Budget gaming build - critique/suggestions on choices please :)

Vogon · 30 Oct 2023 at 23:32

Its been a minute since I last delved into pc hardware, but have been tasked with a new build for a £750 budget to replace the 8 year old PC I last built for him.
So we are looking at a 1080p focused system, and as much bang for buck we can get.
I have been looking at:

AMD R5 5600X
2x 8GB DDR 4 3200
2GB M.2 PCIe3
RX6650XT
B550 Mobo (with built in wifi pref).
Decent 550W PSU

I have deliberately not named specific brands as stock and price fluctuations seem common ATM.
I am open to suggestions if you feel my choices have missed the mark !

Quartz · 30 Oct 2023 at 23:54

Vogon said:
AMD R5 5600X
2x 8GB DDR 4 3200

AM4 is a dead platform; try for a R5 7600. And 32 GB is not much more than 16 GB.

Tetras · 31 Oct 2023 at 00:17

Intel alternative, though very similar to yours:

My basket at OcUK:

1 x Intel Core i5-12400F 2.50GHz (Alder Lake) Socket LGA1700 Processor - Retail (SKU: CP-6AR-IN) = £154.99
1 x Gigabyte B660M DS3H AX - Intel B660 DDR4 Micro ATX Motherboard (SKU: MB-5AH-GI) = £129.95
1 x Team Group Vulcan Z T-Force 32GB (2x16GB) DDR4 PC4-25600C16 3200MHz Dual Channel Kit - Grey (SKU: MY-0AJ-TG) = £59.99
1 x PowerColor Radeon RX 6600 Fighter 8GB GDDR6 PCI-Express Graphics Card (SKU: GX-1AD-PC) = £199.99
1 x WD Blue SN570 2TB SSD NVME M.2 2280 PCIe Gen3 Solid State Drive (WDS200T3B0C) (SKU: HD-58D-WD) = £93.95
1 x AeroCool Trinity V2 Mini Tower PC Case - Black (SKU: CA-23J-AE) = £41.99
1 x Phanteks AMP 550W 80 Plus Gold Modular Power Supply (SKU: CA-09P-PT) = £79.99

Total: £768.84 (includes delivery: £7.99)

Vogon · 31 Oct 2023 at 08:20

Thank you guys.
Yes, if the Ram is still available at that price when I get to order, seems 32gb is certainly worth doing

@Quartz Not sure of the AM5 route due to A: increased costs for Motherboard and Ram and B: I already have reservations using AMD CPU's due to heat. I think the increased clock speed would only add to that.
Yes I know AMD say its fine, but TBH I switched my build below to Intel because I just wasn't happy with the load temps. Building a PC that I am not there to manage only makes me more wary TBH.

Which is why @Tetras suggestion is a consideration, yes the 12400F does bottleneck higher end graphics compared to a 5600x, but I think it would be much less of an issue on a 6650 or equivalent ?

Tetras · 31 Oct 2023 at 14:08

Vogon said:
Which is why @Tetras suggestion is a consideration, yes the 12400F does bottleneck higher end graphics compared to a 5600x, but I think it would be much less of an issue on a 6650 or equivalent ?

12400 and 5600 are nearly identical, tbh, I wouldn't expect you to notice any difference.

Rob_B · 31 Oct 2023 at 14:21

AM4 is, as mentioned, not exactly future proof but for a decent mid range system that'll survive a few years (at which point you could chuck in a 5800X3d and a new GPU) then personally I think it's fine.
I recently went with a 5600 & an RX7600 based build with good quality PSU/Case etc for ~ £500, I won't feel bad in a year or two spending another couple of hundred on an upgrade if I feel the need to.

Vogon · 14 Nov 2023 at 12:49

Parts ordered, cheers for the input people

I settled on:

1 X Team Group Vulcan Z T-Force 32GB (2x16GB) DDR4 PC4-25600C16 3200MHz Dual Channel Kit - Grey - £59.99
SKU: MY-0AJ-TG

1 X Intel Core i5-12400F 2.50GHz (Alder Lake) Socket LGA1700 Processor - Retail - £154.99
SKU: CP-6AR-IN

1 X Asus Prime B760M-A WIFI D4 (LGA 1700) DDR4 Micro-ATX Motherboard - £136.00
SKU: MB-6KG-AS

1 X Asus Radeon RX 7600 Dual V2 OC Gaming 8GB GDDR6 PCI-Express Graphics Card - £269.98
SKU: GRA-ASU-00998

1 X be quiet! System Power 9 600W 80 Plus Bronze Power Supply **OEM NO BOX** - £50.00
SKU: CA-13V-BQ

1 X Aerocool Rift RGB Midi-Tower Case - Black Window - £38.98
SKU: CA-213-AE

1 X WD Blue SN580 2TB SSD NVME M.2 2280 PCIe Gen4 Solid State Drive - £110.00
SKU: STO-WDC-00541

1 X MSI 24" G2422 1920x1080 IPS 170Hz 1ms A-Sync Gaming Monitor - £108.99
SKU: MON-MSI-00579

Grand Total: £928.93

Was a little cheaper as M.2 drive has gone up since I ordered.
As the ~ £350 pre-O/C 6650XT's were out of stock, I thought the extra £20 for the pre-O/C 6700 was reasonable.

Then my eldest son decided he wanted a QHD gaming machine so I went for a similar build with the i5, but plumped for the Gigabyte B760 wifi Mobo, 32gb Kingston Ram, Kolink Observatory HF Midi Tower Case in White (his choice), an MSI RX6750XT, and a BenQ MOBIUZ EX2710Q 27" QHD 165Hz IPS Gaming Monitor.
So having not built a PC for around 3 years, I can look forward to building 2 in the next couple of days

mickyflinn · 15 Nov 2023 at 11:02

Ignore my mistake.