$900 RX 7700 XT 1440p Gaming Build!? AMD AM4 Ryzen 5600X Edition

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CPU

If you are looking to get an affordable gaming build, that can run everything with good and playable performance, both the Ryzen 5 5600 and Ryzen 5 5600X are some of the best options available for the money. For those who need something a bit better for productivity, the Ryzen 7 5700X or Ryzen 7 5800X

The AM4 platform also allows for a few upgrades, with the Ryzen 7 5700X3D being one of the best examples, with performance on pair with some AM5 CPUs, but without the extra cost of DDR5 memory and AM5 motherboard.

• 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. Same goes for the Ryzen 7 5700X versus Ryzen 7 5800X.

Our Recommendation: Ryzen 5 5600X (if the price difference between it and the Ryzen 5 5600 is close to nothing)

Optional: CPU Cooler

Both the Ryzen 5 5600 and Ryzen 5 5600X come with the AMD Wraith Stealth CPU Cooler. The included CPU cooler is enough for gaming, but temperatures can be a bit warm overall.

If you want a better cooling solution, upgrading the CPU Cooler to a Single Tower Air Cooler would be an excellent option already, Thermalright Assassin X 120 and Cooler Master Hyper 212 Spectrum, are excellent options that can be found for under $20. If you plan to overclock the CPU or use PBO, or plan to upgrade to an 8-Core Ryzen 7 CPU, a beefier Dual Tower Air Cooler would be highly recommended.

Our Recommendation: Thermalright Phantom Spirit 120 or Thermalright Peerless Assassin 120 (Both Dual Tower).

Motherboard

Ryzen 5 and Ryzen 7 are easy to run and are quite power efficient, they don’t require a high-end VRM to power them, meaning even budget motherboards, with low end VRMs that have a simple VRM heatsink can run CPUs like the Ryzen 7 5700X3D. For the motherboard, $90-120 is the best price range to be at, otherwise it defeats the purpose of buying AM4, as it gets too close to AM5 and DDR5 prices.

MSI B550M PRO-VDH WIFI and MSI B550-A PRO 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 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, and it does not have an M.2 heatsink.

• A few other good motherboards are available, GIGABYTE B550M DS3H and ASRock B550 Phantom Gaming 4 are both good options as well, both offer good VRMs, but are more limited in features.

If you require Wi-Fi 6/6E, Bluetooth and a few extra features, it might be worth spending a bit more on B550 Motherboards with Wi-Fi 6/6E Support. GIGABYTE B550 AORUS ELITE AX V2, MSI PRO B550M-VC WIFI and MSI MAG B550 Tomahawk MAX WiFi are great examples.

Our Recommendation:

• MSI B550-A PRO Good quality motherboard, good features, specs, good VRM and USB Type-C support for case.
• GIGABYTE B550 AORUS ELITE AX V2, MSI PRO B550M-VC WIFI or similar if B550 Motherboard with Wi-Fi 6/6E if necessary

RAM

AMD AM4 Ryzen 5000 CPUs sweet spot is 3600 MT/s, combined with the lower possible latency. Most 3600 MT/s DDR4 kits are going to be CL18, but due to the higher latency, they will pretty much match the performance of more affordable and widely available 3200 CL16 kits

Something like the G.SKILL Ripjaws V 3600 CL16 would be recommended for better gaming performance, the speed match the Ryzen 5000 sweet spot and the latency is lower than 3600 CL18 kits, meaning some performance difference could be had in a few games.

For a gaming PC, a 2x8GB DDR4 3200 CL16 kit would be more than enough, but it is recommended to get a 2x16GB kit for overall use and multitasking.

Our Recommendation: G.SKILL Ripjaws V DDR4 3600 CL16 if available in the $60 range, or a more affordable 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.

For a gaming build, there is no real need to buy a high-end SSD with DRAM Cache. Modern SSDs, such as Teamgroup MP44, Lexar NM790, Crucial P3 Plus etc, 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 during sales.

Our Recommendation: Crucial P3 Plus 1TB or similar

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.

• In order to ensure overall compatibility, all cases listed here are ATX in size, have enough clearance for the Dual Tower CPU Coolers listed.
• For those looking for an mATX Case, our recommendation is the ASUS A21. It has excellent compatibility with large components, good airflow and great price.

Our Recommendation: Lian Li Lancool 207, Montech AIR 903 or Montech XR cases, or similar in the $70-90 price range.

Optional: Case Fans

For most use cases, it is recommended to have at least two intake fans and two exhaust fans. Additional fans can be used for improved component cooling and to help exhaust the hot air from inside the case.

High quality and affordable fans like the ARCTIC P12 PWM PST or ARCTIC P12 MAX can be found in the $35 range. Other excellent options like ID-COOLING, Thermalright, Montech and Antec can also be found around that same price range.

Our Recommendation: Thermalright or ARCTIC Fans