I already have a second-hand RX 6900 XT and 32 GB of Corsair Dominator Platinum RGB DDR4-3466 CL16 memory, so I have roughly €1,000 left for the rest of the system. The main use is 1440p gaming without ray tracing or path tracing for now, although I may stream and edit YouTube videos later. I already own my monitors and peripherals, and I'm buying in Germany.
I'm mainly interested in price-to-performance rather than appearance or RGB. A quiet, reasonably efficient system would be a bonus, but performance is more important. I'm considering a Ryzen 7 5700X3D or 5800X3D with an MSI B550-A Pro, or an Intel Core i5-14600K with a DDR4 B760 board. Other parts I'm considering are a Lexar NM790 1 TB NVMe SSD, Thermalright Peerless Assassin 120 SE, Endorfy Arx 700 Air case, and an 850 W be quiet! Pure Power 12 M PSU. The case and power supply should also leave room for a future high-end GPU. Which platform and parts make the most sense?
3 Answers
The AMD route fits the parts you already own and should be a sensible match for the 6900 XT. Between the 5700X3D and 5800X3D, I’d simply buy whichever is cheaper, since the gaming difference usually isn’t large enough to justify a big price gap. A board with somewhat stronger VRMs could be worthwhile, although extreme power delivery isn’t necessary for either of these CPUs. The Peerless Assassin and 850 W PSU are appropriate choices.
I’d choose the 5700X3D or 5800X3D mainly because reusing your DDR4 memory keeps the platform inexpensive. The 14600K can be attractive for productivity and video work, but it generally makes more sense if you’re willing to move to a newer memory platform or specifically need its extra multicore performance. For a 1440p gaming build centered on a 6900 XT, the X3D chips are a straightforward value option.
If power efficiency and future upgrades are the highest priorities, AM5 would be the more modern platform, with a newer CPU socket and DDR5 support. However, that would require replacing the DDR4 kit you already bought, and DDR5 plus the platform cost may not fit the value-focused goal. Staying on AM4 with a 5700X3D is therefore reasonable if you want to minimize the remaining budget, while an AM5 build is better only if you’re prepared to spend more now for a longer upgrade path.
That’s fair, but I don’t think switching to DDR5 is worth the extra cost for this particular build. Reusing the existing 32 GB kit makes the AM4 option much better value.
What makes the 5800X3D preferable to the i5-14600K? I’m wondering whether the Intel chip’s extra productivity performance would matter for streaming and editing.