Hey everyone, I’m planning a new build. I really like the wooden Fractal North aesthetic paired with the Proart parts. Im not after the most price to fps build but build something I’m proud of and looks nice. This is going to be my second build, my last build was over 5 years ago during covid I still use the pc but share it with my brothers so I want a completely new one for myself. I plan to build this PC within the next few months ideally a month or two.

I will be mainly gaming variety of games from gpu intensive and cpu intensive games and plan to build a sim rig also. I do some work on my computer and occasionally do some video editing and photo editing. I want something so I can eventually maybe drop a better gpu in the future so I don’t have to rebuild the entire pc.

The CPU Dilemma
I have a microcenter close to me and debating between two options - Ryzen 7 9800X3D ($420) or Ryzen 7 9850X3D ($440 current pricing). The 7800x3d is also good option at $350 but im favoring the new architecture for more future-proofing. I also have a friend who works at microcenter, so Im hoping I can use his employee discount.

The Waiting game
I really want the Proart 5070 Ti with the wood accents, but it's currently around $1200 I remember it used to be around $900 a few months ago. Do you think it will actually drop back to a reasonable price soon, or should I just grab a used RTX 3070 ti or a cheaper gpu for now and then hope that the 5070ti will drop back. Ive also considered the 9070xt but would rather stick to nvidia this time as I had trouble with the rx5700, I know the drivers are better now probably even better than nvidia at the moment but I do prefer the DLSS on nvidia and also amd doesn’t have any proart 9070xt
I did also plan on getting a second 2TB SSD, but the prices have skyrocketed since then. I'm thinking of holding off on the second drive for now and if the prices drop in the future get a second drive.

Any advice on my build is appreciated!

Here is the Parts List

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/Q3PLPf