I'm planning a gaming-only PC build in the UK with a maximum budget of £2,500, although spending less would be preferable. I mainly play one or two large games at a time alongside smaller indie titles, so I currently think a 1TB SSD should be enough. I'd especially appreciate recommendations for cheaper SSD alternatives and advice on anything I might be overlooking or overpaying for. I'd like the system to remain capable for several years while keeping the white, RGB-focused look. The current build costs about £2,379 and includes a Ryzen 7 9850X3D, Radeon RX 9070 XT, 32GB of DDR5-6000 CL30 memory, a 1TB Samsung 990 Pro, a 360mm liquid cooler, and a 1,000W power supply.
3 Answers
Several parts are priced higher than necessary without giving you better gaming performance. You could save roughly £200 by using a less expensive white 360mm ARGB cooler, a cheaper B850 motherboard, similarly specced DDR5-6000 CL30 memory, and a more affordable PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD. The Samsung 990 Pro is excellent, but its premium usually won’t be noticeable in games. A cheaper 1TB drive such as the Biwin Black Opal NV7400 would perform similarly for this use. You could also use less expensive matching ARGB case fans and choose the downloadable Windows version if you need a licence. The revised parts list comes to around £2,162 while keeping the same CPU and graphics card.
You could also consider a smaller boot drive plus a cheaper 2TB secondary drive for games. Game libraries tend to grow faster than expected, and separating them can make storage upgrades easier.
I’d look at reducing the power supply to 850W. That should be plenty for this CPU and RX 9070 XT, provided you choose a good-quality unit, so the 1,000W Platinum model may be unnecessary spending. The money saved could go toward a 2TB SSD, since even people who mostly play smaller games often end up needing more space over time. Used-market deals can also reduce the total considerably, but check seller reputation and warranty coverage carefully.
The overall build is strong, but the SSD and extra fans are the easiest places to cut costs. For gaming, a reputable mid-range PCIe 4.0 NVMe drive should feel virtually identical to the 990 Pro. The Lancool case already has good airflow, so make sure every additional fan is actually needed before paying a premium for matching RGB models. An 850W PSU would also be a sensible choice rather than 1,000W.
Fantastic, thank you! That gives me a lot of room to spend less without changing the main performance parts.