Balanced Gaming Build for the Next 4-5 Years

[SirKeldon]

After years of building custom water-cooled setups, I realized I’m getting kinda old and lazy. I wanted a compact, balanced, and long-lasting gaming PC that just works, without excessive tweaking or chasing diminishing returns. The goal? Great 1440p ultrawide performance with minimal headaches. So, I built this about a month ago.

Hardware List​

• Case: Lian Li A3 mATX
• CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 9700X
• GPU: Sapphire Pulse RX 7800 XT
• Motherboard: Gigabyte B650M Aorus Elite AX Ice
• RAM: 32GB (2x16) Corsair Vengeance DDR5 6000MHz CL30
• Storage: 2x 1TB WD_BLACK SN850X + 2TB Sandisk Ultra 3D SSD
• Cooling: MSI MAG A13 CoreLiquid 360mm AIO

The GPU Swap Saga – Improving the Coil Whine Issue​

I first bought an ASUS Dual RX 7800 XT OC, but the coil whine was unbearable, even with capped FPS and undervolting. After trying different PCIe cables and testing it on another PSU, I decided to return it and find a better alternative.

I picked up a Sapphire Pulse RX 7800 XT, which had lower coil whine according to reports. The downside? It runs at slightly lower clocks and higher temperatures than the ASUS Dual. However, it remains quieter and stable in demanding games, which was my priority.

Why This Build?​

• 3440x1440 Ultrawide Ready → Smooth performance in the games I play at high/ultra settings.
• Balanced Power Consumption → Optimal for a smaller case.
• Kinda Future-Proofing → AM5 will support more CPU releases (until 2027+), and while B850M boards are now out, I think PCIe 4.0 is fine for now. I can’t see PCIe 5.0 lanes being fully utilized in the next 3 years, so I preferred a proven product rather than taking a risk.
• Less Tinkering, More Gaming → Because I don’t have the patience I used to.

What do you think? Would love to hear your thoughts, or what would you have changed/swapped!

* edit: corrected AIO

 

[Onasi]

9800X3D is a better pickup in absolute terms, but paying twice the price would be questionable. GPU-wise I would wait for the 9070 reviews or try to source a 7900GRE - the 7800XT is kinda obsolete in terms of value. And in case of an AIO I would go for Arctic or Thermalright, but that’s more of a personal preference.

 

[dirtyferret]

I prefer air cooling my CPU but that's just me plus you like water cooled setups. As long as the PC delivers the performance you want in the apps/games you use and play, it's all good.

 

[SirKeldon]

9800X3D is a better pickup in absolute terms, but paying twice the price would be questionable. GPU-wise I would wait for the 9070 reviews or try to source a 7900GRE - the 7800XT is kinda obsolete in terms of value. And in case of an AIO I would go for Arctic or Thermalright, but that’s more of a personal preference.

Yeah, sneaked a little bit the 9800X3D and even 7800X3D but since AM5 has this "upgrade path", maybe as you mention, I could sneak peek a good deal in the future.

Regarding GPU's, I took a look at the 7900GRE or 7900XT, but only good available deals for "compact" ones for me (less than 300mm due my setup in the Lian Li A3) were ASUS and after the first bad experience, didn't want to risk. Let's see how the 9070/XT delivers and if it's worth consider upgrading vs this one, but I couldn't wait longer, that's why I bite the bullet on the 7800XT. Though that, I came from a GTX 1080 so I'm experiencing the difference, specially in VRAM.

I prefer air cooling my CPU but that's just me plus you like water cooled setups. As long as the PC delivers the performance you want in the apps/games you use and play, it's all good.

Yeah, the AIO was kinda a must, just for old memories, after years of water-cooling GPU/CPU. I think next I should invest is in a better monitor, but it's difficult to find one with the same specs I have but for 144hz

 

[N/A]

Corsair SF-L Series SF850L 850W SFX-L
AMD Ryzen 7 9700X
ASRock Phantom Gaming B850I Lightning Wi-Fi
Kingston FURY Beast Black Kit 64GB, DDR5-5600, CL36
2X WD Black SN7100 NVMe SSD 2TB
ASRock Challenger 9070 XT
Arctic Freezer 36 Black
Corsair 2000D Airflow, Black Mini-ITX

What would you change a later date hard to tell. This is my dream build. Now clue if it's a good idea.
I have a PSU and AIR cooler for now, but the rest is expensive.. I like a case with a small footprint where it actually sits on the floor.

 

[Vayra86]

Yeah, sneaked a little bit the 9800X3D and even 7800X3D but since AM5 has this "upgrade path", maybe as you mention, I could sneak peek a good deal in the future.

Regarding GPU's, I took a look at the 7900GRE or 7900XT, but only good available deals for "compact" ones for me (less than 300mm due my setup in the Lian Li A3) were ASUS and after the first bad experience, didn't want to risk. Let's see how the 9070/XT delivers and if it's worth consider upgrading vs this one, but I couldn't wait longer, that's why I bite the bullet on the 7800XT. Though that, I came from a GTX 1080 so I'm experiencing the difference, specially in VRAM.


Yeah, the AIO was kinda a must, just for old memories, after years of water-cooling GPU/CPU. I think next I should invest is in a better monitor, but it's difficult to find one with the same specs I have but for 144hz

I have a Lian Li A3 with an Asrock PG 7900XT in it. 3 slot full length.

I also have a regular sized atx Supernova 750W on the far end of that case and a Peerless Ass. on top of the CPU. Air cooled, all full sized components fit in the A3.

This case is fantastic. Explore it further
My intake is simply the GPU itself and I have beefy exhaust fans on top. Temps? They never budge. You sprint to load temp and it stays there. Forever. Higher ambient directly translates to case temps, but nothing ever heats up.

This case isn't optimal for water, its 100% a high airflow compact air build case. Try it

 

[Hyderz]

+1 on the 9700x because 4 or 5 years later grab the final x3d cpu to gain more boost and also upgrade the gpu by then

 

[SirKeldon]

I have a Lian Li A3 with an Asrock PG 7900XT in it. 3 slot full length.

I also have a regular sized atx Supernova 750W on the far end of that case and a Peerless Ass. on top of the CPU. Air cooled, all full sized components fit in the A3.

This case is fantastic. Explore it further
My intake is simply the GPU itself and I have beefy exhaust fans on top. Temps? They never budge. You sprint to load temp and it stays there. Forever. Higher ambient directly translates to case temps, but nothing ever heats up.

This case isn't optimal for water, its 100% a high airflow compact air build case. Try it

I explored quite a bunch of possibilities, the manual/extra pages on their website is really helpful, thanks for your input though. My problem was with PSU clearance and the 360 AIO on top, so I had to improvise and move the ATX to F4 position (despite manual says it's incompatible) instead of F3, while my PSU was in the measure range for that position. TBH, I could fit even a 320-330mm GPU long, but it would be too cramped and almost touching the PSU and creating more mess with the cables, that's the reason I wanted to avoid triple-fan cards.

And btw, despite it's not "water-cooling" ready I saw a lot of fellas going full-water on that case. I doubted to go full-air, I saw some really successful cases, but something in my guts couldn't help to grab an AIO, also thought why not dual instead of triple? Just for future-proofing for a beefier CPU. As Onasi was saying, I contemplated other options, but the LiquidFreezer I wanted, rad was too bulky to fit on top with my mobo heatsinks, so I went with "anything" slim that had good specs.

Including a picture with the old Asus (which is a lil bit smaller than the Pulse) so you can see how it's rigged up. Temps are really nice TBH, only downside is the Pulse runs a little bit hotter than the ASUS, but coil-whine wise .. is miles better.

PS: In case you're wondering, I have the Wood edition, so front is meshed, that's why PSU is oriented that way, it can grab fresh-air from the front. And don't worry about cables on PSU end, they all have clearance and not hard-compressed at all, wasn't easy though lol

 

[GerKNG]

• 3440x1440 Ultrawide Ready → Smooth performance in the games I play at high/ultra settings.
• Balanced Power Consumption → Optimal for a smaller case.
• Kinda Future-Proofing → AM5 will support more CPU releases (until 2027+), and while B850M boards are now out, I think PCIe 4.0 is fine for now. I can’t see PCIe 5.0 lanes being fully utilized in the next 3 years, so I preferred a proven product rather than taking a risk.
• Less Tinkering, More Gaming → Because I don’t have the patience I used to.

1. New AAA Games at Ultra with no RT? smooth = ~90 FPS? No. this is at least 7900XTX territory.
2. Yeah should be fine.
3. If you buy a 5090 FE right now chances are high that their stupid flat cable for PCIe doesn't even work at 5.0 at all. No Problem keeping 4.0 (i do it as well)

 

[mb194dc]

You'll surely be totally GPU bottlenecked in any modern title with 3440x1440 screen at native, ultra settings on a 7800xt... No reason to even think about an x3d, total waste of money. Unless you're playing very old games and want 300fps+. 9700x will be fine.

I would go for 7900xt if you want an AMD GPU, presuming you're in a country where it's on sale for 600 ish. Will likely be faster than the 9070xt most probably has more vram and should be pretty tweakable. You'll be set for 4k60 gaming for a few years yet.

 

[alwayssts]

I don't think almost anything will leave you happy for 4-5 years, because the leap to the next-gen consoles is going to really throw a wrench in things.

Probably a 12-core cpu. Probably using more bandwidth than a current X3D. Current memory controller ain't great on Ryzen but next-gen could be better (comparable to a current X3d just w/ decent ram).
16GB could be a limitation (certainly raster will be), especially at >1440p.
You'll want >45TF-60TF+ (9070 series or 7900xt[x]) for 1440p and you're running higher. Can't guarantee RT running very well at all on 7800xt in the future.
Good quality 960p->1440p up-scaling ain't a guarantee because we don't know if FSR4 will be back-ported and/or FSR3 improved so 960p->1440p doesn't look like poo.

We don't yet have a standard for RT...
I mean, we kinda do (essentially an overclocked 4080/5080 for 1080p - look at hogwarts min RT scores and you can figure it out - but might need more VRAM); nothing remotely affordable yet.
9070 series might okay for low RT...but will it have enough juice in the tank to scale ~1080p->~1440p/4k? I don't know, but I'm not betting on it long-term.

There's just so many reasons to say 4nm is kind of shite, while 3nm will be dy-no-mite. While it's one thing for people that need something right this second and/or upgrade all the time,
I think if you invest now with hopes to survive the paradigm shift that's coming you're going to kick yourself later. JMO.

The leap and settled standards on 3nm are going to be BIG...perhaps one of the last ones we ever get, if not for at least the next decade.
Can't say the same for this gen vs what came before, as it's kind of the end of road for a lot of things (8-core CPUs, <16GB GPUs, typical rendered frames vs ML upscaling, low-bw non-3D ryzens, etc).

There's just too many things in flux now to suggest anything (outside of saying a 4090 is a pretty good investment if you can afford one, but obviously that's not in most peoples' budget).

I think the next-gen (2026 products) will be two things:

1. Have people that build computers that last for literally 10 years that make them happy.
2. Have people that built a computer literally even a year before be very unhappy.

If you need it and/or want to go for it, I wish you luck! Just understand I can't in good conscience say I think you'll be happy with that in even 3-4 years.

 

[SirKeldon]

1. New AAA Games at Ultra with no RT? smooth = ~90 FPS? No. this is at least 7900XTX territory.
2. Yeah should be fine.
3. If you buy a 5090 FE right now chances are high that their stupid flat cable for PCIe doesn't even work at 5.0 at all. No Problem keeping 4.0 (i do it as well)

Not new games specially, that's why I said "games I play", I'm an old lad which more demanding games are Forza Horizon 5, Doom Eternal or Shadow of the Tomb Raider, to name a few, maybe I'll include Diablo 4 or PoE2, but IDK yet, I kinda run those with a mix of high/ultra settings, I and I tend to get the range I want, 120-140fps+, pretty steady, let's see in the future. I must say I don't own a gaming monitor, it's 3440x1440 @ 75Hz (custom resolution), but finding same specs (DP via USB-c, PD, IPS) and with 144Hz is not an easy task, maybe you have some recommendations.

You'll surely be totally GPU bottlenecked in any modern title with 3440x1440 screen at native, ultra settings on a 7800xt... No reason to even think about an x3d, total waste of money. Unless you're playing very old games and want 300fps+. 9700x will be fine.

I would go for 7900xt if you want an AMD GPU, presuming you're in a country where it's on sale for 600 ish. Will likely be faster than the 9070xt most probably has more vram and should be pretty tweakable. You'll be set for 4k60 gaming for a few years yet.

Yeah, you're not the first one spotting this, maybe if I start to play more demanding new games, I could take a look on better GPU's, specially the new 9000 series, unfortunately, 7900 XT is more on the 800-900 EUR territory, even GRE is around 750, while the 7800XT I got went for 550EUR.

I don't think almost anything will leave you happy for 4-5 years, because the leap to the next-gen consoles is going to really throw a wrench in things.

Probably a 12-core cpu. Probably using more bandwidth than a current X3D. Current memory controller ain't great on Ryzen but next-gen could be better (comparable to a current X3d just w/ decent ram).
16GB could be a limitation (certainly raster will be), especially at >1440p.
You'll want >45TF-60TF+ (9070 series or 7900xt[x]) for 1440p and you're running higher. Can't guarantee RT running very well at all on 7800xt in the future.
Good quality 960p->1440p up-scaling ain't a guarantee because we don't know if FSR4 will be back-ported and/or FSR3 improved so 960p->1440p doesn't look like poo.

We don't yet have a standard for RT...
I mean, we kinda do (essentially an overclocked 4080/5080 for 1080p - look at hogwarts min RT scores and you can figure it out), but nothing remotely affordable yet. 9070 might okay for low RT.

There's just so many reasons to say 4nm is kind of shite, while 3nm will be dy-no-mite. While it's one thing for people that need something right this second and/or upgrade all the time,
I think if you invest now with hopes to survive the paradigm shift that's coming you're going to kick yourself later. JMO.

The leap and settled standards on 3nm are going to be BIG...perhaps one of the last ones we ever get, if not for at least the next decade.
Can't say the same for this gen vs what came before, as it's kind of the end of road for a lot of things (8-core CPUs, <16GB GPUs, typical rendered frames vs ML upscaling, low-bw non-3D ryzens, etc).

There's just too many things in flux now to suggest anything (outside of saying a 4090 is a pretty good investment if you can afford one, but obviously that's not in most peoples' budget).

I think the next-gen will be two things:

1. Have people that build computers that last for literally 10 years that make them happy.
2. Have people that built a computer literally even a year before be very unhappy.

If you need it and/or want to go for it, I wish you luck! Just understand I can't in good conscious say I think you'll be happy with that in even 3-4 years.

This is an interesting piece of information, so first of all, thanks for sharing. And most importantly, it marks a path to upgrade, since this is basically the reason I built this, my intention is if something gets strangled/bottlenecked or simply I could enjoy more, swap it, specially on CPU or GPU department. And it's also one of the reasons I wrote this post, I knew ppl would throw a lot of useful suggestions on better future-proofing, so I'm taking note of each of your comments in a little notebook so I can take a look at them in the future.

TBH, I don't care too much about RayTracing yet, never experienced it, I come from a GTX 1080 purchased on 2018, so imagine, I still have many things to know regarding the new "era of graphics". I think with this build I'm gonna totally enjoy for the next 2-3 years IMHO, before considering changing anything, only time will tell, but again, thanks for all your input.

 

[alwayssts]

Good luck!

I too had a 1080 for a good long while; twas a good card that held up pretty well until >8GB became pretty much needed. I still have it somewhere; probably filled w/ cat hair.

Have fun! Don't let what I say discourage you, and have fun w/ what you have as long as you can. Those are just things to be aware of and to keep a look out for given the industry is currently shifting.

 

[SirKeldon]

Good luck!

I too had a 1080 for a good long while; twas a good card that held up pretty well until >8GB became pretty much needed. I still have it somewhere; probably filled w/ cat hair.

Have fun! Don't let what I say discourage you, and have fun w/ what you have as long as you can. Those are just things to be aware of and to keep a look out for given the industry is currently shifting.

Yes, IMHO, 1080 and 1080Ti are still one of their greatest launches ever, if it wasn't for the memory as you mention, card would still hold 1440p pretty decently. Rescue yours and gift it to someone, I'm giving my old system to my dad, that card needs to comply the meme "was I a good card?" "was? I'm putting you in a new rig"


Don't worry at all, no discourages here, you just spotted good comments about the future of the industry; I just tried to make a balanced build without breaking the bank that much, and according to comments I didn't do that bad I think, I just needed a notch-up in the GPU department, let's see then, I'll enjoy while I can

 

[alwayssts]

Yes, IMHO, 1080 and 1080Ti are still one of their greatest launchs ever, if it wasn't for the memory as you mention, card would still hold 1440p pretty decently. Rescue yours and gift it to someone, I'm giving my old rig to my dad, that card needs to comply the meme "was I a good card?" "was? I'm putting you in a new rig"


Don't worry at all, no discourages here, you just spotted good comments about the future of the industry; I just tried to make a balanced build without breaking the bank that much, and according to comments I didn't do that bad I think, I just needed a notch-up in the GPU department, let's see then, I'll enjoy while I can

I really should do something with it. I don't know why I keep most of my old stuff...I guess (to me) I don't really think about their usefulness after I upgrade. You're absolutely right, though.
The reason I bought it at launch was bc I needed an HDMI 2.0 card (for which it was pretty much the only one) to run a 4k tv...My goodness that was a long time ago.
I could always set something up for someone...but I guess I always assume people want the newer features. I don't think about the fact most people just mainly browse the web and *sometimes* game.
Truth is, I hate gifting PCs bc then I end up their tech support.

 

[lexluthermiester]

What do you think?

I think you have a winner! The only thing I'd change is the GPU. Get yourself a 9070/9070XT when they come out. You'll then be set for the 4years you've stated. Finding a buyer for your 7800 will be no problem.

 

[Bomby569]

don't look at the requirements for the new games (Assassins creed just came out), that will never last 4 years. It's gaming in 2025. Just enjoy what you have

 

[alwayssts]

9070/9070XT when they come out.

Or wait until they drop to where the market thinks they should be. That has a tendency to happen relatively quickly with AMD gpus.
I don't think *most* people think of the 7900xt/x being $900/$1000 cards, more-so ~650-700/800-900 cards...and it really didn't take that long. Many of their launches have gone like that for literal decades.
It's why their inflated launch MSRPs are so stupid. It literally just makes them look bad in reviews that live on forever. I don't know why they do it...is it really worth the money they make from day 1 buyers?
At any rate, I think *pretty much everyone* agrees where they should be priced...so wait until they are that. I know right this moment is a bad example bc of the current market, but it will settle. Always does.

 

[SirKeldon]

I think you have a winner! The only thing I'd change is the GPU. Get yourself a 9070/9070XT when they come out. You'll then be set for the 4years you've stated. Finding a buyer for your 7800 will be no problem.

Thanks a lot! I don't know why, but I found a pattern that when I upgrade, I do it on Jan/Feb, and now I think it's highly influenced due to the amount of hype/info via CES, and even so, I don't tend to wait for the new launches, I prefer "tested territory", but I totally get your point, once I can find a sweet deal and the reviews for the 9070s are good, maybe it can be a good time to buy/sell.

Despite that, I was also lurking series 40, specially the 4070Ti, but prices are still high, around 900-1000 EUR, at least in my country even with 5070s out, can't understand why unless NVIDIA is playing the "scarce" game as they did on 30 to 40 series, and one more thing, I'm not 100% convinced of their 12VHPWR connector, now even less with the latest 5090 stories. Maybe it's not that dramatic, but certainly scares a lot to possible new buyers.

With all of this, I think AMD is still the horse to look in price/performance, let's see how the new ones perform, even so, finding a good GPU at a decent price has became like a new challenge itself.

don't look at the requirements for the new games (Assassins creed just came out), that will never last 4 years. It's gaming in 2025. Just enjoy what you have

I don't tend to look at the requirements rather than HD space these days, and you're absolutely right, sometimes future-proofing it's hard, impossible, or not worth, but the truth is also we tend to build to last, at least 2-4 years before swapping stuff, though that, I'll certainly enjoy it my friend! Thanks!

Or wait until they drop to where the market thinks they should be. That has a tendency to happen relatively quickly with AMD gpus.
I don't think *most* people think of the 7900xt/x being $900/$1000 cards, more-so ~650-700/800-900 cards...and it really didn't take that long. Many of their launches have gone like that for literal decades.
It's why their inflated launch MSRPs are so stupid. It literally just makes them look bad in reviews that live on forever. I don't know why they do it...is it really worth the money they make from day 1 buyers?
At any rate, I think *pretty much everyone* agrees where they should be priced...so wait until they are that. I know right this moment is a bad example bc of the current market, but it will settle. Always does.

Can't say too much about this since I tend to disconnect from the prices from one build to another ... but one thing I can tell, after mining boom and COVID, prices never went down. I saw my bill for the 1080 Seahawk EK I got in 2018 and it was 520 EUR. Now for a little bit of the same price, I got kinda a "4070 performance" air cooled, which is 2.5 steps down. Inflation pays a big part of course, but IMHO prices on GPUs are crazy and unfortunately I think they'll continue to be. My goal is to find a 600 EUR deal for a 9070 but I don't think that's going to happen, I have to prepare mentally that if I want a real top-notch graphics cards I should prepare at least double of what I spent on the 7800XT.

 

[GerKNG]

Not new games specially, that's why I said "games I play", I'm an old lad which more demanding games are Forza Horizon 5, Doom Eternal or Shadow of the Tomb Raider, to name a few, maybe I'll include Diablo 4 or PoE2, but IDK yet, I kinda run those with a mix of high/ultra settings, I and I tend to get the range I want, 120-140fps+, pretty steady, let's see in the future. I must say I don't own a gaming monitor, it's 3440x1440 @ 75Hz (custom resolution), but finding same specs (DP via USB-c, PD, IPS) and with 144Hz is not an easy task, maybe you have some recommendations.

These Games should run fine (especially FH5 loves Radeons)
i have no recommendations for Ultrawide Monitors. i've looked for one for quite some time now but couldn't find one that is even barely compareable with a cheap 200 dollar 16:9 display (response time, refreshrate, panel) and the midrange is smeary VA followed by decent IPS ones that costs a fortune.

 

[Vayra86]

Not new games specially, that's why I said "games I play", I'm an old lad which more demanding games are Forza Horizon 5, Doom Eternal or Shadow of the Tomb Raider, to name a few, maybe I'll include Diablo 4 or PoE2, but IDK yet, I kinda run those with a mix of high/ultra settings, I and I tend to get the range I want, 120-140fps+, pretty steady, let's see in the future. I must say I don't own a gaming monitor, it's 3440x1440 @ 75Hz (custom resolution), but finding same specs (DP via USB-c, PD, IPS) and with 144Hz is not an easy task, maybe you have some recommendations.


Yeah, you're not the first one spotting this, maybe if I start to play more demanding new games, I could take a look on better GPU's, specially the new 9000 series, unfortunately, 7900 XT is more on the 800-900 EUR territory, even GRE is around 750, while the 7800XT I got went for 550EUR.


This is an interesting piece of information, so first of all, thanks for sharing. And most importantly, it marks a path to upgrade, since this is basically the reason I built this, my intention is if something gets strangled/bottlenecked or simply I could enjoy more, swap it, specially on CPU or GPU department. And it's also one of the reasons I wrote this post, I knew ppl would throw a lot of useful suggestions on better future-proofing, so I'm taking note of each of your comments in a little notebook so I can take a look at them in the future.

TBH, I don't care too much about RayTracing yet, never experienced it, I come from a GTX 1080 purchased on 2018, so imagine, I still have many things to know regarding the new "era of graphics". I think with this build I'm gonna totally enjoy for the next 2-3 years IMHO, before considering changing anything, only time will tell, but again, thanks for all your input.

Im not into the latest greatest either but a 7800XT really is fine. A 7900XT will simply give you that 'whatever, all sliders to le max' vibe at 3440x1440. I max out almost all games I deem worthy of an install and it all plays buttery. Never use RT. Always take a while to check it out though and then I get underwhelmed and just play without it.

My last gpu was also a 1080 lmao. I see you are a person of good taste

As for VA and smearing... its not quite as visible as it used to be. A well calibrated panel is virtually smear free even in the midrange; the trade off now is you have a shitty sRGB mode instead and you run the monitor on dci p3.

 

[AusWolf]

Nice build!

I used to have a Sapphire Pulse 7800 XT myself that I absolutely loved. I only sold it because I needed cash. Now I'm looking forward to the 9070 XT, but I wouldn't bother if I still had the 7800 XT.

As for CPU, I would have gone for an X3D, either the 7800 or 9800. But honestly, everything's fine for 1440 UW.

Cooling is a bit subjective. I used to love AIOs, but just like you said, I can't be asked to tinker more than I need to anymore, so I recently went for a be quiet! Dark Rock 4 which I didn't regret.

 

[SirKeldon]

Im not into the latest greatest either but a 7800XT really is fine. A 7900XT will simply give you that 'whatever, all sliders to le max' vibe at 3440x1440. I max out almost all games I deem worthy of an install and it all plays buttery. Never use RT. Always take a while to check it out though and then I get underwhelmed and just play without it.

My last gpu was also a 1080 lmao. I see you are a person of good taste

As for VA and smearing... its not quite as visible as it used to be. A well calibrated panel is virtually smear free even in the midrange; the trade off now is you have a shitty sRGB mode instead and you run the monitor on dci p3.

Yeah, I think the GPU is well balanced, I think with RT off, rastering power is between 4070 and 4070 Super right? Maybe I could have spent a lil bit more, but I was being a stubborn old-schooler not willing to pay more than 600 EUR for a graphics card, I have to assume times have changed for the future updates. Though that, I get around 200+ FPS on CS2 at High, around 180FPS at Doom Eternal on Ultra, and benchmarks on Forza Horizon 5 gives me 140FPS on Ultra and 190FPS on High, SOTR goes for 120+ FPS on Ultra and around 140FPS at High. All of this with RT on in the games that have it such as Doom or Forza. Just Smart Access Memory is active, I have to tinker a lot with the Radeon Technologies.

1080, NVIDIA at its finest, thanks to you my man! Great minds think alike

I'm also a lil off regarding panel technologies, I like IPS since viewing angle don't change even if my head is far off the optimal angle, even if VA smearing improved, they still stuffer from having to look from a very specific angle right? or that improved as well? Thing is I need the DP->USB-c->PD->USB ports since I use a Macbook Pro to work, and I just move all my peripherals connected through USB hubs via the USB-c on the monitor, so even DP signal is not carried away to desktop, at least all the peripherals are, so when I'm done working, all I have to do is unplug the monitor cable from the MBP and attach it to a USB-c extender connected to the B650m, switch monitor input from USB-C to DP and all done.

Thanks for your insights btw, really helpful!

Nice build!

I used to have a Sapphire Pulse 7800 XT myself that I absolutely loved. I only sold it because I needed cash. Now I'm looking forward to the 9070 XT, but I wouldn't bother if I still had the 7800 XT.

As for CPU, I would have gone for an X3D, either the 7800 or 9800. But honestly, everything's fine for 1440 UW.

Cooling is a bit subjective. I used to love AIOs, but just like you said, I can't be asked to tinker more than I need to anymore, so I recently went for a be quiet! Dark Rock 4 which I didn't regret.

Thanks dude! As stated replying to Vayra, I think this is a really awesome gpu. Let's see how this Radeon 9000 series perform, hope you find a good deal

I really sneaked the 7800X3D but went for 510 EUR, and the 9800X3D near 600 ... also marketing played a big role here, since the boards can "emulate" X3D mode as far as I've seen with mine, didn't test it yet, but hell yeah, I saved quite a bit on the CPU, got mine for 370 EUR, not cheap, and I know I could have saved more on the 7700X, though I preferred this to just cause I saw it runs cooler.

Yeah, maybe next build is just air, went from full custom (pump/rads/cpu/gpu) to just the AIO, time will tell!

 

[Vayra86]

Yeah, I think the GPU is well balanced, I think with RT off, rastering power is between 4070 and 4070 Super right? Maybe I could have spent a lil bit more, but I was being a stubborn old-schooler not willing to pay more than 600 EUR for a graphics card, I have to assume times have changed for the future updates. Though that, I get around 200+ FPS on CS2 at High, around 180FPS at Doom Eternal on Ultra, and benchmarks on Forza Horizon 5 gives me 140FPS on Ultra and 190FPS on High, SOTR goes for 120+ FPS on Ultra and around 140FPS at High. All of this with RT on in the games that have it such as Doom or Forza. Just Smart Access Memory is active, I have to tinker a lot with the Radeon Technologies.

1080, NVIDIA at its finest, thanks to you my man! Great minds think alike

I'm also a lil off regarding panel technologies, I like IPS since viewing angle don't change even if my head is far off the optimal angle, even if VA smearing improved, they still stuffer from having to look from a very specific angle right? or that improved as well? Thing is I need the DP->USB-c->PD->USB ports since I use a Macbook Pro to work, and I just move all my peripherals connected through USB hubs via the USB-c on the monitor, so even DP signal is not carried away to desktop, at least all the peripherals are, so when I'm done working, all I have to do is unplug the monitor cable from the MBP and attach it to a USB-c extender connected to the B650m.

Thanks for your inputs btw, really helpful!



Thanks dude! As stated replying to Vayra, I think this is a really awesome gpu. Let's see how this Radeon 9000 series perform, hope you find a good deal

I really sneaked the 7800X3D but went for 510 EUR, and the 9800X3D near 600 ... also marketing played a big role here, since the boards can "emulate" X3D mode as far as I've seen with mine, didn't test it yet, but hell yeah, I saved quite a bit on the CPU, got mine for 370 EUR, not cheap, and I know I could have saved more on the 7700X, though I preferred this to just cause I saw it runs cooler.

Yeah, maybe next build is just air, went from full custom (pump/rads/cpu/gpu) to just the AIO, time will tell!

VA viewing angles aren't an issue anymore, though for an ultrawide, I would strongly suggest you get a curved one. This will eliminate the problem completely (off center making things a bit more pale). You have to get REALLY heavily off center to notice. I can still read the entire screen from the side though.

But it all begins with whether you prefer the VA advantage, which is, only, and primarily, the higher static contrast and lower black point. I game in a dimly lit room most of the time and there VA really shines, and IPS becomes a grey mess. That's worth a small trade off on accuracy (IPS still is more accurate, especially in motion). But at high refresh really, the smearing issue is not something that bothered me anymore. I came from an Eizo FG2421 (one of the first high refresh VA's, 5000:1 static contrast) and boy did it smear. Newer VA is a world apart, in almost every way: color accuracy is rivalling IPS, response times are a match with IPS these days, and calibration will get you past the smearing problem (you basically calibrate the weakest G2G transition out of the spectrum, or make it far less pronounced, which seems to work well with the slightly expanded DCI-P3 color space).

As for the USB C/DP connection yeah that complicates things lol. Isn't it just possible to get an adapter cable that's USB C > DP?

 

[SirKeldon]

VA viewing angles aren't an issue anymore, though for an ultrawide, I would strongly suggest you get a curved one. This will eliminate the problem completely (off center making things a bit more pale). You have to get REALLY heavily off center to notice. I can still read the entire screen from the side though.

But it all begins with whether you prefer the VA advantage, which is, only, and primarily, the higher static contrast and lower black point. I game in a dimly lit room most of the time and there VA really shines, and IPS becomes a grey mess. That's worth a small trade off on accuracy (IPS still is more accurate, especially in motion). But at high refresh really, the smearing issue is not something that bothered me anymore. I came from an Eizo FG2421 (one of the first high refresh VA's, 5000:1 static contrast) and boy did it smear. Newer VA is a world apart, in almost every way: color accuracy is rivalling IPS, response times are a match with IPS these days, and calibration will get you past the smearing problem (you basically calibrate the weakest G2G transition out of the spectrum, or make it far less pronounced, which seems to work well with the slightly expanded DCI-P3 color space).

I will investigate then, thanks again. Mine is already curved, the LG34WNC80B, so it wouldn't be a problem. I was really into IPS due to the angle stuff and accuracy as you mention, but if that improved on VA, why not test or at least read/lurk some reviews. Honestly I always hated the "grey" mess and the lottery on the light fugues with IPS, but till now the other advantages did the trade-off. I'll have to look up for models that comply with the input needs I have. My GF is gonna hate me lol.