Entry level 4K gaming RIG for cRPG and h'n's games - Ryzen 5 5600 + RX 7600?

[mechtech]

Hello there

My full HD RIG is quite old now. Monitor is not as bright as it used to be, slowly dying. Time to buy something new. I'm from Poland, will be buying there. Want to build something simple and cheap. The thing is I don't care about action aaa-games. CP'77 RT ON will be not played. Mainly cRPG, hack'n'slash and turn-based games. Maybe some indie games too. That's why I believe something like Ryzen 5 5600 and RX 7600 should do even if I want to play on 4K screen.

Here's list of games I want to play in the near future:

Spoiler

Guild Wars 2

Steam:
Age of Wonders III
Endless Legend
Endless Space 2
Grim Dawn
Pillars of Eternity
Tyranny

On wishlist (but I buy games at least 2-3 years after release, when they are in GOTY/complete version and there is good sale so don't take them into account for now, especially Witchfire as it has low priority):
Endless Legend 2
Manor Lords
Songs of Conquest
Titan Quest II
Witchfire

GOG:
Anno 1503
Anno 1701
Disciples II
HoM&M III
King's Bounty: Crossworlds
Stronghold HD
Stronghold: Crusader HD

Here is what I found so far:

1. Dell G3223Q or Samsung Odyssey G7 (LS32DG702 / LS32BG700) - they have almost the same price. I want 4K 31,5"-32" screen. I don't need high refresh rate, but those three options are just slightly more expensive/have the same price as @60Hz Samsung ViewFinity S8, iiyama ProLite XUB3293UHSN-B5 or LG 32UN880P.
I've had occasion to play Titan Quest and STALKER Shadow of Chernobyl on such 4K screen and was hooked. I like how ornaments and other details were vissible to me in TQ. And how 31,5" screen fills my field of view.

2. CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 5600
Cooler: Thermalright Burst Assassin 120 - Cryorig R1 Ultimate is great and all but I don't have AM4/5 mounting kit and this time I want something smaller so I don't need to crack my wrist to plug 4+4 pin cable.
GPU: RX 7600 - Sapphire Pulse is the cheapest right now - I guess, in my case even RX 6600 could be good enough but difference in price is too small (about 20-30$, VAT inc.). RTX 4060 will do too, but why pay ~50$ more for the same performance? Also... I never had AMD + AMD combo before
RAM: 2x16GB 3200 MHz CL16 - G.Skill RipjawsV most likely - would love to buy CL14, but it's almost twice the price.
MoBo: ASRock B550M PG Riptide or any other mATX mobo (MSI B550M Pro?) - full ATX is a no go as my new case is Chieftec Vision Air (was on sale, already bought it).
PSU: Be Quiet! Pure Power 11 500W Gold - my Straight Power is almost 10 years already.
Case: Chieftec Vision Air + 4x Arctic P14 PWM PST
SSD: no, at least I don't think I need new one - MX200 and MX300 still are in a good condition

Do you see any wrong choices there or have other advices?
Biggest question I have is could it be really better to go for AM5? It doesn't look like I need 7800X3D/9800X3D upgrade path. Decent B650M + R5 7500F/7600 + 32GB DDR5 6000/CL30 combined will cost about 100-200$ more, where - I think - in my case 5600 will do the same as 7500F/7600.

If you go ddr4 may want to consider crucial pro, timings may not be great but it will run at 3200 at stock 1.200V with no xmp or OC required. I've been happy with it.

Crucial Pro 32GB Kit (16GBx2) DDR4-3200 UDIMM | CP2K16G4DFRA32A | Crucial.com

Buy Crucial Pro 32GB Kit (16GBx2) DDR4-3200 UDIMM CP2K16G4DFRA32A. FREE US Delivery, guaranteed 100% compatibility when ordering using our online tools.

www.crucial.com

As for motherboard - make sure it has at least 2 nvme slots.
Powersupply - I like to check cybenetics

Cybenetics Labs – PSU Efficiency & Noise Level Certifications - PSU Performance Database - PSU Performance Database

www.cybenetics.com

The 4k in my sig was $300cad when I got it, happy with it as well.
SSD sure reuse - check/update firmware and secure erase before fresh install (remember to backup first of course)
GPU - well whatever you can afford I guess RX6600/rtx4060 or up - and just adjust graphics to suit
CPU - don't need much CPU for 4k compared to gpu so 5600 is fine

 

[Wolfbyte]

9600X? Out of the blue?

Power to the people, I say!

Well, that's why I never mentioned size of my budget. My true limit is somewhere around 9800X3D, ASRock X870E Nova and 7900 XT/9070 (or Intel/nVidia equivalent). It's just I don't need that much of power, and that's why at first I wanted as simple and cheap as possible RIG, was ignoring 5-10% performance difference here and there. Now, if AM5 is an option anyway I changed my mind slightly to prevent Grim Dawn single thread bottleneck.

 

[oxrufiioxo]

Well, that's why I never mentioned size of my budget. My true limit is somewhere around 9800X3D, ASRock X870E Nova and 7900 XT/9070 (or Intel/nVidia equivalent). It's just I don't need that much of power, and that's why at first I wanted as simple and cheap as possible RIG, was ignoring 5-10% performance difference here and there. Now, if AM5 is an option anyway I changed my mind slightly to prevent Grim Dawn single thread bottleneck.

A R5 9600 decent mobo and 9070 at msrp would be a nice system that will last a long time honestly. I'd wait to see what the 16GB RX 9060 looks like at the very least over the the RX 7600.

 

[AusWolf]

So h'n's means hack and slash? Thank God, I was afraid it meant health and safety.

On topic, the 7600 might be a little weak for 4K, but with FSR, it might be okay in indie titles. I'd go for something like a 7700 XT if money and availability allows.

Or wait for the 9060 series, it's just around the corner.

 

[Macro Device]

@Wolfbyte, 9600X is a solid choice. Very much approved! Enjoy your brand new gaming monster!

I was afraid it meant health and safety.

My initial impression was "haunt and slay." I'm way too much of a spooky death enthusiast.

the 7600 might be a little weak for 4K

OP never mentioned any Hogwarts Legacy, Ashes of the Singularity, Avowed, Silent Hill 2, Cyberpunk, STALKER 2 or whatnot. They play games from forever ago where it's still not uncommon to be CPU bottlenecked at 4K whilst having a 6600 XT for a GPU and a freaking 13900K for a CPU.
That's why I like they opted for a better CPU. It just makes more sense overall, especially considering how prohibitively expensive and non-existent high tier GPUs currently are. Waiting till sky stops being green and grass stops being blue is the best option.

Or wait for the 9060 series, it's just around the corner.

9070 series was and still is a major flop (borderline availability on the MONTH THREE? Really?). I see no point in hoping for anything better for massively cut down 9060s. I hate everything about RDNA4 and I mean it.

 

[Dr. Dro]

9070 series was and still is a major flop (borderline availability on the MONTH THREE? Really?). I see no point in hoping for anything better for massively cut down 9060s. I hate everything about RDNA4 and I mean it.

Not expecting my 5090 to arrive for at least another 2-3 weeks still. Ugh.

 

[Macro Device]

Not expecting my 5090 to arrive for at least another 2-3 weeks still. Ugh.

Unless you're getting paid for calculating power I seriously don't understand why you, living in almost the worst country to be a PC gamer to begin with, obliterated your wallet in favor of this six hundred watt nonsense. 4080 is a good enough gaming GPU already.

But you do you. I'd have never done that.

 

[AusWolf]

9070 series was and still is a major flop (borderline availability on the MONTH THREE? Really?). I see no point in hoping for anything better for massively cut down 9060s. I hate everything about RDNA4 and I mean it.

What are you talking about?
There are reports of it outselling the entire 50-series in a week in Germany. There are also reports of it having nearly 4 times as many units on launch day as there was 5070 cards at Microcenter USA.

And what month three? It was released on 6th March, that was 2 and a half weeks ago.

You can hate RDNA 4 all you like, it doesn't change the fact that it's a huge leap forward for AMD, and it's much cheaper than any competing Nvidia product, even with the recent price hikes.

 

[Macro Device]

There are reports of it outselling the entire 50-series in a week in Germany.

So what? Being better than an absolute turd doesn't magically turn you a good thing.

And what month three?

If I'm being OVERLY forgiving, January is when they were supposed to launch these GPUs. Not March. Today is the end of month 3 and only the 1st world countries have RDNA4 stock loosely resembling reasonable one. It's beyond fucked up in 3rd world (the cheapest models go for 55% above MSRP in Russia for example). AMPERE WAS BETTER FFS!

it doesn't change the fact that it's a huge leap forward for AMD

It's not even remotely close to a step forward. 7900 XT, 300 W. 7900 XTX, 350 W. 9070 XT is slotted right in between them both in wattage and raster performance. RT performance is still irrelevant because still way worse than in NVIDIA. Price? Even if was real, c'mon, 7800 XT at 500 dollars and much lower power budget compared to 6900 XT just outright laughs in the face of this abomination. 9070 non-XT is so freaking slow it's illegal how AMD ain't nuked yet.

RDNA4 is worse than anything that NVIDIA have done throughout the last decade. Fake progress, fake MSRP, obscenely late release, semi-existent stock and gimped VRAM. "We are a company that cares for gamers!" my ass. They didn't even care to make a GPU that's better than their previous release.

 

[AusWolf]

So what? Being better than an absolute turd doesn't magically turn you a good thing.

OK, that's one take on it. I can't agree with that statement, but I respect your opinion.

If I'm being OVERLY forgiving, January is when they were supposed to launch these GPUs. Not March.

Says who? It wasn't even announced until late Feb.

Today is the end of month 3 and only the 1st world countries have RDNA4 stock loosely resembling reasonable one. It's beyond fucked up in 3rd world (the cheapest models go for 55% above MSRP in Russia for example). AMPERE WAS BETTER FFS!

Was... So what IS better right now?

It's not even remotely close to a step forward. 7900 XT, 300 W. 7900 XTX, 350 W. 9070 XT is slotted right in between them both in wattage and raster performance.

304 W. That's basically a 7900 XT for you.

RT performance is still irrelevant because still way worse than in NVIDIA.

In heavy PT, sure. In games that don't overdo on the RT bandwagon, it's actually doing fine. I call that a step forward, and something I'm willing to swallow for that much lower price.

Price? Even if was real, c'mon, 7800 XT at 500 dollars and much lower power budget compared to 6900 XT just outright laughs in the face of this abomination.

Nothing comes at real prices now. So what will you buy? A 5070 Ti for $900 that also isn't available anywhere? C'mon...

The 9070 XT is 36% faster than the 7800 XT.

Spin the story around the fact that no GPU is worth current hiked prices, and I'll agree.

9070 non-XT is so freaking slow it's illegal how AMD ain't nuked yet.

We've tested it with a few guys on TPU. It's about 10% slower. That's not even detectable without an FPS counter in most cases.

RDNA4 is worse than anything that NVIDIA have done throughout the last decade. Fake progress, fake MSRP, obscenely late release, semi-existent stock and gimped VRAM.

By RDNA 4, you mean Blackwell, right?

"We are a company that cares for gamers!" my ass. They didn't even care to make a GPU that's better than their previous release.

It's a midrange card. It never even intended to be better than previous gen. Combine that with the fact that it's still faster than the 7900 XTX in RT, and I think it's quite impressive.

 

[Vayra86]

I would suggest upgrading your CPU to the 5800X3D if you can still get your hands on one. Even 2nd hand.

Totally worth it, because you can keep your platform that much longer that way and you really, REALLY want all the ST performance you can get for the games you listed. Your choice of games is similar to mine, get all the CPU you can afford. The GPU is fine and can grow with your needs, but if you invest in a DDR4 platform now, go for the best CPU you can afford. X3Ds are fantastic in 4X, grand strategy, sims and anything that can't multithread well.

Well, that's why I never mentioned size of my budget. My true limit is somewhere around 9800X3D, ASRock X870E Nova and 7900 XT/9070 (or Intel/nVidia equivalent). It's just I don't need that much of power, and that's why at first I wanted as simple and cheap as possible RIG, was ignoring 5-10% performance difference here and there. Now, if AM5 is an option anyway I changed my mind slightly to prevent Grim Dawn single thread bottleneck.

You don't need it, correct, but I would certainly put a 7800X3D/9800X3D platform cost next to a 5800X3D platform cost (RAM, board, CPU) and weigh them carefully. DDR5 based platform has more value going forward. A strong starting platform doesn't need upgrades either, you'll just use it much longer and it can carry several GPU upgrades. I bet you could run an X3D system for a good 10 years and still be fine, even today. BUT if you try to sell a DDR4 based system 10 years from now, it won't recoup much if any value... whereas DDR5 will still be relevant enough.

I don't think even a 5800X3D will measureably offer a worse Grim Dawn experience than a 9800X3D. There will be a rare occasion where performance tanks, its just the game and you can at best smoothen it out a bit. 10-15% perf isn't going to make the difference when the overall FPS drops to 40-50.

 

[AusWolf]

You don't need it, correct, but I would certainly put a 7800X3D/9800X3D platform cost next to a 5800X3D platform cost (RAM, board, CPU) and weigh them carefully. DDR5 based platform has more value going forward. A strong starting platform doesn't need upgrades either, you'll just use it much longer and it can carry several GPU upgrades. I bet you could run an X3D system for a good 10 years and still be fine, even today. BUT if you try to sell a DDR4 based system 10 years from now, it won't recoup much if any value... whereas DDR5 will still be relevant enough.

I don't think even a 5800X3D will measureably offer a worse Grim Dawn experience than a 9800X3D. There will be a rare occasion where performance tanks, its just the game and you can at best smoothen it out a bit. 10-15% perf isn't going to make the difference when the overall FPS drops to 40-50.

Personally, I never calculate with hypothetical resale values. For one, they're that - hypothetical, and for two, it's always peanuts compared to what you spent originally.

Just look at price to performance, compare to your own needs, and you're settled, imo.

 

[Macro Device]

5800X3D

He already got a better CPU, 9600X. He can only upgrade to 9800X3D and further.

Says who? It wasn't even announced until late Feb.

Not my problem? Stores received some stock as early as late Dec'24 and that would've been a nice time to release it: many people willing to make themselves a New Year present were present. They dedicated very little to driver development and it's a major clown fiesta. 25.3.x drivers are plain unstable on RDNA2 for example. I had to revert to older ones because of that. They have much more money than it's okay to have when you crap like that.

Was... So what IS better right now?

A couple nukes. Seriously, all GPUs available today suck as much as it gets. Worst generation ever, for both AMD and NVIDIA, Ampere/RDNA2 don't even come close to this level of bad.

So what will you buy? A 5070 Ti?

Nothing of course. AMD clearly intended to rip us off so I'm not buying their stuff. NVIDIA? Obviously a no go, too.

The 9070 XT is 36% faster than the 7800 XT.

+20% price for +36% performance. I've seen that before. Ah, yeah, 5070 Ti VS 4070. Oh wait, 5070 Ti provides more improvements!

I think it's quite impressive.

It's beyond unforgivable. I won't even consider taking a bribe to get my hands on this... "hardware." Yuck.

 

[Vayra86]

RDNA4 is worse than anything that NVIDIA have done throughout the last decade. Fake progress, fake MSRP, obscenely late release, semi-existent stock and gimped VRAM. "We are a company that cares for gamers!" my ass. They didn't even care to make a GPU that's better than their previous release.

Mate, look at the die size again given its performance. The 9070XT is superb. Then look at the MSRP.

I'm not saying AMD changed the gaming world here, but RDNA4 shaped up to be pretty decent imho.

Personally, I never calculate with hypothetical resale values. For one, they're that - hypothetical, and for two, it's always peanuts compared to what you spent originally.

Just look at price to performance, compare to your own needs, and you're settled, imo.

Peanuts? I don't know man, I just recently got 400 EUR for my 6 year old gaming rig minus the GPU; and 150 for a GTX 1080. That's nearly half the platform cost including case and ram. Hardware SELLS and it commands fantastic prices, this is doubly true now that chips are getting scarce. Similarly with GPUs, I always resell them and tend to recoup 20-40% of the purchase price. That's a real discount towards upgrades, damn right its in my calculations.

 

[Macro Device]

Mate, look at the die size again given its performance.

Whoa, cool. A new generation on a new node gets more perf per sqmm. Not sure if I've seen it before...

Then look at the MSRP.

What is here to look at? We already had this level of performance for 900 USD (late 2022), now it's 600 USD. +50% performance per dollar is... even less than RDNA3 brought to us.

but RDNA4 shaped up to be pretty decent imho.

No. RDNA4 was go big or go home for them. It's not big, AMD must go home.

 

[AusWolf]

Not my problem?

Yeah, and Blackwell should have been released in 1999 because I said so. Oh it didn't? Not my problem.

Stores received some stock as early as late Dec'24 and that would've been a nice time to release it: many people willing to make themselves a New Year present were present.

AMD started delivering stock to stores to make sure they have enough units for a proper launch. Which they did. Microcenter US had about 4 times as much stock of 9070 cards as they did 5070 ones on its launch day. Overclockers UK gave a statement that they had 4000 cards for launch day which should last at least a good few days. What AMD didn't account for is massive lines in front of stores, and websites overrun by hunting bots, depleting all stock in minutes. None of the major UK web stores were available for a good few hours on March 6, there was that much interest in these cards.

They dedicated very little to driver development and it's a major clown fiesta. 25.3.x drivers are plain unstable on RDNA2 for example. I had to revert to older ones because of that. They have much more money than it's okay to have when you crap like that.

That's unfortunate, but I'm sure it'll be fixed. Let's not even compare it do Nvidia's driver fiesta, releasing hotfixes nearly every day.

A couple nukes. Seriously, all GPUs available today suck as much as it gets.

That I agree with. If people had the patience to wait, the situation would stabilise. But they don't. They buy up every single card even at inflated prices. What does that tell you?

Worst generation ever, for both AMD and NVIDIA, Ampere/RDNA2 don't even come close to this level of bad.

Blackwell is the worst Nvidia gen ever (FX 5000 series level bad), but RDNA 4 is a nice upgrade if you could get it for MSRP.

Nothing of course. AMD clearly intended to rip us off so I'm not buying their stuff. NVIDIA? Obviously a no go, too.

I agree on this one, too.

+20% price for +36% performance. I've seen that before. Ah, yeah, 5070 Ti VS 4070. Oh wait, 5070 Ti provides more improvements!

"Vs 4070" is irrelevant. Vs 4070 Ti Super is much more relevant.

It's beyond unforgivable. I won't even consider taking a bribe to get my hands on this... "hardware." Yuck.

Suit yourself, then.

What is here to look at? We already had this level of performance for 900 USD (late 2022), now it's 600 USD. +50% performance per dollar is... even less than RDNA3 brought to us.

That's much better than anything else on the market right now.

No. RDNA4 was go big or go home for them. It's not big, AMD must go home.

No. RDNA 4 was always supposed to be midrange only.

 

[Vayra86]

Whoa, cool. A new generation on a new node gets more perf per sqmm. Not sure if I've seen it before...

What is here to look at? We already had this level of performance for 900 USD (late 2022), now it's 600 USD. +50% performance per dollar is... even less than RDNA3 brought to us.

No. RDNA4 was go big or go home for them. It's not big, AMD must go home.

Yeah, so they shrunk AND they optimized their CUs massively. That's more than you can say of team green the recent two generations. They've also made a sidestep to chiplet. I'd say its a pretty good recovery from that. But its fine, we disagree on that - we're off topic

 

[Macro Device]

"Vs 4070" is irrelevant. Vs 4070 Ti Super is much more relevant.

+20% price, hello? 4070 Ti Super had a HIGHER MSRP. Meanwhile, 600 VS 750 is almost +20% for 4070 VS 5070 Ti.

No. RDNA 4 was always supposed to be midrange only.

This is entirely irrelevant to what I'm saying here. I'm talking VALUE, not TIERING. Is 9070 series insane value that brings us a whole new level of gaming? No, it's just a 7800 XT on steroids that ONLY sells because NVIDIA stock doesn't exist and green GPUs massively suck and drivers are no better.

 

[Vayra86]

If you're talking about new incoming CPUs I agree with you. My reasoning was that if I run out of power, on AM4 I have 5700X3D as a backup without need to change anything else - cheap mobo, cooler and PSU will do. Not sure if I can say the same about i7-12700F/KF. There i5-12400F is like my only option. That's why I called it "dead end".

But it doesn't matter now. It is done. AM5 will arrive next Monday and no 8400F but 9600X, yolo. I feel exciting. Can't wait for unboxing it all^^ Now I have few days to look for 6600 XT.

@steamrick Thank you once again for PSU advice. Pure Power 12 550W was even cheaper than PP11. Bought PP12 M anyway

Missed this one. Enjoy

 

[Dr. Dro]

Unless you're getting paid for calculating power I seriously don't understand why you, living in almost the worst country to be a PC gamer to begin with, obliterated your wallet in favor of this six hundred watt nonsense. 4080 is a good enough gaming GPU already.

But you do you. I'd have never done that.

I mean, you... do have a point. But how else am I going to look at anime girls in 8k.
(that was not a serious statement. kind of. maybe. ok, busted lol)

Well, that's why I never mentioned size of my budget. My true limit is somewhere around 9800X3D, ASRock X870E Nova and 7900 XT/9070 (or Intel/nVidia equivalent). It's just I don't need that much of power, and that's why at first I wanted as simple and cheap as possible RIG, was ignoring 5-10% performance difference here and there. Now, if AM5 is an option anyway I changed my mind slightly to prevent Grim Dawn single thread bottleneck.

Mmm, since you don't need that much power and seem to value a good image, you should probably stick to the original recipe and simply allot more of the budget towards an even better screen. Get a 42 inch LG OLED C5 if you can spare the cash. It's going to be absolutely legendary. I got a 55 inch G3 (C series are the premium midrange models and G series are the ultra high end models) back in September 2023, and I wouldn't trade it for anything. No need to worry about burn in, just leave mitigations on, use a screensaver or turn it off when you're away. The image quality is sublime

 

[AusWolf]

+20% price, hello? 4070 Ti Super had a HIGHER MSRP. Meanwhile, 600 VS 750 is almost +20% for 4070 VS 5070 Ti.

Don't "hello" me. You're either willing to engage in a chill, adult-like conversation, or we're done here.

And that's exactly why I picked the Ti Super for comparison. 800 is much closer to 750 than 600 is.

This is entirely irrelevant to what I'm saying here. I'm talking VALUE, not TIERING. Is 9070 series insane value that brings us a whole new level of gaming? No, it's just a 7800 XT on steroids that ONLY sells because NVIDIA stock doesn't exist and green GPUs massively suck and drivers are no better.

+36% performance for +20% price. If you want to call it uninteresting, then suit yourself. It's still on the level of the 7900 XT, a $900 card in raster, and it's faster than the XTX in RT, a $1k card, for much less.

 

[Macro Device]

Don't "hello" me. You're either willing to engage in a chill, adult-like conversation, or we're done here.

Sure, we're done here. You ignore everything I'm tryna convey anyway.

If you want to call it uninteresting

...then it would've been an undertsatement of the year. Now we're completely done.

 

[AusWolf]

Sure, we're done here. You ignore everything I'm tryna convey anyway.

Is that supposed to be some made up moral high ground of some sorts, or just a childish tantrum?
Nice talking, mate.

 

[Macro Device]

Is that supposed to be some made up moral high ground of some sorts, or just a childish tantrum?
Nice talking, mate.

It's just me being physically incapable of taking it anymore. I repeated myself at least twice and still got misunderstood. I don't get it, what's so difficult in understanding that 5070 Ti fits the description of "4070 + 20% price increase" but doesn't fit "4070 Ti Super + 20% price increase?" When you last slept three days ago it's not something you'd wanna tolerate.

If being annoyed and being honest about being annoyed is childish then fuck this world I suppose.

 

[AusWolf]

It's just me being physically incapable of taking it anymore. I repeated myself at least twice and still got misunderstood. I don't get it, what's so difficult in understanding that 5070 Ti fits the description of "4070 + 20% price increase" but doesn't fit "4070 Ti Super + 20% price increase?" When you last slept three days ago it's not something you'd wanna tolerate.

Then please go have some sleep. It'll help you formulate your point better.

If being annoyed and being honest about being annoyed is childish then fuck this world I suppose.

Getting annoyed at different opinions is childish, there's no two ways about that. Sorry.