My brother is planning to build his first gaming PC with a budget of about €1,000. He mainly wants to play demanding games such as Cyberpunk 2077 and Elden Ring, and we'd like them to run smoothly without necessarily using the highest settings. Neither of us knows much about PC hardware, so advice on suitable components and where to prioritize the budget would be appreciated. The budget is intended for the computer itself, unless stated otherwise.
3 Answers
Before buying parts, check the recommended requirements for the specific games he wants to play. Also confirm whether the €1,000 budget includes a monitor, keyboard, and mouse, since including those would leave much less for the PC itself.
The graphics card matters most for Cyberpunk, especially if higher settings or ray tracing are important. With roughly €1,000, a realistic target is smooth 1080p gaming at medium-to-high settings. A used RX 6700 XT or a similarly priced current midrange GPU could work well, but prices vary a lot by country.
For this budget, an AM4 build can offer good value. Something like a Ryzen 5 5600 or 5600X, a B550 motherboard, 16GB of DDR4 memory, a 650W power supply, and a capable midrange graphics card would be a solid starting point. Try to keep a 1TB SSD if possible, since modern games take up a lot of space.
A used Radeon RX 6700 XT could be a better value than spending too much on the graphics card. That may leave enough money for a larger SSD and a reputable power supply, such as the MSI MAG A750BN. The MSI B550M Pro-VDH is also a reasonable B550 motherboard option.
The monitor resolution makes a huge difference. If he is playing at 1080p, he does not need an especially powerful graphics card. 1440p or 4K will require spending considerably more on the GPU.