Hey everyone! I've been using a laptop with an 8GB 3080 GPU for the last four years while going through school, but now that I'm off to grad school, it's pretty clear that it's time for an upgrade. I'm fortunate enough to build a new gaming PC without worrying about the budget, but since I've been out of the loop on hardware for a while, I have a few questions.
I'm planning to get an RTX 5090 and need advice on several components. First off, for the CPU, should I go with the R7 9800x3d or the R9 9950x3d? I've heard that the 9800 is better for gaming—especially with older games that rely on single-core performance. Is that true? I don't plan on using this for anything other than gaming, as my academic work mostly involves Google Docs.
Next up, I'm trying to find a reliable motherboard but all I see are bad reviews. I've been looking at the ASUS PRIME X870-P WIFI AM5 ATX, which has decent specs like USB4, Wi-Fi 7, and multiple PCIe slots—would that be suitable?
For the SSD, should I go with a Gen 4 or Gen 5? Is it better to have one 4TB SSD or two 2TB ones?
Lastly, I'm considering a 1350W power supply, the Thermaltake Toughpower GF3 1350W 80+ GOLD with PCIe connectors for the graphics card. Is that a good choice? I heard a Gold rating is good enough, but I'm unsure. I appreciate any advice you can give!
2 Answers
I'd definitely recommend the 9800x3d for your gaming needs. It's known to be one of the best CPUs for gaming performance right now. Gen 5 SSDs are great if budget isn't an issue, but if you're not heavy into data transfer, a Gen 4 would serve you just fine. As for the PSU, a quality 1000W is typically sufficient for most gaming setups. You’ll have plenty of headroom with a 1350W, but it's good to keep it in mind. Also, don't skimp on RAM—go for CL30 6000MHz if you can!
Totally agree with going for the 9800X3D! The 9950x3D is more suited for tasks like video editing, so it's not worth it for pure gaming. For SSDs, Gen 4 is adequate unless you're transferring massive data all the time; otherwise, save the cash. And regarding PSUs, I usually add an extra 200W to whatever the calculator suggests, just to be safe!
6400MHz is solid; it might give you a slight edge. But 7200MHz is overkill for gaming right now—you likely won't notice a huge difference in most games.
Is 6400MHz RAM not worth the extra? I was thinking about going for 64GB over the max of 48GB for 7200MHz.