First new gaming rig since 2009!

[disarm]

I just pulled the trigger on parts to assemble my first new desktop since 2009, finally replacing my surprisingly reliable (but now virtually worthless for modern gaming) rig that I built almost 15 years ago. That system was a beast at the time (Intel i7-860 and Radeon HD5870) that could run Crysis maxed out at 1600x1200, but it never had any updates mainly because I switched to console gaming when the Xbox One launched and I could play HD games on big TV with surround sound, sitting on my couch. While that's still appealing, I decided to go all-in on a new build now because of a generous tax return that allows me to make up for fifteen years of PC neglect all at once. I will no longer be behind the tech curve by this weekend!

Details of my build...

- Intel Core i7-147000KF
- MSI MPG Z790 CARBON WIFI II ATX LGA1700 Motherboard
- Kingston FURY Beast RGB 64 GB (2 x 32 GB) DDR5-6000 CL36
- Crucial T700 2 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 5.0 X4 NVME SSD
- Samsung 980 Pro 2 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME SSD
- MSI EXPERT GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER 16 GB Video Card
- SeaSonic VERTEX GX-1000 1000 W 80+ Power Supply
- Corsair iCUE H150i ELITE LCD XT Liquid CPU Cooler
- Corsair iCUE 5000X RGB ATX Mid Tower Case

I've been out of the PC loop for a while, so I did learn a few interesting things while doing my research...

#1 - They put RGB lights on almost any component now. It's a little ridiculous in my opinion, but I bought into it mostly because my 10yo son will be helping me build and thinks it's really cool

#2 - The price difference between SATA and NVMe SSDs is so small that it doesn't make much sense to go with the slower SATA unless you need a really big SSD. 2.5” SSDs were brand new technology with my last build, costing me $400 for a 120GB drive.

#3 - The nVidia RTX 4090 is still insanely expensive. While tempting, it really doesn't seem worth paying more for a GPU than the entire rest of a cutting-edge system.

#4 - Choosing a new monitor was the most difficult part. Size, ultra-widescreen or standard, curved or flat, HDR, 4K...what's important to you?

The last part of my new system is upgrading my 15yo 24” Dell 1600x1200 monitor, and I spent more time agonizing over that decision than anything else. While the system I'm building will be able to do 4K for a lot of games, I decided to go with a 1440 ultra-widescreen monitor instead because you can get a bigger monitor for less money, and I can't imagine 4K to be all that important when sitting close at a desk. So what did I choose?

Alienware AW3423dw 34" Curved QD-OLED

Given that I'm building a system that should be able to push high framerates on a lot of games at 1440, I wanted a monitor with high refresh rate and G-Sync capability. I've also realized the benefits of HDR over increased resolution while playing console games on an HDR TV for several years. Many review sites rave about the Alienware OLED and I initially thought it was too expensive, but then I stumbled across Amazon selling them through their Warehouse program for $300 below the usual price and couldn't resist. The one I ordered is supposedly "like new" with only damaged packaging, so as long as it shows up in the promised condition, I'll have gotten a great deal on one of the best gaming monitors on the market. If there are any problems, I send it back and try again.

So my parts are on the way, with everything set to be delivered by Thursday. That will give me the weekend to build and play...can't wait to have a new PC again!

(Just don't let my wife find out how much money I spent)

[Daehawk]

After having this ultrawide for many years I could never go back.