I'm moving from console gaming and an aging laptop to my first desktop PC. The system would mainly be used for games from roughly 2010–2020, older titles, and emulation. I'm especially interested in running RPCS3 and Cemu at 4K and above 60 FPS. Newer games only need to run well at 1440p or 1080p. I may also do some light photo and video editing.
I'm based in Bulgaria, so I'm limited to parts and prices available through local retailers. I'm planning to buy within the next six months and would like to know whether this build is excessive, reasonably future-proof, or missing any compatibility issues. I'd also like to reduce the total cost from about €1,770 to somewhere around €1,500–€1,600 if possible.
Current parts and prices:
- GPU: ASUS Dual Radeon RX 9060 XT 16GB — €600
- CPU: Ryzen 5 9500F, 6 cores, up to 5.0 GHz, tray — €190
- Memory: Kingston Fury Beast 16GB (2×8GB) DDR5-5200 — €300
- Motherboard: ASRock B650 Steel Legend Wi-Fi — €170
- Power supply: ASRock Steel Legend SL-650G, 650W 80+ Gold — €100
- Storage: Samsung 990 Pro 1TB NVMe SSD — €250
- CPU cooler: DeepCool AK620 Digital SE — €45
- Case: Lian Li Lancool 217 Wood — €115
Total: approximately €1,770. I know 16GB of RAM may be limiting soon, but that is what currently fits my budget. Which parts would you change first?
4 Answers
There are several easy places to cut costs. The Samsung 990 Pro is a premium drive and won’t noticeably improve gaming or emulation compared with a cheaper 1TB NVMe SSD. A less expensive B650 or B850 board should perform just as well unless you specifically need the Steel Legend’s features. You could also choose a case closer to €70 and put the savings toward 32GB of memory.
The graphics card looks particularly expensive at €600. Before buying, check whether a Radeon 9070 GRE or standard RX 9070 is available for a similar price. Depending on local pricing, either could offer substantially more performance and would be a better long-term purchase. If they cost much more, the 9060 XT is still reasonable for 1440p, but €600 is hard to justify.
Check the power supply market before settling on 650W. A quality 750W or 850W Gold unit may be available for close to the same price and would give you more headroom for a future graphics-card upgrade. Judge the exact model by an independent PSU tier list rather than brand name alone. Also verify that the motherboard BIOS supports the chosen processor before assembling the system.
Try to reach 32GB if possible, especially for modern games, emulators, and multitasking. A single 16GB DDR5 stick can be used temporarily, but it runs in single-channel mode and will reduce performance in some games and CPU-heavy emulation. It’s acceptable as a short-term upgrade path, but buying a matched 2×16GB kit would be preferable.
That makes sense. I’m still comparing prices and may start with one 16GB module if it lets me move to 32GB sooner.