Time for a new build - overwhelmed..

BumblebeeChewna

BumblebeeChewna

BumblebeeChewna

Associate
Joined
15 Feb 2024
Posts
2
Location
Wales
Afternoon all..

Its been give or take 8 years since I last built a PC! And whilst it still performs admirably (i5 6600k & 1080TI), its an old beaver now and is really struggling with modern gaming. Unfortunately - the market now seems abundant in choice, and review sites all have different opinions and recommendation (it feels like the pointing Spiderman meme). So I'm here seeking some advice from you wise people.

One thing I think I am nailed on with is the CPU - the AMD 7800X3D. All review sites seem harmonious in declaring this the current king of CPUs for gaming - and thats all this rig is going to do. So I am fairly confident its a good choice. This puts me into the AMD realm, and in over 15 years of PC gaming, I've always been Intel - so its new ground for me, but it seems the time is right.

In terms of recommendations, I need advise with the following:
  • Motherboard: I've always used Asus motherboards (I prefer the aesthetics), but the early AM5 Asus Mobo's seem to get a bit of a grilling on reviews.
    • In terms of what I need from the Motherboard - again, this is a new realm for me. I'm not overly concerned about RGB, but cooling will be a priority. I'd like to utilise PCIe 4.0 SSDs (I think? My current rig uses the old 2.5 type so this is all new too me). Also needs to support the 4000 series cards. Wi-Fi's not necessary but would be nice. I'm not overly concerned with User I/O - I dont utilise a lot of ports on my current rig and I dont see that changing.
  • RAM: I think its worthwhile going for DDR5 right? I'd ideally like to end up with 64GB, is it better to get 2x32, or utilise 4x16. Or is 64GB overkill? (I main Escape from Tarkov and RAM seems the hottest ticket for performance). Again, I see speeds mentioned here and there, and 6000MHz being a magic number? I could do with advice here. If you've a solid recommendation for a certain product - shoot!
  • Storage: Is it worthwhile everything being SSD in 2024? Do I get PCIe SSDs and then rock the older 2.5 type or whats the best solution here?
  • PSU: There seems so many on the market.. Who makes a fairly bulletproof product these days and what am I looking for?
  • GPU: Im fairly locked on a 4080/Super at this point. I do have the money for the 4090 but wonder whether its overkill in my situation? If I dont go for a 4090 - I would save the difference and see what the 5000 series cards offer next year.
    • In terms of the 4080/90 cards, are they all fairly similar or are there specific brands/cards that are worth my attention?
  • Cooling: I can deal with generic case fan choice, but the CPU cooler is important here. I've not had the best experience with AIO Watercoolers over the years, but I'm willing to give the technology another go if its a better choice. I'm all ears here..
I think - I can figure the rest out (whats left to figure out I hear you say).. I'm a bit of a bugger for the looks - so the case decision is currently a difficult one for me, although the wooden Fractal Design cases are really taking my fancy.

Moneys not really an issue. Future proofing myself slightly is - it would be great if this rig ties me over for the next five years.

Many thanks for your time and help.

Bumblebee.
 
BumblebeeChewna said:
RAM: I think its worthwhile going for DDR5 right? I'd ideally like to end up with 64GB, is it better to get 2x32, or utilise 4x16. Or is 64GB overkill?
Click to expand...

With AM5 you have to use DDR5. If you're going for 64 GB then you want 2x 32 GB. Do note that there are also 48 GB kits. I have 64 GB in this PC and I very rarely use over 32 GB. It's an indulgence.

BumblebeeChewna said:
Storage: Is it worthwhile everything being SSD in 2024?
Click to expand...

Yes. NVME is the performance king. That said, with games you won't notice much gain over SATA SSDs so if you already have sufficient SATA SSD storage you can just transplant it.

BumblebeeChewna said:
GPU: Im fairly locked on a 4080/Super at this point. I do have the money for the 4090 but wonder whether its overkill in my situation? If I dont go for a 4090 - I would save the difference and see what the 5000 series cards offer next year.
Click to expand...

Nvidia have said that they are moving to a 3 year release cycle, so the 50 Series is expected late next year. But they'll lead with the halo product - the 5090 - and the top consumer 5080. Of course, they could always bring the release date forwards.

BumblebeeChewna said:
Moneys not really an issue.
Click to expand...

If you can afford it, get the 4090. It's still head and shoulders above other cards. As for which GPU manufacturer, go for one with UK RMA and a good warranty. Nvidia themselves and Zotac come to mind.

Have you considered monitors?
 
BumblebeeChewna said:
  • In terms of what I need from the Motherboard - again, this is a new realm for me. I'm not overly concerned about RGB, but cooling will be a priority. I'd like to utilise PCIe 4.0 SSDs (I think? My current rig uses the old 2.5 type so this is all new too me). Also needs to support the 4000 series cards. Wi-Fi's not necessary but would be nice. I'm not overly concerned with User I/O - I dont utilise a lot of ports on my current rig and I dont see that changing.
Click to expand...
Cheapest option at OCUK is the TUF A620-Pro, I believe.

The next step up is the TUF B650-Plus, which gets you an extra M.2 slot (3 in total, 1 is PCI-E 5.0).

The Strix B650E-F adds PCI-E 5.0 graphics.

There are other differences, of course, but I'd start by looking at those 3.
 
Many thanks for your replies all.

@Quartz - DDR5 it is then! With regards to storage, my current SATA is only 512GB I believe - so I'll need to invest in new! I wasn't aware of the Nvidia release schedule shifting to three years. A 4090 seems the most logical choice here then. I will look at your recommedations thankyou. In terms of a monitor - I haven't! I have had my current ROG PG348 for the best part of 7 years now I think? 1440p/100Hz. Its been a great monitor! But the newer OLEDs really tickle my fancy.

@Threepwood - A 4090 it is!

@Tetras - Many thanks for those recommendations, I'll take a look!

Many thanks for your time all.
 
I wouldn't bother with the a620 board, it's ok for the moment and the lower power CPUs (7800x3d is fine) but there are questions marks over future compatibility. AM5 is here for a few years yet like AM4 so in future you might want to upgrade but can't due to being limited by the a620, this link explains the a620 better and why I wouldn't recommend it especially as it seems your not skimping costs and the rig will be built to last https://www.tomshardware.com/news/a...rrives-without-full-support-for-65w-plus-cpus

I can vouch for the tuf b650 plus though, with latest bios updates it appears to be a very stable machine.

Regards ram, I can recommend the Kingston Fury, am5 platform can be funny with ram, I think it was just early adopters that got stung by this, but as I've never had a problem from day 1 with the Kingston fury and it's price - performance ratio I highly recommend it.
 
Threepwood said:
not that the 78003d needs fast ram though because of it's fast L3 cache
all the 78003d needs is 6000mhz ram to go 1:1 with the infinity fabric
Click to expand...
Tbh the cost of 6kmhz ram isn't much more than the slower speeds and seems to be what the majority of the public purchase, so it's a moot point IMO.
 
Last edited:
Mobo: I can recommend the ASUS B650E-E from personal use, this will also future-proof you with some PCIe 5.0 on the GPU and M.2 slots, I'm running this with the 7800X3D, this is pretty much a B670 board other than by name and you can usually find it on sale, the board also comes with a debug digital read-out.

GPU: totally your call, I was in your position, I had the cash for a 4090, I wouldn't have battered an eyelid pulling the trigger on one, but in the end decided the 4080 Super was more than good enough for my needs at the adjusted price-point so just went for a high-end card from Gigabyte (Aorus 4080 Super Master), what I saved has went towards one of the new ASUS ROG OLED monitors and I'll wait and see what happens with the 5000 series cards mid / late 2025.

RAM: again all depends on your usage, if you're just looking at gaming then anything >32gb is just indulgent, I'd probably look at 48gb MAX, whatever you go for I would try to get a dual channel 6000mhz DDR5 kit as this will pair nicely with the 7800X3D and should give you good stability.

Storage: I'd go M.2 NvME, but right now for gaming even PCIe 4.0 drives are probably overkill, PCIe 3.0 would be fine, up to you if you want to save money here, I generally use Crucial drives, I have 2 x Crucial P5 plus drives (1 x 500gb + 1 x 2tb) in my new system, but the P3 Plus would be fine.

Cooling: if you don't want to go the AIO route then something like the Thermalright Peerless Assassin would be fine with the 7800X3D, alternatively AIO wise I'm running the Deepcool LT720, great value and spec for <£100 and has a 360mm rad.

PSU: Aim for a 1000w 80+ Gold, should have enough juice for a 4080 Super / 4090 and offers some future proofing, I would recommend the Corsair RM1000x, but this is really your own personal preference.
 
Last edited:
sx_turbo said:
Cost wise
Click to expand...
so definately worth going 6000mhz for the 1:1 infinity fabric with the 78003d, not a moot point at all..
... it seems like your comment is the real moot point, because the price difference is like £20, not small change in the current crisis, that could cover half of a week's fuel bill
 
Last edited:
Threepwood said:
so definately worth going 6000mhz for the 1:1 infinity fabric with the 78003d, not a moot point at all..
... it seems like your comment is the real moot point, because the price difference is like £20, not small change in the current crisis, that could cover half of a week's fuel bill
Click to expand...
To be honest I'm not sure what your taking issue with here, the 6000mhz is worth it for the x3d. Tbh it also is on non x3d chips aswell.. AMD came out of the gate advocating 6000mhz ram as being optimal for 7000 series chips.

If like the op your going to go to the expense of a 7800x3d, a 4080 super and 64gb of ram, the cost is very much moot.

Had the op been going for a 7500 and an a620 then along with some budget graphics card then yes it might not be a moot point.

However that said, if £20 extra is a stretch due to the current "crisis" then I would probably say ones priorities need to be redirected and maybe a new high end pc is not what one needs
 
Last edited:
sx_turbo said:
like the op your going to go to the expense of a 7800x3d, a 4080 super and 64gb of ram, the cost is very much moot.
Click to expand...
I was not talking about the price of ram, I was saying that the price to performance ram that you were talking about wasn't really relevant, because the 78003d doesn't benefit from fast ram anyway, but it is still worth getting 6000mhz ram for the 1:1 to the infinity fabric, then you start going off on one about how 6000mhz ram isn't much more expensive anyway, which I think makes it all the more reason for going with 600mhz ram, if the op can afford to, idk how strict his budget is, I'm not going to presume that he can afford the extra £20 just because he is spending out on a 78003d which isn't that expensive anyway in the grand scheme of things
 
Last edited:
Threepwood said:
I was not talking about the price of ram, I was saying that the price to performance ram that you were talking about wasn't really relevant, because the 78003d doesn't benefit from fast ram anyway, but it is still worth getting 6000mhz ram for the 1:1 to the infinity fabric, then you start going off on one about how 6000mhz ram isn't much more expensive anyway, which I think makes it all the more reason for going with 600mhz ram,
Click to expand...

It's still not clear what your trying to argue about.

Did you read what you posted?

I said/implied there's not much point in going for less than 6000 ram as the cost difference isnt that much. More to the point I called it moot (other members managed to understand what I meant)

You then argue with me telling me that the op might be struggling for money on his build, when you've specifically advised them to go for the 4090, if the OP is going for a 4090 I'm pretty certain he can afford the extra £20 on ram.

Then in your latest response you say

you start going off on one about how 6000mhz ram isn't much more expensive anyway, which I think makes it all the more reason for going with 600mhz ram,

Which is what I said and what you seem to be taking issue with.

if your going to argue about something at least have a reason to argue

I think enough of the op's thread has been taken with this non sensicle argument so I shan't be responding any further
 
4090 if you’re going 4K, of which there are some really nice new 32” 4K QD-OLEDs from Alienware(curved), ASUS and MSI.
 
honestly would just get the 4080 super/7900xtx if just for gaming
yes the budget is unlimited...but an extra 500 notes is a lot for only a 20-25% performance difference
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom