My current PC is nearly a decade old, so I recently put together a replacement build through a local computer retailer. It will be used almost exclusively for gaming, mostly a mix of popular modern titles. I want consistently high frame rates and a good overall experience, but I am not trying to run every game at maximum settings. The system will be kept out of sight, so appearance and RGB are not important.
The quoted build costs around $3,500, although the parts total roughly $3,070 before tax because of a CPU, motherboard, and memory bundle. I am not as familiar with current hardware as I used to be, so I would appreciate feedback on whether the configuration is excessive, whether an AMD graphics card would offer nearly the same performance for less money, and whether there are any compatibility or value concerns.
One detail missing from the parts list is the recommended 1,000W Lian Li RS1000W, an ATX 3.1 fully modular power supply.
4 Answers
The build looks reasonable, but there are a few places where you could improve value. A 1,000W power supply may be more capacity than you need, and a simpler motherboard or less expensive cooler could work just as well. Also confirm how many fans are included with the case so you do not accidentally need to buy more.
There are likely better-value prebuilt options with similar parts. Systems using a 9800X3D and RTX 5080 can be found around $2,900, while versions with a 5070 Ti or RX 9070 XT are closer to $2,300–$2,500. Both of those lower-tier cards should handle modern games well at 1440p and can provide around 60 FPS at 4K with sensible settings.
The RTX 5080 is probably excessive if you are not planning to play at maximum settings, especially if you are gaming at 1440p. An RX 9070 XT can deliver roughly 80% of the performance for substantially less money and is still very capable at 1440p and 4K. Nvidia is still the better choice if you particularly value features such as ray tracing or DLSS, though.
The expensive SSD is not likely to make games load noticeably faster than a good midrange 2TB NVMe drive, so that is an easy place to save money. I would also consider a quality dual-tower air cooler instead of a 360mm liquid cooler; one of the better air coolers can handle this class of gaming CPU without the extra cost or pump to worry about. The newer 9850X3D is only a few percent faster than the 9800X3D in gaming, particularly at 1440p and 4K, so paying a large premium for it would not be worthwhile.
That is useful context. The parts-only total I was quoted was about $3,070 before tax, mainly because of the current CPU, motherboard, and memory bundle.