The Tech Buyer's Guru

The Best $1250 Quiet Gaming PC Build – September 2023

The Best $1250 Quiet Gaming PC Build – September 2023

By Ari Altman | Published September 2, 2023 | Updated September 2, 2023

NZXT H5Game Hard, Run Silent!

Want a high-powered Quiet Gaming PC Build that delivers an excellent gaming experience while running in near silence? Then the $1,250 Quiet Gaming PC Build is the system for you! Every component has been chosen to maximize performance in both games and applications, while minimizing noise.

This Month’s Build, an All-AMD Machine!

For September 2023, the Quiet Gaming PC Build gets huge upgrades across the board, starting with AMD’s ultra-modern Zen 4 platform. In this system, we’re going for the Ryzen 5 7600 6-core, 12-thread CPU, which offers unbeatable performance for the price. It’s supporting the equally-amazing AMD Radeon RX 6750 XT 12GB video card. This combo can handle resolutions up to 2560 x 1440 with ease, and the GPU is also very quiet thanks to its excellent efficiency and cooler.

As for the other components, the Quiet Gaming PC Build is loaded up with big upgrades versus past months, including 32GB of DDR4-6000 RAM and a 1TB PCIe Gen 4 solid-state drive. It also gets a silent CPU cooler and an efficient Gold-rated power supply. Bringing it all together is the stylish NZXT H5 Flow tempered glass case.

Parting Thoughts

We also list a few of our favorite accessories to complete the Quiet Gaming PC build, including a responsive keyboard, a great low-cost mouse, and an excellent 165Hz gaming monitor, but feel free to check out our dedicated Monitor Buyer’s Guide and Peripherals Buyer’s Guide for more options.

We update this build on a monthly basis to incorporate new product releases or major price adjustments, so check back often. Throughout our guides, we provide direct shopping links to Amazon for our readers in the US, which will auto-convert for readers in other countries, including Canada, the UK, and parts of the EU, with automatic substitutions made where necessary. Your use of these links helps keep this guide alive!

The Pre-Built Option

  • Skytech Shiva II
    Click to Buy
    The High-End Gaming PC –

    Skytech Shiva 5600X /RTX 4060 Ti

    $1247
    HOT DEAL! Grab this Skytech gaming PC at an insanely-low price! Equipped with an AMD Ryzen 5 5600X 6-core, 12-thread processor and a GeForce RTX 4060 Ti 8GB, it’s ready to game, and priced lower than any other similar system you can find on the market today. Also on the component list is 16GB of DDR4-3200 RAM, a 1TB solid-state drive, built-in 802.11ac wireless networking, and Windows 11!

    The Guru’s Tip

    This system is nearly as fast as the DIY build we profile below, and comes in at a great price, so if you're in a rush to game, it's your best bet!

The DIY Build

  • AMD Ryzen 5 7600
    Click to Buy
    CPU –

    AMD Ryzen 5 7600

    $219
    AMD did it again with Zen 4, simply smashing through the performance barrier in all respects. The 6-core, 12-thread Ryzen 5 7600 is up to 25% faster in content creation than its predecessor, while offering simply amazing energy efficiency plus the latest connectivity standards thanks to the advanced AM5 platform.

    The Guru’s Tip

    This CPU comes with a cooler, but we recommend a quieter model later in this guide.
  • MSI Pro B650-P WiFi
    Click to Buy
    Motherboard –

    MSI Pro B650-P WiFi

    $217
    This B650 board from MSI allows you to tap into the potential of AMD’s cutting-edge AM5 platform at a great price. You get a potent a 12+2+1 power design with 75A Power Stage, a PCIe Gen 4 video card slot, two Gen 4 M.2 slots, plus built-in WiFi 6E.

    The Guru’s Tip

    This board requires DDR5 memory, which is of course what we recommend in this guide.
  • MSI RX 6700 XT
    Click to Buy
    Video Card –

    MSI Radeon RX 6750XT 12GB Mech 2X

    $360
    This Radeon RX 6750 XT 12GB from MSI has impressive gaming power, beating Nvidia’s RTX 3070, while coming in at a far lower price. Plus, it has the added advantage of 12GB of VRAM, which is 50% more than competing Nvidia cards!

    The Guru’s Tip

    We don't recommend anything less than 12GB of VRAM at this performance level - new games will require it!
  • G.Skill Flare X5
    Click to Buy
    Memory –

    G.Skill 2x16GB Flare X5 DDR5-6000 CL36 EXPO

    $90
    To get the most out of AMD’s latest CPUs, you want fast RAM, and DDR5-6000 is the sweetspot not only in terms of price, but in terms of the AM5 platform. It allows for the optimum settings and highest overall performance. This Flare X5 kit from G.Skill is specially designed for AM5, thanks to the enhanced 36-36-36-96 EXPO timings that can be loaded easily by the motherboard.

    The Guru’s Tip

    Use the EXPO profile on this kit to take advantage of its speed - this is a setting you select in the motherboard's UEFI interface.
  • WDBlack SN770
    Click to Buy
    Solid-State Drive –

    WD_BLACK SN770 1TB NVMe

    $60
    WD knocked it out of the park with its ultra-high-performance, bargain-priced SN770 PCIe Gen 4 drive. Optimized for excellent real-world performance thanks to WD’s years of SSD development, it easily keeps up with much more expensive drives. This 1TB model can provide sequential read speeds of 5150MB/s and write speeds of 4900MB/s.

    The Guru’s Tip

    This drive will fit into one of the two M.2 slots on the motherboard, leaving another slot free for future upgrades!
  • NZXT H5 Flow Black
    Click to Buy
    Case –

    NZXT H5 Flow

    $95
    The H5 Flow offers great style and performance at a great price. It serves up two 120mm fans, one in the rear and one mounted in the lower front corner for optimal GPU cooling. It also has a mesh front panel to make the most of additional optional fans. It features a tempered glass side panel for excellent looks, and plenty of space for your components. It also has an advanced USB Type-C port built in, along with a traditional USB Type-A port.

    The Guru’s Tip

    The solid steel front panel will keep this system running very quiet.
  • SilverStone ST55F GS
    Click to Buy
    Power Supply –

    SilverStone ST55F-GS

    $91
    SilverStone’s Strider series offers exceptional performance at a great price. This model is a perfect example of that, offering up 550W of Gold-rated power, fully-modular cables, a low-noise fan design, and an ultra-compact form factor at just 140mm deep.

    The Guru’s Tip

    This quality power supply is selling for far less than its competitors!
  • Scythe Kotetsu Mark 3
    Click to Buy
    CPU Cooler –

    Scythe Kotetsu Mark 3

    $30
    This cooler is the perfect pick for a mainstream PC Build. It offers great styling thanks to the black fan and top plate, robust cooling potential courtesy of the fall fin stack, and nearly-silent operation, provided by the excellent Scythe Kaze Flex II fan, among the best 120mm fans on the market! The quality of this high-end fan alone makes this cooler an absolute bargain!

    The Guru’s Tip

    This is by far the best pick in its price range!
  • Microsoft Windows 11
    Click to Buy
    Operating System –

    Windows 11 Home (Download)

    $130
    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! This version can be instantly downloaded and installed from any USB stick with 8GB or more capacity. If you don’t have one handy, we recommend you pick up a fast USB 3.1 thumb drive to install it, which can then be re-purposed for backup or file transfer use.

    The Guru’s Tip

    Win11 is what you want on your new PC!

Optional Products

  • Sceptre E275B
    Click to Buy
    The 27" 1440p 144Hz Gaming Monitor –

    Sceptre E275B-QPN168

    $200
    Sceptre is all about deliver inconspicuously-named monitors with out-of-this-world value! This one packs in a big 27″ 2560 x 1440 IPS panel, a 144Hz refresh rate and FreeSync Premium for ultra-smooth framerates, a Displayport, an HDMI 2.0 port, and dual HDMI 1.4 ports, plus built-in speakers. To get it set up just right, it has a height-adjustable stand, unheard of in this price range. It even includes a Displayport cable in the box, which is what you want to use to get the most out of this monitor!

    The Guru’s Tip

    You'll be able to take full advantage of this monitor's capabilities thanks to the powerful GPU in this build.
  • K55 Pro
    Click to Buy
    The Budget Gaming Keyboard –

    Corsair K55 RGB Pro

    $49
    Pick up a great keyboard at a great price with the K55. It offers IP42-rated dust and spill resistance, zoned RGB backlighting, dedicated macro and media keys, plus quiet keys with a tactile bump to provide great feedback with low noise levels!

    The Guru’s Tip

    To set the keyboard's backlighting, you'll want to download Corsair's iCUE software.
  • Razer Basilisk V3
    Click to Buy
    The Pro Gaming Mouse –

    Razer Basilisk V3 X HyperSpeed Wireless

    $70
    Offering cutting-edge performance, there’s nothing like the Basilisk V3 for anywhere near the price. Ultra-sensitive 18K sensor, mechanical switches, Razer’s awesome HyperSpeed wireless system with up to 285 hours of battery life, and perfect ergonomics. It’s a great mouse!

    The Guru’s Tip

    Avoid all the knock-off brands that often top the sales charts - they won't come close to offering the same performance and quality.
  • HyperX Cloud
    Click to Buy
    The Budget Wireless PC Headset –

    HyperX Cloud Stinger Core

    $66
    HyperX absolutely revolutionized the budget gaming headset market with the Stinger series, and the Cloud Stinger Core is its budget wireless offering. It has an ultra-lightweight design, 40mm drivers, and a convenient swing-down mic for better control. With up to 17 hours of battery life, it will go all day and then some!

    The Guru’s Tip

    There's no better wireless headset under $100 than the Stinger Core!

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