I'm wrapping up my gaming PC build, and I've got some decent specs lined up for a budget of around $3500. The build is solely for gaming and includes:
- **Case:** Lian Li G99.O11DEXL-X.00 PC-O11 Dynamic EVO XL (Black)
- **CPU:** AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D 5.0GHz 8-Core (Socket AM5)
- **CPU Cooler:** ARCTIC Liquid Freezer III Pro 360mm AIO
- **Motherboard:** Gigabyte GA-B650E-AORUS-MASTER B650E AORUS MASTER (AMD B650, Socket AM5)
- **Memory:** G.Skill Trident Z5 NEO RGB 32GB (2x16GB) DDR5-6000 CL30
- **Graphics Card:** Sapphire Radeon RX 9070 XT NITRO+ (16GB GDDR6)
- **Power Supply:** Corsair RM850X Shift 850W 80+ Gold Fully Modular
- **Storage (SSD):** Corsair MP700 PRO 2TB M.2 NVMe PCIe 5.0
- **Storage (HDD):** Seagate Barracuda 2TB 7200RPM SATA 6Gb/s
I'm looking for any advice on small upgrades or alternatives that fit within my budget. Additionally, is my CPU cooler sufficient, or should I consider a premium AIO? Also, is it worth spending a bit more on an X670E motherboard if I'm not doing content creation? Lastly, how would you rate my build out of 10?
1 Answer
Honestly, you might want to rethink the CPU cooler. The Ryzen 7 7800X3D doesn't really need water cooling; an air cooler like the Thermalright Phantom Spirit could do the job just fine and save you some cash. As for storage, a high-speed Gen4 SSD might also be more beneficial for gaming than a Gen5 SSD since that won’t impact gaming performance much. Consider a single 4TB Gen4 SSD over the HDD if that’s just for large files! Plus, do you really need all the features of the B650E AORUS MASTER? You could look into something like the Gigabyte B850 Gaming X WiFi6E instead and save some money.
Thanks for the tip! I will consider switching to that cooler and move to a single larger SSD specifically for gaming. As for motherboards, how does the Gigabyte B850 Gaming X WiFi6E stack up against the MSI MAG B850 Tomahawk Max WiFi? Is it worth the price difference?