I'm building my first gaming PC and would appreciate recommendations for a complete build using only new parts. My budget is about $1,250–$1,350 in the United States, and I'm not near a Micro Center. I'd prefer an all-white setup, but performance matters more, so I'm fine with a different color if white components add too much cost. I don't have any specific games in mind—I'm mainly looking for the best overall gaming performance for the budget.
2 Answers
You don’t need to lock yourself into a particular color for this budget. A mostly black or mixed-color build will usually leave more money for the GPU, which has the biggest effect on gaming performance. Before buying, compare current prices for the memory and SSD because those parts can fluctuate and may be replaced with faster or cheaper alternatives.
A balanced build around a Ryzen 7 5700X and Radeon RX 9060 XT 16GB can fit the budget. A suitable parts list would include a B550 Wi-Fi motherboard, 32GB of DDR4 memory, a 1TB PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD, a Montech XR case, and a 750W 80+ Gold modular power supply. This comes to roughly $1,245 before prices change. Prioritize the graphics card over an all-white color scheme, since white versions of components often cost more without improving performance.
You may also find better gaming value with a Ryzen 5 5500X3D from a reputable seller, especially if the price is substantially lower. Just make sure the seller is trustworthy and verify the motherboard BIOS supports it before ordering.