This RTX 4060 Ti gaming PC might be the DDR5 upgrade you've been putting off
Nov. 19, 2024Treat yourself - it’s only Black Friday once a year…
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A little birdie tells me that you play your games on a PC - neat. I feel your pain, though. You put a lot of time and effort into affording your current rig which you bought during the pandemic days, right before DDR5 became the desired norm. Understandably, you’ve been putting off the switch to a DDR5-ready powerhouse for the last few years because it requires a whole new motherboard, and your current build can still play most of the games you want it to.
But it’s late November now, which means that Black Friday prices are rolling in, and the jump to DDR5 is more affordable than it’s ever been. If any of this sounds applicable to you and your gaming setup, I’m duty-bound to tell you that Newegg’s ABS Cyclone Aqua PC might be the perfect solution to your problems. Packed with an RTX 4060 Ti graphics card and an Intel Core i7-14700F, this versatile PC has been reduceddown to $1,199.
I actually just reviewed a gaming PC with this GPU/CPU combo, and I can tell you it’s surprisingly powerful, and will almost certainly let you feel a substantial performance bump if you’ve been locked to older components until now. The iBUYPOWER build I tested was already priced fairly at $1,299, butBlack Friday gaming PC dealshave brought this $100 cheaper. Not only that, but you get 32GB of DDR5 for your troubles.
ABS Cyclone Aqua Gaming PC|$1,799.99$1,199.99 at NeweggSave $600- This rig is also available for slightly cheaper if you opt for a 13th Gen Intel Core i7 instead of the more recent 14th gen version. If you’re on a budget, that’s great, but for only $50 more, I’d highly recommend shooting for this version.
Specs:Intel Core i7-14700F, Nvidia RTX 4060 Ti, 1TB SSD, 32GB of DDR5
Buy it if:
✅ You want a great CPU/GPU combination✅ You want DDR5 RAM✅ You’re okay with air cooling
Don’t buy it if:
❌ You want an even beefier GPU
But why this rig in particular? Well, I believe it’s a versatile and futureproofed configuration that will keep you satisfied for years to come, especially since this is likely the 14th Generation of Intel processors will likely be the last to be made for the LGA1700 motherboard socket. SImply put, you won’t need to upgrade it for years, and if you do, there are i9 options in that group to aim toward. Similarly, theNvidia GeForce 4060 Tiis a great graphics card that can service all three major resolutions. Depending on the display you play on, this graphics card and CPU combo will actually give you a noticeable boost without you overspending into the high-end 4K territories.
It’ll really depend on what specs your currently rocking right now, but I think for most players on a DDR4 motherboard, this configuration is going to give you decent a decent performance-per-dollar.
Should you buy a DDR5 gaming PC this Black Friday?
Thebest gaming PCsalways get more affordable at this time of year, and so do their internal components. So what makes this a good year in particular to upgrade to a DDR5-compatible motherboard? Well, since the latest generation ofRAM for gamingarrived on the scene, we’ve now had the Intel 12th, 13th, and 14th generation of processors. We’ve also had the Arrow Lake wave arrive more recently, but that requires anevennewer motherboard, so let’s not go there right now.
On theAMDside, we’ve had the Ryzen 7000 family, the Ryzen 8000G wave, and the latest Ryzen 9000 Series. All of these are DDR5-compatible, and with a total of six CPU batches ready to be slotted into place, they’ve all become beautifully affordable compared to when DDR5 memory first arrived.
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Of course, you could assemble the parts you want and build a machine yourself, and if you currently own a gaming PC with one of thebest graphics cardsin it, that might be the way to get the best value. Building isn’t for everyone though, and that’s okay. If that does sound like a better fit for you, check out the components in the window below.
Shopping around for more gaming hardware this month? Check outBlack Friday gaming chair deals,Black Friday VR headset deals, andBlack Friday CPU deals.
One of my earliest memories is playing SuperMario64 and wondering why the controller I held had three grips, but I only had two hands. Ever since I’ve been in love with video games and their technology. After graduating from Edinburgh Napier University with a degree in Journalism, I contributed to the Scottish Games Network and completed an Editorial Internship at Expert Reviews. Over the last decade, I’ve been managing my ownYouTube channelabout my love of games too. These days, I’m one of the resident hardware nerds at GamesRadar+, and I take the lead on our coverage of gaming PCs, VR, controllers, gaming chairs, and content creation gear. Now, I better stop myself here before I get talking about my favourite games like HUNT: Showdown, Dishonored, and Towerfall Ascension.Location: UK Remote
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