I'm completely new to building PCs and would appreciate some guidance. My budget is about $1,500 CAD, though spending less would be even better. I mainly want to play League of Legends, Valorant, and Palworld, and I don't need an especially fancy system. I'm not sure where to begin or which parts are compatible, so I'd love recommendations for a complete build, including the CPU, graphics card, motherboard, memory, storage, power supply, and case.
4 Answers
Avoid building a brand-new system around an older Ryzen 7 5800X3D unless you find it at a very good price. It is still fast, but it uses the older AM4 platform and can make the overall build less balanced. A Ryzen 5 5600 is sufficient for your games, while a stronger graphics card will make a bigger difference in Palworld and other demanding titles. Also check the graphics card’s power requirements and leave some headroom when choosing the PSU.
One practical new build came out to roughly $1,300 CAD before optional upgrades: Ryzen 5 5600, B550 motherboard with Wi-Fi, 16GB DDR4-3200, 1TB SSD, Radeon RX 7600, a basic airflow-focused case, and a fully modular 650W 80+ Gold PSU. If prices allow, upgrading to a newer graphics card is probably more worthwhile than moving from 16GB to 32GB right away. You can always add another memory kit later, although 32GB is useful if you want to run lots of browser tabs and Discord while gaming.
Sixteen gigabytes is enough for those games, but choose a motherboard with four memory slots so upgrading to 32GB later is easy. If the price difference is small, 32GB is still a sensible convenience upgrade.
A used AM4 platform could offer excellent value in Canada. Look for a B550 motherboard, a Ryzen 5 5600 or an affordable X3D processor, 32GB of DDR4, a 1TB SSD, and a used RX 6700 XT or similar graphics card. Just check the condition of used parts carefully and make sure the power supply is from a reputable brand. You do not need a high-end CPU for League or Valorant.
For those games, you can save money on the processor and put more of the budget toward the graphics card. A Ryzen 5 5600 with 16GB of DDR4 memory, a 1TB SSD, and a Radeon RX 7600-class card would handle League and Valorant easily and should run Palworld well at 1080p. Pair it with a reliable 650W or 750W 80+ Gold power supply. A B550 motherboard is a good match, and you can use the stock cooler unless temperatures or noise become a concern.
Would 16GB be enough for now, or should I try to fit 32GB into the initial budget?