Hello everyone, getting ready to do a complete new build to upgrade my existing gaming system.
I'm coming form a Ryzen 2700X, 32Gb RAM and an RTX 2080 which has done me well since I put it together 5 years ago but is starting to drag its feet in modern games and I've put off upgrading anything inside of it to the point that I think a totally new build is going to be the way to go.
I play a variety of games, current monitor is a decent 27", 165Hz ,1440p one but I think that will get upgraded to an OLED this year, maybe along with making the jump to 4k.
I'm trying to keep the total spend ≤ £2.5-3k, but suspect the premium for the CPU and GPU at the moment will push that to the upper ends of that range, I generally don't upgrade or tinker too much once I've built my machines so prefer to spend now on higher end / well built components.
I have the below parts list at the moment which will be paired up with an RTX 5080 when they become available. I know lots of things are also out of stock / pre-order / back order so I was just going to pick them up as and when they become available and hopefully have all the bits together ready for when the 5080 go on sale.
My basket at OcUK:
Case: I really like the aesthetic of the North, I'm not a fan of cutout windows or RGB lights so the mesh one suits me fine. I've gone for the XL version as it will have better support for long GPUs and should fit the Arctic AIO up top without a problem. I did also like the look of the Antec Flow Pro but I don't think they do a solid sided version of that case and it's also a bit bigger than the North XL which is already a bit bigger than my current Define R6!
PSU: Not sure if I need 1000w, I've used Corsair or Seasonic PSUs in the past but open for other suggestions. Selected this one as reviews seem generally good for it and the included cables look decently flexible, I've got an HXi 750w in my current machine and that has also been good.
Mobo: I was looking at the TUF Gaming one but that is quit a bit more expensive than the Tomahawk. Am I better off hunting around for a good B650E board instead - I'm looking around for something with a PCI-E 5.0 slot for the GPU, at least one gen5 slot for the primary m.2 drive and then 2-3 other gen4 m.2 slots, I don't need it to have Wi-Fi as my house is wired with Cat6, though it seems that most of the mid to high-end boards come with it regardless.
CPU: 9800X3D, Not really sure there is any other choice until the next model up releases?
RAM: 32Gb DDR5, I've read that 6000MHz C30 stuff is generally a good balance for price, performance and reliability and as I don't need or want RGB bling this kit seemed to fit the bill.
CPU Cooler: I actually already have this as I got gifted it by a friend who rebuilt their PC with a custom loop recently - it is a chunky beast so if I struggle with clearances in the case my backup plan is to swap the supplied fans for some slimmer ones (Arctic P12 Slim perhaps).
Drives: New fancy 2Tb drive for OS + games I play frequently, I will bring over 2x m.2 NVME from my existing system (Evo 870, 1Tb) to use for other storage, I also have an old 1Tb SATA SSD that I will chuck in the back of the case.
I'm coming form a Ryzen 2700X, 32Gb RAM and an RTX 2080 which has done me well since I put it together 5 years ago but is starting to drag its feet in modern games and I've put off upgrading anything inside of it to the point that I think a totally new build is going to be the way to go.
I play a variety of games, current monitor is a decent 27", 165Hz ,1440p one but I think that will get upgraded to an OLED this year, maybe along with making the jump to 4k.
I'm trying to keep the total spend ≤ £2.5-3k, but suspect the premium for the CPU and GPU at the moment will push that to the upper ends of that range, I generally don't upgrade or tinker too much once I've built my machines so prefer to spend now on higher end / well built components.
I have the below parts list at the moment which will be paired up with an RTX 5080 when they become available. I know lots of things are also out of stock / pre-order / back order so I was just going to pick them up as and when they become available and hopefully have all the bits together ready for when the 5080 go on sale.
My basket at OcUK:
- 1 x Fractal Design North XL Chalk White Full Tower Case (SKU: CAS-FTL-02375) = £169.99
- 1 x CORSAIR RM1000x Gold ATX 3.1 PCIe 5.1 Fully Modular Power Supply (SKU: POW-CRS-02467) = £154.99
- 1 x MSI MAG X870 Tomahawk WIFI (Socket AM5) DDR5 ATX Motherboard (SKU: MOT-MSI-03298) = £280.00
- 1 x AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D Eight Core 5.20GHz (Socket AM5) Processor - Retail (SKU: PRO-AMD-03517) = £529.99
- 1 x G.Skill Trident Z5 Neo EXPO 32GB (2x16GB) DDR5 PC5-48000C30 6000MHz Dual Channel Kit - B (SKU: MEM-GSK-01360) = £112.99
- 1 x Arctic Liquid Freezer III High Performance CPU Water Cooler - 360mm (SKU: COO-ARC-01991) = £77.00
- 1 x Samsung 990 Evo PLUS 2TB M.2 2280 PCI-e 4.0 / 5.0 Hybrid NVMe Solid State Drive (SKU: STO-SAM-03391) = £195.94
Case: I really like the aesthetic of the North, I'm not a fan of cutout windows or RGB lights so the mesh one suits me fine. I've gone for the XL version as it will have better support for long GPUs and should fit the Arctic AIO up top without a problem. I did also like the look of the Antec Flow Pro but I don't think they do a solid sided version of that case and it's also a bit bigger than the North XL which is already a bit bigger than my current Define R6!
PSU: Not sure if I need 1000w, I've used Corsair or Seasonic PSUs in the past but open for other suggestions. Selected this one as reviews seem generally good for it and the included cables look decently flexible, I've got an HXi 750w in my current machine and that has also been good.
Mobo: I was looking at the TUF Gaming one but that is quit a bit more expensive than the Tomahawk. Am I better off hunting around for a good B650E board instead - I'm looking around for something with a PCI-E 5.0 slot for the GPU, at least one gen5 slot for the primary m.2 drive and then 2-3 other gen4 m.2 slots, I don't need it to have Wi-Fi as my house is wired with Cat6, though it seems that most of the mid to high-end boards come with it regardless.
CPU: 9800X3D, Not really sure there is any other choice until the next model up releases?
RAM: 32Gb DDR5, I've read that 6000MHz C30 stuff is generally a good balance for price, performance and reliability and as I don't need or want RGB bling this kit seemed to fit the bill.
CPU Cooler: I actually already have this as I got gifted it by a friend who rebuilt their PC with a custom loop recently - it is a chunky beast so if I struggle with clearances in the case my backup plan is to swap the supplied fans for some slimmer ones (Arctic P12 Slim perhaps).
Drives: New fancy 2Tb drive for OS + games I play frequently, I will bring over 2x m.2 NVME from my existing system (Evo 870, 1Tb) to use for other storage, I also have an old 1Tb SATA SSD that I will chuck in the back of the case.
£180
(incl. VAT)
£155
(incl. VAT)
£300
(incl. VAT)
£540
(incl. VAT)
£500
(incl. VAT)
MEM-GSK-01360
£140
(incl. VAT)
£113
(incl. VAT)
£77
(incl. VAT)
£196
(incl. VAT)
