I'm in Belgium and want to move from console gaming to PC. My budget is roughly €1,000, though I could stretch to about €1,100 if necessary. I've found most parts online and would appreciate advice on compatibility, value, and where I can reduce costs without creating major performance bottlenecks.
My current choices are:
- GPU: AMD Radeon RX 9060 XT 16GB — about €460
- CPU: Ryzen 7 5700X — about €190
- Memory: 32GB (2×16GB) DDR4-3200 — about €190
- CPU cooler: Thermalright Phantom Spirit — about €40
- Power supply: Corsair RM750e — about €100
- Case: about €50
- Motherboard and SSD: still undecided
I'm already at around €1,030 before buying the motherboard or storage. Is there a better CPU, memory kit, cooler, power supply, or platform combination that would keep the total between €1,000 and €1,100 while making good use of the graphics card? Used parts or bundle discounts are also options if they're worthwhile.
3 Answers
A Core i5-13400 or i5-14400 can be competitive with the Ryzen 7 5700X, so compare complete platform prices rather than focusing only on the CPU. The faster RX 9070 GRE would be a stronger graphics option, but if it costs roughly €100 more, keeping the RX 9060 XT is reasonable for this budget. I would prioritize getting a decent SSD and motherboard first, then cut back on the cooler and PSU before downgrading the GPU.
Look at current prices across Belgian and Dutch retailers instead of buying everything from one store. A price-comparison site focused on those markets can show where each part is cheapest, which matters a lot with a tight budget. Also check bundle offers and reputable used systems or components. You may be able to save enough on the motherboard, RAM, and power supply to fit the SSD without sacrificing gaming performance.
For gaming, the Ryzen 7 5700X is not necessary because the extra cores usually do not add much gaming performance. A Ryzen 5 5600 would save a substantial amount and should pair well with this graphics card. The Phantom Spirit is also more cooler than a 65W CPU needs; a basic tower cooler around €20 would be enough. The RM750e is a good unit, but it is more power than this build requires, so a quality 550W or 650W Gold-rated PSU could reduce the cost. A realistic AM4 build with 32GB RAM, a B550 motherboard, a 500GB NVMe SSD, and the RX 9060 XT would land around €1,080.
The RX 9070 GRE is about €100 more here, so I’ll probably stay with the RX 9060 XT. For the Intel options, would an i5 be the better choice than an i7, and does the 14400 need a particular suffix?