I've been wanting to build my own PC for a while, and I've done quite a bit of research to gather some ideas for parts. I'm aiming for a budget of around $1800 AUD but would love any tips on cheaper alternatives that won't drastically impact performance. My goal is to play games at 1440p with decent frame rates, and while I'd prefer the ability to upgrade in the future, it's not essential. Coming from a GTX 1650, I'm eager to upgrade since it's been struggling with new AAA games. Here's my parts list if you want to check it out: [https://au.pcpartpicker.com/list/FtRdcx](https://au.pcpartpicker.com/list/FtRdcx). Any advice or suggestions would be greatly appreciated!
4 Answers
Honestly, I was shocked when I saw your build was $1800! I thought it was in USD at first. Since you're in AUD, it makes sense. A couple of suggestions: consider an Antec CX 300 case and upgrade to a Ryzen 5 9600x or i5 14600k for your CPU. Adding a 2TB SSD is a smart move since storage fills up quickly. And if you're going for a monitor, the MSI MAG 275QF is a solid 1440p option with good specs.
For a micro ATX build, consider a smaller case. Also, you might want to look at CL30 RAM instead of CL36 for better performance. If you're budget-conscious, the RX 9060 XT 16GB could work, but keep in mind that you might only get 70-90 FPS on ultra settings. Ultimately, if you drop some settings and use FSR4, you could hit 100 FPS plus, depending on the game!
The RTX 5060 ti 16GB seems a bit pricey when you can find an RX 9060 XT with similar performance for around $630. However, both of these aren’t ideal for 1440p gameplay. For better performance, you might want to aim for an RTX 5070 or RX 9070 to avoid frame rates dipping below 100 FPS without upscaling. Also, don't skimp on the PSU; a 750W gold-rated PSU is a must to keep everything safe and running smoothly!
Haha, yeah the AUD conversion can be a shocker! I appreciate the case recommendation. Right now, I’m leaning towards air cooling just for simplicity since it’s my first build.