I'm putting together a gaming PC and trying to stay below $1,000. My current parts list is a used Radeon 6700 XT 12GB for $300, a Ryzen 5 5500, 16GB of DDR4-3200 memory, and a Gigabyte B550M motherboard for about $280 as a bundle. Storage would be a 256GB M.2 SSD for $53 plus a 2TB hard drive for $80. I've also budgeted $50 for the case, $52 for a Thermalright 360mm liquid cooler, and $90 for a Corsair 750W power supply. Where would the extra money be best spent, and are there any parts I should replace or avoid?
3 Answers
The main weak point is storage. A 256GB SSD will fill up quickly, and a hard drive is better suited to videos, photos, and general file storage than modern games. If possible, replace both drives with a 1TB M.2 SSD. It’ll give you much faster load times and a simpler setup. If the budget is tight, you could start with the smaller SSD and add more later, but I’d prioritize a larger SSD over the hard drive.
The build is generally balanced, but the 360mm liquid cooler is excessive for a Ryzen 5 5500. You could use a much cheaper air cooler and put the savings toward a larger SSD, a better CPU, or additional case fans. Also remember to budget for basic extras such as thermal paste if the cooler doesn’t include it and enough airflow for the case. Windows doesn’t necessarily need to cost $130 if you already have a valid license or install it first and activate it later.
If you plan to keep the system for several years, consider upgrading to a Ryzen 7 5700X3D when you can. It’s a strong gaming CPU for the AM4 platform and would let you keep the motherboard and RAM while upgrading the graphics card later. Using the Ryzen 5 5500 now makes sense if the bundle is significantly cheaper, but make sure the motherboard BIOS supports the 5700X3D before buying it.
I was considering the 5700X3D as a future upgrade. The main reason I chose the Ryzen 5 5500 is that it comes bundled with the motherboard and RAM at a much lower price.