The Best $1000 Mid-Range Gaming PC Build – January 2023
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, Featuring all-AMD!
For January 2023, The $1000 Gaming PC Build starts with AMD’s Ryzen 5 5600 CPU. Based on the advanced Zen 3 design, it features six cores and 12 threads. It’s by far the best gaming chip available for under $150, thanks to a huge price cut. The 5600 is the perfect CPU to support our GPU of choice, the awesome AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT 12GB. This combination provides unprecedented gaming power for the price!
Keeping this build fed is 16GB of DDR4-3200 RAM and a 1TB PCIe solid-state drive, which provides plenty of fast storage to get your system running. This build is housed in an attractive and affordable SilverStone micro-ATX case and powered by an efficient, high-output 550W 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 High-End Gaming PC –
Skytech Blaze 12400F/RTX 3060
$990If you don’t want to build your own, Skytech has the answer in its Archangel gaming desktop! This tower comes equipped with the potent Intel Core i5-12400F 6-core, 12-thread CPU, the Nvidia GeForce GTX 3060 12GB video card, plus a 1TB PCIe solid-state drive and 16GB of DDR4-3200 RAM.This PC will be very comparable to the DIY build we feature below, and it will get you into your games from the moment you crack open the box!
The DIY Option
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CPU –
AMD Ryzen 5 5600
$140 The Guru’s TipThis CPU includes a cooler, and for this build we recommend you use it to save some money!
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Motherboard –
Gigabyte B550M DS3H AC
$110 The Guru’s TipNote that we're going with a micro-ATX board here, to match the micro-ATX case in this build.
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Video Card –
XFX Radeon RX 6700 XT 12GB SWFT309
$390 The Guru’s TipThanks to a recent price drop, this card is by far the best deal on the market!
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Memory –
Patriot 2x8GB Viper Steel DDR4-3200
$49 The Guru’s TipThis system can easily take advantage of high-speed RAM like this kit.
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Solid-State Drive –
Silicon Power 1TB NVMe
$52 The Guru’s TipBecause this mounts in an M.2 slot on the motherboard, it requires no cables at all!
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Case –
SilverStone PS15 Pro
$65 The Guru’s TipBeing a micro-ATX case, this will only fit micro-ATX motherboards, which is what we spec for this build.
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Power Supply –
Silverstone ET550-B
$56 The Guru’s TipPlease avoid no-name PSUs from brands like RaidMax, Apevia, and Aresgame. They are complete junk, but this one is the real deal!
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Operating System –
Windows 11 Home USB
$139 The Guru’s TipIt took a while for Win11 to arrive at retail after launching as an update to existing users, but now that it's here, it's definitely what you want to load on your new system!
Optional Products
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The 24-inch 144Hz Gaming Monitor –
AOC G2490VX 24″ 144Hz
$131 The Guru’s TipA monitor like this would have cost well over $200 a year ago!
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The Budget Gaming Keyboard –
Logitech G213 Gaming Keyboard
$40 The Guru’s TipThe lighting on this keyboard can be controlled via Logitech's GHub software.
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The Pro Gaming Mouse –
Razer Basilisk X HyperSpeed Wireless
$35 The Guru’s TipGiven how low the price is on this wireless mouse, there's no reason to go wired!
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The Bargain Gaming Headset –
HyperX Cloud Stinger 2
$40 The Guru’s TipThis headset's ultralight weight makes it easy to wear all day!
Total Cost: $1009
The Pre-Built Option
The DIY Option
- CPU – AMD Ryzen 5 5600 ($140)
- Motherboard – Gigabyte B550M DS3H AC ($110)
- Video Card – XFX Radeon RX 6700 XT 12GB SWFT309 ($390)
- Memory – Patriot 2x8GB Viper Steel DDR4-3200 ($49)
- Solid-State Drive – Silicon Power 1TB NVMe ($52)
- Case – SilverStone PS15 Pro ($65)
- Power Supply – Silverstone ET550-B ($56)
- Operating System – Windows 11 Home USB ($139)