I'm planning a PC in the 2,000–3,000 CHF range, using a 39.7-inch 5120×2160 72 Hz monitor that I already own. The system will be used roughly 80% for light productivity such as LaTeX and Microsoft Office, and 20% for casual gaming: mostly League of Legends, followed by Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition, Cities: Skylines II, The Sims, and a few other games. I'll use a console for demanding AAA games.
The proposed build includes a Ryzen 7 7800X3D, Radeon RX 9070, 32 GB of DDR5-6000 memory, and an 850 W power supply. I selected the expensive motherboard primarily because it has 10 GbE networking and I like its appearance.
I'd appreciate advice on whether the 7800X3D and RX 9070 can maintain at least 60 FPS at 5120×2160 in these games, whether a 750 W power supply would be sufficient, and whether the RX 9070 XT would provide any meaningful benefit. I have never used an AIO cooler and chose a premium model because I want to minimize reliability concerns. Is it worthwhile, or would a high-quality air cooler be the better choice? I'm also wondering whether the memory, motherboard, cooling, or any other part is unnecessarily expensive or worth reconsidering.
4 Answers
For this use case, the 7800X3D is more than capable. League of Legends and Age of Empires II should have no trouble reaching 72 FPS, and the CPU is also suitable for the simulation games. The RX 9070 should be adequate for your library at 5K2K, although Cities: Skylines II can be demanding and may require reduced settings or upscaling. Since you already use a console for demanding AAA games, the XT model probably isn’t necessary. I’d save money on the cooler and fans, then only upgrade the GPU if you specifically want higher settings in the more demanding games.
The motherboard seems difficult to justify unless you genuinely need 10 GbE. It may be worth comparing other creator-oriented X870 boards with the same networking feature, since a cheaper option could free up money for the graphics card or storage. For cooling, a good dual-tower air cooler is generally simpler and more reliable than an AIO. The premium liquid cooler won’t meaningfully improve gaming performance with this processor; choose it only if you strongly prefer the appearance or need the extra clearance around the socket.
There is a cheaper creator-focused board available with 10 GbE, but reports of reliability problems made me hesitant. I’m willing to pay somewhat more for a board I trust, though I agree the current price is difficult to justify.
A 750 W unit should comfortably handle the 7800X3D and RX 9070 combination. The GPU draws around 220 W, and the 7800X3D is relatively efficient, especially during gaming. Keeping the 850 W model is still reasonable if you expect to move to a much faster GPU, CPU, and high-refresh 5K2K monitor in a few years.
That’s why I leaned toward 850 W. Replacing the power supply later would be inconvenient if I eventually move to a higher-power setup.
The memory is the main part I’d question. DDR5-6000 with CL30 is a better pairing for an X3D processor than CL36, but it isn’t worth paying hundreds more for a small real-world difference. If CL30 costs dramatically more locally, keep the current kit or look for a reasonably priced 6000 MT/s kit with lower latency. The motherboard and cooling are also expensive relative to the performance of the rest of the build, so those are the easiest places to trim.
The AIO is mainly for appearance. If I switch to air cooling, I’d still like a quiet, understated black cooler. Would something like a Noctua NH-U12A be a sensible alternative, and would the XT provide much extra performance in my games?