I'm planning a mid-range PC build with a budget of around $1,400 for the case and components. The main GPU I can afford is an RTX 5060 8GB for about $500, while a 16GB alternative recommended to me costs roughly $770 in my country. I'm deciding between an AM5 CPU and motherboard with 16GB of DDR5 memory, or an AM4 setup with 32GB of DDR4. I'd also appreciate advice on storage: would a 1TB NVMe SSD plus a 2TB hard drive be sensible for work, media, and older games, or would it be better to spend more on a 2TB NVMe drive or add a 1TB SATA SSD instead? Any other build advice would be welcome.
2 Answers
With a budget around $1,400, I’d prioritize 32GB of RAM if possible, since 16GB can already feel limiting with newer games and multitasking. However, AM5 gives you a much better upgrade path than AM4, so I’d try to build an AM5 system with 32GB of DDR5 rather than choosing AM4 solely for the extra memory. You may be able to save money on the motherboard or CPU to make that work. A 1TB NVMe SSD for Windows, applications, and frequently played games paired with a 2TB hard drive for media and older games is a reasonable budget setup. If the price difference is manageable, a 2TB NVMe SSD is nicer because it is faster and quieter, but it won’t improve gaming performance dramatically after loading times.
The faster 16GB graphics card option would be worth considering if you could get it near your budget, but at about $770 in your country it sounds too expensive for this build. At roughly $500, the RTX 5060 leaves more room for a balanced CPU, 32GB of RAM, and decent storage. Avoid spending heavily on a SATA SSD just to use it as extra game storage unless you find a good deal; either a large NVMe drive or an NVMe-plus-HDD combination makes more sense.
I can get the RTX 5060 for around $500, but the 16GB alternative costs about $770 here. My total budget is approximately $1,400 for the case and all of its components.