I'm looking for advice on possible upgrades for my gaming PC. I think the CPU fan could use an upgrade, but I'm not sure what to look for in cooling systems, power supplies, or cases. My motherboard has some great features like 4x M.2 PCIe slots and WiFi 7, but it has a bit of a strange look. Here's what I'm working with: an ASUS Dual GeForce RTX 5060 OC graphics card, a Samsung 9100 PRO 1TB SSD, an Intel Core i5-14600K CPU, an MSI PRO Z790-A MAX Wifi motherboard, a be quiet! Power Supply Straight Power 12 850W, a be quiet! Dark Rock Pro 5 cooler, and a Fractal North case.
2 Answers
Your build is pretty solid for gaming at 1440p or even 4K if you tweak the settings a bit. The Dark Rock Pro 5 is a great cooler, so I wouldn't rush to swap it unless you really want an AIO for looks or better airflow. If you've got the budget for it, upgrading your GPU to something like a 4070 Super or 7800 XT could give you more future-proofing for upcoming games!
Honestly, you might want to consider a cheaper CPU cooler, like the Thermalright Phantom Spirit, and swap out your case for something less pricey. Also, upgrading to a better GPU like the 9060 XT 16GB or 5060 Ti 16GB could give you a noticeable performance boost without breaking the bank.
I get that you love the Fractal North—its design is awesome! But does that case have poor airflow? And I think the difference between the 5060 and 5060 Ti isn’t worth it for just a few more FPS. Plus, didn’t your old build have decent temps with the Dark Rock Pro?