Time for a new build

[XWAUForceflow]

Budget (including currency): Not really a constraint. I don't want to waste money, but if it's a sensible upgrade I don't mind spending even 2,000€ on this.

Country: Germany

Games, programs or workloads that it will be used for: Blender, very large images in Photoshop, I do enjoy FPS shooters (Cyberpunk 2077 being one example) but gaming isn't my main concern.

Other details:
My main focus for an upgrade from my 2020 built (https://de.pcpartpicker.com/list/KzVNvW with 64GB of RAM) is to have a system that I can speed up my Blender renders. Current GPU is a 3080 TI, which will be moved over into the new system until the 5080 TI (hopefully my 24GB VRAM) will be out. (GPU does not factor into the current budget!) I need 64GB of RAM for my productivity. Currently using 4x16GB sticks which sucks, because XMP is not working when I use 4 sticks. (Seems to be a known issue when watching LTT) That's why I selected the 2x32GB this time.

I threw together a really quick partslist here:

https://de.pcpartpicker.com/list/LvKLMC

It's really just selecting the best reviewed item of each category that I thought made sense. (I do want PCIe 5 and at least 3 better 4 M.2 slots in total and like Noctua.)
I am really not sure about the 9950X3D versus the 9800X3D. I selected the 9800X3D because I am not sure what benefit the 9950 would bring. Also not sure if the 1000W power supply will be enough. GPUs these days seem to be pretty insane.

If anybody has some ides on how to optimize the system, I would be thankful.

 

[edit-1]

Does anybody have a suggestion for a different case than the Fractal Design North XL? I just realized that it only has 2 USB-A ports on the front. That's a big bummer, I already use two permanently and really like the ability to quickly plugin a different USB device.

Also, any suggestions on what I should get for fans? I know a few brands now have those attachable fans so that you only need one cable. Any good (quiet) brands for that? Also, is it better to have more smaller fans or less larger ones?

[filpo]

2 hours ago, XWAUForceflow said:

https://de.pcpartpicker.com/list/FzXZh7

If you do want an air cooler then get the thermalright alternatives, they perform better for much less BUT they're not as quiet as noctua. For the mix of nosie and performance I'd say the dark rock pro 5 is the best option for it's silence and performance https://de.pcpartpicker.com/product/LyyH99/be-quiet-dark-rock-pro-5-cpu-cooler-bk036  (reviews on pcpp said so). If you MUST get noctua then get the V2 NH-D15

 

Why are you spending so much on RGB ram? You won't be able to see it because you'll have a huge heatsink in the way. Save 100 euros and get this https://de.pcpartpicker.com/product/RHCZxr/patriot-venom-64-gb-2-x-32-gb-ddr5-6000-cl30-memory-pvv564g600c30k

 

Get a X4 SSD for full speed (you have the budget, and it's only 20 euros more) https://de.pcpartpicker.com/product/z98Pxr/crucial-p510-2-tb-m2-2280-pcie-50-x4-nvme-solid-state-drive-ct2000p510ssd8

 

Why an SFX PSU? It'll be louder than an ATX and have no benefit for you since you're already getting a very large case regarless (for the heatsink and 5090). I'd get this https://de.pcpartpicker.com/product/L7CZxr/be-quiet-straight-power-12-1200-w-80-platinum-certified-fully-modular-atx-power-supply-bn339

 

For the case only one I could really find is the 7000D airflow, but it is just such a large case I don't think you'd go for it. https://de.pcpartpicker.com/product/4fhFf7/corsair-7000d-airflow-atx-mid-tower-case-cc-9011218ww (it's takes up more than 20L more than the fractal north XL)

EDIT: I found some more 

https://de.pcpartpicker.com/product/gQWBD3/phanteks-enthoo-pro-2-atx-full-tower-case-ph-es620ptg_dbk01

https://de.pcpartpicker.com/product/MzH8TW/fractal-design-define-7-dark-atx-mid-tower-case-fd-c-def7a-03 (or any variation of Define 7) 
https://de.pcpartpicker.com/product/rFH8TW/thermaltake-s300-tempered-glass-edition-atx-mid-tower-case-ca-1p5-00m1wn-00

 

Here's the full edited list

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D 4.7 GHz 8-Core Processor  (€449.00 @ notebooksbilliger.de) 
CPU Cooler: be quiet! Dark Rock Pro 5 CPU Cooler  (€90.92 @ Amazon Deutschland) 
Motherboard: MSI MAG X870 TOMAHAWK WIFI ATX AM5 Motherboard  (€279.54 @ Amazon Deutschland) 
Memory: Patriot Venom 64 GB (2 x 32 GB) DDR5-6000 CL30 Memory  (€258.90 @ Alza) 
Storage: Crucial P510 2 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 5.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive  (€149.69 @ Amazon Deutschland) 
Case: Corsair 7000D AIRFLOW ATX Full Tower Case  (€274.77 @ Amazon Deutschland) 
Power Supply: be quiet! Straight Power 12 1200 W 80+ Platinum Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply  (€216.99 @ Computeruniverse) 
Total: €1719.81
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2025-10-29 15:02 CET+0100

2 hours ago, XWAUForceflow said:

Also, any suggestions on what I should get for fans? I know a few brands now have those attachable fans so that you only need one cable. Any good (quiet) brands for that?

https://de.pcpartpicker.com/product/YwmmP6/phanteks-ph-f120t30-101-cfm-120-mm-fans-3-pack-ph-f120t30_bg_3p best for airflow and noise (they are slightly thicker than normal ones at 30mm compared to 25mm but since I linked the 7000D airflow above there won't be a problem with clearance)

Edited October 29, 2025 by filpo
Added more cases

[venomtail]

Always here to play around with ideas.

 

How about we just upgrade the CPU? 5950X from a 3900X has to be a decent uplift.

 

I've added 2x32GB sticks but price is stupid, not worth it. When you say 4 sticks don't work, can you explain more? Zen 2 Ryzen were still plagued with memory controller issues but not as bad as Zen or Zen+. Is it not stable at 3600MHz with 4 sticks? Maybe try 3400MHz. Then 3200MHz, keep going down until it's stable. Worst case scenario it'll be stable just below 3000MHz and you'd give up 1-2% performance maybe?

 

I have 4 stick 2700X and unstable at 3200MHz but is at 3000MHz, so that's where I left it at.

 

For the new PC, 3D CPU is not needed for you at all, especially when you said gaming isn't that important. Not sure why you're selecting the XL case when normal is just fine. Also why pay extra for a small PSU when a normal one will be cheaper and work better?

 

Upgrade could look something like this:

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 9 5950X 3.4 GHz 16-Core Processor  (€258.31 @ Proshop) 
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-D15 chromax.black 82.52 CFM CPU Cooler  (Purchased For €0.00) 
Motherboard: Asus ROG Strix X570-E Gaming ATX AM4 Motherboard  (Purchased For €0.00) 
Memory: Patriot Viper Steel 64 GB (2 x 32 GB) DDR4-3600 CL18 Memory  (€222.90 @ Alza) 
Storage: Sabrent Rocket 1 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 3.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive  (Purchased For €0.00) 
Storage: Sabrent Rocket 4.0 1 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive  (Purchased For €0.00) 
Case: Fractal Design Define R6 USB-C Blackout ATX Mid Tower Case  (Purchased For €0.00) 
Power Supply: BitFenix Whisper M 750 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply  (Purchased For €0.00) 
Case Fan: ARCTIC P12 PST 56.3 CFM 120 mm Fans 5-Pack  (Purchased For €0.00) 
Total: €481.21
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2025-10-29 15:42 CET+0100

[Why_Me]

@XWAUForceflow you want a 140mm exhaust fan for that Fractal North case and a SSD with DRAM cache.

 

Example: 

PCPartPicker Part List

Case Fan: *ARCTIC P14 PST 72.8 CFM 140 mm Fan  (€7.39 @ Alza) 
Total: €7.39
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
*Lowest price parts chosen from parametric criteria
Generated by PCPartPicker 2025-10-29 17:11 CET+0100 

 

This case down below includes two sound dampening side panels.

 

https://www.asus.com/motherboards-components/motherboards/tuf-gaming/tuf-gaming-z890-plus-wifi/  

https://geizhals.de/asus-tuf-gaming-z890-plus-wifi-90mb1iq0-m0eay0-a3330387.html  

Asus TUF GAMING Z890-PLUS WIFI €265,90

 

https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/products/sku/241063/intel-core-ultra-7-processor-265k-30m-cache-up-to-5-50-ghz/specifications.html

https://geizhals.de/intel-core-ultra-7-265k-bxc80768265k-a3329421.html   

Intel Core Ultra 7 265K €285,79

 

https://www.tomshardware.com/pc-components/air-cooling/thermalright-royal-pretor-130-review

https://geizhals.de/thermalright-royal-pretor-130-black-a3469582.html 

Thermalright Royal Pretor 130 Black €47,29

 

https://geizhals.de/kingston-fury-beast-schwarz-dimm-kit-64gb-kf564c32bbek2-64-a3165333.html  

Kingston FURY Beast DDR5-6400 64GB (2x32GB) CL32 €309,95

 

https://www.gigabyte.com/SSD/AORUS-Gen4-7300-SSD-2TB

https://geizhals.de/gigabyte-aorus-gen4-7300-ssd-2tb-ag4732tb-n-a3471954.html

Gigabyte AORUS Gen4 7300 2TB M.2 PCIe 4.0 x4 NVMe SSD €132,90

 

https://www.bequiet.com/en/powersupply/5944  

https://hwbusters.com/psus/be-quiet-pure-power-13-m-1000w-atx-v3-1-psu-review/11/

https://geizhals.de/be-quiet-pure-power-13-m-1000w-atx-3-1-bp028eu-a3503705.html   

be quiet! Pure Power 13 M 1000W ATX 3.1 €149,88

 

https://www.antec.com/product/case/flux-se

https://geizhals.de/antec-flux-se-0-761345-10177-6-a3464627.html

Antec Flux SE €102,38

 

Total: €1294,09

 

https://geizhals.de/?fs=microsoft+windows+11+home&hloc=at&hloc=de 

Microsoft Windows 11 Home €36,00

 

Alternative cpu cooler: 

ARCTIC Liquid Freezer III Pro 360 €79,90 

 

Alternative SSD with DRAM cache:

https://geizhals.de/samsung-ssd-990-pro-2tb-mz-v9p2t0bw-a2795958.html 

Samsung 990 Pro 2TB M.2 PCIe 4.0 x4 NVMe SSD €159,00

[XWAUForceflow]

Just for clarification, I realized my wording was a bit misleading. I am not really looking into upgrading my build. I do want a new PC, the old one as is was just to show from where I am coming from. (And that one will most likely go to my dad once I have my new PC)

 

@filpo Regarding the CPU cooler, noise is a big concern of mine. So if the Noctua is less noisy I would certainly go for it. I couldn't find the V2 NH-D15, I am assuming you mean the NH-D15 G2? Again, if noise performance is the best there I don't mind spending the money. Great tip about the memory and SSD and that I accidentally got an SFX Power Supply. (Bad filter)
I don't really like the look of the 7000D, so I think I would stick to the Fractal and suffer the missing USB ports. (It's not a huge thing and I think I can move one of the sticks to the back anyways) Unfortunately that means that the added height of the Phanteks might be an issue?

@venomtail I really want to upgrade from AM4 to AM5 since I want to get a new PC anyways. Old one is going to be cycled to my dad. My issue is that as soon as I try any XMP profile with the 4 sticks the PC will bootloop and then finally fail resetting the BIOS. Not an issue for my dad (I will simply remove two sticks) but that's why I went with 2 32GB sticks for my new PC instead of 4 16GB sticks.
The power supply was an error on my side, and the XL case seems to be just slightly bigger than my current one so I figured it would be a good match. And with GPUs getting stupidly large I wand to make sure to have enough space in there.
What would you suggest for a CPU? Single core boost performance matters for me, and I do game, it's just not the most important part of the build. That's why I figured the 9800X3D would be a nice compromise as it should still be a great CPU for gaming.

@Why_Me Any particular reason you went with Intel? These days the consensus seems to be that they are behind when it comes to CPUs. While the Intel Core Ultra 7 265K looks good on paper, in Photoshop the 9800X3D does appear to be quite a bit better. (Which is the main use case for me) I also do like that at least historically speaking there is a good chance that I can use AM5 much longer than LGA 1851. Though granted, the 265K is a lot cheaper than the 9800.

[Why_Me]

21 minutes ago, XWAUForceflow said:

@Why_Me Any particular reason you went with Intel? These days the consensus seems to be that they are behind when it comes to CPUs. While the Intel Core Ultra 7 265K looks good on paper, in Photoshop the 9800X3D does appear to be quite a bit better. (Which is the main use case for me) I also do like that at least historically speaking there is a good chance that I can use AM5 much longer than LGA 1851. Though granted, the 265K is a lot cheaper than the 9800.

Do you have a link showing the 9800x3D outperforms that i7 Ultra in Blender and Photoshop.

 

Games, programs or workloads that it will be used for: Blender, very large images in Photoshop, I do enjoy FPS shooters (Cyberpunk 2077 being one example) but gaming isn't my main concern.

[XWAUForceflow]

It doesn't in Blender, but that doesn't matter as for Blender only the GPU matters. For Photoshop I found two sites that had performance checks where both showed the AMD outperforming the Intel. Have to check later if I can find them again.

 

[Edit]

https://www.pugetsystems.com/labs/articles/amd-ryzen-7-9800x3d-content-creation-review/?srsltid=AfmBOoreem9sy13IWH8n6wOGq4WOkTXLL7g7d3grftx992OtMgcBWNKD

 

https://tech4gamers.com/ryzen-7-9800x3d-vs-core-ultra-7-265k/

 

The Intel does seem to also use a lot more power under load. This does mitigate the higher price a little bit. (Power is expensive here, though it's still going to be cheaper)

 

Have to take another look at it, might be worth considering at the much lower price. Though still liking the idea that the AM5 would most likely let me do a mid CPU update to the system. (I am expecting another 5 year runtime for the system)

[venomtail]

16 hours ago, XWAUForceflow said:

@venomtail I really want to upgrade from AM4 to AM5 since I want to get a new PC anyways. Old one is going to be cycled to my dad. My issue is that as soon as I try any XMP profile with the 4 sticks the PC will bootloop and then finally fail resetting the BIOS. Not an issue for my dad (I will simply remove two sticks) but that's why I went with 2 32GB sticks for my new PC instead of 4 16GB sticks.
The power supply was an error on my side, and the XL case seems to be just slightly bigger than my current one so I figured it would be a good match. And with GPUs getting stupidly large I wand to make sure to have enough space in there.
What would you suggest for a CPU? Single core boost performance matters for me, and I do game, it's just not the most important part of the build. That's why I figured the 9800X3D would be a nice compromise as it should still be a great CPU for gaming.

I think you can drop the 3D CPU. It's more the other way around, non 3D CPU's are still great for gaming. Jus that the 3D ones are so good being in their shadow makes those look like not great choices. 3D CPU's aren't without compromise. Compared to their native counterparts, 3D CPU's have a lower thermal headroom, lower clock speeds, lower sustains and can suffer windows scheduling errors on CPU's that aren't the 9800X3D.

 

Good luck on those RAM sticks. Deep down knowing the mess with RAM on AM4, I still believe it just needs more fine tuning for the 4 sticks to work.

 

If I was to build new, I'd do something like this:

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: AMD Ryzen 9 9950X 4.3 GHz 16-Core Processor  (€515.98 @ Amazon Deutschland) 
CPU Cooler: be quiet! Dark Rock Pro 5 CPU Cooler  (€89.90 @ Alza) 
Motherboard: Gigabyte X870 AORUS ELITE WIFI7 ATX AM5 Motherboard  (€264.90 @ Alza) 
Memory: Patriot Viper Elite 5 Ultra RGB 64 GB (2 x 32 GB) DDR5-6000 CL28 Memory  (€282.90 @ Alza) 
Storage: Crucial T705 1 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 5.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive  (€126.83 @ Amazon Deutschland) 
Video Card: EVGA XC3 ULTRA GAMING iCX3 GeForce RTX 3080 Ti 12 GB Video Card  (Purchased For €0.00) 
Case: Fractal Design North ATX Mid Tower Case  (€137.89 @ Computeruniverse) 
Power Supply: be quiet! Dark Power 14 1000 W 80+ Titanium Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply  (€257.45 @ Proshop) 
Case Fan: be quiet! Silent Wings Pro 4 83.9 CFM 120 mm Fan  (€28.94 @ Aquatuning) 
Case Fan: be quiet! Silent Wings Pro 4 83.9 CFM 120 mm Fan  (€28.94 @ Aquatuning) 
Case Fan: be quiet! Silent Wings Pro 4 83.9 CFM 120 mm Fan  (€28.94 @ Aquatuning) 
Case Fan: be quiet! Silent Wings Pro 4 83.9 CFM 120 mm Fan  (€28.94 @ Aquatuning) 
Case Fan: be quiet! Silent Wings Pro 4 83.9 CFM 120 mm Fan  (€28.94 @ Aquatuning) 
Case Fan: be quiet! Silent Wings Pro 4 83.9 CFM 120 mm Fan  (€28.94 @ Aquatuning) 
Fan Controller: Deepcool FH-04 Fan Controller  (€12.77 @ Proshop) 
Total: €1862.26
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2025-10-30 11:12 CET+0100

 

CPU a workload monster and will do just fine in games, especially if 1440p and above. Cooling that's good quality and long warranty. Motherboard with fast storage as boot simply as baseline, add more as you need but 2nd M.2 is also 5.0 X4. Added your old 3080TI as reference, PSU big enough for a 5090 which 5080S won't beat and no radiator to increase compatibility, even if you choose a gigantic GPU to upgrade to. 5x120mm fans as 3 front intake, 2 top exhaust, 1 rear exhaust. I also recommend getting this duct fan aftermarket add on for even better airflow and neater look. I nearly got one for my North case but needed the HDD.

 

For missing USB ports if it's a dealbreaker, consider maybe of the desk dock station add ons? Plenty of offerings out there that work just as well, possibly even more convenient. 

[filpo]

16 hours ago, XWAUForceflow said:

am assuming you mean the NH-D15 G2?

yes sorry

 

16 hours ago, XWAUForceflow said:

Again, if noise performance is the best there I don't mind spending the money.

The G2 has new fans which should be quieter and the heatsink should perform slightly better as well

 

16 hours ago, XWAUForceflow said:

Unfortunately that means that the added height of the Phanteks might be an issue?

Why would the added height of the phanteks be an issue? is your desk too short for the usb ports?

 

16 hours ago, XWAUForceflow said:

I don't really like the look of the 7000D, so I think I would stick to the Fractal and suffer the missing USB ports. (It's not a huge thing and I think I can move one of the sticks to the back anyways) Unfortunately that means that the added height of the Phanteks might be an issue?

there's also the fractal define 7 and the thermaltake that I linked above

[XWAUForceflow]

Thanks for everyone who gave me tips. I marked @filpo as the main answer since all in all his was the most helpful, doesn't mean the others didn't add valuable input as well. I finally bought the parts. I was hoping for some Black Friday deals, unfortunately with the DRAM prices skyrocketing that went a bit sideways.

 

Annoying fact about PC-Partspicker here. While they do check availability of items, they do not check for delivery times. I periodically checked the memory prices and they looked mostly okay. However when I later on double checked Amazon (which was listed as the lowest offer by far) I saw that delivery time was estimated at 7-9 months. So yeah, turns out the memory is now the single most expensive part of my build...

[filpo]

1 hour ago, XWAUForceflow said:

Thanks for everyone who gave me tips. I marked @filpo as the main answer since all in all his was the most helpful, doesn't mean the others didn't add valuable input as well. I finally bought the parts. I was hoping for some Black Friday deals, unfortunately with the DRAM prices skyrocketing that went a bit sideways.

 

Annoying fact about PC-Partspicker here. While they do check availability of items, they do not check for delivery times. I periodically checked the memory prices and they looked mostly okay. However when I later on double checked Amazon (which was listed as the lowest offer by far) I saw that delivery time was estimated at 7-9 months. So yeah, turns out the memory is now the single most expensive part of my build...

If it is continuing to be this bad (it'll change but could take a long time) then wait it out and don't pay these prices (if it's like 4x-5x normal price then don't do it)

[XWAUForceflow]

38 minutes ago, filpo said:

If it is continuing to be this bad (it'll change but could take a long time) then wait it out and don't pay these prices (if it's like 4x-5x normal price then don't do it)

It was okay-ish, looking at last nights WAN show prices here are not quite as bad. I paid €500 for a 64GB kit. If I had bought the same kit when I planned the build it would've been between €200 and €250. Thing is I really do finally want a new PC, and I was not prepared to wait another year (or more) to hope for prices getting normal.

Next big question of course is the GPU. Do I wait for the 5080 TI/Super and hope it will have 24GB VRAM and still be somewhat affordable or go for the 5080 now and at least do get 16GB VRAM. So far GPU prices appear to be stable, but this cannot last too long I would guess.