Can You Build a Gaming PC for $1,000?

[PaladinNH]

Right now, I've got in my cart(s):

$400 AMD R7 7700X
Free 32GB G.Skill DDR5-6000 (package w/Microcenter 7700X)
$240 Gigabyte Aorus AX ($50 off at MC in bundle)
$60 1TB Solidigm P41 Plus (Newegg)
$350 MSI RX 6700 XT (Newegg)
$50 Deepcool AK620 (Newegg)
$50 Deepcool 750W 80 Plus Gold (Newegg)
$60 Fractal Focus 2 (Newegg)

Total: $1210

I'm over budget but this is easily remedied by scaling back to 5800X/B550 Mobo/32GB for $400 - total $970. In actuality, I also opted for an Open Box Radeon 6800XT for $400 instead of the 6700XT.

 

[Verrm]

Right now, I've got in my cart(s):

$400 AMD R7 7700X
Free 32GB G.Skill DDR5-6000 (package w/Microcenter 7700X)
$240 Gigabyte Aorus AX ($50 off at MC in bundle)
$60 1TB Solidigm P41 Plus (Newegg)
$350 MSI RX 6700 XT (Newegg)
$50 Deepcool AK620 (Newegg)
$50 Deepcool 750W 80 Plus Gold (Newegg)
$60 Fractal Focus 2 (Newegg)

Total: $1210

I'm over budget but this is easily remedied by scaling back to 5800X/B550 Mobo/32GB for $400 - total $970. In actuality, I also opted for an Open Box Radeon 6800XT for $400 instead of the 6700XT.

I like that. Honestly I would go with used 6700xt/6800xt. Those bad boys have still many many years before them and with how cheap the new ones became the used ones are a STEAL now. I prefer used GPU, even go down to 7600X, but do NOT go to AM4 combos. With how future paints for AM5+DDR5 combo I would be damned if you won't save a ton of money on future update. Tip: if you buy 5600mhz or greater DDR5 then buy Kingston (and 5600mhz should be as good as 6000mhz just downclocked in stock and cheaper). According to buildzoid those bad boys are very good in overclocking should you want to try that any time in future.

 

[captaincranky]

They are for bulk purchases for business. They will work, but it does not mean that you won't be breaching license agreement. I.E. they're waste of money.

Well, you can still get them activated by M$. At present, even reinstalling an original OEM copy of windows back into the same machine to which it was originally installed, required the same phone call rigmarole, that you'll get with the $20.00 copies. (I was going to sell it, but didn't )

So, unless you're paranoid enough to think the M$ police force is going to attack your house in air their cars, or are a M$ employee trying to bully somebody, I'd let him take a chance on the cheapo copies.

Even if you buy OEM copies at full pop from Newegg, M$ is breaking it's own licensing agreement by allowing Newegg to sell them to you. You see, the OEM versions are supposed to be imaged, and the customer given "restore discs", which normally install a whole lot of crap programs and bloat along with the OS reinstall..There is a semantic point invoked, since you, the builder, are your own, "customer".

Speaking for myself, I just upgraded two boxes from XP to Win 7 with the cheapies, M$ activated them, and I'm living happily ever after.

OK, so I have a $40.00 copy of Win 10 ready to go into a new build. I'll let you know how that goes. I saw one seller saying, "guaranteed activation or your money back. In that instance, I'd have the machine ready to go, when the disc hits your front door, since I expect there are time constraints on the offer. (Or they go out of business periodically), It's a jungle out there.

What you really have to watch out for, is a**holes on Ebay trying to sell "used copies". They're likely to be DOA if an OEM copy..

So install the OS and all your software, then image it (migrate or clone it if you prefer those terms), immediately to another drive. If anything screws up, just swap out the drive with the original. That original install will still be activated, and it's a whole lot easier than d!cking around with USB sticks or DVDs and having to reactivate..

 

[m3tavision]

A Personal Computer is NOTHING without a Monitor.

I have built many rigs over the past 25+ years for my friends/family/clanmates/etc... but before I do, I always access their needs. Price almost always never matters in the end, because if they can't afford what I suggest, they can just wait a few months more, to be able to do so.

Because what I tell/teach them is that you are building a SYSTEM...


And owning a PC down the road, upgrades do matter. So pre-thought into what you buy today, WILL matter 3~7 years from now. And the time you waited/saved, will pay off in price later. And it is always true when you build a system to be "future proof" to your needs. So you shop platforms first, then system components. because everything is upgradeable, except your mobo. (New mobo = new SYSTEM).

To gamers the GPU & Monitor matters most. and will have the most direct impact on your gaming. So you must have the closest dGPU to push the pixels you want.


Budget means 1080p gaming and a cheap GPU to push them. Any used mobo & components will do. I know people still Competing in e-sports on Devil's Canyons. CPU on a budget doesn't matter, platform does.

 

[PaladinNH]

I like that. Honestly I would go with used 6700xt/6800xt. Those bad boys have still many many years before them and with how cheap the new ones became the used ones are a STEAL now. I prefer used GPU, even go down to 7600X, but do NOT go to AM4 combos. With how future paints for AM5+DDR5 combo I would be damned if you won't save a ton of money on future update. Tip: if you buy 5600mhz or greater DDR5 then buy Kingston (and 5600mhz should be as good as 6000mhz just downclocked in stock and cheaper). According to buildzoid those bad boys are very good in overclocking should you want to try that any time in future.

That's my thought as well. I might spend a couple hundred more now but it will just save hassle on changing them out later to upgrade. AM5 should give a nice upgrade path, even in the near future with the 7000x3D chips. And, yeah, DDR5 and AM5 boards are gonna drop eventually, but that's still a $250 savings right now for the free 32GB DDR5-6000 and mobo discount, and it's actually good G.Skill memory.