Assembling a gaming PC for 20 thousand hryvnia

In connection with the move to the new AM5 platform, prices for previous generation AMD components have in some places dropped to indecently tempting levels. For example, the old hit 6-core Ryzen 5 3600 can now be bought for literally 75 Euros. However, for an inexpensive gaming PC, we would suggest adding literally 10 - 15 Euros and taking the more modern and powerful Ryzen 5 5500.

The Ryzen 5 5500 is an affordable and at the same time very productive 6-core processor based on a more modern Zen 3 architecture than the Ryzen 5 3600, which supports multi-threaded data processing, accelerates to 4.2 GHz and can interact with DDR-3200 RAM. At the same time, he has complete order with the temperature regime and for cooling he is completely satisfied with the cooler included in the kit.

At the time of its release, the competitor of the hero of this review was the 6-core Core i5-12400, which, based on the results of synthetic and game tests, outperformed the Ryzen 5 5500 by an average of 30 - 50%. However, over time, prices have turned somewhere in the wrong direction and now the Core i5-12400 costs almost 2 times more, so in our opinion this is not the most optimal candidate for an entry-level PC. Moreover, a motherboard with an AM4 socket will cost less than an analogue from Intel.

Despite the popularization of DDR5 memory, the introduction of the PCI-E 5.0 bus and the development of the ATX 3.0 platform, according to Steam statistics, most gamers are in no hurry to run to the store for new products, preferring well-proven solutions. And if we are talking about an entry-level PC for Full HD games, the most popular combination to this day remains a pair of DDR4-3200 modules, a Ryzen 3600/5500-level processor and a compact motherboard with an AM4 socket. An excellent example of such a motherboard is the Asus TUF GAMING A520M-PLUS II, which costs only 75 Euros.

Asus TUF GAMING A520M-PLUS II is made in a compact micro-ATX format, is based on the entry-level AMD A520 chipset and, despite its size, makes it possible to build on its basis a moderately productive and modern PC with 4 RAM modules (volume up to 128 GB, maximum frequency 4866 MHz), one or more SSD drives (one of them is fast M.2), serious cooling inside the case and complex Asus Aura Sync lighting. By using a reliable element base and a moderately productive 8-phase power converter, the Asus TUF GAMING A520M-PLUS II is able to provide energy to a 6-core Ryzen 5 5600G that is still productive by today's standards.

Traditionally for the TUF series, the strengths of this board are a competent approach to the design of the base, including high-tech heat-resistant capacitors and additional cooling of key components such as the VRM zone. Perhaps the only, but noticeable, disadvantage of this model is the orientation of the A520 chip towards the PCI-E 3.0 bus, which is why it cannot be paired with modern ultra-fast SSD drives and video cards that require appropriate power. Well, it’s not particularly designed for overclocking.

The Radeon RX 6500 XT is an entry-level video card designed to plug the gap in the entry-level lineup based on the AMD RDNA 2 architecture, which was formed after the retirement of the Radeon RX 580 and GeForce GTX 1060. The basis of the hardware was the Navi 24 graphics chip, which is a stripped-down laptop version of the Navi 23 chip. It contains only 5.4 billion transistors and 1024 stream processors, and its VRAM capacity is limited to 4 GB.

The MSI MECH modification uses an efficient cooling system consisting of a pair of MSI TORX 3.0 fans with a curved impeller for better heat dissipation and a compact radiator with copper heat-conducting tubes. The cooling system supports the completely silent passive Zero Frozr operating mode. Thanks to the compact printed circuit board and low heatsink (approx: 17 cm, 2 slots), it is perfect for compact PCs that cannot accommodate giant video cards of the NVIDIA RTX 4080 level.

In modern demanding games, the RX 6500 XT lacks stars from the sky. Its destiny is games in Full HD on medium or minimum graphics settings with FPS in the region of 30 - 45. The limitation of 4 GB VRAM is already affecting games now, and projects for the remake of Resident Evil 4 or Forspoken in some cases refuse to start at all - these are the realities of the current gaming. If you are lucky enough to find an adequate price, then an excellent alternative to the hero of this review can be the middle-class GPUs of the previous and the generation before that Radeon RX 5700/5700 XT and GeForce GTX 1660/1660 SUPER.

Of course, their prices fluctuate greatly depending on the country and the retailer, in our opinion, any price below 180 Euros can be called an attractive option.

We can safely say that the market for SSD drives has finally formed and settled down: models with support for PCI-E 4.0 are no longer exorbitantly expensive, unsuccessful control controllers have gradually faded from the scene, and the cost of compact M.2 and standard SATA3 solid state drives has been reduced to a minimum - why buying a bulky and slow drive now looks quite strange. An excellent example of this is the Crucial P3 drive, which costs even less than the still popular, but rapidly becoming obsolete SSDs of the caliber Kingston A400 and Samsung 870 EVO.

Crucial P3 is an excellent example of working out mistakes. In its production, Crucial engineers used 176-layer QLC NAND flash memory from Micron. Considering that Micron is the creator of Crucial, we think it can be called in-house memory. Phison's popular entry-level E21T controller is used as the brain; DRAM cache is not provided. To increase write speed, a pseudo-SLC cache is used, so bursts in speed indicators are smoothed out faster than with completely bufferless drives without a dedicated cache.

Unlike the older P3 Plus model, the regular P3 interacts with the rest of the system components using the PCI-E 3.0 interface, not 4.0. However, this does not play a special role in domestic use - it is mainly a limitation of the maximum throughput, which affects when transferring large amounts of data. As a result, we have a very serious read speed of 3500 MB/s (note: write 3000 MB/s); in most cases, in practice, such an SSD will lag behind drives with PCI-E 4.0 and linear speed above 3000 MB/s by a matter of seconds. For example, the conditional Hogwarts Legacy will start not in 28, but in 30 seconds. Additionally, the Crucial P3's coolness comes with an official 5-year warranty.

When building an inexpensive gaming PC, it often makes sense to save a little on the case and motherboard by choosing more compact micro-ATX and Mini Tower solutions. For such options, most users usually choose relatively compact video cards of the GeFroce RTX 3050 level, are limited to a couple of RAM sticks and one drive, and for cooling, as a rule, they use a small stock fan, so they overpay for a large case in which a Maine Coon could sleep, doesn't make much sense.

An excellent example of a compact, inexpensive and modern chassis with a thoughtful layout is the Gamemax M61. This is a minimalistic black case with a transparent viewing window, a bottom compartment for the power supply, dust filters, a hidden wire routing system and a window for quickly replacing the processor cooler. Out of the box, the Gamemax M61 is equipped with one fan with a 120 mm impeller, to which, if necessary, you can add a couple more fans or a full-fledged liquid cooling system measuring 120 or 240 mm.

Despite its miniature size, the Gamemax M61 can accommodate a tower cooler up to 155 mm high and a huge video card of GeForce RTX 4080/4090 caliber, the length of which can reach 34 cm! But the set of pockets for drives is somewhat limited compared to the standard Midi Tower chassis: two 3.5″ drives can fit in the HDD basket at the same time, and a couple of additional 2.5″ SSDs can be mounted behind the motherboard tray. However, with the popularization of the miniature M.2 format, this can hardly be called a problem. Finally, I would like to praise the convenient implementation of the front panel, which, among other things, includes a modern USB C port version 3.2 gen1.

Despite the gradual decline in prices for DDR5 memory modules, its predecessor is not slowing down: the price of single modules and DDR-3200 sets still looks very attractive. At the same time, modern games and applications make little use of the speed advantage of DDR5, so in a head-on collision, both options are on par in most use scenarios. When looking for a suitable DDR4 module, one of the most interesting options today is Apacer NOX.

This kit was introduced to the market only in the summer of 2023 and quickly attracted the attention of gamers due to its affordable price at the level of the popular G.Skill Aegis kits. The set consists of a pair of classic 8 GB sticks with a clock operating frequency of 3200 MHz, which is supported by most motherboards from AMD and Intel, including not the most modern models. The technical characteristics of the set correspond to the level of more popular RAM modules from Kingston, G.Skill and Patriot - latency CL16, timing scheme 16-22-22-38, operating voltage 1.35 V.

The manufacturer welcomes experiments with manual overclocking, since both RAM modules are equipped with high-quality memory chips and reliable metal heatsinks. At the same time, the radiators look moderately stylish and at the same time minimalistic, thanks to which they can easily fit into a variety of types of cases with an observation window and complex addressable lighting. Separately, it should be noted the low height of the memory modules, which prevents possible conflicts with large processor coolers.

In 2022, Chinese manufacturer Deepcool updated its range of computer power supplies, introducing a more affordable alternative to the Nova and Aurora models called PF. This is a 500W ATX power supply with an efficiency of around 85% and a basic 80 Plus quality certificate. According to the manufacturer's idea, it will be the optimal solution for budget-conscious gamers who are not chasing modern circuitry with record efficiency and are not eager to overpay for a bronze or gold quality certificate.

Deepcool PF-500 is built on an inexpensive hardware platform with traditional circuit design based on the principle of group voltage stabilization. It ensures a stable power supply to system components. The 80+ certificate confirms high efficiency (efficiency of at least 85%), which is an important parameter for users who value energy savings. A wide main power line capable of distributing 480 W of a total of 500 W, providing stable and efficient power supply to even very powerful and overclocked components.

To connect to other PC components, Deepcool PF-500 provides convenient and reliable wires in the form of flat cables. The cables, alas, are not detachable; a modular structure is rarely found in inexpensive power supplies. A pair of modern 8-pin (6+2) connectors are provided to power the video card. The official warranty from the manufacturer is 2 years, which is a pretty good period for an entry-level power supply. Most entry-level analogues are usually limited to a one-year warranty.