I'm building my first PC and don't know much about choosing parts yet. My budget is under $3,000 CAD, and I'd like to lower the cost or make smarter upgrades without sacrificing much performance. I'll mainly use the system for gaming, video editing, and 3D modeling. I'd also appreciate a recommendation for a good monitor.
3 Answers
A similar system can work very well with a Ryzen 7 7800X3D, 32GB of DDR5-6000 memory, a 1TB Samsung 990 Pro, a B650 motherboard, a 750W power supply, and a Thermalright Peerless Assassin cooler. The biggest consideration is the graphics card. I’d strongly consider a model with 16GB of VRAM, since that should be more comfortable for newer games and 3D workloads over time. Buying selected parts used can also bring the total down substantially, but make sure to test them and verify the seller before purchasing.
Before choosing the graphics card, check whether your 3D software uses CUDA, since that may make an NVIDIA card worthwhile. If CUDA isn’t required, a less expensive build could offer similar or better gaming performance and save around $1,000 CAD. If you do need CUDA, there are still cheaper NVIDIA-based options. The peripherals may also have room for savings, especially the mouse. For a monitor, a 27-inch 1440p display with a high refresh rate, such as the KTC H27E6, is a solid value option. OLED would look better, but it would increase the cost significantly. A Ryzen 5 7600X3D bundle with a B650 motherboard and 32GB of DDR5-6000 memory could also reduce the overall price.
Another possible direction is a Core i5-14600 with 32GB of DDR4 memory and a Radeon RX 9070 XT. That combination was suggested as offering roughly 10% more performance for around $2,000 CAD, depending on current Canadian pricing and the rest of the parts.
I was confused by the Ryzen 5 bundle costing more than the Ryzen 7 option I selected, since the Ryzen 7 I found was about $400 CAD.