This would be my first PC, and I plan to use it exclusively for gaming. The proposed build includes a Ryzen 7 9800X3D, Windows 11 Home, a GIGABYTE B850 EAGLE WIFI6E motherboard, 32GB total of DDR5-5600 CL46 memory listed as two 16GB sticks, a Radeon RX 9070 XT with 16GB of VRAM, and a 1TB Kingston NV3 M.2 SSD. The total price is £1,666. Is this a sensible and well-balanced build, or would it be better to spend less on the processor and put the savings toward faster memory, a better SSD, or other components? I also want to make sure the price includes essentials such as the power supply, CPU cooler, case, and fans.
2 Answers
The build puts a lot of the budget into the CPU while cutting back on the RAM and storage. For gaming, you could consider a Ryzen 7 7800X3D, Ryzen 5 7500X3D, or even a suitable Ryzen 5 model, then use the savings for better memory and a higher-quality SSD. At resolutions above 1080p, the graphics card usually has more impact on frame rates than an extremely high-end CPU.
The main weakness is the memory. Make sure the system actually has 32GB as two 16GB sticks, since 16GB total is becoming limiting in newer AAA games. DDR5-5600 CL46 is also fairly slow, so a 32GB DDR5-6000 kit with tighter timings would be a better match if the price difference is reasonable.
That makes sense. I was worried that choosing a cheaper processor would noticeably reduce gaming performance, but using the savings for faster 32GB memory and better storage sounds more balanced.