I'm planning a new gaming PC mainly for Counter-Strike and Valheim, although I know this hardware is more than enough for those games. I'd like the system to stay capable for new releases over the next few years without constant upgrades or troubleshooting, while still matching the aesthetic I want.
My current parts list is:
- CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D — 3,599 SEK
- GPU: ASUS Prime RTX 5070 OC 12GB — 7,449 SEK, or ASUS TUF RTX 5070 — 8,419 SEK
- Motherboard: ASUS TUF Gaming B650-E WiFi — 1,783 SEK
- Cooler: DarkFlash UV360 LCD 360 mm liquid cooler — 2,669 SEK
- Memory: Corsair Vengeance RGB 32GB DDR5-6000 CL38 — 4,399 SEK
- Storage: WD Black SN7100 1TB NVMe SSD — 1,590 SEK
- Storage: Kingston Fury Renegade 2TB NVMe SSD — 3,009 SEK
- Power supply: Cooler Master MWE Gold V3, currently considering a 750W or 850W model — about 749 SEK for the listed unit
- Case: ANSAITE H-D9 with nine fans — 1,034 SEK, or KEDIERS P4 ARGB with seven fans — 649 SEK
The total comes to roughly 30,000 SEK (about $3,100). I've also found an ASUS Radeon RX 9070 XT 16GB for around 7,490 SEK, which is close to the RTX 5070 price. Is that the better graphics card choice? Are any components unnecessarily expensive, especially the memory or cooler? Would a prebuilt system offer better value, or is this custom build reasonable if I care about the appearance as well as performance?
4 Answers
An 850W power supply is a sensible choice for this system, even though a quality 750W unit may technically be sufficient. Make sure the exact model has good reviews and modern protections rather than choosing only by wattage. The biggest place to save is the 360 mm LCD liquid cooler: it’s largely a style purchase for a 7800X3D. A good air cooler or a simpler 240 mm liquid cooler should handle the CPU well, unless the LCD design is essential to the build.
The Radeon RX 9070 XT is the more attractive option if it costs about the same as the RTX 5070. It offers substantially stronger rasterized gaming performance, has 16GB of VRAM instead of 12GB, and is generally closer to a higher-tier Nvidia card than to the regular RTX 5070. Nvidia may still make more sense if you specifically need CUDA, certain AI or productivity software, or its ray-tracing and upscaling features, but for normal gaming the 9070 XT is the obvious value choice here.
I don’t do any serious AI or productivity work, so I’m going with the 9070 XT if availability and pricing stay the same. I also found the 850W version of the power supply, which was recommended for the graphics card.
The memory is DDR5-6000 CL38, which works, but it’s unusually expensive. If you can find a cheaper 32GB DDR5-6000 kit—ideally around CL30 or CL32—you could save a lot without losing gaming performance. RGB usually adds very little performance value, so compare non-RGB kits too.
Unfortunately, 32GB kits are extremely expensive where I live. The difference between RGB and non-RGB is only about 20 euros, so I’m leaning toward the RGB kit for the look.
At roughly 30,000 SEK, this is hard to justify if you only care about performance. The CPU, GPU, and 32GB of memory can be found together for dramatically less on the used market in some places. That said, paying extra for a specific appearance is perfectly reasonable if the aesthetic matters to you. Just recognize that the premium is for the design, lighting, and parts selection rather than a major increase in frame rates.
Used pricing is much better in some countries, but locally the memory alone costs close to what an entire used setup can cost elsewhere. I haven’t been able to find comparable RAM at anything near those prices.
The DarkFlash cooler is intentional because I like its LCD design and programmable appearance. It’s modeled after more expensive display-equipped coolers, so I’m willing to pay extra for that part if the rest of the build is sound.