A "quick" reference guide to building the perfect system. This is the sort of logic I go through when suggesting systems, so thought I would jot it down on the page. Clearly this is an ever changing suite of options but I'll update periodically as my default go-to's change...
AMD or Intel:
As has been the case for a while now it's a no brainer. There are very few situations where Intel has any edge over AMD now, the power consumption, cooling issues and on-going fears of quality control mean if you're starting from scratch there's only one sensible option. AMD has committed to supporting the socket into the future (2027, which means a chip or 2 to come on the socket) and are top of the pile in every recommendation. I don't see this changing anytime soon but I am hopeful that Intel will be back in time for better competition/pricing.
For gaming it's a complete whitewash and only been getting worse of late. The 9800X3D is the king of gaming, and it's not too shabby with multi-tasking or productivity either.
Which CPU:
This completely comes down to what you would use the system for. The X3D offerings from AMD are for gaming users. There are only 2 sensible considerations, the 9800X3D and the soon to be available 9950X3D (eta March 2025). The 9950X3D would be for heavy gamers and secondary intensive process users. The 9950X is no slouch and offers higher performance, it's just not quite the gaming powerhouse that the X3D chips are.
Which Motherboard:
The motherboard situation is quite interesting. I'm not overfly fond of the way AMD have gone about their chipset naming conversion. Keeping it brief, the 870 chipset is equivalent to the 650E chipset, which means the naming doesn't really go for much now. B650 TUF is my starting point, if you need more PCIe lanes or a higher end VRM, the only real choice is the X870E chipset, which tends to be Gigabyte for now. The ASUS offering is the Hero motherboard which is eye wateringly expensive. There aren't any decent in-between options at the moment.
Which RAM:
RAM is possibly the least complicated it's ever been. Of course it comes down to budget, but the recommendation would be the fastest 2x16GB kit you can get. 32GB is going to be my new recommendation where budget allows, unless for specific tasks (Video editing, Rendering, etc).
AMD recommend 6000Mhz for their kits. Even now with faster RAM being available, dropping the frequency and lowering the timing has a better impact than keeping higher frequency with looser timings. It's worth getting faster RAM when the cost is insignificant or the timing is better, but I wouldn't get too deep into it. Always opt for 2 sticks where possible, 4 will reduce default speeds and will need tweaked to get the most out of it, better to keep it simple and opt for 2.
For MSFS2024 you will want to consider 64GB of RAM, this isn't necessary and is purely for the highest end. It's just worth noting that it's a consideration in builds.
Which GPU:
Pricing for GPUs have gotten ridiculous over the years. The pricing is eye watering. To get into gaming at a good level takes a minimum investment. You always want to match the GPU to the monitor resolution/refresh rate. Try not to get caught up in benchmark figures as you could bring a 4090/5090 to its knees at 1080p using insane settings. There's no point in burning money when the GPU is most likely the first thing you will upgrade.
We will never, ever, recommend overshooting your requirements. You can't future proof a GPU, it's just impossible. You can waste money overshooting your requirements, but this just costs money rather than offering protection. The main consideration I have in the below is actually vRAM. I would suggest 12GB to be the minimum now, unfortunately that does affect pricing brackets significantly. Below isn't what's available, just what I would suggest you consider.
Note that the next generation GPUs are releasing imminently, they will likely just swap the numbers to 50 rather than 40 for Nvidia though. There is an AMD release due fairly soon too but it's quite tight lipped at the moment.
1080p - AMD 7600XT / 4060 Ti (16GB)
1440p - 4070 (Super) or AMD 7800XT. This comes down to technologies. Some prefer DLSS and Ray Tracing. I would probably opt for the 4070 here, it's better value with the tech involved.
1440p Extreme - 4070 Ti Super or 7900XT. Similar to above, the difference here is you're looking to push high refresh and you're willing to pay for it. 7900XT performs better in raster but you get some better bells and whistles with Nvidia.
4k or Ultrawide - 4080 Super or 7900 XTX. Exactly as previous, these cards trade blows so it comes down to the technolgy you want to have in play. I would let the current pricing make your mind up for you. Consider the vRAM of the 7900XTX, given the way gaming is going nowadays, especially for 4k.
Ultimate Gaming - 4090. There's no contest at this level but boy do you pay for it.
...... Continued
AMD or Intel:
As has been the case for a while now it's a no brainer. There are very few situations where Intel has any edge over AMD now, the power consumption, cooling issues and on-going fears of quality control mean if you're starting from scratch there's only one sensible option. AMD has committed to supporting the socket into the future (2027, which means a chip or 2 to come on the socket) and are top of the pile in every recommendation. I don't see this changing anytime soon but I am hopeful that Intel will be back in time for better competition/pricing.
For gaming it's a complete whitewash and only been getting worse of late. The 9800X3D is the king of gaming, and it's not too shabby with multi-tasking or productivity either.
Which CPU:
This completely comes down to what you would use the system for. The X3D offerings from AMD are for gaming users. There are only 2 sensible considerations, the 9800X3D and the soon to be available 9950X3D (eta March 2025). The 9950X3D would be for heavy gamers and secondary intensive process users. The 9950X is no slouch and offers higher performance, it's just not quite the gaming powerhouse that the X3D chips are.
Which Motherboard:
The motherboard situation is quite interesting. I'm not overfly fond of the way AMD have gone about their chipset naming conversion. Keeping it brief, the 870 chipset is equivalent to the 650E chipset, which means the naming doesn't really go for much now. B650 TUF is my starting point, if you need more PCIe lanes or a higher end VRM, the only real choice is the X870E chipset, which tends to be Gigabyte for now. The ASUS offering is the Hero motherboard which is eye wateringly expensive. There aren't any decent in-between options at the moment.
Which RAM:
RAM is possibly the least complicated it's ever been. Of course it comes down to budget, but the recommendation would be the fastest 2x16GB kit you can get. 32GB is going to be my new recommendation where budget allows, unless for specific tasks (Video editing, Rendering, etc).
AMD recommend 6000Mhz for their kits. Even now with faster RAM being available, dropping the frequency and lowering the timing has a better impact than keeping higher frequency with looser timings. It's worth getting faster RAM when the cost is insignificant or the timing is better, but I wouldn't get too deep into it. Always opt for 2 sticks where possible, 4 will reduce default speeds and will need tweaked to get the most out of it, better to keep it simple and opt for 2.
For MSFS2024 you will want to consider 64GB of RAM, this isn't necessary and is purely for the highest end. It's just worth noting that it's a consideration in builds.
Which GPU:
Pricing for GPUs have gotten ridiculous over the years. The pricing is eye watering. To get into gaming at a good level takes a minimum investment. You always want to match the GPU to the monitor resolution/refresh rate. Try not to get caught up in benchmark figures as you could bring a 4090/5090 to its knees at 1080p using insane settings. There's no point in burning money when the GPU is most likely the first thing you will upgrade.
We will never, ever, recommend overshooting your requirements. You can't future proof a GPU, it's just impossible. You can waste money overshooting your requirements, but this just costs money rather than offering protection. The main consideration I have in the below is actually vRAM. I would suggest 12GB to be the minimum now, unfortunately that does affect pricing brackets significantly. Below isn't what's available, just what I would suggest you consider.
Note that the next generation GPUs are releasing imminently, they will likely just swap the numbers to 50 rather than 40 for Nvidia though. There is an AMD release due fairly soon too but it's quite tight lipped at the moment.
1080p - AMD 7600XT / 4060 Ti (16GB)
1440p - 4070 (Super) or AMD 7800XT. This comes down to technologies. Some prefer DLSS and Ray Tracing. I would probably opt for the 4070 here, it's better value with the tech involved.
1440p Extreme - 4070 Ti Super or 7900XT. Similar to above, the difference here is you're looking to push high refresh and you're willing to pay for it. 7900XT performs better in raster but you get some better bells and whistles with Nvidia.
4k or Ultrawide - 4080 Super or 7900 XTX. Exactly as previous, these cards trade blows so it comes down to the technolgy you want to have in play. I would let the current pricing make your mind up for you. Consider the vRAM of the 7900XTX, given the way gaming is going nowadays, especially for 4k.
Ultimate Gaming - 4090. There's no contest at this level but boy do you pay for it.
...... Continued
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