I've saved about $2,000 CAD for my first gaming PC. Most of my friends play on PC, while I'm still gaming alone on console because many of the games we play don't support crossplay. I mainly play competitive shooters and would like a smooth, responsive experience with very high frame rates—ideally around 300–400 FPS with minimal drops or stuttering. The budget is fairly strict since I'm paying for everything myself. I already own a 300 Hz monitor, so the full budget can go toward the computer. What parts would give me the best performance for this amount?
2 Answers
If you can stretch the budget to roughly $2,165 CAD, a strong route would be a Ryzen 7 7800X3D paired with a B650 motherboard and 32 GB of DDR5-6000 CL30 memory. That CPU is excellent for competitive games. Pair it with the best graphics card you can fit into the remaining budget, along with a quality power supply and good airflow. You could save around $100 initially by buying a 512 GB boot drive and adding more storage later. Used graphics cards such as an RTX 3080 may also offer good value, but make sure the power supply is strong enough and inspect the card carefully.
Since you already have a 300 Hz monitor, the entire budget can focus on the tower. That makes a high-end gaming CPU and a capable mid-to-high-end GPU the priorities. Just keep in mind that 300–400 FPS depends heavily on the specific game, resolution, graphics settings, and map, so even an expensive system won’t maintain that range in every title. Competitive shooters at sensible settings are the most realistic target.
I’ll look into that build and the possible used-card options. Thanks so much for the help!