Building a gaming PC for Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty

The Ryzen 5 7600 is a 6-core mid-range processor built on the progressive Zen 4 architecture(codenamed Raphael, 5 nm) with support for multi-threaded processing, double the L3 cache and the ability to automatically overclock to 5.1 MHz. The 7000 series of Ryzen processors took a big step forward in both the introduction of new technologies and in terms of single-core or gaming performance.

The junior Ryzen 5 7600 is rightly called in many reviews an ideal tester of the new platform, which looks especially interesting as the brain of a gaming PC. In various tests, depending on the specific game, resolution and graphics settings, the Ryzen 5 7600X provides a performance increase of 30 to 50% compared to its predecessor Ryzen 5 5600G. True, it costs noticeably more, so you will have to overpay slightly for the future.

Power consumption and temperature conditions deserve a separate discussion. The fact is that the Ryzen 7000 series chips turned out to be not only damn powerful, but also hot. During the first tests, many gamers shied away from looking at the thermometer and ran to the store for dropsy. As AMD assured, a temperature of 95 °C for the Ryzen 7000 is the norm; all processors will increase frequencies if necessary, remaining within this same 95 °C, regardless of the CO used.

If this confuses you, then AMD has provided a few tricks. For example, Eco Mode, in which the processor lowers the TDP limit to 65 W, looks like sheer sacrilege on paper. But in reality, it degrades performance by no more than 4%, at the cost of a temperature drop of 8–15 °C. In parallel, you can play with the PBO2 mode, which, with some luck, can simultaneously reduce the average temperature, while at the same time slightly increasing the overall system performance.

The Gigabyte B650 GAMING X AX is a full-size ATX motherboard for AMD Ryzen 7000 series processors and beyond. The model belongs to the middle level and is based on the B650 chipset. This is a very productive system logic, which is inferior to the flagship X670 chip only in terms of the number of ports and PCI-E interface lines.

The motherboard from Gigabyte fully supports processor overclocking, can work with DDR5 memory with a maximum clock frequency of 8000 MHz (up to 192 GB of RAM can be installed in four DIMM slots), and an eleven-phase VRM (8+2+1 scheme) with aluminium radiators can easily handle even the 16-core Ryzen 9 7900. All key areas, including VRM and M.2 ports, are equipped with additional cooling.

The slot layout includes three PCI-E x16 slots (one of them operates in PCI-E 4.0 mode), three M.2 connectors for high-speed NVMe SSD drives (all three PCI-E 4.0 classes) and four SATA3 ports with a bandwidth of 6 Gbit/s for standard HDD and SSD drives. For network connection, there is both a LAN (RJ-45) port with a bandwidth of 2.5 GB/s and a built-in wireless module with support for Wi-Fi 6E.

Overall, Gigabyte has produced a well-balanced motherboard with socket AM5, the only drawback of which is the rather high cost of around $250. But there’s nothing you can do about it, components for the Ryzen 7000 are not yet planning to become cheaper, and the $125 motherboards promised by AMD remain promises for now.

Literally in any top video cards today they advise taking a GeForce RTX 4070 with 12 GB of memory and not worrying about it. We offer a less obvious, but no less interesting option in the form of the Radeon 6800. Both cards provide plus or minus the same performance (note: the difference is usually no more than 5%), while the RX 6800 can now be found for quite adequate 400 – 450 Euros, while the price of the RTX 4070 does not fall below 600 Euros. Whether to overpay 150 Euros for ray tracing and DLSS 3.0 is something for everyone to decide for themselves. At the same time, remember that AMD has FSR 3.0 on the way, which promises to be closer in quality to DLSS and 4 additional GB of video memory.

Radeon RX 6800 is suitable for 2K, where it can fit into any requirements. Well, the presence of 16 GB of video memory with a wider 256-bit bus will be a pleasant bonus in the future. In principle, in some games, better memory is already evident now, when both cards show plus or minus framerate, but the RTX 4070 needs more time to update frames, which is why the average FPS drops more, and the game barely noticeably stutters due to Which is why 80 FPS doesn't feel as smooth as it should.

The RX 6800 modification from XFX is part of the utilitarian Swift series with an emphasis on power system performance, efficient cooling and overclocking capabilities. It is equipped with three opaque fans without backlight, the length of the printed circuit board is 34 cm (height 2.5 slots), which is significantly larger than the reference version from AMD. This should be taken into account when assembling a compact Mini-ITX computer, while owners of average Midi Tower cases need not worry. Plus, the card overclocks perfectly using the most common Rage Mode in the AMD Radeon Adrenalin settings. With proper luck and the ability to manually overclock, the original characteristics can be raised to the level of the older RX 6800 XT and 6900XT.

For an optimal gaming PC, you shouldn't skimp on RAM. Even if right now DDR5 does not provide significant acceleration in games compared to DDR4, you can’t argue with physics, and even the most ordinary G.Skill Ripjaws S5 kit with not the highest frequencies of 5200 MHz will work significantly faster in the future. Well, the total volume of 32 GB will be enough for years to come for both games and professional work.

The manufacturer guarantees high performance and stability provided that compatible motherboards supporting DDR5 and XMP 3.0 standards are used. Using XMP and increasing the voltage, the base frequency can be raised by one or several levels (note: we got 5600 MHz), levels included with more expensive and faster RAM sets. Compared to DDR4, the fifth generation G.Skill Ripjaws S5 modules have higher data transfer speeds, lower power consumption and higher bandwidth.

The updated Ripjaws S5 series pleases not only with improved technical characteristics, but also with a fresh, attractive design. As part of the relaunch, Taiwanese designers completely redesigned the radiator, using a minimalist dark blue or white metal plate with neat perforations and a brand logo for cooling. It is important that the height of the radiator is limited to 33 mm, which minimizes any conflicts when installing massive video cards and cooling systems.

Let me remind you that the HyperX brand has come under the wing of HP, and now Kingston has decided to use the Fury brand for its advanced products, which is familiar to us from its memory series and “gaming” SSDs. In fact, the Fury Renegade SFYRS model is a slightly modified modification of the popular Kingston KC3000 SSD with an improved SLC cache mechanism, increased linear read speed to 7300 MB/s and a slightly more serious MTBF.

The main reason for the success of the original KC3000 was the use of the first mainstream platform with support for the PCI Express 4.0 bus, Phison PS5018-E18. The controller stands out due to its high linear read and write speeds (approx: 7300 and 7000 MB/s, respectively), as well as high IOPS, which can reach up to 1 million I/O operations per second. Without further modesty, this is one of the fastest PCI-E 4.0 class SSDs that we have come across. Moreover, this speed is available to all solutions in the line, including junior drives with 500 GB of memory, so if 2 TB of memory seems like too much to you, you can always choose a less capacious drive of 1 TB or 500 GB.

One of the signature features of the Fury Renegade is its unusual low-profile graphene and aluminium heat spreader with the signature Fury pattern. When actively used during games, it confidently maintains low temperatures and does not suffer from drawdowns associated with overheating. In stress tests when transferring a large number of files, the temperature may briefly rise to 85 ° C, however, again, this is just a stress test, in real-world use cases we did not notice any overheating.

The Chinese brand Deepcool has been on a roll lately - literally over the last 2 years they have released a pack of quite interesting cooling systems, power supplies and computer cases, which have firmly established themselves in the top sales, ahead of the products of more famous and well-known brands. The Deepcool CC560 case is no exception - it is a relatively inexpensive Midi Tower chassis, which has everything for assembling gaming and work systems of all levels. In particular, it looks great, is equipped with four case turntables, simple mounts and dust filters, and even the largest components like the monstrous GeForce RTX 4090 video card will fit inside it.

The front panel of the Deepcool CC560 is attached to the body using magnets; a dust filter and a trio of front turntables are hidden right behind it. Both the front and rear panels are perforated as much as possible so that all 4 pre-installed fans can properly disperse hot air. The dust filter is easily removed using a special latch. The right side panel is made of transparent tempered glass, through which, as planned by the manufacturer, the case illumination will be clearly visible. We tested the snow-white version of the Deepcool CC560, but if you are more into the classics, then the classic black version is probably more suitable for you.

In modern Mid Tower cases, the internal volume is often divided into two zones: the main one and the zone intended for the power supply and storage devices, which is separated from the main one by a metal casing. Inside the Deepcool CC560 you can install motherboards of E-ATX, ATX, Micro-ATX and mini-ITX form factors, as well as video cards up to 380 mm long and tower coolers up to 163 mm high. It is especially convenient that there is a height-adjustable support for video cards with an insulated holder, which ensures reliable fixation and prevents the card from sagging. The slot for the power supply is designed for standard ATX models, but if desired, the user can remove the drive cage and place a larger power supply. Interestingly, despite all the compliments, we did not find any reasons for criticism. Therefore, its presence in the top sales does not raise any questions.

Gigabyte UD750GM is an advanced medium-power computer power supply (750 W) with a modular cable system, 90 percent efficiency and an 80+ Gold quality certificate. The latter guarantees that the processor, video card and other components will be provided with high-quality power supply, with extremely accurate current and voltage and minimal noise levels. Part of Gigabyte's 2022 Ultra Durable lineup, it's designed for professional gamers and overclockers, as well as anyone looking to incorporate next-generation high-performance graphics cards into their system.

The converter's electrical circuit uses reliable and durable Japanese-made solid-state capacitors that can withstand heat up to 105 °C. The main 12-volt line is capable of providing almost 100% of the total power of the device. The list of main interfaces includes two connectors for powering the central microprocessor - a similar double connector is used to connect the most powerful user CPUs from the Intel Core i9 and AMD Ryzen series. Additionally, there are 4 PCI-E connectors (6+2), which allows you to provide auxiliary power to several fairly powerful video cards at once.

All wiring uses a modular connection system, so unused cable noodles can be disconnected and stored out of sight. The 120mm fan on a hydrodynamic bearing turns on only when the load increases above 20%; the rest of the time the power supply operates silently. In addition, the Gigabyte Ultra Durable UD750GM provides increased levels of protection for your system, including overload, short circuit and overvoltage protection, ensuring the safety and long life of your computer. The official warranty is 5 years.

Xilence M705D is a single-tower and dual-fan cooler with a 220 W heat sink. Models with a TDP over 200 W are usually called super coolers. It weighs almost 700 g, which is explained by thick fins and five heat pipes. The tubes make direct contact, but they are perfectly aligned and ground, so there is no need for a distribution plate.

A pair of supplied fans with a diameter of 12 cm rotates at speeds from 700 to 1600 rpm. Don't forget to include a Y-splitter to connect two fans to one PWM connector on the motherboard. The bearing is made using FDB (Fluid Dynamic Bearing) technology, that is, the most durable hydro-dynamic.

If you have a moderately hot processor, you can set the two fans to a constant low speed. Thanks to this, the computer will become almost silent. Or install one of the turntables as a cabinet to blow hot air out. Or use only one fan, and after a few years replace it with a spare one.