If you can flex your budget up to approximately €1,250, you have the opportunity to construct a PC with the capability to excel in gaming at 1080p and perform admirably at 1440p.
Before to deep dive into the details of the product selection, here the full list of components you need:
| Component | Model | |
| CPU | Intel Core i5-13400F | Check price |
| Motherboard | ASRock B760M | Check price |
| GPU | RTX 4060 Ti | Check price |
| RAM | Crucial RAM 32GB Kit (2x16GB) DDR4 3200 | Check price |
| SSD Storage | WD Black SN850X (2TB) | Check price |
| Case | Empire gaming – Mid Tower – Plexiglas Diamond RGB | Check price |
| Power Supply | Cooler Master MWE 750 Bronze | Check price |
| Cooling | Included with CPU |
Currently, the top GPU option in this price range is the Nvidia RTX 4060 Ti, available for as low as €441. Although the Radeon RX 6750 XT, boasting 12GB of VRAM compared to the 4060 Ti’s 8GB, falls within the same price bracket, Nvidia’s GPU outshines it significantly in terms of ray tracing performance.
In our 8-game rasterization test suite at 1080p ultra settings, the RTX 4060 Ti delivered an impressive frame rate of 101.7 fps, maintaining a robust 75.5 fps at 1440p with ultra settings. However, it’s essential to note that, at this price point, extensive ray tracing capabilities should not be anticipated. The card still achieved a very playable 52.8 fps at 1080p and a usable 33.5 fps at 1440p.
For this build, our recommended CPU remains the Core i5-13400F. The rationale behind not opting for a pricier, faster CPU is to allocate funds towards a superior GPU within this specific budget range. Likewise, we’re retaining the ASRock B760M motherboard featured in the more economical build.
Maintaining consistency, we’re opting for 32GB of DDR4-PC3200 RAM. At this price range, there’s no real necessity to go faster or increase capacity. Sticking with DDR4 allows us to save money compared to DDR5.
In terms of storage, we’re upgrading to a quicker, higher-capacity SSD: the 2TB variant of Samsung’s 980 Pro. Although a slightly older model, the 980 Pro used to lead our list of best SSDs before being surpassed by the newer 990 Pro. Nevertheless, it remains an exceptional choice, boasting a sequential read speed of 7,000 MBps and a sequential write speed of 5,000 MBps. Our tests revealed a robust file copy rate and speedy load times, making it a reliable storage solution for this build.