$3,000 for a PC

[Fajita Jim]

My bother is looking to drop some Bens on a new build probably next month, I get to build it. Means it's time to start shopping and pricing.

What do you guys suggest? Mostly for gaming (MMOs, Baulders Gate 3, Stellaris and Dwarf Fortress), 1440p 60hz is fine but will later be updating to a Gsync/Freesync monitor, AM5 platform, please.

[Illusion of Progress]

Roughly speaking, AM5 locks you into a Ryzen 7 7800X3D (if there's a need for a lot more cores, the Ryzen 9 7950X3D), but I'd have suggested the former anyway.

32 GB or 48 GB (non-power of two DIMMs exist now) of 6,000 MHz CL30 RAM.

And the upcoming RTX 4070 Ti Super (what a name) or the RTX 4080 Super. If you don't care about ray tracing and are open to AMD on the graphics card side, the 7900 XT/XTX are options but the incoming Supers might push against their price/performance advantage. They may get price drops if that happens.

Pick a case, PSU, motherboard, and storage based on preferences/needs.

Probably something like that.

[ugafan]

4080 Super would be the one to target, but I expect demand to be high and likely to sell out on launch day. It comes out January 31st.

[xSOSxHawkens]

Ursprünglich geschrieben von Fajita Jim:

My bother is looking to drop some Bens on a new build probably next month, I get to build it. Means it's time to start shopping and pricing.

What do you guys suggest? Mostly for gaming (MMOs, Baulders Gate 3, Stellaris and Dwarf Fortress), 1440p 60hz is fine but will later be updating to a Gsync/Freesync monitor, AM5 platform, please.

3k for gaming only at 1440/60 is over kill.

3K is 4k/120 territory. 1440/60 is more like 1k.

[Fajita Jim]

Ursprünglich geschrieben von xSOSxHawkens:

3K is 4k/120 territory. 1440/60 is more like 1k.

Is it? I was thinking many games still struggle at 4K with max settings.

[Illusion of Progress]

I think buying a graphics right now in the $750 to 1,200 range will be tricky. Price for performance is set to shift in that range. With a $3,000 PC you'd probably be buying a graphics card in that range.

The RTX 4080 Super and RTX 4070 Ti Super releasing at $999 and $799 respectively is almost going to have to force AMD to respond with price cuts to the 7900 XT and 7900 XTX or else they won't make as much sense (7800 XT might be okay staying where it is, but it's been creeping above MSRP a bit due to demand so I expect the RTX 4070 Super to also push it back down to MSRP or even a bit below because it's going to offer almost RTX 4070 Ti performance at RTX 4070 pricing which is only $100 more than the 7800 XT MSRP, plus better ray tracing, DLSS, and efficiency so even this might drop ~$50 eventually). I'm thinking the 7900 XTX needs to $849 or even $799 to make more sense, and the 7900 XT is probably going to need to be no more than $699 or maybe just above it (depending on where the XTX settles).

Regardless of whether you go with nVidia or AMD, you're likely looking at better price/performance after January. So that makes planning something based around the pricing right now a bit hard.

[Sigma957]

Cheaper if you build it yourself. Watch videos on how to do it right and you won't have to spend $3,000 to do it.

Also buying pre-owned parts is also a viable path and hella cheaper.

[xSOSxHawkens]

Ursprünglich geschrieben von Fajita Jim:

Ursprünglich geschrieben von xSOSxHawkens:

3K is 4k/120 territory. 1440/60 is more like 1k.

Is it? I was thinking many games still struggle at 4K with max settings.

https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/8qpJfwPLAoXjbb7tLZno67-970-80.png.webp

nine games tested to make chart:
Plauge Tale Requiem
Borderlands 3
FC6
MSFS2020
Forza Horizon 5
Horizon Zero Dawn
RDR2
TW:Warhamer 3
Watch Dogs Legion


https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/amd-radeon-rx-7900-xtx-and-xt-review-shooting-for-the-top/4

Basically anything RX6900/6950 or higher can do 4k/60, with upper end cards pushing 4k/90-120. This is with ultra settings, no RT.

If you want ultra + RT its 4090 only, and then its 4k/60 only.

Personally I think for 4k its a bit silly to run RT outside of lighter settings. Take your pick. RT or Rez. I think rez is nicer. That said, some light RT is def doable even on older hardware. Bang for buck the 7900xtx is hard to beat.

I daily drive a 4k-60/1440p-165 dual screen setup daily on a 6900xt without any issues. I was starting to feel the pinch of the cards age with some of the newest end of year titles at full 4k, but frame gen was a saver, and at 4K FSR is actually quite good.

[Fajita Jim]

Ursprünglich geschrieben von Sigma957:

Cheaper if you build it yourself. Watch videos on how to do it right and you won't have to spend $3,000 to do it.

Also buying pre-owned parts is also a viable path and hella cheaper.

I always build my own box. I am now building my brothers box. He wants to drop $3G on it, so I'll spend about that much.

[emoticorpse]

$1,500 for like a 4080 and the rest on the parts is what I think makes most sense if it's about using all if that budget.

[De Hollandse Ezel]

Ok lets get you a nice build.


A balanced :


400 : CPU : AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D
280 : Motherboard : ASUS TUF Gaming X670E-PLUS WIFI
150 : Memory : Patriot Viper Venom PVV532G700C32K (32GB 2x16GB ddr5 7000Mhz TL9.14)
1070 : GPU : ASUS TUF Gaming Radeon RX 7900 XTX OC Edition 24GB GDDR6
230 : M.2 : Lexar NM790 (no heatsink) 4TB
120: Case : Fractal Design Define S - Window
250 : PSU : FSP Hydro Ti PRO 1000W
80 : cpu-cooling : Jonsbo HX7280

2580
**420 left for a nice monitor or for upgrades like more memory, or a faster m.2

all monitors at that pricerange are ips, have both gsync-compatable and freesync, and 1ms or less.
and are 14400p

monitor suggestions
MSI Optix MAG301RFDE (420 euro )
an extra wide 21:9 monitor also with 200mhz, but with 29.5' it is one of the smaller ones.

Dell G3223D (400 euro)
an 16:9 monitor with 165hz, and 32 inch, it also has freesync premium pro the improved version.

ASUS TUF Gaming VG32AQL1A Zwart (490 euro)
same as the dell, but with only freesync premium.
but it might be nice to keep the asus TUF look going for the build. it also has 170hz.


workout :

CPU :
a no brainer.. it's just the best cpu for gamers. the 7950x3D performs similair but costs more your brother does nothing that warrants the need for those extra cores.

the motherboard has all we want.
an ALC 1220 audiochip
an 670X chipset
an PCIe 5.0 x 16 slot for the gpu
an pcie 5.0x4 slot slot for the m.2
and good wifi a d netwerk
there are 4 other models that have this.. but they are more expensive, no need for that

the memory :
it's the fastest ddr 5 at the market today.
if you want 64GB. you could get a 2d kit (+150 euro)
or if you like to keep use only 2 ram slots the :
Corsair Vengeance CMK64GX5M2X6800C32
at 275 euro it adds 75 euro..
it is a bit slower 6800mhz and true a latency of 9.41

the gpu :
with the price increase of 4090s (they start at 2000 euro now)
ASUS TUF Gaming GeForce RTX 4090 24GB GDDR6X OG Edition at 1950 is one of the cheapest.
at a 3000 budget I see no way to fit it in sadly.
***
ASRock AMD Radeon RX 7900 XTX Phantom Gaming 24GB OC at 980 euro (90 less) I considered.. it is clocked a bit faster stock.. but it does not match the chosen motherboard aas well... but you could save 90 euro there.

the m.2
there excist 12400 2tb m.2 now.. but they still are pricy.
I think your brother benefits more from having 4tba solid pce4.0 x4 4tb m.2 now.. he still has his pcie 5.0 slot free for an upgrade later.
->
but if he deciedes otherwise :
Corsair MP700 Pro, no heatsink 2TB : 320 euro (+
it's pcie 5.0 and 12400mb/s (which is faster than the 7400mb/s of the disk I advised)

the cooling
the jonsbo is one of the best aircoolers out there.. thats why I picked it.. it has a high heat dissapating capacity and is quit. but feel free to pick whatever is available around you.

the psu
-you want an atx 3.0 psu so it remains relevant a while
-you want an fully modulair psu
without overclocking, 750W likely will do.
If you want the option to overclock open, you likely want 1000W or more
it's always wise to have as high an efficiency rating as possible.
(gold minimum, but platinum or titanium rating are nice)
the one I selected is titanium rated, the best there is.

case,, this one is really a personal flavor. make sure it has good airflow, is quit, and has space for all the components you selected.
the one I selected was one of the cheaper ones that did have plenty space..and came with 2 140mm fans so you don't need to buy extra fans... but feel free to pick something else.

[Fajita Jim]

Ursprünglich geschrieben von De Hollandse Ezel:

the cooling
the jonsbo is one of the best aircoolers out there.. thats why I picked it.. it has a high heat dissapating capacity and is quit. but feel free to pick whatever is available around you.

I think the cooler is the thing I'm most concerned about. I've picked up some in the past that were suppose to be good but turned to be just meh. *cough*thermaltakevolcano*cough*

[De Hollandse Ezel]

a more inbalanced build :

400 : CPU : AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D
280 : Motherboard : ASUS TUF Gaming X670E-PLUS WIFI
125 : Memory : Corsair Vengeance CMK32GX5M2B6400C32
1950 : GPU : ASUS TUF Gaming GeForce RTX 4090 24GB GDDR6X OG Edition
65 : Lexar NM790 (no heatsink) 1TB
40: Case : Sharkoon VS8 Black
110 : PSU : Cooler Master MWE Gold 1050 - V2 ATX 3.0
30 : cpu-cooling : DeepCool AG400

you give up on getting a monitor.
you give up on 4TB of m.2 space and settle for just 1TB
your psu now is also just gold labeled, not titanium.
you get a case thats a more tight fit (still all fits in it I looked to make sure)
you get a slightly less performing cpu cooler (still plenty to cool your cpu)
you get memory thats slighlty slower (6400mhz instead of 7000mhz, tl 10 instead of tl 9.14)
-
but with all those sacrifices you do get the 4090 instead of the 7900 xtx

[De Hollandse Ezel]

Ursprünglich geschrieben von Fajita Jim:

Ursprünglich geschrieben von De Hollandse Ezel:

the cooling
the jonsbo is one of the best aircoolers out there.. thats why I picked it.. it has a high heat dissapating capacity and is quit. but feel free to pick whatever is available around you.

I think the cooler is the thing I'm most concerned about. I've picked up some in the past that were suppose to be good but turned to be just meh. *cough*thermaltakevolcano*cough*

feel free to pick another... the Scythe Fuma 3 for 50 has good records.
even though it performs a bit less than the jomo. but you save another 30.

[Fajita Jim]

Ursprünglich geschrieben von De Hollandse Ezel:

a more inbalanced build :

400 : CPU : AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D
280 : Motherboard : ASUS TUF Gaming X670E-PLUS WIFI
125 : Memory : Corsair Vengeance CMK32GX5M2B6400C32
1950 : GPU : ASUS TUF Gaming GeForce RTX 4090 24GB GDDR6X OG Edition
65 : Lexar NM790 (no heatsink) 1TB
40: Case : Sharkoon VS8 Black
110 : PSU : Cooler Master MWE Gold 1050 - V2 ATX 3.0
30 : cpu-cooling : DeepCool AG400

you give up on getting a monitor.
you give up on 4TB of m.2 space and settle for just 1TB
your psu now is also just gold labeled, not titanium.
you get a case thats a more tight fit (still all fits in it I looked to make sure)
you get a slightly less performing cpu cooler (still plenty to cool your cpu)
you get memory thats slighlty slower (6400mhz instead of 7000mhz, tl 10 instead of tl 9.14)
-
but with all those sacrifices you do get the 4090 instead of the 7900 xtx

He's definitely gonna need the storage space. He goes ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ insane with mods.

[De Hollandse Ezel]

Ursprünglich geschrieben von Fajita Jim:

Ursprünglich geschrieben von De Hollandse Ezel:

a more inbalanced build :

400 : CPU : AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D
280 : Motherboard : ASUS TUF Gaming X670E-PLUS WIFI
125 : Memory : Corsair Vengeance CMK32GX5M2B6400C32
1950 : GPU : ASUS TUF Gaming GeForce RTX 4090 24GB GDDR6X OG Edition
65 : Lexar NM790 (no heatsink) 1TB
40: Case : Sharkoon VS8 Black
110 : PSU : Cooler Master MWE Gold 1050 - V2 ATX 3.0
30 : cpu-cooling : DeepCool AG400

you give up on getting a monitor.
you give up on 4TB of m.2 space and settle for just 1TB
your psu now is also just gold labeled, not titanium.
you get a case thats a more tight fit (still all fits in it I looked to make sure)
you get a slightly less performing cpu cooler (still plenty to cool your cpu)
you get memory thats slighlty slower (6400mhz instead of 7000mhz, tl 10 instead of tl 9.14)
-
but with all those sacrifices you do get the 4090 instead of the 7900 xtx

He's definitely gonna need the storage space. He goes ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ insane with mods.

I don't advise going inbalanced.. but I just wanted to give the option..
should people MUST HAVE the 4090...

the balanced build with some money left for a nice screen from the getgo likely will give him a better experience