I'm in Australia and will probably buy most of these parts from Scorptec. My budget is about $2,450 AUD, and I'm aiming for a mid-to-high-end gaming PC that can run most recent games at high settings in 1440p. I'm planning to use a 120Hz 1440p monitor and would like to play demanding games such as Subnautica 2 at very high settings.
I'm new to PC building, so I'd appreciate advice about compatibility, parts that are over- or underpowered, and places where I could save money or improve performance. I chose the motherboard, cooler, and power supply without much knowledge, so recommendations for those would be especially helpful.
My current list is:
- CPU: Ryzen 5 9600X — $350 AUD
- GPU: Radeon RX 9060 XT — $700 AUD
- Motherboard: ASRock B650 Steel Legend WiFi — $249 AUD
- RAM: Corsair Vengeance RGB Pro 32GB DDR4-2666 — $369 AUD
- Storage: Crucial P310 1TB PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD — $265 AUD
- CPU cooler: Thermalright Peerless Assassin — $80 AUD
- PSU: Cooler Master Elite Gold 650W — $120 AUD
- Case: FLP02 — $329 AUD
The biggest thing I'm unsure about is memory. Would it be better to use 16GB of DDR5, or should I find a way to afford 32GB? Is switching to a different CPU or platform worth considering? Also, am I missing any essential parts or accessories?
2 Answers
The RAM listed is not compatible with this build. Ryzen 9000 processors use the AM5 platform, and B650 motherboards require DDR5 memory, not DDR4. You should plan for 32GB of DDR5 if possible—ideally a 2x16GB kit around DDR5-6000. It is better to have 32GB of reasonably priced DDR5 than to drop to 16GB just to reduce the cost, especially for modern games and general multitasking.
Several parts appear unusually expensive or mismatched for the performance target. Before buying, check current Australian pricing and compare complete build options. Depending on local prices, a system using a Core i5-14600-class processor, 32GB of memory, and a stronger graphics card such as an RX 9070 or similar model could offer roughly 30–50% more gaming performance for around $1,300–$1,600 AUD in parts. The graphics card has the biggest impact on 1440p performance, so savings on the case, SSD, and motherboard could be redirected there.
Thanks, I didn’t realize AM5 required DDR5. I’ll look for a reasonably priced 32GB kit before considering a CPU change.