I'm looking to build my first PC, primarily for daily tasks like programming and 1440p gaming. I've never tried 1440p gaming before but I'm very interested in it. I want to find a good combination of CPU and GPU that fits within a budget of $1000 to $1200. I know prices can vary by region, and I'm avoiding the second-hand market. Any recommendations would be awesome!
5 Answers
It really depends on where you're located. If you're near a Micro Center, they often have great bundles for AM5 setups. You could go with a 5700X3D and stay within budget. Alternatively, check out the 14600K + BF6 combo on Newegg for around $150; then just add a compatible motherboard. The 9060 XT will work great for 1440p too, mine runs flawlessly on my ultrawide OLED monitor! Are you starting completely from scratch or do you already have some parts like DDR4 or a PSU?
The RX 9060 XT 16GB is exactly what you need! It's around $350, which offers more than enough VRAM. It runs 1440p games well, even on high settings. You could pair it with either the 9600X or the 7600X if you want to save some cash. I also recommend getting 32GB of RAM and a 1TB NVMe SSD with a speed of at least 4000MB/s, plus a solid B850 motherboard for your setup.
Nice! The recommendations for RAM and SSD are super helpful. I’ll definitely keep that in mind.
You should definitely consider the Ryzen 5 9600X paired with the RX 9060 XT 16GB. This combo will give you solid performance for 1440p gaming without breaking the bank.
Opt for a Ryzen 'X3D' CPU, and make sure your GPU has at least 12GB VRAM (more is always better, and avoid the 60 series unless you're focused on competitive games). Design your build around those components.
I'm building from scratch, so I'm looking at everything from the ground up.