I'm completely new to building PCs and have been researching parts, but I'm still unsure how to choose a balanced system. I live in Italy and would prefer to buy mainly from Amazon.it because of the convenient shipping and returns. The PC would be used primarily for gaming. I'm not aiming for extreme performance, but I'd like to play current and upcoming games—including GTA 6—at a console-like experience in 1080p or 1440p. My total budget is around €800–900, although I'm aware that recent RAM and SSD price increases may make that difficult. I also need to purchase peripherals, and I'd like the build to have a clear upgrade path for the future. Should I consider buying certain components used to stay within budget?
2 Answers
A build using only new components was estimated at about €150 over your maximum budget. It would offer a better upgrade path, but not every part may be available from Amazon.it. If staying below €900 is important, I’d strongly consider getting a used graphics card while buying the motherboard, storage, case, and power supply new.
With current prices, fitting a strong gaming PC into this budget may require buying some parts used. One possible setup would be a Ryzen 5 5600 with its stock cooler, or an inexpensive tower cooler if needed; a used RTX 3080; 16GB of 3200MHz memory; an MSI B550M PRO-VDH motherboard; a 1TB NVMe SSD; a budget case; and a reliable 850W power supply. That comes to roughly €824 depending on local prices. This should handle 1080p gaming very well and 1440p at high or ultra settings in well-optimized games, with medium-to-high settings for more demanding titles. Check reputable second-hand retailers that offer a warranty, rather than buying from an unknown seller.
A used-parts retailer with a warranty is definitely worth checking. It can make the graphics card and other expensive components much easier to buy safely.