I'm planning to build a gaming PC in France, with the option of ordering from Germany if the retailer ships here. My maximum budget is €3,000 for the tower only, since I already own the monitor and other peripherals. I'm not very familiar with current PC hardware, so I'd appreciate help choosing balanced components.
A parts list suggested to me was an RTX 5080 16GB, Ryzen 7 9800X3D, a B650E or X870 Wi-Fi motherboard, and 32GB (2×16GB) DDR5-6000 CL30 memory. Are these sensible choices for my budget, or would I get better value with an AMD graphics card such as the Radeon RX 9070 XT? I'm unsure how important Nvidia features such as DLSS, ray tracing, and CUDA really are. I may use the PC for engineering classes, but I don't currently know whether CUDA will be required.
The games I particularly want to play include Cyberpunk 2077, Baldur's Gate 3, Elden Ring, and Sea of Thieves. My current laptop struggles with demanding games, so I'd like a system that can run modern titles with high settings and good frame rates without needing major compromises. At the moment I plan to keep using an MSI MAG 255E20 monitor at 1920×1080 resolution. Would this hardware be excessive for that display, and should I spend more on the CPU or save money elsewhere?
4 Answers
Since your monitor is only 1080p, consider putting part of the budget toward a 1440p high-refresh-rate display later. That would make the difference between these graphics cards more meaningful and give you a better gaming experience. Either of the proposed GPUs should run your current games comfortably, but the RTX 5080 is mainly worthwhile if you want 4K, heavy ray tracing, or specific Nvidia features.
The CPU and GPU choices are both near the top of the gaming market, but the rest of the build matters too. A Ryzen 7 9800X3D, 32GB of DDR5-6000 CL30, a reasonably priced Wi-Fi motherboard, a 2TB NVMe SSD, and a reliable 750–850W power supply would make a strong system. You do not need an expensive X870 board unless you specifically need its connectivity or upgrade features; a good B650E board is generally enough.
At 1080p, an RTX 5080 and 9800X3D would be far more powerful than you need, unless you plan to upgrade to a 1440p or 4K monitor soon. A Radeon RX 9070 XT would likely offer excellent performance for substantially less money and should handle those games easily at high settings. Use the savings for a quality power supply, larger SSD, better cooling, or a future monitor upgrade rather than buying an even faster CPU.
DLSS can improve performance while retaining good image quality, and Nvidia is usually stronger for ray tracing and applications that specifically require CUDA. However, those advantages do not automatically justify paying several hundred euros more. For normal gaming, especially at 1080p, the RX 9070 XT should be more than capable. Check the software requirements for your engineering courses before choosing Nvidia solely for CUDA.
I’m mainly trying to understand whether the extra cost of Nvidia features is worthwhile. I don’t have much experience with DLSS or ray tracing, so I’m not sure whether they would noticeably improve the games I want to play.