I'm planning a new PC mainly for World of Warcraft, Overwatch, and streaming. My budget is roughly $5,000 CAD, and I'll be buying in Canada. I only need two 4K monitors; I already have the other peripherals. It's been about eight years since I built a computer, so I'm not familiar with current hardware and would appreciate advice on compatibility, value, and anything that should be upgraded or replaced.
The proposed build includes a Ryzen 7 9850X3D, Thermalright Peerless Assassin 120 SE, MSI B650 Tomahawk WiFi motherboard, 32GB DDR5-6000 CL30 memory, a 2TB Samsung 990 Pro SSD, an RTX 5070 Ti 16GB, a Lian Li O11 Vision Compact case, and a 1000W Platinum power supply. I'm also considering two 27-inch 4K 160Hz monitors. The listed prices add up to roughly the $5,000 CAD range, but some components—particularly the RAM and SSD—seem unusually expensive.
3 Answers
A 1000W power supply is more than this system needs. A quality 850W ATX 3.x unit should be plenty unless you’re planning a much more power-hungry future graphics card. Also remember that the O11 Vision Compact generally benefits from adding case fans, since the case may not include enough airflow hardware by itself. The Peerless Assassin is a solid cooler, and the B650 Tomahawk is a reasonable motherboard, so I’d focus the savings on correcting the RAM and SSD pricing and possibly improving the graphics card if the budget allows.
The CPU and GPU should handle WoW and Overwatch very well, but two 4K high-refresh monitors are demanding if you expect both gaming and very high frame rates. The 5070 Ti is suitable for these games, especially with sensible settings, but no build can really be called future-proof. If gaming performance matters more than having two equally fast displays, you could use one high-refresh 4K monitor for gaming and a cheaper 4K display for chat, streaming tools, and other applications.
The overall parts are compatible, but several prices look badly inflated. 32GB of DDR5-6000 CL30 should cost nowhere near $860 CAD, and a 2TB 990 Pro should also be much cheaper than $624. Check multiple Canadian retailers or use a price comparison site before buying. For this platform, a 2x16GB DDR5-6000 CL30 EXPO kit is a good choice; 64GB is worth considering if you stream, multitask heavily, or want extra headroom.
Is there any meaningful difference between RAM brands, or should I just choose the least expensive kit with those specifications?