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This time last year, the way I was considering PC recommendations was very different. Back then, I could usually suggest the rig with the best graphics card in a certain price range, knowing that all the other aspects can be upgraded down the line pretty easily. But not so anymore, thanks to the continuing memory shortage and generally gloomy PC component market.
That's where builds like this one come in, though—ones that offer a little extra in other areas that should be good for longevity. For $1,299 at B&H Photo, I reckon you're not going far wrong with this RTX 5060 Ti gaming PC, even though you're only getting the 8 GB version of the card.
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That 8 GB of VRAM is something to keep in mind if you want to play modern games on max settings, but as our Andy's testing has shown, that amount of video memory doesn't hinder things too much in most games if you lower your settings a little.
We find the same kind of story comparing 16 GB of system memory to 32 GB: the former is just fine for gaming. Assuming, that is, you're keeping everything else closed while doing so. Though do also bear in mind that it's single-channel memory in this build, which will perform a bit worse than a dual-channel kit.
Arc Raiders - VRAM usage and performance
In-game testing, Epic settings
| Product | Value |
|---|---|
| RTX 5060 Ti 16 GB | 162 Avg FPS, 110 1% Low FPS, 5.23 Avg. VRAM |
| RTX 5060 Ti 8 GB | 155 Avg FPS, 89 1% Low FPS, 5.63 Avg. VRAM |
| RX 9060XT 16 GB | 142 Avg FPS, 67 1% Low FPS, 7.64 Avg. VRAM |
| RX 9060 XT 8 GB | 148 Avg FPS, 90 1% Low FPS, 5.72 Avg. VRAM |
At least the memory you're getting here is pretty fast, though. Compared to other RTX 5060 Ti gaming PCs for around the same price, which have slower RAM, that's a good deal. Ditto the storage, as it's very rare to see a 2 TB SSD in builds below $1,500 these days. That itself adds a fair bit of longevity to the build, especially considering how much SSD prices have shot up over the last few months in addition to memory prices. Though again, there's an additional caveat here in that the SSD in question, the Kingston NV2, doesn't seem to be the most reliable.
The final notable element to this build is that CPU. If you're not aware, the Ryzen 7 8700F is essentially a repurposed mobile chip. So yes, it's a little power-limited, but it's an eight-core one that should perform alright in a budget rig, all things considered.
The limited amount of cache when combined with single-channel RAM might make the CPU a bit of a bottleneck, but the good news is it's an AM5 socket chip, meaning you'll be able to upgrade to a nice X3D processor for a substantial upgrade down the line. I'd much rather that than opting for a budget/mid-range gaming PC with, say, a Core i5 14400 inside, which might be good for the price in a vacuum but has no reasonable upgrade path with its platform.
So essentially, with this PC, you're getting something that can run games well out of the box as long as you keep background processes light while you do so, and you're getting some pretty great longevity, too.
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