I'm putting together my first PC in the United States and would like feedback before buying. My goals are to keep the initial cost reasonable while leaving room for future upgrades. The current build uses a Ryzen 5 7600X, B650 motherboard, 16GB of DDR5 memory, a 256GB NVMe SSD, a GTX 1660 Super, a 550W power supply, and a 1080p 165Hz monitor. The total comes to about $1,105 including peripherals. Are there any parts that are poor value, unsuitable, or likely to limit future upgrades?
3 Answers
The biggest issue is the graphics card. Paying around $219 for a GTX 1660 Super is poor value in 2026, especially when used RTX 2060, RTX 3060 Ti, or RTX 3070 cards may be available for similar money. Check the used market carefully and make sure the card works before buying. I’d also increase the SSD to at least 500GB, since 256GB fills up very quickly with Windows and a few modern games. The 7600X platform is a solid upgrade path, though.
The motherboard does not need to be especially expensive for the Ryzen 5 7600X, so savings there could go toward the GPU and storage. A newer budget AM5 board with Wi-Fi and a PCIe 5 graphics slot may offer better long-term features for less money, depending on local prices. Your case is fine, and the monitor is a reasonable match for a midrange graphics card, but I’d prioritize the GPU over premium keyboard or headset choices.
Thanks, that helps a lot. I’m happy to use basic peripherals for now if it means getting a better graphics card and power supply.
A few changes would make this more balanced without dramatically increasing the cost. Use a better tower cooler than the small Assassin X, switch to a 750W Gold power supply with modern GPU power connectors, and choose a 500GB or 1TB NVMe drive. The current 550W unit may run this build, but it gives you less flexibility when you upgrade the graphics card later. Also double-check the memory price—$215 for 16GB of DDR5-5600 CL46 is unusually high. Ideally, look for 32GB of DDR5-6000 with decent timings if the budget allows.
That makes sense. I’m new to choosing parts, so I didn’t realize the 1660 Super was such a bad deal at that price.