I read a thread or question about what parts to get at least 20 times a day, and that is on the conservative side. When I read others advice, I see suggestions that range from crazy and overpriced to, well that is most of what I see. Sure, if you throw enough money at a problem, it is easier to solve, but let’s face it, most of us do not have the money to just throw at something we do for a hobby and entertainment. So, what then is the sweet spot for cost to performance in a gaming PC for 2024?
First let’s define what we mean by a sweet spot. For the purposes of this article, I am going to use what I personally consider the gaming sweet spot, the point where I get a GREAT gaming experience and anything past it is extra money for little real gaming experience gain. Let’s consider the following basic points.
- 1440 Gaming Resolution: A solid 1440 monitor can be had at a very reasonable price point, has good image fidelity and does not need the highest end GPU to have solid frame rates. For myself the real sweet spot within the sweet spot is 3440x1440. Also, if you’re a bit into leading edge, 1440 is a resolution that offers options forthe latest tech such as OLED.
- 100+ FPS: My goal is for the majority of my games to stay near that 100+ FPS range. While competitive FPS gamers will benefit from higher frame rates, the majority of gamers will find anything at or near 100 FPS on average to be an amazing gaming experience. While I could strive to keep “ALL” games above 100 FPS this requires throwing more money at the system, more on that later.
- High Detail Settings: Notice I said High and not Ultra. The truth is in most games the visual difference between High and Ultra is not noticeable outside of still image glamor shots. Ultra just sucks down the frame rate without truly benefiting the gaming experience.
- Little to no use of render scaling: While tech like FSR is cool, I want to avoid using it. I want a system that can run the way I want without resorting to “tricks” to gain my performance desires. As I noted a lot of Triple A games might find it hard to reach my targets and keep my cost low. Limited and, judicious use of this tech can help me stay in my sweet spot, but I do not want it all the time.
With this target baseline set, let’s build a system.
Size Matters
The size of the sysem you want to build should be an early decision in the process. There are essentially three bases to work from.
- ATX or full sized
- MATX, more mid-sized
- ITX or SFF, smaller designs
Each has its advantages and disadvantages. Those that know me are going to assume I will be talking about an SFF build, they will be wrong. The goal is a sweet spot build which is not just performance, but also about cost. The truth is that SFF building can be expensive. However, I do not want a monster system either so I will be looking a little in between.
MATX is a real sweet spot for gaming builds right now. The board pricing is reasonable as is the build quality. Plus, an MATX system does not have to be big, many being as small as larger SFF builds, and there is no SFF “tax” on the various parts we will need.
With the size in mind, we can start looking at motherboards. Look for something with easy to access NVME drives and a rear IO that will fit your needs. Decide if you need Wi-Fi or not, then choose an appropriate board as well as decide if you will use onboard audio or look at a discrete solution.
I will not give specific recommendations as the various needs above make each selection a bit different. The good news is I have found numerous good offerings for under about $160 or so. (Compared to comparable ITX offerings this is cheap)
Storage and Memory
Over the years 16GB has been the sweet spot for keeping gaming builds within a smaller budget. However, I suggest you start looking at 32GB, the pricing is not outrageous, and it gives you advantages that may become apparent over the next few years. Again, pick what you find meets your needs. I am not a fan of RGB for my builds so I skip that and then, with an AMD build I look for the best price I can get on a solid brand of DRR5 6000. (kind of giving away the CPU choice) If you want to go AM4 the same applies except I look for 3200 or 3600 depending on price. The 3600 looks better on paper but in the real world I have never been able to tell the difference outside a benchmark.
For storage, I have moved totally to NVME for my solutions. It makes the build so much easier without the need to route more cables and of course there is the performance advantage. I strive to go with a 2TB for my builds. This gives me enough space for quite a few games plus some data storage, but does not send the cost to crazy. Make sure ANY drive you get is TLC for the memory. While a QLC will get the job done, the slight extra cost of the TLC has been worth it too, especially with doing initial setup and files transferred to the system.
If you do not get suckered into the big names, there are many reputable smaller brands that have great pricing. I have found numerous 2TB drives with PCIe 4 speeds for around $120. If you are okay with going a little slower, you could save some money getting a Gen 3 drive. Might not look as pretty in benchmarks, but again in the real world you will not see a difference in your gaming experience.
PSU, Case and cooling
Since we are going with the MATX we can start looking at smaller cases and the good news is they also cost less. The AP201 and the Sama IM01 are both excellent cases for doing a gaming build. I personally would go for the grilled side panel, but you have the option to get glass if you like.
MATX case choices allow us the option to look at full sized ATX PSUs if we wish. I suggest we always look at GOLD rating and fully modular. These tend to be better quality drives; also, be sure you choose from a reputable brand. My go to personally is Seasonic. As for wattage I suggest looking at a 750 watt or so. You can get by just fine with 700 watts for the build I am thinking of and anything over 850 watts is just extra money with no real benefit for our build.
Now cooling, I know a lot of the pundits suggest AIOs and they sure can be pretty. However, I prefer function over form. With this in mind I lean heavily into air coolers. A decent air coolers have come down in cost with a cooler more than capable of working with our gaming rig being able to be found for under $50. You might be surprised how low you can go. On my personal rig (an open air frame, I am using a $25 cooler on a 7800X3D and not seen any temps above 70C under the heaviest gaming loads. The cooler is practically silent.
CPU and GPU
Notice that I have bundled these together, the reason is we want a BALANCED build for our gaming sweet spot. Too much CPU and we end up letting it mostly sit idle. Too much GPU and we never see what it can really do.
With our resolution and frame target in mind we can get some feel for what we are going for with the GPU. We want a GPU that is targeted at the 1440 resolution. This means the RX 7700X or RX 7800X.
The RX 7700 XT is tempting with the cost savings and worthy of consideration. However, it will have more games it needs to lean into render scaling in order to keep at our frame rate targets. If your budget is tight then it is a very capable card that will fit the needs, but remember I want to stay away from render scaling as much as I can. A unique option from SAPPHIRE’s RX 7700 XT family is the SAPPHIRE PURE AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT 12GB Frostpunk 2 Edition card. It comes with a fully customized Frost Punk 2 Backplate and Shroud. It also includes two unique in game items from our friends at 11 bit studios and a Deluxe version of the Frost Punk 2 game
This brings me to the RX 7800 XT, enough horsepower to play most games at 1440p without the need for render scaling and yet not as heavily priced at other options further up the stack.
At SAPPHIRE we offer three options for the RX 7800 XT. Our PULSE is a well-built, great gaming card without any bling. This means we can keep the price down. Our PURE which works amazing with an all-white build and then our NITRO+ for the bling and best for the SAPPHIRE RX 7800 XT series.
For my personal build my choice is the PULSE. It is a dual slot+ card and as I mentioned before I am not into the bling-bling of RGB. This gives me excellent performance, with cool and quiet operation.
For our CPU the choice is between three chips. The Ryzen 5 7600, Ryzen 7 7700 and 7800X3D. Any of these would be a great choice. I prefer the non-X chips as I would likely run the X chips in eco mode anyway (no harm to gaming performance) so why pay the extra? The 7800X3D is on the list because it is a BEAST. Not just for amazing gaming performance but the fact it SIPS power and runs way cooler than you would expect.
However, this is about sweet spot so the cost of the X3D immediately takes it off my list. By using a GPU balanced to the performance resolution we want we have the load for gaming mostly shifted to the GPU so the CPU does not need the boost that an X3D would give.
The $100 price difference means I am leaning into the 7600. While I would love to have 8 cores the truth is most games do not make use of even 6 effectively. If you're going to do some light workloads or play specific games that will make efficient use of the extra cores it might be worth the extra cost to you, but for the pure gamer, in the majority the 7600 is the better buy.
What About AM4 or Used
First let’s cover used, I try to avoid this. Used computer components are a crap shoot. You do not know how the component was treated and often these parts are, in my opinion, overpriced. You can find some great deals, but you spend so much time sifting through the offers that it almost becomes a job to find a part at a price you're willing to take the chance on. I know you’re going to say, “But Ed you work for SAPPHIRE, you want us to buy new.” You’re right, but I am also a gamer like you and like most of you not exactly wealthy. I must make tough decisions when building systems for family and friends and my own experience in the used market has led me to stay away from it.
AM4 is a consideration that is not easily dismissed. The 5600 chips are still solid gaming chips, and the cost makes them very attractive. The 5700X3D has changed the landscape some and is worth consideration as is the 5700X. However, price to performance the 7600 chips are comparable to the 5700/5800X3D chips and offer a platform with more forward-looking options.
I think if you have an existing AM4 system with say a 3xxx series chip in it, the 5700 and 5800 X3D are AWESOME, drop in upgrades to give you a nice gaming performance lift for minimal cost. However for this article I am looking for a brand new system and it is hard to suggest to people to spend money on a platform that is not going to carry them through to another generation or perhaps even two of new chip options.
Can you get another 3 or so years out of a new AM4 build? For sure you can. But the maybe $100 you saved by going with the AM4 solution means when you want the next upgrade you HAVE to build new again. With an AM5 build there is a really good chance you will just be using a drop in solution.
The Bottom Line
Using the various recommendations and shopping 100% at my local Microcenter I was able to come in at just under $1500 after taxes. This does NOT include an OS or peripherals and of course you will still need a monitor.
I did this build a bit to the higher end as I have noted throughout the article. I can take the build down to an AM4 platform and come in just under $1400 and if I drop the GPU to a RX 7700 XT shave even more off. However now I am moving down to where I will need scaling more often so that is a consideration.
The key takeaway, I want people to see is what the sweet spot on PC gaming rigs are without the need to go ultra high-end. Even the lower cost option at around $1300 with downgrading the GPU as well as going to AM4 can give an EXCELLENT gaming experience. Once you know the target and goals of your gaming rig it is easy to tweak the cost into the budget you need.
Oh, before the comments start, I know I did not give many specifics and that is on purpose. Half the fun of building your own PC is making it your own. If I give you a specific shopping list then you did not build your PC, you built mine. I have, however, given you some solid basic info so you can look and feel comfortable making choices for your build.
If you have any questions, you can always find me on the SAPPHIRE Discord server, drop by and let me know if I can help.
The articles content, opinions, beliefs and viewpoints expressed in SAPPHIRE NATION are the authors’ own and do not necessarily represent official policy or position of SAPPHIRE Technology.
