I'm considering building a budget-friendly PC for photo editing using Lightroom, particularly with its AI features, and I want to do some light gaming, mainly emulating older titles and some games released before 2020. I'm curious whether the R5 5600G would be a solid option for this setup, especially since I'm looking to potentially add a dedicated GPU later on. Currently, graphics cards are pretty expensive in my area, costing around $100-$150 for an RX580, while the R5 5600G sits at about $110. With a tight budget of $200, I'd love to hear your thoughts and any suggestions you might have! For context, I'm upgrading from an outdated Nvidia 940mx and Intel i5 7200u, so the 5600G would be a big step up for me.
2 Answers
I've been running a 5700G without a dedicated video card for a few years now, and it performed well for 1080P gaming with most emulators—just make sure the emulators you use are well-optimized. You might find native PC games have mixed results, but simpler indie games and sim-type games do quite well. If you consider jumping to the 8600G later, just prepare for the costs—it can get quite pricey for a CPU, RAM, and motherboard combo! Also, consider getting a RAM kit with 3600MT/s or more to help take full advantage of the integrated graphics.
The R5 5600G should serve you well for what you need! It’ll handle Lightroom and light gaming pretty decently, especially if you mainly play older games. If you're able to stretch your budget a bit, I'd suggest looking into an 8600G instead; its architecture is more optimized for AI workloads, which could benefit your photo editing. But if the 5600G is what you can afford, then it’s definitely better than sticking with your current setup!
I agree! Even if you can only get the 5600G, it's still a significant upgrade. You’ll be able to enjoy your editing and light gaming much more than with your old hardware.