It’s been over a decade since I built my last Gaming PC (a i7-6700k Intel Skylake rig), and three years since I purchased my gaming laptop - a Lenovo Legion 5 Pro (i7-12700H). Before that, it was aa first generation Intel Core i5 or i7 (i forget). Before that, it was an Intel Core 2 Quad Q6600. Except for one AMD build from over two decades ago, I’ve been entirely Team Blue (Intel) for my entire life. Even for Graphics Cards, except for a very early ATI graphics card (and the amazing Create Labs Voodoo II card), I’ve been Team Green (nVidia) for my entire PC Gaming life.
Over the last couple of years, I’ve been following the progress of Intel, nVidia and AMD, as well as various media outlets that have covered them, and debated going full Team Read (AMD) for a future build.
In May 2022, I ordered the AMD powered Steam Deck, and was absolutely blown away by it! Performance for such a small device was incredible, and it was all running on a Non-Windows Operating System (Arch). So AMD was clearly a major contender for the PC Gaming space again.
Fast fooorward to this week, and I’ve not only purchased but finally built my new Team Red rig.
The Spec:
Find this build on PC Part Picker
| Type | Item | Price | Purchase Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| CPU | AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D 4.7 GHz 8-Core Processor | €539.00 @ Alternate | 14/03/2025 |
| CPU Cooler | Noctua NH-D15 82.5 CFM CPU Cooler | €89.00 @ Amazon Belgium | 27/03/2025 |
| Motherboard | ASRock Phantom Gaming X870E Nova WiFi ATX AM5 Motherboard | €399.00 @ Megekko | 14/03/2025 |
| Memory | G.Skill Trident Z5 Neo RGB 64 GB (2 x 32 GB) DDR5-6000 CL30 Memory | €239.90 @ Alternate | 14/03/2025 |
| Storage | Western Digital WD_Black SN850X 2 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive | €128.61 @ Amazon Germany | 29/03/2025 |
| Video Card | Sapphire NITRO+ Radeon RX 9070 XT 16 GB Video Card | €816.07 @ Ebuyer UK (£729.99) | 06/03/2025 |
| Case | Antec FLUX PRO ATX Full Tower Case | €189.00 @ Megekko | 14/03/2025 |
| Power Supply | Corsair RM850x (2024) 850 W Fully Modular ATX Power Supply | €118.16 @ Amazon Belgium | 26/03/2025 |
| Prices excludes shipping but includes taxes, rebates and vouchers | |||
| Total | €2517.84 |
Prices are listed purely for recording pre-USA-tariff (2025) pricing and for comparison against PC Part Picker link/pricing
Hopefully I’ll get to put this rig through its paces over the coming weeks and report back.
