Is it really worth the money for the more expensive of these desktops?

[BradTheHawk]

Hey everyone i know a thing or two about PC gaming but im by no means an expert, im looking for a desktop that will be able to play the newest games that come out in high graphics or better, but i dont need to play wtih 240 FPS or anything like that as long as it runs at 60 im happy. I dont ever stream, i dont run multiple high demand applications at the same time, im just looking to play games for fun. So my question is, would it really be worth it for me to buy the most expensive of these 3 desktops?

https://www.bestbuy.com/product/asu...90-32gb-1tb-ssd-black/JJGGLH39C7/sku/10148551 ---MOST EXPENSIVE


https://www.bestbuy.com/product/asu...dia-geforce-rtx-5080-2tb-ssd-black/JJGGLH3SVP ---- SECOND MOST EXPENSIVE


https://www.bestbuy.com/product/asu...eforce-rtx-5080-16gb-2tb-ssd-black/JJGGLH35TS ------ LEAST EXPENSIVE ONE IVE BEEN LOOKING AT GETTING

Thank you for your help everyone.

 

[Why_Me]

Hey everyone i know a thing or two about PC gaming but im by no means an expert, im looking for a desktop that will be able to play the newest games that come out in high graphics or better, but i dont need to play wtih 240 FPS or anything like that as long as it runs at 60 im happy. I dont ever stream, i dont run multiple high demand applications at the same time, im just looking to play games for fun. So my question is, would it really be worth it for me to buy the most expensive of these 3 desktops?

https://www.bestbuy.com/product/asu...90-32gb-1tb-ssd-black/JJGGLH39C7/sku/10148551 ---MOST EXPENSIVE


https://www.bestbuy.com/product/asu...dia-geforce-rtx-5080-2tb-ssd-black/JJGGLH3SVP ---- SECOND MOST EXPENSIVE


https://www.bestbuy.com/product/asu...eforce-rtx-5080-16gb-2tb-ssd-black/JJGGLH35TS ------ LEAST EXPENSIVE ONE IVE BEEN LOOKING AT GETTING

Thank you for your help everyone.

What's your resolution?

Less expensive option is to order the components and afterwards call around to local PC / laptop repair shops and have them build it for you. This way you know exactly what you're getting inside your case.

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: *AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D 4.2 GHz 8-Core Processor ($359.00 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: *ID-COOLING FROZN A620 PRO SE 58 CFM CPU Cooler ($29.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: *Gigabyte B850 GAMING X WIFI6E ATX AM5 Motherboard ($179.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: *TEAMGROUP T-Create Expert 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR5-6000 CL30 Memory ($99.99 @ B&H)
Storage: *MSI SPATIUM M480 PRO 2 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive ($119.99 @ MSI)
Video Card: *Asus PRIME OC Radeon RX 9070 XT 16 GB Video Card ($719.99 @ Amazon)
Case: *Antec FLUX SE ATX Mid Tower Case ($79.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: *ASRock Steel Legend SL-850G 850 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $1688.93
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
*Lowest price parts chosen from parametric criteria
Generated by PCPartPicker 2025-09-03 23:33 EDT-0400

https://www.tomshardware.com/software/windows/windows-11-free-or-cheap

PCPartPicker Part List

Monitor: *MSI G272QPF E2 27.0" 2560 x 1440 180 Hz Monitor ($209.99 @ B&H)
Total: $209.99
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
*Lowest price parts chosen from parametric criteria
Generated by PCPartPicker 2025-09-03 19:32 EDT-0400

 

[Zed Clampet]

Hey everyone i know a thing or two about PC gaming but im by no means an expert, im looking for a desktop that will be able to play the newest games that come out in high graphics or better, but i dont need to play wtih 240 FPS or anything like that as long as it runs at 60 im happy. I dont ever stream, i dont run multiple high demand applications at the same time, im just looking to play games for fun. So my question is, would it really be worth it for me to buy the most expensive of these 3 desktops?

https://www.bestbuy.com/product/asu...90-32gb-1tb-ssd-black/JJGGLH39C7/sku/10148551 ---MOST EXPENSIVE


https://www.bestbuy.com/product/asu...dia-geforce-rtx-5080-2tb-ssd-black/JJGGLH3SVP ---- SECOND MOST EXPENSIVE


https://www.bestbuy.com/product/asu...eforce-rtx-5080-16gb-2tb-ssd-black/JJGGLH35TS ------ LEAST EXPENSIVE ONE IVE BEEN LOOKING AT GETTING

Thank you for your help everyone.

The xx90 cards are generally considered to be poor values, but maybe not. It depends on how long you want to go before putting any more money into your computer. If you are going to play on 1k or 2k resolution, I can see the the 5090 lasting you well past when you would normally have to upgrade. People who have 1080 cards are still chugging along just fine (without AI or ray tracing or DSS capabilities) at 1k and that card is 9 years old. I'd imagine that something as boss as the 5090 will probably last you as long as the card itself lasts, given that you've said you aren't that picky anyway. If you manage your thermals correctly, I can see it lasting 10 plus years (but that's no guarantee and depends on a lot of things, like are you running it all the time, random luck, etc.)

The reason I'm not talking about the 5080 is because it should have had 24 GB of VRAM. I'm not comfortable saying that 16 GB will be fine even 10 years from now (although it likely will be fine).

 

[BradTheHawk]

What's your resolution?

1920 x 1080 I dont plan on upgrading my monitor.

 

[Why_Me]

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: *AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D 4.7 GHz 8-Core Processor ($469.00 @ B&H)
CPU Cooler: *ARCTIC Liquid Freezer III Pro A-RGB 360 77 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($98.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: *MSI MAG B850 TOMAHAWK MAX WIFI ATX AM5 Motherboard ($196.50 @ Amazon)
Memory: *TEAMGROUP T-Force Delta RGB 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR5-6000 CL30 Memory ($102.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: *MSI SPATIUM M480 PRO 2 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive ($119.99 @ MSI)
Video Card: *Asus PRIME GeForce RTX 5070 Ti 16 GB Video Card ($749.99 @ Amazon)
Case: *Lian Li LANCOOL 216 RGB ATX Mid Tower Case ($92.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: *ASRock Steel Legend SL-850G 850 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $1930.44
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
*Lowest price parts chosen from parametric criteria
Generated by PCPartPicker 2025-09-04 01:51 EDT-0400

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9TfR60pM5oU

 

[Colif]

Wish mine had only cost that price... mine was double that without a GPU.

 

[Zed Clampet]

Wish mine had only cost that price... mine was double that without a GPU.

We should make a habit of posting our lists and tagging @Why_Me

 

[Colif]

I could have made it cheaper, I didn't have to pick that motherboard and well, 1200 of my cost was just the drives. I didn't really need the ram either but well... I wasn't really complaining, I like what I have

https://au.pcpartpicker.com/list/FyVhJn

Just wish prices here were more sane.

 

[Zed Clampet]

I could have made it cheaper, I didn't have to pick that motherboard and well, 1200 of my cost was just the drives. I didn't really need the ram either but well... I wasn't really complaining, I like what I have

https://au.pcpartpicker.com/list/FyVhJn

Just wish prices here were more sane.

Just tell @Why_Me to go the luxury route--like your $400 trackball rec.

 

[Colif]

Just tell @Why_Me to go the luxury route--like your $400 trackball rec.

I had a limit. I also had fun picking all the parts. I did ask other peoples opinions before I bought anything. Just not in here

I mean, if I was rich I would have picked another case even though mine is pretty good.
https://www.silverstonetek.com/en/product/info/computer-chassis/alf2b_g/ (beware, malwarebytes warned me of that site, which seems odd for SIlverstone.)
And if I had bought that I would need the next thing to fill in some of the space (and probably solid tubing water coolling everything

i can double my PC's price just by adding one thing
5090 for a cheap $4600
considering their intro price here was 8k, that is cheap.
I know I could have been more expensive, just using a 9950x3d would have added $600 to cost... I almost got one of those too.

need to add a waterblock for GPU to price list... really, easy to make a PC that costs 20k now.

I could have cheaped out on my air cooler as well, but I like what it looks like

 

[Zed Clampet]

I had a limit. I also had fun picking all the parts. I did ask other peoples opinions before I bought anything. Just not in here

I mean, if I was rich I would have picked another case even though mine is pretty good.
https://www.silverstonetek.com/en/product/info/computer-chassis/alf2b_g/ (beware, malwarebytes warned me of that site, which seems odd for SIlverstone.)
And if I had bought that I would need the next thing to fill in some of the space (and probably solid tubing water coolling everything

i can double my PC's price just by adding one thing
5090 for a cheap $4600
considering their intro price here was 8k, that is cheap.
I know I could have been more expensive, just using a 9950x3d would have added $600 to cost... I almost got one of those too.

need to add a waterblock for GPU to price list... really, easy to make a PC that costs 20k now.

I could have cheaped out on my air cooler as well, but I like what it looks like

That Alta F2 case is very nice, but the "90 degree rotating motherboard" gave me flashbacks

 

[Colif]

That Alta F2 case is very nice, but the "90 degree rotating motherboard" gave me flashbacks

that layout is an upscaled version of one of their old cases, including the 3 fans that feed it underneath

If they had made a less expensive version of it I would have been tempted.