There comes a time for every PC gaming enthusiast when the rig no longer cuts the mustard. The CPU is too slow or doesn’t have enough cores, the motherboard doesn’t support the latest SSDs, and the machine runs out of memory far too often. The only cure is a full system upgrade but that’s really expensive, right?
Well, thanks to the Prime Day sales bonanza, it’s honestly not and although bundles like this are normally the preserve of Micro Center, not everyone lives near a store. This CPU, motherboard, and RAM combination will give you an excellent foundation with which to build a long-lasting and upgradable gaming PC.
You’ll need to keep your old case, graphics card, storage, and power supply unit but with a fresh platform, you’ll be able to update the other components when you can in the future.
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AMD Ryzen 5 7600
AMD’s recent Ryzen 9000-series of processors might seem to be the ones to go for but given that they’re not much faster than their predecessors, the sensible choice is a 7000-series chip. Models like a Ryzen 7 7800X3D are very pricey, but you don’t have to sacrifice bags of performance when you’re on a budget.
The Ryzen 5 7600 is a six-core, 12-thread processor, with a boost clock of 5.1 GHz. Unlike many ‘budget’ CPUs, this one isn’t hamstrung by having a reduced amount of L3 cache and it’s not locked from overclocking, either.
It even comes with an AMD Wraith Stealth cooler and while it’s not the best you can buy, at least you don’t need to worry about getting an additional cooler to go with this bundle.
The best thing about this CPU is that the motherboard it will go into not only supports any Ryzen 7000-series chip but also the new 9000 range and at least another generation after that. So if you do feel the need for a bit more speed in the coming years, swapping it over is a piece of cake.
ASRock B650E PG Riptide
If you’re going to choose a motherboard that will last you for many years but you don’t want to spend a fortune, then this ASRock B650M PG Riptide is hard to beat. It fully supports any AM5 socket processor, even the hulking Ryzen 9 7950X3D or Ryzen 9 9950X, thanks to having 14 VRMs for the CPU, each rated at 60 A. That’s more than enough juice for any Ryzen chip.
You get three PCIe slots—x16 Gen 5, x16 Gen 3, x1 Gen 4—plus three M.2 slots for SSDs. The topmost one is a full-speed Gen 5 slot and while it’s not worth spending the money on a PCIe 5.0 SSD just yet, they will come down in price and heat in the future. The other M.2 slots are a full-speed Gen 4 and a half-speed Gen 3.
That’s not as well equipped as more expensive motherboards but you will be able to fit any graphics cards in there, plus two big and fast SSDs for Windows and your Steam library.
What really sells the ASRock B650M PG Riptide is the fact that the rear IO panel boasts 10 USB ports—six USB 2.0 Type A, two USB 3.1 Gen1 Type A, one USB 3.1 Gen2 Type A and a Gen 2 Type C. There are headers on the board for a further six USB ports, too.
Add in the Wi-Fi 6E module and 2.5G Ethernet port, and you’ve all the connectivity options you could possibly want. Yes, some ultra-fast USB ports would be nice but you’ll need to pay a pretty penny to get them.
Team Group DDR5-6000 32 GB CL30 kit
The final component you’ll need for an AM5 system upgrade is RAM, especially if you’re coming from an older setup that uses DDR4. For AMD Ryzen chips, you’ll get the best performance from the processor if you pair it with a dual-channel DDR5-6000 kit and this Team Group offering is just the ticket.
You’d expect it to have slow timings at this price but CL30-36-36-76 is not to be sniffed at, and you certainly won’t have any complaints about the RAM’s speed. What you’re not getting, of course, is any nice RGB lighting, just a decent metal heatsink to help the DRAM chips stay cool.
All together, this CPU, motherboard, and RAM combination comes in at a little under $460. You can buy a full gaming PC for less than this but you won’t be able to upgrade it in the future. Get this bundle, pop it into your old case, and you’ll be sorted—now put the cash you’ve saved towards a shiny new graphics card. Huzzah for sales!
