The Best Gaming PC Build For $1000 in 2018

Looking to build the best gaming PC possible for around or under $1000? This might just be it. Featuring an i5 8400, an 8GB GTX 1070 Ti, 16GB of RAM and 1TB of storage! 

With a budget of $1000, you can pretty much guarantee that the computer you build can handle 1080p and should also be capable of putting out 1440p if you don't mind lower fps or lower than max settings. 1080p gaming is not even an issue. This is basically a perfectly balanced price-point for building your own gaming PC, it's enough to get you amazing hardware while still maintaining a reasonable budget.

That all said, if you're looking for a build running an AMD Ryzen processor then you might want to check this $1000 Ryzen build out instead. It comes with an R5 2600 + GTX 1080 + 16GB of RAM; definitely a beast worth checking out! 

Have a question? Ask me in the comment section!

*Hardware prices change daily, sometimes multiple times in a single day. Therefore, the price listed above should only be considered a rough estimate.

One of the best parts of building a PC is being free to customize your build as you see fit. Below, you’ll find some potential upgrades as well as items you could (or should) add to your build. Not all of these are necessary, but add-ons (like an SSD) are definitely suggested as they will improve your experience a lot.

This $1000 gaming PC build is going to absolutely dominate anything you throw at it in 1080p and will even let you step into some 1440p gaming as well! If ultra settings in 1080p @ 60fps is what you're aiming for, then you've definitely found the right gaming PC build!

Keep in mind that the price above is for the core components only, you will still need an operating system, and any other peripherals you don’t currently have.

Case: Corsair's Spec 02 mid-tower ATX case is my usual go-to for most builds around this level. It's a solid case with all of the features a builder needs to assemble a clean looking PC without spending a crazy amount. The airflow is good, the placement and number of fan mounts is near perfect, but the cable management options are somewhat lacking. It comes with 2 fans, 1x 120mm fan with a red LED and 1x plain black 120mm fan - this is enough but feel free to add more.

Motherboard: The Gigabyte B360M DS3H is an overall great motherboard for the price. It supports the LGA 1151 socket and runs on the Intel B360 chipset - meaning it does not support overclocking. The B360 DS3H comes with 6x SATA ports, 1x M.2 port, and has a total of 6 USB ports. Beyond that it comes with good integrated audio that'll support basic 2.1 systems as well as a built-in ethernet controller.

Processor (CPU): Intel's i5 8400 is a bit of a beast compared to previous i5 iterations. It marks the first time an Intel i5 has branched out from the 4-core formula, with great success I might add. This 6-core/6-thread beast of a CPU is capable of handling all but the most workload intensive tasks. It'll have no problem powering through everything older i7's did and then some! Older i5 CPUs aren't even in the same realm of comparison as the new i5 8400.

Graphics Card (GPU): The 8GB GTX 1070 Ti is a powerhouse when it comes to 1440p gaming. It can nearly match the GTX 1080 in raw performance, and does so for a slightly cheaper price. In 1080p, a 1070 Ti will have no problem putting out 100+ FPS in most games, so you can be sure to put your 1080p 144Hz monitor to good use. It'll have no problems running any VR title and won't even break a sweat when it comes to casual indie games.

System Memory (RAM): 16GB of 3000MHz RAM in a dual channel setup from Corsair's Vengeance LPX lineup of DDR4 RAM is the perfect amount - for a build at this level. Any more than 16GB and you probably won't notice a difference when gaming, but if you are a heavy multi-tasker or you use your PC for demanding workloads, then more might be a good idea.

Power Supply (PSU): EVGA's semi-modular 600 BQ power supply is a mid-tier bronze-rated unit that will not let you down. It'll consistently deliver more than enough power to this build regardless if you're running base clocks or you've overclocked everything to sky high numbers. It's capable of delivering up to 85% efficiency under typical loads and comes with a 3-year warranty just in case the worst were to happen.

Storage: To fit the GTX 1070 Ti in this build, I had to make a decision. Either it was going to go over budget by about $30, or I had to sacrifice another component. That being said, I decided to go with a single 1TB HDD in this build (by default), opposed to the HDD + SSD setup I would have preferred. However, if you don't mind spending a bit more, you can pick yourself up a 120GB SSD for about $30-$40.

If you're on a budget of $1000, you're in luck, because that's the perfect amount to spend on a DIY gaming PC build. If you were to go to Best Buy and pick a prefab PC up for $1000, you wouldn't get anything near the level of this beast.

BUT... My alternative $1000 build might just be a bit better. It's packing an AMD R5 2600 + a GTX 1080! Make sure to check it out before making your decision!

When it comes down to picking an operating system for this build, you have a couple of options. One is free, the other is about $100.

The best choice if you want access to the widest array of compatible programs & games is going to be Windows. There are a few different versions available, but the one you'll want to look at is Windows 10 - especially if you want to take advantage of DirectX 12, and you do.

Your free option would be to grab yourself a copy of Ubuntu and run that. It's a solid Linux-based OS which is widely supported by most Windows based programs and games, although you might have to run some in a program called Wine.

When it comes to actually installing your OS, you basically have 2 choices. You can either do it the old fashioned way by using the retail DVD, or you could create your own bootable flash drive. If you're planning to use Linux you can also burn an installation DVD. For instructions on how to create your own bootable flash drive, check here.

If you don't already have things like a monitor, mouse, keyboard, and some kind of audio, you might want to take a look at some of my suggestions. They're hand-picked to match this budget level, and they're all great peripherals.

Since picking a monitor can be difficult with all of the different features to consider, check out my guide on how to pick the best monitor for gaming. 

Even more important than picking out the right monitor is picking out the right chair. With all of the options available, it's easy to get lost and make a bad decision. To make sure that doesn't happen, I've put together this list of the 16 best gaming chairs out there! 

Since the motherboard in this build comes equipped with an ethernet controller, it can easily connect to the internet via a wired connection. But, if your only option is WiFi, then you're also going to need a WiFi adapter.

There are a couple routes you can choose. You could get a decent USB-based WiFi adapter for around $20 and it would work alright. Alternatively, you could get a more reliable internally mounted WiFi adapter for around $35.

For around $1000, this gaming PC build will last you well into the future of modern games and continue to give you a seriously incredible gaming experience. If you need to game on the highest settings then you've found the right build because I've set you up with a rig that is definitely delivering a lot of bang for your hard-earned bucks.

This build can easily handle any game you can throw at it in 1440p on high settings or better without breaking a sweat. In 1080p, you could easily max anything out and get 100fps+ without a problem.

If you have any questions, comments, concerns or otherwise, feel free to leave them in the comment section and I'll answer them ASAP!