It’s a good time to build a gaming PC from scratch, and if you are on a budget, then our recommendations will help you choose the best configuration for your rig in the $500-$1000 price range.
With Just $500–$1000, You Can Build a Near-Perfect Gaming PC for 60+ FPS
One of the best things about being a PC gamer is being able to choose your own hardware according to your budget. Things have been crazy in the hardware sphere since most discussions are around high-end parts like Ryzen 7 9800X3D and RTX 5090. The reality is, most gamers aren’t buying into the ultra high-end, but there is no need to worry.
Since GPU prices are much more stable than before and there are plenty of options to choose from, it’s easier to get a decently powerful PC build in the $500-$1000 price range. Thankfully, in this price range, two of our configurations can let you play at 1080p ultra settings with over 60 FPS easily and even at 1440p if you opt for our third configuration. Even with $500 build, you should be able to get started but don’t keep your expectations high with that.
Still, we have made sure that you can easily upgrade your performance by adding a discrete GPU to that build, enabling you to enjoy high frame rates without having to build a new PC from scratch. Nonetheless, it’s great to see that achieving good gaming performance at 1080p resolution isn’t that difficult, and the majority of users are still playing at this resolution. Keeping this in mind, after thorough research, including performance, prices, and availability, we have curated a list of components that should offer you the best bang for your buck.
Do keep in mind that the selection of components depends on multiple factors, and we include availability as a major factor since not everyone can buy store or region-exclusive parts.
Few Things to Keep In Mind When Choosing Components
CPU-GPU Combo: If you are playing at 1080p resolution, you are going to see a significant impact on performance by your CPU choice, particularly in titles that remain more CPU-oriented. A balanced configuration that allows you to eliminate all possible bottlenecks will not only keep performance consistent but will likely help you achieve higher frame rates per dollar. There are various methods of choosing the best CPU for your GPU or vice-versa, and when it comes to spending your money, we generally recommend spending around 1.5X-2X on your GPU compared to what you would allocate for your CPU.
You should also look for the generation and specifications of your CPU/GPU and try to settle with the one that is known to offer the best performance for its price tag. For instance, we wouldn’t recommend settling for something like a Ryzen 7 5700X/5700G if you can get a 7600X or 9600X for a similar price. Fortunately, if you are following our guide, you don’t have to do this yourself, but you should still have an idea of how to make a buying decision when it comes to PC hardware.
Overclocking and Cooling: For beginners, we recommend not delving too deeply into overclocking, but rather learning some basic concepts about overclocking your components. Our configurations mostly include overclockable CPUs, and the same goes for memories and GPUs. For overclocking CPUs, your motherboard needs to support it, and we ensured this by selecting the necessary chipset. That said, with overclocking, you will need better cooling, which is why you will need to use an aftermarket CPU cooler, but in our case, it can be difficult since our budget is tight, and therefore, you shouldn’t be doing intensive overclocking with our recommended configurations. For the RAM and GPU, the stock heatsinks will suffice unless you go to extreme measures, which doesn’t necessarily help boost gaming performance to a great extent.
Upgradeability: A few years down the line, upgrading components will be imminent if you don’t want to see choppy gameplay and outdated hardware that won’t even play your games. Budget builds tend to last 3-4 years and require an upgrade to keep up with the demanding titles. While you can retain most of your existing hardware, you will primarily need to upgrade your CPU and GPU to achieve the maximum performance impact. That said, a change in CPU may require a change in motherboard if the socket becomes outdated, and therefore, we chose the right platform to ensure you can upgrade in the next 2-3 years without changing your motherboard.
The Starter Rig ($500-$530)
Best For 1080p Low/Medium
For $500, it’s not going to be feasible to add a decent discrete gaming GPU. Surely, there are some entry-level options from the previous generations, like the Arc A380 or the RX 6500 XT, but then you would have to settle for an inferior platform since much of the budget would already be consumed. Instead, we advise choosing the latest AM5 platform and settling with one of the best APUs for the platform, which is the Ryzen 5 8600G. It’s not only easily available, but it’s also much cheaper than the 8-core Ryzen 7 8700G.
The 8600G processor is a decently powerful Zen 4 CPU, bringing the RDNA 3-based Radeon 760M iGPU onboard. It isn’t going to push your frame rates to 60 or above in modern titles, but with low to medium settings, you will be at least able to play them. This build is more ideal for those who want to play less intensive titles and eSports games, and the Ryzen 8600G should be sufficient even with high settings in many of those.
Remember that overclocking the 8600G will do a good job in boosting your frame rates noticeably, which is why we chose a B650 chipset motherboard that offers a satisfactory power delivery system to support higher clocks for both your CPU and iGPU. Since your system and the iGPU will rely on the system RAM, we chose a 16 GB DDR5 5600 MT/s memory kit, which should be installed in a dual-channel configuration for optimal performance. You can even go ahead and try to achieve higher memory speeds in BIOS that could bring some marginal improvements, but even at 5600 MT/s, you should be doing well.
For storage, a fast PCIe 4.0 NVMe 1 TB capacity SSD should be enough for your games and files, but you can always upgrade by adding more SSDs later. Now, when it comes to choosing the power supply, there are some decent budget PSUs available, but they mostly cost $50-$60, offering around 600-650W of wattage capacity and with an 80 Plus Bronze rating. The Thermaltake Toughpower GX2 is one of the cheapest and reliable 80 Plus Gold-rated 600W power supplies that brings all the required cables and connectors for your components and costs just 60 bucks.
Perhaps the greatest challenge for this build was to find an affordable mid-tower. Availability of budget mid-towers isn’t that good right now, and we can’t just spend $100+ on a mid-tower due to our tight budget. We found a handful of cases that offer good compatibility while bringing good aesthetics in $50-$70 price range, and we chose the GAMDIAS AURA GC1 E A, which comes pre-equipped with so many ARGB fans out of the box and good clearance for components. Whether you want to add a dedicated GPU later or a 360mm AIO, you will be able to do that in this case, hassle-free. Plus, a full-length PSU shroud at the bottom will keep extra cables hidden and will give you a cleaner look through that large tempered glass window.
This build should cost you somewhere around $510 at the time of writing, but keep in mind that prices fluctuate on a daily basis, and it can be slightly lower or higher.
The Budget Titan ($750-$800)
Best For 1080p Ultra
| Components | Info | Price (subject to change) |
| AMD Ryzen 5 8400F | 6-core/12-thread Zen 4 | $149 |
| ASRock B650 PRO RS | B650 chipset, 14+2+1 Phase, 4x DIMMs | $109 |
| PowerColor Reader RX 9060 XT 8 GB | NAVI 44, 8GB GDDR6, 150W | $269 |
| Crucial 16 GB DDR5 | 2x 8 GB, 5600 MT/s | $43 |
| Kingston NV3 1TB | NVMe PCIe 4.0, 1 TB capacity | $59 |
| Thermaltake Toughpower GX2 600W | 600W capacity, 80+ Gold, Non-modular | $59 |
| ASUS A31 | Mid-Tower, Dual-sided tempered glass, Supports BTF | $69 |
Keeping the same motherboard, memory, SSD, and power supply, you can simply opt for this configuration, which offers an excellent CPU-GPU combo that will play almost all intensive titles at 1080p ultra settings. We changed a few components in this build, including the CPU, GPU, and PC case, but you can keep the cost down if you are willing to settle for the GAMDIAS case over the ASUS A31. The difference isn’t that huge, and you will be paying just $10 more on the A31 but will have a much better-looking chassis on your desk, equipped with dual-sided tempered glass panels.
To be honest, finding the right CPU was the most difficult part in the $750-$800 price range. Thankfully, the Ryzen 5 8400F is available as an excellent option for the AM5 platform since it costs nearly $150 at the moment, and saves you $40-$50 on processors like Ryzen 7600X and 9600X. The latter two are surely faster, but it’s better to choose the Radeon RX 9060 XT instead of something like an RX 6600/7600 with the leftover money.
For this build, we will settle for the PowerColor Reaper RX 9060 XT 8 GB edition as it is $30 cheaper than the official MSRP, and going with any 16 GB edition will cost us at least $80 more. You will be okay with 8 GB VRAM at 1080p in most titles, but at least now you will be able to play at ultra settings with over 60 FPS, which is the ideal gaming experience most gamers will be aiming for.
The Sweet Spot Beast ($950-$1000)
Best for 1080p/1440p Ultra
| Components | Info | Price (subject to change) |
| AMD Ryzen 5 9600X or Ryzen 5 7600X | 6-core/12-thread (9600X: Zen 5, 7600X: Zen 4) | $199/$179 |
| MSI PRO B650-S WiFi | B650 chipset, 12+2+1 Phase, 4x DIMMs | $135 |
| Sapphire Pulse Radeon RX 9060 XT Gaming OC 16 GB | NAVI 44, 16GB GDDR6, 150W | $379 |
| Crucial Pro 32 GB DDR5 | 2x 16 GB, 6000 MT/s | $84 |
| Kingston NV3 1TB | NVMe PCIe 4.0, 1 TB capacity | $59 |
| Thermaltake Toughpower GX2 600W | 600W capacity, 80+ Gold, Non-modular | $59 |
| ASUS A31 | Mid-Tower, Dual-sided tempered glass, Supports BTF | $69 |
For under $1000, you can have this awesome configuration, which doesn’t compromise on anything. Whether you look at the CPU, RAM, or GPU, everything is excellent for modern gaming. We will still retain three components from the previous build to keep the costs down, including the SSD, the Thermaltake Toughpower GX2 PSU, and the ASUS A31 mid-tower case. I don’t think these need any upgrades for this build, but we do need an upgrade in RAM. With 32 GB of RAM capacity with a speed of up to 6000 MT/s, we no longer have to compromise on performance, and the same goes for the GPU.
In the previous build, we were limited by the budget, but in this configuration, we are able to choose the 16 GB edition of the Radeon RX 9060 XT, which will not only be perfect for intensive 1080p gaming but also won’t have any memory limitations at 1440p resolution. Pairing it with any of the current or previous-gen Ryzen 5 processors, like Ryzen 9600X or 7600X, will ensure we are pushing the performance to the limit. These two are the fastest gaming CPUs under $200, but you will have to buy an aftermarket CPU Cooler.
We will keep it simple with the Cooler Master Hyper 212, which costs just 25 bucks and won’t exceed our overall expense. This cooler will also allow you to keep the temps down while overclocking, but we don’t encourage strong overclocks, particularly with the Ryzen 7600X, which tends to run hotter than the 9600X. We also upgraded the motherboard to the MSI PRO B650-S WiFi, which offers a built-in WiFi adapter as well. It’s not a big upgrade, but wireless internet is a no-brainer these days.
Final Words
Gaming doesn’t have to be expensive, and with just a few hundred dollars, you should be able to get started, but keep in mind that with our $500 build, you most probably won’t be able to have a smooth gaming experience. However, if you are already planning to add a discrete GPU later on, it’s an excellent configuration, which will do the job for some time. We advise settling with the second or third build for that sweet spot gaming experience, and those who have a higher budget, we will be coming soon with more configurations for those price ranges as well.
منبع: https://wccftech.com/how-to/budget-pc-builds-in-500-to-1000-dollars/