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Looking to build a brand new powerful PC under $1000?
In this guide I will break down my suggestions for two PC builds – one powered by Intel and the other powered by AMD. My goal here is to squeeze as much performance out of a budget of $1000 with little need for improvement.
That means, the focus of both of these builds is to see how much combined CPU and GPU horsepower can I fit for an entire PC that costs under $1000.
Best IntelGaming PC Build under $1000
- CPU – Intel Core i5 13500
- Motherboard – Gigabyte B760M DS3H DDR4
- RAM – Corsair Vengeance LPX 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3600 CL18
- SSD – Crucial P3 Plus 1 TB
- Graphics Card – XFX Speedster SWFT 319 Radeon RX 6800
- Power Supply – MSI MPG A650GF 650 W 80+ Gold Certified
- PC Case – Montech AIR 903 MAX
With the 12th and 13th gen lineup, Intel made a massive comeback against AMD and now there are a lot of great CPUs to choose from. On a single socket, Intel has a CPU for any workload. For gaming, any Core i5 CPU will be just right thanks to their 6 P-cores with really strong IPC. With that said, I feel like I may be criticized for my choice, but after seeing all the possible options, I eventually settled on the Intel Core i5 13500, which is perhaps the fastest locked i5.
Now I know what you’re thinking, why not get the i5 12400F, cash the difference, and call it a day?
The reason for that is if you are building a PC with a budget strictly under $1000, you should be investing in the most powerful CPU that would fit in that budget.
The i5 13500 has some of the strongest single-threaded performance which is great for gaming and it has flagship level multithreaded performance and a powerful iGPU for productivity apps. With 6 P-cores and 8 E-cores, the 13500 will stay relevant for many years; in terms of specs and performance, it is basically a locked 13600K which means that you will see a significant jump in gaming performance and a massive jump in productivity performance from the 12400F. The 13500 is really power efficient as well and can be cooled with the included stock cooler which saves us at least $30.
If you’re at all worried about gaming performance, that’s going to be taken care of by the GPU which is the RX 6800. The XFX Speedster SWFT 319 Radeon RX 6800 is still the best-value 1440p GPU. It’s also one of the most affordable GPUs with a 16 GB VRAM buffer which grants it the ability to play many games even in 4K without running out of memory. I find it hard to pick any other card over this because it’s priced like a mid-range GPU but has flagship level gaming performance.
Because this GPU has 16 GB of VRAM, it won’t need to offload data into the system RAM so I was able to get away with a 16 GB kit of RAM. I chose the Corsair Vengeance LPX DDR4-3600 CL18 kit but you can go with pretty much any fast RAM kit. RAM is also the easiest component to upgrade down the line, just make sure it’s at least 3600 MHz.
Now, you must’ve noticed that I chose a DDR4 RAM kit and that means this PC needs a DDR4 motherboard. Although I typically recommend trying to go with DDR5 for a brand new PC build once the budget crosses $900, DDR4 is still a perfectly viable option. It helps save a lot of money on both the RAM and the motherboard which is why for the board I went with Gigabyte’s B760M DS3H DDR4.
The DS3H isn’t a very feature-rich board, yet I still applaud Gigabyte because while the rear I/O is really simple, it is enough to cover the basics with some additional quirks like a USB type-C port, and a 2.5 gigabit ethernet port – two things that are usually missing from budget motherboards. The VRM design is a 6-phase configuration which is enough for all locked Intel CPUs even up to an i9 14900, and for storage, it can handle 2 PCIe 4.0 M.2 SSDs and 4 SATA 3 devices. All in all, for under $100, this is certainly the best Intel 13th-gen motherboard.
Moving on to the storage, I wanted the fastest 1 TB SSD that I could fit in a tight budget. The Crucial P3 Plus is the exact SSD I needed since it runs at PCIe 4.0 x4 speeds while being the most affordable 1 TB option.
Given the extreme value offered by all the parts of this system, it’s only fitting that the PC case also offers phenomenal value. To house all of the components I went with my favorite budget case of the year – the Montech AIR 903 MAX. Airflow on this case is insanely good since it comes with 4 pre-installed 140 mm fans and the 903 MAX also has deep indents at the back with plenty of room for cable management. The only complaint I have with this case, is that the side panels can fall down easily when you unscrew them so be careful when building in this case. Other than that, it’s a fantastic case that makes it hard to beat. You can fit pretty much any GPU and any AIO cooler with no clearance issues.
Lastly, the best part about this entire build is that it is very efficient and would only consume about 250 watts of power which grants me the ability to fit pretty much any PSU as long as it’s at least a 500 Watt Bronze unit. I, however, went with the MSI MPG A650GF as it is a budget 650 Watt Gold-rated PSU.
In conclusion, if you have a restrictive budget of $1000 and you want to get the absolute best Intel-based gaming PC, then you simply can’t go wrong with an i5 13500 paired with an RX 6800. It isn’t just a gaming PC; it is also extremely capable as a 4K video editing workstation for those who want the best performance at the lowest possible budget.
Best AMD Gaming PC Build Under $1000
- CPU – AMD Ryzen 5 5700X
- Motherboard – MSI B550-A PRO
- RAM – TEAMGROUP T-Force Vulcan Z 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR4-3600 CL18
- CPU Cooler – Cooler Master Hyper 212 Black Edition
- SSD – Crucial P3 Plus 1 TB
- Graphics Card – XFX Speedster SWFT 319 Radeon RX 6800
- Power Supply – Corsair RM650 (2023)
- PC Case – Montech AIR 903 MAX
Whenever there is a budget PC build, AMD immediately comes to mind. The AM4 platform has been replaced by AM5, but it keeps beeing the most value oriented platform.
Starting with the CPU, I went with the Ryzen 7 5700X. Initially, I was conflicted between this and the Ryzen 5 5600. Both of these offer almost the same gaming performance, but the price difference between them is not a lot.
For the extra cash, the 5700X has 2 additional cores that will definitely come in handy in CPU-heavy scenarios. As games progress to consume more cores and threads, the 5700X will be able to last much longer than the 5600. Other than that, the 16 threads of this CPU are also perfect for building a budget workstation.
The only caveat is that the 5700X doesn’t come with a CPU cooler included in the box, so for that, I went with the Cooler Master Hyper 212 Black Edition. The Hyper 212 needs no introduction as it is the most legendary air cooler to have ever existed (and that’s not an exaggeration).
Cooler Master has revised the 212 with a much nicer fan and an all-black design while keeping the same incredibly low price which made it the easiest component I had to pick for this PC.
Unlike the air cooler, it’s tough choosing an AM4 motherboard and it’s easy to get overwhelmed with so many choices. My goal is on getting the best bang-for-buck motherboard since our entire focus is max CPU and GPU performance. Luckily, the MSI B550-A PRO fits the bill as it’s a well-featured B550 motherboard at a really low cost. In fact, it competes with A520 and B450 boards in terms of price, while supporting more CPUs and offering far more features than them. It has a good 8-phase VRM configuration and a nice set of rear I/O which means that you can upgrade to a 5800X3D or even a 5950X if you’d like.
With the CPU, motherboard, and air cooler taken care of, I realized that there’s still enough room in the budget to squeeze in a 32 GB kit of RAM by TEAMGROUP. I opted for their T-Force Vulcan Z kit, which consists of 2 16 GB DDR4 sticks. And since Ryzen CPUs love RAM speed, this one clocks in at 3600 MHz at CL18 – perfect for gaming and productivity. To complement the RAM, I needed a fast and spacious SSD so I went with the Crucial P3 Plus 1 TB which is the most affordable PCIe 4.0 x4 M.2 SSD.
Like most of my budget builds, the case for this PC is also the Montech AIR 903 MAX. Montech’s motto is “The Best Value” which rings true here as the 903 makes it simply impossible for me to pick any other case for budget builds. It comes equipped with 4 pre-installed 140 mm fans, ensuring near-perfect unrestricted airflow which rivals cases twice its price, such as the evergreen Lian Li 216. The only other case this good is also ironically from Montech which is the AIR 903 BASE. Given how negligible the difference is between their prices, simply go with the MAX.
Lastly, for the GPU I went again with the XFX Speedster SWFT 319 Radeon RX 6800. There is no other GPU that offers this much bang-for-buck than the RX 6800. It has no issues playing games in 1440p at ultra settings. With a 16 GB VRAM buffer, it has easily outlasted all of its competitors like the RTX 3070 and 3070 Ti that are now struggling even in 1080p due to their 8 GB of VRAM.
The RX 6800 is also extremely power efficient and stays under 200 Watts even under a full load. This is why for the PSU, I went with the Corsair RM650 which is not going to have any issues powering this build. It’s a power efficient Gold-rated PSU that will stay silent during gaming and has plenty of room for even more powerful components than the 5700X and RX 6800.
All in all, AM4 keeps on offering exceptionally good value no matter what type of a PC you’re looking for. If your budget is restricted to $1000, then a 5700X and an RX 6800 offer the most bang for your buck. Even after fitting a fast 8-core CPU and great 1440p GPU, there is room to fit in top-notch components and even 32 GB of RAM which will help this gaming PC keep on running for many years into the future.
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