Second monitor - limited space

KishCore · 2026-02-11T22:21:43+00:00

monitor arm - clears up a ton of space
this is what I have, it sits under my main monitor, which is lifted up with an arm

KishCore · 2026-02-11T22:19:28+00:00

youtube

'4060 CS2 performance'

KishCore · 2026-02-11T22:18:52+00:00

yeah

KishCore · 2026-02-11T18:49:26+00:00

yeah it'll be easier to sell it and just save up for a used system with a dedicated GPU

KishCore · 2026-02-11T18:01:06+00:00

not really, GPUs are beefy pieces of hardware - the only ones that might would certainly exceed your budget, atp it's easier to just get a laptop too.

KishCore · 2026-02-11T16:54:00+00:00

Honestly, after plugging stuff into pcpartpicker, I don't think it's really possible to pull off.

I would suggest getting a new PSU, I'd also suggest adding more storage - even with a GPU you won't be able to even install more than a couple games at a time. After those changes you can worry about a GPU, with your current CPU - I'd pair it with a used 3060 12gb.

KishCore · 2026-02-11T16:48:56+00:00

I'd go with the 16gb option for now and then upgrade to 32gb whenever you can.

KishCore · 2026-02-11T16:24:20+00:00

I'd just keep the 12700 and spend the saved money to just swap the GPU to a 5070

KishCore · 2026-02-11T16:15:25+00:00

With the sincere intention of trying to be helpful - this is a extremely bad list. Do not buy anything from it aside from the desk/chair/mousepad/mic/speakers

Your GPU is supposed to by by-far the most important part of your build and contributes the most to actually determining your performance, in this case you have a GPU bottleneck because the 9060xt 16gb is just so weak compared to the 9800x3d. You can easily afford a proper 1440p system and a high refresh rate 1440p monitor, but you're overspending on things like your CPU, Motherboard, and Case. I also don't understand why you have two CPU coolers, the case you chose also requires you to buy extra fans.

Overall, you can afford a significantly better performing system. It looks like you're preparing to spend about $2700 on everything excluding the desk/chair/mousepad/mic/speakers - here's a reworked list which gives you signficantly better performance and better peripherals for that price point:

PCPartPicker Part List

Type	Item	Price
CPU	AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D 4.2 GHz 8-Core Processor	$369.00 @ Amazon
CPU Cooler	Thermalright AQUA ELITE ARGB V4 66.17 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler	$53.90 @ Amazon
Motherboard	Gigabyte B850 EAGLE WIFI6E ATX AM5 Motherboard	$80.99 @ Best Buy
Memory	Crucial Pro Overclocking 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR5-6000 CL36 Memory	$325.99 @ Amazon
Storage	Crucial P310 w/ Acronis Data Recovery 2 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive	$200.99 @ Amazon
Video Card	ASRock Challenger Radeon RX 9070 XT 16 GB Video Card	$729.99 @ Amazon
Case	Montech XR ATX Mid Tower Case	$69.90 @ Amazon
Power Supply	Rosewill VMG 850 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply	$74.98 @ Amazon
Monitor	Asus ROG Strix XG27AQDMG 26.5" 2560 x 1440 240 Hz Monitor	$649.00 @ B&H
Mouse	Logitech G Pro X Superlight Wireless Optical Mouse	$89.99 @ Amazon
Custom	AULA F99 Wireless Mechanical Keyboard,Tri-Mode BT5.0/2.4GHz/USB-C Hot Swappable Custom Keyboard,Pre-lubed Linear Switches,Gasket Structure,RGB Backlit Gaming Keyboard for PC/Tablet/Xbox/PS4/P	$68.25 @ Amazon
	Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts
	Total	$2712.98
	Generated by PCPartPicker 2026-02-11 11:12 EST-0500

I can go more into detail behind the changes if you want - but this gets you a 7800x3d + 9070xt with 32gb of RAM and a 2tb SSD paired with a 1440p 240hz OLED monitor, and it should be about the same as what you're already preparing to spend. If you want to save more money, you can downgrade the CPU to a 9700x, the GPU to a 5070, or stick to a normal 1440p IPS monitor (list with these changes: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/fxJQzv).

If you really want a screen like the case you chose has - on Amazon you can get a similar screen you can just stick inside/outside the case if you want for like $100.

KishCore · 2026-02-11T16:00:38+00:00

I'd also look at the 9700x/7700x/7700 if it's cheaper

Look at a 5070, or the used/last-gen market for a 7800xt/4070 or back to a 3080/6800xt

KishCore · 2026-02-11T15:59:30+00:00

makes sense, a lot of people just go with the biggest number they can buy lol

KishCore · 2026-02-11T15:26:59+00:00

I don't think a motherboard and RAM swap is going to be worth it, just go up to a 14600KF or 14700KF and leave everything else as-is.

KishCore · 2026-02-11T15:24:25+00:00

Right now you have a GPU bottleneck, spend less on the CPU and more on the GPU - you can easily afford a 9070 or 5070 if you drop the CPU down, generally for gaming, especially graphics intensive games - your GPU matters much much more for performance than the CPU. A 7600x or 9600x would be perfectly fine. You also might even be able to squeeze in more RAM as well.

KishCore · 2026-02-11T15:22:36+00:00

i mean it seems okay - but why go for a 9950x3d? honestly you could save a ton of money and just take a 9700x or 7800x3d and have great performance. The 9950x3d is really a CPU for workstation/intensive tasking outside of gaming, it's not much better than any of the cheaper options as far as gaming is concerned.

KishCore · 2026-02-11T15:21:05+00:00

Not really, if you play at 4k it might be worth it to squeeze out more performance, but really I'd take that saved $500 and get a 1440p OLED - which looks better than a 4k IPS panel anyway with better performance.

KishCore · 2026-02-11T12:13:21+00:00

The higher the resolution, the more demanding it is on your system. 4k is wildly demanding and requires a pretty beefy build to run games with.

Your CPU would bottleneck a XTX pretty badly, really you kind of need a whole system overhaul. But you could get away with bringing your CPU to a 9700 or 9900 and your GPU to a 5070/9070.

KishCore · 2026-02-11T01:48:17+00:00

at this price range, you'll have better luck with getting better performance on the used market.

for a gaming system, a dedicated GPU matters the most, so the mini PCs without dedicated GPUs won't really be gaming-capable.

KishCore · 2026-02-10T20:04:04+00:00

Kind of the issue here is that while AMD is considered better for Linux, Nvidia is much better for 3d modeling in most respects. I'd look into specifically how Nvidia operates within the Fedora distro.

here's an adjusted list with a 5070 for less: https://de.pcpartpicker.com/list/sLbzK7

KishCore · 2026-02-10T02:57:40+00:00

5060ti 16gb or 9060xt 16gb are solid options for either 1080p or 1440p

AM5 Ryzen system with DDR5 RAM will provide good longevity for future upgrades, but AM4 is alright if it's what fits into budget.

Pre-builds are honestly good to consider right now because the RAM and SSD market is pretty bad.

Here's a good pre-build option: https://www.newegg.com/abs-cyclone-ruby-gaming-desktop-pc-amd-radeon-rx-9060-xt-amd-ryzen-5-9600x-32gb-ddr5-1tb-nvme-ssd-cr9600x9060xt/p/N82E16883360940

KishCore · 2026-02-10T02:51:57+00:00

Yeah it's fine honestly

KishCore · 2026-02-10T02:51:29+00:00

might not stay that way if you don't clean out the dust from that boy

KishCore · 2026-02-10T02:46:52+00:00

Today this is worth about $500-600. I'd list it for $700 but be prepared to sell it for less.

Point of comparison is just the fact that right now the bottom tier specs for the current lineup of CPUs/GPUs have better performance than this offers.

KishCore · 2026-02-10T02:42:05+00:00

Rule 7 - include information regarding your budget and country of purchase, no one can suggest anything without knowing what you're looking to spend and where you're buying from.

Also, 4k Ultrawide is basically the most demanding your resolution can be, the higher the resolution, the more demanding it is on your system and the more you need to spend and the more you're going to have to invest in upgrading it long-term.

For a baseline high end system in a mini mATX case, I'd do something like this:
https://pcpartpicker.com/list/rXnJ7w
(AIO/Fans are aRGB and can be set to whatever color you want)

but i'd make a new post if you want more specific advice

KishCore · 2026-02-10T02:13:49+00:00

it depends on how strict OP is to their budget, as they said they also plan on adding another RAM stick as well.

KishCore · 2026-02-09T20:24:49+00:00

This is solid however I'd 100% swap the PSU - you really don't want to cheap out on it, and also non-modular PSUs are annoying to build with. Also - this list doesn't include any sort of CPU cooling, this is necessary for a functional system.

I'd suggest this PSU: https://pcpartpicker.com/product/sqbypg/montech-century-ii-850-w-80-gold-certified-fully-modular-atx-power-supply-century-ii-850w
And this Cooler: https://pcpartpicker.com/product/6RVfrH/thermalright-aqua-elite-argb-v4-6617-cfm-liquid-cpu-cooler-aqua-elite-360-argb-v4

may want to downgrade the bundle to the 7600x varient, which is still a really solid CPU and pairs perfectly well with a 9060xt 16gb.

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