Question Gaming PC - good balance of parts for long-term 1440p?

KillerCharlie

Diamond Member
Aug 21, 2005
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How does this look for the price? I don't have a budget per se, but I don't want overkill and would rather upgrade later if I need to, especially the GPU. Given the price for the 5800x and motherboards it seemed the right direction to go.

  • Main purpose is 1440p gaming, especially MS flight sim and DCS - both of those are relatively heavy on CPU (and GPU) for 1440p compared to other games.
  • There's a possibility I'll upgrade the GPU in 2-3 years if I really need to. That said, am I better off saving $150 for a 3060TI?
  • I don't intend to upgrade CPU / motherboard / RAM until I build another PC in 4-5 years.

1. What YOUR PC will be used for. That means what types of tasks you'll be performing.
Gaming at 1440p, especially MSFS and DCS.

2. What YOUR budget is. A price range is acceptable as long as it's not more than a 20% spread
$1300-ish but I am really more about value than price. I can go quite a bit higher if it really brings value.

3. What country YOU will be buying YOUR parts from.
US

5. No brand preference

6. If YOU intend on using any of YOUR current parts, and if so, what those parts are.
I already have the PSU and SATA SSDs.

7. IF YOU plan on overclocking or run the system at default speeds.
No overclocking

8. What resolution, not monitor size, will you be using?
1440p.

9. WHEN do you plan to build it?
In the next few weeks.

10. Do you need to purchase any software to go with the system, such as Windows or Blu Ray playback software?
No
 
Last edited:
Jul 27, 2020
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MSFS really loves the 5800X3D so you may want to get that.


Zen 3 can make good use of that RAM.

Avoid the 970 EVO drive. Samsung is no longer supporting it with firmware updates, from what I've heard. It's an older drive so not supported.


That is a PCIe 4.0 SSD so it's more future proof.

For the graphics card, better to go with a Geforce 3080 12GB for longevity.
 
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UsandThem

Elite Member
May 4, 2000
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I'd personally get the Ryzen 5700X and save the cash, as there's no much difference in performance compared to the 5800X. Also, either though the real world difference isn't much different right now, I'd get a PCIe 4.0 NVMe drive over the 3.0 Samsung 970 EVO. Microsoft DirectStorage is coming, and game loading times should be slashed for those with faster drives. The Kingston Fury Renegade is only $10 more than the Samsung, is one of the fastest PCIe 4.0 drives out there.

I'd also go with a different GPU than the RTX 3070, which at it's current price is not appealing to me. I'd either go with the RTX 3060ti ($400) or RX 6700 ($340) or RX 6700XT ($390), and upgrade it in a few years when the GPU can't keep up with new games.

And that $50 Thermaltake 80+ PSU. Nope!

At least go with a solid Gold rated unit. Seasonic, Corsair, EVGA, Asus, Fractal Design, Antec, Super Flower.......many of good choices out there that will be a lot more efficient, be built better with longer warranties, and provide stable power.
 
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Shmee

Memory & Storage, Graphics Cards Mod Elite Member
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Sep 13, 2008
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I agree the 3070 isn't a very good value, I would go with an RX 6800XT for around the same price, possibly less even. As mentioned, the 5700X is a bit cheaper than the 5800X, and still a great 8 core CPU, so you may want to save some money there.

I also agree with getting a good PCIe gen4 drive instead of the 970 Evo. You may want to look into the Adata XPG S70 Blade, it is a nice drive, and I have seen some very reasonable prices recently even on the 2TB version.
 
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