You can build an extremely capable gaming PC for under $1000. Using all new parts at this price point is a cakewalk.
I have been in IT for a few years. But before pursuing this as a career, I was a gaming PC builder. I even began a venture where I built PCs for my clients.
What you want to play will change the price since the hardware you need may vary. But I will show you what it takes to build a PC and a build under $1000 that will be worth it for whatever you want to use it for!
Contents
Key Takeaways
- The most critical gaming PC parts are the GPU, CPU, and RAM.
- Future-proofing your PC with better parts now will keep you from spending money on upgrades.
- Gaming becomes more hardware and software intensive as time goes on and games advance.
Crucial PC Parts for a Decent Gaming Experience
While every part of a PC is integral to its functioning properly, the parts you want to focus on for performance are the graphics card, RAM, and CPU. About 30-50% of your budget should be allocated just for the Graphics card if constraints allow.
Go through the list below when purchasing your PC parts to ensure you have everything you need.
CPU
The CPU is the defacto brain of your entire PC. When it comes to gaming, the CPU handles a lot, including the draw distances, and the NPCs that you can see. Outside of gaming, the CPU handles the bulk of the processes that the computer takes to make sure that it runs.
Mid Range CPU prices are about $125-$300.
GPU
GPU stands for Graphics Processing Unit. The GPU is what processes the visuals and is responsible for the video output. Without the GPU, we would be greeted with a blank screen on every boot-up.
The GPU works together with your CPU to net you the gaming performance the two can muster. Your frame rate depends on these two parts, mostly.
It is important to make sure that your GPU and CPU are close in performance. This needs to be done to avoid a system bottleneck. So purchasing an expensive graphics card, in hopes that it will get you more frames, but your CPU is left in the dust, will bottleneck the system.
GPU prices can vary greatly. Some of the mid-range ones cost about $250-$500.
RAM
RAM stands for random-accessed memory and is a key component in making your computer function.
RAM is the memory of your device. As a rule of thumb, most recent titles use almost 8 to 12GB of RAM just to run, so going for 16GB or even more will give you some more headroom for background tasks (such as streaming).
RAM is where all our applications store and access data on a short-term basis. Along with your game, applications include Google Chrome, Itunes, your mail app, etc. This means the more applications you use at once, the more RAM your PC will use.
16GB of RAM can cost anywhere between $45-$150.
Motherboard
The Motherboard is the hub for all of your PC parts. It handles power distribution and allows all the components that make up the computer to communicate with one another.
When purchasing your motherboard, you must make sure you buy one compatible with the CPU you are getting. Whether it be Intel or AMD, you need to ensure they will work together.
Motherboards can cost between $80-$300.
Storage
The storage is where everything is stored on your computer. This includes things like your Operating System, your files, documents, games, etc., etc.
1TB of storage space is absolutely essential, games can take up a surprising amount of space so making sure you have at least 1 terabyte to work with, will save you in the long run.
Motherboards do come with multiple SATA ports so it is not as though once you run out of space, you are out of luck. You can always add another SSD to your PC.
You can purchase an SSD for $50-$150.
PSU
The PSU or Power Supply Unit is what brings power to all of your components. These are one of the cheaper components of your PC. This is one that you don’t want to skimp out on since a bad PSU could result in short circuits that could damage components, or worse, cause a fire.
Always go with a power supply that is certified, and gold or bronze rated. PSUs typically cost between $40-$100.
Operating System
The Operating System is the final thing we will need to purchase, besides peripherals. For gaming, Windows is the tried and true OS that I would highly recommend as well. The price can vary between $80 and $100.
Peripherals
You will need to purchase things like a mouse, keyboard, and monitor if you have not already. Keep in mind that I did not include these in the price of the gaming PC.
A Gaming PC under $1000
I put together a great gaming PC that will cost less than $1000. All with parts that will last you at least a few more years without you having to worry at all about upgrading. It will be a future-proofed gaming powerhouse.
You can view the PC I have put together here. All the pieces work together harmoniously to give you amazing gaming performance in the highest settings. Starting with the Ray Tracing and DLSS-capable GPU, the RTX 3060.
The AMD Ryzen 5 5600 is an excellent price-to-performance CPU that pairs exquisitely with our GPU.
The CPU and motherboard can support up to 3200mhz memory speed. So that is exactly what we are getting with the 16 GB of Corsair Vengeance RAM.
The gaming performance that this PC should get on the most popular triple-A titles can be seen below!
Final Thoughts
Building a PC can be a fun and rewarding process, and keeping it below $1000 is an easy shopping experience. You can go ahead and purchase the PC Part Picker list I assembled or build up your own. Either way, you can make a great gaming PC for under $1000.
