I'm putting together my first gaming PC and the total comes out to about $3700, which feels a bit much even though I don't have a strict budget. I'd like your input on swapping out some parts to save money without compromising performance. I need the build to hit at least 240 fps at 1440p for gaming, with potential for simulation, music production, live streaming, and video editing in the future. Here's what I must keep: I already have the MSI RTX 5070 Ti Gaming Trio 16GB and the Ryzen 7 9800X3D.
The parts I'm considering changing include:
- **Case:** Lian Li O11D Evo RGB ATX ($160)
- **Fans:** Asiahorse Nyota 120mm ($30)
- **Motherboard:** Asus ROG Strix B850 F Gaming Wifi ($258)
- **Memory:** Corsair Vengeance DDR5 32GB ($412)
- **CPU Cooler:** Kraken Elite 360 ($280)
- **Storage:** Samsung 990 Evo Plus 2TB ($330)
- **PSU:** Lian Li Edge Gold 1000 ($160)
According to PCPartPicker, my setup should pull around 606W, so I'd appreciate any suggestions to save some money here, especially since I still need to budget for a monitor!
1 Answer
You can save a good chunk by switching to some more budget-friendly components. For the cooler, consider the Arctic Liquid Freezer III Pro 360, which performs just as well but is way cheaper at about $90. Instead of the Asus motherboard, grab the MSI MAG B850 Tomahawk MAX, it's more affordable and performs great. For RAM, just go with a basic 32GB DDR5 kit that runs at 6000 MHz with a lower CL rating. Also, look into storage options like the TEAMGROUP MP44 2TB, which gives solid performance at a better price than the Samsung. Your graphics card should be fine for most games, but you might need to adjust settings for some demanding titles.
Just to let you know, I’ve found some parts that total around $2620!
Thanks for the suggestions! I’m checking out the Arctic cooler and the other parts you mentioned!