My brother wants to build his first PC mainly for gaming, and I'd appreciate some advice on choosing the components. He plays demanding games such as Cyberpunk 2077 and Elden Ring, so they should run smoothly, although the system doesn't need to be top-of-the-line. The budget is around €1,000, but it's important to know whether that includes only the computer itself or also a monitor, keyboard, and mouse. The target resolution also matters, since 1080p is much less demanding than 4K.
3 Answers
For this budget, an AM4 build can offer good value. A Ryzen 5 5600X with 16GB of DDR4 memory, a B550 motherboard, a quality 650W power supply, and a capable midrange graphics card would make a solid 1080p gaming system. Depending on local prices, you may need to choose a 512GB SSD initially instead of 1TB, but storage can be upgraded later.
I’d avoid overspending on the graphics card if it means cutting back on storage or the power supply. A used RX 6700 XT can still handle 1080p gaming very well and may leave room for a 1TB SSD and a reputable power supply such as the MSI MAG A750BN. A motherboard like the MSI B550M Pro-VDH would also be a reasonable pairing.
The performance target is just as important as the budget. Cyberpunk 2077 is particularly demanding at high settings, so around €1,000 is more realistic for a good 1080p system at medium to high settings rather than a 4K machine. If the budget includes a monitor and peripherals, the internal components will need to be scaled back further. Checking the recommended requirements for each game can help confirm whether a proposed build is suitable.
That makes sense. He’ll probably be playing at 1080p, and having more storage would be useful since modern games are so large.