Price/Performance PC Building Guide (November 2025)

When building a gaming PC, the most important balance is getting maximum performance for every penny spent. The hardware market is more competitive than ever, and choosing the right parts ensures you both protect your budget and build a future-ready system.

A successful PC build process begins with setting the right goals. This year’s goal is clear:

• ✅ 1440p Resolution
• ✅ High FPS + Future-Proofing
• ✅ 16GB VRAM has become the standard

The P/P Philosophy – Setting the Right Target

The Golden Ratio: Why 1080p is Dead and 4K is Unnecessary

For years, 1080p was the unshakeable standard for gaming. However, this is no longer the case. 1080p resolution now creates a performance bottleneck for modern and powerful graphics cards. This means that even if you buy a powerful GPU, your processor will hit its limits at 1080p, and you won’t be able to use the card’s full power.

At the other end of the pyramid is 4K (2160p). Visually, it is the undisputed peak. But this peak comes at a cost: it challenges even the most high-end graphics cards, such as an RTX 5080 or 5090. Achieving high and sustainable frame rates (FPS) in 4K requires astronomical budgets that fall completely outside the P/P philosophy.

This is precisely where 1440p (QHD or 2K) comes in. 1440p is considered the sweet spot, offering visuals that are much sharper than 1080p without demanding the brutal hardware requirements of 4K.

The Turning Point: Why 16GB VRAM Isn’t a Luxury, It’s a Necessity

Welcome to the most critical section. If you take only one thing away from this article, it should be this: The most important factor in choosing a graphics card is no longer raw speed, but VRAM (Video Memory) capacity.

On the market, you can find both 8GB and 16GB versions of the same graphics card model (e.g., RTX 5060 Ti). In the past, 8GB was considered sufficient for the mid-range. Now, this situation has turned into a nightmare known as the VRAM Cliff. This means sudden and severe performance drops (stuttering), textures failing to load, and even games crashing due to insufficient memory.

Why 8GB VRAM is Dead

All cards with 8GB of VRAM, including NVIDIA’s RTX 5060 and 5060 Ti 8GB models, are “short-sighted” and “not recommended” investments.

The proof is very clear: Next-gen AAA games, like Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, are refusing to run or experiencing terrible performance issues on 8GB graphics cards. This proves that VRAM is no longer an investment for the future, but a basic requirement for today’s games.

The Common Misconception: “DLSS/FSR Saves Low VRAM”

This is the most dangerous misconception. Gamers believe that upscaling technologies like DLSS (NVIDIA) and FSR (AMD) reduce VRAM usage. The opposite is true.

To increase performance, these technologies render the game at a lower resolution (e.g., 1080p) and upscale it to 1440p using AI. However, this upscaling process and the high-resolution textures used increase VRAM usage rather than reducing it. The result? 8GB cards hit the VRAM limit much faster when using these modern technologies and fall off the VRAM Cliff.

Recommended: The P/P Champion

1. Processor (CPU): AMD Ryzen 5 9600X (6 Cores, 12 Threads)

Based on AMD’s new Zen 5 architecture, the Ryzen 5 9600X, with boost speeds reaching 5.4 GHz, is the P/P king of the mid-range.

2. Graphics Card (GPU): AMD Radeon RX 9060 XT 16GB

This GPU is the absolute P/P winner for 1440p. It is the best choice, offering great value and performance, and you won’t have to worry about running out of memory.

Recommendation: ASUS Prime Radeon™ RX 9060 XT 16GB

P/P Logic: It is the cornerstone of a 1440p / 120+ FPS system. AMD’s new RDNA 4 architecture provides access to FSR 4 upscaling technology and improved Ray Tracing and AI features.

3. Motherboard: GIGABYTE B650M GAMING PLUS WIFI

A solid AM5 motherboard is the foundation of the system.

P/P Logic (Why Not the New B850 Chipset?): Although the new B850 chipset has been released, it is unnecessary for our P/P system. The Ryzen 5 9600X is a very power-efficient processor with only a 65W TDP. The (often) more robust VRM (Voltage Regulator Module) structures of the B850 are overkill for this CPU.

4. Memory (RAM): 32GB (2x16GB) DDR5-6000MHz CL30 (AMD EXPO)

These specs are the non-negotiable P/P point for all AM5 (Ryzen 9000/7000 series) systems.

Recommendation: Kingston Beast DDR5 RGB Memory.

P/P Logic (Why Not Faster RAM?): The reason 6000MHz CL30 is so critical is that it guarantees stable operation at a 1:1 ratio with the AMD processor’s memory controller (Infinity Fabric), thus minimizing latency.

5. Storage (SSD): 2TB NVMe PCIe 4.0

Considering modern games like Call of Duty take up 100GB or more, 2TB capacity is now the new standard.

Recommendation: WD Black SN850X

You can read our article reviewing the best SSDs here.

P/P Logic (Why Not Gen 5 SSD?): Although high-end systems are starting to list PCIe Gen 5 SSDs, this technology only makes sense for professional workloads (e.g., 8K video editing).

6. CPU Cooler: Thermalright Peerless Assassin 120 SE

The Ryzen 5 9600X is an extremely efficient processor at 65W TDP and does not require an expensive liquid cooler (AIO).

P/P Logic: In tests, it has been proven to provide even better cooling than its much more expensive competitors and runs very quietly at only 34.5dB at maximum speed.

7. Power Supply (PSU): Montech CENTURY II 850W 80+ Gold

The 850W 80+ Gold selected for this system is an excellent choice for P/P.

P/P Logic: This system itself is efficient and could run on a 650W PSU. However, P/P is about future-proofing. The 850W capacity leaves enormous headroom for future upgrades to this system.

8. Case: Montech AIR 100 ARGB

P/P Logic: The true value of a case should be measured by its included fans rather than its aesthetics. Cases like the Montech AIR 100 ARGB come with 3 or 4 ARGB fans pre-installed.

P/P System Component List

Conclusion

The ability to upgrade the system to the top tier again in a few years just by changing the processor is a massive, often overlooked P/P advantage.

I hope this guide helps you make the smartest decision for your next gaming system.