I'm planning my first PC build with a budget of about €2,000 in the EU. I'll use it for gaming and music composition in Cubase. The games I play most are Rainbow Six Siege, Battlefield 6, and Call of Duty, and I'm targeting 1440p at 165 Hz. My main concern is choosing a graphics card with only 8 GB of VRAM, while the memory kit I can afford is 64 GB of DDR5-6000 with CL40 timings. I need 64 GB because my Cubase projects use large sample libraries, and moving down to 32 GB would likely be too limiting. Is the build balanced, or should I shift more of the budget toward the GPU or make other component changes?
3 Answers
For 1440p gaming, the system looks heavily weighted toward the CPU. An 8 GB RTX 5060 Ti is likely to be the limiting component, especially in newer games and at high settings. It may work if you reduce textures or use upscaling, but it isn’t a great match for a 165 Hz 1440p monitor. I’d look at a stronger GPU first, such as an RTX 5070-class card or an AMD card with more VRAM, and trim the CPU or other parts if necessary. For Rainbow Six and Battlefield, an AMD X3D processor could also be worth considering because those games benefit from strong gaming performance.
Before buying, compare the local prices of cards such as the RX 9070 XT or RX 9060 XT and see whether one gives you substantially more VRAM for the money. The 9070 XT would be a much more comfortable 1440p choice, while the 9060 XT may still be a reasonable compromise depending on its price. The important thing is not to pair an expensive, overpowered processor with an entry-level GPU if gaming at 1440p is a major goal.
The 64 GB capacity makes sense for music production, particularly with large sample libraries. CL40 is slower than ideal, but capacity matters much more here, and you can always replace the kit later if prices improve. I would keep 64 GB and prioritize a better graphics card by saving money on areas that don’t affect Cubase much, provided the replacement CPU still has strong single-core performance and enough cores for your projects.
Freezing and bouncing tracks can reduce CPU and RAM pressure, but it won’t fully solve the problem when the sample libraries themselves are consuming most of the memory. I’d treat 64 GB as the sensible starting point rather than a luxury for this workload.
The PC will also be used for Cubase and large orchestral libraries, so I can’t reduce the memory to 32 GB. I’m already used to freezing tracks, but my current system only has 16 GB and still runs out of memory.