I'm building my first PC in the United States and would appreciate a second opinion before buying anything. My budget is about $1,500–$1,600 for the computer itself, or roughly $1,600–$2,200 including a monitor. I'm currently planning to purchase the components over the next few months and will also need Wi-Fi, either built into the motherboard or through an add-in card.
Does the parts list look compatible and well balanced? Is anything mismatched, unnecessarily expensive, or too weak for the rest of the system? I'm especially wondering whether the CPU, motherboard, cooler, graphics card, SSD, power supply, and monitor are good choices for the budget.
Are there any disadvantages to buying parts separately instead of all at once? I was considering buying the RAM and storage early because I've heard those prices can be volatile, but I'm concerned about discovering a defective component after its return period expires.
Finally, what commonly causes trouble during a first assembly even when someone follows a guide? I'd also appreciate suggestions for sensible upgrades or downgrades.
4 Answers
The high-refresh 1440p monitor may be taking too much of the budget, depending on the exact model. A good 1440p IPS display is the safer value choice, although 1440p 240Hz OLED monitors have become much cheaper and can be worthwhile if gaming performance and image quality are priorities. Don’t automatically downgrade to 144Hz just because it’s a first build—compare the monitor cost against the graphics card and your actual games.
The graphics card price is the biggest thing to double-check. If the card is actually an RX 9060 XT 16GB, that makes much more sense, but an RX 6600 listed at around $450 would be a poor deal. At that price, compare the 9060 XT 16GB, RX 7800 XT, or a reasonably priced used RTX 4070. The SSD also looks overpriced for 1TB; less expensive PCIe 4.0 NVMe drives generally perform almost identically for normal Windows, app, and game loading. I’d also put a little more money into a reputable 750W Gold power supply.
Thanks! It is supposed to be the XFX Swift OC RX 9060 XT 16GB, so I’m not sure why the list displayed it differently.
I’d consider changing the platform rather than spending heavily around the current AM4 processor. An i5-14600KF with a suitable B760 DDR4 board is a faster alternative at a similar overall cost, while an AM5 bundle with a modern CPU, DDR5 memory, and motherboard could provide a better upgrade path if one is available locally. Either way, spend a little extra on the cooler—the Thermalright Phantom Spirit is excellent value and is more than adequate for a processor under roughly 200W.
A motherboard with Wi-Fi and a 2.5Gb Ethernet port would be cleaner than adding a separate Wi-Fi card, assuming the price difference is reasonable. I’d also choose a modern airflow-focused case instead of an older design with mediocre ventilation. A 140mm tower cooler is worth considering if it fits the case, but there’s no need to buy an expensive flagship cooler for this build.
That makes sense. I’ll compare a less expensive IPS monitor with the OLED options and decide whether the extra cost is worth it.