I'm building my second PC in Sweden and would appreciate advice before buying. My current AM5 parts list is a Ryzen 5 7600, B650 motherboard, 32 GB DDR5-6000 memory, an RX 9060 XT 16 GB priced around 5,000–5,500 kr, a 1 TB NVMe SSD, a 650 W Gold power supply, a case, and a cooler. The estimated total is about 12,400–12,900 kr, with a total budget of roughly 15,000 kr and some flexibility for sales.
The PC will mainly be used for gaming at 1440p. I'm not particularly concerned with productivity, streaming, or AI features. Would it be worth spending more on an RX 9070 16 GB, or is the RX 9060 XT the better value? I'm also wondering whether a 2 TB SSD would be a worthwhile upgrade for long-term use, even though I don't currently have many games installed. Recommendations for a case and CPU cooler would also be welcome, along with suggestions for improving the rest of the build or reducing unnecessary spending.
2 Answers
Sticking with AM5 is a good choice because it leaves you an upgrade path later. The Ryzen 5 7600 is already a sensible gaming CPU, so I wouldn’t spend more there at the expense of the GPU. For the cooler, a basic tower cooler with a 120 mm fan should be plenty; you don’t need an expensive model. Look for a case with a mesh front and at least two or three included fans. A 650 W Gold PSU may be sufficient for the lower-power card, but check the recommended wattage and connector requirements carefully if you move to the RX 9070. A quality 750 W unit could be the safer choice for that upgrade.
If the budget allows it, upgrading both the graphics card and SSD would make the system more comfortable long term. A 2 TB NVMe drive is useful because modern games can take up a surprising amount of space, and replacing or adding storage later can be inconvenient. For 1440p gaming, the RX 9070 should provide a meaningful performance boost over the RX 9060 XT, so it’s the part I’d prioritize if you can find room in the budget. A decent airflow-focused case and a simple tower cooler should be enough for the Ryzen 5 7600.
I’m seeing the RX 9070 GRE priced fairly close to the regular XT in some shops. If the difference is small, though, the faster XT model seems like the better buy.
Yes, I’m specifically aiming to stay on AM5, since I’d like the option to upgrade the processor later rather than replace the whole platform.