I'm planning to buy my first gaming PC, although I may wait a while for component prices to settle. Building it myself seems cheaper than buying a prebuilt, but I'm still learning and would appreciate advice on choosing compatible parts, avoiding common mistakes, and knowing which brands or components are worth considering. My budget is approximately $2,500 AUD.
I mainly play Fortnite, Counter-Strike, Call of Duty, Valorant, and ARC Raiders. So far, I've considered an AMD Ryzen 7 9700X, an Arctic Liquid Freezer III 240 A-RGB cooler, a Gigabyte B850 AORUS Elite WiFi 7 motherboard, a Crucial T500 2TB PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD, a Lian Li Lancool 216 case, and an 850W Montech Century II Gold modular power supply. I still need to choose the graphics card and RAM. I'd also like feedback on whether the current parts make sense together, whether anything is unnecessarily expensive, and anything a first-time builder should know before buying.
4 Answers
AMD is a sensible direction for this build because the AM5 platform gives you a better upgrade path than buying into an aging CPU socket. For the graphics card, compare real gaming performance and local pricing rather than choosing by brand alone. AMD cards often offer strong value, while Nvidia can be worthwhile if you specifically care about features like ray tracing or upscaling. Since the GPU, RAM, and storage can fluctuate a lot in price, waiting for a good sale is reasonable.
Start with 32GB of DDR5 memory, ideally as a matched 2x16GB kit with a suitable speed and timings for AM5. Check the motherboard’s memory support list where possible, enable EXPO in the BIOS after installation, and leave enough of the budget for the GPU since it usually has the biggest effect on gaming performance. Also remember to budget for Windows, extra case fans if needed, and a monitor if you don’t already have one.
For a gaming-focused system, a Ryzen X3D processor is worth considering if it fits the budget, since the extra cache can improve game performance. A Ryzen 7 7800X3D paired with a Radeon RX 9070 XT and 32GB of RAM would be a strong combination, although current Australian pricing should decide whether that exact setup makes sense. You may also be able to save money with a good air cooler instead of a 240mm liquid cooler, unless you prefer the appearance or want the extra thermal headroom.
Use a parts compatibility checker such as PCPartPicker to catch problems with socket types, dimensions, power requirements, and pricing. It’s especially useful while comparing Australian retailers and waiting for sales.
Thanks! I’ll look into the X3D CPUs. Could you explain what makes them better for gaming? RAM prices do seem unusually high at the moment.