If you’re building a gaming PC in 2026 (or you’re waiting for pricing to calm down), this video is my walkthrough of the CPU + GPU combos that actually make sense right now. I tested 11 different pairings across modern AAA games at 1080p, 1440p, and 4K, and I’m not just looking at raw FPS—I’m looking at value, where bottlenecks show up, and how current street pricing compares to MSRP. With the market still dealing with a memory shortage (and Nvidia feeling it harder thanks to GDDR7 and AI demand), you’ve got to be smart about what you buy and what you avoid. On the budget end, I included a “please don’t buy this” context combo: Ryzen 5 5500 + RTX 5050. It’s playable 1080p and gets you DLSS/frame gen, but it’s not the value king. From there, I get into the RX 9060 XT situation—yes, I originally said the 8GB model was a waste at MSRP, but pricing has shifted, and the 8GB card can make sense if the gap to 16GB has blown out. For the sweet spot, RTX 5070 + Ryzen 5 9600X is a killer all-rounder for 1440p with Nvidia features and AM5 upgrade paths. My favorite overall is RX 9070 XT + Ryzen 7 7800X3D: huge gaming performance, especially at 1080p where X3D chips really flex, without the eye-watering pricing of the RTX 5080/5090 tier.