Tips for constructing a great gaming PC build
Tips for constructing a great gaming PC build
Hello,
I’m planning to purchase a new PC soon, primarily for gaming. I’d like some advice on optimizing the configuration and ways to reduce costs. The setup I’m considering includes:
Sapphire PULSE RX 7800 XT Gaming 16 Gb – 566,99€
AMD Ryzen 7 5800X – 178,99€
Noctua NH-L9a-AM4 – 50,99€
Kingston FURY Beast DDR4 3200 MHz CL16 16 Gb – 38,99€ (twice)
Kingston FURY Beast DDR4 3200 MHz CL16 16 Gb – 38,99€
Asus PRIME B550M-A WIFI II AM4 micro-ATX – 136,99€
WD Black SN770 1 Gb M.2 NVMe SSD – 89,99€
Corsair CX750 ATX, 750 W – 79,99€
Phanteks XT Pro Ultra Mid Tower – 79,99€
Total cost comes to 1261,91€.
The price seems quite high, especially without the operating system included. I’m not sure if I can afford to go beyond this budget. I’ve heard the RX 6800 XT could be suitable for 1440P gaming, but I currently live in Finland and haven’t found a replacement available. I’m seeking suggestions on how to further improve the setup, possible issues, and additional ways to cut costs.
Thank you for your time.
If you require 32 gb of RAM, it's better to purchase a single kit with two matched sticks of 16 gb each. This approach works well with coolers up to 184 mm tall. The choice of a low-profile Noctua model is understandable, but these are usually preferred for narrow setups that can't accommodate a standard full-height tower cooler. Options like U9, U12, D12L or D15 fit your case well due to its width. You may need to upgrade the power supply quality slightly—voltage is fine, but the CX is close to the lower end of Corsair's offerings.
The decision to select this CPU cooler was mainly due to cost considerations. I adjusted the configuration based on your suggestions. I also had to replace the GPU with a more costly model, since the one I initially selected is no longer in stock.
PCPartPicker List of Components
CPU:
*
AMD Ryzen 5 5600 3.5 GHz 6-Core Processor
(€109.80 from Multitronic.fi)
CPU Cooler:
*
Deepcool AG400 75.89 CFM CPU Cooler
(€27.90 from Datatronic)
Motherboard:
*
Gigabyte B550 AORUS ELITE V2 ATX AM4 Motherboard
(€131.90 from Datatronic)
Memory:
*
G.Skill Aegis 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR4-3200 CL16 Memory
(€63.90 from Datatronic)
Storage:
*
TEAMGROUP MP44L 1 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME SSD
(€71.90 from Datatronic)
Video Card:
*
Gigabyte GAMING OC Radeon RX 7800 XT 16 GB Video Card
(€538.80 from Multitronic.fi)
Case:
*
Montech AIR 903 BASE ATX Mid Tower Case
(€68.90 from Datatronic)
Power Supply:
*
Gigabyte UD750GM 750 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply
(€89.90 from Jimm's)
Overall Cost: €1103.00
Prices encompass shipping, taxes, and applicable discounts
*Selected lowest-priced items based on criteria*
Created by PCPartPicker
2024-09-15 13:09 EEST+0300
PCPartPicker List of Components
CPU:
*
Intel Core i5-12400F 2.5 GHz 6-Core Processor
(€124.80 from Multitronic.fi)
CPU Cooler:
*
Deepcool AG400 75.89 CFM CPU Cooler
(€27.90 from Datatronic)
Motherboard:
*
MSI PRO B760-P DDR4 II ATX LGA1700 Motherboard
(€128.90 from Proshop)
Memory:
*
G.Skill Aegis 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR4-3200 CL16 Memory
(€63.90 from Datatronic)
Storage:
*
TEAMGROUP MP44L 1 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME SSD
(€71.90 from Datatronic)
Video Card:
*
Gigabyte GAMING OC Radeon RX 7800 XT 16 GB Video Card
(€538.80 from Multitronic.fi)
Case:
*
Montech AIR 903 BASE ATX Mid Tower Case
(€68.90 from Datatronic)
Power Supply:
*
Gigabyte UD750GM 750 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply
(€89.90 from Jimm's)
Overall Cost: €1115.00
All prices contain shipping, taxes, and applicable discounts
*Selected lowest-priced items based on criteria*
Created by PCPartPicker
2024-09-15 13:34 EEST+0300
for a small extra cost you could upgrade to the
be quiet! Dark Rock Pro 5
you might also find a superior board for this configuration at a slightly higher price:
ROG STRIX B550-F GAMING
i would never suggest using an mATX board unless it was essential because of space limitations.
and, at the same price point, you can obtain a better case:
be quiet! Shadow Base 800
I approve of the suggestion to buy a 2 stick ram kit.
Ram is sold in kits for a reason.
Matching is necessary for the ram to operate at stated speeds.
Noctua makes some very good air coolers and your case is a good one for air cooling.
But such a low profile cooler like the NH-L9a-AM4 is marginal at best.
https://ncc.noctua.at/cpus/model/AMD-Ryzen-7-5800X-1046
If you have the funds, Noctua is the best quality and easiest to install.
NH-D15s is my favorite.
But, there are other alternatives for the budget minded.
Thermalright makes a good twin tower cooler with a 140mm fan, the FC140.
I have no problem with a MATX motherboard .
It has 4 expansion slots vs. 7 for ATX,
How many do you plan to use?
For most, it is exactly one for the graphics card.
What kind of gaming do you do?
Fast action games or higher resolutions want good graphics.
Cpu centric games like sims, strategy and MMO want fast processors, particularly high in single thread performance.
Tom's gpu hierarchy chart will give you the relative capabilities of various graphics cards.
Budget is always an issue, and I think the CX750 is a marginal pick, but a decent budget choice.
1) 750w does not leave much headroom for a gpu upgrade in the future. 850w may not cost much more.
2) it only has a 5 year warranty, to insure quality. look for at least a 7 year warranty.
A good psu is a long term investment and can insure against strange problems.
Ryzen is dependent on fast ram for performance. 3600 speed is supposedly the sweet spot.
Verify that whatever ram kit you buy is on the motherboard ram qvl support list, or is otherwise supported by the ram vendor.
All this looks like it will exceed your budget.
As an alternative, have you considered Intel?
I do not know euro pricing.
Because of the 13/14th gen degradation issuses discovered last summer, there is some panic selling of intel processors.
Such issues have by now been addressed,
I5-13400 is comparable to a R7-5800X and comes with an adequate cooler.
It includes integrated graphics(the F suffix versions are cheaper w/o graphics)
Thank you for your feedback and the detailed comparison. I’ve been reviewing the options and adjusting prices as needed. Some of the recommended parts turned out to be either too costly or not available upon closer look, but I managed to assemble another similar configuration at another store, using some of the ideas above. Here’s what I came up with:
AMD Ryzen 7 5700X – 159,90€
Gigabyte 750W UD750GM – 89,90€
Gigabyte B550 AORUS ELITE V2 – 151,90€
G.Skill 32GB (2 x 16GB) Ripjaws V – 67,90€
Western Digital 1TB WD_BLACK SN770 – 83,90€
Noctua NH-U12S SE-AM4 – 80,90€
Sapphire Radeon RX 7800 XT PULSE – 554,90€
Phanteks Eclipse G360A – 99,90€
Grand total: 1 289,20€
This setup seems more balanced.
As for your question about game preferences, I focus mainly on MMOs and strategy titles. If you prefer to upgrade the GPU slightly while improving the CPU, it could be worth considering. Let me know if you’d like more details!
The Noctua U12 is a solid cooler. If you're on a tight budget, you might find other brands offering comparable performance at a lower cost—possibly saving 20 to 30 euros.
Can you find the G Skill Flare with similar specifications and price as the G Skill Ripjaws?
I changed the Noctua U12 to a Thermalright Peerless Assassin 120 SE ARGB. It's cheaper than the original and has good reviews. The G Skill Flares aren't available here, and another store listed them at 111,99€, making the price difference significant. Would you recommend switching to a different memory brand? Also, are there any issues with the G Skill Ripjaws? I'm also thinking about using Thermal Grizzly Kryosheets instead of thermal paste for the CPU on my AMD Ryzen 7 5700X. Do you know how much would be needed?