Any advice on a gaming PC?

[Eninya-malganis]

@Ucon-moon-guard

Up to $5k to spend.

@Ucon-moon-guard

4090 still the best of the best?

The 4090 is mega overkill for this game, even at 4K, and it’s a huge power hog/heat generator–but with your budget this is likely not a concern. Your CPU will make the biggest difference, in which case…

Get a Ryzen 7 7800X3D for CPU (not the 7950X3D, etc, since those aren’t better gaming CPUs), and a decent motherboard. I went with a ASrock X670E Steel Legend (could’ve gone cheaper, but I wanted 4x Gen4 2TB NVMe drives for storage potential).

Edit: It should be fixed now, but there was a problem with mostly ASUS, and some cases with MSI motherboards frying 7800X3D’s on the default BIOS from overvolting them out of the box. This has, to my knowledge, been fixed, but I went with ASrock anyway, since I heard great things about them, and 0 reports of this happening on their boards. Quite pleased with my choice, but generally you just fire it up and flash the BIOS anyway, so you should be fine. I just thought I’d give this tidbit if you concerned, but I wouldn’t recommend ASUS with how unapologetic they were about this situation at the time.

CL30 RAM clocked to 6000 mhz via XMP profile, etc. (I went with 2 x 16 gigs of Corsair Vengeance, make sure you go for 2 sticks for dual channel. RAM choice is preference, as G.Skill is fine, too, for example.) Grab some NVMes to install onto, and have WoW and your OS on separate drives. Not a big difference these days, but with that budget why not go all the way with trying to optimize the hardware configuration.

I, personally, don’t advise going Intel CPUs right now, unless you have a specific use case for them. They run too hot, and eat too much power, and they only evenly match the 7800X3D at best. The 14k series is just the 13k but hotter and less energy efficient, only being negligibly better in SOME workstation tasks. Furthermore, their sockets require a new MOBO pretty much every single cycle, and because of how hot they run they require a lot more powerful cooling solutions.

Overall, I’m happy with my build. I’m running on a 6700 XT GPU and 1440p. I plan to get a new GPU at some point, but if I ever run into framerate issues I can just turn on AFMF and cap my monitor to 120 FPS (half my refresh rate) and have a stable 240 experience.

If you’d like some resources to research hardware performance before locking into any recommendations here, I recommend:
Gamers Nexus, for specific benchmarks and a LOT of technical info, and
Daniel Owen or Hardware Unboxed for gaming/GPU benchmarks (does not include WoW, though, but has more modern games in the graphics department).

[Cäpslöck-proudmoore]

@Eninya-malganis

Furthermore, their sockets require a new MOBO pretty much every single cycle, and because of how hot they run they require a lot more powerful cooling solutions.

That is another thing: AM5 (released 2022) is confirmed to be sticking around until at least 2026 minimum, and AM4 released in 2016, and is still getting new CPUs that support it in 2024.

the Intel LGA1700 socket for the current 12-14 series is already dead, with a new socket for whatever they call the 15 series.

[Rhythalia-stormrage]

Gaming does not pull full load off the CPU. Personally using 13900K now. It’s not consuming as much as people think, or the heat. 70ish C at best on my AIO 360. On top of that, don’t have to worry about stability issues. Unlike my 5900X.

[Eninya-malganis]

@Rhythalia-stormrage

Personally using 13900K now. It’s not consuming as much as people think, or the heat. 70ish C at best on my AIO 360.

While true about the utilization, since WoW isn’t the greatest multicore game, that’s still kinda hot. I’m running my 7800X3D under a h100i Cappellix, and it’s 50-57 °C under full load. That’s a good CPU, but it’s still spicy.

[Rhythalia-stormrage]

I just turn on power limit, it goes to 60ish C. I also double stream video. One on Intel Quick Sync and another on Nvidia NVEnc. It may hamper 7800X3D performance too. Main reason for me not going 7800X3D is I lose a lot when I do work.

[Adorability-moon-guard]

LCD AIO with cute waifu gif is a 25 FPS gain minimum.

[Swarfmeister-whisperwind]

My advice on anything relating to gaming PC’s and various components is to listen to the peeps here in the forums. Not kidding. People like caps, rhyth, and others here really know their stuff.

I get info from a variety of sources online whenever I’m building, replacing, upgrading, etc., but I’m usually most influenced by what the peeps in the hardware forum are saying. They legit know their stuff.

Do check out the hardware forum btw.

[Hellasha-alleria (Hellasha)]

I’d recommend building it yourself, go to newegg or something similar. They often have good bundles, especially when it comes to motherboard and processor. When getting a new graphics card also make sure your case will work with it. Some of the new 4090s are longer then some of the older cards.

[Bigspanky-area-52]

ok? And?

I recommended a good pre-built. And somehow you took that as… Well… Let me take a component from that pre-built and thoroughly explain, using my superior knowledge and winning personality that a different component would be specifically better for running WoW.

@Cäpslöck-proudmoore

Native 4k 120 you want a 4090 to have any chance of it being consistent.

@Cäpslöck-proudmoore

You can hit a pretty stable 4k120, but it pretty much requires upscaling and a 3080/4080//6950xt/7900xtx or better in most games

@Cäpslöck-proudmoore

They’re worse than Apple in terms of proprietary hardware, because at least the proprietary hardware from Apple is going to be setup correctly, and work to spec out of the box.

@Cäpslöck-proudmoore

4090 is still the best, but it’s overkill for wow even at 4k.

For CPU: get a 7800x3d. Wow benefits from the extra cache on x3d CPUs, and there isn’t really a benefit to the 7900 or 7950 over the 7800 (if anything, the 79 is worse than the 78)

32 GB ram is fine still, you can go to 64 if you want to, but it’s probably not going to be that noticeable (unless your trying for the world record for most chrome tabs open at once) the more important thing for ram is to get 6000 CL30 for current gen ryzen CPUs.

For MB: if you plan to upgrade to a next gen GPU like the rtx 5000 series (not recommended to do that too quickly from a 4090), get x670e for the PCI-e gen 5 GPU support, else regular x670 or b650 is fine.

Asking a PC from Alienware to give you the full performance the components are capable of out of the box is a fool’s errand for high end components, as they are so determined to keep using that same case from 1992 that doesn’t really allow airflow to happen.

@Cäpslöck-proudmoore

Now run those tests with heavy CPU load. the 7800x3d will use about half the power of a 12900k outside the boost window, and closer to 1/3d the power inside boost.

And for gaming if you’re doing whole system power, the GPU will probably use more power.

@Cäpslöck-proudmoore

If you’re getting a 4090+7800x3d for wow, you can go full 4k 144 and actually use it to full performance.

I currently use an LG UltraGear 27GN950, and it looks great.

@Cäpslöck-proudmoore

That’s a CPU. long story short, if your game is cache sensitive (which wow is), it will equal or beat the 14900k using less power, and and requiring less cooling, while costing $150-$200 less money.

@Cäpslöck-proudmoore

Oh, and one of the results for an all core 100% workload, a 14700k did manage to beat the 7800x3d in power efficiency, at the cost of a 50% longer render time than a stock 14700k.

@Cäpslöck-proudmoore

That is another thing: AM5 (released 2022) is confirmed to be sticking around until at least 2026 minimum, and AM4 released in 2016, and is still getting new CPUs that support it in 2024.

the Intel LGA1700 socket for the current 12-14 series is already dead, with a new socket for whatever they call the 15 series.

The OP was just looking for a good computer within a pretty sizable budget. You are really in here just trying to be the smartest person in the room, without really contributing to what the OP wants.

People make a recommendation. And you really just have to chime in with how you know better.

No one here is challenging your knowledge of computer hardware. You however seem to think this post is a contest to prove who knows more about Gaming PC components. Such a sad and desperate need to prove your knowledge.

I know just above entry level. Maybe even just entry level. You clearly know a lot more than me. So why dont you just recommend the OP a good pre-built PC, or a list of components that meet your exacting standards, which they can put into a pre-build.

[Penumbrae-sentinels (Penumbrae)]

Historically I built my own but that’s just not fun any more, trying to keep all the components happy together without inadvertently creating bottlenecks or a component that is way outclassing the rest of the system.

What I did was list the games I play, in this case mostly WoW and put down some ideas in terms of back-up, in this case an NVMe SSD to a large HDD and future proofed for three to five years, if possible. Then I found a local shop with a good reputation and brought my list to them. With everything I wanted, including backing up my existing drive to the NVMe SSD (and installing it) along with a DVD writer, they were able to create a system that allows me to play WoW with all graphics maxed. They handled the wiring harness beautifully as well as the cooling. The only downside was that this was when graphic cards were in short supply so that kicked the total price up to $3,100. No regrets.

I now have a great system back by a local shop with a good reputation to protect and a 10 minute drive away, so no boxing things up for repairs or upgrades and same day service. Even better, my money stayed to support a local business and employees.

[Elirayssa-proudmoore]

Just chiming in… 4090 is top of the line for now.

64GB ram DDR5, 2 sticks will last the lifetime of the machine.

AMD or Intel, choose per your religion. At your budget, both will be obnoxiously overpowered. If Intel, include a 360 AIO cooler. Intel CPUs, when run at max, run hot, and are supposed to run hot.

Storage, 4TB NVME for your main drive, get a 10TB SATA to run backups to, pay for Macrium or Acronis backup software, set and forget.

reddit /r/buildapc for extensive information, pcpartpicker to experiment by-item. If you don’t want to assemble it yourself, there are suppliers who will take your list of goodies and put it together for a fee.

[Eninya-malganis]

Pre-builts are near-universally trash from every angle you can possibly look at them for, particularly when it comes to building a top-end PC.

Too many issues: unequal components bottlenecking each other, bad software setups (BIOS, OS, bloatware, auto-clocking), poor cooling solutions throttling the hardware, low quality components (such as PSUs), and they can lock you into certain configurations that cannot be upgraded without systemic replacements.

Sure, you can potentially research into a decent one if you have money, but no knowledge for building a PC, but damn is there so many bad ones out there that you’re highly likely to be scammed. Gamers Nexus reviewed a $6600 one that was quite disappointing.

PCpartpicker is everyone’s friend when it comes to builds.

[Mordsîth-lightbringer]

I’d suggest Maingear, they have some nice preconfig models for 5k and below. I bought 1 like 3 years ago and it plays any game still at max 120+ fps and I use a 50in 4k monitor with zero issues on any game i have tried.

[Rhythalia-stormrage]

If I were to build a gamng machine today with that amount of cash, it would be something like this.

Core i9-14900K
Corsair H170i Elite Capellix
Asus ROG Strix Z790 Dark Hero
32GB DDR5-8000
Asus ROG Strix RTX 4090
Samsung 990 Pro 2TB X2 (4TB X2 if price is reasonable)
Seagate Ironwolf Pro 8TB (storing videos)
NZXT C1200 or Thermaltake Toughpower GF 1200W
Seasonic Focus GX 500W (optional, for dual system)
Corsair Obsidian 1000D (can add dual system if you want saving power mode or a backup)
Anti sag (comes with Asus ROG Strix RTX 4090)

[Kelliste-antonidas (Kelliste)]

There really isnt a need for a 4090, yes its the best, but it has issues with its connector melting. Dont want any hassle go with a 4080.

Go watch some Gamers Nexus for performance stuff. I would also watch Jayz2cents since its a little more grounded but you cant really beat Gamers Nexus hardware testing. He even tests pre-builts.

[Rastabowl-area-52]

Would start with a 10-15K budget and do alot of the build yourself.

[Bigspanky-area-52]

That is why I recommended Microcenter. Their Pre-Built Line is called Powerspec. They build good quality machines with solid components. Good Warranty. Great customer support and service.

[Ucon-moon-guard]

@Rhythalia-stormrage

Core i9-14900K
Corsair H170i Elite Capellix
Asus ROG Strix Z790 Dark Hero
32GB DDR5-8000
Asus ROG Strix RTX 4090
Samsung 990 Pro 2TB X2 (4TB X2 if price is reasonable)
Seagate Ironwolf Pro 8TB (storing videos)
NZXT C1200 or Thermtake Toughpower GF 1200W
Seasonic Focus GX 500W (optional, for dual system)
Corsair Obsidian 1000D (can add dual system if you want saving power mode or a backup)
Anti sag (comes with Asus ROG Strix RTX 4090)

Im gonna look intothis build today… thx

@Kelliste-antonidas

There really isnt a need for a 4090, yes its the best, but it has issues with its connector melting. Dont want any hassle go with a 4080.

First I have heard that… but haven’t researched it. can you link me source.

[Cäpslöck-proudmoore]

the melting 12VHPWR connecters from last year were found to mostly be the result of improper installation, and the 4080 (and the entire RTX 40 series) uses the same connector (although it does pull less power).

If you want to avoid that connector, your best option will be a Radeon RX 7900 XTX, which is slightly better than the 4080 in rasterized rendering, and slightly worse in raytracing. (average is single digit percentages for both)

[Rhythalia-stormrage]

Some tuning for the optional second power supply. It only accepts SFX power supply. Probably Corsair SF450 for the 2nd PSU.

Second system build example…
Core i3-12100
Thermalright AXP90-X53
MSI B760i Edge DDR4
16GB or 32GB DDR4-3200 kit
Kingston KC3000 or Kingston Renegade or Samsung 990 Pro 1TB