The Best $1000 Mid-Range Gaming PC Build – November 2024

By Ari Altman | Published November 2, 2024 | Updated November 2, 2024

A Mainstream Gaming PC to Grow With!

Looking to build the best gaming PC possible for $1000? This guide will set you up! We recommend components that offer excellent performance, quiet operation, and ease of assembly, all at a great price. If you’re ready to build a PC that can handle any game you throw at it, just follow this guide to get the best component picks.

This Month’s Build, Powered by AMD!

For November 2024, the $1000 Gaming PC Build features AMD’s vaunted Ryzen 5 5600X, a six-core, 12-thread gaming bargain. It will be supporting the best GPU available for under $400, the awesome AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT 12GB, which recently got a big price cut and easily beats Nvidia’s RTX 4060 Ti 8GB at the same pricepoint, while offering 50% more VRAM for much better future-proofing. Simply put, the 5600X/7700 XT combination provides unbeatable gaming value.

But this system is about more than a fast CPU and GPU. Keeping this build fed are 16GB of DDR4-3200 RAM, plus a 1TB PCIe Gen 4 solid-state drive, which provides plenty of fast storage to get your system running. This build is housed in an attractive, affordable, and high-airflow SilverStone micro-ATX case and powered by an efficient, high-output 600W power supply.

Parting Thoughts

If you need a monitor or peripherals, you can check out our dedicated guides, although we also have some great recommendations for you at the end of this guide. Note that we provide dedicated links to Amazon in the US, which will auto-convert for readers in Canada, the UK, and parts of the EU, with regional substitutions made based on availability. To support this site, please use these links if you purchase any of the products we list.

The Pre-Built Option

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The Mainstream Gaming Desktop –
CyberPowerPC Gamer Master 7600/RTX 4060 (GMA2700A)
$1063

CyberPowerPC delivers shocking value with this gaming PC. It has AMD’s potent Ryzen 5 7600 6-Core, 12-thread processor, the powerful Nvidia GeForce RTX 4060 8GB video card, a 500GB solid-state drive, 16GB of DDR5 RAM, and 802.11ac networking. It also has Windows 11 pre-installed.

The Guru’s Tip
This system will be nearly as fast as the one we spec out below, and comes fully-assembled, meaning it will be ready on day one for gaming!

The DIY Option

Click to Buy

CPU –
AMD Ryzen 5 5600X
$134

AMD’s Zen 3 architecture made a huge splash in the PC industry. Beating Intel on a clock-for-clock basis for the first time in decades, and with far lower power consumption, the Ryzen 5 5600X is the perfect CPU for this build. And it brings along with it an advanced yet cost-effective platform, which will provide upgrade potential down the line should you wish to drop in an even more powerful CPU.

The Guru’s Tip
This CPU includes a cooler, which further increases the value proposition!
Click to Buy

Motherboard –
Gigabyte B550M DS3H AC
$95

This micro-ATX motherboard offers a lot in a compact package. There expansion slots, dual M.2 slots, eight USB ports, four RAM slots, and built-in 802.11ac wireless networking.

The Guru’s Tip
This board is an mATX model - make sure not to purchase an ATX board, which will not fit in the case we recommend.
Click to Buy

Video Card –
XFX Radeon RX 7700XT 12GB SWFT210
$395

The Radeon RX 7700 XT 12GB has impressive gaming power, beating Nvidia’s similarly-priced offerings by a huge margin. Plus, it has the added advantage of 12GB of VRAM, which makes it much more future-proof too!

The Guru’s Tip
This video card is just over 11" long, so it will fit easily in the compact case we recommend, which has 12.3" of clearance. Note that many 7700XT models are too long!
Click to Buy

Memory –
Silicon Power 2x8GB DDR4-3200
$28

You can now squeeze a whole lot of performance and capacity into your system by going with this budget-priced 16GB DDR4-3200 kit. It will help you make the most of your snazzy new system!

The Guru’s Tip
The motherboard we recommend uses DDR4 memory - and that's of course what we spec here.
Click to Buy

Solid-State Drive –
TeamGroup MP44L 1TB PCIe 4.0
$57

The MP44L PCIe 4.0, which blows past previous PCIe Gen3-based drives by harnessing the power of the PCIe Gen4 interface, is an absolute bargain of a high-end drive. It can hit up to 5,000MB/s in sequential operations!

The Guru’s Tip
This drive gives you plenty of storage for games at a great price!
Click to Buy

Case –
SilverStone PS15 Pro
$73

This stylish, modern mATX case offers great performance and flexibility in a compact package. Mesh panels in the front and top provide great ventilation, and the three included 120mm fans (two with ARGB lighting) will make the most of it! On top you’ll find two USB ports plus microphone and headphone jacks, and on the side is a tempered glass panel that offers great views of the interior. It has space for a CPU cooler up to 154mm tall, and a video card up to 12.3″ long.

The Guru’s Tip
Being a micro-ATX case, this will only fit micro-ATX motherboards, which is what we spec for this build.
Click to Buy

Power Supply –
Thermaltake Toughpower GX2 80+ Gold 600W
$64

Thermaltake offers a ton of value in its GX line, and this model is no exception. You get 600W of Gold-rated power, a quiet 120mm fan, and a solid 5-year warranty.

The Guru’s Tip
Please avoid no-name PSUs from brands like RaidMax, Apevia, and Aresgame. They are complete junk, but this one is the real deal!
Click to Buy

Operating System –
Windows 11 Home (USB) @Newegg
$139

Windows 11 built on everything people loved about Windows 10, and then took 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! Note that we’re linking to Newegg, because Amazon long ago stopped selling this physical USB version of Windows, which is the most convenient one to use.

The Guru’s Tip
With the end of support for Win10 having been announced, Win11 is definitely what you what you want on your new PC!

Optional Products

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The 24-inch 165Hz Gaming Monitor –
Sceptre E248B-FPT168 24″ 165Hz
$122

If you want to pick up a true “gaming” monitor, you want something with a high refresh rate. Luckily for you, Sceptre has been busy breaking down price barriers for high-refresh-rate monitors. This model features a 24″ 1920×1080 IPS panel (superior to TN or VA!), capable of displaying images at up to 165Hz, 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.

The Guru’s Tip
A monitor like this would have cost well over $200 a year ago!
Click to Buy

The Budget Gaming Keyboard –
Logitech G213 Gaming Keyboard
$50

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
The lighting on this keyboard can be controlled via Logitech's GHub software.
Click to Buy

The Mid-Range Gaming Mouse –
Logitech G502 Hero
$45

Get a jump on your competition with this awesome gaming mouse from Logitech, which features a next-gen 16,000dpi sensor and a classic ergonomic shape!

The Guru’s Tip
This mouse has been copied but never duplicated!
Click to Buy

The Bargain Gaming Headset –
HyperX Cloud Stinger 2
$40

HyperX absolutely revolutionized the budget gaming headset market with the original Cloud Stinger, and has taken it up a notch with the Stinger 2. It retains the original’s big 50mm drivers, but has an updated rotating cup design and swing-down mic for better comfort and control. It also adds DTS Headphone:X for virtual 7.1 surround sound, making it is an unbeatable value.

The Guru’s Tip
This headset's ultralight weight makes it easy to wear all day!