How should I choose parts for a £1,000–£1,500 gaming and schoolwork PC?

Before choosing parts, clarify whether the budget includes peripherals and whether you actually want to spend the full amount. Those details can change the graphics card choice more than small differences between CPU generations. For gaming, prioritize a balanced CPU and GPU rather than overspending on one component.

For a complete build near the top of the budget, an older high-end gaming CPU paired with a strong graphics card can work well, but make sure you account for the cooler, motherboard, memory, storage, case, and power supply. A build centered around an eight-core gaming processor and a high-end Radeon card would offer excellent performance, assuming you already have a monitor and peripherals.

Unless you already own compatible DDR4 memory and an AM4 motherboard, spending around £300 on an older CPU platform is difficult to justify. A current AM5 system with a Ryzen 5 7600X-class processor, 32GB of DDR5 memory, and a slightly less expensive graphics card is a better long-term choice. It gives you a modern upgrade path while still leaving room for a capable GPU and other components.

The proposed CPU and graphics card combination may be more powerful than necessary, especially if the goal is simply good gaming performance. A cheaper processor and a midrange graphics card could still provide a very solid system, while leaving money for a monitor, keyboard, mouse, or a future upgrade. The final parts depend heavily on your target resolution, refresh rate, and whether peripherals are included.