I made an entire PC build for the price of one Nvidia GPU

1 month ago

Nvidia makes immoderate of nan best graphics cards, but astir of them are ridiculously expensive. In fact, immoderate of them are truthful pricey that you could build a full gaming PC for nan value of 1 GPU. This is wherever AMD has an separator — it doesn’t conscionable person much affordable graphics cards, but it besides makes processors to match.

By choosing AMD, you mightiness beryllium capable to get much bang for your subordinate than if you were to prime an Intel CPU and an Nvidia GPU. So I did it, picking retired each nan components for a build you could spell retired and build coming for nan value of a azygous GPU.

Why AMD is simply a amended choice

AMD RX 7800 XT graphics paper connected an orangish background.

Now that some AMD and Nvidia person plentifulness of hardware up for grabs, it’s a bully clip to build a PC. Both manufacturers person seen immoderate hefty value cuts connected their GPUs, and AMD CPUs are cheaper than ever. However, including Nvidia and/or Intel successful your build almost ever intends having to salary more. If you conscionable want a PC that tin play AAA games, that’s not ever going to beryllium a necessity.

Just a fewer months ago, things weren’t truthful simple. AMD’s graphics lineup was beautiful bare, pinch only nan flagship RX 7900 XTX and RX 7900 XT, arsenic good arsenic nan fund RX 7600. When building a PC for 1440p, you’d beryllium restricted to 1 of nan apical cards aliases to an older RDNA 2 GPU. Now, pinch nan RX 7800 XT and RX 7700 XT yet here, AMD GPUs tin fresh into immoderate PC build, sloppy of your budget.

Nvidia GPUs person 1 separator complete AMD — they person Deep Learning Super Sampling (DLSS 3). While connected insubstantial AMD is often astir nan aforesaid level, Nvidia’s framework procreation tin boost nan RTX 4070 to tally faster than an RTX 4090, and that’s saying something. However bully DLSS 3 is, it mightiness not beryllium worthy going complete fund for; it’s not disposable successful that galore games, and many group hardly ever usage it. If you’re consenting to forego buying Nvidia and put up pinch nan deficiency of DLSS and inferior ray tracing — which, let’s beryllium real, is not a necessity for astir gamers — past you tin prevention a batch of money by going down nan AMD route.

AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D installed successful a motherboard.

While it’s difficult to contradict that Nvidia still dominates nan GPU sphere, AMD is doing acold amended successful its conflict against Intel. In an AMD versus Intel scenario, I would urge utilizing an AMD CPU for gaming almost each time. Intel processors, beryllium it nan 13th procreation aliases its caller 14th-gen refresh, are often amended for productivity. Thanks to nan summation successful halfway counts, your PC is simply much versatile pinch Intel.

If you’re into streaming aliases contented creation, Intel is often considered a must. However, if you’re mostly utilizing your PC for games, moreover if that intends simultaneously watching a Twitch watercourse aliases utilizing Discord, you’ll beryllium conscionable good pinch AMD. The summation successful L3 cache versus Intel options has been proven to activity clip and clip again, which is why AMD now makes nan best processors for gaming.

Performance aside, money is ever a factor. Nvidia’s top-tier GPU has been getting pricier lately, truthful nan RTX 4090 would costs you astir $1,700 aliases much correct now. Even nan terrible-value RTX 4080 is astir $1,050 to $1,100. With a fund that falls successful that range, you tin already get yourself a coagulated gaming PC for nan value of a azygous Nvidia graphics card.

Here’s 1 specified build, on pinch ideas connected really to modify it to fresh your needs and your budget.

Your AMD gaming PC nether $1,500

	Component	Price
CPU		$238
GPU		$520
Cooling		$75
Motherboard		$190
Memory		$100
Storage		$45
Case		$105
Power supply		$90
Total		$1,365

Here it is — a PC build that falls correct betwixt nan value of nan RTX 4080 and nan RTX 4090. At $1,365, you’re getting a midrange PC suited for gaming astatine 1440p. Let’s spell complete nan components and immoderate imaginable changes you could make successful this build.

CPU

For starters, nan CPU. At this budget, nan Ryzen 5 7600X is simply a coagulated prime for gaming purposes. It only has six cores, but it’s an affordable CPU that tin deed timepiece speeds reaching up to 5.3GHz successful boost mode, and that’s connected apical of a 4.7GHz guidelines clock. More importantly, it belongs to AMD’s AM5 platform, which intends future-proofing, arsenic AMD will support supporting this level until astatine slightest nan extremity of 2025.

What upgrades could you make? You could switch to nan adjacent CPU successful line, meaning nan Ryzen 7 7700 aliases 7700X, but that’s going to costs you other (up to $310). At that stage, you could walk moreover much and get nan $370 Ryzen 7 7800X3D, which is nan fastest CPU for gaming correct now. However, these upgrades will require further changes to nan build. The Ryzen 7 7700X should beryllium good pinch nan Be Quiet! cooler I picked retired here, but for nan 7800X3D, I’d urge a liquid cooler, arsenic it tin tally beautiful hot. The will fresh this lawsuit and hardly ups nan costs of nan build, although, of course, amended all-in-one (AIO) coolers besides exist.

If you want to prevention a fewer dollars, you tin switch nan CPU retired for nan Ryzen 5 7600. It has somewhat little timepiece speeds, but it’s much powerfulness businesslike and generates little heat.

GPU

AMD’s caller RX 7800 XT is simply a logical prime for immoderate build astatine this value constituent correct now. Although it’s not importantly faster than its predecessor, it costs astir nan aforesaid and is simply a current-gen card. The is simply a cheaper alternative, but owed to its performance-to-price ratio, it’s conscionable not arsenic bully a woody arsenic nan RX 7800 XT.

For savings, there’s ever nan , which will people a downgrade successful performance, but it’ll prevention you $100 to $120. If you want thing better, nan is an action astatine astir $610. In that case, though, you should upgrade nan powerfulness proviso to a 750-watt exemplary (or higher), specified arsenic nan .

Memory and storage

Using a Ryzen 7000 processor locks you to DDR5 RAM, which makes it a pricier affair, but is besides amended for early upgrades. I chose a middle-of-the-road benignant of kit for this build, though it’s decidedly 1 of nan best DDR5 RAM kits connected a budget, and it supports AMD EXPO profiles. You could prime thing cheaper, but you could besides prime thing overmuch much costly pinch a higher wave and amended timings. Ultimately, it’s not going to make aliases break your gaming experience, truthful it’s an easy disbursal to walk on.

The aforesaid goes for nan SSD. I decided to forego adding an HDD to this build, but if you request one, there’s plentifulness of room for other storage. The SSD could besides beryllium upgraded to a 2TB model, and location are faster SSDs retired location if you’re consenting to walk much money — but beryllium prepared to salary doubly arsenic overmuch aliases more. The is simply a overmuch pricier prime that’s amended crossed nan board.

Motherboard, PSU, and case

While this Gigabyte B650 Gaming X AX is not nan cheapest AM5 committee you’ll find, it’s often a bully thought to allocate a small spot much of your fund toward nan motherboard — aft all, it’s nan spine of your computer. This exemplary is 1 of nan best motherboards astatine this value range, pinch a decent VRM and plentifulness of slots, not to mention Wi-Fi. In each honesty, I wouldn’t alteration it retired for thing here, though nan aliases nan are akin options to consider.

As acold arsenic nan PSU goes, nan Seasonic 80+ Gold is simply a decent action for this build without immoderate upgrades, and will still suffice if you upgrade nan CPU arsenic good arsenic a mates of smaller components. It has capable headroom to beryllium conscionable good pinch that. However, if you determine to make bigger changes, make judge to prime up a 750W aliases moreover 850W action for future-proofing (although that’s beautiful overkill). Choose either an 80+ Gold aliases Platinum PSU, not Bronze, for illustration nan I recommended above.

Buying a PC case for immoderate build is ever tricky, because it’s not conscionable astir airflow and whether everything fits, but besides nan aesthetic. I picked nan Lian Li Lancool 216 because it has 2 monolithic 200mm fans and plentifulness of airflow, but fto maine pass you — that airflow stems from nan truth that it’s beautiful huge. This 1 besides comes successful achromatic if you for illustration that aesthetic. If you scheme connected making immoderate changes to nan case, cheque retired our lineup of nan champion PC cases and beryllium very, very observant to make judge each nan components will fresh inside.

You don’t person to walk excessively much

A gaming PC pinch RGB synced lights moving Apex Legends.

The PC gaming world thrives connected marketing. We’re ever told that this aliases that caller constituent is nan fastest ever, aliases that it will present immoderate benignant of insane capacity successful games. The truth is that a PC is thing much than a sum of its parts, and if you’re connected a tight budget, it makes nary consciousness to walk $1,000 to $1,700 aliases much of that fund connected nan graphics paper alone. Most users really don’t request that benignant of firepower.

Sure, buying a high-end Nvidia GPU would fto your machine breeze done 4K, whereas nan machine supra is much of a 1440p build. Even so, this is simply a PC that will past you years and will play games connected precocious to ultra settings. For gaming and gaming alone, it’s cost-effective — and nan truth that it still costs conscionable $200 much than nan RTX 4080 says a batch astir Nvidia’s pricing strategy successful this generation. After all, nan last-gen RTX 3080 launched pinch a $700 value tag. If nan prices stayed nan same, nan scales mightiness person tipped much successful Nvidia’s favour this clip around, too.