Best Gaming PC’s Under $1000
It’s time. You have the money and the desire to finally join the PC Gaming community or perhaps rejoin after years of watching an old machine slug along. And suddenly you are blasted by thousands of options and little explanation. We created this guide for you, to help those who love PC’s or are interested in PC’s pick the best rig for them without spending hours learning new things. Perhaps you will want to build a PC yourself, we even have that covered here. If you aren’t swimming in thousands but want to get your AAA combat skills going and see how PC graphics kick consoles in the teeth, there are some great options. We also have a technical guide as well to help you understand some important things about buying a computer as well.
To build or not to build
There are a variety of arguments for buying a PC without building it but ultimately it’s hard to say the “best” value is ever buying a PC. The truth is building your own PC is 99% of the time the best value. The parts can be picked up cheaper, you don’t risk the manufacturer doing strange things to bottleneck your build. I could go on. That being said, some of us aren’t technically minded or really want our machine to have that sleek, professional wiring setup inside that screams gaming battle station.
Buying one may cost a little more but it is easier. It’s a simple solution and rather than give you products filled with bloatware and bad design, we’ve gone ahead and reviewed the best PC setups for under $1000. We’ve given some tips on what makes a good custom build though and think you’ll do fine!
Note: Sometimes these desktops are on sale or the price fluctuates so make sure to double-check and we apologize if any have sky-rocketed past $1000 making you sad. We promise if you bought it though, you wouldn’t be sad.
THE $700 OPTION – SKYTECH CUSTOM BUILD
SkyTech - Gaming Desktop PC - AMD Ryzen 5 2600 (6-Core, 3.40 GHz), AMD Radeon RX 580 4 GB, 8...
The Build
Ryzen 5 2600
Radeon RX 580
8GB DDR4
500 GB SSD
Wi-Fi
Windows 10
Our Take
To be honest, you’ll have to compromise even at $700. The minimum for a future-proofed gaming machine is usually around $800 but there is good news. Desktop PC’s can be upgraded. Often that means the best thing to focus on is parts that aren’t going to be causing a whole system reset (Such as buying DDR3 RAM, or an old CPU) and then saving up to put that powerful sick part in and watch it soar when money is more freely available.
SkyTech has made a really powerful build with a sick case and even Wi-Fi at a very affordable price. Some of these parts are from yesteryear (The Radeon RX 580 being a competitor with the GTX 1060) but they’ll do the job. You’ll play today’s AAA games at roughly 60 fps and with a small graphical adjustment burst past that. This probably the best you’ll do. I know because I spent countless hours looking at builds to check off a few personal things that I know you’ll want such as a real SSD (Getting a small one is practically useless). This if anything, is an EXCELLENT base that can be upgraded in the future. It’s actually a really great machine and surprisingly comes with things like Windows as well which saves even more cash.
The Cheapest we can recommend is around this range. If you want to buy a computer and spend less than $700, your simply not going to get something good. At this range we already have to make several sacrifices that just a bit more would make tolerable. It’s far better to spend more and have something last than waste money trying to be cheap. If you expect to use this computer for hundreds of hours, go mow a freaking lawn or something if it’ll give you some more cash.
back to menu ↑THE $899 LEVEL – HP OMEN 25L GAMING DESKTOP
HP OMEN 25L Gaming Desktop - Intel Core i5-10400F, 8 GB DDR4, 512 GB PCIe SSD, GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER,...
The Build
I5 10400F
Geforce GTX 1660 Super
512 SSD PCIe
Windows 10
8GB DDR
Our Thoughts
This is a modest upgrade over the SkyTech, bringing it more in line with the parts of today. The 1660 Super is good enough to dabble in 1440p gaming and the processor is good enough to remove the bottleneck that would have been encountered earlier. Basically, this is a 1080p gaming beast at a price that is kind of profoundly low. Be aware that most HP and Dell custom built PC’s save some cash by making in-house builds that may make upgrading a little more difficult. Fortunately, this model is pretty upgradable but might need a new case at some point. There aren’t a ton of fan mounts or places to pimp it out but it’ll do what you need. This will comfortably play modern AAA games above 60fps on 1080p and sometimes 1440p as well. It’ll slog in 4K but you can always take the plunge and feel sad. As far as the price goes, it’s just s smidge between acceptable and great. You can definitely build better machines for cheaper but the Omen actually has a really awesome design and isn’t too bad. I love the simplicity of the front and how it’s a tad haunting (Being named Omen and all).
THE $950 LEVEL – ABS MASTER GAMING PC
ABS Master Gaming PC - Intel i5 10400 - GeForce RTX 2060 - 16GB DDR4 - 512GB SSD
The Build
Intel i5 10400
Geforce RTX 2060
16GB DDR4
512GB SSD
Windows 10
Our Thoughts
This is the 2K dream PC under $1000. I don’t want to sound naive, running Red Dead Redemption at 1440p is probably going to be a struggle sometimes. That being said, most AAA games are going to really sing on the Mage H. It’s a really good build. The GPU is a solid current generation RTX Super meaning you actually can do some Ray-Tracing, the i5 is enough for all your gaming needs, and it nails my personal SSD and RAM preference. Now honestly, you can’t expect much more at this price point. This is probably maxing out in terms of quality. We are also hitting a unique little diminishing returns window as well. The amount of money you need to pull this system up to 4K gaming is pretty extreme for the small percentage of performance quality. An RTX 2080 is of course going to blow this away but you probably have hit the perfect balance of price and speed that someone in this price range would need or want. Paired with a 1440p G-Sync monitor, it’s going to be the Gaming Desktop you always wanted. It’s VR Capable (Really all of our picks are) but rather than just being capable, this will run games smoothly. Funnily enough, the negative reviews said it came with a mouse and keyboard and they bought one beforehand. That’s a weird complaint but be aware that sometimes these desktops come with games, peripherals, windows, and whatnot so pre-purchasing isn’t always the best. On this list, I’d have to say this is my top pick and we think you’d love it as well!
The Build Your Own Path
We are huge fans of PCpartpicker and the guides they have. They’re usually well thought out and explain the reasoning behind the build and what’s included. Truth be told, a custom-built PC can actually stay in budget and still do really well. Companies that build PC’s need to make some money off of overhead so you’ll definitely get more bang for your buck. We’ve put the best balance of features and budget into a build that we really like and suggest. Listen, as much as we’d love to rebuild the wheel, some of the best minds make a new budget version of a desktop every month and that information changes LIGHTNING quick.
My current favorite build under $1000 is basically…
512GB SSD + the best GPU possible + Ryzen 5 CPU + Loads of cheap other stuff. I literally would spend 70-80 percent of the budget on the GPU, MOBO, CPU combo since that is the meat of your system. I think the best balance of budget and power might be the RTX 2060 Super right now as it’s not much more money than the GTX 1660 Ti but really kicks up the fps.
After that I’d get the Ryzen model that doesn’t bottleneck your system (There are quite a few options and we hope to cover that in the future). And BAM. PC.
The reality is that the GPU and CPU are probably the most expensive parts, the ones we keep the longest and invest the most into, and the ones we want to maybe save up more dosh for.
Technical F.A.Q.
Please stop bragging about a PC being a Dell, HP, or specific brand
Gone are the days when the brand of a PC really mattered. Just like most companies, the budget options are often trash and the costly items are high-quality. Unlike Apple, Desktop PC’s are built most likely from parts from a variety of manufacturers and assembled and packaged by a brand name. That brand name might have good support, a unique feature or two, but your Dell PC may have the exact same things inside and out as an HP. The only difference is a few stickers and some trashy software (Known as bloatware) we can guarantee you won’t use.
How do I know which parts are the best parts?
There is far too much to learn from just this article but we at WBG has spent a long time writing up articles on the components of PC’s and will continue to do that. Ideally, we offer our recommendations but hope the technical guides are what really helps you pick the best parts for your PC. I’ll make some simple suggestions but we recommend looking for the guides on each individual component to answer those burning questions.
GPU is King, CPU is Second, RAM is simple, and an SSD tops it all off
The GPU is what affects your games. That is the driving force and while all systems need balance, this easily is the most important thing to put money into. It kicks framerates up immensely and is most often the limiting factor in a build.
CPU’s are powerful but generally do not affect graphics and framerates as they get way stronger. A CPU may have 8 cores but most games can’t take advantage of all the power. For most users, a mid-range new CPU will do the trick such as an i5 or R5/R7.
RAM is more about having multiple sticks and a good amount than RAM speed. You want to be running dual channel or higher (2 Sticks) and will get the best benefit at 16GB. More RAM after that isn’t as effective as a GPU upgrade for gaming.
SSD cut load times dramatically. Some games will run better in that assets load up into them way faster. It may cut a load time from 4 minutes to 1 minute. It’s a great upgrade but won’t boost your framerate.
Future-Proofing or how to invest in the future
The best advice you can get about purchasing a PC that you want to last is to always spend enough money to hit a future-proofed level for your components. For instance, an old HDD will be just as great as a new HDD in terms of speed, we will not see blazing fast mechanical drives in the future. Yet a GPU ages out pretty quickly at the lower-tier. There have been around 16 generations of Geforce since they hit the market in only a handful of years. Some generations have a GPU like the 970 that lasts for 3-5 years hitting that performance minimum for great gameplay. Others are basically dead on arrival. It takes a little work to understand how and what to future-proof (Which is something we’re trying to help you with!) but it is 100% worth it. Even if that means waiting a bit to buy a new rig.
The law of diminishing returns!
Ok, we don’t have a law. What I can say is this. Performance can usually be measured in price per x… whereas x may be frames, watts, or whatnot. Most parts run really really good up to a certain point such as the RTX 2060 Super. Then after this point, the price per x increases dramatically and you may find yourself paying hundreds of dollars more for a part that only improves performance 10-20 percent. This is pretty standard so many authors and youtubers online can help you find whatever series (Such as the RTX) is and when the returns start to diminish. We recommend never going for something outside the normal range (Such as moving to an i9 or Titan X) unless you need ungodly technology to remove money from your wallet or are building a work station at Pixar.
What does WBG Recommend as the minimum for future-proofing?
GPU: 1080p at above 60fps capable at advanced settings
CPU: Mid-Tier Option that is only 10 FPS or so slower than high tier CPU (Most i5 or Ryzen 5 nail this)
RAM: 2x8GB sticks
SSD: 256GB (Room for OS and one AAA game but 500GB recommended)
This setup means that you’ll probably run games REALLY smooth for the immediate future and perhaps a really intense game will need to run at Medium settings rather than Ultra but it’ll be good.
Look for Holiday Sales
We’d be lying if we didn’t say that we love it when people buy the products we select using our links. Affiliate ads keep us in business and help us to produce more content. That being said, we care more about our community than our bottom line. We are committed to giving real reviews and products that we ourselves would pick, even if that’s a bit harder. It’s very hard to pump out an article with links to all the amazing sales and discounts that go on throughout the year, but we’d be remiss if we didn’t tell you that holiday sales are the best time to buy. Keep an eye out for Black Friday, Memorial Day, and other times where inventory is being cleared. In general, late summer and early fall is a great time as new tech generally launches around that time and businesses sell what they have on hand to get the latest gear in.
Tips for setting up a new PC
Make sure you check the OS for a code
When you get a new PC you have to make sure you keep the key for the operating system. Normally a PC will use Windows 10 (Using a different version will most likely mean a forced upgrade real soon) and 64bit is best as that helps with using more RAM. Since updating to the new Windows Ecosystem, it’s had one huge frustration that people don’t realize, a hardware lock. I.E. if you swap out the main parts of your computer (Usually the motherboard), Windows won’t recognize your computer as the owner. This is done to prevent piracy but means if you ever intend to upgrade your system or make a major change, you’ll need to use your code to move it (Or sometimes talk to tech support). It’s a pain and might save you $150.
Remove Bloatware
Every system will be different but pre-made computers come with an array of “Manufacturer” software that is designed to help you but often doesn’t. These may be programs for viewing photos (Windows does a fine job), Anti-Virus that slows the computer overtime (Windows does a fine job), special printer software, and loads of weird junky programs you don’t need and especially don’t need starting up. It’s easy to search for what programs to delete by googling a specific brand or going into your task manager and searching for suspicious programs. Always confirm that it is bloatware though! Somethings have odd names in software but aren’t meant to be eliminated.
You probably don’t need a warranty
Unless you get a generous package that allows you to upgrade your PC in two-three years, a warranty is generally useless. While the odd part doesn’t work, parts often have a manufacturer guarantee well within reason. If you maybe have loads of soda hovering above your desktop and lots of pets, it might make sense. Breaking a desktop is generally pretty difficult though and often the fix is one or two parts that cost just as much as a warranty. So avoid all the scams about complete coverage and technical help unless you are a very unlucky individual. If you don’t get one though and spill coffee on your desktop, don’t come blaming us. We cannot stop people from making stupid decisions, we can say it’s pretty unlikely you’ll want to use a warranty 5 years from now on an aging desktop.
You do need a surge protector
I’ve been through two unexpected losses of my power supply. Always preventable by having some sort of surge protection device. I hate. I mean HATE, paying money for things that I’m not going to need or use. Yet I eventually lost a couple hundred and was pretty scared my whole system was fried. Once was a traditional Florida lightning strike. Another time was some sort of electrical surge from a wall plug. I’ve even seen a computer get plugged in set to European voltage and instantly fry. That smoke smell is not a new car smell and the sadness of watching money burn away over something so preventable is gut-punching. So just do it. It’s not a bad investment.
Thanks for joining WBG!
Here at World’s Best Gaming we seek to make sure that you get an honest perspective on the latest and greatest gaming content. This list was made from what we believe to be the best possible PC’s you can snag for under $1000. Although we were pretty exhaustive, sometimes great deals pop up as well! If you see something better, drop us a note, we’d love to feature fan suggestions and give a shout-out to those who find even better deals on even better gear. As always, keep checking back for more content on the latest hardware and software in PC Gaming and more.
