caps, it would be a decent board for 125W+ CPUs.

The reactor II is one of the better performing models: https://hwbusters.com/psus/xpg-core-reactor-ii-850w-psu-review/

But if you want silent operation: https://hwbusters.com/psus/xpg-core-reactor-ii-850w-psu-review/9/

"The XPG Core Reactor II 850W achieves high overall performance, and although its average noise is high, the detailed noise maps I provide show that up to 520W loads, it remains quiet, with its fan noise within the 15-20 dBA region."

 

[true_messiyah]

IIRC, the V2 of the Aorus elite is 12 phase VRM design instead of 14 phases like the V1. I would not suggest the V2.

As long as you have atleast 14 phases and 70A caps, it would be a decent board for 125W+ CPUs.

Any particular suggestions here?
I'd like to order the board today, Steel Legend goes for 220 now.

The reactor II is one of the better performing models: https://hwbusters.com/psus/xpg-core-reactor-ii-850w-psu-review/

But if you want silent operation: https://hwbusters.com/psus/xpg-core-reactor-ii-850w-psu-review/9/

"The XPG Core Reactor II 850W achieves high overall performance, and although its average noise is high, the detailed noise maps I provide show that up to 520W loads, it remains quiet, with its fan noise within the 15-20 dBA region."

Still don't need a second PSU, it's just one build.

 

[Lucky_SLS]

Riptide - 196 euros - https://www.alternate.de/ASRock/B65...1_1721295861_0582d78e46fc7e19adc7291e7221232c

X670 gaming AX V2 - 193 euros - https://www.notebooksbilliger.de/gi...13511ceaf64ef470df81fe9cbfb&nbbct=1001_127079

 

[true_messiyah]

Riptide - 196 euros - https://www.alternate.de/ASRock/B65...1_1721295861_0582d78e46fc7e19adc7291e7221232c

Had it on my parts list for some time. Major downside is audio, allegedly the poorest codec.
Info about audio is somewhat scarce though.

X670 gaming AX V2 - 193 euros - https://www.notebooksbilliger.de/gi...13511ceaf64ef470df81fe9cbfb&nbbct=1001_127079

Does this one have any PCIe-5? Doesn't seem like it.

 

[Lucky_SLS]

The X670 Gaming AX V2 got a pcie 5.0 SSD slot.

the X16 primary pcie slot runs in 4.0 mode. You would not be throttling the bandwidth with 4.0 X16 pcie lanes, even with a 4090.

https://www.gigabyte.com/Motherboard/X670-GAMING-X-AX-V2-rev-10/sp#sp

 

[true_messiyah]

Updated PartPicker List

The current choice of graphics cards:

XFX Speedster MERC 319 Black Radeon RX 7800 XT 16 GB Video Card
€495 (icluding two free games)
1624/2565 MHz

16GB PowerColor Radeon RX 7800 XT Hellhound Aktiv PCIe 4.0 x16 (Retail)
€495 (icluding two free games)
The specs don't even include clocks, it's probably the slowest card out there.

16GB PowerColor Radeon RX 7900 GRE Fighter OC Aktiv PCIe 4.0 x16 (Retail)
€555

 

[logainofhades]

Well observed! I was considering to start with 32 GB and add another 32 later when the 12-core X3D CPU is in but I was told that using all banks would slow my RAM down, so why?
It's for video editing, not for gaming.

Seems like a good option. I was now considering this one for 109€.
MSI MPG A850G PCIE5 850 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply

Can't really tell which one's better.

Your OP specifically had games in it , that you wanted to play. Using all 4 slots will result in slower ram speeds. The DDR5 memory controllers have not matured enough yet for that kind of operation. Others are more versed in what PSU is better or worse. I don't buy anything MSI, myself, so never recommend their products.

 

[true_messiyah]

The thread has become pretty long and difficult to keep track of. I'm basically set for now with the following build.

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 7600 3.8 GHz 6-Core Processor (Purchased For €169.00)
Motherboard: Gigabyte X670 GAMING X AX V2 ATX AM5 Motherboard (Purchased For €182.59)
Memory: Patriot Viper Venom 64 GB (2 x 32 GB) DDR5-6400 CL32 Memory (Purchased For €199.00)
Storage: Samsung 980 Pro 2 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive (Purchased For €124.35)
Video Card: XFX Speedster MERC 319 Black Radeon RX 7800 XT 16 GB Video Card (€495.00)
Case: be quiet! Silent Base 802 ATX Mid Tower Case (Purchased For €119.00)
Power Supply: Corsair RM850x (2021) 850 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply (Purchased For €114.89)
Total: €1403.83
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2024-07-18 18:46 CEST+0200

Graphics card will be ordered later tonight to save shipping costs.
As a bundle with that I can pick two games from a nice list as well. I'm mostly happy with the build.

At some point in the future (after the heat of the 9000X3D launch) I will upgrade CPU, cooler and storage (whenever required). Placeholders examplify the idea.

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 9 7900X3D 4.4 GHz 12-Core Processor (€393.67 @ notebooksbilliger.de)
CPU Cooler: Thermalright Phantom Spirit EVO 69 CFM CPU Cooler (€56.90 @ Amazon Deutschland)
Motherboard: Gigabyte X670 GAMING X AX V2 ATX AM5 Motherboard (Purchased For €182.59)
Memory: Patriot Viper Venom 64 GB (2 x 32 GB) DDR5-6400 CL32 Memory (Purchased For €199.00)
Storage: Samsung 980 Pro 2 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive (Purchased For €124.35)
Storage: Crucial T700 W/Heatsink 4 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 5.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive (€357.98 @ notebooksbilliger.de)
Video Card: XFX Speedster MERC 319 Black Radeon RX 7800 XT 16 GB Video Card (€495.00)
Case: be quiet! Silent Base 802 ATX Mid Tower Case (Purchased For €119.00)
Power Supply: Corsair RM850x (2021) 850 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply (Purchased For €114.89)
Total: €2043.38
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2024-07-18 18:53 CEST+0200

Thanks for all the help to everyone!

 

[35below0]

495 + 2 game bundle is a good deal. Normally the 7900GRE is a better choice for only some 50 euro more, but since we're so close to a new generation, you wont benefit so much from spending the extra money.

You only need 1 year's worth of performance from your 7800XT, and it will deliver.

 

[logainofhades]

I have seen rumblings that Ryzen 9000 x3d will be out in September, so hopefully AMD does it right, and both chiplets will have the 3d v-cache.