I'm planning a gaming PC with a budget of roughly €1,000. The current parts list is an ASUS Dual RX 7600 8GB EVO OC for €293, Ryzen 5 9600X for €180, Gigabyte B650 Gaming X AX V2 motherboard for €120, one 16GB Patriot Viper Venom DDR5-6000 CL30 module for €250, Corsair RM650e power supply for €84, Phanteks XT Pro Ultra case for €70, and a Thermalright Phantom Spirit 120 SE cooler for €33. The total comes to about €1,033. Is this a sensible build, and are there better choices for the graphics card or memory?
3 Answers
It may be worth comparing the RX 7600 with Intel’s Arc B580. The B580 has 12GB of VRAM and can offer better value for a new build, though you should check current prices and make sure your games and drivers work well with Intel GPUs. If it is significantly cheaper than the RX 7600, it could be the more balanced option.
The biggest issue is the single 16GB memory stick. DDR5 should ideally run in dual channel, so 2x16GB would be the better choice if you can fit it into the budget. Also, an 8GB graphics card may become limiting in newer games, especially if you want to keep this system for several years.
I haven’t found a 16GB graphics card locally for under about €500, so upgrading the GPU seems difficult at this budget.
The AM5 platform is a good starting point, but the memory price looks extremely high. A 16GB module should not normally cost anywhere near €250, and you would still want two matching sticks. Check other retailers for a 32GB DDR5-6000 CL30 kit, then use whatever remains to improve the graphics card.
I also considered switching platforms, but the alternatives I found were not cheaper: a Core i5-14600K was around €250, while a 32GB DDR4 kit was about €230.