I'm putting together a gaming PC for my partner and me, with a budget of roughly €1,600. I'm currently considering an AM4 system because DDR5 memory is outside my budget, although I'm open to changing platforms if it makes more sense. The parts are an AMD Ryzen 7 5800X, Sapphire Radeon RX 9060 XT 16GB Pulse, 32GB DDR4-3200 CL16 memory, a WD Black SN7100 1TB NVMe SSD, Thermalright Phantom Spirit 120 cooler, Corsair RM850e 850W power supply, and an ASUS TUF Gaming B550-PLUS WIFI II motherboard. I haven't selected a case yet and don't need RGB. Does this combination work well together, and what airflow-focused case would suit these components?
2 Answers
With a €1,600 budget, the graphics card is probably the part to upgrade. A Radeon RX 9070 or 9070 XT may offer substantially better gaming performance and could be close in price depending on local deals. The 850W power supply is a suitable choice for that level of GPU. Also double-check the exact model listing, since the standard RX 9070 is generally sold with 16GB rather than 12GB.
The Ryzen 7 5800X is getting old and usually isn’t great value for a new build. If you’re willing to use DDR5, a Ryzen 5 7500F or Ryzen 5 9600X with 32GB of DDR5 would provide stronger gaming performance and a better upgrade path. If you stay with AM4, consider a Ryzen 7 5700X3D instead, provided you can find one at a reasonable price. For a case, look for a model with a ventilated front panel, room for a 120mm tower cooler, and at least two or three included fans. Examples include the Corsair 4000D Airflow, Fractal Pop Air, or Montech Air 903.
I’m concerned that 16GB of DDR5 won’t be enough, so I may stay with AM4. In that case, the 5700X3D sounds like a better CPU option than the 5800X.
I checked local prices and the RX 9070 is much faster while costing nearly the same as the RX 9060 XT. I’ll verify the memory capacity before buying.