After the miniature April computers, we are returning to classic builds. Today, we’re going to take a look at the PC of the month in several configurations, including an affordable solution for budget gamers and a top-end computer for enthusiasts.
| Gaming PC «Budget PC» | Price, UAH | |
| Processor | Intel Core i3-12100F | 3900 |
| Motherboard | Biostar H610MHP | 2600 |
| RAM | 16 GB G.Skill Aegis DDR4 2×8 3000CL16 | 1400 |
| Drive | 1 TB SSD Apacer AS2280P4 | 2300 |
| Video card | 8 GB PowerColor Radeon RX 6600 Fighter | 9300 |
| Cooler | BOX | 0 |
| Power supply | 500 W Zalman Wattbit II | 1650 |
| Body | PrologiX E112 | 1000 |
| The entire PC | 22150 | |
In the budget segment, the choice of components is not too great. AMD Ryzen 5 5500 with some simple A320/A520 board immediately comes to mind, but Intel Core i3-12100F is not a bad choice at all. The processor is even easier to cool, and it has higher performance per core, which is important in most scenarios and popular online games.
So, we add a corresponding board to such an economical CPU. For example, we added Biostar H610MHP. There are cheaper options on the market, but with one compromise – they work with RAM up to 2933 MHz, and this model supports a higher frequency.
We start building the memory subsystem with G.Skill Aegis DDR4 2×8 GB 3000CL16. This capacity is enough for 99% of video games without any problems. For a budget PC, it makes no sense to overpay for 32 GB; it’s better to get a larger SSD that can accommodate a larger library of games. A good option is 1 TB SSD Apacer AS2280P4especially for your money. There is no point in chasing fast PCI-E 4.0 models.
Video card PowerColor Radeon RX 6600 Fighter will easily handle any Full-HD games, and in eSports projects, it will literally rest against the processor. We are considering the RX 6600, not the RX 7600 because there is still a considerable cost difference between them, and the older version consumes less power.
We do not spend extra money on cooling, but use a box cooler that can easily handle the Intel Core i3-12100F. The new design of Intel’s coolers has proven itself well, and it will definitely be enough for a home PC with this CPU.
The power supply is not so simple. There are a lot of 600W models on the market for ridiculously low prices, but they added Zalman Wattbit II. It doesn’t look too cool «on paper», but it is of high-quality relative to second-tier brands. Under the maximum load of such a PC, this PSU will operate at only half of its capacity, with a huge margin.
We are looking for a case to suit our taste and budget. Since the budget is limited, you can consider some ultra-budget options, such as PrologiX E112. A simple but nice case with a transparent lid for a ridiculous price. The most important thing is that it will not affect the FPS and overall performance of the computer because it is well ventilated.
All in all, you will have to pay 22,150 UAH for the budget PC of the month, which is not much at the current dollar rate. Such a machine is well suited for gaming in Full HD (sometimes Quad HD) and will appeal to undemanding gamers despite the small margin for upgrades.
| Gaming PC «Optimal» | Price, UAH | |
| Processor | AMD Ryzen 5 7600X | 9200 |
| Motherboard | Gigabyte B650M GAMING X AX | 8000 |
| RAM | 32 GB GOODRAM IRDM DDR5 2×16 5600CL30 | 4700 |
| Drive | 2 TB SSD GOODRAM PX600 SSDPR-PX600 | 5200 |
| Video card | 16 GB Asus Radeon RX 7800 XT Dual OC | 23000 |
| Cooler | ID-COOLING SE-226-XT Black | 1700 |
| Power supply | 650 W MSI MAG A650BN | 2500 |
| Body | Deepcool Matrexx 40 | 2000 |
| The entire PC | 56300 | |
| Video Card Lite | 8 GB MSI Gaming X RTX 4060Ti | 18200 |
| Cooler Lite | Zalman CNPS4X Black | 800 |
| The whole PC Lite | 50600 | |
The middle class is a very broad concept, so for some people, the optimal computer is something with outdated hardware and a poor balance of components. For others, it is almost a premium segment with the best components on the market. The May optimal PC was reviewed in two configurations, both with AMD Ryzen 5 7600X.
AMD Ryzen 5 7600X easily tucks the AM4 flagships behind its belt, making it clear that their time has passed. The mid-range AM5 has been so successful that it cannot be ignored, especially when prices have stabilized AMD Ryzen 5 7600X is a much better choice than 5700X, 5800X, 5900X, even 5800X3D, and all thanks to the new architecture and high performance per core (noticeably more than Intel Core i5 LGA 1700 with a locked multiplier).
A mid-range motherboard can easily withstand the considerable appetites of such a stone Gigabyte B650M GAMING X AX looks quite balanced, supports fast memory, has powerful power, and looks nice. The choice of alternatives is large, and the prices are adjusted by the market, so it’s hard to make a mistake. For 7500-9000 UAH, a motherboard will have everything and more.
Latency is much more important than frequency when it comes to the AM5 platform, so we confidently take GOODRAM IRDM DDR5 2×16 GB 5600CL30 or other memory with similar characteristics. These modules are guaranteed to operate at 5600 MHz and CL30, which will have a positive impact on games, especially eSports.
There is no point in chasing high frequencies in an inexpensive, rational, balanced computer. We also chose a drive without unnecessary overpayments 2 TB SSD GOODRAM PX600 SSDPR-PX600 covers the needs of gamers and professionals who don’t care much about saving space on the system disk. The price of the 2 TB version is low compared to the rest of the system components.
The RX 7800 XT graphics card immediately received a barrage of criticism from dissatisfied fans, as it brought almost no performance gain over the RX 6800 XT. A wave of hatred hit this model, which turned out to be 1-3% faster than its predecessor, but in fact it is one of the best graphics cards on the market as of 2024.
Asus Radeon RX 7800 XT Dual OC can be purchased for only 23,000 UAH, which is favorable against the competition. The closest analog to the RTX 4070 is not going to drop in price, so the 7800 XT’s position has only strengthened. This is a good video card for Quad HD (priority) and Ultra HD video games that can be confidently recommended.
It’s not easy to cool AMD Ryzen 5 7600X, so we immediately choose a powerful tower. The giant looks good for the money ID-COOLING SE-226-XT Black. Such a massive cooler will cope with an insatiable processor and won’t make a noise that will be heard throughout the room.
To avoid overpaying for a power supply, you can take 650 W MSI MAG A650BN. A moderately powerful option for the money, and even more reliable than the «800W» second-tier models. Housing Deepcool Matrexx 40 looks nice and fits the selected components perfectly in terms of dimensions. Not the cheapest, but stylish option.
If this amount is unaffordable for the buyer, you can consider Lite a version of the optimal PC with a cheaper graphics card and a simpler cooler. Quality Zalman CNPS4X Black will tame AMD Ryzen 5 7600X, although it will be noisier, and MSI Gaming X RTX 4060Ti is a good option for those who sometimes like to work in Blender and similar programs. This way, you can save almost 6000 UAH.
For the entire optimal PC, you need to pay from 50,600 UAH, choosing a more affordable video card, to 56,300 UAH in the basic configuration. In fact, there are a dozen more options with a smooth transition and a difference of 2000-3000 UAH between them, but we will consider this set of components to be the base, the foundation for the optimal PC of 2024.
| PC gaming «Progressive» | Price, UAH | |
| Processor | Intel Core i7-14700K | 19800 |
| Motherboard | ASRock Z790 Nova WiFi | 13700 |
| RAM | 48 GB Corsair Vengeance RGB DDR5 2×24 6000CL36 | 6700 |
| Drive | 2 TB Kingston KC3000 2048GB M.2 2280 PCIe 4.0 | 7100 |
| Video card | 24 GB Gigabyte Radeon RX 7900 XTX GAMING OC | 44000 |
| Liquid cooling | ARCTIC Liquid Freezer III 420 | 4500 |
| Power supply | 1000 W MSI MPG PCIE5 A1000G PCIE5 | 8800 |
| Body | be quiet! Shadow Base 800 | 6000 |
| The entire PC | 110600 | |
| Ultra RAM | 96 GB Corsair Vengeance RGB DDR5 2×48 6400CL32 | 17400 |
| Ultra drive | 4 TB Kingston KC3000 2048GB M.2 2280 PCIe 4.0 | 15600 |
| Ultra video card | 24 GB MSI GeForce RTX 4090 SUPRIM X | 90000 |
| The entire Ultra PC | 175800 | |
With powerful high-end PCs, you can have a lot of discussions about the choice of a particular component. There are cool AMD solutions on the market with 3D cache, which is ideal for gaming. In reality, not many owners of premium computers play games Intel Core i7-14700K is a much more versatile solution than the AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D, although it is not as good for gamers.
This processor is the best in Intel’s 14th generation because the last time i9 and i7 were so close was in the 11th generation. The difference between 14900K and 14700K is not too big, much less in price. With such a CPU, you can forget about upgrading for a long time and enjoy the smooth operation of your PC, and it works better with high-speed RAM compared to AM5 flagships.
Z790 chipset motherboards have flooded the market and there are many offers. It makes no sense to overpay for super premium models that have unnecessary bells and whistles. An adequate mid-range option is ASRock Z790 Nova WiFi. For the money, it’s a great motherboard with good stuff.
We chose non-binary RAM. Package Corsair Vengeance RGB DDR5 2×24 GB 6000CL36 has a large margin for the future because nowadays rarely do any scenarios cause memory shortages in systems with 32 GB of RAM.
With drives, it’s simple: choose a PCI-E 4.0 model with a large buffer from a reliable manufacturer Kingston KC3000 2048GB M.2 2280 PCIe 4.0 The 2 TB drive does not sag in speed tenfold when filled, like Chinese junk from Aliexpress, and is a hit in Ukraine. You can say «top for your money».
If the computer will be used primarily for gaming, then we confidently take Gigabyte Radeon RX 7900 XTX GAMING OC but there are better options for work. Any version of the RTX 4080 or RTX 4080 Super is several times faster when rendering in Blender, works better with neural networks, etc., but costs 10,000 UAH more. We prioritize and buy carefully.
The case was chosen for a reason, because be quiet! Shadow Base 800 supports 420 mm liquid cooling systems. This trick will allow you to get maximum performance at minimum cost, and we’ll explain why. The fact is that most liquid cooling systems are 360 mm or 240 mm in size.
Also, almost all cases are made for this standard. Some cases can accept 280 mm watercoolers, but there are very, very few suitable for 420 mm. What is the point of this? A good 420 mm SRO is no more expensive, and sometimes cheaper, than a 360 mm model. For the Intel Core i7-14700K, this is the perfect choice ARCTIC Liquid Freezer III 420 costs only 4500 UAH, and has a higher efficiency than the flagship 360 mm backlit water bottle.
Yes, this model will not delight the owner with colored lights, has a strict design, is very serious and is equipped with a simple water unit without a built-in screen. But all this does not affect its efficiency, in which the ARCTIC Liquid Freezer III 420 is almost unrivaled. For the money, it’s a great option, but you need to choose a suitable case right away.
Kilowatt power supply MSI MPG PCIE5 A1000G PCIE5 has proven itself well, and despite numerous competitors, it is an exemplary model for all occasions. If the price doesn’t scare you, and it’s still high, then you can buy it with confidence. Alternatively, you can save money by buying another high-quality 800-850W PSU for 4000-5000 UAH.
For some, this configuration already looks too expensive, while others want less. Of course, 100 thousand is not so much when you have a phone for 95,000 UAH in your pocket and a laptop for 210,000 UAH in your bag. For such enthusiasts, we offer an alternative configuration Ultra. There are few changes here: we changed the RAM to Corsair Vengeance RGB DDR5 2×48 GB 6400CL32 (even higher frequencies, even lower latency), we take twice as big a drive 4 TB Kingston KC3000 M.2 2280 PCIe 4.0 (and then another one, and then another one…). We put the most powerful graphics card of our time in a top-end design MSI GeForce RTX 4090 SUPRIM X.
For only 110,600 UAH, you can get a progressive PC with a focus on gaming, or for 120,000 UAH, you can build a similar one with RTX 4080 Super, not RX 7900 XTX. If the configuration looks too poor, then Ultra the version of the progressive PC with twice as much memory and a top-of-the-line graphics card will cost UAH 175,800.
