2026 Re-build

Cr1tch

Cr1tch

Cr1tch

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Joined
18 Jun 2018
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57
Hi Guys,

With the current situation surrounding RAM and GPU prices, I’ve been thinking about bringing forward a new PC build. I initially looked at potentially upgrading to a 7900XT and 5700X, but I’m now considering the possibility of a complete rebuild instead.

My current build:

• Corsair RM Series RM850 — 850W 80+ Gold Power Supply

• AMD Ryzen 7 3700X Eight‑Core 4.4GHz (Socket AM4) Processor

• WD Blue SN550 1TB NVMe M.2 2280 PCIe Gen3 SSD

• MSI MAG CORELIQUID 240R ARGB Performance Liquid CPU Cooler

• MSI MPG B550 Gaming Carbon WiFi (AMD AM4) Motherboard

• Corsair Vengeance RGB PRO Black 32GB (4×8GB) 3600MHz DDR4

• ASUS ROG Strix Radeon RX 6700XT

I don’t have a strict budget at the moment as I’m fairly flexible on price. Could you recommend a build that would serve me well for the next few years, with room for future upgrades if needed?

Are there any parts from my current setup that I could realistically reuse, or would it be better to go for a full refresh?

Is it worth looking at pre-builts with the current climate or are they still a no no?

Thanks, guys happy gaming in 2026 and hopefully AI disappears and leaves us all alone.
 
personally with how the ram and associated stuff has gone silly id probably just upgrade to a zen 3 cpu and do the gpu and wait for the madness to subside before doing a full refresh but thats just me [and im probably lying because im about to jump from am4 to am5 but using bits ive had a few months if it was starting now i wouldnt have done it with the pricing as it is atm
edit to add that as tetras has said even zen 3 cpus are starting to get a bit silly price wise
 
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Tetras said:
If the main/only purpose of your upgrade is high-res gaming, I'd just get a 9070 XT. That'll last you the few years you spoke of.

AM4 CPUs are tricky at the moment, high demand is making them go for more than they're worth.
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The 5700X3D can be had for £250 from the high street shop with the almost naughty name, currently in stock online.

Bit of a high price mind you, and at 4K its usefulness will be limited to games that thrive with a strong CPU/added L3.

The current market being as it is I'd be half tempted to pull the trigger regardless if I wasn't already on a 5800X3D, but then I know I'd 100% benefit whereas it might be different for the OP.
 
This was the last red team cpu I owned, so who am I to argue? Good luck! ;-)
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turbot1984 said:
This was the last red team cpu I owned, so who am I to argue? Good luck! ;-)
425-front-small.jpg
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I'm pretty sure that the A64 4800X2 was the first dual core CPU I personally owned, good old days!

Went straight to a quad after that with the Core 2 Q6600 paired with the iconic 8800GTX! (Unfortunately I also had a bloody house fire later that same year and lost the entire rig!)
 
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turbot1984 said:
Nah, c'mon
i5 2500K OC'd to death + HD7950 Boost.
Happy days ;-)
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I had a 3570K and 3770K running with 7950's and all of them were OC'd to hell and back, even went crossfire at one point.

Delidded the 3770K, thing ran at 4.8ghz rock solid for almost a decade, one of my 7950's OC'd like a beast too. The thing was faster than a lot of peoples overclocked 7970's and 680's even, was a golden sample HIS card, never been as lucky with a GPU since.

Literally this card: https://www.techpowerup.com/review/his-hd-7950-x2-boost/31.html

Only mine went further, absolute steal, wound up a mate of mine on a Nvidia 670 no end because he was convinced he'd made the better purchase.

Sorry for the thread derail OP. :D
 
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turbot1984 said:
I think you need one then the likes of @Tetras can nail some suggested builds?
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Happy to run anything up to £3000 currently.

I don't however have game in 4k as my monitors only support 1440P 144Hz.

I looked at getting 5700X3D along with 7900XT however it seemed like im just proposing the inevitable need to jump to AM5.
 
Cr1tch said:
I looked at getting 5700X3D along with 7900XT however it seemed like im just proposing the inevitable need to jump to AM5.
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honestly, as you already have 32gb ram, you could potentially forgo AM5 altogether an wait out until AM6
the 5700X3D is a good call, and i would get the 9070XT rather than the 7900XT
much cheaper upgrade than going all out on AM5

if you want to cheap out then even a 5600/5700x/5800x will give a very decent uplift over the 3700x (saying this as someone who has used the 3700x, 5600, 5800x and 5800x3d)
 
tamzzy said:
honestly, as you already have 32gb ram, you could potentially forgo AM5 altogether an wait out until AM6
the 5700X3D is a good call, and i would get the 9070XT rather than the 7900XT
much cheaper upgrade than going all out on AM5

if you want to cheap out then even a 5600/5700x/5800x will give a very decent uplift over the 3700x (saying this as someone who has used the 3700x, 5600, 5800x and 5800x3d)
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I'm in a similar situation right now on my primary rig.

5800X3D with 32GB of DDR4, I've went back and forth about jumping to AM5 so many times it's unreal. I decided it wasn't worth it even before the RAM price hikes and I'm obviously even more steadfast now.

This late into the game and all things considered, you're better off playing the long game and waiting for AM6 or whatever the Intel equivalent is at the time. That's assuming prices come back down to the realms of sanity and we're not all forced onto streaming services like Geforce now by that point.

This is a thread de-rail ... ;-)
Next rig was i7 6700k skydream + 2 x RX390's .... it kept the house warm.
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I ended up going X99 after my Ivy rigs, I know a lot that opted for 6700/7700 but at that point I flat out refused to pay a premium for another quad core.

Sold the thing a couple of years later so obviously my plans for longevity weren't the best. I kinda dropped out of the hobby for a few years before coming back and hopping on AM4 with a 1600AF, which was by far a better longevity option given I went from the 1600AF to a 3700X and then a 5800X3D, and as mentioned that's allowing me to skip an entire AMD socket generation which isn't a small thing.
 
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Gray2233 said:
I'm in a similar situation right now on my primary rig.
5800X3D with 32GB of DDR5, I've went back and forth about jumping to AM5 so many times it's unreal. I decided it wasn't worth it even before the RAM price hikes and I'm obviously even more steadfast now.
This late into the game and all things considered, you're better off playing the long game and waiting for AM6 or whatever the Intel equivalent is at the time. That's assuming prices come back down to the realms of sanity and we're not all forced onto streaming services like Geforce now by that point.
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yeah i think for most people with 32GB DDR4 on a decent AM4 platform then waiting it out with a 5000/5800x3d cpu is the best bet
this was my advice up until AM5 got cheap enough (then changed to "get AM5" during mid '25... now changed back to stick with AM4)
 
Pre-builts I looked at before Xmas was actually rather good value for money when comparing like for like, but that may have changed now.

I don't think the ram costs and and subsequent costs of everything else increasing with it and the performance uplift justifies an upgrade from where your at.

A new GPU and later amd CPU would be worthwhile. You'd get another 5 years out of it.

Id be doing minimal upgrades now and probably skip this generation completely
 
sx_turbo said:
Pre-builts I looked at before Xmas was actually rather good value for money when comparing like for like, but that may have changed now.

I don't think the ram costs and and subsequent costs of everything else increasing with it and the performance uplift justifies an upgrade from where your at.

A new GPU and later amd CPU would be worthwhile. You'd get another 5 years out of it.

Id be doing minimal upgrades now and probably skip this generation completely
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It's still possible to get a decent prebuild or laptop if you're in the market for a huge generational upgrade or are new to PC gaming.

I do not think that's going to remain the case for much longer, the rigs are priced on existing pre-specified/existing stock from what I understand and going forward we'll start to see those prices spike too.

If you wanted a brand new £1000-1200 gaming rig with no viable prior platform, you are better off going pre-built currently imo but as stated it will not last so get your orders in quick. In the OP's case he's best off with a 9070XT and maybe a 5000 series AMD CPU upgrade.
 
Cr1tch said:
I looked at getting 5700X3D along with 7900XT however it seemed like im just proposing the inevitable need to jump to AM5.
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A lot of people don't ever upgrade their CPU (rarer with AM4, admittedly, since it had great longevity), so if you were going to keep the 5700X3D and 7900 XT (or equivalent, personally I'd only buy the 90 series now) for a significant length of time (2-3+ years) you're potentially just dumping money into AM5 for future gains you may never realise and then be cursing not hanging on for AM6.

It is true that a 5700X3D/5800X3D aren't ideal for much faster cards than the 7900 XT, but you'd possibly need a new CPU by then anyway, even if you were on AM5.
 
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