Build Advice New PC Build ~USD$2,000 Budget ?

[robinede0]

Approximate Purchase Date: Within the next month or two
Budget Range: ~USD$2,000 I can stretch slightly if there’s a big performance gain.
System Usage from Most to Least Important:

1. Gaming (1440p, high/ultra settings)
2. General Web Browsing / Productivity

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: Newegg, Amazon, any reputable U.S. retailer.
Location: United States.
Parts Preferences: Currently leaning toward AMD (both CPU and GPU), but open to suggestions.
Your Monitor Resolution: 2560×1440 (180 Hz).

Additional Comments:

• Would like a mid-tower case with good airflow and relatively quiet operation.
• Planning to play modern AAA titles
• Prioritizing future-proofing where possible.

Why Upgrade: My old laptop can’t handle modern games at acceptable frame rates, so I’m ready for a desktop with better performance.

---

Proposed Build​

PCPartPicker Part List
(Prices may vary; total currently around $1,812.83.)

• CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 9700X - $289.00
• CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 Black Edition - $29.99
• Motherboard: MSI B650 GAMING PLUS WIFI ATX AM5 - $149.99
• Memory: Corsair Vengeance RGB 32 GB (2 × 16 GB) DDR5-6000 CL36 - $89.99
• Storage: Crucial P3 Plus 2 TB PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD - $117.99
• Video Card: XFX Speedster MERC 310 Radeon RX 7900 XT (20 GB) - $950.89
• Case: Corsair 4000D Airflow ATX Mid Tower - $84.99
• Power Supply: Corsair RM750e (2023) 750 W 80+ Gold Fully Modular - $99.99

Questions/Concerns:

• Is a 750 W PSU enough for potential future upgrades?
• Would you swap any parts for better price-to-performance or reliability?
• Any motherboard alternatives with more features/expandability?

Thank you in advance for your feedback!

 

[Lutfij]

If the percentage for gaming in your build is more than that of productivity, then you should look into an X3D SKU of Ryzen processors. With your current motherboard, you'll need to flash/update the BIOS for your motherboard before you can drop in that processor onto the socket. The ram kit you picked out doesn't have AMD's E.X.P.O on it and might cause instability issues with your platform.

General Web Browsing / Productivity
Mind sharing the name of the app's that you'll be taxing the system with in regards to productivity?

Is a 750 W PSU enough for potential future upgrades?
If I were you, I'd add some more to the wattage of the unit(although the quality of the unit is good) to make sure you have some headroom(and you get to retain the PSU for longer).

Here is my submission;
PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D 4.7 GHz 8-Core Processor ($539.98 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: ARCTIC Liquid Freezer III 280 72.8 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($86.23 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Gigabyte B850M GAMING X WIFI6E Micro ATX AM5 Motherboard ($174.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: G.Skill Trident Z5 Neo RGB 64 GB (2 x 32 GB) DDR5-6000 CL36 Memory ($149.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Crucial P3 Plus 500 GB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive ($39.99 @ Adorama)
Storage: Crucial P3 Plus 2 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive ($117.99 @ Adorama)
Video Card: XFX Speedster MERC 310 Radeon RX 7900 XT 20 GB Video Card ($950.89 @ MemoryC)
Case: Cooler Master Elite 301 MicroATX Mid Tower Case ($54.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: MSI MAG A850GL PCIE5 850 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply ($104.99 @ MSI)
Total: $2220.04
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2025-03-10 05:04 EDT-0400
^
Costs more than your initial run but with more ram that has AMD's E.X.P.O on it, a smaller SSD for your OS, app's and launchers to be on, while the larger drive can be your game library. You should add a mechanical drive(HDD) to make sure you've saved your finalized production work on to it as SSD's don't make for retaining mission critical data in the long run.

Motherboard doesn't need you to flash the BIOS to get the processor to work. The PSU is on par with the Corsair unit and you can migrate to a GPU with a 12V-2x6 connector. I went with an AIO that can be mounted to the top but you can get something like a Thermalright Peerless Assassin 120 for have the price and have an air cooled build. This is merely a template, nothing set in stone.

 

[Why_Me]

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: *AMD Ryzen 7 7700X 4.5 GHz 8-Core Processor ($272.74 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: *ID-COOLING FROZN A620 PRO SE 58 CFM CPU Cooler ($29.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: MSI B650 GAMING PLUS WIFI ATX AM5 Motherboard ($149.99 @ MSI)
Memory: *Patriot Viper Venom 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR5-6000 CL30 Memory ($79.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: *Silicon Power UD90 2 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive ($92.97 @ B&H)
Video Card: *XFX Speedster MERC 310 Radeon RX 7900 XT 20 GB Video Card ($950.89 @ MemoryC)
Case: *Montech AIR 903 MAX ATX Mid Tower Case ($79.90 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: *Thermaltake Toughpower GF1 (2024) 850 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply ($94.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $1751.46
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
*Lowest price parts chosen from parametric criteria
Generated by PCPartPicker 2025-03-10 05:13 EDT-0400

 

[helper800]

If you can get a 9070 XT for 600-700 dollars, a 9070 for 550, or a 5070 ti for 750-850 I would sub in a 7800X3D or a 9800X3D, but until graphics cards are not insane, this is the best I can do:

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 9700X 3.8 GHz 8-Core Processor ($289.00 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Thermalright Peerless Assassin 140 77.8 CFM CPU Cooler ($47.90 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Gigabyte X870 GAMING X WIFI7 ATX AM5 Motherboard ($229.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: G.Skill Flare X5 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR5-6000 CL28 Memory ($114.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Inland Performance Plus 2 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive ($133.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Gigabyte AERO OC GeForce RTX 5070 Ti 16 GB Video Card ($989.98 @ Newegg)
Case: Fractal Design Focus 2 ATX Mid Tower Case ($63.98 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: Enermax Revolution D.F. 12 850 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply ($119.79 @ Amazon)
Total: $1989.62
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2025-03-10 05:37 EDT-0400

 

[stuff and nonesense]

Your proposed build isn’t so different from my pc.

For gaming I’d get the 9800x3d over the 9700x

I have no problems with Corsair memory. The bios on the MSI x670e gaming plus WiFi version of your selected motherboard has a neat optimisation trick. My memory is 6000 cl40, the optimisation trick automatically runs it as cl32 … the PC is stable..
The initial bios update isn’t a problem, prepare a flash drive according to the instructions provided by MSI on their website, download the manual..

I’d look at 1TB for boot drive/most used programs, 2 TB secondary NVMe for lesser used and a 2 to 4TB HDD for other storage making the best use of the PCIe.

GPU, I really like the 7900xt, the 9070xt is better featured. If you could find one close to RRP within the time you are thinking about building it is, at least on paper, a better proposition.

PSU, 750 is ok as is 850W, it’s price dependent. My choice would be 850W.

Cases are cases, style as much as substance. I’d check the reviews and see what is appealing to your eye (and wallet).

Overall your build is nicely balanced. You would have no problems, I don’t know how many extra FPS you would see with the 9800x3d and the 7900xt against the 9700x and the 7900xt but the faster processor will provide more with more powerful GPUs, e.g. 4090, but that card is in a different price bracket.

 

[ohio_buckeye]

I agree, go with a 9070, 9070xt or a 5070ti. Whichever you can get close to msrp, preferably the 9070xt or 5070ti, though I likely wouldn’t turn my nose up at a decently priced 9070 non xt if the others aren’t available or are high priced.

Do you happen to be in the USA and near a Microcenter? If so that’s your best option especially on gpu. Plus they have combo deals on boards and CPUs. Like they’ve been doing a bundle with a 9700x, b650 and 32gb of ram for around $400. So if you can get that type of deal and a card near msrp then that leaves more room in the budget.

 

[Eximo]

You can also pre-order a 7900XT for $750 at Amazon. But I think even an expensive 9070 XT is probably worth it or a 5070 Ti.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BNLT17XQ?tag=pcpapi-20&linkCode=ogi&th=1

 

[ohio_buckeye]

Yeah I’d probably go for an overpriced 9070/9070xt or 5070ti before going with the 7900xt. Not necessarily a bad card, but last generation and being on song tech like RT and fsr4.