I'm building a new gaming PC in the United States with a budget of about $3,000. I definitely want to use a Ryzen 7 9800X3D and Radeon RX 9070 XT, but I'm unsure which motherboard, cooler, memory, storage, case, and power supply would make the most sense. I already own a 1440p monitor, and I don't need a mouse or keyboard. I mainly play Marvel Rivals, Red Dead Redemption 2, Counter-Strike 2, Valorant, and GTA IV and V. I prefer a low-profile black build and would like to avoid white components.
4 Answers
For a gaming-focused system, the 9800X3D and 9070 XT are already a very strong combination for 1440p. A solid AM5 motherboard, 32GB of DDR5, a 2TB NVMe SSD, and a quality 850W power supply should cover the rest of the build comfortably.
Look for a fully modular 850W Gold-rated PSU from a reputable manufacturer. A 1,000W unit is not necessary for a 9070 XT unless you have a specific future upgrade in mind. For memory, DDR5-6000 is a good target; CL30 is ideal, but CL32 can be a better value if the price difference is large.
A sensible parts list would be the 9800X3D, a B850 or quality B650E motherboard with Wi-Fi, 32GB of DDR5-6000, a 2TB PCIe 4.0 NVMe drive, an 850W modular Gold PSU, and an airflow-focused ATX case. That should leave a substantial amount of the budget unused, so you could add more SSD capacity or move up to 64GB of RAM if you want extra headroom.
A decent tower air cooler should be enough for this gaming build, though a 240mm or 280mm liquid cooler would also work if you prefer the look. Since most of your games are not especially demanding on the CPU or GPU, you have plenty of flexibility with the case as long as it has good airflow and supports a black, understated design.
The extra wattage mostly adds cost here. It would be better to spend that money on storage, cooling, or a higher-quality power supply rather than buying capacity the system does not need.