Best $600 1080p Gaming Build! Ryzen 5600X + Radeon RX 6650 XT List

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CPU

Starting with the CPU, if you are looking to get an affordable gaming build, that can run everything with good and playable performance, the Ryzen 5 5600 and Ryzen 5 5600X are some of the best options available for the money. They are usually cheaper than the Intel i5-12400F, while delivering close to Intel i5-12600K (DDR4) levels of performance.

Both CPUs come with the AMD Wraith Stealth CPU Cooler. It is a decent enough CPU cooler, quite capable of cooling the CPU while gaming. It is recommended to use it to save a bit of money. If you need a better CPU Cooler, a simple <$20 Single Tower Air Cooler is the best and cheapest solution.

• Other than minimal difference is clock speeds, both the Ryzen 5 5600 and Ryzen 5 5600X have the same amount of cache and same core/thread count, with very similar performance overall. Both CPUs can be overclocked, and can use PBO (Precision Boost Overdrive).

Our Recommendation: AMD Ryzen 5 5600X (or Ryzen 5 5600 if cheaper).

Motherboard

MSI B550M PRO-VDH WIFI (mATX) and MSI B550-A PRO (ATX) are some of the best motherboards overall, both have great features, BIOS Flashback, excellent VRMs and are quite affordable. The two MSI Motherboards offer 2x M.2 slots, with M.2 heatsink in the main slot. The MSI B550-A PRO also has an USB Type-C port in the rear I/O, and both motherboards have support for front USB Type-C, if you have a case with USB-C support.

The ASUS PRIME B550-PLUS is another excellent ATX motherboard, with USB Type-C support in the rear I/O, 2x M.2 slots and a good VRM with heatsink. Unfortunately it does not have front USB Type-C support for a PC case (like most ASUS B550 Motherboards), and it does not have an M.2 heatsink.

• If you require Wi-Fi 6/6E, Bluetooth, we recommend the MSI PRO B550M-VC WIFI, or a similar $100 B550 Motherboard with Wi-Fi 6/6E Support

Our Recommendation: MSI B550M PRO-VDH WIFI (Excellent mATX motherboard, good features and specs, great VRM and USB Type-C support for case).

RAM

DDR4 3200MT/s CL16 is one of the best sweet spots for price and performance for Ryzen 5000 CPUs. It delivers excellent performance at a very affordable price range, ensure overall great compatibility and a plug-and-play + enable XMP experience.

A 2x8GB DDR4 3200 CL16 kit would be more than enough for gaming and everyday use. If you are also using the PC for streaming, recording, using a lot of stuff in the background, it would be recommended to get a 2x16GB 3200 CL16 kit.

Our Recommendation: Either a 2x8GB DDR4 3200 CL16 or a 2x16GB DDR4 3200 CL16 kit.

Storage

For games, a SSD is a must have, fast loading times, fast access times, better usability of your new PC. Everything will be faster and more responsive. Ryzen 5000 CPUs and B550 motherboards have support for PCIe 4.0 SSDs. A 1TB PCIe 4.0 M.2 SSD would be highly recommended, as it is enough for a large game library, Windows and apps.

For a gaming build, there is no real need to buy a high-end SSD with DRAM Cache. Modern SSDs have HMB (Host Memory Buffer), meaning a small portion of system memory will be used as cache. That cache will help during heavy write and read usage, a scenario a gaming PC is unlikely to encounter.

• Higher-end PCIe 4.0 HMB options are also worth considering: Silicon Power US75, TEAMGROUP MP44 and other SSDs can be found at a similar price range, especially when on sale.

Our Recommendation: Crucial P3 Plus 1TB, Silicon Power UD90 1TB, or similar 1TB NVMe PCIe 4.0 HMB SSD.

Cases

For a case, the recommendation is to get something that could be used on a future build, something with enough space to fit future upgrades, with good airflow and cooling, that can support better components with more heat output.

Some of the best mATX Cases are the ASUS A21 mATX Case and Lian Li A3-mATX. Both offer space for large GPUs, 360mm AIOs, meaning they can also run a high-end build without issues.

For ATX cases, something like the Montech AIR 903 would be one of the best solutions. They offer good cooling, with good amount of included fans, massive amounts of space for large CPU Coolers, 360mm AIOs, large PSUs etc.

If you want to get the best possible components this budget allows, we recommend the cheapest case available. The Cooler Master MASTERBOX Q300L is an excellent example of that, with decent space and good enough airflow. It does not offer USB Type-C support, and hiding PSU cables are almost impossible.

Our Recommendation: Cooler Master Q300L (mATX Motherboard), Montech AIR 903, Corsair 3000D, NZXT H5 Flow (ATX Motherboards), or similar case.