I'm putting together my second gaming and development PC after a 5 to 7 year break, and I'd love some insights on my part list! This rig will primarily be used for gaming (especially PC VR), game development with Unity and Godot, 3D modeling, and video editing. Here are my main concerns:
1) Is my CPU choice solid?
2) What cooling solution do you think is best for my CPU?
3) Am I overspending on the motherboard, or is it a smart choice for future upgrades?
4) How reliable is G.SKILL as a RAM brand? Am I getting a good deal on my memory?
5) Lastly, I'm really anxious about my power supply; is it up to the task?
Here's my current shopping list (I already got the GPU!):
- **GPU:** Asus PRIME GeForce RTX 5070 Ti - 6GB, GDDR7, 256-bit, PCI Express Gen 5, 1x HDMI 2.1b, 3x DisplayPort(v2.1b)
- **Motherboard:** MSI MAG X870E TOMAHAWK WIFI - ATX AM5, x4 DDR5, x4 M.2 SLOT, PCIE GEN 5, Supports Memory Clock Speed: 4800, 5600, 8400 MHz
- **CPU:** AMD RYZEN 7 7800X3D at 4.2GHz (5.0GHz Max Boost) - 8 Cores, 16 Threads, 64-BIT, 96MB CACHE
- **RAM:** G.SKILL Flare X5 Series DDR5 RAM (AMD Expo) 32GB (2x16GB) 6000MT/s CL28-36-36-96, or possibly G-SKILL (F5-6000J3636F16GX2-RS5K) 32GB (2x16GB) 6000MT/s CL36-36-36-96
- **PSU:** Asus TUF Gaming 850W Gold - 850 Watts, Modular
- **Storage:** WESTERN DIGITAL WD BLACK SN7100 - 2TB SSD M.2, PCIE GEN4 (Read 7250MB/s, Write 6900MB/s)
- **OS:** Windows 11 Pro, though I may switch to Linux if VR improves there, for now, Windows is my go-to.
3 Answers
The AMD RYZEN 7 7800X3D is solid for gaming, but it might not be the best for production tasks. If you're doing a lot of video editing and development work, consider looking into a CPU with more cores like the 9800X3D. It should give you better performance in those areas!
The Asus TUF Gaming 850W PSU is a solid choice! You shouldn't have any issues with power delivery, especially with that GPU. Just make sure your overall system power requirements stay well below that limit for stability.
Phew, that's a relief! I've always worried about getting a good PSU, so it's great to hear that it's a trustworthy one.
Your motherboard looks fine for future upgrades, particularly because it's AM5. But if you're looking at RAM, I’d suggest going for at least 48GB or even 64GB if your budget allows. Current RAM prices are a bummer, but it'll help in heavy workloads!
Yes, I hear you on the RAM prices being ridiculous! I'll definitely check prices for getting that extra capacity.
Thanks for the tip! I've actually switched to the 9800X3D based on similar feedback, so I hope that makes a difference!