Moody and wooden, this PC and I have a lot in common: Asus ProArt Case PA401, Ryzen 7 9800X3D and RX 9070 XT build

Asus ProArt PA401 Wood Edition
US: $140 | UK: £120

Sticking a wooden panel on a chassis is a common occurrence these days, and I'm all here for it. Though Asus somehow makes it look even more tasteful than normal. The company has coated the Ash underneath in a dark, slightly glossy finish, and it's only on closer inspection or bright direct light that you really get the feel for the wood underneath.

It's a mixed bag for the PC Gamer team, as some like it, some think what's the point when it looks practically plastic, but I'm definitely in favour.

The PA401 has a few satisfying switches hidden in plain sight, to control fan speeds, open panels, and prevent accidental power offs. There are further shortcuts, too: 2 x 160 mm fans in the front and 1 x 120 mm fan in the rear come pre-installed, velcro straps for cable management, cable clips running down the outside rear of the case, and the PSU bracket is mounted independently from the case.

Gigabyte Aorus Pro X870E
US: $350 | UK: £324

Only the best for this machine: we're going for the X870E chipset, which offers massive connectivity and keeps AMD's top gaming chip in check.

Asus Prime Radeon RX 9070 XT OC Edition 16GB GDDR6
US: $643 | £630

AMD finally has a hit on its hands in the RX 9070 XT. It's competitive with the RTX 5070 Ti, and, most of the time, cheaper too. Not necessarily this particular model, though.

AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D
US: $472 | UK: £420

AMD has paired up with the manufacturing might of TSMC to stack more L3 cache beneath the CPU cores on the 9800X3D. It makes for a much faster gaming chip.

G.Skill Trident Z5 Royal Neo RGB 32 GB @ 6000 MT/s
US: $180 | UK: £170

Did I say less is more? On the surface, these sticks don't really fit that ethos, but honestly they're rapid, low-latency and blend in better than you think.

Biwin Black Opal X570 Pro 2 TB
US: ~$200 | UK: £170

It's about time, eh? PCIe 5.0 SSDs are finally reaching critical mass, and affordable enough to make them worth it sometimes. This Biwin is a pretty solid pick, too, though US pricing is up in the air.

Corsair RM850x
US: $145 | UK: £135

Modular, plenty of connections, and neat cables. My only complaint with Corsair's unit is the darn cable combs I have to install myself—WHY?

Asus Prime LC 240 ARGB
US: $80 | UK: £96

The PA401 chassis is limited on headroom, so the Asus Prime LC 240 ARGB is about as big as I can go. I'm a fan of the RGB lighting and it's easy to install, though.