I'm planning a high-end PC primarily for gaming, with some other workloads as well, and I'll be running Linux. An AMD GPU is non-negotiable because of my Linux preferences and past experiences with Nvidia drivers, so I'm specifically sticking with the Radeon RX 9070 XT rather than considering alternatives.
I'd like the system to last several years and perform strongly. My budget is flexible, but I don't want to spend more than about £4,000. The current parts list totals approximately £3,603 and includes a Ryzen 7 9850X3D, Arctic Liquid Freezer III Pro 360 mm cooler, 64 GB of DDR5-6000 CL30 memory, a 4 TB PCIe 5.0 NVMe SSD, an ASRock Taichi RX 9070 XT, a large Lian Li O11 Dynamic EVO XL case, a 1,000 W Platinum power supply, and six 140 mm RGB fans.
I chose the motherboard mainly for its multiple M.2 slots, 10 Gb Ethernet, Wi-Fi 7, and overall appearance. I'm open to changing the motherboard and other parts, but I want to keep the RX 9070 XT and would appreciate advice on compatibility, value, cooling, storage, power supply capacity, and anything else that could improve the build.
4 Answers
The parts should work together, but the motherboard, case, and RGB choices are carrying a lot of the cost. If the white aesthetic is important, that’s fine; otherwise, you could save substantially without losing gaming performance. The 1,000 W power supply is also more capacity than this system needs, though choosing a high-quality unit with some headroom is reasonable if you expect a future GPU upgrade. I’d prioritize a reliable ATX 3.x unit over simply chasing the highest wattage. A 750–850 W model should be sufficient for the current hardware, while 1,000 W is mainly an upgrade-planning choice.
For a build at this price, I’d compare the included 4 TB SSD with a good TLC drive that has onboard DRAM. PCIe 5.0 drives can be extremely fast in benchmarks, but gaming usually won’t feel much different from a strong PCIe 4.0 model, and some high-end Gen5 drives run hot. A reliable TLC SSD with a heatsink, good endurance, and a long warranty may offer better practical value. If you regularly move very large files, then the Gen5 drive’s extra bandwidth may be worthwhile.
The CPU and 64 GB of DDR5-6000 CL30 memory are a sensible pairing for a high-end gaming system. Just make sure the memory kit is on the board’s compatibility list and update the firmware before enabling the memory profile. The large case gives you plenty of airflow options, but plan the intake and exhaust layout carefully so the radiator and graphics card aren’t competing for the same warm air. If appearance isn’t the priority, quieter non-RGB fans could improve acoustics for less money.
The first thing I’d question is whether you actually need the X870E feature set. A less expensive board may provide enough M.2 connectivity and still support the CPU, so compare the exact expansion layout rather than paying for the chipset name alone. If 10 Gb networking, Wi-Fi 7, and several NVMe drives are genuine requirements, then an upper-end X870E board can make sense, but check the manual for lane sharing between the M.2 slots, PCIe slots, and networking. I’d also compare current firmware support and CPU warranty history before settling on a board. The Gigabyte X870E AORUS Master X3D ICE is a reasonable alternative to investigate.
That makes sense. I mainly want several M.2 slots plus 10 Gb Ethernet and Wi-Fi 7, which is why I ended up looking at X870E boards. I’m now comparing the Gigabyte model with other options instead of choosing the ASRock board automatically.
I was intentionally leaving extra PSU capacity for a future graphics card, so I’m comfortable spending more there if the unit is high quality. I’ll still compare the efficiency, connector standard, and warranty rather than focusing only on wattage.