Gaming PC build guide Australia: parts lists with today's prices
Three gaming PC builds for 1080p and 1440p, priced part by part at the cheapest Australian store each morning, with the case, power supply and cooler to add.
In this guide
Building your own gaming PC is still the best value way to game on a PC in Australia, and it's easier than it looks. These parts lists are priced live: every part's price below is today's lowest in-stock price at the Australian stores we check, and the total updates every morning.
All three builds use AMD's AM5 platform, which gives you an upgrade path to newer Ryzen processors on the same motherboard.
A note on RAM prices
Memory is unusually expensive at the moment, and it's a big share of a build's cost. Each RAM kit's page shows its price history; if prices fall, it's the part to revisit. 16GB is enough to start gaming, and it's easy to add a second kit later if your motherboard has four slots.
Build 1: 1080p high settings
| Processor | AMD Ryzen 5 7600Xcheapest at Mwave | $298 |
| Motherboard | Gigabyte B650M GAMING WIFI AM5 mATX Motherboardcheapest at MSY | $119 |
| Memory (16GB DDR5-6000) | Kingston 16GB (2x8GB) KF560C36BBEK2-16 Fury Beast Expo 6000MHz CL36 DDR5 RAMcheapest at MSY | $389 |
| Storage (1TB Gen 4 NVMe) | Crucial E100 CT1000E100SSD8 Gen4 M.2 NVMe SSDcheapest at MSY | $249 |
| Total today, buying each part where it's cheapest | $1,055 | |
The Radeon RX 9060 XT 16GB is a strong 1080p card, and 16GB of video memory gives it headroom for newer games. The Ryzen 5 7600X is a six-core gaming chip that won't hold it back.
Build 2: 1440p
| Processor | AMD Ryzen 5 9600Xcheapest at Mwave | $347 |
| Motherboard | MAXSUN Terminator B850M Dark WiFi AM5 mATX Motherboardcheapest at MSY | $169 |
| Memory (32GB DDR5-6000) | Corsair 32GB (2x16GB) CMH32GX5M2E6000Z36 Vengeance RGB CL36 6000MHz DDR5 RAMcheapest at MSY | $679 |
| Storage (1TB Gen 4 NVMe) | Crucial E100 CT1000E100SSD8 Gen4 M.2 NVMe SSDcheapest at MSY | $249 |
| Graphics card | Sapphire PULSE Radeon RX 9070 XT 16GB GDDR6cheapest at Mwave | $1,329 |
| Total today, buying each part where it's cheapest | $2,773 | |
The RX 9070 XT is the step that makes 1440p at high refresh rates comfortable. If you'd rather have NVIDIA (for DLSS, or particular software), an RTX 5070 is the comparable card; see RTX 5070 vs RX 9070 XT.
Build 3: high-end 1440p and 4K
| Processor | AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3Dcheapest at Mwave | $648 |
| Motherboard | ASUS Prime B850-Plus WiFi-CSM AM5 ATX Motherboardcheapest at MSY | $279 |
| Memory (32GB DDR5-6000) | Corsair 32GB (2x16GB) CMH32GX5M2E6000Z36 Vengeance RGB CL36 6000MHz DDR5 RAMcheapest at MSY | $679 |
| Storage (1TB Gen 4 NVMe) | Crucial E100 CT1000E100SSD8 Gen4 M.2 NVMe SSDcheapest at MSY | $249 |
| Total today, buying each part where it's cheapest | $1,855 | |
The Ryzen 7 9800X3D's large cache makes it one of the fastest gaming processors available. Paired with an RTX 5080, this is a high-refresh 1440p and capable 4K machine. Consider 2TB of storage at this level.
What to add
Our lists cover the five parts we compare. You'll also need:
- A power supply: a quality 650W unit for builds 1 and 2, 850W for build 3. Don't buy the cheapest no-name PSU.
- A case with good airflow (mesh front panel) that fits your graphics card's length.
- A CPU cooler: the Ryzen 5 7600X and 9600X work with a good air cooler; the 9800X3D is easy to cool with a mid-range air cooler too.
- Windows, if you don't already have a licence.
Budget roughly $250 to $450 for these, depending on the build.
Compatibility checklist
- Socket: AM5 processors need an AM5 motherboard (B650, B850, X870).
- Memory: AM5 boards take DDR5 only. DDR5-6000 is the sweet spot for Ryzen.
- Size: a Micro-ATX motherboard fits most cases; check the graphics card's length against the case.
- BIOS: an older board may need a BIOS update for the newest processors. Most current boards ship ready.
PCPartPicker's Australian site is useful to double-check compatibility.
Where to buy
Buying each part at its cheapest store is what the totals above assume. If you'd rather buy everything in one place, see which PC store is cheapest most often. For choosing the graphics card itself, read the graphics card buying guide.
