I built a gaming PC several years ago for World of Warcraft but stopped playing. Now I'm planning to return, mainly for WoW Classic while waiting for the next long-term version, and I'm considering a compact Mini-ITX build instead of buying a Steam Deck or Legion Go 2. I already use a PS5 for demanding AAA games, so this PC would mostly be for WoW and possibly some strategy games. I'm in the UK and was originally aiming for around £1,500, though the budget has ended up closer to £1,500–£1,800. I already have a monitor, keyboard, and mouse. The current parts list includes a Ryzen 7 9800X3D, Radeon RX 9060 XT, 32GB of DDR5-6000 memory, a 500GB NVMe SSD, a Fractal Design Terra case, and a 750W SFX power supply, for a total of about £1,771. Is this build unnecessarily powerful or expensive for my needs, and are there any parts I should change?
3 Answers
It may be worth looking at a slightly roomier Mini-ITX case that supports a better CPU cooler. That could give you more cooling headroom and potentially let you choose cheaper or more conventional components. I’d also recheck the memory and SSD pricing, since those figures look high for 32GB of DDR5 and a 500GB drive. If you might play more demanding PC games later, putting some of the savings toward a stronger GPU would make the system more balanced.
The 9800X3D is much faster than the graphics card generally requires, but WoW is unusually CPU-heavy and benefits a lot from strong single-core performance and extra 3D cache. It isn’t completely unreasonable for WoW, especially if you want high frame rates in busy cities or raids, though it may still be more CPU than you need for this GPU.
You could potentially save money on the motherboard and power supply, although the Mini-ITX and SFX parts needed for a small-form-factor build are more expensive than their standard ATX equivalents. A 650W unit should be enough for these components, provided it has the right connectors and fits the case.
That pairing would usually look unbalanced in other games, but WoW can be the exception. The X3D processor should help more here than it would in many GPU-focused titles.