I tested $200-ish GPUs from Nvidia, AMD, and Intel—but no matter who wins, budget gamers lose

This is a good run through

https://www.tomshardware.com/pc-components/cpus/amd-ryzen-7-8700g-cpu-review/3

It's targeting performance benchmarks for the 8700G at 1080p and getting decent FPS

RAM speed really matters as it's also your GPU memory. So low clock RAM will kill GFX performance.

If you're really budget conscious TDP at 65W for the CPU and GFX is a major win over any other setup.

I know someone who went the 5700G route a few years ago and was pretty happy.

But my budget setup:

USB-C dock for my steam deck. One device for desktop, TV, and handheld.

As the amount of time I've got to spend on games has gone down, I've got too many great games to get through on the steam deck already and I lean towards indie titles.

During the summer running a heater as a GPU either makes the room unpleasant or has additional air con load.

Honestly each Playstation generation has ended up sub 250W power consumption at launch with sub 400W rated PSUs. They kick out enough heat.

A build with a 1000W PSU or 1200W PSU is a red flag for me.

I get the desire to get the best possible performance but at some point it's really not worth it. It's a space heater, and one too powerful to leave on even in the winter.