I'm putting together a PC for just under £1,000, excluding peripherals and storage. The goal is to run modern games smoothly at 1080p and handle engineering software such as SolidWorks. I'm reusing an older case, SSD, and HDD for now, although I may add a faster NVMe SSD later, so I chose a motherboard with multiple M.2 slots. My planned parts are a Ryzen 5 7600X, Thermalright Assassin X 120 cooler, Asus PRIME B850-PLUS WIFI motherboard, Radeon RX 9060 XT 16GB, and 16GB of DDR5-5600 memory. The system will use a SAMA G750 power supply. Are there any compatibility issues or parts that would be better value for gaming and SolidWorks?
4 Answers
Check the price of that memory carefully. £185.99 for one 16GB stick is extremely expensive, and you can usually find a 32GB kit for substantially less. I’d prioritize 32GB dual-channel memory over a premium motherboard. The B850 board is suitable, especially if you want several M.2 slots, but make sure its extra features are worth the cost compared with a good B650 or B850 alternative.
For SolidWorks, the graphics card is only part of the equation. Most modeling work benefits more from strong CPU performance and plenty of RAM than from an especially powerful gaming GPU. The 7600X is a reasonable starting point, but 32GB should be the minimum target, with 64GB worth considering if you work with large assemblies or run other engineering applications at the same time. Also check whether your specific SolidWorks workload requires certified professional graphics drivers, since a gaming GPU may not be officially certified even if it performs well.
The overall platform makes sense, and the Ryzen 5 7600X should be strong for 1080p gaming. The RX 9060 XT 16GB should also be a good fit for high settings and gives you plenty of VRAM. The biggest issue is the memory: a single 16GB stick runs in single-channel mode, which can noticeably hurt performance. Replace it with a matched 2x16GB DDR5 kit, ideally around 6000 MT/s with reasonable timings. That will also give you 32GB, which is much more comfortable for SolidWorks and multitasking.
The SAMA G750 appears to be a legitimate 80+ Gold and Cybenetics Gold-rated unit, so it isn’t automatically a problem. It should have enough capacity for this system, assuming it’s the exact model being used and is in good condition. Make sure the case has decent airflow and that the reused drives are healthy before relying on them for important work.
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