£1000 to £1500 gaming build please

Iron-man · 16 Sep 2025 at 17:05

Hi all

I made a post a fair while back about a new build but I guess a lot has changed since then so thought id start again and I am hoping for your exert advice as my last PC was built about 13 years ago and I don't know what's better out of Intel and AMD etc anymore, Old system was an Intel i5 6600k and 1070 which I'm going to hand down in the family so I am not looking to reuse anything from this system..

I have a budget of £1000 to £1500 for the PC
Keyboard separate from the above budget just open to suggestions, preferably wireless

It is mainly used to play games and it does do some Photoshop as I'm trying to learn. the main games I play at the moment are things like football manager, Escape from tarkov etc but would like to be able to play AAA story driven games and things like the new battlefield, GTA etc etc.

I currently have a Razer Naga mouse, a Koorui 27 inch QHD 1440p curved monitor. probably could do with a nice wireless keyboard if you can recommended 1, additional to the PC budget, windows not required.

I have seen people on other posts mention of the Ryzen 7 9800x3d and the powercolour 9070xt reaper but as I say only ever built 1 system before 13 years ago so all support is appreciate.

Hopefully I have added everything but if I have forgot please let me know and thank you in advance for any help and support.

Gray2233 · 16 Sep 2025 at 17:44

My basket at OcUK:

1 x AMD Ryzen 5 7600X3D Six Core 4.70GHz (Socket AM5) Processor - Retail (SKU: PRO-AMD-04829) = £280.00
1 x Phanteks AMP GH 750W 80PLUS Gold ATX Power Supply Modular - Black (SKU: POW-PHK-02517) = £84.94
1 x MSI B850M Gaming Plus WIFI6E (AMD AM5) B850 DDR5 Micro-ATX Motherboard (SKU: MOT-MSI-05943) = £140.00
1 x Crucial Pro 48GB (2x24GB) DDR5 PC5-48000C48 6000MHz Dual Channel Kit (SKU: MEM-CRU-01087) = £124.99
1 x Antec CX600M ARGB M-ATX Mini Tower - Black (SKU: CAS-ATC-04160) = £54.95
1 x Thermalright Peerless Assassin 120 SE ARGB Black CPU Cooler - 120mm (SKU: COO-TLR-02724) = £29.98
1 x Gigabyte Aorus 7300 2TB SSD M.2 2280 NVME PCI-E Gen4 Solid State Drive (SKU: STO-GIG-05732) = £110.00
1 x PowerColor Radeon RX 9070 XT Reaper 16GB GDDR6 PCI-Express Graphics Card (SKU: GRA-PWC-04017) = £578.98

Total: £1,415.83 (includes delivery: £11.98)

Some of the games you've listed like a strong CPU, I believe Tarkov is keen on X3D cache too.

You're saving around £100, you could spend the extra on the 9800X3D or a 5070ti, generally speaking Nvidia are better for any sort of vide/image editing but I don't know if that's the case with your usage. Either way this should fit your needs pretty well, it is an M-ATX as that's my preference but an ATX setup could be built for the same price.

You could also save another £25-35 by dropping down to 32gb of RAM, but the extra might come in handy for editing, I'd also not worry about the speeds either as X3D chips aren't that fussed.

Tetras · 16 Sep 2025 at 18:22

Iron-man said:
I have seen people on other posts mention of the Ryzen 7 9800x3d and the powercolour 9070xt reaper but as I say only ever built 1 system before 13 years ago so all support is appreciate.

Yup. 9800X3D and 9070 XT or 5070 Ti are the standard high-end gaming build right now. If your budget falls a bit under that, you can get a 7800X3D or a 9070 / 5070, or if budget is higher, then a 5080.

Iron-man · 16 Sep 2025 at 20:33

thank you for the reply's so far, so i guess i am better going for the 9800X3D and 9070 XT unless there is better for the money? ,

can i ask how the motherboard compares to another 1 i have seen in another post say https://www.overclockers.co.uk/asro...-am5-ddr5-matx-motherboard-mot-asr-04010.html

Also a M2 drive i have seen for comparison to the one above https://www.overclockers.co.uk/cruc...4.0-nvme-solid-state-drive-sto-cru-03050.html

Thanks again for any replies.

Iron-man · 16 Sep 2025 at 20:37

Gray2233 said:
My basket at OcUK:

1 x AMD Ryzen 5 7600X3D Six Core 4.70GHz (Socket AM5) Processor - Retail (SKU: PRO-AMD-04829) = £280.00

1 x Phanteks AMP GH 750W 80PLUS Gold ATX Power Supply Modular - Black (SKU: POW-PHK-02517) = £84.94

1 x MSI B850M Gaming Plus WIFI6E (AMD AM5) B850 DDR5 Micro-ATX Motherboard (SKU: MOT-MSI-05943) = £140.00

1 x Crucial Pro 48GB (2x24GB) DDR5 PC5-48000C48 6000MHz Dual Channel Kit (SKU: MEM-CRU-01087) = £124.99

1 x Antec CX600M ARGB M-ATX Mini Tower - Black (SKU: CAS-ATC-04160) = £54.95

1 x Thermalright Peerless Assassin 120 SE ARGB Black CPU Cooler - 120mm (SKU: COO-TLR-02724) = £29.98

1 x Gigabyte Aorus 7300 2TB SSD M.2 2280 NVME PCI-E Gen4 Solid State Drive (SKU: STO-GIG-05732) = £110.00

1 x PowerColor Radeon RX 9070 XT Reaper 16GB GDDR6 PCI-Express Graphics Card (SKU: GRA-PWC-04017) = £578.98

Total: £1,415.83 (includes delivery: £11.98)

Some of the games you've listed like a strong CPU, I believe Tarkov is keen on X3D cache too.

You're saving around £100, you could spend the extra on the 9800X3D or a 5070ti, generally speaking Nvidia are better for any sort of vide/image editing but I don't know if that's the case with your usage. Either way this should fit your needs pretty well, it is an M-ATX as that's my preference but an ATX setup could be built for the same price.

You could also save another £25-35 by dropping down to 32gb of RAM, but the extra might come in handy for editing, I'd also not worry about the speeds either as X3D chips aren't that fussed.

regards my usage it will definitely be more for games as like i say only trying to learn Photoshop, interested in opinions on the M-ATX Vs ATX as well in terms of is 1 better than the other for air circulation or anything like that. My Board in my old system is an ATX I believe Z170xp-sli-cf

Gray2233 · 16 Sep 2025 at 20:46

Iron-man said:
regards my usage it will definitely be more for games as like i say only trying to learn Photoshop, interested in opinions on the M-ATX Vs ATX as well in terms of is 1 better than the other for air circulation or anything like that. My Board in my old system is an ATX I believe Z170xp-sli-cf

I've mostly used M-ATX for around a decade now for my personal builds, as long as you choose the right case you shouldn't suffer any problems with cooling. I've even ran a 5090/9800X3D build for a relative in an M-ATX setup and it never skips a beat.

Mainly you lose out on expansion potential, fewer PCI-E and M.2 slots etc, but those hardly matter if you're not using them and I much prefer a smaller form factor personally. I haven't used a soundcard or any other PCI related expansion device outside of a GPU for so long I can't even remember the last time, and 2 NvME slots is absolutely fine for gaming, you'd be starting out with a very capable 2TB drive and could pop in a second with 2TB or larger drive for storage if needed with zero issues, and then there's sata ports for old school 2.5" SSD's if necessary.

Tetras · 16 Sep 2025 at 20:49

Iron-man said:
Also a M2 drive i have seen for comparison to the one above https://www.overclockers.co.uk/cruc...4.0-nvme-solid-state-drive-sto-cru-03050.html

The Gigabyte 7300 is a high(ish)-end PCI-E 4.0 drive, with DRAM and TLC NAND, rated to 700 TB written in the 1TB capacity. The P310 is a DRAMless QLC drive, rated to 220 TB written in the 1TB capacity.

Iron-man said:
My Board in my old system is an ATX I believe Z170xp-sli-cf

Easy to swap out if you want, only have to change the case and motherboard.

My basket at OcUK:

1 x Montech AIR 903 Base Midi-Tower Tempered Glass - Black (SKU: CAS-MON-01227) = £49.99
1 x Lian Li Lancool 216 Mid-tower PC case - Black (SKU: CA-7BG-LL) = £85.99
1 x Gigabyte B850 EAGLE WIFI6E (Socket AM5) DDR5 ATX Motherboard (SKU: MOT-GIG-03859) = £149.99
1 x MSI B850 GAMING PLUS WIFI (AMD AM5) B850 ATX Motherboard (SKU: MOT-MSI-03994) = £169.99

Total: £455.96 (includes delivery: £0.00)

Iron-man · 16 Sep 2025 at 20:49

Gray2233 said:
I've mostly used M-ATX for around a decade now for my personal builds, as long as you choose the right case you shouldn't suffer any problems with cooling. I've been ran a 5090/9800X3D build for a relative in an M-ATX setup and it never skips a beat.

Mainly you lose out on expansion potential, fewer PCI-E and M.2 slots etc, but those hardly matter if you're not using them and I much prefer a smaller form factor personally.

ok that's something to think about than as i currently have my ATX stood on a shelf but the M_ATX looks a little wider. If i stuck with ATX do you have any suggestions to change on the above basket you provided. thanks

Iron-man · 16 Sep 2025 at 20:53

Tetras said:
The Gigabyte 7300 is a high(ish)-end PCI-E 4.0 drive, with DRAM and TLC NAND, rated to 700 TB written in the 1TB capacity. The P310 is a DRAMless QLC drive, rated to 220 TB written in the 1TB capacity.

Easy to swap out if you want, only have to change the case and motherboard.

My basket at OcUK:

1 x Montech AIR 903 Base Midi-Tower Tempered Glass - Black (SKU: CAS-MON-01227) = £49.99

1 x Lian Li Lancool 216 Mid-tower PC case - Black (SKU: CA-7BG-LL) = £85.99

1 x Gigabyte B850 EAGLE WIFI6E (Socket AM5) DDR5 ATX Motherboard (SKU: MOT-GIG-03859) = £149.99

1 x MSI B850 GAMING PLUS WIFI (AMD AM5) B850 ATX Motherboard (SKU: MOT-MSI-03994) = £169.99

Total: £455.96 (includes delivery: £0.00)

OK so would the Gigabyte one be better i guess.

Also there is 2 Motherboards in the basket you put above, would 1 be better than the other.
Sorry for all the questions

Gray2233 · 16 Sep 2025 at 20:55

Iron-man said:
ok that's something to think about than as i currently have my ATX stood on a shelf but the M_ATX looks a little wider. If i stuck with ATX do you have any suggestions to change on the above basket you provided. thanks

Just be sure to measure up the case, some of the fishbowl type options can be a little wide at the base due to being dual chambered, but there are slimmer more traditional M-ATX cases which might be better suited should you go that route.

Iron-man · 16 Sep 2025 at 20:58

Gray2233 said:
Just be sure to measure up the case, some of the fishbowl type options can be a little wide all the way around but there are slimmer more traditional M-ATX cases which might be better suited should you go that route.

Yes thank you will definitely measure the case, going to have a look anyway as i like some of the case's like you have put the in the basket but like i say sits on a shelf under the desk so kind of feels like it'll be wasted so going to see if i can have a shuffle and setup a little different as it may also help as my current one runs hot sometimes as well

Iron-man · 16 Sep 2025 at 21:00

also the thermalright cooler, they do a digital one with the temps on is that just a fad or is it worth the extra money to put that in

Tetras · 16 Sep 2025 at 21:02

Iron-man said:
OK so would the Gigabyte one be better i guess.

3x the rated endurance is a winner for me, yes. Crucial's T500 is more comparable to Gigabyte's 7300.

Iron-man said:
Also there is 2 Motherboards in the basket you put above, would 1 be better than the other.

Would advise you check yourself because easy to miss stuff, but from what I can see:

MSI has a beefier VRM (on paper).
MSI has 2x type-C ports versus 1x type-C, but also less USB 3.x Type-A than the Eagle.
MSI has 5Gb LAN versus Eagle's 1Gb LAN.
MSI has WIFI 7 versus Eagle's WIFI 6E.
MSI gains SPDIF, but loses a jack.
Eagle has a PS/2 port.
There's no HDMI port on the MSI, just DP.

Gray2233 · 16 Sep 2025 at 21:08

Iron-man said:
also the thermalright cooler, they do a digital one with the temps on is that just a fad or is it worth the extra money to put that in

It's largely an aesthetic thing tbh, it can be cool to see and observe temps/info that way but it's up to you whether or not it's worth it.

Iron-man · 16 Sep 2025 at 21:28

ok thanks for the replys, is there anything you would change if you could.

1 X AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D Eight Core 5.20GHz (Socket AM5) Processor - Retail - £399.95
SKU: PRO-AMD-03517

1 X Crucial Pro OC 32GB (2x16GB) DDR5 PC5-48000C36 6000MHz Dual Channel Kit - £109.99
SKU: MEM-CRU-02219

1 X PowerColor Radeon RX 9070 XT Reaper 16GB GDDR6 PCI-Express Graphics Card - £578.99
SKU: GRA-PWC-04017

1 X Phanteks AMP GH 750W 80PLUS Gold ATX Power Supply Modular - Black - £84.95
SKU: POW-PHK-02517

1 X Thermalright Peerless Assassin 120 SE ARGB Black CPU Cooler - 120mm - £29.98
SKU: COO-TLR-02724

1 X Gigabyte Aorus 7300 2TB SSD M.2 2280 NVME PCI-E Gen4 Solid State Drive - £110.00
SKU: STO-GIG-05732

1 X MSI B850 GAMING PLUS WIFI (AMD AM5) B850 ATX Motherboard - £169.99
SKU: MOT-MSI-03994

1 X Antec CX700 ARGB Mid Tower - Black - £59.95
SKU: CAS-ATC-04161

Grand Total: £1,543.80

Tetras · 16 Sep 2025 at 21:34

Iron-man said:
ok thanks for the replys, is there anything you would change if you could.

For the sake of just £15, I'd switch the memory back to Gray2233's spec of 48GB.

Gray2233 · 16 Sep 2025 at 21:39

You can get good 32gb sets for £80-90, but honestly I'd pony up the tiny bit more for the 48gb if I was spending £110 on RAM, if it's mainly gaming go for the Gigabyte Eagle motherboard to recoup some funds, you're really unlikely to miss much.

pastymuncher · 17 Sep 2025 at 09:26

Why is that particular memory kit so often recommended? If 6000mhz C30 is the sweet spot why recommend a kit with such awful timings of C48? Not having a dig, just curious as I see it recommended so much. Not everyone has the know how or inclination to mess around tightening up memory timings and the testing that goes with it.

Gray2233 · 17 Sep 2025 at 09:48

pastymuncher said:
Why is that particular memory kit so often recommended? If 6000mhz C30 is the sweet spot why recommend a kit with such awful timings of C48? Not having a dig, just curious as I see it recommended so much. Not everyone has the know how or inclination to mess around tightening up memory timings and the testing that goes with it

While 6000/C30 is recommended for AM5 in general, the extra L3 with the X3D CPU's compensates for weaker speeds/latencies to the point it barely matters. Even with 5600 RAM there's something like a 3% difference Vs 6kc30. It makes it appealing for the extra physical memory at the price point.

Tetras · 17 Sep 2025 at 13:41

pastymuncher said:
Why is that particular memory kit so often recommended? If 6000mhz C30 is the sweet spot why recommend a kit with such awful timings of C48? Not having a dig, just curious as I see it recommended so much. Not everyone has the know how or inclination to mess around tightening up memory timings and the testing that goes with it.

Aside from what Gray2233 wrote, I also like that it uses JEDEC timings so doesn't actually need EXPO/XMP enabled if the board supports that speed.