TechSpot PC Buying Guide: 2H 2024

It's been a rather uneventful year in the PC hardware market. Most of us were hoping that AMD's Ryzen 9000 series CPUs would bring significant improvements, but they have turned out to be a major disappointment, as they are not consistently faster than their predecessors in most common desktop tasks or gaming.

Fortunately for AMD, the increasingly reported stability issues of Intel's 14th and 13th generation Core processors have turned them from something we could recommend for specific systems and use cases into something we simply can't recommend at all.

For pro content creators, AMD offers the Threadripper 7000 series, featuring up to 128 threads, quad-channel memory support, and 48 direct PCIe 5.0 lanes for the "non Pro" models. Granted, these CPUs cost significantly more per core, not to mention the need for more expensive motherboards and registered memory. For now, the Ryzen 9 7000 series remains the best value for core-heavy tasks.

Meanwhile, SSD prices have stabilized. PCIe 5.0 drives have been on the market for a while, but with current flash density and cooling solutions they aren't much faster than the best PCIe 4.0 drives in sustained workloads.

As usual, the TechSpot PC Buying Guide includes four component lists and builds with recommendations for different budgets and purposes. However, the ideal system for you may very well be a combination of two or more of these builds.

Our recommendations are influenced by availability and pricing at the time of writing. If a component from the list you're considering is unavailable or becomes significantly more expensive, don't worry. We provide explanations for each of our choices, so you can make informed alternative purchases.

The Utility Box

* Solid performance * Great multitasking * Entry-level gaming

This system is great for web browsing with tens of open tabs, 1080p live streaming, basic content creation, and even entry-level gaming. If you're unsure what you'll be using your computer for, this is a great place to start.

Image credit: Ghost :) by Dissolved_Boy

Our budget system has finally taken the leap into the AM5 platform. For this build, we chose the graphically enhanced Ryzen 5 8600G over the similarly priced Ryzen 5 7600, which works better with a separate graphics card. With a 65W TDP, it can be cooled adequately by the stock cooler in a well-ventilated case.

When relying on integrated graphics, it may also be important for the motherboard to have both DisplayPort and HDMI ports for monitor compatibility. The Asrock B650M Pro RS also offers decent thermal performance, four memory slots, and three M.2 slots for storage.

For gamers, a dedicated GPU will be a must-have and the $190 Radeon RX 6600 is the cheapest GPU we can recommend. Below this mark you will find the RX 6500 XT and RX 6400, but both are poor GPUs in many ways. The same can be said of the GeForce RTX 3050 6GB, which is far too slow to justify a $175 price tag. The Arc A580 suffers a similar fate to other Intel GPUs in that it just isn't cheap enough at $170.

We selected a 2 x 16GB kit of DDR5 memory for this system, simply because they are almost as cheap as 2 x 8GB. DDR5-6000 is the sweet spot for Zen 4 processors when it comes to memory speed. With small price differences between same-speed kits, you might as well choose one of the kits with the lowest latencies.

We chose to save a bit on storage with the Samsung 990 Evo, which offers comparable performance to the older WD Black SN770. It's not one of the best SSDs on the market, but it's close enough.

The Thermaltake Smart is our budget PSU recommendation, with ratings of 500W and 80 Plus efficiency, and 5-year warranty. For our choice of an mATX motherboard, we can go with an equally compact mATX case, and so we did as an ATX case would look empty without a graphics card.

The Fractal Design Pop Mini Air is a great fit for a desk with two 5.25" bays at the bottom, tempered glass and USB-C support with a $15 cable. If you prefer USB-C out of the box, check out the Okinos Aqua 3. If you want to put the case on the floor, you may prefer Fractal Design's older Focus G.

Monitor, Keyboard & Mouse

If you're considering this system, we assume you prioritize work comfort over gaming performance. The LG 27UK650-W is a solid 4K option for $247. More options for different budgets can be found in our best monitors feature.

The Razer DeathAdder Essential and Logitech Wave Keys is our recommended keyboard and mouse combo at this price point. For more options, see our lists of top keyboards and mice.

The Value Gaming Rig

* Excellent performance * Great multitasking * Mainstream gaming

This PC is designed for those looking to get the best experience for their money in the latest games, while keeping many upgrade options available.

Image credit: First Build by timchomps

Compared to the Ryzen 5 8600G in the build above, the Ryzen 5 7600 offers double the L3 cache, twice as many PCIe lanes for the graphics card, and PCIe 5.0 support. The Asrock B650 PG Lighting is one of the best-value B650 motherboards and will be able to handle a serious CPU upgrade in the future.

Our CPU of choice ships with the middling Wraith Stealth cooler, which you should probably replace with something better. However, you don't need a heavy cooler that hides half of the motherboard. We chose the Be Quiet! Pure Rock 2 Black for its combination of looks, compact size, acoustic efficiency, and price. The Arctic Freezer 34 eSports Duo and the Noctua U12S Redux would also work fine.

A 2 x 16GB memory kit is more than enough for modern games. The SK Hynix P41 Platinum is one of the best SSDs on the market, with bus-saturating PCIe 4.0 performance. For a desktop, it performs similarly to the WD Black SN850X or Samsung 990 Pro, but it was cheaper at the time of writing.

The Radeon RX 6600 is the most affordable GPU we would recommend buying new, unless the Intel Arc A580 is significantly cheaper in your region. Don't waste your time or money on the Radeon RX 6500 XT which is a laptop GPU in disguise, and as you go down the sub-$150 segment things only get worse and worse. The Radeon RX 6600 will consistently outperform Nvidia's current version of GeForce RTX 3050 by a large margin.

For our build recommendation we pushed things a bit further though. Thanks to recent discounts, the Radeon RX 6750 XT is a good upgrade option. For an extra 50% over the RX 6600, you get 50% more performance and 50% more VRAM, which will help it age better than in-between options such as the RX 7600 (non-XT).

The Corsair CX650M PSU has all of the essential features for a gaming system, including ratings of 650W and 80 Plus Bronze efficiency, a semi-modular design for detaching the cables you won't need, and a 5-year warranty.

As with the CPU cooler, we can choose a case based on aesthetics rather than performance as long as cooling is good enough. The case we chose for this build is the Fractal Design North. If you want something more traditional, you can get the NZXT H5 Flow (or its slightly modified 2024 version) or the Corsair 4000D Airflow.

If you plan to put your PC on a desk, you may prefer a shorter case with bottom connectors like the NZXT H6 Flow. Our best cases guide includes more solid options for under $100.

Monitor, Keyboard & Mouse

The Radeon 6750 XT is capable of 1440p gaming at 60 fps with high settings, and 120, or even 240 fps with lower settings or in less-demanding games. The MSI G274QPX will let you do all of that on a 27" IPS display for a fair price.

Clearly, there are dozens of good monitor options you can choose from and that's why we have entire guides dedicated to monitor shopping and gaming monitors especifically.

The Razer DeathAdder V3 is a safe bet for a mouse, and so is the Corsair K65 Plus for a keyboard. Once again, our best mice and keyboards guides include more options for more specific needs and budgets.

The High-End Gaming Machine

* High-end performance * Heavy multitasking * Hardcore gaming

This gaming PC build is for those who prioritize absolute performance and the latest features over performance per dollar. With the newest high-end GPUs, gaming at 1440p and 4K resolutions becomes a reality, and this build will enable you to enjoy just that.

Image credit: Duality by alba_dread

AMD's Ryzen 7 7800X3D is not only one of the best gaming processors money can buy, but it's also very efficient, keeping cool by the same compact coolers we recommended for the previous build. The Gigabyte B650 Aorus Elite AX is a top-quality motherboard, and these days it's actually cheaper than its slightly degraded (but still high-end) V2 revision. Our RAM and storage recommendations remain the same as in the previous build.

If you are set on Nvidia's Ada architecture, then the GeForce RTX 4070 Super is your least expensive option for this kind of build, as the RTX 4070 is significantly slower and not much cheaper.

If you don't care about ray tracing, then you can get better value with AMD's similarly performing Radeon RX 7800 XT, or the otherwise faster Radeon RX 7900 XT. The next bump to consider would be the RTX 4070 Ti Super, but the price difference is not justified for most unless you want more raw horsepower and are willing to pay for it.

The MSI MAG A750GL PSU provides 750W at 80 Plus Gold-level efficiency, a 10-year warranty, a fully modular design, and a native 16-pin GPU connector, which some RTX 4070 models require.

Replacing the discontinued Mastercase H500M, the Cooler Master HAF 500 will make sure that the system remains cool with two front 200mm fans. Again, our best cases guide includes more good options.

Monitor, Keyboard & Mouse

The best gaming monitor for you will depend on the games you play. For example, the Asus ROG Strix XG27AQDMG is arguably the best OLED monitor for most, but if you want to play competitively at 540Hz (a niche use case), the 1080p Asus ROG Swift Pro PG248QP will serve you better.

If you want HDR, or a different shape or resolution, you'll have many more options, so we suggest that you simply read our best gaming monitors guide.

If you want a more sophisticated mouse than the average gamer's, Logitech's wireless 502 X Plus is the one for you. Similarly, the Razer Hunstman V3 Pro keyboard uses analog optical switches with an adjustable actuation point. Our best mice and keyboard guides include more options.

The Growable Workstation

* Workstation-like performance * Extreme multitasking * Hardcore gaming

This machine is perfect for any workload, from 4K video rendering to all types of 3D modeling. It can also handle gaming on par with the best gaming PCs when paired with a fast GPU. While it's not inexpensive, it offers excellent value for its capabilities.

With 32 threads and 80MB of cache for about $500, the Ryzen 9 7950X is the obvious choice for this system. It's not an overly efficient CPU though, so you'll need one of the best coolers you can find. We like the incredibly-priced Thermalright Phantom Spirit 120 SE.

Our choice of motherboard to house this processor is the Asrock X670E Pro RS, which offers great storage expandability with five M.2 slots and six SATA ports. If you want two or three PCIe 5.0 x 16 slots, you'll need to spend much more on the Asus ProArt, the Asrock Taichi or the MSI Ace. For future upgrades, we chose 64GB of RAM in just two sticks.

The Corsair MP600 Pro is one of the best SSDs for creators, with great sustained write speeds. Notice that it's often priced differently with different heatsink shapes and colors. A 2TB drive should be sufficient for regular work unless you have very specific storage demands. An archive of all your work will probably be safer on external drives or on a NAS.

Choosing the best graphics card for this system greatly depends on the programs you'll be working with. We recommend that you search the web for relevant benchmarks before making your choice. In rare cases (Siemens NX is a prime example), professional RTX A-series and Radeon Pro graphics cards may justify their price with certain ease. With Nvidia's GeForce RTX 4090 selling above its MSRP these days, you may want to consider cheaper alternatives like the RTX 4080 Super or Radeon 7900 XTX, although the 4090 is an absolute beast and the top gaming GPU you can buy.

The MSI MPG A850G offers everything the compact MAG A750GL in the system above does, plus 100W, but if you do get the RTX 4090, you may prefer the MAG's 1000W version.

For a case, we chose the Fractal Design Define 7 XL for its build quality, acoustic efficiency and versatility, including its two 5.25" external drive bays. As always, our best cases guide includes more options.

Monitor, Keyboard & Mouse

Some of the most comfortable and accurate mice and keyboards we use include the Logitech MX Master 3S mouse and Keychron Q1 HE keyboard.

As with storage, choosing a monitor will depend if you have special needs and requirements for work. If you want to view your 3D models in great detail and comfort, Dell's Ultrasharp U3223QE is a great choice with its wide-gamut, 4K IPS panel.

If you edit 4K movies, though, the higher-end Asus ProArt PA32DC uses an OLED panel for greatly improved contrast and qualifies for HDR 400 True Black. It also has a true 10-bit panel, and can display colors that very few monitors can.