Welcome!
This thread aims to do some thorough analysis on how to build a budget gaming PC for the winter of 2024 / 2025. With Black Friday / Week coming up, as well as Christmas, I believe now is an excellent time to build a new computer. My hope is that this thread will collect the advice from a lot of people in the community, so even though I will give a good starting point here, I do not expect my word to be absolute. I am going to start with discussing each component in turn the way I see it, and then add two example builds in the end, one based on Intel CPUs and one based on AMD.
The focus for this thread is value oriented builds, e.g. great perf per dollar pricing but still affordable, there is a sister thread for the budget builds. The target price for this build is $1400, but if your particular build exceeds that budget with up to 15% (~$1600) it is still worth discussing, especially if those extra 15% bring 50%-100% better performance.
If you feel that $1400 is a bit too much, perhaps you would like to join the discussion in the budget thread instead?
Without further ado, let’s dive right into it:
Components
There are eight components required to build a modern PC in the mid-20s. Some of these matter more for performance, but all have their place and will limit some of your other choices if you build poorly. Think carefully. Budget wise, I am aiming for $1400 or less, simply because that is a good tradeoff between quality and cheapness. I am listing brand new components for this; ebay might help you go even cheaper. As a final note, these are mostly my opinions. They may not necessarily correlate with yours. That is fine. This is not about the one true way to build a budget PC, but presenting a way. Others exist and may, in fact, fit your particular use case better.
Again, if you feel this analysis leave out your favorite brand(s) feel free to suggest alternatives and why you like them. Value is more than just the money you throw into a build, after all - It is also subjective. While we can debate endlessly whether this or that motherboard is better because of this or that reason, or this or that feature is really important to have, let’s try to be respectful and try to recognize the fact that we all put different weight at different values. One mans trash is another mans treasure, ya? The goal is to try and help everyone looking for a decent gaming experience for the coming winter season, not to bash any one particular brand or way of thinking.
CPU
In the value segment, I would get a CPU around $250-$350. Here it actually gets interesting, because I actually have two brand new, competitive products this time around. Both of these are competitive in price and performance; however, the Intel part is less efficient and therefore generates more power. Performance wise, they are neck and neck, and I would say you can’t go wrong with either.
Intel, unfortunately, only has a single good CPU this time around - and no, it is not the Ultra 9 285k, but rather the Ultra 5 245KF for $279. Looking at benchmarks, this thing packs a punch, and despite only having 14 single-threaded cores, it beats the 8 dual-threaded AMD Ryzen 7 9700X. Why you would pay $319 for the 9700X, much less $479 for the 9800X3D, goes beyond my understanding. It does run a bit hotter though, with a 125W TDP as opposed to a 65W TDP, but other than that… Benchmarks favor Intel in this segment.
That aside, value is more than just performance-per-dollar. AMD promises at least one, perhaps two, more CPU generations on the AM5 platform, and this makes the AM5 platform quite a sweet sounding bargain. Several CPUs are of interest in this segment. The 9700X is the base 8-core variant, but there is also the 7900X for ~$329 and, going lower, the 7700X now costs ~$259. The 7700 non-X is also worth a look at $265, that one also come with a stock cooler that might save even more money. This could leave some room for other components. This does come at an added tax, however, as AMD now is firmly the premium brand in CPUs.
CPU Cooler
At the value level, spending $40 on a Peerless Assassin RGB is nice, but stock coolers are still an option on some of the CPUs, like the AMD Ryzen 7900 non-X. Going water cooling here, again, brings little added value to the build, it is more for bragging rights. I have included the Peerless Assassin as I believe it offers the best value with the options available, but brands like Noctua and Be Quiet are both worth taking a look at, especially if the Peerless Assassin turns out to be noisier than you’d like.
Graphics Card
For the value segment, $500 is a good price point to spend. This segment includes three interesting cards. None of them are Intel cards; I feel hesitant to recommend Intel since they have all but said their GPU line will end, however the $229 Arc A770 with 16GB of VRAM is certainly the best value deal at the moment, if we look at only raw performance. Software support is another matter, which is why I cannot recommend Arc.
The first real contender is the RTX 4070. With 12GB of VRAM at $499, I feel it is slightly pricey; however, if you need Nvidia, this is the card I would get at this price segment. This is priced kinda okay, but the next card has it beat in performance, and $499 for 12GB of VRAM feels like too much. The much more expensive $749 4070 Ti Super fixes this glaring omission, but yeah… $250 more?
The second contender is the $479 7800 XT. 16 GB of VRAM and can reach RTX 4080 speeds in raw performance, this thing definitely punches above its weight class. This is simply my recommended pick for a $1400 computer.
The third, and final contender, is the $329 RX 7600 XT. Again, 16 GB of VRAM makes this card punch above its weight and can even drive a 1440p screen with only a few minor issues. If you need to do something else, like increase your RAM or storage capacity or need more cores, this alternative is interesting.
Motherboard
For AM5, the choice is again quite tricky. The main choice is between B650, B650E, X670, X670E, X870 and X870E. Other chipsets simply have too many compromises. Functionality wise there is little difference between the chipsets, but X670 and X870 series tend to receive better support and the boards in general tend to have more options for overclocking et cetera. I would say an X670 board is the sweet spot for now, but in general, expect to pay ~$200 for the privilege.
For Intel, there is only one chipset option, Z890 or bust. It is that simple. Again, try to find something below or at $200.
RAM
This time, there is no real choice to be made. DDR5 RAM is the choice, and capacity wise 32 GB is the sweet spot where you pay roughly $85 for 32 GB 6000Mt/s with CL30. Not much more to say here, not really worth it to go faster or bigger.
Storage
Do not buy a hard drive in 2024! The hegemony of hard drives are ending, and sooner than most people realize. A 1TB m.2 drive would at least let you store some games on it, but SSD prices are not quite where they need to be yet. You also want to consider a drive with DRAM cache, though this adds ~30%-50% to the price of an SSD. If you can fit a DRAM drive into your budget, great. Have minimum of 1TB of storage, and make sure it has a DRAM cache.
Power Supply
For the power supply, stay away from no-name brands if possible. Some offers are worth to take a gamble on; with Power supplies, you tend to get what you pay for. For the value segment I recommend three things; 850W, Gold certified, and partially or fully modular. This should set you back between $80 and $120, and brand is also important to consider. Stay away from the cheaper brands unless your PC is considered disposable for all intents and purposes.
Case
A computer case is very personal, and there is no one-size-fits-all solution. Practically speaking, in the $1400 bracket, parts are in mild danger of overheating, especially in a case with bad airflow. Remember that the more power you draw into a case, the more heat you need to push out of it. A cheap case may not be enough here, and you most definitely do not want the bottom barrel trash. The same principle of fresh air from the front to the back is still one of the most efficient solutions. Some swear by cases that draw air from the bottom and ventilate at the top, but if you are like me and like to keep the PC below the desk, that will collect quite a bit more dust.
As for recommendations, a case with two fans in the front and one in the back is still the better solution. That is not to say it is the best one though. Budget wise, it is not a bad idea to aim towards a $100 cost here. I have opted for a slightly cheaper case, the Fractal Design Focus 2 in order to fit some other bits and pieces, but going just a little bit further to a Meshify or Corsair 4000D is not out of the realm of possibility here.
The builds
The following builds are example builds with PC Part Picker as a guide. Pricing and parts follow the US market, please keep in mind the above advice if you make any changes, and adjust these builds to your own region and pricing. Great deals in the US are not necessarily great deals in the EU, after all.
And yes, I have chosen the same components save for the motherboard, processor and video card, to make things simple and keep an apples-to-apples comparison. PSU is a respectable 850W, which I feel is adequate, but updating to a 1000W supply could make sense later, depending on your upgrade plans. The storage has both DRAM and 2TB this time around. As for RAM, 6000 MT/s @ CL30 is the sweet spot in DDR5. You could go higher, especially on Intel builds, but… Why? The case is a solid case from Fractal Design although there are a ton of similarly priced cases out there. There is nothing special about this one, but nothing bad to say, either.
Build 1: Arnold the Armwrestler (AM5)
The AM5 platform makes a lot of promises, especially with regard to upgradeability and longevity. If AM4 is any indication we could still see new CPUs debut on AM5 in 2030 - though I do expect the most high-performing CPUs have abandoned the platform by then. Regardless, the platform will be around until 2027, which is a very good incentive to go AMD over Intel this time around. That said, do not completely disregard Intels offerings, I personally believe AM5 wins this round, but only by a few percentage points.
For CPU, I have chosen the brand new Ryzen 7 9700X. Why no 9800X3D, you may ask? Because it’s $479, at the very least. For that money, I could buy the 9900X, which has 4 more cores. The video card chosen here is the 7800 XT, and the case is the Fractal Design Focus 2. I would like to spend a little more on a bit nicer case, but sadly the build is out of money at this point.
| Type | Item | Price |
|---|---|---|
| CPU | AMD Ryzen 7 9700X | $317.57 |
| CPU Cooler | Thermalright Peerless Assassin 120 SE ARGB | $39.90 |
| Motherboard | Gigabyte X670 GAMING X AX V2 | $199.99 |
| Memory | TEAMGROUP T-Create Expert 2x16 GB DDR5-6000 CL30 | $84.99 |
| Storage | Western Digital WD_Black SN850X 2 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 | $124.75 |
| Video Card | Sapphire PULSE Radeon RX 7800 XT | $469.97 |
| Case | Fractal Design Focus 2 | $69.99 |
| Power Supply | Cooler Master MWE Gold 850 - V2 850W 80+ Gold Fully Modular | $89.99 |
| Total | $1397.15 |
Build 2: Ingrid the Illusionist (LGA1851)
New platform from Intel with shiny new stuff! I am actually quite impressed by how bad Intel is performing in the top end this generation. The value segment, however, paints a different story. The 245KF actually performs better than expected here, giving the 9700X a serious run for it’s money, while costing less. It does so drawing more energy, but for gaming, this allows you to reach a little further for a slightly better motherboard or case. As for the motherboard, I went with one of the cheaper Z890 boards, simply because there is no reason not to. At less than $200, a Z890 board is a no brainer.
Another nice thing about the 245KF price is that it allowed the build to move up to the Meshify C case and a proper RTX 4070 card, which can be a nice boost for many.
| Type | Item | Price |
|---|---|---|
| CPU | Intel Core Ultra 5 245KF | $279.00 |
| CPU Cooler | Thermalright Peerless Assassin 120 SE ARGB | $39.90 |
| Motherboard | Gigabyte Z890M GAMING X | $179.99 |
| Memory | TEAMGROUP T-Create Expert 2x16 GB DDR5-6000 CL30 | $84.99 |
| Storage | Western Digital WD_Black SN850X 2 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 | $124.75 |
| Video Card | PNY XLR8 Gaming VERTO EPIC-X RGB GeForce RTX 4070 | $499.00 |
| Case | Fractal Design Meshify C | $99.99 |
| Power Supply | Cooler Master MWE Gold 850 - V2 850W 80+ Gold Fully Modular | $89.99 |
| Total | $1397.61 |
Closing words
I hope the above build examples and analysis helped someone looking for a new PC in 2024. Feel free to fill out below with good deals, agree, disagree, and don’t forget to keep things civil and be respectful. 