AMD Budget Gaming PC Build Guide: Summer 2020 Edition

AMD Budget Gaming PC Build: CPU

While all of the components we are selecting here today are what we would go with, and priced from vendors we trust, it is always a good idea to shop around as deals on these, or other good options, pop up from other reliable vendors all the time. With that said, let’s dive right into the first order of business.

CPU

AMD Ryzen 3 3300X $120.00

60 FPS

• Great Value In AMD Gaming Performance In This Segment
• 4.3 GHz Max Boost
• 3.8 GHz Base Clock
• Decent Overclocking Potential
• Included HSF (Wraith Stealth)

30 FPS

• 4 Core Product, If That Matters For Other Things You Do

CPU Alternate

AMD Ryzen 5 3400G $139.99

60 FPS

• Fast and Competent For An APU
• Same Max Boost As Ryzen 5 2600
• 200 MHz Base Clock Boost Over Ryzen 5 2600
• Included HSF (Wraith Spire)

30 FPS

• Value Is Dependent On Pricing And Usage
• 4 Core Product, If That Matters For Other Things You Do
• 100 MHz Lower Base Clock and Max Boost Compared to 3300x

Today’s number one pick for a processor in this range is the Ryzen 3 3300X. Before people start in about this, yes; it is a 4 core chip. However, for our budget, we are getting an incredibly powerful chip at a price point that will allow us to grab a discrete GPU that, when paired together, will outperform available APU options that would also fit in this budget range. Plus, we can always upgrade the CPU, or GPU, later if we suddenly stumble into some money while still having good performance today. Indeed, as our own Brent Justice said: “AMD’s Ryzen 3 3300X CPU is a very appealing CPU at a price point that will impress.  AMD wasn’t kidding when it said it can offer Intel i7-7700K like performance now.  Our Cinebench R20 score was in fact slightly higher than an Intel i7-7700K CPU produces, which was a 4c/8t CPU as well.  Just think, what use to be $305 at launch for the i7-7700K, you can now have for $120 with the Ryzen 3 3300X, and it is still just slightly faster than that Intel CPU.  That is progress, my friends. 

The AMD Ryzen 3 3300X is also faster overall, in every regard, for every application and workload, compared to the current generation Coffee Lake Intel Core i5-9400(F) CPU.  The AMD Ryzen 3 3300X is an all-around better value.  It offers better performance, at a price that is $30-$40 cheaper.  This is progress, my friends.   We’ve never seen such a good value before.  $120 will buy you a great gaming experience, and great experience in daily desktop workloads, content creation, rendering, Internet and media consumption.”

For those looking to shave some cost of their system, AMD’s APU line offers a way to start gaming today at lower resolutions/settings and then, later on, add a discrete GPU to really boost performance. So, we are selecting the Ryzen 5 3400G. You actually end up gaining a bit on the base clock speed here, but you drop your core count to a 4 core product with less cache and the same Turbo settings at this point. On top of that, this chip features AMD Radeon Vega 11 Graphics which is, today, probably the best iGPU option going. So, while not the highest end product in any one aspect this is a well-rounded APU to select for a Budget Gaming PC Build.