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Advice needed for new PC Build

marjo

marjo

Member
To keep things short, I'm currently on an 8700k with 16 Gigs of RAM and an RTX 3080.

I'd like to upgrade the CPU/Motherboard/Memory this year. I'm not particularly happy with recent video cards, so I may hold onto my 3080 for another year or so, and then swap it out for whatever makes the most sense early next year (video card budget will be around $750 USD).

I'm currently considering 2 options:

1. Get a 9800x3d, 32 Gigs of Ram, and good motherboard.
2. Same as above, but instead of the 9800x3d, get a 7700 (or 7700x) and put the savings towards a Steam Deck.

Do you guys think I would regret going with a 7700 instead of the 9800x3d? I currently play at 3440x1440 and don't have (or plan to get) a very high refresh monitor.
 
What resolution are you playing at or targeting?

If its 4k then the latter (option number 2).

Edit, nevermind, I can't read. Go for the latter.
 
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I'd buy a 9800x3D and wait for the Steam Deck successor. The Deck is 3 years old by now, I don't think it's a good time to buy one now.

Remember: the CPU you're buying now will have to keep you happy for six years or so and you'll upgrade your current GPU next year.
 
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Thanks for the advice everyone. Still not sure what I'm going to do, but you guys definitely make some good points.
 
As others have said CPU

Your 8700k is nearly 8 years old now. You'll notice a massive difference

Meltdown and Spectre bugs on your CPU mean that you even lose performance to mitigate it

Steam Deck will get a refresh at some point so you can get a firesale old version if you really want.
 
8700k? This is the first year I'd say that CPU is too old I've noticed recommended specs for games are jumping from 7700k to 10700K

Its time to move on from anything pre 10th gen intel

9800X3D for sure
 
I went from a 9700k to a 9800x3d and have noticed a huge difference. I'm very impressed. I'd get the 9800x3d and wait/save for whatever the next version of Steam Deck is.
 
marjo said:
To keep things short, I'm currently on an 8700k with 16 Gigs of RAM and an RTX 3080.

I'd like to upgrade the CPU/Motherboard/Memory this year. I'm not particularly happy with recent video cards, so I may hold onto my 3080 for another year or so, and then swap it out for whatever makes the most sense early next year (video card budget will be around $750 USD).

I'm currently considering 2 options:

1. Get a 9800x3d, 32 Gigs of Ram, and good motherboard.
2. Same as above, but instead of the 9800x3d, get a 7700 (or 7700x) and put the savings towards a Steam Deck.

Do you guys think I would regret going with a 7700 instead of the 9800x3d? I currently play at 3440x1440 and don't have (or plan to get) a very high refresh monitor.
Click to expand...
At higher resolutions like what you use CPU makes less and less of a difference BUT the difference between those CPUs is gonna be pretty big even at higher resolutions so it's really whether you want to have a handheld or not.

The 9800x3d will last you much longer then the Steam Deck will as it's already like 3 years old.


Here is some benchmarks including 4K which is more pixels then your monitor but it's rare to find UW benchmarks.
 
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Unless you're doing CPU intensive stuff other than playing games, or you're planning on getting a monitor that goes above 3440x1440/60hz, then a 9800x3d is overkill and not even something you'd see benefits from.
 
Second choice cause you'll still be dealing with unoptimized games the same way $5k+ builds do, and I prefer the switch 2 or worst case scenario after Gabe changes his mind and make Steam Deck 2 cause it'll happen eventually.
 
marjo said:
To keep things short, I'm currently on an 8700k with 16 Gigs of RAM and an RTX 3080.

I'd like to upgrade the CPU/Motherboard/Memory this year. I'm not particularly happy with recent video cards, so I may hold onto my 3080 for another year or so, and then swap it out for whatever makes the most sense early next year (video card budget will be around $750 USD).

I'm currently considering 2 options:

1. Get a 9800x3d, 32 Gigs of Ram, and good motherboard.
2. Same as above, but instead of the 9800x3d, get a 7700 (or 7700x) and put the savings towards a Steam Deck.

Do you guys think I would regret going with a 7700 instead of the 9800x3d? I currently play at 3440x1440 and don't have (or plan to get) a very high refresh monitor.
Click to expand...
Get the x3D. Buy once cry one. Learn from my mistakes.

Obi Wan GIF by netflixlat
 
marjo said:
To keep things short, I'm currently on an 8700k with 16 Gigs of RAM and an RTX 3080.

I'd like to upgrade the CPU/Motherboard/Memory this year. I'm not particularly happy with recent video cards, so I may hold onto my 3080 for another year or so, and then swap it out for whatever makes the most sense early next year (video card budget will be around $750 USD).

I'm currently considering 2 options:

1. Get a 9800x3d, 32 Gigs of Ram, and good motherboard.
2. Same as above, but instead of the 9800x3d, get a 7700 (or 7700x) and put the savings towards a Steam Deck.

Do you guys think I would regret going with a 7700 instead of the 9800x3d? I currently play at 3440x1440 and don't have (or plan to get) a very high refresh monitor.
Click to expand...
Option 2, steam deck is transformative unless you play competitive shooters online.
 
marjo said:
To keep things short, I'm currently on an 8700k with 16 Gigs of RAM and an RTX 3080.

I'd like to upgrade the CPU/Motherboard/Memory this year. I'm not particularly happy with recent video cards, so I may hold onto my 3080 for another year or so, and then swap it out for whatever makes the most sense early next year (video card budget will be around $750 USD).

I'm currently considering 2 options:

1. Get a 9800x3d, 32 Gigs of Ram, and good motherboard.
2. Same as above, but instead of the 9800x3d, get a 7700 (or 7700x) and put the savings towards a Steam Deck.

Do you guys think I would regret going with a 7700 instead of the 9800x3d? I currently play at 3440x1440 and don't have (or plan to get) a very high refresh monitor.
Click to expand...
1
its a dream from what I hear

edit: this is from LoL and CS2 pros
 
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I'd go for the x3d. You likely won't need another cpu upgrade for a long time. Then again, a Steam deck (true portable pc gaming) may be a big deal depending on your life situation.
 
Just an update. I went ahead and got a 9800x3d. I'm honestly shocked that even at 1440p, it's made a large difference with my fps. I guess I was more CPU bound than I realized. I'm getting over 20% higher frames in Cyberpunk in full path tracing mode and even more in Indiana Jones. Maybe the fact that I'm using DLSS is what's giving me the GPU headroom? In any case, I feel like my 3080 can now last me quite a bit longer.
 
Didnt know what thread to use, so i just ask here. Hope that is ok.

I really wanted to build a gaming pc before all the ram / price / ai crisis hit the hardware market.
Since them im a bit out of the loop.

is it a good time to build a pc again, or is everything still out of whack and it is better to wait?
 
duck_sauce said:
Didnt know what thread to use, so i just ask here. Hope that is ok.

I really wanted to build a gaming pc before all the ram / price / ai crisis hit the hardware market.
Since them im a bit out of the loop.

is it a good time to build a pc again, or is everything still out of whack and it is better to wait?
Click to expand...

You are already too late, especially for RAM and SSDs.
CPU prices have already increase last month and are expected to get much worse.
2027-2027 will probably be the worst years ever to buy a new PC.
 
duck_sauce said:
Didnt know what thread to use, so i just ask here. Hope that is ok.

I really wanted to build a gaming pc before all the ram / price / ai crisis hit the hardware market.
Since them im a bit out of the loop.

is it a good time to build a pc again, or is everything still out of whack and it is better to wait?
Click to expand...
Thing are starting to cool down. You need to go for bundles or pre-builds for the best value.

Prices are inflated ~$150-200 on complete systems.

If you have Microcenter access. They have killer deals: https://www.microcenter.com/product/706648/powerspec-g532-gaming-pc
 
I eyed the following prebuild:

AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D 8x 4.20Ghz / Turbo bis 5.00Ghz / 16 Threads
ASUS TUF Gaming B850-Plus WIFI
nVidia RTX5070Ti 16Gb (Palit / Gainward)
ADATA XPG Lancer Blade 32Gb DDR5 6000Mhz CL30 Kit (2x 16Gb) SSD
KIOXIA XG7-P 2Tb M.2 PCIe SSD
ENDORFY Supremo FM6 Gold 850W ATX 3.1

Onboard Gigabit LAN
Onboard Soundchip
Arctic Freezer 36 ARGB
PCGH Gear Carbonite Ultra
Windows 11 Pro 64Bit

for 2.390,00 €

Not sure if that is still a good deal.
 
duck_sauce said:
I eyed the following prebuild:

AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D 8x 4.20Ghz / Turbo bis 5.00Ghz / 16 Threads
ASUS TUF Gaming B850-Plus WIFI
nVidia RTX5070Ti 16Gb (Palit / Gainward)
ADATA XPG Lancer Blade 32Gb DDR5 6000Mhz CL30 Kit (2x 16Gb) SSD
KIOXIA XG7-P 2Tb M.2 PCIe SSD
ENDORFY Supremo FM6 Gold 850W ATX 3.1

Onboard Gigabit LAN
Onboard Soundchip
Arctic Freezer 36 ARGB
PCGH Gear Carbonite Ultra
Windows 11 Pro 64Bit

for 2.390,00 €

Not sure if that is still a good deal.
Click to expand...
No idea what prices are in your country due to VAT and the like. In the US the 5070ti went from $750->$1,000 making it a terrible value.

The build I posted is a 7500X3D, 16GB RAM, and a 9070 XT for $1,400. There would be minor performance differences, but not >$1,000 in difference to make it worth it to spend more.
 
duck_sauce said:
I eyed the following prebuild:

AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D 8x 4.20Ghz / Turbo bis 5.00Ghz / 16 Threads
ASUS TUF Gaming B850-Plus WIFI
nVidia RTX5070Ti 16Gb (Palit / Gainward)
ADATA XPG Lancer Blade 32Gb DDR5 6000Mhz CL30 Kit (2x 16Gb) SSD
KIOXIA XG7-P 2Tb M.2 PCIe SSD
ENDORFY Supremo FM6 Gold 850W ATX 3.1

Onboard Gigabit LAN
Onboard Soundchip
Arctic Freezer 36 ARGB
PCGH Gear Carbonite Ultra
Windows 11 Pro 64Bit

for 2.390,00 €

Not sure if that is still a good deal.
Click to expand...

You might want to get motherboard with a higher tier chipset.
The B850 only has GPU PCIe Gen4.
The B650E, X870, X670E and X870E, have GPU PCIe Gen5.
If you plan to use this PC for a long time, this will be important.
 
SScorpio said:
No idea what prices are in your country due to VAT and the like. In the US the 5070ti went from $750->$1,000 making it a terrible value.

The build I posted is a 7500X3D, 16GB RAM, and a 9070 XT for $1,400. There would be minor performance differences, but not >$1,000 in difference to make it worth it to spend more.
Click to expand...
How minor would the performance difference be. Are the gpus not in totality different leagues ?
 
9800x3D by a mile. I've become a more budget minded builder, but I still see massive value is stretching as far as you can on the CPU. That 9800x3D buys you more time. Considering the leaked PS6 specs and Helix talk, I don't see why it wouldn't get you through the next console generation. Even a 7800x3D has that chance.

You'll still need a Steam Deck, but they are very hard to get at retail price these days. They've been getting scalped on eBay for months now. Unless you've got a bot or the will to F5 the store page on restock day, you probably won't be able to get one for a while anyways.

I upgraded 7700k -> 7800x3D about a year ago and it's been nice. You could get a ton of value out of Intel chips in that era. Hopefully this one lasts as long.
 
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duck_sauce said:
How minor would the performance difference be. Are the gpus not in totality different leagues ?
Click to expand...
It's down to individual games. Zen 5 is very slightly faster the Zen 4. The CPU I linked is 6 core vs 8 in the 9800X3D. It's also has lower clocks, but is 65W vs 120W.

People claim the 9070XT competes directly against the 5070ti, and it can run neck and neck and beat it in some games. But the 5070ti is just an overall better card with more features. Going with an AMD GPU does let you get away from Windows and run official SteamOS if you want. Or just run forks if you have an NVIDIA card.

All games have different requirements, and a lot will be in the 15-20% CPU utilization range with the GPU being the bottleneck. Having the extra cache of an X3D chip is great and helps smooth over the minor latency spikes. Then there are games that will stress all 8 cores, though they are rare.

The major issue right now is prices are high, and new consoles next year. Buying anything will last for years. But if you could get something that beats the base console's specs. Then you have a build that will last for a very long time.
 
I see so many commenting on games resolution, as if that has anything to do with the CPU? Why is that? am i missing something?
 
duck_sauce said:
I eyed the following prebuild:

AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D 8x 4.20Ghz / Turbo bis 5.00Ghz / 16 Threads
ASUS TUF Gaming B850-Plus WIFI
nVidia RTX5070Ti 16Gb (Palit / Gainward)
ADATA XPG Lancer Blade 32Gb DDR5 6000Mhz CL30 Kit (2x 16Gb) SSD
KIOXIA XG7-P 2Tb M.2 PCIe SSD
ENDORFY Supremo FM6 Gold 850W ATX 3.1

Onboard Gigabit LAN
Onboard Soundchip
Arctic Freezer 36 ARGB
PCGH Gear Carbonite Ultra
Windows 11 Pro 64Bit

for 2.390,00 €

Not sure if that is still a good deal.
Click to expand...
I would go for a better PSU. The one you chose is a "B-" ranking PSU according to this list.

That means it's an "OK" PSU but is it good/safe enough for a brand new 2K+ build? I wouldn't go below A- personally.
 
9800x3d is overkill unless you are rendering 3d models and such. Way overkill for just gaming.
 
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