I'm planning to gather parts throughout the year to build a gaming PC with my kids for this Christmas. My oldest is interested in streaming, so I want to make sure we're considering that aspect too. I'm not aiming for the highest end specs, but I'd like something that will last for a while. My kids are 11 and 14 years old, and they'll each get the same setup. I'm planning on using the RTX 5070ti 16GB for the GPU. I'm debating whether to go with the AMD 9800X3D CPU or if I should consider alternatives like the 7800X3D or 7600X3D. Is there a significant performance difference between these options, or would an Intel CPU be worth considering? For RAM, I'm planning on a minimum of 32GB, but I'm wondering if it would be beneficial to bump that up to 48 or 64GB if there are good deals available. More RAM sounds great, but will it be necessary soon? I hope to make this PC last at least 3-5 years. As for the motherboard, I just need a PCIe 5.0 slot, and I feel confident about the rest of the build. The GPU/CPU choice is my main question here.
2 Answers
Honestly, those specs are pretty high-tier, but it seems like you've got a good handle on the pricing. For the CPU, I'd recommend sticking with AMD. The 7600X3D is more than capable, and many users find the 7600X still offers solid performance even without the 3D cache. The GPU choice is solid with the 5070, and I use a 4070 Super (similar to the 5070) and it runs great at 1440p, which I think is perfect for your kids. My best advice? Skip 4K monitors; stick with 1440p to ensure the builds can last longer. I used to game on a 970 at 1080p, and it served me well for 8 years!
The 7800X3D would be a great choice with the RTX 5070 Ti. At higher resolutions, more of the workload shifts to the GPU, so unless you're aiming for serious competitive gaming at 300-400 FPS, the 7800X3D should work perfectly fine. You might also consider the RX 9070 XT 16GB GPU; if you go with that, you could potentially use the savings for extra RAM or storage. And don't stress about the Gen 5 slot on the motherboard—just avoid using a Gen 5 SSD if you're not planning to. Actually, a 32GB RAM setup should be sufficient for your needs, and if you choose the RX 9070 XT over the 5070 Ti, you can allocate funds towards higher RAM instead. By the way, a Gen 5 SSD is overkill for gaming and streaming; a Gen 3 or Gen 4 SSD would serve you just fine!
I'm leaning towards the 5070Ti too since I already grabbed one at a good price. I want the builds to be equal. Do AMD Radeon cards have built-in video encoding like NVENC for OBS? I was also wondering if a SATA SSD would work instead of an NVME—maybe a Gen 4 SSD would be a better value!
That's awesome that you got a deal! AMD Radeon cards do have some video encoding features, but NVENC is usually preferred for OBS. And for storage, a SATA SSD is fine; it's just slower than NVME. Gen 4 would definitely give you a good balance between cost and speed.
Great points, thanks! Definitely leaning towards 1440p to keep it manageable for the long term.