Editor’s Note: For those that didn’t catch the reference, it’s a play on the ‘If You Give a Mouse a Cookie’ story. Essentially, if give a mouse a cookie, he’s going to want some milk to wash it down with… and straw to drink the milk… and and a napkin to wipe his face… and so on…
About 3.5 years ago, I replaced my aging GTX 1080 gaming desktops with a couple of 30-series rigs. Between inflation, parts availability, and AI demands, the market wasn’t great, and it’s only gotten worse.
At the time, I recall spending over $500 per system than I originally intended. While the build quality was adequate, and I usually target the upper end of the previous generation of hardware, I feel I missed the mark this time around…
After a long and expensive home renovation, I decided to treat myself to a GPU upgrade (call it a late birthday present ^_^), so I started looking at 5080 series cards. I considered waiting for a 5080 Ti or Super to come out, but my research suggested they weren’t going to hit the shelves anytime soon, or at an attractive price point.
I settled on a GIGABYTE GeForce RTX 5080 Gaming OC 16G, which was a good combination of cost ($1,500 + tax), performance, cooling, and noise. I looked at some more expensive 5080s, but as far as I could tell, the performance was comparable (or even a little worse), and they were asking $200-500 more for slightly cooler/quieter fans.
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I figured since I was splurging on a fancy new GPU, I may as well upgrade my RAM as well, but after going down the voltage/timing rabbit hole, I realize things aren’t like they used to be, and I can’t just slap another two identical sticks in the spare sockets and call it a day without risking a hit to performance and/or stability, but not before pulling the trigger on the purchase (another $300), which I’m just went ahead and returned unopened.
What I also failed to realize is that my 850W PSU would be the bare minimum for an RTX 5080 and would need a 12V-2×6 (16-pin) connector instead of the triple 8-pin connectors I’m using now for the RTX 3080… Yes, I could just use the adapter that comes with the GPU, but if I was already spending $1,500 on a GPU, what’s another $180 for some peace of mind… I ended up purchasing another Corsair RM1000x ATX 3.1 (1000W), which should give the card plenty of headroom…
At this point, I started thinking about what it would cost to just go ahead and upgrade the motherboard, RAM, and CPU as well. If I were to go that route, and that’s a BIG if, I’d be looking at…
- $200 for a new Z890 Motherboard
- $350 for an Intel Core Ultra 7 270K Processor
- $750+ for 64GB of DDR5 5600 CL28 RAM
In total, about $1,300 + Tax…
Of course, we haven’t even talked about my monitor yet!
I currently have an old Acer Predator XB241H, a 24″ 1080p 144Hz gaming monitor. I bought it in 2018, and it’s served me faithfully for years. Conventional wisdom suggests that lower resolution is better for higher frame rates, which is true, provided your CPU can keep up! My CPU cannot, and so I end up with a huge swing between high and low FPS…
Upping the resolution means the GPU has to work harder, balancing the equation of CPU, GPU, and Resolution. At first, I figured I may as well make the jump to 4K, but after talking it over with a friend, I was convinced to consider 1440p instead. I currently have three monitors on my PC in a TIE Fighter configuration:
While I’m gaming, I can have Discord on one side and a web browser on the other, and look things up as I need to while saving on horizontal space. The trouble is, I don’t have a lot of room on either side, since the triple-monitor stand I’ve had since 2014ish in Saudi Arabia was only intended for 21-24″ monitors, and most 1440p (and 4K) monitors are 27″ and larger.
I considered buying a 27″ 4K Gigabyte OLED monitor for $534 (heavily discounted open box special), but decided against it, and after further consultation with my friend, I decided to go with an AOC Gaming Q27G4ZMN:
It was $300 for the 180Hz version, but I decided to pay an extra $30 and get the 240Hz model. This was a good balance of resolution for the size of the monitor, color range, contrast, refresh rate, and durability (OLEDs can, and do, burn in, and they’re about double the price). Of course, then I needed to spend another $65 on a bigger triple-monitor stand, but I’m sure I’ll find a use for the old one :).
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The rest of the build was still nagging at me, and while I argued with myself back and forth, Newegg decided for me:
- G.SKILL Ripjaws S5 series 64GB DDR5-6000 CL36 RAM ($885)
- MSI PRO X870-P WIFI ATX AM5 Motherboard ($180 on sale)
- Ryzen 7 9800X3D CPU ($465)
- Corsair 3500X RS-R ARGB case ($80)
- MSI MAG Coreliquid A13 240 AIO CPU Radiator/Cooler ($85) – Free gift, not listed in the ad
That’s nearly $1,700 worth of kit for $940? Even Gollum couldn’t say ‘no’ to that!
NOTE: The astute among you will notice that the screenshot above shows that this combo is Out of Stock, which it is (at the time of writing), but it was available this morning when I placed my order :).
Now I hear what you’re saying…
“Doesn’t the Core Ultra 7 270K have three times the number of cores, and would be better for all multi-tasking/desktop performance?”
Yeah, maybe, but for gaming, the Ryzen 7 9800X3D is considered the penultimate option due to its 104MB of cache, which is mostly what I use it for, and more than I’d ever need for GMS development. I’ve experimented with self-hosted LLMs as a GML coding helper, but I still think the AMD proc would be sufficient for that…
Naturally, I would need a new AIO cooler for my processor, since the one I have is for an LGA1700 socket (though it would also work for a newer LGA1851, since they’re the same size), so the fact that this one comes with one is a big plus.
The case I have now is better than the one that comes with this one, so I may as well keep it. Since I’m taking it apart to remove the motherboard, I might as well take the opportunity to make some adjustments and give it a deep cleaning…
I can slap my old CPU, motherboard, and RAM, and along with a spare PSU and GPU, I’d have a pretty respectable little server!
All in, this little jaunt has cost me:
- $1,500 for the RTX 5080 GPU
- $180 for the 1000W PSU
- $940 for the CPU, Motherboard, RAM, a spare case, and an AIO CPU cooler
- $400 for a new monitor and stand
Total: $3,020 ($2,620 without the monitor)
How did I make out? Well, if I wanted the same thing from the same company I purchased my current system from, they’re asking nearly double ($5,198)… Granted, my build doesn’t have fancy LED strimer ($70) cable extensions, and I don’t need the 2TB NVMe (I already have one, but $250-350 otherwise), so at most, that would add another $420 to my build. Suppose we’re generous and give them $100 for shipping, that still leaves $2,058 for what, slapping some components in and mediocre cable management? Suppose they spent 8 hours on the system (I’m sure they didn’t, but suppose they did…), then we’re looking at nearly $260/hour? Give me a break…
No, if anything, this little journey down the PC upgrade rabbit hole has taught me that from now on, I’m going back to my roots and building my own. Buying from a boutique builder is highway robbery…Never again!