Upgrading to a desktop PC

[Greycoat]

Budget (including currency): R50 000 (Rand)

Country: South Africa

Games, programs or workloads that it will be used for: Predominantly for gaming at 1440p, although I'm also a 3D hobbyist (Blender) and like to play around with AI models.

Other details: 

I am looking to upgrade from my current gaming laptop (Ryzen 7 4800H, GTX 1660 Ti) and get my first ever gaming PC. I am planning on saving up to buy my new rig by the end of the year, which would also include a screen and keyboard.

 

So far the parts I've picked out are:

https://builder.wootware.co.za/pc?selections=37154,28581,39724,23318,41710,40508,41037,42108,42954,43232,8549

 

Case: Fractal Design North (Black)

Motherboard: Gigabyte B650 AORUS ELITE AX WiFi

CPU: Ryzen 5 7600X

CPU cooler: DeepCool DP-H12CF-GL240-ARGB GAMMAXX

RAM: G.Skill Ripjaws S5 (2x16GB) DDR5-5200MHz

GPU: Palit GeForce RTX 4070 DUAL

PSU: Super Flower Leadex III 850W

Storage: Samsung 970 EVO 1TB NVMe + Seagate 4TB HDD

OS: Windows 10/11 Home

 

As far as peripherals go:

Monitor: I would like to stick with an IPS monitor with a minimum refresh rate of 120Hz. HDR would be a nice-to-have but it's not critical.

Keyboard: My only criteria is it needs to be full size, though I'm more looking for recommendations on the computer and monitor.

 

Rationale for selected parts:

I'm targeting 100+ FPS in modern titles (max/high settings at 1440p) and minimum 60 FPS with ray-tracing enabled (though preferably higher with DLSS 3). This includes games like Cyberpunk, Control and DOOM Eternal.

I would prefer an AMD CPU given I expect AM5 to have a longer lifetime than Intel sockets (giving me an upgrade path should I need it), although I'm unsure as to the stability of the platform.

I don't have great access to my router to run cabling, which is why I opted for a WiFi enabled motherboard. I've also chosen an 850W PSU to hopefully give me headroom for future upgrades.

 

I would appreciate any suggestions!

[brob]

The North is a fairly expensive case. Consider opting for a less expensive enclosure in favor of improving other parts of the build.

 

Faster memory should not be much more expensive and can make a performance difference.

 

Socket longevity is a poor reason to choose one platform over another. Instead use performance and cost in choosing an optimal system. 

 

Unless you have an immediate need for 4TB of storage, consider getting a 2TB NVMe drive instead of the 1TB+4TB. Even if one needs to chose a lower end model, the performance improvement over HDD is very noticeable. As NVMe drive prices continue to fall adding more storage should not be a hardship.

 

[PC HEROES]

1 hour ago, Greycoat said:

Budget (including currency): R50 000 (Rand)

Country: South Africa

Games, programs or workloads that it will be used for: Predominantly for gaming at 1440p, although I'm also a 3D hobbyist (Blender) and like to play around with AI models.

Other details: 

I am looking to upgrade from my current gaming laptop (Ryzen 7 4800H, GTX 1660 Ti) and get my first ever gaming PC. I am planning on saving up to buy my new rig by the end of the year, which would also include a screen and keyboard.

 

So far the parts I've picked out are:

https://builder.wootware.co.za/pc?selections=37154,28581,39724,23318,41710,40508,41037,42108,42954,43232,8549

 

Case: Fractal Design North (Black)

Motherboard: Gigabyte B650 AORUS ELITE AX WiFi

CPU: Ryzen 5 7600X

CPU cooler: DeepCool DP-H12CF-GL240-ARGB GAMMAXX

RAM: G.Skill Ripjaws S5 (2x16GB) DDR5-5200MHz

GPU: Palit GeForce RTX 4070 DUAL

PSU: Super Flower Leadex III 850W

Storage: Samsung 970 EVO 1TB NVMe + Seagate 4TB HDD

OS: Windows 10/11 Home

 

As far as peripherals go:

Monitor: I would like to stick with an IPS monitor with a minimum refresh rate of 120Hz. HDR would be a nice-to-have but it's not critical.

Keyboard: My only criteria is it needs to be full size, though I'm more looking for recommendations on the computer and monitor.

 

Rationale for selected parts:

I'm targeting 100+ FPS in modern titles (max/high settings at 1440p) and minimum 60 FPS with ray-tracing enabled (though preferably higher with DLSS 3). This includes games like Cyberpunk, Control and DOOM Eternal.

I would prefer an AMD CPU given I expect AM5 to have a longer lifetime than Intel sockets (giving me an upgrade path should I need it), although I'm unsure as to the stability of the platform.

I don't have great access to my router to run cabling, which is why I opted for a WiFi enabled motherboard. I've also chosen an 850W PSU to hopefully give me headroom for future upgrades.

 

I would appreciate any suggestions!

I think this will be better for you, you want to try and combine NVIDIA with Intel if you can. Even though Intel Socket 1700 is not moving forward you can always upgrade to a i7 or i9 if need be. For this reason I went with an Intel build to maximize the benefits. Another reason I picked Intel is because the new AM5 CPUs are literately frying themselves and Motherboards due to a Voltage problem.

 

I have been building PCs for 30 years so if you have any questions please ask and if you like my build then please feel free to mark this as the Solution, Thanks.

 

https://builder.wootware.co.za/pc?selections=36348,43140,40647,40900,43228,42512,37908,41798,40904

 

 

[Greycoat]

3 hours ago, brob said:

The North is a fairly expensive case. Consider opting for a less expensive enclosure in favor of improving other parts of the build.

 

Faster memory should not be much more expensive and can make a performance difference.

 

Socket longevity is a poor reason to choose one platform over another. Instead use performance and cost in choosing an optimal system. 

 

Unless you have an immediate need for 4TB of storage, consider getting a 2TB NVMe drive instead of the 1TB+4TB. Even if one needs to chose a lower end model, the performance improvement over HDD is very noticeable. As NVMe drive prices continue to fall adding more storage should not be a hardship.

 

Fair point on the HDD, I suppose I can always add one in at a later point (or just go for another NVMe). The case is something I'm willing to pay a bit more for, given that the extra cost is a small percentage of the total cost (~5% of my budget). I'll keep what you said in mind when it comes to CPU platform. AM5 is quite a jump when it comes to pricing as well.

[Greycoat]

2 hours ago, PC HEROES said:

I think this will be better for you, you want to try and combine NVIDIA with Intel if you can. Even though Intel Socket 1700 is not moving forward you can always upgrade to a i7 or i9 if need be. For this reason I went with an Intel build to maximize the benefits. Another reason I picked Intel is because the new AM5 CPUs are literately frying themselves and Motherboards due to a Voltage problem.

 

I have been building PCs for 30 years so if you have any questions please ask and if you like my build then please feel free to mark this as the Solution, Thanks.

 

https://builder.wootware.co.za/pc?selections=36348,43140,40647,40900,43228,42512,37908,41798,40904

 

 

Thanks for the suggested build. I was actually considering a 13th gen i5 given the recent AM5 issues.