_{^{Storage Upgrade: Add Drive Rack to Fractal Torrent Case for 5x Additional 3.5″ Drive Bays. Easily add up to 88TB with motherboard RAID controller, or up to 154TB with PCI-E RAID controller.}}

Case / Form Factor

Component Choices

• PROCESSOR
  Intel is currently dominating the market in value and performance. The Core i5 13500 or 13600KF is my go to recommendation.
  • INTEL
    • Unlocked Intel (K series) is not recommended without water cooling.
    • Recommend K for creators (for Intel Quick Sync), recommend F/KF for gamers. (less $$$/better OC)
  • AMD
    • The Ryzen 7000 series has an unusually thick integrated heat spreader leading to unusually high operating temperatures, due to a poor engineering choice by AMD of preserving AM4 cooler compatibility at the cost of product lifespan and performance potential.
    • Bad CPU / cooler combinations can create performance degradation so extreme that a lower end processor would be faster just because the CPU cooler can keep up.
    • The Ryzen 7000 X series has unusually high operating temperatures which will lead to decreased CPU lifespan. If you choose AMD, go X3D, or avoid the X, or if getting the X plan to delid.
    • AMD might think the absurdly high temperatures are okay, but they only stand to make money if they decrease the lifespan of their products by blanket accepting abnormally high operating temperatures. This is why I don’t recommend X series.
    • The Ryzen 7000 X series is not recommended unless the processor is delidded and water cooled.
    • The 7800X3D is the best value in the AMD lineup for gamers.
  • The Ryzen 5800X3D is a viable alternative for someone who already has an AM4 platform, as its only $379 and avoids the AM5 or LGA1700 platform entry cost. However, AM4 is a dead end and no further processors will be released for it.
    
• CPU COOLER:
  • If the CPU is locked (AMD non-X or Intel non-K) then air cooling is all you need.
    ThermalRight Peerless Assasin and Vetroo V5 are decent budget options.
  • If the CPU is unlocked (AMD X or Intel K) then you need water cooling, and your highest attainable clocks will be limited by the cooler chosen.
  • 7600X / 13600k = H115 or H150 (280mm/360mm)
    7700X / 13700k = H115 or H150 (280mm/360mm)
    7950X / 13900k = H150 or H170 (360mm/420mm)
    
• DISPLAY RESOLUTION
  If playing at 4k, your CPU choice matters the least and is budget better spent on GPU as you are most entirely GPU bound.
  • At 1440p CPU matters more, at 1080p it matters a lot.
    • As you become more CPU constrained (lower resolution) the CPU choice matters more. However, I wouldn’t recommend going higher than 13500 / 7600 for 1080p.
  • Resolution significantly impacts GPU load, see below:
    • 1080p = 2,073,600 pixels (2k)
    • 1440p = 3,686,400 pixels (3k)
    • 2160p = 8,294,400 pixels (4k)
    • 4320p = 33,177,600 pixels (8k)
      
• DDR5 VS DDR4
  DDR5 has decreased significantly to parity with DDR4 and DDR4 is no longer a sensible option unless on a budget constraint.
  • e.g. 16GB DDR5-6000 kits can be had for under $100, that’s only $40 more than 16GB DDR4-3600.
    
• MEMORY CAPACITY
  There is no advantage over 16GB for gamers and is budget better spent on GPU. Recommend 16GB if on budget constraint or 32GB if planning to play upcoming AAA titles.
  • The more memory capacity you get, the higher the latency. This is the penalty that comes with capacity.
  • It’s better to have less capacity with low latency than unnecessarily high capacity with high latency, for gamers.
    
• SOLID STATE DRIVES
  • The 4TB Crucial P3 Plus for $225 offers excellent performance / value ratio.
  • The 4TB WD SN850X is 40% more money for 100% more speed, but it is difficult to notice any performance improvement.
  • Minimum capacity of 2TB recommended for gamers. You can go up to 20TB (5x4TB) or 40TB (5x8TB) with some motherboards and unify them as one massive drive with RAID.
  • SATA SSD should be avoided entirely as superior nVMe drives have exceeded them in both value and performance.
  • Sabrent just launched the Rocket G series which uses DirectStorage, this, the WD SN850X, the Crucial P5 Plus, and the Samsung 990 Pro are among the fastest options currently available.
    
• POWER SUPPLY
  • Efficiency falls off a cliff around 50-60% load. To stay in any given power supplies peak curve, get a power supply with a rating of double the load.
  • 80 PLUS Gold, Platinum, and Titanium are references to efficiency. This metric represents how much of the power is lost as heat in conversion from AC to DC.
  • The more you spend on a power supply, the less you’ll spend on power bills to run it. While paying less for a power supply can seem appealing to get your build completed at a certain budget, you stand to save money in the long term by spending more on a unit with higher efficiency.

COMPONENT ORDERING GUIDE:

• Always secure the GPU first, then worry about the rest of the parts. If GPU pricing deviates from below, or if the delivery time is unreasonable, then a substitution should be made.
  • MSRP RTX 4090: $1,599 | RTX 4080: $1,199 | RTX 4070 Ti: $799 | RTX 4070: $599 | RTX 3070 Ti: $599 | RTX 3070: $499 | RTX 3060 Ti: $399
  • RTX 3080 is no longer recommended, it has been succeeded by RTX 4070 Ti in price and performance.
  • RTX 4070 is the current cheapest nVidia option at $599 offering 50-70% performance improvement over the outgoing RTX 3060 Ti.
  • Intel ARC A770 and A750 are excellent sub-$400 options.
  • Recommend MSi and nVidia (Founders Edition) GPU brands only. Avoid ASUS, Gigabyte, PNY, Zotac, XFX.
  • Do NOT purchase a used GPU, they are typically used for mining, have a significantly decreased lifespan, and have no warranty as you must provide the original proof of purchase for service.
  • Do NOT purchase a GPU that ships from China. It is either counterfeit or used with significantly decreased lifespan being sold as new and I will refuse to proceed with the build.
• If component pricing on rest of parts deviates from the various config prices listed, or if the delivery time is unreasonable, then a substitution should be made.
• Almost all cases are available in alternate colors such as white, if you desire a color other than black let me know so I can adjust your build accordingly.
  (e.g. white motherboard, white power supply / cables, white fans, white CPU cooler, white GPU, white GPU support, etc.)
• If your build features a Corsair water cooler, make sure you get a Pirate Dog ARGB adapter so I can integrate the case ARGB lighting into the Corsair iCue software.
  This way you will not need another app to control them.
• If you chose a K-series Intel, make sure you get a Thermalright contact frame so I can maximize your cooling efficacy.
• With lower end air-cooled builds, you can get away with the low performance stock case fans.
  • With any X or K series CPU, recommend to upgrade fans. Especially if paired with RTX 4000 series GPU. These are not included in part lists due to varying requirement and desire of RGB/non-RGB, fan color preference, and budgetary restrictions.
  • Recommend Corsair ML120/140 (black frame, grey blades) for non-RGB, and Corsair iCue ML120/140 RGB Elite (black or white frame, frosted blades) for RGB.
  • Fan size and quantity needed varies by case and config.

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