I'm putting together a gaming PC and would appreciate feedback on the parts in my build list. I'm using a Ryzen 5 9600X with plans to upgrade to an X3D processor later, along with a Radeon RX 9070 XT, 32GB of DDR5 memory, a PCIe 5.0 NVMe SSD, and an AIO cooler. The case includes four fans, and I'm wondering whether that setup will provide enough airflow or if I should add two more fans at the bottom as intake. Some alternative parts, including a Ryzen 7 7800X3D setup and less expensive PCIe 4.0 SSDs, were unavailable or overpriced in my region.
3 Answers
The white RAM looks great with the rest of the build. The overall color combination is really clean.
A 7800X3D build would be excellent for gaming, but switching to the 9600X makes sense if the other parts needed for that build are unavailable or heavily marked up. Starting with the 9600X and upgrading to a newer X3D chip later is a reasonable plan, assuming the motherboard supports it with a BIOS update.
The PCIe 5.0 SSD is probably unnecessary for a gaming system. A good PCIe 4.0 drive—or even PCIe 3.0 model—would feel nearly the same in most games and could save a significant amount. That said, if Gen 4 drives aren’t available locally at a reasonable price, the Gen 5 drive is still perfectly usable. Your four case fans plus the AIO should already be enough cooling; bottom fans are optional rather than required.
Unfortunately, in my area the Gen 5 drive was the cheapest option I could actually find. The available Gen 4 models were either out of stock or more expensive.
Exactly. If you can find a reasonably priced 2TB PCIe 4.0 drive, that would usually be a better value than spending the same money on a 1TB Gen 5 drive.