I'm planning an AM5 gaming PC, but I can't currently afford a Ryzen 7 9800X3D or a newer graphics card such as an RTX 5070 Ti or RX 9070 XT. I already own a GTX 1050, so I was going to use it temporarily and upgrade the CPU and GPU later. The planned parts are a Ryzen 5 7500F, GTX 1050, 16GB DDR5-6000 CL30 as a single stick, an Arctic Liquid Freezer III Pro 360, a Gigabyte X870E AORUS ELITE X3D motherboard, a Samsung 990 Pro 2TB SSD, a 1200W Platinum power supply, a be quiet! Silent Base 802 case, and six ARGB fans. Is this a sensible starting point, or am I overspending on parts that won't improve performance right now?
3 Answers
The upgrade plan makes more sense if you buy parts based on what you need today. The 7500F is already a reasonable temporary CPU, but choose a cheaper AM5 board and standard cooler. You can upgrade to a stronger X3D processor later if the board supports it, while keeping the savings for a modern GPU. Also check that the case’s solid panels won’t restrict airflow or make the RGB fans pointless.
This is heavily unbalanced and spends too much on parts that don’t affect gaming performance. A 1200W power supply, X870E motherboard, 360mm liquid cooler, premium SSD, and six RGB fans are unnecessary for a Ryzen 5 7500F and GTX 1050. A good B650 motherboard, a reliable 650–850W PSU, a capable air cooler, and a less expensive 2TB SSD would free up money for dual-channel RAM or a much better graphics card.
The biggest problem is the single 16GB memory stick. Use two matched sticks, ideally 2x16GB DDR5-6000, because single-channel memory can noticeably hurt performance. Your GTX 1050 will also be the main gaming limitation until you upgrade it, so the expensive motherboard and cooler won’t make the system faster in the meantime.
I know the memory upgrade will be my first change, but I’ll make sure to use a matched kit rather than adding a random second stick.
The 990 Pro and the top-end motherboard are nice, but they won’t make games run better. Put that budget toward the GPU first, since the GTX 1050 will be the performance bottleneck.