I'm putting together a roughly $2,393 gaming PC and want a second opinion before buying. The build uses a Ryzen 7 9800X3D, Asus TUF X870E-PLUS WiFi 7 motherboard, 32GB of DDR5-6000 memory, a 2TB Crucial E100 NVMe SSD, an RX 9070 XT, an 850W Thermaltake Toughpower GT power supply, and my existing Corsair Graphite 760T case with a Noctua 140mm fan. The 240mm MSI CoreLiquid A13 is included free through a bundle deal. I'm not fully up to date on current CPUs and GPUs, so I'd appreciate help finding any compatibility issues, weak parts, or better cost-performance choices before I commit.
4 Answers
I’d reconsider the power supply. The listed Thermaltake model doesn’t appear in the testing tier lists I checked, and this is an expensive system with a fairly power-hungry graphics card. Use a thoroughly tested, reputable Gold-rated or better unit rather than choosing based only on the 80 Plus label. A quality 750W or 850W replacement would be a safer choice.
The rest of the parts look reasonable. Just confirm that the radiator fits the Corsair 760T in the position you want, that the graphics card length and thickness clear the drive cages, and that the motherboard’s BIOS supports the processor. The bundled memory is fine for a gaming build; spending more on RAM isn’t automatically better if the capacity and speed are already suitable.
I mainly wanted to make sure I wasn’t overlooking something obvious. I’ll double-check the radiator and GPU clearance before ordering.
The Crucial E100 is the part I’d be most concerned about. It’s a lower-end SSD, so I’d look for a drive using TLC NAND instead, such as the WD Black SN7100 or another well-reviewed TLC-based PCIe 4.0 model. The faster or more expensive parts won’t matter much if the storage is the weakest-quality component.
The free 240mm liquid cooler should be adequate, especially since it’s included in the bundle, although a quality dual-tower air cooler or 360mm AIO would give you more cooling headroom. A 360mm radiator can also be worth considering if you want lower temperatures, but upgrading later is more hassle.
The 240mm cooler is included with the bundle, so I’ll probably use it for now. I was mainly wondering whether the difference from a dual-tower cooler would be substantial.
That’s exactly the kind of blind spot I was worried about. I swapped it for a Corsair RMx-series unit so the power supply isn’t the weak link.