First build in 13 years. Would appreciate some advice!

[Ineedhelpplease]

Hi all,
I built my current pc in 2011 (with help from this forum!). Since then it's been through a few GPU upgrades and increased RAM but it's the same basic build with an intel i5 2500k cpu, 8gb of ram and currently an Nvidia970 GPU.
I play a lot of games and this pc has been surprisingly durable, still able to play newer games, but lately the minimum specs are often above what I have, and while I play a lot of older games, the time has come to build a new beast, capcable of playing whatever I like with high settings as well as being able to revisit things that never performed that well for me, like Kingdom Come.

Now, I have done my research and I see things are no less confusing than they were 13 years ago, but I think I'm settled on the following:

CPU - Ryzen7 7800X3D

GPU - Either RTX7900XTX or RTX 470 Super ti.

I'm leaning toward the AMD, just because it would be a change and I get the general feeling from reviews that the 7900 has very good performance with more RAM which the 4070 has simi9lar performance, better features but less RAM.
I'm not fussed about 4k gaming and ray tracing isn't a big deal to me so if I were to press the button today I think it would be the 7900, however I hesitate a bit because the many (many!) different comparison videos on youtube come to different conclusions with some showing 7900 at higher FPS and some the 4070, depending on games. My thinking is to not get bogged down in that too much as I know from last time it's easy to start caring too much about these things when the reality is they will both be playing brilliantly.

The advice I would appreciate is on the following,

Do you agree with my card options?
Is there any real benefit to the more expensive versions within the same card models? For example the 7900 ranges from £870 to £1200 on here but is there actually any reason not to get the cheaper end? (Im thinking the sapphire if it matters?).

How do I choose a motherboard? I remember last time it seemed they were all much the same to I went for one that allowed overclocking (which I never actually tried! Too scared!).
For example why would I choose the

Asus ROG Strix X670E-E Gaming WIFI (Socket AM5) DDR5 ATX Motherboard at £470 over the Asus ROG Strix B650E-F Gaming WIFI (Socket AM5) DDR5 ATX Motherboard at £210?​

One that I've seen recommended as a decent not too expensive option is the MSI MAG B650 Tomahawk WIFI (Socket AM5) DDR5 ATX Motherboard. What are your thoughts on that one?

Many thanks in advance..

 

[Ineedhelpplease]

just tell us your budget and we'll tell you what to get

Well, it's variable.... I'm looking at around £2000 as a target though. If it were well worth going higher I could, but at the same time I'm not into buying somthing that's just wild overkill (such as a 4090).

 

[Ineedhelpplease]

If you're not playing at 4K, why do you want to pay nearly £1K for a 7900 XTX? You could spend half that on a 7900 GRE and get decent performance at 1440p.


The first consideration is if the price pushes you into paying for a higher tier card. That's less applicable for the 7900 XTX because there's no AMD card above it, but it still applies in terms of value for money, since £1200 is 40% more!

The second consideration is: does it actually give you anything? For some of these cards the answer is no, so it comes down to features (e.g. dual bios, rgb, support bracket) and the performance of the cooler. Higher-end coolers are usually quieter and cooler, but the Pulse is known (generally) for a good balance between noise and temperature. There's also the power limit which can influence performance and you sometimes have to dig to find that out, though that's mainly applicable when you're overclocking. I'd suggest checking reviews that do tear downs (like on TPU) and that give you figures for all the temperatures (VRM, memory, hotspot) and not just the core temp, since it can expose deficiencies in their PCB and cooler design.


The first thing to decide with AM5 is: how much PCI-E gen 5 do I want? E.g. graphics and 1, 2, 3 M.2 slots? Once you decide that, you can pick the motherboard.

Generally: I'd start with the B650E-F, since that gives you PCI-E gen 5 graphics and 1x PCI-E gen 5 M.2 slot. If you don't think you care about PCI-E 5.0 graphics, you can step down to a B650 board like the Tomahawk or the TUF Plus.

The premium features you can get on (some) X670E motherboards: 10Gb LAN, dual LAN, USB4, WIFI7, USB PD / USB fast charge, DP over USB Type-C, integrated DAC/AMP, 2 or 3 PCI-E Gen 3 M.2 slots.

Thank you for your advice.

The reason I say Im not that fussed about 4k is that 1080p looks good. It's not like it's blocky, and spending a huge amount just on displaying the same graphics at higher resolution is not my priority, as I wopnt be buying a new monitor in the near future. However, I know when I do buy one it will be 4k so i want to be ready for that.

What you way on the various brands of the same card makes sense. I think perhaps i will stick with that saphire pulse.

As it's not much more than the tomoahowk i will go with the B650 you mention. I think I just had MSI in my head as solid because thats what ive had all these years and it's the component, aside from the cpu that has been most reliable.

Thanks again for your advice

 

[Ineedhelpplease]

few parts are on preorder but these would be my suggestion:

My basket at OcUK:

• 1 x AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D Eight Core 5.00GHz (Socket AM5) Processor - Retail (SKU: CP-3DT-AM) = £349.99
• 1 x Asus ROG Strix B650E-F Gaming WIFI (Socket AM5) DDR5 ATX Motherboard (SKU: MB-6JX-AS) = £209.99
• 1 x TeamGroup Delta RGB 32GB (2X16GB) DDR5 PC5-44800C30 6000MHz Dual Channel Kit - Black (FF3D532G6000HC30DC01) (SKU: MY-0B8-TG) = £109.99
• 1 x MSI SPATIUM M480 Pro 2TB SSD PCIe 4.0 NVMe M.2 Solid State Drive (SKU: STO-MSI-00815) = £125.99
• 1 x Phanteks XT Pro Ultra ATX Case Tempered Glass Window, White (SKU: CAS-PHK-01444) = £70.99
• 1 x Sapphire Radeon RX 7900 XTX Pulse 24GB GDDR6 PCI-Express Graphics Card (SKU: GX-3A5-SP) = £899.99
• 1 x MSI MAG A850GL 850W 80 Plus Gold ATX 3.0 PCIE5Modular Power Supply (SKU: CA-012-MS) = £119.99
• 1 x Arctic Liquid Freezer III ARGB White High Performance CPU Water Cooler - 360mm (SKU: COO-ARC-01993) = £90.95

Total: £1,989.86 (includes delivery: £11.98)​

Thank you for this.

I think this is a solid list. I will perhaps look for a different case just because im not looking at white components but otherwise all looks solid.

Could you let me know why a water cooler would be necessary? I assume the cooler/fan with the cpu is suficcient unless you overclock. Is that correct? Are you suggesting the extra cooling as a nice to have so I can do such things if wanted? Or is it actually a requirement?

Thanks for the advice

 

[Ineedhelpplease]

few parts are on preorder but these would be my suggestion:

My basket at OcUK:

• 1 x AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D Eight Core 5.00GHz (Socket AM5) Processor - Retail (SKU: CP-3DT-AM) = £349.99
• 1 x Asus ROG Strix B650E-F Gaming WIFI (Socket AM5) DDR5 ATX Motherboard (SKU: MB-6JX-AS) = £209.99
• 1 x TeamGroup Delta RGB 32GB (2X16GB) DDR5 PC5-44800C30 6000MHz Dual Channel Kit - Black (FF3D532G6000HC30DC01) (SKU: MY-0B8-TG) = £109.99
• 1 x MSI SPATIUM M480 Pro 2TB SSD PCIe 4.0 NVMe M.2 Solid State Drive (SKU: STO-MSI-00815) = £125.99
• 1 x Phanteks XT Pro Ultra ATX Case Tempered Glass Window, White (SKU: CAS-PHK-01444) = £70.99
• 1 x Sapphire Radeon RX 7900 XTX Pulse 24GB GDDR6 PCI-Express Graphics Card (SKU: GX-3A5-SP) = £899.99
• 1 x MSI MAG A850GL 850W 80 Plus Gold ATX 3.0 PCIE5Modular Power Supply (SKU: CA-012-MS) = £119.99
• 1 x Arctic Liquid Freezer III ARGB White High Performance CPU Water Cooler - 360mm (SKU: COO-ARC-01993) = £90.95

Total: £1,989.86 (includes delivery: £11.98)​

 

[Ineedhelpplease]

few parts are on preorder but these would be my suggestion:

My basket at OcUK:

• 1 x AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D Eight Core 5.00GHz (Socket AM5) Processor - Retail (SKU: CP-3DT-AM) = £349.99
• 1 x Asus ROG Strix B650E-F Gaming WIFI (Socket AM5) DDR5 ATX Motherboard (SKU: MB-6JX-AS) = £209.99
• 1 x TeamGroup Delta RGB 32GB (2X16GB) DDR5 PC5-44800C30 6000MHz Dual Channel Kit - Black (FF3D532G6000HC30DC01) (SKU: MY-0B8-TG) = £109.99
• 1 x MSI SPATIUM M480 Pro 2TB SSD PCIe 4.0 NVMe M.2 Solid State Drive (SKU: STO-MSI-00815) = £125.99
• 1 x Phanteks XT Pro Ultra ATX Case Tempered Glass Window, White (SKU: CAS-PHK-01444) = £70.99
• 1 x Sapphire Radeon RX 7900 XTX Pulse 24GB GDDR6 PCI-Express Graphics Card (SKU: GX-3A5-SP) = £899.99
• 1 x MSI MAG A850GL 850W 80 Plus Gold ATX 3.0 PCIE5Modular Power Supply (SKU: CA-012-MS) = £119.99
• 1 x Arctic Liquid Freezer III ARGB White High Performance CPU Water Cooler - 360mm (SKU: COO-ARC-01993) = £90.95

Total: £1,989.86 (includes delivery: £11.98)​

What would you recommend for ram and SSD that is currently available?

 

[Ineedhelpplease]

The freezer 3 is pretty much the best cooler on the market, and does beat air coolers hands down, so should run a lot quieter. You don't need the 360 version though, and if your not going for white case you won't want a white cooker either, I'd recommend the 280mm arctic cooler, but the 7800x3d is low power (relatively at 105w tdp) so you can also go for the 240mm cooker and be totally fine.

If you want to go air cooler go for the peerless assassin, should be less than £40 and has rave reviews everywhere.

Arctic Liquid Freezer III ARGB High Performance CPU Water Cooler - 280mm​

Would that be this one? Thanks for the advice on the coolers.

 

[Ineedhelpplease]

If you particularly like the Tomahawk model as an option and don't want to lose the B650E-F's features, you could get the X670E Tomahawk, which is actually one of the cheaper X670E boards.


Hmm. Do you have any idea how long it might be? The reason I say that is because if you're only playing at 1080p, you could even buy a 4060 or 7600 XT instead of the 7900 GRE or 7900 XTX and when you're ready to upgrade to 4K the technology will have moved on and you should get a better deal for your money (in terms of 4K performance) than buying a card for 4K now when you're not intending to upgrade for several years.

I don't think it is worth buying these hugely expensive cards for their performance NOW unless you need it for 1440p UW or 4K, because you're paying the 'luxury' premium for being able to play at that resolution and we don't know how they'll hold up versus future cards as 4K gets more mainstream.

As an example: there are rumours that RDNA 4 is going to offer 7900 XTX performance for $500, which seems very unlikely given the stagnation of recent releases, but if it is true, decent 4K performance will get much more affordable.

I dont have any real preference for the motherboard. Just saw it used as a "go to" on a few build channels and was always lead to believe MSI is solid. I'll happily go with the other one suggested.

I see what you're saying about the card being potentially overkill. I suppose there is an element of, it being so long since I upgraded, I want to have a top quality build with no compromises on graphics or performance. and if I buy a £600 card now and end up wanting an £800 one in a year or two I'll probably wish I just went in at the £800 one in the first place.

 

[Ineedhelpplease]

If your going with @tamzzy case choice then the arctic won't fit in the top as it's 63mm and the case has a max 60mm clearance.

Thanks. Well spotted! Any suggestions for a smiller option?

 

[Ineedhelpplease]

After a few of your comments, I am thinking around whether I should go with a different GPU. Maybe just a 4070 instead of the 7900XTX. It would probably be sufficient but then again...it's always a few hundred more and it could be spectacular instead

 

[Ineedhelpplease]

If your going with @tamzzy case choice then the arctic won't fit in the top as it's 63mm and the case has a max 60mm clearance.

Could you please let me know where you see that dimension data? Looking at the store page it says the radiator height is 38mm?

 

[Ineedhelpplease]

@tamzzy nailed it .

+25mm for the fan

Specifications you have to allow for a fan

Phanteks Innovative Computer Hardware Design

www.phanteks.com

Thank you. And 25mm is standard fan width? Perhaps i need to look up a different case then! Or maybe just get an air cooler.
At the moment I am thinking of the general set of components that were suggested by tamzzy but with the black case and the ram and SSD you suggested. Also thinking I will go all out on the 7900xtx, even if it is a bit OTT...Just got to find a case that fits everything!

 

[Ineedhelpplease]

I'm almost there.

Need a PSU that is available (the one suggested isnt yet on sale).

This corsair is the same price (in fact reduced from a higher price). Does anyone know of anything wrong with it?

Corsair RMx Series RM850x 80 PLUS Gold Fully Modular ATX Power Supply (CP-9020200-UK)​

 

[Ineedhelpplease]

Great psu , get it.

Thank you,. And it's high enough wattage for the proposed set up? I can see the RTX7900XTX says its a 370w card so thinking it's ok?

 

[Ineedhelpplease]

Why ?

There are loads of cooler's that fit and will cool a 7800x3d just read reviews, and makes sure the rad is not thicker than 35mm +25mm for the fan.

DeepCool LE720 All In One ARGB Black CPU Water Cooler - 360mm

Order DeepCool LE720 All In One ARGB Black CPU Water Cooler - 360mm now online and benefit from fast delivery.

www.overclockers.co.uk

I've got this one in my basket at the moment,

SAPPHIRE NITRO+ S360-A Addressable RGB AIO CPU Performance Water Cooler - 360mm​

 

[Ineedhelpplease]

850w is enough for a 7900xtx but just check the model requirements.

Which one you getting as tamzzy build is an xt not an xtx ?



Go for what you prefer both are good choices.

In the first suggestion he listed an XTX, It was also the saphire pule version. . It only became XT after i mentioned not yet having 4k monitor (and potentially not wanting one, wlthough I will soon enough have a 4k tv so playing on that via steam link will make a difference).

Currently thinking I'll not get the 1440 monitor recently suggested and save that upgrade for a few months down the line and use the money for the XTX


I appreciate all your help...

 

[Ineedhelpplease]

1 X AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D Eight Core 5.00GHz (Socket AM5) Processor - Retail - £349.99
SKU: CP-3DT-AM

---

1 X Asus TUF Gaming B650-Plus WIFI (Socket AM5) DDR5 ATX Motherboard - £169.99
SKU: MB-6K0-AS

---

1 X Corsair Vengeance RGB EXPO 32GB (2X16GB) DDR5 PC5-48000C36 6000MHz Dual Channel - £119.99
SKU: MEM-CRS-00997

---

1 X WD Blue SN580 2TB SSD NVME M.2 2280 PCIe Gen4 Solid State Drive - £114.95
SKU: STO-WDC-00541

---

1 X Phanteks XT Pro Ultra ATX Case Tempered Glass Window, Black - £66.95
SKU: CAS-PHK-01443

---

1 X Corsair RMx Series RM850x 80 PLUS Gold Fully Modular ATX Power Supply (CP-9020200-UK) - £119.99
SKU: CA-267-CS

---

1 X Sapphire Radeon RX 7900 XTX Pulse 24GB GDDR6 PCI-Express Graphics Card - £899.98
SKU: GX-3A5-SP

---

Grand Total: £1,841.84

I dont know how to share as the pictures like you did, but what do you fine people think of this?

All I need to decide on now is a cooler - water seems like the efficient option but prone to devastating failure and short lifespan. On the other hand , do I even need a special cooler if I'm not overclocking??

 

[Ineedhelpplease]

I would also stick with the MSI 850GL.
It's out of stock at Ocuk but available elsewhere if you Google search

Why so? Do you think Corsair are a bad make?

 

[Ineedhelpplease]

Not quite. The reason is that the Corsair PSU you picked out is not an ATX V3 PSU.
The MSI PSU that I picked out, is.
When more GPUs swap over to the new standard then you won't need to rely on an adapter as the MSI already has it by default.
(Yes I know you can buy the cable but that's an extra £20)
If you're spending that much on a PSU, at least get one with the latest spec lol

Fair point. I found something called the PSU tier list (I know, I'm getting in too deep!!) and I did find that corsair listed at a high level so Im tempted to stick with it although the PSU is one of those things that is hard to pick because they are basically all meant to be providing the exact same thing and either work or dont...

Of all things, it's the cooler I'm stuck on!! The one thing I wasnt even going to buy because I thought the one that comes with the cpu would be sufficient.
Having looked at a load of review channels on you tube, I am currently persuaded to go with an air cooler (Thermalright phantom spirit) which are apparently up there and are just simple items with fewer failure points than the elaborate water coolers. Having said that I might move up to the Deepcool LT520 as a liquid cooler if I find the air one not up to scratch.

I honestly would have ordered my whole set up by now if not for these PSU and cooler questions!!

 

[Ineedhelpplease]

The RMx (or the newer SHIFT, if your case is compatible) are fine, in my opinion and they're technically higher tier PSUs with double the warranty length of the GL. I'd be happy to spec the G.

I think I will be going with that Corsair (I think you're agreeing?)