Question First-Time PC Builder – Should I Stick With My Planned Build or Upgrade?

[Venom06]

Hi everyone! 👋
I’m new to the PC building world and this will be my very first custom desktop, so please go easy on me if I sound like a complete beginner. I’ve been using a Dell G3 laptop for the past 4 years (from my college days), and now I finally want to upgrade to a proper gaming PC.

My use case:

• Gaming (AAA titles + some competitive games)
• Streaming / binge watching
• Office work & day-to-day tasks
• Not much heavy video editing or 3D rendering

I went to a local PC shop with a budget of around $1,800 USD / €1,650 (just for the tower – no peripherals) and here’s the build they suggested:

• CPU: Intel Core i9-14000K
• GPU: NVIDIA RTX 5070
• Motherboard: ASUS TUF Gaming Z790 WiFi
• RAM: 32 GB DDR5 6000 MHz (2×16 GB)
• SSD: WD Black 1 TB NVMe
• PSU: 850 W 80+ Gold
• CPU Cooler: 360 mm AIO Liquid Cooler
• Case: ATX Mid Tower

They also offered these upgrades:

• Intel Core i9-14000KS (+$60)
• RTX 5070 Ti (+$345 over the RTX 5070)

Since I’m not planning to upgrade my PC for quite a while, I’m wondering:

• Is it worth stretching the budget for the i9-14000KS and/or RTX 5070 Ti?
• Or is the original build already balanced for my needs?
• Would you suggest swapping any parts for better value/performance?
• Any brands/models you personally recommend for PSU, cooler, case, or RAM?

I’m genuinely excited about building my first PC and would love to hear your thoughts. Thanks in advance for helping out a newbie!

 

[Colif]

I don't know Intel systems so I won't comment on CPU/Mb/Ram but I think you might want more storage than just 1tb. I would suggest another nvme as storage for games to live on. 1tb isn't enough space. 4tb more would be breathing space.

I can't really comment on GPU either. Since I don't own either.

PSU:
I would look at Corsair/Seasonic for PSU. Unless you want to look for a specific model

Best PSU Picks 2025 - Hardware Busters

Hardware Busters - Best PSU Picks 2025 - Best Picks

hwbusters.com

I chose mine from this listing

Using this to confirm PSU supplies enough power shows 850 should be enough:

PSU Calculator | PC Power Supply Wattage Calculator | CORSAIR

Corsair

www.corsair.com

Not sure who makes best AIO anymore, I chose air last time as its just easier,

Ram: Ideally you use the ram listing on motherboard website to pick the best ram:

TUF GAMING Z790-PLUS WIFI｜Motherboards｜ASUS Global

ASUS TUF GAMING Z790-PLUS WIFI is an Intel® Z790 (LGA 1700) ATX Gaming motherboard with 16+1 DrMOS power stages, PCIe® 5.0, DDR5 RAM support, four M.2 slots, USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 Type-C®, and Aura Sync RGB lighting.

www.asus.com

picking ram Asus already tested with board generally ends well.

Case: its really up to you, do you want an all glass case or one that has good cooling? I chose 2nd and got an Antec Flux Pro since it had a good record last year

CPU idles at 26c but then its not an Intel.

I am sure @Why_Me will fill in the gaps

 

[Venom06]

I don't know Intel systems so I won't comment on CPU/Mb/Ram but I think you might want more storage than just 1tb. I would suggest another nvme as storage for games to live on. 1tb isn't enough space. 4tb more would be breathing space.

I can't really comment on GPU either. Since I don't own either.

PSU:
I would look at Corsair/Seasonic for PSU. Unless you want to look for a specific model

Best PSU Picks 2025 - Hardware Busters

Hardware Busters - Best PSU Picks 2025 - Best Picks

hwbusters.com

I chose mine from this listing

Using this to confirm PSU supplies enough power shows 850 should be enough:

PSU Calculator | PC Power Supply Wattage Calculator | CORSAIR

Corsair

www.corsair.com

Not sure who makes best AIO anymore, I chose air last time as its just easier,

Ram: Ideally you use the ram listing on motherboard website to pick the best ram:

TUF GAMING Z790-PLUS WIFI｜Motherboards｜ASUS Global

ASUS TUF GAMING Z790-PLUS WIFI is an Intel® Z790 (LGA 1700) ATX Gaming motherboard with 16+1 DrMOS power stages, PCIe® 5.0, DDR5 RAM support, four M.2 slots, USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 Type-C®, and Aura Sync RGB lighting.

www.asus.com

picking ram Asus already tested with board generally ends well.

Case: its really up to you, do you want an all glass case or one that has good cooling? I chose 2nd and got an Antec Flux Pro since it had a good record last year

CPU idles at 26c but then its not an Intel.

I am sure @Why_Me will fill in the gaps

Haha, funny you mention that @Why_Me has actually already replied to my query in another forum 😄 Thanks for your help!

 

[Colif]

Haha, funny you mention that @Why_Me has actually already replied to my query in another forum 😄 Thanks for your help!

Tom's Hardware? both sites owned by same company.

 

[Venom06]

Tom's Hardware? both sites owned by same company.

Yeah

 

[neogunhero]

• Is it worth stretching the budget for the i9-14000KS and/or RTX 5070 Ti?
• Or is the original build already balanced for my needs?
• Would you suggest swapping any parts for better value/performance?
• Any brands/models you personally recommend for PSU, cooler, case, or RAM?

Can't comment on Intel since I only use AMD, but I know their company is going through major hard times. As long as the reviews for the CPU are good and show good gaming performance, that's all that matters really, especially if you can get it at a good price.

Same with the RTX 5070, I've heard it's a good card, but has some major pricing issues at the moment. I personally wouldn't buy it if it were more than $50 over MSRP, because beyond that you are paying extra money only to have the latest card which isn't the most important thing. You still need to get good value out of the money you are spending.

Nearly $400 more for the 5070 Ti over the 5070 is ridiculous, even MSRP differences are around $250 but is the performance worth the price? For that money you can splurge on a much nicer PSU, RAM, SSD or even a monitor.

For AIO coolers:

GN Mega Charts: CPU Cooler Benchmarks & Comparisons | GamersNexus

Features Coolers GN Mega Charts: CPU Cooler Benchmarks & Comparisons December 2, 2023 Last Updated: 2024-07-14 We've tested dozens of CPU coolers. These GN Mega Charts include our air vs. liquid benchmarks & more. The Highlights The data on this page is intended as a long-term support /...

gamersnexus.net

Gamer's Nexus consistently ranks Arctic coolers as top quality. The Arctic Liquid Freezer III 360 was able to keep the 14000KF the coolest in their testing.

 

[Why_Me]

Haha, funny you mention that @Why_Me has actually already replied to my query in another forum 😄 Thanks for your help!

Question - First-Time PC Builder – Should I Stick With My Planned Build or Upgrade?

Hi everyone! 👋 I’m new to the PC building world and this will be my very first custom desktop, so please go easy on me if I sound like a complete beginner. I’ve been using a Dell G3 laptop for the past 4 years (from my college days), and now I finally want to upgrade to a proper gaming PC. My...

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