What’s the smartest way to build a $1,000–$1,500 gaming PC right now?

At this budget, I’d put more of the money toward the graphics card rather than an expensive X870 motherboard. A less costly B650 board should be plenty for a Ryzen 5 7600X, and you should use 32GB as a 2×16GB kit. Ideally, look for DDR5-6000 with reasonable timings. Your selected 8GB modules are a poor value and may have reduced memory bandwidth. The SSD also looks unusually expensive, so a good 2TB drive around the $100–$150 range would free up money for a faster GPU. A Radeon RX 9070-class card would provide a more noticeable improvement in demanding games than the RX 9060 XT.

If you have a nearby computer retailer that offers bundle discounts, it’s worth checking, since CPU, motherboard, and memory bundles can sometimes beat buying each item separately. Since you don’t have one nearby, just watch for online bundles and prebuilt sales. Waiting specifically for a warehouse-club deal isn’t necessary, but buying during a sale could make a meaningful difference.

The parts list has some seriously inflated prices, especially the memory and storage. Don’t assume the first listed price is normal—check several retailers and compare complete builds. The CPU cooler, motherboard, case, and SSD can all be trimmed without hurting gaming performance. Spend the savings on the GPU, since that is usually the component that matters most for playing newer, graphically intensive games.