I'm planning a custom PC primarily for high-refresh-rate 1440p gaming, targeting around 90–100 FPS, along with 4K video editing and some rendering. My budget is roughly $3,000 AUD, although the current parts list comes to about $3,624 AUD. I already own the Ryzen 7 7700X, so it isn't included in the cost, and I'm willing to spend a few hundred dollars more if the upgrade would provide a meaningful performance improvement and help the system last for several years.
The current build includes a Ryzen 7 7700X with a Thermalright Peerless Assassin cooler, a Gigabyte B850 Wi-Fi motherboard, 32 GB of DDR5-6000 memory, a 2 TB PCIe 5.0 NVMe SSD, an RTX 5070 Ti 16 GB, an Okinos Air Cross case, and a 1000 W be quiet! Pure Power 13 M power supply. I'm especially interested in whether the parts are well-balanced, whether 32 GB of RAM is sufficient for 4K editing, and whether the RTX 5070 Ti is worth choosing over a Radeon RX 9070 XT. Ray tracing is not important to me, but I've heard Nvidia cards may perform better in video-editing applications. Are there any parts where I'm overspending or should redirect the budget?
4 Answers
The amount of video editing you do should determine the memory capacity. For After Effects, 64 GB is a more comfortable starting point, while Premiere Pro and DaVinci Resolve projects can benefit from around 96 GB or more, especially with complex 4K timelines, effects, and multitasking. You could start with 32 GB and upgrade later, but buying a matched 64 GB or 96 GB kit now may be preferable if editing is a major part of the system’s workload. Check the motherboard’s memory compatibility list before choosing the kit.
If ray tracing is not a priority, the RX 9070 XT is worth considering. In conventional 1440p gaming it performs very similarly to the RTX 5070 Ti, and in some games it can be faster while costing substantially less. Either card should comfortably meet a 90–100 FPS target in many games. Nvidia still has an advantage in some editing and rendering workflows, so the better choice depends on the applications and codecs you use rather than gaming performance alone.
Ray tracing does not matter much to me. My main reason for considering Nvidia is the claim that it performs better in video-editing workflows.
The graphics card is a good fit for the target resolution and frame rate. The main budget concerns are the extremely expensive memory and PCIe 5.0 SSD. A good DDR5-6000 kit with lower latency and a PCIe 4.0 NVMe drive would likely feel the same in gaming and most editing work while freeing money for more RAM or additional storage. The current cooler should also be adequate for the Ryzen 7 7700X, assuming the case has decent airflow.
I’d reconsider the power supply choice. Some later versions of this model reportedly used different, lower-quality internal components than the units supplied for early reviews, despite meeting the published specifications. I’d choose a power supply with a consistently strong independent test record instead. You probably do not need 1000 W for this hardware either; a high-quality 850 W ATX 3.x unit should generally be sufficient, though 1000 W is fine if the price difference is small and you want extra headroom.
4K editing is fairly important to me. Would it be reasonable to begin with 32 GB and upgrade the memory later?