I'm planning a gaming PC with an RX 9070 XT and a Ryzen 7 9850X3D, and the total comes out to a little over €2,000. The parts are an MSI B850 Tomahawk Max WiFi motherboard, 1TB Samsung 990 Pro SSD, ASUS Prime 850W power supply, 32GB of Kingston DDR5-6000 memory, a Cougar FV150 case, an ASUS TUF Gaming LC II 360 ARGB cooler, and a Thermaltake three-fan setup. I'm buying the parts in Serbia, so local pricing and availability are important. Does this look well-balanced, or are there places where I could save money without sacrificing gaming performance?
3 Answers
Overall, this is a pretty well-rounded build. The main thing I'd question is the 1TB 990 Pro: it's a good SSD, but it carries a premium and 1TB can fill up quickly with modern games. If a 2TB drive from Klevv, TeamGroup, Silicon Power, or another reputable brand costs about the same locally, that would give you more useful storage.
The ASUS power supply and 360mm cooler should be fine, but check local prices rather than assuming a particular brand is automatically better. Arctic's Liquid Freezer III is a strong alternative, although paying only about €5 more for the ASUS cooler is reasonable if you prefer it. Just make sure the case supports a 360mm radiator and has good airflow around the graphics card.
If the 9850X3D is genuinely the same price as the 9800X3D in Serbia, keeping it makes sense. Otherwise, a 9800X3D—or even a 7800X3D if it is substantially cheaper—would usually offer better value for a gaming-focused system. The extra CPU performance often isn't large enough to justify a big price increase.
The 9850X3D is currently the same price as the 9800X3D here, so that's why I chose it.
I considered the Arctic cooler, but the ASUS model is only about €5 more where I live, so I was leaning toward it.