What changed in 2026
Since late 2025, memory makers have been diverting capacity to AI chips. At the till that means RAM, SSDs and graphics cards — everything with memory inside it — cost several times what they cost a year ago. Processors, boards, power supplies and cases have barely moved.
This guide was written in May 2026 around a build that assumed a 16 GB DDR5 kit at 2025 prices. That kit now costs more than four times as much, and the whole list has drifted 40% past its budget. Refreshing the prices and keeping the headline would have been lying with up-to-date numbers, so the premise is what changed.
| Part | Late 2025 | August 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| 32 GB DDR5 kit | $110 | $392 |
| 16 GB DDR5 kit | $55 | $250 |
| 1 TB NVMe SSD | $45 | $95 |
| Board, PSU and case | — | unchanged |
The build: $933, buildable today
The move is not to buy DDR5. An AM4 platform on DDR4 leaves the budget where it is needed — on the graphics card — and it is the difference between building a PC this month and not building one.
| Part | Price | Look |
|---|---|---|
Processor AMD Ryzen 5 5600X Six cores on AM4. Not new, but the cheap way onto a platform that takes DDR4, and that is where the saving is. | $129 | PRICE |
Motherboard B550 micro-ATX Any B550 with decent VRMs will do. Brand-name boards drop below this figure when they go on sale. | $90 | PRICE |
Memory 16 GB DDR4-3600 (2×8) This is the decision that saves the budget: a 16 GB DDR4 kit costs about half what the same capacity costs in DDR5. | $130 | PRICE |
Graphics Intel Arc B580 12 GB 12 GB of VRAM for less than 8 GB cards are asking today. It too sits above its launch price, like everything with memory on it. | $369 | PRICE |
Storage 1 TB Gen4 NVMe SSD It cost around $45 in late 2025. The NAND shortage is the same one as the RAM shortage, and for the same reason. | $95 | PRICE |
PSU 650 W 80+ Bronze No memory inside, no price rise. Known brand, 80+ Bronze at minimum. | $60 | PRICE |
Case ATX mid-tower Airflow over tempered glass. This has not risen either. | $60 | PRICE |
| Total | $933 |
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What the same PC costs on DDR5
The modern version of the same build — Ryzen 5 7600 on AM5, 16 GB of DDR5 and an RTX 5060 — comes to $1223. That is $290 more for a machine that does not deliver proportionally more at 1080p: most of the difference goes to the memory, not to the performance.
It is worth it if you plan to add memory or change processor within two years, because AM4 gets no new parts. If the machine is for playing games and nothing else, today it is not.
Expected performance
Figures from the same engine the calculator uses, for the Ryzen 5 5600X with the Arc B580 and 16 GB. These estimate native rendering at high quality with no upscaling: turn XeSS or FSR on and the AAA numbers climb appreciably.
This machine is limited by the graphics card, which is normal and correct on a tight budget: it means you are not paying for a processor that sits waiting. You can check it yourself in the comparison for this pairing.
Mistakes to avoid this year
- Buying a single stick of RAM: With memory this expensive the temptation is to buy one stick and add the second later. In some games that costs 15 to 25% of your frame rate, because you lose dual channel. Buy two sticks, smaller ones if you must.
- Skimping on the PSU: A cheap power supply can take the rest of the machine with it, and the rest of the machine currently costs twice what it did a year ago. Known brand, 80+ Bronze at minimum.
- Spending it all on the graphics card: Pairing an expensive card with a cheap processor leaves the expensive part waiting for instructions. Our optimizer splits the budget for you.
- Trusting prices from an old guide: This very page said in May that 1 TB SSDs were available under $60. That is false today. With memory moving like this, any parts list without a date beside it is waste paper.
- Forgetting cooling: The Ryzen 5 5600X ships with a cooler and it is enough for gaming. A $25-$35 tower like the DeepCool AK400 lowers temperature and noise if the stock one bothers you.
Check Your Own Configuration
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