I have an aging Windows gaming box that needs an upgrade. With Trump winning the election, I anticipate tariffs on basically all PC parts, so I want to buy now. Here’s my challenge:
I love quiet PCs. I have a Fractal Design Define R4, I think, which I bought for its sound insulating ability. I’ve always gone with air-cooling, and my fan curves are tuned to be quiet. That works great for my 2080 TI.
Now, however, I want to get the 4080 Super and a big beefy AMD processor. Is air cooling still going to cut it? Or am I going ot have to go for all-in-one water cooling loops to keep temperatures under control without having to listen to the turbines spinning up?
I know there are a lot of factors to consider, but basically I think Fractal Design has great products, so I would probably get another case from them and build the machine from the ground up. I just want to find the solution that lets the machine run without making a ton of noise while it sits on the floor next to me.
Buy an X870 board for future CPU options, buy whichever 9000 processor that you settle you, after CES buy a 50 series from nVidia, they’ll have GDDR7 and could be slightly thinner, set your fan curve in UEFI and GPU software, look at a Dark Rock Pro 5 for CPU, and you can get it pretty silent.
I love the Dark Rock Pro. Used it in two builds so far, and it’s amazingly quiet. I opted not to go with the NVidia 50x0 series because I expect demand to be outrageous and prices to be high by then because of tariffs. At least I can get my hands on a 4080 Super these days. I literally just upgraded my parts list to include the X870 for exactly the reasons you stated. I’m thinking of going with the 7800X3D to save some money now, and maybe upgrade to the 9000X3D in a couple years if I ever notice performance issues. I primarily use it for gaming, and word on the street is that the 9000 series just doesn’t add enough to gaming performance.
There’s not a noticible difference in performance for 9000 if a person already owns a 7000. There is a technical case to be made for buying 9800x3D, and it’s not because it’s new or faster. But sure, buy a 7800x3D and then buy a 10800x3D.
I don’t know if tariffs, or an import tax, will be universal on everything, or only for certain products to encourage American manufacturing. Is there 4080 Supers easily for sale? I know the 4090 went end of life, maybe a month ago, from nVidia to clear out stock. I’m planning to buy a 50 series and then go to a higher resolution.