New build - Budget ~£12-1300

[DanUre]

Hi,

Posting here for some advice on a new build I'm planning in the next month or so. I haven't built anything since 2012 (3570k and GTX 770) which has done me until now but in the last 6-7 years pretty much only been used for Football Manager.

Budget as per title - £1300 max

Use case is mainly gaming at 1440p - things like BF6, Destiny 2 but with an eye to ensure i'm semi future-proofed for new AAA titles in the not too distant future. For context I currently game on a Series X which is fine but the future of Xbox looks uncertain so i'm going down this route instead of Playstation!

Having looked though these threads for similar-ish budgets I think i'm looking at a AM5, probably 9600x (Upgradeability?) and 9070 XT and don't think I have any need for more than 32GB RAM or more than 2TB of storage. Just looking to extract the best performance per £ so I have no brand preference. I'm also not dead-set on doing this right now if we think there's value in waiting a few months for new hardware or sales etc.

Pretty set on the Lian-Li A3 Case as it keeps the budget on track and I like the wooden aesthetic. On that note; Windows 11, monitors and peripherals all excluded from the budget.

Really appreciate any advice!

 

[Tetras]

I'm looking at a AM5, probably 9600x (Upgradeability?) and 9070 XT and don't think I have any need for more than 32GB RAM or more than 2TB of storage.

Pretty set on the Lian-Li A3 Case as it keeps the budget on track and I like the wooden aesthetic. On that note; Windows 11, monitors and peripherals all excluded from the budget.

Note that you do need to be a bit careful with this case with e.g. PSU/GPU length restrictions. Lian Li have several configs on their website, so I'd suggest taking a look (I would recommend keeping the Phanteks PSU for this reason, because it is more compact than many). I don't think it comes with any fans either, so you'd have to buy those separately.

I'm also not dead-set on doing this right now if we think there's value in waiting a few months for new hardware or sales etc.

There's Black Friday, but hard to say if there will be any deals, or if the recent price increases will just be unwound. Nvidia have Super cards due, at some point, but latest rumours say maybe not until March.

My basket at OcUK:

• 1 x AMD Ryzen 5 9600X Six Core 5.40GHz (Socket AM5) Processor - Retail (SKU: PRO-AMD-02677) = £188.99
• 1 x Sapphire Nitro+ B850M WiFi (Socket AM5) DDR5 Micro-ATX Motherboard (SKU: MOT-SPR-05690) = £139.99
• 1 x PNY XLR8 Gaming EPIC-X 32GB (2x16GB) DDR5 PC5-51200C36 6000MHz Dual Channel Kit (SKU: MEM-PNY-04564) = £77.99
• 1 x Sapphire Pulse Radeon RX 9070 XT Gaming 16GB GDDR6 PCI-Express Graphics Card (SKU: GRA-SPR-03983) = £555.00
• 1 x Gigabyte Aorus 7300 2TB SSD M.2 2280 NVME PCI-E Gen4 Solid State Drive (SKU: STO-GIG-05732) = £119.99
• 1 x Lian Li A3 mATX Wood Edition - Black (SKU: CAS-LIA-02630) = £69.94
• 1 x Phanteks AMP GH 850W 80PLUS Gold ATX Power Supply Modular - Black (SKU: POW-PHK-02519) = £104.99
• 1 x Arctic Freezer 36 120m Black CPU Cooler - 2x 120mm (SKU: COO-ARC-02420) = £34.99

Total: £1,303.87 (includes delivery: £11.98)​

 

[Gray2233]

I'd actually use this over the Freezer 36 in that case, overkill for the CPU but being a small case with few built in fans it acts as a solid roof mounted exhaust for the full rig.

My basket at OcUK:

• 1 x Thermalright Aqua Elite 360 Black ARGB V3 All In One CPU Cooler (SKU: COO-TLR-03256) = £49.99

Total: £57.98 (includes delivery: £7.99)[/IND
ENT]​

 

[deviation]

You can't go wrong with any coolers from Thermalright

 

[Tetras]

I'd actually use this over the Freezer 36 in that case, overkill for the CPU but being a small case with few built in fans it acts as a solid roof mounted exhaust for the full rig.

My basket at OcUK:

• 1 x Thermalright Aqua Elite 360 Black ARGB V3 All In One CPU Cooler (SKU: COO-TLR-03256) = £49.99

Total: £57.98 (includes delivery: £7.99)[/IND​

ENT]​

Reading Lian Li's charts make my brain hurt, but if you use a 360mm AIO in the top, would it cut the GPU length from 415 to 334? Though, I think that would make no difference to the Pulse, it'd still fit.

 

[DanUre]

Thanks for the quick responses.

@Tetras I had came up with something very similar but hadn't considered cooling as I didn't realise CPU's didn't come with them anymore . Side bar but are there any considerations I need to make when buying RAM and storage? Prices seem vary quite a lot but is there a sweet spot for speeds/latency etc for my needs?

Regarding the case, I read the chart the same as you, 360mm AIO limits the GPU to 334mm so should be fine on that front if I go with AIO. As @Gray2233 suggested it would act as exhaust and given the case comes with no fans it seems reasonable to spend more there.

 

[Tetras]

@Tetras I had came up with something very similar but hadn't considered cooling as I didn't realise CPU's didn't come with them anymore .

The 9600 actually does come with a cooler (9600X does not), but they're a bit pants. The freezer 36 would be much better.

Side bar but are there any considerations I need to make when buying RAM and storage? Prices seem vary quite a lot but is there a sweet spot for speeds/latency etc for my needs?

Prices are all over the place right now, so personally I wouldn't get stuck on a speed, but just shop around for a deal. 6000/C30 used to be the best value (price to performance) and you'll lose a little by stepping down the speed or getting higher latency. What's maybe happening is that they're all getting picked off and we're left with higher latency kits until those sell out and then on Black Friday we'll get new stock, with deals that reset the prices.

Storage, for a main drive I'd want a higher-end drive with TLC and DRAM. Anything like: Crucial T500, WD SN850X, Samsung 990 Pro, Kingston KC3000/Renegade, Exceria Pro. There's a spreadsheet on Newmaxx's reddit if you see something you don't know. PCI-E 5.0 isn't currently worth it for gaming, but say if you can get a PCI 5.0 drive like the T705 just over £150 and you were thinking of paying that anyway for a PCI-E 4.0 drive, then I'd just get the better one.

 

[Gray2233]

Reading Lian Li's charts make my brain hurt, but if you use a 360mm AIO in the top, would it cut the GPU length from 415 to 334? Though, I think that would make no difference to the Pulse, it'd still fit.

Aye, should do but you're right on the charts being a pita.

 

[DanUre]

Prices are all over the place right now, so personally I wouldn't get stuck on a speed, but just shop around for a deal. 6000/C30 used to be the best value (price to performance) and you'll lose a little by stepping down the speed or getting higher latency. What's maybe happening is that they're all getting picked off and we're left with higher latency kits until those sell out and then on Black Friday we'll get new stock, with deals that reset the prices.

While this does tempt me to wait I'm not usually one for patience so lets see. If we're talking £10-20 difference here i'd likely just bite the bullet.

Storage, for a main drive I'd want a higher-end drive with TLC and DRAM. Anything like: Crucial T500, WD SN850X, Samsung 990 Pro, Kingston KC3000/Renegade, Exceria Pro. There's a spreadsheet on Newmaxx's reddit if you see something you don't know. PCI-E 5.0 isn't currently worth it for gaming, but say if you can get a PCI 5.0 drive like the T705 just over £150 and you were thinking of paying that anyway for a PCI-E 4.0 drive, then I'd just get the better one.

Appreciate the advice as was totally out of the loop on this. Will keep the reddit thread in mind. Went down a rabbit hole last night about cooling in the case so may yet have some questions on that, but maybe thats for a different sub forum.

I'll probably come back and post a build when it's locked in to make sure I don't have any obvious incompatibility issues but I can't imagine it would deviate too much from the one you posted. Thanks again!

 

[Tetras]

While this does tempt me to wait I'm not usually one for patience so lets see. If we're talking £10-20 difference here i'd likely just bite the bullet.

It depends on the kit and the availability at the time, e.g. if you were to only buy 6000/C30, you could end up paying £50-£100 more than say... a C36 kit.

 

[DanUre]

Ordered a few bits including GPU, CPU cooler and PSU, went for this Lian Li PSU in the end as it ranked quite highly on a comparison I found and should do me well in the A3 case.

1 X Lian Li Edge Gold 850W Black Power Supply - £95.99
SKU: POW-LIA-03764

When I've looked around the RAM you've specc'd is really good for the price but obviously it's pre-order I've set up a notification but is there a risk i'm waiting forever? I'd like to get the case and Aorus NVME ordered at the same time if i'm paying delivery.

 

[Tetras]

I've set up a notification but is there a risk i'm waiting forever?

Yes, I'm afraid that is possible, but OCUK usually manage their listings actively compared to some retailers.

1 X Lian Li Edge Gold 850W Black Power Supply - £95.99

Not sure how that's going to work in the A3, but I assume you checked it.

 

[DanUre]

Not sure how that's going to work in the A3, but I assume you checked it.

Yeah, might not be ideal and may require a new front custom front panel in the future. But i've seen people reverse the PSU which does a great job of hiding all of the cables. Even if I have to use normal orientation I think it might be easier run cables, we'll see.

 

[lepharaon33]

Note that you do need to be a bit careful with this case with e.g. PSU/GPU length restrictions. Lian Li have several configs on their website, so I'd suggest taking a look (I would recommend keeping the Phanteks PSU for this reason, because it is more compact than many). I don't think it comes with any fans either, so you'd have to buy those separately.

There's Black Friday, but hard to say if there will be any deals, or if the recent price increases will just be unwound. Nvidia have Super cards due, at some point, but latest rumours say maybe not until March.

My basket at OcUK:

• 1 x AMD Ryzen 5 9600X Six Core 5.40GHz (Socket AM5) Processor - Retail (SKU: PRO-AMD-02677) = £188.99
• 1 x Sapphire Nitro+ B850M WiFi (Socket AM5) DDR5 Micro-ATX Motherboard (SKU: MOT-SPR-05690) = £139.99
• 1 x PNY XLR8 Gaming EPIC-X 32GB (2x16GB) DDR5 PC5-51200C36 6000MHz Dual Channel Kit (SKU: MEM-PNY-04564) = £77.99
• 1 x Sapphire Pulse Radeon RX 9070 XT Gaming 16GB GDDR6 PCI-Express Graphics Card (SKU: GRA-SPR-03983) = £555.00
• 1 x Gigabyte Aorus 7300 2TB SSD M.2 2280 NVME PCI-E Gen4 Solid State Drive (SKU: STO-GIG-05732) = £119.99
• 1 x Lian Li A3 mATX Wood Edition - Black (SKU: CAS-LIA-02630) = £69.94
• 1 x Phanteks AMP GH 850W 80PLUS Gold ATX Power Supply Modular - Black (SKU: POW-PHK-02519) = £104.99
• 1 x Arctic Freezer 36 120m Black CPU Cooler - 2x 120mm (SKU: COO-ARC-02420) = £34.99

Total: £1,303.87 (includes delivery: £11.98)​

That’s a really solid midrange build — good balance between price and performance. The 9600X and 9070 XT pair nicely, and 32GB RAM / 2TB storage is plenty. Just double-check GPU clearance in the Lian Li A3 and budget for a couple of quality fans since it doesn’t include any. If you’re not in a rush, waiting for Black Friday or the 4070 Super launch might get you better value.

 

[DanUre]

Managed to get everything ordered and under budget. Only changes I had to make from @Tetras' original post was the Mobo and RAM as it's not in stock here but got similar specs for similar prices so overall i'm happy. Also went for an AIO as per advice from @Gray2233. It'll be trickling in this week so hopefully I'll be able to build it one night when the little one is in bed.

Any other advice on building with AMD? I have read stuff about enabling XMP and also something about them taking 15 mins or so to warm up on first boot? Also is a BIOS update always required, for reference I've went with this Mobo:

My basket at OcUK:

• 1 x Asrock B850M Pro-A WiFi (Socket AM5) DDR5 mATX Motherboard (SKU: MOT-ASR-04010) = £145.00

Total: £152.99 (includes delivery: £7.99)​

Thanks again for all the help.