Which CPU with GPU?

[Awkward]

Hi, totally clueless beginner here seeking advice, please, on behalf of son.
My son is buying his dream gaming PC, but cannot decide between the CPUs and GPUs and is confused by how they'll interact. He will only be gaming and is planning on buying a 4k monitor. Budget for the pc is £3000-£3500. Budget for monitor is £1000.
Our question is, which of these combos are 'best' for gaming:
Ryzen 9 9950X with RTX 4090
Ryzen 7 9800X3D with RTX 4080 Super
Ryzen 9 79750X3D with RTX 4090

We can't seem to find the 7 9800X3D with RTX 4090.

Advice, guidance, all gratefully received.

 

[SpyderTracks]

Hi, totally clueless beginner here seeking advice, please, on behalf of son.
My son is buying his dream gaming PC, but cannot decide between the CPUs and GPUs and is confused by how they'll interact. He will only be gaming and is planning on buying a 4k monitor. Budget for the pc is £3000-£3500. Budget for monitor is £1000.
Our question is, which of these combos are 'best' for gaming:
Ryzen 9 9950X with RTX 4090
Ryzen 7 9800X3D with RTX 4080 Super
Ryzen 9 79750X3D with RTX 4090

We can't seem to find the 7 9800X3D with RTX 4090.

Advice, guidance, all gratefully received.

We can only advise on full systems as each component has to match with others. PCS only sell full systems if that’s what you’re after?

 

[Awkward]

Thank you, Spyder. I think we may have found the solution in the Luna Ultra. Not my son's original theoretical spec, but perhaps a great option regardless.

 

[Scoped Badger]

Thank you, Spyder. I think we may have found the solution in the Luna Ultra. Not my son's original theoretical spec, but perhaps a great option regardless.

Definitely, and I can't stress this enough, do not buy an Intel CPU, especially the 14900KS.

Intel 13th and 14th Gen confirmed defective

So there's been a lot of upset gathering steam on the inter webs with intermittent games crashes on Intel 13th and 14th gen. Workarounds range from underclocking to disabling ecores. BUT, there are a lot of people finding that simply disabling hyperthreading is a proper solution. The findings...

www.pcspecialist.co.uk

 

[SpyderTracks]

Thank you, Spyder. I think we may have found the solution in the Luna Ultra. Not my son's original theoretical spec, but perhaps a great option regardless.

I would get advice on your build

Please read before posting:- Collaboration of Helpful Hints

NB: These forums are not an official support channel. None of us work for PCS, we're all either customers or techies who just like to help out where possible. For any official support, you need to contact PCS directly either through your PCS account, or via the contact details on the main...

www.pcspecialist.co.uk

 

[Awkward]

Definitely, and I can't stress this enough, do not buy an Intel CPU, especially the 14900KS.

Intel 13th and 14th Gen confirmed defective

So there's been a lot of upset gathering steam on the inter webs with intermittent games crashes on Intel 13th and 14th gen. Workarounds range from underclocking to disabling ecores. BUT, there are a lot of people finding that simply disabling hyperthreading is a proper solution. The findings...

www.pcspecialist.co.uk

I read your link. Thank you! We'll stick with AMD for the CPU.

 

[Awkward]

I would get advice on your build

Please read before posting:- Collaboration of Helpful Hints

NB: These forums are not an official support channel. None of us work for PCS, we're all either customers or techies who just like to help out where possible. For any official support, you need to contact PCS directly either through your PCS account, or via the contact details on the main...

www.pcspecialist.co.uk

Yeah, having now read about the Intel problems, we'll stick with AMD. Will be back for more advice after a bit more research. Thank you.

 

[Scott]

Not sure if you're perhaps misunderstanding the offer and advice available here. The volunteers will happily put together a spec for you with all the considerations offered. I would think it would be far easier to use the experienced folks to give you a starting point to then ask questions on, rather than putting together with a ton of reading being involved to get you there.

If it's for Christmas then you may not have much choice but to go for what's on offer just now, but if you can hold off till Jan/Feb then the latest and greatest offerings should be available (latest CPUs & Latest GPUs). They always release soon after Christmas as Christmas helps them clear the old stock). It's especially true with Laptops.

Below is how the conversations will typically flow. Just thinking it'll save you a lot of noodle scratching if it's not your particular comfort zone. It's often dangerous to get caught up in model numbers and combinations of model numbers. The flow and balance of the system are far more important.

Advice on PC configuration (for both gaming and simulation use)

I've been looking at a configuration for a reasonably chunky (but not top of the line) PC that I would use for playing games like modded Minecraft, modded Factorio, but also more mainstream triple AAA games (Baldur's gate, Cyberpunk etc. ) that I haven't thus far been able to try out with my...

www.pcspecialist.co.uk

 

[Awkward]

Thank you, Scott.​

As a starting point, this is available now, for Christmas. For the purposes of playing games like CoD, Minecraft etc, is this a sensibly balanced system? Please see below.​

As an ex-audiophile, I am aware that there are many, many ways to skin a cat and that system synergy is important if searching for the nth degree of optimisation. Having said that, my son seems intent on buying a ready configured system, so a less than optimal degree of synergy is anticipated. Where he is prepared to accept those compromises, I don't know and I don't think he does at the moment. Still, he's adamant he wants a PC at around this price and it's his money.​

Please could you let me know what you think? Thank you.

Technical specifications for PCSPECIALIST Nexa 670 Gaming PC - AMD Ryzen 9, RTX 4090, 2 TB SSD​

Overview​

Type
Gaming PC
Operating system
Windows 11 Home

Performance​

Graphics card
- NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4090
- 24 GB GDDR6
RAM
- 32 GB DDR5 (6000 MHz)
- 128 GB maximum installable RAM
Processor
- AMD Ryzen 9 9950X Processor
- 16-core
- 4.3 GHz / 5.7 GHz
- 80 MB cache
Storage
2 TB SSD
Motherboard
ASUS X670

Connectivity​

WiFi
- AX WiFi 6E
- 2x2
Ethernet
Gigabit Ethernet port
Bluetooth
Bluetooth 5.3
Ports
- USB Type-C x 1
- USB 3.2 x 7
- USB 2.0 x 2
- HDMI 2.1 x 1
- DisplayPort 2.1 x 2
- 3.5 mm jack x 3

Media​

Disc drive
No
Memory card reader
No

Features​

Keyboard
No
Mouse / trackpad
No
Other features
- RGB Lighting
- Tempered glass side panel
- Corsair RMx Series 80 Plus Gold 850 W modular PSU
Cooling
PCS FrostFlow 240 Series ARGB High Performance Liquid Cooler

Sound​

Audio software
Realtek 7.1-channel high definition audio

General​

Colour
Black
Weight
15.10 kg
Software
* Full version of Microsoft Office not included
* Full version of anti-virus / internet security not included

- Office 365 (30 day trial)
- Norton 360 (90 day trial)
Dimensions
453 x 230 x 466 mm (H x W x D)
Manufacturer’s guarantee
- 1 Year Collect & Return
- 1 Year Parts
- 3 Year Labour
Box contents
- PCSpecialist Nexa 630 Gaming PC (PCS-D2729931)
- Power cable
- Driver discs
- Manual
- Welcome pack

 

[Awkward]

I would get advice on your build

Please read before posting:- Collaboration of Helpful Hints

NB: These forums are not an official support channel. None of us work for PCS, we're all either customers or techies who just like to help out where possible. For any official support, you need to contact PCS directly either through your PCS account, or via the contact details on the main...

www.pcspecialist.co.uk

Ooohhhhh, I should have read this earlier. Sorry. Rushed off my feet, jumping in feet first instead of using my head.

 

[Scoped Badger]

Just to clarify:

Budget: £3000-£3500
Uses: Only gaming
Monitor: Budget of £1000 and your son wants a 4K display?

Is your son buying this himself? i.e it's not a Christmas present?

The reason I ask is that we have new GPU's being released in January and, given your excellent budget, I would strongly recommend waiting until then if possible. Anything you buy now will be a) over-priced and b) outdated in quite literally a months time.

 

[Awkward]

Just to clarify:

Budget: £3000-£3500
Uses: Only gaming
Monitor: Budget of £1000 and your son wants a 4K display?

Is your son buying this himself? i.e it's not a Christmas present?

The reason I ask is that we have new GPU's being released in January and, given your excellent budget, I would strongly recommend waiting until then if possible. Anything you buy now will be a) over-priced and b) outdated in quite literally a months time.

Hi, Scoped Badger.

Yep, that's it in a nutshell.

I totally get what you're saying about waiting. If it were my money I would wait. My son, however, has been promising himself this for a very long time and he'd really like it to be here by Christmas. It's a present to himself as he's been severely ill for over a year now. He makes the point that there will always be something better just around the corner and he could wait forever for the 'ultimate' only for it to be superceded, so why wait? He may have a point - we have to make the leap at some point if we want something.

I think my best bet is to try to persuade him that financially it would make sense to wait if he could stick with the same spec and not want the new latest and greatest which would nullify any saving.

Either that or I get my head around him buying what is available now at a higher cost. Like I say, it's his money, and lord knows he deserves something to bring him happiness after the illness. I'll talk to him.

Thanks again for responding. Appreciate it.

 

[SpyderTracks]

Hi, Scoped Badger.

Yep, that's it in a nutshell.

I totally get what you're saying about waiting. If it were my money I would wait. My son, however, has been promising himself this for a very long time and he'd really like it to be here by Christmas. It's a present to himself as he's been severely ill for over a year now. He makes the point that there will always be something better just around the corner and he could wait forever for the 'ultimate' only for it to be superceded, so why wait? He may have a point - we have to make the leap at some point if we want something.

I think my best bet is to try to persuade him that financially it would make sense to wait if he could stick with the same spec and not want the new latest and greatest which would nullify any saving.

Either that or I get my head around him buying what is available now at a higher cost. Like I say, it's his money, and lord knows he deserves something to bring him happiness after the illness. I'll talk to him.

Thanks again for responding. Appreciate it.

Just to give you some numerical understanding

Currently a 4090 is around 2k

A 5080 will likely equal it if not beat it at around £1000 to £1300

It really is just plain madness not to wait a month.

Or a 5090 is reckoned to be around £1800 - £2000 and will just be another league entirely if hardware specs are anything to go by

 

[Awkward]

Just to give you some numerical understanding

Currently a 4090 is around 2k

A 5080 will likely equal it if not beat it at around £1000 to £1300

It really is just plain madness not to wait a month.

Or a 5090 is reckoned to be around £1800 - £2000 and will just be another league entirely if hardware specs are anything to go by

Thanks, SpyderTracks.

Those are very compelling figures! I'm going to have to get him to wait somehow.

 

[Scott]

He isn't wrong that there's always something around the corner, but every now and then you get a perfect storm. It tends to be when the latest Nvidia cards come out, after that point it tends to be "refreshed" versions, which you can always wait for something new.

In Jan/Feb we're going to get the next generation from Nvidia, as your son is after top end they will be the first to release (normally). At the same time we're expecting the new AMD X3D chips to come out, the 9800X3D is already out and it's a gem..... but the 9950X3D, if rumours are to be believed, is set to be very special.

Given the situation, I think a real reward and gift would be a 9950X3D and a 5080, that's a salivating combo to anyone IMO.

 

[Awkward]

He isn't wrong that there's always something around the corner, but every now and then you get a perfect storm. It tends to be when the latest Nvidia cards come out, after that point it tends to be "refreshed" versions, which you can always wait for something new.

In Jan/Feb we're going to get the next generation from Nvidia, as your son is after top end they will be the first to release (normally). At the same time we're expecting the new AMD X3D chips to come out, the 9800X3D is already out and it's a gem..... but the 9950X3D, if rumours are to be believed, is set to be very special.

Given the situation, I think a real reward and gift would be a 9950X3D and a 5080, that's a salivating combo to anyone IMO.

This is great information that I just wouldn't have known. Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge and wisdom, Scott.

And thanks to all of you who contributed to this thread; you've guided me brilliantly. If I come back to the forum in the new year, I'll make sure to follow the posting guidance and put it in the right section. Thanks, All.