Basically just wondering what the title says. I’m planning my first desktop build and looking to stay around $2,000, though I’m willing to go a little over if it’s genuinely worth it.

Using Micro Center bundles, I’ve narrowed it down to either a Ryzen 7 7800X3D + RTX 5070 Ti or a Ryzen 7 9850X3D + RX 9070 XT. Both end up around the same total price once I add the case, PSU, cooler, storage, etc.

I’ve mostly gamed on console, but I did use a gaming laptop before. The games I tend to play most are simulation/sandbox games like BeamNG and Teardown. I also play shooters like Overwatch and The Finals on console and would probably like to attempt to play those on PC too. This would also be my general-use PC for schoolwork and everyday stuff.

My assumption was that the stronger CPU in the 9850X3D build would matter more for BeamNG/Teardown-type games, but I also know NVIDIA has advantages with features/drivers/ray tracing, so I’m not sure if the 5070 Ti combo makes more overall sense.