Create a new guide for gaming.
Create a new guide for gaming.
Hi. I would appreciate some help with my gaming PC build. I'm shopping in
Finland
for the parts. My old PC is well over a decade old and I'm a bit out of touch with what's going on in field of PCs. But not totally. My aim is to build (or have built for me) a PC that offers enough performance for gaming at very high graphic settings, but at good price to performance. I'm not a competitve gamer and I don't plan to play fast first person shooters online at ultra settings, where every fps and response time might count.
The thing is, my old PC has had the same CPU for well over a decade. Old Intel i5. I started having problems running games when the PC wasn't more than few years old. Turned out the GPU was bad (I was a newbie back then, still am). I upgraded it to a ''new'' one that was around 4-5 years old at the time. It was as old then as 3060 Ti is now, but it enabled me to push that PC with a 6-7 year old CPU and a 4-5 year old GPU to run games like World of Tanks at very high if not the very best graphic settings at high frames per second rate.
So that's why I figured that I don't necessarely need the best of the best right now either. If I'd spend 400 € on a GPU today, would it be enough for the next ~3 years? If I upgraded it then with a new 400 € GPU, would I end up having a better GPU than if I spent 800 € on one today? This is really where I need some help. I don't really know what is enough right now and where the sweet spot is at price to performance.
Approximate Purchase Date:
September/October this year. Unlikely able to postpone it 'till Black Friday.
Budget Range:
This is where I actually need some help. I can buy a more expensive PC if necessary, but my aim is good price to performance midtier, not super high-end. With a monitor, mouse and keyboard? Let's say 3000 €, but that's the very top end.
System Usage from Most to Least Important:
Gaming is what requires performance, that's why I need a good build. Otherwise, it's mostly surfing online, Excel and that sort of stuff. No video editing or streaming.
Are you buying a monitor:
Yes.
Do you need to buy OS:
Yes
Preferred Website(s) for Parts:
Jimms.fi, but others are okay aswell. As long as they're in Finland.
Location:
Finland.
Parts Preferences:
No real preferences.
Overclocking:
Maybe, if need be. I want a reliable and stable setup that runs smoothly, but overclocking could become possible later when the PC starts to stay behind.
Multiple GPUs:
No.
Your Monitor Resolution:
I've done okay with 1920x1080 p for a very long time. It could be good enough in future aswell, but I would maybe want a 27" or even bigger monitor. I have no experience in higher formats, but I have a feeling that 4K would not fit into my aim of a good price to performance midtier PC.
Additional Comments:
I want to focus in reliability and stability here, as I've had enough problems with PCs and cars and other stuff before. So I don't want more machinery that starts breaking up! Good airflow is essential, and good thermals in general. Low noise levels are not first priority. Clean, more mature looks for the PC are highly appreciated. I'm maybe thinking of NZXT cases, or Fractal Design Meshify or Corsair 4000D Airflow or something like that. And components that don't look awful inside of them.
Also
, I would like to have a PC that I can upgrade later
. I have experience in upgrading a GPU and all suddenly the weak PC became very good at gaming. So I would like to be able to switch in a new GPU later, perhaps a new CPU too , without the need of upgrading all the other parts too. So, for example, I might want a motherboard and power supply that would allow this.
And Most Importantly, Why Are You Upgrading:
My several years old mobile phone has a faster CPU than my PC. Plus I need Windows 11 and my old PC can't handle it.
Here's my list:
PCPartPicker Part List
CPU:
AMD Ryzen 5 9600X 3.9 GHz 6-Core Processor
(€219.90 @ Proshop)
CPU Cooler:
ARCTIC Freezer 36 CPU Cooler
(€34.90 @ Jimm's)
Motherboard:
Gigabyte B850 AORUS ELITE WIFI7 ICE ATX AM5 Motherboard
(€228.90 @ Datatronic)
Memory:
Patriot Viper Venom 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR5-6000 CL30 Memory
(€105.90 @ Datatronic)
Storage:
Lexar NM710 2 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive
(€106.90 @ Datatronic)
Video Card:
XFX Swift OC Radeon RX 9060 XT 16 GB Video Card
(€439.00 @ Datatronic)
Case:
Corsair FRAME 4000D ATX Mid Tower Case
(€83.80 @ Multitronic.fi)
Power Supply:
Montech CENTURY II 850 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply
(€108.90 @ Proshop)
Operating System:
Microsoft Windows 11 Home Retail - USB 64-bit
(€136.90 @ Datatronic)
Total:
€1465.10
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by
PCPartPicker
2025-08-22 17:02 EEST+0300
Here are all the parts you currently have. You can probably reuse some of them.
In the past, it was a good idea to budget twice the cost of the CPU for the graphics card.
The mining craze broke that guideline, but it might still hold value today.
What kinds of games do you enjoy?
Certain titles are limited by graphics capabilities, such as fast-paced shooters.
Others depend on CPU speed, like strategy, simulation, and multiplayer games.
Multiplayer usually requires many threads.
When choosing monitors, think carefully—monitors are often long-term investments.
Opt for a larger or higher resolution model, and keep your existing one as a secondary display.
There’s no way to truly future-proof; your requirements will evolve and products will become more affordable.
Purchase what you’re certain you’ll need for the next two years, and consider upgrading your graphics setup, which is the most frequent upgrade for gamers.
Hey there.
Everything looks good, but I'd swap the cooler out for a Thermalright Peerless Assassin. Much better cooler.
If you are only gaming, then the 9600x is fine. If you plan to stream or multitask while gaming (music, discord and the like running in the background then you should go for an 8 core CPU, like the 9700x or 9800x3d.
PCPartPicker Parts Selection CPU: * AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D 4.2 GHz 8-Core OEM/Tray Processor (€354.90 @ Proshop) CPU Cooler: * ID-COOLING FROZN A620 PRO SE 58 CFM CPU Cooler (€42.89 @ Proshop) Motherboard: * ASRock B850 Pro-A WiFi ATX AM5 Motherboard (€179.90 @ Datatronic) Memory: * GOODRAM IRDM 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR5-6000 CL30 Memory (€115.90 @ Datatronic) Storage: * Silicon Power UD90 2 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME SSD (€118.90 @ Datatronic) Video Card: * Gigabyte GAMING OC Radeon RX 9070 XT 16 GB Video Card (€749.90 @ Jimm's) Case: * Montech AIR 903 BASE ATX Mid Tower Case (€65.90 @ Jimm's) Power Supply: * Montech CENTURY II 850 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply (€108.90 @ Proshop) Monitor: * AOC Q27G4X 27.0" 2560 x 1440 180 Hz Monitor (€202.90 @ Multitronic.fi) Overall Cost: €1940.09 Costs encompass shipping, taxes, and applicable discounts *Selected components based on predefined parameters Created by PCPartPicker 2025-08-22 17:13 EEST+0300 For more details see the listed links. Additional references available upon request.
First of all, thanks everyone for replies!
Well, the motherboard has no brand. It's just that green circuit board. RAM follows this trend aswell. Green seems to have been the thing before. No heatsinks, can't see a brand name. And it's DDR3, probably rather slow too. CPU is Intel i5-650 and curiously the case came without fans so I'm pretty sure that I cannot reuse anything
.. PSU isn't modular either and the cables hide most of the motherboard inside the tiny compact closed case with no holes for intake air.
I haven't played any games for years and now that I need a new computer for work aswell, I thought that I'd buy one that I can use for gaming which I used to love. I'm not entirely sure what games there are available these days, but Fallout-series and Baldur's Gate 3 are definitely on my list. Maybe even Dragon Age. But I really like a lot of different games. Strategy games like the Total War series, and why not even first person shooters and the like, although I'm not planning to play those very actively. Except Fallout of course.
I used to play some role-playing games online and that was fun, so I'll keep in mind what you said about many threads. And I'm assuming that you mean CPU threads.
Monitor is definitely something I need to think about carefully.
What comes to future proofing, you're probably right there, but I was definitely thinking of upgrading my GPU in the future. Perhaps to something that is now a top tier GPU but definitely out of my reach at the moment.
I haven't seen that site yet, but I came upon these build suggestions on PCpartpicker's website and that's actually what made me thinking about all this. I had read about components and people tended to recommend something like 7800X3D and 9070 XT, but on these lists (like the one that you posted and PCpartpicker's list), that build would already be in a premium category. Even 7800 XT is considered ''excellent' in these lists,
7800X3D and 9070 XT seem to be a very popular choise, and I suppose I could assume that they are rather "future proof" in a way that they're right now still totally overkill if those FPS-ratings were recorded with Ultra or High settings. There's plenty of room for the performance to drop in the next few years. I haven't played games for a very long time like I said, but isn't 60 FPS usually considered "good enough"?
I'm not sure if I manage to write down my thoughts clearly, but I'll try. I'm wondering if there's any point in paying a good deal of extra for a GPU (like 9070 XT or even 5070 Ti) that is much more powerful than a ~40% cheaper GPU (e.g 7700 XT), but it is difficult to see any difference between the two because they both offer similar experience for one's eyes (both offering sufficient FPS). You know? I would start to see the difference in few years maybe, but until then they would both perform relatively similarily.
If you people think that 9070 XT is still a better option, then I'll probably get it. But if you think that going with something significantly cheaper (but sufficient) and replacing it with a better one in few years is better, then I'll probably do the latter. I know that there's likely not going to be one right answer to this dilemma though! Nobody knows what happens to GPU prices in the future. Or if there's some big leap in technology and it's better to make a big upgrade instead.