I've used consoles my entire life and don't know much about building PCs. I have several proposed builds and would appreciate help choosing between performance, price, and future upgradeability.
Option 1: Ryzen 5 5500, Gigabyte B450M K-CF, 32 GB DDR4-3200, RTX 4060, and a 1 TB Kingston NVMe SSD.
Option 2: Ryzen 5 5500, ASUS Prime B550M-A AC, ASUS Dual RTX 4060 8 GB, 32 GB DDR4-3200, Kingston NV2 1 TB NVMe SSD, Corsair RM750e 750 W Gold modular PSU, and a DarkFlash DK352 Plus case with four ARGB fans.
Option 3: Ryzen 5 7600X, MSI B650M WiFi motherboard, Kingston Fury DDR5-5600, Corsair 750 W PSU, and an RX 9060 XT 16 GB graphics card.
Option 4: Ryzen 5 7500F, RX 9060 XT 16 GB, B650M WiFi motherboard, 32 GB DDR5-6000, Kingston NV2 1 TB SSD, Corsair 750 W Gold PSU, DarkFlash DK352 Plus case, and a decent air cooler.
I know the AM5-based options are probably faster and more upgradeable, but I'm trying to find something that is both good and affordable. Some people have also suggested replacing the Ryzen 5 5500 with a 5600 or 5600X and using an RTX 4060 Ti. Prices are difficult to compare because I'm in Brazil, so I'll need to check local costs. Are these parts compatible, and which direction would offer the best value for gaming at 1080p or 1440p?
3 Answers
The RX 9060 XT 16 GB is in a higher performance class than the RTX 4060 and is a better fit for 1440p. The extra VRAM should also help it remain useful for longer. I would avoid choosing an RTX 4060 Ti unless it is priced very competitively; the 8 GB version is especially difficult to justify for a new build. Older cards such as an RTX 3060 Ti or RTX 3070 can still perform well, but condition, warranty, power use, and local used prices matter more than their age alone.
The listed parts are generally compatible, but check a few details before ordering: the motherboard must use the correct AM4 or AM5 socket, the RAM must match that platform, the case must support the motherboard size, and the cooler must include the proper mounting hardware. Use two RAM modules rather than one for dual-channel performance. Also consider replacing the Kingston NV2 with a more consistent SSD if the price difference is small, since it is a budget drive. You do not need 64 GB of RAM for normal gaming; 32 GB is a sensible target.
Option 4 is the strongest overall choice if the price difference is manageable. The Ryzen 5 7500F, DDR5-6000, and RX 9060 XT 16 GB make a well-balanced 1440p system, and the AM5 platform should give you better CPU upgrade options later. Just confirm the exact motherboard model, use two RAM sticks, and make sure the power supply is a reputable unit. Option 3 is also reasonable, but the 7500F is usually the better-value gaming CPU than the 7600X if both are paired with a dedicated graphics card.
If you mostly play at 1080p and the AM5 build costs substantially more, a Ryzen 5 5600 with an RTX 4060 can still be perfectly good. The 5500 is compatible, but the 5600 has better cache and PCIe 4.0 support, so it is the preferable AM4 option.
Older GPUs do not automatically perform badly. Compare actual benchmarks and prices, and check the condition of any used card. For a new purchase, though, the 16 GB RX 9060 XT is the safer long-term choice if it fits your budget.