Budget Build ~$1,000 for 1080/60 gaming?

[Biomega]

I mostly play older games, but my current machine is getting on in years, so I'm thinking of buying a new one. I don't want to spend too much, around $1,000 give or take. I know this won't get me into 1440 territory or anything too fancy, but I am looking for good framerates on 1080p so I can play some of the not-quite-so-old titles I haven't gotten around to yet, like Witcher 3 or FF7R at 60+ frames. Maybe a contemporary title here or there, but I'm totally fine not running brand-new games at max settings and I usually wait a year or two anyway until I get a game so my backlog of older games is large enough to last a while.

Is that realistic on $1,000? Just the PC, I don't need a monitor (I have a 144Hz one) or other peripherals. I also don't care about optics, so all the blinky lights and whatever people do these days aren't a concern. I also don't do videos or streaming or anything like that. Having inbuilt Bluetooth would be nice, though, if it's in the budget.

After an admittedly very superficial stroll through the Google, I was thinking something like i5-12400 and an RTX 3060 - is that in the budget, or do I need to go with something else? I'm not opposed to AMD in principle, but I am not a big fan after my last two AMD machines constantly had issues (though granted that was many years ago).

I'm a bit out of the loop in terms of hardware, and there's a lot of information to churn through. Any recommendations or things to watch out for from the tech gurus on here? Location is US-based.

[Kagthul]

This is marginally over budget (at just shy of 1100$) but well worth it, IMO.

The CPU is MUCH faster than a 12400F, even on a locked motherboard (two cores to 5.1ghz, all core 4.9ghz) and you step up to a 3060Ti, which will handily do 1080p 144hz and can handle 1440p especially if you use DLSS.

If you have parts you can re-use (case, storage, PSU if it isn't super old, maybe even RAM depending on what your current RAM is) you can probably get it down below 1000$ no problem.

PCPartPicker Part List: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/m86ppH

CPU: Intel Core i5-13600K 3.5 GHz 14-Core Processor ($300.00 @ Best Buy)
CPU Cooler: ID-COOLING FROSTFLOW X 74.5 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler ($54.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock B660M Phantom Gaming 4 Micro ATX LGA1700 Motherboard ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws V 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3600 CL16 Memory ($68.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Silicon Power A60 1 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 3.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive ($55.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: Zotac GAMING Twin Edge OC GeForce RTX 3060 Ti LHR 8 GB Video Card ($379.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Cooler Master MasterBox Q300L MicroATX Mini Tower Case ($69.20 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: Super Flower Legion GX Pro 650 W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-modular ATX Power Supply ($57.99 @ Newegg Sellers)
Total: $1087.14
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2022-11-16 21:20 EST-0500

Also, do you live near a Micro Center? Can radically affect costs (as they often list CPUs well under MSRP in-store and offer bundle discounts (again, in-store) for CPU/RAM/MoBo combos.

[Biomega]

That looks great, thank you! Not worried about a little bit extra, it's more about not WANTING to spend more than it is not being able to But in this case it seems worth it, so this will do just fine, I think.

No Micro Centers close to me, unfortunately, but with a list like that I can scour the local scene for deals - I just need some baseline to go off of, since I really do not know my hardware anymore but DO know that there's always tons of little things to watch out for. Thanks for the info!

[Kagthul]

That looks great, thank you! Not worried about a little bit extra, it's more about not WANTING to spend more than it is not being able to But in this case it seems worth it, so this will do just fine, I think.

No Micro Centers close to me, unfortunately, but with a list like that I can scour the local scene for deals - I just need some baseline to go off of, since I really do not know my hardware anymore but DO know that there's always tons of little things to watch out for. Thanks for the info!

You might need to get extra fans and the like, i never really factor that in. Though if you use the AIO, you should mount those as intakes, and then a single outflow 140mm or 120mm would be fine. I think the case comes with one but you might want to match the fans on the cooler for consistency or bling.

The cooler can also be pretty much any 240mm AIO, thats just the cheapest one on PCPartpicker and is actually decent. You could also go with a larger air cooler if you dont want to deal with water cooling (not that there is much to deal with with an AIO - you just mount and forget it mostly).

If you go with an Air Cooler youll want to get intake fans for the front. 2 120s would be fine, but 140s would keep things a little cooler.

You can also change the case to whatever case you like. I just went with that Cooler Master because its cheap and easy to work in. Ive built several rigs in that case for people and its got good airflow, isnt ugly, and isn't expensive.

[Biomega]

You might need to get extra fans and the like, i never really factor that in. Though if you use the AIO, you should mount those as intakes, and then a single outflow 140mm or 120mm would be fine. I think the case comes with one but you might want to match the fans on the cooler for consistency or bling.

The cooler can also be pretty much any 240mm AIO, thats just the cheapest one on PCPartpicker and is actually decent. You could also go with a larger air cooler if you dont want to deal with water cooling (not that there is much to deal with with an AIO - you just mount and forget it mostly).

If you go with an Air Cooler youll want to get intake fans for the front. 2 120s would be fine, but 140s would keep things a little cooler.

You can also change the case to whatever case you like. I just went with that Cooler Master because its cheap and easy to work in. Ive built several rigs in that case for people and its got good airflow, isnt ugly, and isn't expensive.

I'll see what I can salvage in terms of case etc. - that's probably the thing I'm least worried about. I might also get a good deal on something at a local shop, I bought my last one like that on a big discount and that worked really well. It's the actual "meat" components I'm most anxious about since I really have not looked at any of that stuff in YEARS and there's always some feature or quirk or compatibility thing that's easy to miss so I'd rather lean on experts. Much appreciated!

[Master Factician]

https://www.newegg.com/asus-g10dk-nb...22-_-1121-1126

$759 as of me posting this.

5800x
RTX 3060.

Insane deal.

[Biomega]

https://www.newegg.com/asus-g10dk-nb...22-_-1121-1126

$750 as of me posting this.

5800x
RTX 3060.

Insane deal.

It's cheap, but it doesn't seem like a particularly good system. Compared to the list above, it seems a lot lower in performance; I'd rather spend 200-300 extra at that level, and not have to worry for the next few years. Or am I overlooking something?

[Master Factician]

What Kagthul posted is quite a bit better. I don't post prebuilt PC's very often unless they're just an insane deal, which this one is. If you're just looking for 1080p at 60FPS, this will probably do every game out there at close to maximum settings.

Should mention the case and what not will be trash on this prebuilt.

[Biomega]

What Kagthul posted is quite a bit better. I don't post prebuilt PC's very often unless they're just an insane deal, which this one is. If you're just looking for 1080p at 60FPS, this will probably do every game out there at close to maximum settings.

Should mention the case and what not will be trash on this prebuilt.

I do appreciate the link! But I think I'm fine paying a bit more to get more quality - I do only tend to buy PCs every 5-6 years or so, so I'd rather not have trash components. I'm not so strapped I need to undercut my budget to compromise, but maybe someone reading this will pounce! It does seem like a good deal for what it is.

Speaking of which, is it worth it to wait for Black Friday deals or is everything already known anyway, and the good components are unlikely to be discounted anyway?

[Master Factician]

Seems like a lot of the crazy Black Friday deals are on right now.

[lizon]

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/4xV2nt

This is a tad over your budget but there is a reason for it. See below for my reasoning.

CPU Intel Core i5-13600K 3.5 GHz 14-Core Processor $300.00
Great budget chip for this price range. It is the latest from Intel and it beats pretty much everything in its price range outside of a 5800x 3D which costs more.

CPU Cooler Vetroo V5 52 CFM CPU Cooler $34.99
This cooler is just as good if not better than many 240-360mm AIOs. It has 5 heat pipes that provide more than enough overhead for overclocking. It is also much cheaper than an AIO.

Motherboard ASRock B660M Pro RS Micro ATX LGA1700 Motherboard $89.99
I picked this board because it has heat spreaders for the VRMs, RGB headers for bling, and 4 DIMM slot

Memory OLOy Blade RGB 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR4-3600 CL18 Memory $81.99
32GB of ram is going to be the next standard for most gaming rigs going forward. You may as well get it now so you don't have to worry about it.

Storage Samsung 980 Pro 1 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive $99.99
One of the best Gen4 drives on the market outside of the 990 Pro. Blazing speeds will make download and load times a thing of the past.

Video Card ASRock Radeon RX6700XT CLD 12G Radeon RX 6700 XT 12 GB Video Card $369.99
Pound for pound the 6700 XT beats everything in its price range. It trades blows with the 3070 but for a fraction of the price. AMD cards also tend to age better than Nvidia cards, so you will be better off in the long run.

Case BitFenix Nova Mesh SE ATX Mid Tower Case $59.90
Mesh front panel for airflow? Check. 4 included ARGB fans? Check. Tempered glass and PSU shroud? Extra check.

Power Supply Thermaltake Toughpower GF1 PE 750 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply $81.99
Don't skimp out on the PSU. Thermaltake is a good brand and fully modular with a 750w 80+ gold rating that will provide more than enough power for the future while being a breeze to install.

Case Fan Cooler Master SickleFlow 62 CFM 120 mm Fan $13.99
Case Fan Cooler Master SickleFlow 62 CFM 120 mm Fan $13.99
These two extra fans will max out the case with a total of SIX ARGB fans. Your system should run cool and quiet.

[Biomega]

Video Card ASRock Radeon RX6700XT CLD 12G Radeon RX 6700 XT 12 GB Video Card $369.99
Pound for pound the 6700 XT beats everything in its price range. It trades blows with the 3070 but for a fraction of the price. AMD cards also tend to age better than Nvidia cards, so you will be better off in the long run.

Something to consider, I suppose. I have not had good experiences with AMD cards, but that could just be anecdotal. Is it really significantly better than a 3060ti, even taking into account things like DLSS? I'm not sure how many of the games I'm targeting right now support that, but I imagine some will in the future.

[dim]

I was watching some videos from Hardware Unboxed lately about budget B660 MBs.... and ASROCK had the worst results on their testing.

So if you plan to go with 13600k, which is a pretty good processor do yourself a favor and pick some decent motherboard with it..... MSI seems like much better option

[Kagthul]

Something to consider, I suppose. I have not had good experiences with AMD cards, but that could just be anecdotal. Is it really significantly better than a 3060ti, even taking into account things like DLSS? I'm not sure how many of the games I'm targeting right now support that, but I imagine some will in the future.

It doesn't trade blows with the 3070. Its (edited to add: marginally) slower than the 3060Ti on average.

I have no idea why people keep posting this stuff. It also has no worthwhile ability to do Ray Tracing, and FSR is garbage (as it currently stands) compared to DLSS.

Its also not any cheaper, so you're not saving any money, and you get (MUCH) worse RT performance, and FSR vs DLSS, with FSR being about half as effective as DLSS.

[Biomega]

It doesn't trade blows with the 3070. Its slower than the 3060Ti.

I have no idea why people keep posting this stuff. It also has no worthwhile ability to do Ray Tracing, and FSR is garbage (as it currently stands) compared to DLSS.

See, this is why I ask first Thanks, that's important to know!

[Kagthul]

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/4xV2nt

This is a tad over your budget but there is a reason for it. See below for my reasoning.

CPU Intel Core i5-13600K 3.5 GHz 14-Core Processor $300.00
Great budget chip for this price range. It is the latest from Intel and it beats pretty much everything in its price range outside of a 5800x 3D which costs more.

CPU Cooler Vetroo V5 52 CFM CPU Cooler $34.99
This cooler is just as good if not better than many 240-360mm AIOs. It has 5 heat pipes that provide more than enough overhead for overclocking. It is also much cheaper than an AIO.

Hes not overclocking. You CANT overclock on B660. Just puttin that out there. That being said, its a fine air cooler. As good as a 240mm AIO? Not likely. But adequate to cool the 13600K if you aren't overclocking? Sure thing.

Motherboard ASRock B660M Pro RS Micro ATX LGA1700 Motherboard $89.99
I picked this board because it has heat spreaders for the VRMs, RGB headers for bling, and 4 DIMM slot

The Phantom Gaming has much better power delivery and is only 10$ more.

Memory OLOy Blade RGB 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR4-3600 CL18 Memory $81.99
32GB of ram is going to be the next standard for most gaming rigs going forward. You may as well get it now so you don't have to worry about it.

It really isn't (GN and LTT have BOTH done videos on this in the last six months, as did Jay). But, it IS cheap. I wouldnt get CL18 though.

Storage Samsung 980 Pro 1 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive $99.99
One of the best Gen4 drives on the market outside of the 990 Pro. Blazing speeds will make download and load times a thing of the past.

Gen 4 is utterly pointless and not worth an extra 45$. Real-world use, a gamer will not ever see the difference between Gen 3 and Gen 4 drives. Even with SAM/ResizeBAR enabled, the difference is like.. 2%. Margin of error shit.

Video Card ASRock Radeon RX6700XT CLD 12G Radeon RX 6700 XT 12 GB Video Card $369.99
Pound for pound the 6700 XT beats everything in its price range.

It most certainly does not.

It trades blows with the 3070 but for a fraction of the price. AMD cards also tend to age better than Nvidia cards, so you will be better off in the long run.

Even Hardware Unboxed's (which is a dumpster fire of a channel) 3060Ti vs 6700XT video says "buy the 3060Ti". It does NOT perform near, or trade blows with, the 3070. Literally no one's benchmarks show that.

Case BitFenix Nova Mesh SE ATX Mid Tower Case $59.90
Mesh front panel for airflow? Check. 4 included ARGB fans? Check. Tempered glass and PSU shroud? Extra check.

Decent case. For the price, OP, this might be a better consideration. The included fans are a big plus.

Power Supply Thermaltake Toughpower GF1 PE 750 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply $81.99
Don't skimp out on the PSU. Thermaltake is a good brand and fully modular with a 750w 80+ gold rating that will provide more than enough power for the future while being a breeze to install.

... Thermaltake is not that great of a brand, really. At least according to the teardowns at JohnyGuru. Its not like.. gonna melt on you or anything, but for that price id much rather have a Seasonic or Superflower, or for cheaper and better quality, an EVGA BQ-series (though not modular on that one; at least the cables are all black and not ketchup and mustard though).

Case Fan Cooler Master SickleFlow 62 CFM 120 mm Fan $13.99
Case Fan Cooler Master SickleFlow 62 CFM 120 mm Fan $13.99
These two extra fans will max out the case with a total of SIX ARGB fans. Your system should run cool and quiet.

Where exactly are you going to put those and in what orientation? Thats massive overkill. You want more in than out anyway, and you dont want to create crosscurrents. The 4 with the case are plenty.

- - - Updated - - -

See, this is why I ask first Thanks, that's important to know!

i edited the post a bit to be more clear.

But there's been this rash of people pitching the Radeon GPUs as punching well above their weight lately and i was feeling like i was going insane or something. So i did a check of reputable benchmark sites and.. yeah, people are on something.

The 6700XT trades blows with the 3060Ti but has less features. And right now they are like 5$ apart in price.

People have also been claiming that the 6800XT somehow magically trades blows with the 3090 or some shit.. and it does not (that was a diff. thread). Its faster than a 3070 and slower than a 3080, and like all of the current gen AMD cards, has shit RT and FSR vs DLSS (and NO equivalent for DLDSR at all, but thats largely only an issue at 3080+ where you might have the extra horsepower to spend on DSR). And its not a lot cheaper than the 3080 right now (though until recently it was, the sales seem to have slacked off).

The 6950XT trades blows with the 3090/3090Ti, but again lacks RT performance, FSR vs DLSS, and no DLDSR.. but at least in the case of the 6950 (or 6900XT, which can be OCed to basically perform like the 6950) its WAY cheaper than the 3090/Ti.

Where AMD currently shines is below the 6700XT/3060Ti level.

The 6700 non-XT is like 300$ and beats up the vanilla 3060 pretty handily. Since the 3060 really doesnt have enough RT cores to reliably do RT anyway, its a much better buy than the 3060 in most cases. The price equivalent to the 3050 - the 6600XT, IIRC, beats the ever living shit out of it AND is slightly cheaper, or the 6600 non-XT (sub 200$ on sale right now) equals or even beats the 3050 and is WAY cheaper.

But at the 3060Ti and above range, AMDs cards are ... not bad, precisely, they just dont have equivalent features and otherwise perform about the same for about the same cost, except at the very very top (where the 6900XT/6950XT hang with the 3090/Ti and are a LOT cheaper), which makes them bad buys as the market stands. Especially at the high end (3080+/6800XT+), people aren't spending that kind of coin on a GPU to NOT turn RT on, and since their RT performance pretty much sucks... i dont really know what high-end image quality enthusiast (who are the people buying 900+$ GPUs) would prefer a card that only equals or slightly beats pure rasterization and then shits the bed at RT.

[Biomega]

i edited the post a bit to be more clear.

Thank you, you really explained a lot of things, and very clearly. Very much appreciated, that is the kind of info I'd have a hard time (or at least a long time) digging into myself. This will give me a lot to work with.

[Kagthul]

It's cheap, but it doesn't seem like a particularly good system. Compared to the list above, it seems a lot lower in performance; I'd rather spend 200-300 extra at that level, and not have to worry for the next few years. Or am I overlooking something?

It wasnt actually a bad system, and the 750$ IS cheaper than you could build it for, but not much (and also, that case on the prebuilt is hot garbage - literally hot). I put it together for $900. The 5800X is no slouch, its just not as fast as the 13600K (i mean, it is 20 months older or so). It would still produce extremely playable framerates.

But.. yah. Build it yourself for 900$. Really puts that absurd 1500$ “regular” price in perspective.