After 30 years of using consoles, I'm planning to switch to PC and would like to build my first system. I don't have much experience choosing or assembling components, so I'd appreciate a second opinion on this parts list.
My main use will be gaming at 1080p, including getting started with PCVR. I'd like the highest settings and frame rates possible within reason. I also use Adobe applications and occasionally render short videos, although this won't be a dedicated video-editing workstation. A five-minute video shouldn't take excessively long to render.
My budget is around €1,200 in Germany. The current list includes a Ryzen 5 7500F, Peerless Assassin cooler, MSI B650 Tomahawk WiFi motherboard, 32GB DDR5-6000 CL30 memory, a 1TB Lexar NM790 SSD, an RTX 5060 Ti 8GB, an NZXT H5 Flow case, and a 650W MSI power supply. The listed total is about €1,797, so I'm also looking for advice on where the cost can be reduced without seriously hurting gaming or PCVR performance. I'm especially unsure whether 8GB of VRAM is enough and whether DDR5 is necessary for VR.
5 Answers
The biggest issue is the price: this configuration is nowhere near the €1,200 target. Check the memory listing carefully, because €557 for 32GB is probably an incorrect or inflated listing. The motherboard is also fairly expensive for a first build, so a more affordable B650 board could free up money for the graphics card. The Ryzen 5 7500F and DDR5-6000 memory are a sensible foundation, though.
For Germany, compare complete prices through a price comparison site and check specialist retailers such as Mindfactory, Alternate, Notebooksbilliger, or Caseking. Marketplace listings can sometimes be cheaper, but returns and warranty handling may be less straightforward. Paying a little more to buy from a reliable hardware retailer can be worthwhile if something arrives damaged or fails.
DDR5 isn’t specifically required because of VR, but staying with AM5 and DDR5 is a good choice for a new build. It gives you a current upgrade path and avoids buying an older platform just to save on memory. A Ryzen 7 5800X3D system with DDR4 could be cheaper and very good for gaming, but it uses an older platform and may not be the best value once the CPU, board, and memory are priced together.
The basic component choices are compatible, and 650W is adequate for this class of system, assuming the power supply is a genuine current model. To approach €1,200, consider a cheaper motherboard, non-RGB 32GB DDR5-6000 kit, a reasonably priced 1TB SSD, and a less expensive case. Put the savings toward a stronger GPU with more than 8GB of VRAM, since that will have the largest effect on gaming and PCVR performance.
I’d avoid the 8GB version of the RTX 5060 Ti for a new gaming and PCVR system. Modern games and VR can benefit from more VRAM, so look for a 16GB graphics card or compare alternatives with at least 12GB if pricing is better. That is likely a better place to spend money than on RGB memory or a premium motherboard.
That helps clarify things. I had read that DDR5 was essential for VR, but it sounds like the graphics card and overall performance matter more. I’ll compare both platforms instead of treating DDR5 as a strict requirement.