| Type | Item | Price |
|---|---|---|
| CPU | AMD Ryzen 5 5600X 3.7 GHz 6-Core Processor | $155.50 |
| CPU Cooler | be quiet! Dark Rock Pro 4 50.5 CFM CPU Cooler | Purchased For $0.00 |
| Motherboard | MSI B450 TOMAHAWK ATX AM4 Motherboard | Purchased For $0.00 |
| Memory | Kingston HyperX Fury 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-2666 CL16 Memory | Purchased For $0.00 |
| Storage | Samsung 970 Evo Plus 1 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 3.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive | Purchased For $0.00 |
| Video Card | Sapphire NITRO+ Radeon RX 7900 XT 20 GB Video Card | $925.00 |
| Case | Fractal Design Meshify C ATX Mid Tower Case | Purchased For $0.00 |
| Power Supply | SeaSonic FOCUS PLUS 850 Gold 850 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply | $129.00 |
| Monitor | Gigabyte G34WQC 34.0" 3440 x 1440 144 Hz Curved Monitor | $390.00 |
| Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts | ||
| Total | $1599.50 | |
| Generated by PCPartPicker 2023-10-16 05:42 EDT-0400 |
Ignore prices: I’m going to buy from different stores and I couldn’t bother inputing prices manually actually went and edited prices, also removed unnecessary bits as they were causing some confusion haha
This part list fits my budget and it’s unlikely I will make changes to it, unless there are big issues with compatibility in which case the only change I can make is to go for a 7800XT instead to open up some of the budget to fix those issues.
Objective is playing AAA games at 3440*1440 100+ fps (ideally 120+), high-ultra with no RT and hopefully no FSR; what I’m keeping from current build are RAM and MoBo (plus case, CPU cooler, fans, and drives, but these shouldn’t cause any issues). I listed current drives, fans, etc. just to get a somewhat accurate total power draw to pick the right PSU.
I know about case GPU length restrictions, that’s why there’s a slim fan in the list that will be mounted front bottom, to accomodate the long GPU (Fractal’s website says maximum GPU length with front fan is 315mm, standard fan is 25mm deep, 7900XT is 320mm and the slim fan is 16mm deep, so I should have 4mm of wiggle room!).
My main doubt is about huge bottlenecks with either RAM or MoBo. I’m keeping those and I’d rather not change them, because that would mean having to get a 7800XT instead (I know, for example, that a faster and lower CL RAM will give me slightly better FPS, although my current sticks are running at 3466Mhz and CL18, so not too bad, but I’m not looking to min-max to the last minute detail), unless such dated parts would cause huge bottlenecks that would make that GPU a total waste.
PC will be used exclusively for gaming.
Thanks for any and all suggestions!
edit: after a bit more researching, I ditched the AOC U34G3XM and picked this Gigabyte after watching the video by Hardware Unboxed
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C5FunMmbztw
The only bottleneck I see is the PCIe on the motherboard, which is only 3.0 x16, while the 7900XT is 4.0 16x. Not the end of the world, though, so I will pull the trigger in the next few days. Thanks everyone for your help!
Why the extra case fans? Your case comes with two I think and that’s enough.
DR4 is kinda meh IIRC. There are options that are cheaper and better.
RAM and MoBo are fine.
I’d take a shorter GPU if it’s that close.
Have you looked up response time measurements for the monitor? (Not specs, those don’t mean anything.)
Why so much storage? I’d get a 1TB SSD and buy more on a as-needed basis unless you know your current requirements are higher.
Even then, please don’t buy such small HDDs; they’re really poor value and these ones are probably SMR trash. 8TB+ is where it’s at: For the price of the 1TB and 2TB one you could got a single 8TB HDD. 16TB+ have even better value.
Really look out for SMR though, you do not want it.
OP responded why he’s using them but I wanna clarify here that at this capacity and form factor (3.5") I don’t believe any manufacturer makes SMR drives. Seagate makes some super thin 2.5" 1tb SMR drives, but at 3.5" they’re gonna be pretty high capacity if they’re SMR.
My last update on this was the complete inverse of that statement.
To my surprise however, the linked 1TB Blue is CMR. (Not sure if it’s the actual 1TB blue OP has but given they stated it’s >5 years old, it’s probably not but also still not SMR.)
The 2TB Red is SMR trash though: https://www.westerndigital.com/products/internal-drives/wd-red-sata-hdd
Thanks for the reply! Might have gotten lost in the wall of text, but I already have most parts, I’m just upgrading my current PC.
Good enough for me, hasn’t let me down yet in these years!
As long as it fits, there shouldn’t be problems, though, right? I can double check the actual space inside the case and take accurate measurements, but even if it’s a very tight fit, I don’t see why I can’t stuff it in. Getting a shorter GPU means ditching Sapphire Nitro + (the 7800XT is just as long) and go for a dual fan model, which I’d rather avoid (noise+cooling concerns)
1ms MPRT, should be enough for non-competitive gaming! If that’s not it, I don’t know what you’re referring to!
Again, might have gotten lost in the wall of text, but I already have all those drives, including a 1TB NVME. The configuration is all over the place because I kept adding onto it as my needs grew. At some point I’ll clean it up haha
I know you have a bunch of Samsung drives, and that’s fine, but also keep your eyes on the Crucial P5+ (DRAM) and P3+ (DRAM-less). They often go on sale at holidays, and I can attest first hand that they’re solid drives, and the management software is great. Also, Crucial is getting out of the RAM game and focusing solely on hard drives, so they’ll only get better.
Thanks for the tip, I’ll keep it in mind in case I need to add/change drives!
Ah so you’ve already got it. In that case it’s fine and you shouldn’t get another one. My entire comment assumes these components are to be bought new.
I wouldn’t risk it not fitting. Even if it could technically fit, I’d want a couple cm wiggle room because you must keep in mind that you need to get the GPU in and out and you just never know whether you might need to run a cable somewhere.
These are the BS “specifications” I was talking about.
Read/watch actual reviews where they measure response times. A “1 ms” specification has been found on anything between 0.something ms OLEDs and ancient terrible VA panels with 30+ ms response times for most transitions. It does not mean anything at all.
Response times matter a bit more for competitive gaming but not as much as you might think.
Response times are mainly a component of moving image quality, not input lag; don’t confuse the two. Input lag is fine on most panels marketed for gaming though even there YMMV. Again, look up reviews which measure things these.
Eh, worst case scenario I can remove the front fan: case specs say 315mm + fan, which is 26mm, so without fan 341mm and it bumps to the chassis.
Yeah, I looked into it a bit more and a I’m now considering a different monitor… so thanks!