The Tech Buyer's Guru

The Best $1250 Quiet Gaming PC Build – January 2022

The Best $1250 Quiet Gaming PC Build – January 2022

By Ari Altman | Published January 1, 2022 | Updated January 17, 2022

CRITICAL UPDATE:

Due to the ongoing cryptocurrency mining craze, it’s currently impossible to buy video cards at retail prices. That means you won’t necessarily save much money building your own PC these days, but you’ll get better-quality components if you follow this guide. Based on current market conditions, we do not believe this generation of GPUs will ever return to MSRP, so lower prices will have to wait until late 2022 when the next generation arrives!

Game 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, Featuring Intel and Nvidia!

For January 2022, the Quiet Gaming PC Build features Intel’s Core i5-11400 six-core, 12-thread CPU, which offers a ton of performance for the price! It easily beats anything AMD has in its price range. The 11400 is supporting the awesome AMD Radeon RX 6600 8GB video card. This combo can handle resolutions up to 2560 x 1440 with ease, and the RX 6600 XT is also very quiet thanks to its excellent efficiency.

As for the other components, the Quiet Gaming PC Build is loaded up with 16GB of DDR4-3200 RAM, a 500GB NVMe solid-state drive, a silent CPU cooler, and an efficient Gold-rated power supply. Bringing it all together is the stylish and quiet-running NZXT H510 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, Newegg, or B&H for our readers in the US, and our Amazon links 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

  • ibuypower SlateMR
    Click to Buy
    The High-End Gaming PC, The Mainstream Gaming Desktop –

    iBUYPOWER SlateMR 215a 5600G/RX 6600XT

    $1300

    HOT DEAL! It’s impossible to build yourself a great gaming PC today, but you can still buy one… and this model from iBuyPower is an incredible value! It packs in the AMD Ryzen 5 5600G 6-core, 12-thread processor, AMD’s Radeon RX 6600XT 8GB (which beats the GeForce RTX 3060!), 16GB of RAM, a 480 GB solid-state drive, and Windows 11 Home.

    The Guru’s Tip

    This amazing system is actually faster than the DIY build we spec out below, yet costs around the same, so feel free to grab it if you just want to get up and running!

The DIY Build

  • Click to Buy
    CPU –

    Intel Core i5-11400

    $185
    There’s plenty of competition in the mid-range CPU market, which is a great thing for you, the consumer! And Intel’s Core i5-11400 6-core, 12-thread CPU is the sweetspot, offering awesome multi-threaded capability plus plenty of single-threaded speed to power you through any task thanks to its modern Rocket Lake architecture. It also has built-in Intel UHD 730 graphics, which is priceless these days.
    The Guru’s Tip

    This CPU comes with a cooler, but we recommend a much quieter aftermarket model later in this guide.
  • Asus B560M-A
    Click to Buy
    Motherboard –

    ASUS Prime B560M-A AC

    $120

    This board is the perfect choice for a low-cost build. With three PCIe slots, six USB ports (including a Type-C port), four RAM slots, and six SATA ports, it gives the system room to grow. Plus, it has built-in wireless networking!

     The Guru’s Tip

    This is a micro-ATX board, and while a larger ATX board would fit in the case we recommend, this board saves a lot of money while giving up nothing but a few expansion slots!
  • PowerColor RX6600
    Click to Buy
    Video Card –

    PowerColor Radeon RX 6600 Fighter 8GB

    $570

    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 regularly sells out - grab it if you can!
  • Click to Buy
    Memory –

    Corsair 2x8GB Vengeance LPX DDR4-3200

    $63

    Because just about every application can take serious advantage of RAM speed on the latest CPUs, we’re spec’ing a fast DDR4-3200 kit for this build. The Vengeance LPX kit is a best seller thanks to its competitive price, low-profile design that provide excellent compatibility, and Corsair’s well-deserved reputation for quality!

     The Guru’s Tip

    The motherboard we recommend supports high-speed RAM like this kit.
  • WD Blue SN570
    Click to Buy
    Solid-State Drive –

    WD Blue SN570 500GB NVMe

    $55

    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

    This drive will fit into one of the two M.2 slots on the motherboard, leaving another free slot for future upgrades!
  • NZXT H510 Red
    Click to Buy
    Case –

    NZXT H510 Red/Black

    $70

    The H510 is the world’s top-selling case for a reason: it offers great style and performance at a great price. It serves up two 120mm fans, a tempered glass side panel, and plenty of space for your components. Note that this case comes in three colors: black on black, white-on-white, and red-on-black, and the latter really stands out as the most eye-catching while still being classy.

     The Guru’s Tip

    The solid front panel of this case will help deflect noise from the user.
  • Click to Buy
    Power Supply –

    SilverStone ET550-HG

    $64
    This unit offers Gold-rated efficiency (that’s 90% at 50% load) and plenty of power (550W) in a short chassis, which makes it very easy to install. The best part: with the wattage this system will pull, the power supply will never need to run its fan at high speed, meaning it will operate in silence!
    The Guru’s Tip

    This premium model is selling for far less than any of its competitors!
  • Click to Buy
    CPU Cooler –

    Arctic Freezer 34

    $23
    This cooler is the perfect pick for a mainstream PC Build. Thanks to its advanced design, it offers nearly-silent operation despite excellent cooling capability. It uses our favorite all-around 120mm fan, the excellent Arctic P12 PWM.
    The Guru’s Tip

    The CPU we recommend for this build includes a cooler, but you'll want this one to keep things quiet!
  • Click to Buy
    Operating System –

    Windows 10 Home USB @Newegg

    $140
    Windows 10 is the most popular operating system in the world, and Microsoft continues to support users not only with regular security updates, but with major content releases every year. Note that you can alternatively purchase the downloadable version. All you need on hand to use it is a USB drive with 8GB+ of capacity.
    The Guru’s Tip

    Windows 11 has launched and will be rolled out as a free update to all users of Win10!

Optional Products

  • Click to Buy
    The 24-inch 165Hz Gaming Monitor –

    Asus VG248QG

    $199

    Asus pioneered the high-refresh rate gaming monitor years ago, and has returned to the mid-range market with the VG248QG, which boasts amazing specs for the price. It gives you a 24″ 1920×1080 TN panel with a refresh rate overclockable to 165Hz (144Hz is standard), plus a 0.5ms (GTG) response time. It boasts adaptive-sync technology to provide stutter and screen tearing, plus a highly-adjustable stand to dial in just the right ergonomics.

     The Guru’s Tip

    Connect this monitor via DisplayPort to take advantage of its high refresh rate.
  • K55 Pro
    Click to Buy
    The Budget Gaming Keyboard –

    Corsair K55 RGB Pro

    $50

    Pick up a great keyboard at a great price with the K55. It offers IP42-rated dust and spill resistance, multiple RGB backlighting zones, 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.
  • Click to Buy
    The Pro Gaming Mouse –

    Razer Basilisk X HyperSpeed Wireless

    $36
    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

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

    Corsair HS60 Pro Surround

    $50
    If you need a good headset at an unbeatable price, we recommend Corsair’s excellent HS60 Pro Surround headset. Light, comfortable, and stylish without being in your face, it’s a great headset for gaming, and can even be used with mobile devices that have a 3.5mm analog jack.
    The Guru’s Tip

    The HS60 Pro Surround offers up a virtual 7.1 Surround mode via an included USB adapter.

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