After having a good talk with a few folks, I've decided to buy a gaming PC and build it myself. I have everything I need, including all of the necessary equipment and accessories. I don't want to buy anything from NVIDIA because of some of its controversial decisions, its drivers' poor performance on Linux, and its high price. I'm going full red (AMD). Keep in mind that I will not be using Windows on this PC at all and will be running Pop OS on it as my primary operating system. I am also buying all the parts from Bestbuy. My budget is not to go completely over $2000
Two questions
- Will everything work properly with all of the PC accessories I'm getting, and is there anything I should replace? (not including the CPU or GPU)
- Do you think it will be enough with three fans, or do I need five for extra cooling?
Everything is linked here: https://pcpartpicker.com/user/Crafted_104/saved/XcZCrH
The current price for everything is $1716.78
You don't seem to have a CPU cooler (the CPU in your screenshot says cooler not included) which is mandatory. A Thermalright Phantom Spirit 120 EVO will almost assuredly be the move, thermalright is KILLING it right now in the air cooler scene. I'd question going for the 5900x when something like the 5800x3d exists and can be had for fairly cheap if you live near a microcenter, but it seems like you're dead set?
On NVIDIA vs AMD, I don't begrudge you for avoiding NVIDIA due to controversial decisions, but on the other two points:
the price difference isn't that crazy in my experience, and in exchange for the NVIDIA premium you get killer apps like DLSS, frame gen, Reflex, superior raytracing, while the AMD counterparts lag noticeably behind. the slight edge in raster performance from AMD doesn't seem super worth it currently IMO, but that could always change!
PopOS specifically actually has great compatibility with NVIDIA from what I've read, although I believe it depends on the proprietary drivers which may not be your cup of tea