The Tech Buyer's Guru

The Best $1000 eSports Mini-ITX Gaming PC Build – May 2022

The Best $1000 eSports Mini-ITX Gaming PC Build – May 2022

By Ari Altman | Published May 6, 2022 | Updated May 6, 2022

Silverstone RVZ02 The Super-Slim Powerhouse!

While sales of PCs have been up and down over the past few years, there’s one area that’s growing at an amazing rate, and that’s eSports gaming PCs. What makes a gaming PC an eSports gaming PC? It’s simple: hitting the sweet spot on portability, price, and performance. This build will give you all that, along with the win in your next competition!

This Month’s Build, Powered by Intel and AMD

For May 2022, the $1,000 Mini-ITX Gaming PC Build is better than ever thanks to continued price drops. It all starts with Intel’s value-packed Core i3-12100F, a quad-core, 8-thread CPU that offers tremendous gaming performance for the price, beating its predecessor by 50%, while also out-performing most six-core CPUs in games! We’re recommending you pair it with the AMD Radeon RX 6600 8GB GPU for this build, which is plenty fast for any eSports title, and comes in at a very fair price, now that it’s fallen back to its original MSRP!

In terms of storage, this build gets an ultra-fast 500GB PCIe-based solid-state drive, along with 16GB of DDR4-3200 RAM. Once you have all your new gear in hand, you’ll be installing it in the easily portable SilverStone RVZ02 chassis, and powering it up with a 450W Gold-rated power supply. You can learn more about this build and ask any and all questions in our YouTube assembly guide featuring the nearly-identical ML08 case.

Parting Thoughts

We also list some of our very favorite peripherals for gamers looking for maximum performance at a fantastic price. Scroll all the way down to check them out! And if this build isn’t quite what you’re looking for, we have a feeling we have another solution that will for for you, so just flip over to our Introduction to Small Form Factor PCs to learn more about our other compact options.

We provide Amazon or Newegg links for our readers in the United States, and our Amazon links will auto-convert for readers in Canada, the UK, and parts of the EU, with automatic substitutions made where necessary. If you decide to purchase any of the products listed below, please use the links provided, which helps support continued development of this guide.

The DIY Build

  • Intel Core i3-12100F
    Click to Buy
    CPU –

    Intel Core i3-12100F @Newegg

    $108

    While AMD ruled the budget sector for a while, Intel has come roaring back, and its Core i3-12100F is simply the best CPU ever released anywhere near its pricepoint, thanks to its 4 cores and 8 threads based on the cutting-edge Alder Lake architecture. Note that the “F” version does not include built-in graphics, which is just fine given that this system has a separate video card!

     The Guru’s Tip

    This CPU includes a cooler that will work perfectly in this system!
  • ASRock B660M
    Click to Buy
    Motherboard –

    ASRock B660M-ITX/AC @Newegg

    $120

    This low-cost mini-ITX board is the perfect option for a compact PC build. It uses socket 1700, which provides compatibility with the latest Intel CPUs, and includes a PCIe Gen 4 M.2 slot for solid-state drives, dual RAM slots, four USB ports, WiFi and Bluetooth. Make sure that you don’t pick an alternative model with a different CPU socket (or a larger micro-ATX board)! Frankly, this board is practically one-of-a-kind, so you probably won’t find a substitute!

     The Guru’s Tip

    All ITX motherboards are in short supply, so if you see this one in stock, grab it!
  • RX 6600
    Click to Buy
    Video Card –

    XFX Radeon RX 6600 Speedster 8GB

    $330

    Jump into serious PC gaming today with the Radeon RX 6600 8GB. It has plenty of power to tackle any modern game, easily beating any Nvidia GeForce GPU anywhere near its pricepoint.

     The Guru’s Tip

    This card has dropped back down to its MSRP, after spending much of 2021 at more than double this price!
  • G.Skill RipjawsV
    Click to Buy
    Memory –

    G.Skill 2x8GB RipJaws V DDR4 3200

    $66

    Because games and other applications can take serious advantage of RAM speed on the latest CPUs, we’re spec’ing a fast DDR4-3200 kit for this build. The RipJaws V kit offers a sleek look and comes in at a lower price than all of its competition!

     The Guru’s Tip

    DDR4-3200 is a sweet spot for price/performance.
  • WD Blue SN570
    Click to Buy
    Solid-State Drive –

    WD Blue SN570 500GB NVMe

    $50

    WD knocked it out of the park with its high-performance yet bargain-priced SN570. Optimized for excellent real-world performance thanks to WD’s years of SSD development, it easily keeps up with much more expensive drives. This 500GB model can provide sequential read speeds of 3500MB/s and write speeds of 2300MB/s.

     The Guru’s Tip

    Due to this drive's M.2 form factor, it will slip right into the motherboard, taking up zero space in your case, and eliminating typical SATA cable clutter!
  • SilverStone RVZ02
    Click to Buy
    Case –

    SilverStone RVZ02B

    $110

    The RVZ02 is a fantastic choice for a mainstream ITX system. It’s small, at just 12 liters, and yet can fit plenty of high-end gear. It’s also very easy to work in.

     The Guru’s Tip

    Note that this case has a maximum CPU cooler clearance of 58mm, and the stock Intel cooler measures 47mm tall.
  • EVGA 450GM
    Click to Buy
    Power Supply –

    EVGA Supernova 450GM

    $85

    This high-quality SFX-class power supply offers 450W of Gold-rated power, fully-modular cables, and and impressive 7-year warranty, backed by EVGA’s legendary customer service. You simply cannot go wrong with this well-priced unit!

     The Guru’s Tip

    This system will draw around 225W at load, putting it right in the sweet spot of this PSU!
  • Microsoft Windows 11
    Click to Buy
    Operating System –

    Windows 11 Home USB

    $139

    Windows 11 take everything people loved about Windows 10, and then takes it to 11! It adds significant under-the-hood changes to make it faster and more secure, and of course, the interface is sleek too!

     The Guru’s Tip

    It took Microsoft about 6 months to release Win11 to retail after launching it as an upgrade-only option, but it's finally here, and it's what you want for a modern gaming PC!

Optional Products

  • Click to Buy
    The Budget Gaming Keyboard –

    Logitech G213 Gaming Keyboard

    $45
    Pick up a great keyboard at a great price with the G213. It’s quick, quiet, and responsive, and it also has sweet RGB backlighting, of course!
    The Guru’s Tip

    Note that while we really like wireless mice, we typically recommend wired keyboards unless you're shopping in the ultra-premium market, as wired keyboard don't need to move around much!
  • Click to Buy
    The Pro Gaming Mouse –

    Razer Basilisk X HyperSpeed Wireless

    $40
    Offering cutting-edge performance, there’s nothing like the Basilisk X for anywhere near the price. Ultra-sensitive sensor, Razer’s awesome HyperSpeed wireless system, and perfect ergonomics. It’s a great mouse!
    The Guru’s Tip

    This mouse is priced like bottom-basement clones, but has the specs to compete with the very best! Don't be fooled into buying the no-name gear for a few dollars less (or more!).
  • AOC 24G2
    Click to Buy
    The 24-inch 144Hz Gaming Monitor –

    AOC 24G2

    $170
    If you want to pick up a true “gaming” monitor, you want something with a high refresh rate. And this is the very best value out there in high-refresh-rate monitors. It features a 24″ 1920×1080 IPS panel capable of displaying images at up to 144Hz, which makes it infinitely smoother than a standard 60Hz monitor that costs just a bit less. And thanks to its FreeSync technology, it will run with zero lag or screen-tearing. Another nice feature of this model is the height-adjustable stand, which allows you to dial in just the right setup!
    The Guru’s Tip

    Once you've experienced a frame-synced image, you'll never want anything else!
  • Click to Buy
    The Budget Wireless PC Headset –

    ‎SteelSeries Arctis 1 Wireless

    $97

    SteelSeries has made a name for itself in the gaming headset world with its no-nonsense focus on performance. The Arctis 1 follows in this tradition with high-end drivers, lossless 2.4 GHz wireless for ultra-low latency wireless connectivity on both PC and PS4/PS5, a detachable bidirectional microphone, and 20 hours of battery life.

     The Guru’s Tip

    The Bluetooth functionality of this headset gives it much more flexibility, allowing it to be paired with smartphones and tablets.

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