New build help

Pudney · 2025-12-15T21:28:59+0000

Hi all

Trying to build a new PC for gaming, although I don't necessarily play anything high end outside the CPU, I do want it to last 5+ years so by the time I come to replace everything will be old (e.g., currently using a Ryzen 7 3700X and an RTX 2070 Super). Ideally I'm trying to keep it sub £2k (and failing). I could cannibalise my current machine but.... I'm feeling lazy. So far I have:

My basket at OcUK:

1 x Lian Li Lancool III RGB Full Tower PC Case - White (SKU: CA-7AZ-LL) = £129.95
1 x AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D Eight Core 5.20GHz (Socket AM5) Processor - Retail (SKU: PRO-AMD-03517) = £399.95
1 x Asus X870 Max Gaming WIFI7 White (Socket AM5) DDR5 ATX Motherboard (SKU: MOT-ASU-05168) = £249.99
1 x Microsoft Windows 11 Home 64-Bit DVD - OEM (KW9-00632) (SKU: SW-18J-MS) = £107.99
2 x Samsung 990 Evo PLUS 2TB M.2 2280 PCI-e 4.0 / 5.0 Hybrid NVMe Solid State Drive (SKU: STO-SAM-03391) = £179.99
1 x G.Skill Royal RGB XMP 64GB (2x32GB) DDR5 PC5-51200C32 6400MHz Dual Channel Kit - Silver (SKU: MEM-GSK-02542) = £499.99
1 x Lian Li EDGE 850w 80 Plus Platinum Power Supply - White (SKU: POW-LIA-06122) = £125.99
1 x Asus Radeon RX 9060 XT Dual White 16GB GDDR6 PCI-Express Graphics Card (SKU: GRA-ASU-05995) = £359.99

Total: £2,233.82 (includes delivery: £0.00)

I don't need monitors, currently running 2 Dell S2716DGs and they do the job well still.

Any help would be great, my focus on white is because in all my years I've never done a white based PC before!

Gray2233 · 2025-12-15T21:32:30+0000

My good man, even in the current climate I could never forgive myself if I advised someone spend £2200 + on a rig with a 9060XT even if longevity was a concern. :cry:

Is white a necessity?

Pudney · 2025-12-15T21:34:12+0000

£300 difference between that and the 9070XT was the main reason! Problem with being old and remembering everything being half the price.

White is not mandatory

Tetras · 2025-12-15T21:44:11+0000

This is the closest to 2K I could manage, but I broke the theme with the RAM and PSU (the sockets are black on the board anyway) and the RAM is on pre-order, so I don't know if you'd get it at that price.

Sapphire's Pure is a better looking board, but pricier and out of stock. XFX have better priced white 9070/9070XT, but out of stock or pre-order.

I also cheated / dumped the OS license, so no wallpaper customisation for you.

My basket at OcUK:

1 x AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D Eight Core 5.20GHz (Socket AM5) Processor - Retail (SKU: PRO-AMD-03517) = £399.95
1 x MSI B850 Gaming Plus WIFI6E (AMD AM5) B850 DDR5 ATX Motherboard (SKU: MOT-MSI-05941) = £149.99
1 x TeamGroup Vulcan 64GB (2X32GB) DDR5 PC5-51200C40 6400MHz Dual Channel Kit - Black (SKU: MEM-TMG-03146) = £399.94
1 x Sapphire Pure Radeon RX 9070 Gaming OC 16GB GDDR6 PCI-Express Graphics Card (SKU: GRA-SPR-03985) = £569.99
1 x Team Group G70 PRO 4TB SSD M.2 2280 NVME PCI-E Gen4 Solid State Drive (SKU: STO-TMG-02619) = £329.99
1 x Montech X5 Midi-Tower Midi-Tower EATX ARGB Case - White (SKU: CAS-MON-06586) = £51.95
1 x Phanteks AMP GH 750W 80PLUS Gold ATX Power Supply Modular - Black (SKU: POW-PHK-02517) = £84.95
1 x Thermalright Peerless Assassin 120 SE A-RGB White CPU Cooler - 120mm (SKU: COO-TLR-02666) = £34.99

Total: £2,033.74 (includes delivery: £11.98)

Gray2233 · 2025-12-15T21:55:49+0000

Alternative to the above with an M-ATX form factor and ignoring the "white" theme:

My basket at OcUK:

1 x FSP VITA-1000GM 1000W 80+ Gold ATX 3.1 PCIE 5.1 Modular Power Supply (SKU: POW-FSP-06658) = £119.99
1 x AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D Eight Core 5.20GHz (Socket AM5) Processor - Retail (SKU: PRO-AMD-03517) = £399.95
1 x Team Group G70 PRO 4TB SSD M.2 2280 NVME PCI-E Gen4 Solid State Drive (SKU: STO-TMG-02619) = £329.98
1 x G.Skill Trident Z5 XMP 32GB (2x16GB) DDR5 PC5-51200C32 6400MHz Dual Channel Kit - Si (SKU: MEM-GSK-01368) = £290.00
1 x XFX Swift Radeon RX 9070 XT Triple Fan Gaming Edition 16GB GDDR6 PCI-Express Graphics Card (SKU: GRA-XFX-05454) = £555.00
1 x Thermalright Aqua Elite 360 Black ARGB V3 All In One CPU Cooler (SKU: COO-TLR-03256) = £49.99
1 x MSI B850M Gaming Plus WIFI6E (AMD AM5) B850 DDR5 Micro-ATX Motherboard (SKU: MOT-MSI-05943) = £129.99
1 x PHANTEKS XT M3 Micro-ATX Case, includes 3x 120mm Fans - Black (SKU: CAS-PHK-05735) = £52.90

Total: £1,939.79 (includes delivery: £11.98)

The PSU is over-specified but only by £30.

You could save £20 on the AiO by going with a £30 Thermalright Peerless Assassin.

RAM is XMP and 32gb, it should be fine with AMD and the speeds might not be ideal. There's a chance you'll need to manually set 6000/c30. You wont need more than 32gb for a good while for gaming unless you're heavily into modding certain titles, which I doubt given your initial post.

Everything listed is currently in stock.

Joxeon · 2025-12-15T21:58:14+0000

Maybe just pick up a 9070XT and keep your eye out on MM for a 5700X3D/5800X3D, unless your buying a 5080/5090 there is little benefit jumping to AM5 with an 9800X3D right now with ram prices as they currently are.

hornetstinger · 2025-12-15T21:59:03+0000

Don't buy a PC at current RAM prices

Also you can get legit Windows license for a lot less.

Rob_B · 2025-12-15T21:59:28+0000

I was going to say 6400MT/s isn't really needed especially with an X3D but looking at pricing.. you might as well get it

Also, Members Market might be your friend here

Tetras · 2025-12-15T22:07:01+0000

Gray2233 said:
My good man, even in the current climate I could never forgive myself if I advised someone spend £2200 + on a rig with a 9060XT even if longevity was a concern.

Pudney said:
£300 difference between that and the 9070XT was the main reason! Problem with being old and remembering everything being half the price.

I agree. Spending £2k for a 9060 XT is just.. ouch. Not to mention, TPU's GPU database only puts it as just over 50% faster than the 2070 Super, so that's a lot of money being spent overall for a pretty modest uplift in graphics performance.

I do get the pricing concern, but it makes more sense (for the majority of games, unless you're playing CS at 720p/Low) to downgrade the 9800X3D to a 9700X, than to get a 9060 XT.

Gray2233 · 2025-12-15T22:14:57+0000

Rob_B said:
I was going to say 6400MT/s isn't really needed especially with an X3D but looking at pricing.. you might as well get it

Also, Members Market might be your friend here

Literally the only reason I listed it, it's the cheapest 32gb set of DDR5 on OCUK from a glance believe it or not.

Tetras said:
I agree. Spending £2k for a 9060 XT is just.. ouch. Not to mention, TPU's GPU database only puts it as just over 50% faster than the 2070 Super, so that's a lot of money being spent overall for a pretty modest uplift in graphics performance.

I do get the pricing concern, but it makes more sense (for the majority of games, unless you're playing CS at 720p/Low) to downgrade the 9800X3D to a 9700X, than to get a 9060 XT.

Yeah, I'm getting the impression that the OP buys and sits on things for 5 year-ish periods, with maybe a GPU refresh.

GPU refreshes aren't as viable as they used to be as is and it's only getting worse with the shift from consumer memory production to datacentre supplies. I was looking forward to a 5080 Super with decent clocks and more VRAM but lets face it, that wont happen and even if it did we'd be looking at £1500-2000 +.

Buy now for long term and pray supply/prices normalise, but given half of the major suppliers of consumer memory have literally pulled out entirely we're SOOL. Build the best you can right now if you want to be safe, because it's all going to be rentals within the decade with services like Geforce Now.

I'm being nihilistic here but I'm genuinely looking into getting a 5090FE for personal use, and I'm as tight as a fishes arse.

Pudney · 2025-12-15T22:17:02+0000

hornetstinger said:
Don't buy a PC at current RAM prices

That is an option I'm considering too!

hornetstinger said:
Also you can get legit Windows license for a lot less.

Just looked and can see I can download from MS and then just get a key.

Pudney · 2025-12-15T22:20:22+0000

Gray2233 said:
Yeah, I'm getting the impression that the OP buys and sits on things for 5 year-ish periods, with maybe a GPU refresh.

I tend to alternate refreshing case hardware with external components, but last time I spent more than normal and just haven't needed the update.

Most demanding games I play are Total Warhammer 3 (graphics) and EU5 (mem/CPU).

Gray2233 · 2025-12-15T22:23:08+0000

Pudney said:
I tend to alternate refreshing case hardware with external components, but last time I spent more than normal and just haven't needed the update.

Most demanding games I play are Total Warhammer 3 (graphics) and EU5 (mem/CPU).

Both are going to absolutely love the extra L3 on an X3D chip, pretty much any 4X title from Paradox especially.

mickyflinn · 2025-12-15T22:24:36+0000

5700x3d and a 9070xt gets my vote.

Pudney · 2025-12-15T22:37:19+0000

The recommended CPU for EU5 is 7800X3D, so wouldn't do the 5700X3D.

Got an updated basket to ponder:

My basket at OcUK:

1 x AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D Eight Core 5.20GHz (Socket AM5) Processor - Retail (SKU: PRO-AMD-03517) = £399.95
1 x G.Skill Royal RGB XMP 64GB (2x32GB) DDR5 PC5-51200C32 6400MHz Dual Channel Kit - Silver (SKU: MEM-GSK-02542) = £499.99
1 x Team Group G70 PRO 4TB SSD M.2 2280 NVME PCI-E Gen4 Solid State Drive (SKU: STO-TMG-02619) = £329.99
1 x Montech X5 Midi-Tower Midi-Tower EATX ARGB Case - White (SKU: CAS-MON-06586) = £51.95
1 x Phanteks AMP GH 750W 80PLUS Gold ATX Power Supply Modular - Black (SKU: POW-PHK-02517) = £84.94
1 x XFX Swift Radeon RX 9070 XT Triple Fan Gaming Edition 16GB GDDR6 PCI-Express Graphics Card (SKU: GRA-XFX-05454) = £555.00
1 x Thermalright Aqua Elite 360 Black ARGB V3 All In One CPU Cooler (SKU: COO-TLR-03256) = £50.00
1 x MSI B850 Gaming Plus WIFI6E (AMD AM5) B850 DDR5 ATX Motherboard (SKU: MOT-MSI-05941) = £149.98

Total: £2,121.80 (includes delivery: £0.00)

Quartz · 2025-12-15T22:44:53+0000

RAM prices are still increasing so buy sooner rather than later.

mickyflinn · 2025-12-15T23:19:02+0000

White versions.

https://www.overclockers.co.uk/thermalright-aqua-elite-360-white-argb-v3-all-in-one-cpu-cooler-coo-tlr-03257.html

Phanteks AMP GH 750W 80PLUS Gold ATX Power Supply Modular - White

Order Phanteks AMP GH 750W 80PLUS Gold ATX Power Supply Modular - White now online and benefit from fast delivery.

www.overclockers.co.uk

Tetras · 2025-12-15T23:57:57+0000

Pudney said:
Got an updated basket to ponder:

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

1 x XFX Swift Radeon RX 9070 XT Triple Fan Gaming Edition 16GB GDDR6 PCI-Express Graphics Card (SKU: GRA-XFX-05454) = £555.00

If I was going with the XT, I'd up the PSU to 850. 750 should be fine, but the XT does use a hefty chunk more power than the non-XT in my spec and the headroom would be nice.

My basket at OcUK:

1 x MSI MPG A850G PCIE5 UK PSU 850W 80 Plus Gold Modular Power Supply (SKU: CA-00Y-MS) = £104.99
1 x Phanteks AMP GH 850W 80PLUS Gold ATX Power Supply Modular - White (SKU: POW-PHK-02520) = £114.95

Total: £227.93 (includes delivery: £7.99)

JollyJamma · 2025-12-16T08:21:27+0000

Quartz said:
RAM prices are still increasing so buy sooner rather than later.

Yeah and with no end in sight

Craig_d1 · 2025-12-16T12:22:44+0000

Gray2233 said:
Alternative to the above with an M-ATX form factor and ignoring the "white" theme:

RAM is XMP and 32gb, it should be fine with AMD and the speeds might not be ideal. There's a chance you'll need to manually set 6000/c30. You wont need more than 32gb for a good while for gaming unless you're heavily into modding certain titles, which I doubt given your initial post.

Everything listed is currently in stock.

32gb is more than enough for gaming..i dont come close to using 32gb. the £200+ diff in price between 32 and 64gb I'd be more willing to spend on upgrading the gpu...at least yu'll see some benefit...better still, keep it in the bank a/c.

Interesting bit about the cost of manufacture...so people like corsair/gskill etc were buying the ram modules for $10 per 32gb...and that price hasn't changed...even when they say they're putting their prices up by 60% that means selling wholesale at $16 rather than $10..

and i checked on forum...warhammer 3 barely uses more than 16gb ram (one guy said he upgraded to 64gb ram, made no difference to gameplay, and another said he just edged over 18gb useage). EU5 recommended to have 32gb (can play on 16gb) OP will =know better on that one....some people having 64gb, but they say streaming and multiple open tabs and watching vids while they play..one guy had 128gb, but running 3 AAA titles at once, parking each game as he flicks between them while doing rendering in background...none of that is normal. I just don't understand the need for 64gb ram...vram on the gpu is more important so if thinking of a 12gb card, pay up and get a 16gb one