Seeking guidance on developing a build concept.
Seeking guidance on developing a build concept.
After waiting to see what Intel/AMD/Nvidia would release this year, I've decided to build a list on PCpartpicker so I can track prices and eventually buy a full new PC build. If I had to guess, prices will be more stable in 3+ months time which is likely when I'll pull the trigger.
Current PC is an i7 9700k, 2070, 32gb DDR3 RAM.
UK market.
Use case will mostly be for games but also large/high quality video file size editing/rendering and photo editing suites. The aim is having as quiet a PC as possible as I am tired of hearing my old EVGA 2070 fans while it draws its final breaths.
Due to what the GPU market is like at the moment, my goal was to build an extremely powerful PC with reasonable "future proofing" (which I'm aware is a bit of a buzzword) by having a really strong build with a mid range GPU I can look to upgrade in the future, and get a bit more life out of this build without too many other component upgrades outside of maybe CPU. I'm going for an AM5 socket build as I believe it will be supported until at least 2027 so there should be room to upgrade with future releases, would like to hear opinions on this too.
Since I'm looking to get a full AMD build I am also thinking of having my main OS be Linux, and dual booting W11 for the handful of programs that will require it. Most of what I use can be ran on Linux.
Budget: £2000-£3000 however I have a feeling this build will go down in price over the next 3 months anyway.
https://uk.pcpartpicker.com/list/8639yW
CPU: 9800X3D
Seems like a no brainer, 9950X3D doesn't seem worth it for my use case and in some situations has worse performance for more power use/heat.
Cooling: Noctua NH-D15 Chromax.black
Personal preference, I really like a quiet PC and I like the Chromax.black range from Noctua. I personally dislike water cooling.
Motherboard: Gigabyte X870 AORUS ELITE
This one I'm not sure on, it seems like a good motherboard and was a recommendation but I'd like to hear opinions on this. I currently have to use a WiFi connection but this may change in the future after a house move. The built in WiFi is great but I do have an Asus wireless receiver already that works fine so it's not a requirement.
RAM: Corsair Vengeance 64gb DDR5-6000 CL30
Ideally looking for something around 6000mhz at CL30 to match my CPU choice. Not fully sold on Corsair just yet but it seems to be a good choice for the rest of my build, 64gb because I work with large files and sometimes I do have a little bit of slowdown on my current 32gb. RAM is surprisingly cheap here at the moment so 64gb vs 32gb isn't going to set me back that much more. Unsure if anything more than 6000mhz will be worthwhile but would consider if it would give a performance increase.
Storage: Western Digital WD_Black SN850X
I was looking at the Samsung 990 Pro however it seems to have a few issues including excess heat, decided the SN850X will be more than enough. For reference, my current PC has a Samsung 970 which wasn't fast enough for saving large video files, I had to get a secondary 980 NVMe which worked well enough and fixed all issues I was facing so I do need fast drive speed outside of just regular OS/game use.
GPU: Sapphire NITRO+ 9070 XT 16gb
Seems like the best 9070 available at the moment with fantastic thermals, I'm after a quiet PC so the build quality is just as important as base clock speeds. I'd like a full AMD build for Linux in mind, and I'm not too impressed with Nvidia's recent releases. Maybe in the future I will switch back to Nvidia but for now I'd like to get a 9070 XT. I was also looking at the 9700 XTX 24gb for the nice boost in VRAM but this doesn't seem to be the better choice after all? A newer card might be better for future drivers/features.
Case: Antec FLUX PRO ATX Full Tower Case
Open to advice for "quiet" cases with great thermals. This comes highly rated as a case with a high thermal rating which in turn would mean a quieter PC. Had a look at the Be Quiet! range but Antec seems to have them beat?
PSU: Be Quiet! Pure Power 12 M 1000 W 80+ Gold
Went back and forth between this and the Corsair HX1000i. Want good wattage overhead for future upgrades so decided on 850w-1000w but open to advice on this.
Any advice or suggested changes for a build like this? I believe I'll also need to get an AM5 frame for my Noctua cooler which I'll make sure to do before I start building.
The overall setup appears solid though I recommend including a small capacity SSD for your operating system if you're not moving anything from your previous build. Also, consider adding a mechanical drive to store all your productions. Many people have faced issues losing their work because of unexpected events and data recovery became nearly impossible (and sometimes expensive). If you're planning gaming and production, then add another 4TB SSD specifically for video scrubbing. Besides what was mentioned earlier, your build is ready to proceed!
Here’s the revised version maintaining the same structure and details:
I would approach this project with a quiet build in mind:
PCPartPicker Part List
CPU:
AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D 4.7 GHz 8-Core Processor
(£473.18 @ Amazon UK)
CPU Cooler:
be quiet! Dark Rock Elite CPU Cooler
(£103.93 @ Amazon UK)
Motherboard:
Gigabyte X870 AORUS ELITE WIFI7 ATX AM5 Motherboard
(£274.95 @ AWD-IT)
Memory:
G.Skill Trident Z5 Neo RGB 64 GB (2 x 32 GB) DDR5-6000 CL26 Memory
(£333.30 @ Newegg UK)
Storage:
Crucial T705 1 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 5.0 X4 NVME SSD
(£127.99 @ Amazon UK)
Storage:
Crucial T500 4 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME SSD
(£237.95 @ Amazon UK)
Video Card:
Sapphire NITRO+ Radeon RX 9070 XT 16 GB Video Card
(£800.00)
Case:
Antec FLUX PRO ATX Full Tower Case
(£168.94 @ NeoComputers)
Power Supply:
be quiet! Dark Power 13 850 W 80+ Titanium Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply
(£198.80 @ MoreCoCo)
Overall Cost:
£2719.04
All prices cover shipping, taxes, and applicable discounts
Created by
PCPartPicker
2025-03-18 16:44 GMT+0000
This design suits compact form factors with a white aesthetic. The antec case measures 71L, while this variant is 31L, maintaining a relatively quiet operation.
PCPartPicker List of Components
CPU:
AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D 4.7 GHz 8-Core Processor
(£474.18 @ Amazon UK)
CPU Cooler:
Thermalright Grand Vision ARGB 69 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler
(£115.00 @ Computer Orbit)
Motherboard:
Gigabyte X870I AORUS PRO ICE Mini ITX AM5 Motherboard
(£301.99 @ CCL Computers)
Memory:
G.Skill Trident Z5 Neo RGB 64 GB (2 x 32 GB) DDR5-6000 CL26 Memory
(£333.30 @ Newegg UK)
Storage:
Crucial T705 1 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 5.0 X4 NVME SSD
(£127.99 @ Amazon UK)
Storage:
Crucial T500 4 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME SSD
(£237.95 @ Amazon UK)
Video Card:
Sapphire PURE Radeon RX 9070 XT 16 GB Video Card
(£799.99)
Case:
Jonsbo D31 MESH MicroATX Mini Tower Case
(£65.00 @ Computer Orbit)
Power Supply:
SeaSonic Focus GX V4 ATX 3 (2024) 850 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply
(£149.00 @ Computer Orbit)
Overall Cost:
£2604.40
All prices encompass shipping, taxes, and applicable discounts.
This information was created by PCPartPicker.
March 18, 2025 17:20 GMT+0000
I believe focusing on forecasting prices is a bigger issue. Prices could drop, but there will probably be downsides not in your favor. Changes like higher shipping costs or "included" being updated to "ordered separately" might happen, or prices might rise with those adjustments. It’s great you’re thinking ahead. Consider your budget carefully and decide on a buy-now value or an Option 2 build. Prices may move either way, but I think the downside is more likely now—pessimism accepted. Regardless, assess the risks from your perspective and prepare backup plans.
You're not limited to purchasing everything at once; you can buy some items now if you find a good offer and complete the project later. This way, you could acquire all your essential parts except the graphics card, and then upgrade it six months from now.
Thank you all for your replies. I’ll take into account the alternative sections and decide the order of purchases. Regarding extra storage, I should have noted that I’ll reuse the Samsung 980 from my previous setup since it’s the latest component. I might also look into a bigger HDD as a backup, maybe even an external one, and will think about it further.
PCPartPicker Part List
CPU Cooler:
*Please be quiet! Dark Rock Pro 5 CPU Cooler (£77.95 @ AWD-IT)*
Memory:
*Patriot Venom 64 GB (2 x 32 GB) DDR5-6000 CL30 Memory (£160.99 @ Amazon UK)*
Storage:
*Western Digital WD_Black SN850X 4 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME SSD (£249.98 @ Amazon UK)*
Case:
*Lian Li LANCOOL 216 ATX Mid Tower Case (£89.00 @ Computer Orbit)*
Power Supply:
*MSI A1000G PCIE5 1000 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply (£155.98 @ CCL Computers)*
Total: £733.90
Includes shipping, taxes, and applicable discounts
*Selected lowest-priced items based on criteria*
Generated by PCPartPicker
2025-03-19 16:32 GMT+0000
https://www.bequiet.com/en/cpucooler/4466
https://www.msi.com/Power-Supply/MPG-A1000G-PCIE5
LANCOOL 216 - LIAN LI offers a leading PC case solution | Computer Cases
I no longer believe in those AG MSI PSUs.
They've shown they can't handle even basic safeguards.