How to build a killer 1080p gaming PC for just $700

GIGABYTE

GIGABYTE

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    </div></figure><p class="imageCredit">GIGABYTE </p></div>

At the time of this writing, Gigabyte’s Radeon RX 6600 Eagle is available for $189.99 at Amazon. The massive heat sink with three heat pipes is fed cool air via three 80mm axial fans. That’s a good thing because the graphics card draws 132 watts (TGP) from the power supply. The FP32 computing power is just under nine teraflops. This means that it delivers smooth frame rates for 1080p gaming at the Medium or High graphics preset.

Of course, you’ll have to make compromises in this price range. Ray tracing should remain deactivated and the 8GB of video memory can cause stutters in one or two games. In addition, 6600 graphics cards are only connected via eight PCIe 4.0 channels due to their design, which can lead to performance losses with a PCIe 3.0 slot. M

Alternative: The XFX Speedster SWFT 210 Radeon RX 6650 XT Core Gaming ($239.99) gives you 20 percent more gaming performance. If your budget allows it, we recommend this upgrade. In this case, we also strongly recommend picking up the Seasonic G12 GC 550W power supply alternative.

Processor: AMD Ryzen 5 5600

AMD

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The 6-core AMD Ryzen 5 5600 processor, which is currently $137.23 at Amazon, runs with a base and turbo clock of a high 3.5 and 4.4 GHz. It also has 24 PCIe 4.0 lanes so that, with the right choice of mainboard, the Gigabyte graphics card can be controlled at full PCIe 4.0 speed. The power dissipation of the processor is an economical 65 watts. The DDR4 controller built into the CPU controls two memory channels in parallel (dual channel) and achieves a memory bandwidth of up to 51.2 GB/s. The maximum memory capacity is 128GB.

Alternative: If you don’t want to put too much strain on CPU, you can get the AMD Ryzen 5 5500 for $98.15 at Amazon. It also has six cores and 12 threads, but a slightly reduced turbo clock of 4.2 GHz.

CPU cooler: AMD Wraith Stealth

AMD

            <div class="lightbox-image-container foundry-lightbox"><div class="extendedBlock-wrapper block-coreImage undefined"><figure class="wp-block-image size-large enlarged-image"><img decoding="async" data-wp-bind--src="selectors.core.image.enlargedImgSrc" data-wp-style--object-fit="selectors.core.image.lightboxObjectFit" src="" alt="AMD Wraith Stealth" class="wp-image-2267211" width="1200" height="1165" loading="lazy" /></figure><p class="imageCredit">AMD</p></div>

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Whether you purchase the AMD Ryzen 5 5600 or the AMD Ryzen 5 5500, if you buy the boxed version of the processors, the AMD Wraith Stealth CPU cooler is included free of charge. The Stealth model cools the Ryzen 5 reliably unless you want to overclock the CPU.

Alternative: With the Thermalright Assassin X 120 Refined SE ARGB ($18.90 at Amazon), not only do you get a CPU cooler suitable for overclocking in your computer, but also an ARGB fan for an extra charge. To control the LEDs, you need either a mainboard with an RGB header or an ARGB controller, which costs extra. Optionally, the Thermalright Assassin X 120 is also available without RGB lighting.

Mainboard: Gigabyte B550M K