I'm building my first PC in Indonesia with a budget of about $1,200, or roughly Rp20,000,000. I'll mainly use it for gaming, coding, and making 2D Unity games for college. I already have a keyboard, mouse, headset, and speakers, so those aren't part of the budget. I'd also like 1TB of SSD storage plus a 1TB hard drive, using them separately for games and development work.
My current parts list is:
- CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 5500
- Motherboard: MSI A520M Pro
- SSD: CUBE GAMING PHOENIX 1TB SATA III
- Hard drive: Seagate 1TB SATA III
- Memory: 16GB DDR4-3200, 2x8GB
- Graphics card: Inno3D GeForce RTX 3050 6GB
- Power supply: 1STPLAYER DK Premium PS-500AX 80+ Bronze
- CPU cooler: PRIME POLAR 120T 120mm liquid cooler
- Case fans: PCCooler EF120 ARGB, though I'm unsure whether I need one or two
- Monitor: Lenovo Legion R27s, 27-inch 1080p 144Hz IPS
Does this look balanced, and are there better parts I should consider within the same general budget? I'd especially appreciate advice about the graphics card, power supply, storage, and whether the 120mm liquid cooler is worthwhile.
2 Answers
The system should work for gaming, coding, and basic 2D Unity projects, but the 120mm liquid cooler isn’t really necessary for a Ryzen 5 5500. A decent air cooler, or even the included cooler if available, should be simpler, cheaper, and reliable enough. Put the savings toward a stronger graphics card or a better-quality SSD and power supply. One or two case fans should be enough as long as you have a clear front-to-back airflow path.
If you insist on liquid cooling, a 240mm radiator is generally a better minimum than a 120mm model. A 120mm unit may still keep the processor running, but it offers little benefit over a good air cooler and adds pump and leakage-related failure points. Also double-check the RTX 3050 pricing in your area, since a newer or faster card may offer much better 1080p performance for similar money.
It probably wouldn’t cause an immediate problem with a Ryzen 5 5500, but it may be noisier and less effective than a good tower air cooler. The main issue is that you’d be spending money for very little practical gain.
What would happen if I kept the 120mm cooler? Would it cause performance or temperature problems?