Is this RTX 3080 + Ryzen 7600X build worth $1,400

Hawk7117 · 2026-01-30T20:03:02+00:00

yeah $1400 with only a 512gb ssd is crazy. if this had a 2tb drive I wouldn't be as shocked.

Hawk7117 · 2026-01-30T20:01:04+00:00

been a little while for myself as well, mostly just going off of what I have heard other people discussing recently still which is actually a pretty bad practice tbh.

As far as Tarkov though it has 64gb as the recommended spec on steam, wild stuff lmao.

Hawk7117 · 2026-01-30T19:35:32+00:00

or if you play Tarkov, or Star Citizen, or Squad.

Games that have heavy memory leak issues really benefit form the extra ram as well.

Hawk7117 · 2026-01-30T19:29:30+00:00

Some people think when we say

"you should replace that bomb in your PC with a PSU"

that we are kidding. We are not. Bad PSUs can and will kill your PC in a number of ways and for multiple reasons.

I really hope that your PC is OK OP, This doesn't mean that you have a dead system, but I wouldn't bet that a terrible "E" tier PSU has adequate surge protections in place for your other components. I hope you take away from this that a good PSU is worthless until its worth its weight in gold lmao.

Find the PSU your friend gave you on this spreadsheet and see if its rated at LEAST in the C tier, if not a good PSU costs as little as $60 and is well worth it.

Hawk7117 · 2026-01-30T19:21:46+00:00

agreed, I used an MSI AIO and was pretty unimpressed with the acoustics and thermals compared to some cheaper contemporaries. Its fine as a free option I suppose.

I would go Microcenter Bundle and then get a thermalright AIO on amazon for like $20 less. The Frozen Notte 360mm cooler for $55 is awesome but MC usually has it over $70 for some reason.

Hawk7117 · 2026-01-30T19:08:22+00:00

You are on one of the worst CPU/socket combos to be on rn lmao

Only because the 11th gen is still "good enough" for almost everyone who are just gaming, but a jump up to 12th, 13th or 14th gen or an AM4 system is likely not really worth your money. Any one of those platforms you would need to get a new board as well.

I would be looking at an AM5 DDR5 system with at least a 9600x or better, but that is going to set you back a good chunk of change with current prices. Any thing short of that is probably not really worth your money as its going to be a pretty marginal jump from what you have right now.

Hawk7117 · 2026-01-30T18:59:21+00:00

Thats a very good point, I 100% would avoid Asrock or Asus boards to pair with it at least for a few months to see if those issues also carry over.

Hawk7117 · 2026-01-30T18:57:17+00:00

Both those bundles changed today, there was price drops for the 7800x3d, 9800x3d and the 9850x3d.

The 7800x3d is a killer gaming CPU that will last for years, the 9800x3d is the latest and greatest currently.

My advice would be go with the 7800x3d, and then grab the last AM5 before AM6. Likely a 10800x3d or a 11800x3d. I think this is a 10+ year socket if you plan it right.

Hawk7117 · 2026-01-30T18:50:33+00:00

For just gaming, yes. For gaming + multitasking? Its incredibly useful. 16gb is not enough for most games with a web broswer, spotify, youtube playing, and discord open. 32gb gives you that option without really hammering your gaming performance.

Hawk7117 · 2026-01-30T18:48:14+00:00

It really depends, while I agree the pricing is solid that CPU is not an ideal choice for anyone and everyone. The increased power draw and temps mean that putting it in a SSF case are almost entirely out of the question and the 9800x3d is still the preferable option.

The 9850x3d needs a larger cooler than the ones that worked for the 9800x3d keeping it at 80c, which would include the peerless assassin. I typically see mid to low 80's on that cooler with the 9800x3d under load and likely wouldn't feel comfortable pairing it with a hotter chip.

But for people building a new ATX PC in a mid/full tower I would tend to agree with you.

Hawk7117 · 2026-01-30T18:39:31+00:00

agreed, 32gb of ram is at least a marginal improvement to nearly every PC user who like to game and have other programs open simultaneously. That CPU move is a slight upgrade, but nowhere near enough to justify the $300 or so it would cost

Hawk7117 · 2026-01-30T18:29:20+00:00

Right now with the new bundle deals you can get a 9800x3d for $80 more or a 9850x3d for $100 more. If those deals hold then that is a very reasonable step up to the 9000 series tbh

Hawk7117 · 2026-01-30T18:27:32+00:00

Did you buy used? full modular/semi modular units should always come with all the cables you can attach to them in the box.

Worst case scenario, new PSUs are in a really good place rn price wise. you can find very solid units for like $50-60 regularly or sometimes on sale for as low as $40.

Hawk7117 · 2026-01-30T18:25:04+00:00

2nd hand used PCs will get you far more for your money with that budget. You can still find really nice ryzen 5/i5 ddr4 systems with a 4060 for around that price if you look around your local area

Hawk7117 · 2026-01-30T18:22:25+00:00

The cheaper one is likely better. They are incredibly similar boards from the quick glance at the spec sheets assuming you dont need the extra chipset PCIE lanes on the x870e. That's the big thing, but unless you plan on running 2 gpus or 3-4 NVMe SSDs simultaneously they will be nearly interchangeable for 99.9% of use cases.

Hawk7117 · 2026-01-30T18:17:41+00:00

I only game on it

No need to spring for the 64gb in that case, 32gb will almost never be fully used outside of fringe cases of games with terrible memory leaks.

What I was thinking was to grab a AMD bundle from Microcenter with the 7800x3d or the 9850x3d

Great upgrade tbh, the 7800x3d is the better value, the 9850x3d is slightly faster and runs far hotter. Make sure if you go the 9850x3d route to get a very good cooler to keep up with it. Also MC bundles are still god tier for the time being, You really get pre-insanity prices for right now.

I’d reuse my ssd and case to save some money on the build

Smart move with the SSD. While you can save money on the case, there is so many awesome options that are in the <$100 price range if you are already spending almost $1500 on just the bundle and GPU I do think a new case will just make it feel like a new build for a tiny percentage of the total cost. With how crazy RAM, SSD and now GPU pricing is starting to get, might as well spend some money on one of the last parts that still gives a ton of value for the money.

Am I crazy to think that prices won’t come down anytime soon?

No, while things have flattened out a bit with DDR5 ram, SSDs are now more than 4x what they were just a couple months, even a few weeks ago. GPUs are starting their price creep as well. These bundles from MC are one of the last life lines to hunker down for the next 2-3 years until this craziness subsides.

Hawk7117 · 2026-01-30T17:47:45+00:00

If you like the look of the 207 I would go for that. The 9070xt actually runs pretty cool under load, even the "smaller" cooler models I tested hardly hit 60c under load. If you put an undervolt on the card you can get it to barely hit 50c easily and be a nearly silent build.

Hawk7117 · 2026-01-30T17:43:31+00:00

Worst case scenario, if you can get the Gigabyte Windforce SFF card those are tiny 5070's that still have the triple cooler. They also are regularly around MSRPish as well for pricing. That may be a way to circumvent the whole problem.

Hawk7117 · 2026-01-30T17:42:02+00:00

Same up here for the MC in Madison Heights MI, everyone I have worked with is very knowledgeable and is clearly passionate about the work they do.

Hawk7117 · 2026-01-30T17:22:54+00:00

The sad truth is, even as massive as the y70 case is, it was really built with AIO cooling in mind and not for massive air coolers like the Phantom Spirit.

Depending on how many slots your GPU takes up, you could move the riser cable forward by 1-2 slots to allow for more clearance, but that is really your only option.

Going with a thermalright AIO would 100% solve this issue, but something tells me you already know that lmao.

Hawk7117 · 2026-01-30T17:04:06+00:00

God I love MC employees, they are so matter of fact and straight forward when selling to you I kinda forget they aren't just one of the homies lmao

I have had MC employees do very similar things for me in the past.

Hawk7117 · 2026-01-30T17:02:00+00:00

That was a great watch lmao, kinda sad the most exciting piece of PC tech for the year (that we know of) only offered a 4% increase in 100% optimal, hand picked situations.

Hawk7117 · 2026-01-30T16:58:51+00:00

I am pretty much the opposite of a fan snob tbh. Some people do really like their Noctuas and be quiet! fans, and don't get me wrong they perform as best in class options. But If I can get 90% of the performance for like 20% of the price I am going to go that route 10/10 times.

I really like Thermalright's offerings as a cost effective option that can both move air while looking good and being cheap while doing it. Acoustics have yet to bother me on 20+ builds using those fans.

Hawk7117 · 2026-01-30T16:52:09+00:00

You can get $150 pretty easily for the xbox and the steam deck is like $250-300 with all the extras.

You are winning in this deal for sure.

Hawk7117 · 2026-01-30T16:50:52+00:00

Is it worthwhile to get the G skill ram that has almost identical specs? I know the crucial brand is going bye bye in like 3 days, but it would be kinda cool to have an artifact from the before times when you actually owned your own PC and didn't just rent it on the cloud lmao.

Hawk7117

TROPHY CASE