I'm in the United States and putting together a new PC mainly for work—Excel, Google Workspace, and similar tasks—but I'd also like to play games such as Battlefield, Fortnite, and possibly a newer MMO from time to time. I haven't built a computer in about ten years, so I'm not sure what I may be overlooking.
The current build is around $2,800, and I could spend another $300–$500 if there are worthwhile improvements for longevity. The parts include a Ryzen 7 9800X3D, RTX 5080, 32 GB of DDR5-6000 memory, a 1 TB NVMe SSD, an 850 W power supply, and a Fractal Design North case.
I've only used roughly 250 GB on my current computer over the past decade, so I'm not especially concerned about storage capacity. Are there any components I should upgrade or replace to make this system a better five-year build? I already have a basic dual-monitor setup, so monitor suggestions are less important.
4 Answers
The component choices are already far beyond what office work requires and should handle those games very well. Just remember to budget for practical extras such as additional storage, a comfortable keyboard and mouse, and proper airflow. Your existing dual monitors are perfectly fine if you’re happy with them, so there’s no need to upgrade them just for the sake of the new PC.
A second 2 TB SSD might be a more useful upgrade than chasing small performance gains. Modern games can be huge, and having room for several of them is convenient even if your current computer only uses a few hundred gigabytes. I’d also verify the pricing and warranty history of the particular SSD before buying it, since some high-end drives have had reports of failures or difficult warranty experiences.
If I spend more, storage is probably the easiest upgrade to justify. I’ll compare other reliable 2 TB drives instead of automatically buying that model.
The build is already very powerful for your use case. The main things I’d consider are a more reputable power supply and possibly adding storage. An 850 W unit is enough on paper, but a higher-tier ATX 3.x model from a well-established manufacturer would provide some extra confidence for a high-end graphics card.
That’s what I was thinking too. I’ll look into a higher-quality power supply rather than changing the core components.
There isn’t much left to upgrade for the stated workload. If you simply want to spend the extra money, quieter case fans, a fan hub, or a better power supply would improve the ownership experience more than replacing the CPU, motherboard, or graphics card. Premium fans aren’t necessary, but they can make the system noticeably quieter.
Thankfully I already have a dual-monitor setup, so I won’t accidentally build the computer and forget the screens. They’re basic models, but they do the job.