Hey everyone! I'm planning to upgrade my and my wife's old gaming rigs, but since I'm effectively buying double, I need to keep costs in mind. We play casually at 1440p and here's my current build list, which totals around €1400:
- 16GB Gigabyte Radeon RX 9060XT Gaming OC
- AMD Ryzen 5 7600X3D 6-core processor
- be quiet! Pure Rock Slim 2 CPU cooler
- Gigabyte Gaming WIFI6 AMD B850 ATX motherboard
- 32GB Patriot VIPER VENOM DDR5-6000 RAM
- be quiet! Pure Base 501 Airflow case with 2 140mm fans
- 650W be quiet! Pure Power 13 M Modular PSU
- 4TB Samsung 990 EVO Plus M.2 SSD
However, I'm facing some questions. In my previous build, my GTX 1080 was too large and blocked access to important motherboard areas, causing issues with SATA connectors. I'm hoping to avoid that this time. I noticed a cheaper mATX version of the motherboard (Gigabyte B850M D3HP), which comes with an M.2 cooler. Would the RX 9060XT fit along with the M.2 cooler? Also, can I install the SSD into any of the slots on the lower half of the ATX board? I thought they needed to be flat to the motherboard. I chose the B850 because I heard the B650 is considered EOL, but I want to ensure I have at least a bit of future-proofing. By the way, the case was a bit of a gamble for me since I noticed many newer cases lack drive bays, but I opted to go for an external drive for a cleaner look. Thanks in advance for any insights! <3
1 Answer
M.2 SSDs are super slim, like a layer of a vanilla wafer. If your motherboard has an M.2 heatsink, it won't get in the way of the GPU even if it's underneath. Also, check out PcPartPicker to confirm compatibility. You can set filters for specific needs, like external 5.25" bays if that’s something you'd like.
Just to clarify, would the 9060XT fit on the mATX with the M.2 cooler? That was my main concern.