The short answer: choose your CPU first, match its socket, pick the chipset that provides the features you will actually use, then check case size, DDR5 support, M.2 and PCIe layout, rear I/O and power delivery. The most expensive motherboard is rarely automatically the best motherboard for your PC. Last reviewed and updated: August 14, … Read more
The short answer: For most AM4 gamers upgrading for 1440p or 4K, start with the RX 9070 16GB. Use the RX 9060 XT 16GB for older or lower-power AM4 systems, and move to the RX 9070 XT only when you already have a 5700X3D/5800X3D-class CPU or you are targeting demanding 1440p/4K gaming. Last reviewed: September … Read more
The short answer: For most Ryzen 7 5800X3D systems, buy the RX 9070. Choose the RX 9060 XT 16GB for a cheaper 1080p/1440p upgrade or RX 9070 XT for 4K. Last reviewed: September 5, 2026 The Ryzen 7 5800X3D is old enough that people often ask the wrong question when upgrading its graphics card: “What … Read more
The short answer: Buy the RX 9070 if it costs no more than about 15% more than the RX 9070 GRE. Buy the GRE when the discount is clearly larger and your main target is 1440p raster gaming. Last updated: September 4, 2026 The Radeon RX 9070 GRE and RX 9070 look much closer on … Read more
The short answer: Buy the RX 9070 XT if it costs no more than about 15% extra. Buy the RX 9070 if the gap is larger or lower power matters more. Last reviewed: August 29, 2026 The Radeon RX 9070 and RX 9070 XT are unusually similar graphics cards on paper. Both use AMD’s RDNA … Read more
The short answer: if the Thermalright Phantom Spirit 120 SE and Peerless Assassin 120 SE are close in price, buy the Phantom Spirit. It is effectively the newer evolution of the same budget dual-tower idea, with a seventh heatpipe and slightly more cooling headroom. Buy the Peerless Assassin when it is meaningfully cheaper. And if … Read more
The short answer: for most gaming PCs under this budget, buy the Thermalright Phantom Spirit 120 SE if your case has at least 154mm of CPU-cooler clearance. Buy the Assassin X 120 Refined SE when you want the cheapest sensible tower cooler, the Peerless Assassin 120 Mini when case height is the problem, and the … Read more
My 2026 verdict: buy the Radeon RX 9060 XT 16GB for a gaming-first PC when it is meaningfully cheaper. Buy the RTX 5060 Ti 16GB when the price gap is small or you specifically care about stronger ray tracing, DLSS, CUDA, Blender, local AI, NVIDIA Studio or NVENC. At current late-August 2026 U.S. pricing, the … Read more
The short answer: for most X870 builds under $300, buy the MSI MAG X870 Tomahawk WiFi. Choose the ASRock X870 Pro RS WiFi when keeping motherboard spend as low as possible matters more than 5Gb networking and four fast M.2 slots. For a Ryzen 9 workstation, the ASUS TUF Gaming X870-Plus WiFi is especially attractive, … Read more
The short answer: for most AM5 builds that genuinely need USB4, I would start with the MSI MAG X870 Tomahawk WiFi. Choose the ASRock X870 Pro RS WiFi when you want the simplest lower-cost route to dual 40Gbps USB4, the X870 LiveMixer WiFi when you have a desk full of peripherals, or the ASUS ProArt … Read more
The short answer: for most AM5 builds under $200, I would buy the ASRock B850 Pro RS WiFi. If you use Ethernet and the ASRock B850 Pro-A is meaningfully cheaper, buy that instead. For Micro-ATX, the B850M Riptide WiFi is my first choice, while the Gigabyte B850M AORUS Elite WIFI6E ICE is the strongest alternative … Read more
