Please let me know if there’s a better place to seek information /answers.
I’m planning on finally jumping away from Windows altogether and I’ve needed to build a new PC for awhile so I’ve put together a potential Linux build here: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/fhYvQP
I’m planning on running Nobara and using this as a daily driver with a focus on gaming and some future proofing for down the road as well.
I’m mainly curious if there’s any glaring issues (besides updating the mobo) with the build, and if there’s any more efficient parts I’ve overlooked. The storage are just placeholders for drives I already have. I was kinda aiming for a budget build ish, but future proofing bumped it up a bit.
PCPartPicker Part List: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/fhYvQP
CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D 4.2 GHz 8-Core Processor ($391.00 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-U12S chromax.black 55 CFM CPU Cooler ($89.95 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: MSI MAG B650 TOMAHAWK WIFI ATX AM5 Motherboard ($199.00 @ MSI)
Memory: G.Skill Flare X5 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR5-6000 CL30 Memory ($106.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Samsung 850 Evo 250 GB 2.5" Solid State Drive
Storage: Seagate BarraCuda 4 TB 3.5" 5400 RPM Internal Hard Drive ($84.99 @ B&H)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda Compute 2 TB 3.5" 7200 RPM Internal Hard Drive ($64.98 @ Amazon)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda Compute 2 TB 3.5" 7200 RPM Internal Hard Drive ($64.98 @ Amazon)
Video Card: XFX Speedster SWFT 309 Radeon RX 6700 XT 12 GB Video Card ($329.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Fractal Design Meshify 2 RGB ATX Mid Tower Case ($114.99 @ B&H)
Power Supply: Cooler Master MWE Gold 850 - V2 850 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply ($95.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $1542.86
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2024-04-03 21:12 EDT-0400
Looks good but I personally would switch the CPU to a Ryzen 5 7600x and go for an RX6800xt or RX7800xt instead. Unless the games you play are heavy on the CPU usage you are likely to get way more mileage from a better GPU than the 3D cache and 2 extra cores. You can always buy whatever the latest 3D AM5 chip will be in the future when you feel the need to upgrade, or a used 7800x3D for a much lower price.
I actually really liked that idea, thank you.
If you’re planning to upgrade to a higher-end CPU later, and if your case and RAM dimensions allow it, I wonder if it would make sense to get a CPU cooler with two fin stacks. That way, you wouldn’t have to replace it when upgrade time comes.
(AMD recommends liquid cooling for some of their recent CPUs, but I did a test that showed a dual-tower Noctua air cooler performing roughly as well as an Arctic 420mm liquid cooler on a 7950X3D, so that should be sufficient for any of their current desktop models.)
If price is the limiting factor, maybe consider one of the newer dual-tower coolers from other brands that have been getting good reviews, and replace the included fans with Noctua fans.
Do you really need all of those drives? You may want an NVMe drive, which will help the system well so much more snappy and load games faster. A 1TB NVMe is ~$80, which would be plenty for your OS and most (all?) of your games.
I think that’s totally worth it, but YMMV.
Haha no, it’s just what I have from my old box, it’s storage for media mostly. I put those on as placeholders so I could calculate max power draw.
I will definitely be picking up a NVMe SSD at some point, it’s just not necessary for my initial build. You have completely valid points.
So, I have the same CPU and memory, similar GPU but an ITX motherboard from Gigabyte (B650I)
So far so great, it’s working without a hitch
And it’s not only snappy, with the Noctua coolers it’s very quiet, even with demanding titles the system stays quite quiet
If noise matters, you could probably find a quieter power supply. That Cooler Master looks mediocre in that department. Test results are available here:
You might have problems with the Realtek NIC. Look for a board with Intel networking
Hmm, I went with the mobo cause I wanted the Nuvoton I/O Controller since I’d read that was more likely to have sensor support with Linux.
Was having a hard time finding them since I could only find the info by driving into support .pdfs but I could look around more.
It is also a possibility to get a MB without WiFi and add an add-on pcie board. Like that it is possible to upgrade that part too.
Edit : Bonus point if you take one with removable wifi chip, like that one, as you can upgrade for cheaper (buy a $30 laptop card and swap it on the add-on card, and you are good to go), and reduce e-waste.
That was good advice until somewhat recently, but Intel’s i225-v and i226-v ethernet chips are garbage (extraordinarily high rate of malfunctioning silicon) and they are unfortunately common on motherboards. You might end up with a good one, but it’s a gamble. Probably best to avoid them.
My board has Realtek 2.5gbit ethernet, and it’s working very well.
I just went through this exercise myself. 7800x3d with a 7900xt and Asus x670e-e mobi. My only recommendation is to make sure you pick a distro with newish hardware support. I started on Mint but had a lot of hardware troubles (mostly audio related) even with their newest kernel. Switched to Manjaro and the hardware issues were all resolved by the newer kernel and alsalib packages. Wasn’t crazy about their package manager though so I ended up on Tumbleweed and it’s smooth sailing so far.
I see no issues with your plan otherwise. The only caution I’d give is if you plan to get a beefier GPU later you’ll also need to upgrade the power supply, but looks fine with the parts you’ve picked.
