Illumiigel
Survivor
- Joined
- Apr 29, 2015
- Messages
- 166
- Reaction score
- 95
I've decided to compile a list of gaming tailored PC builds for various budgets from $500-2000. These builds may not always provide the best performance in all situations, but will give you a great all-rounded PC that excels in gaming. These builds do not include CPU coolers (See bottom of thread), peripherals, software or a CD drive (you should choose one that suits your needs, if you just need a CD-DVD drive, get one with good reviews around the $15 mark). Since these builds are meant to be for gaming, I'm not going to be using any AMD CPUs. Feel free to change components in the build to suit your desires. My case choices weren't based on aesthetics. I decided to pick a good, solid case for each price range; you can swap it out for whichever case you want to use.
$500 - Pentium based, good performance at stock speeds, excellent when overclocked.
$750 - Great i5 build with a strong GPU. Also includes an SSD for better desktop performance.
$1000 - Similar to the $750 build, but with an unlocked processor and a much stronger GPU.
$1500 - Incredible gaming & all-round performance. A large and worthwhile upgrade from the $1000 build.
$2000 - High budget X99 gaming PC/Workstation
Alternate Builds
CPU Coolers
For your cooler; if you don't plan on overclocking, just use the stock cooler. Some CPUs (such as the G3258) can be overclocked pretty hard without needing an aftermarket cooler. Here are some coolers I recommend though if you do plan on buying one:
Air Cooling:
Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO
Noctua NH-D15
Cooler Master RR-HT2
AIO Water Cooling:
Corsair H60/H100i/H105/H110
NZXT Kraken X31/X41/X61
Cooler Master Seidon 120M/240M
Cooler Master Nepton 240M
Swiftech H240-X
If you find any inaccuracies in this guide, or if you think better components could be used in any of these builds, feel free to comment below. Also, if you have any builds for other budgets, please post them and I will try to add them to this collection. I made this guide with the intention of being able to give people builds/build ideas at their budget. Hopefully this will decrease the amount of "Build me a PC for $X" posts that litter this sub-forum. This thread will be updated regularly with new builds whenever new, suitable components are released. This site is also great for getting builds at any budget, but isn't specifically tailored towards builds for gaming.
$500 - Pentium based, good performance at stock speeds, excellent when overclocked.
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant
CPU: Intel Pentium G3258 3.2GHz Dual-Core Processor ($64.89 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: ASRock Z97 Anniversary ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($84.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($58.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($50.89 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: PowerColor Radeon R9 270X 2GB PCS+ Video Card ($163.98 @ Newegg)
Case: NZXT Source 210 (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($32.99 @ Micro Center)
Power Supply: Corsair Builder 500W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $506.72
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-07-06 06:06 EDT-0400
CPU: Intel Pentium G3258 3.2GHz Dual-Core Processor ($64.89 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: ASRock Z97 Anniversary ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($84.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($58.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($50.89 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: PowerColor Radeon R9 270X 2GB PCS+ Video Card ($163.98 @ Newegg)
Case: NZXT Source 210 (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($32.99 @ Micro Center)
Power Supply: Corsair Builder 500W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $506.72
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-07-06 06:06 EDT-0400
I decided to go with the pentium, as it has an incredible performance/price ratio even at stock speeds. But, this processor won't reach its full potential unless overclocked. You can usually push them up to 4.2~4.5GHz using the stock cooler. I'd recommend watching some guides on YouTube if you're unsure. Anything from JayzTwoCents/NCIX/Linus is recommended.
The 270X is an obvious choice for a budget builder. It's a cheap 3GB card with good gaming performance.
The 270X is an obvious choice for a budget builder. It's a cheap 3GB card with good gaming performance.
$750 - Great i5 build with a strong GPU. Also includes an SSD for better desktop performance.
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant
CPU: Intel Core i5-4460 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($166.95 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: Asus Z87-A ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($99.95 @ OutletPC)
Memory: Kingston Beast 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($54.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($56.37 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($52.49 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 960 2GB SuperSC ACX 2.0+ Video Card ($194.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Cooler Master HAF 912 ATX Mid Tower Case ($52.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: Corsair CX 500W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($54.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $733.72
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-07-07 16:22 EDT-0400
CPU: Intel Core i5-4460 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($166.95 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: Asus Z87-A ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($99.95 @ OutletPC)
Memory: Kingston Beast 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($54.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($56.37 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($52.49 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 960 2GB SuperSC ACX 2.0+ Video Card ($194.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Cooler Master HAF 912 ATX Mid Tower Case ($52.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: Corsair CX 500W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($54.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $733.72
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-07-07 16:22 EDT-0400
For the CPU, I chose a locked i5. This is one of the cheaper i5s, but still has comparative performance to the higher end ones. This build is more about upgradability than the $500 build; as the CPU allows for SLI & Crossfire setups and the overclocking of unlocked processors. The 960 is the obvious GPU choice at this price point; however I recommend spending a bit more money and getting an R9 290X for the large amount of additional VRAM it provides.
I chose to include an SSD as the boot drive, for obvious reasons. However, if you don't care about desktop performance a lot, you could put the money into getting a better GPU such as a GTX 970.
I chose to include an SSD as the boot drive, for obvious reasons. However, if you don't care about desktop performance a lot, you could put the money into getting a better GPU such as a GTX 970.
$1000 - Similar to the $750 build, but with an unlocked processor and a much stronger GPU.
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant
CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($229.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: MSI Z97S SLI Krait Edition ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($125.89 @ OutletPC)
Memory: Kingston HyperX Fury White 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($51.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($56.37 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($52.49 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 970 4GB WINDFORCE Video Card ($349.99 @ B&H)
Case: Corsair 200R ATX Mid Tower Case ($69.99 @ Micro Center)
Power Supply: Corsair CX 750W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($74.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $1011.70
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-07-07 16:29 EDT-0400
CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($229.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: MSI Z97S SLI Krait Edition ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($125.89 @ OutletPC)
Memory: Kingston HyperX Fury White 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($51.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($56.37 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($52.49 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 970 4GB WINDFORCE Video Card ($349.99 @ B&H)
Case: Corsair 200R ATX Mid Tower Case ($69.99 @ Micro Center)
Power Supply: Corsair CX 750W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($74.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $1011.70
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-07-07 16:29 EDT-0400
This build is very similar to the PC I have myself, save for a few components. From the $750 build, I decided to suggest an unlocked i5 with a higher stock clock speed, a better GPU, a higher wattage PSU and a few other slight changes.
$1500 - Incredible gaming & all-round performance. A large and worthwhile upgrade from the $1000 build.
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant
CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($229.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: Asus Z97-A ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($144.99 @ NCIX US)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance Pro 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($97.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($69.89 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 980 Ti 6GB Video Card ($649.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Corsair 750D ATX Full Tower Case ($139.99 @ B&H)
Power Supply: Corsair CX 750W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($74.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $1507.82
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-07-07 17:36 EDT-0400
CPU: Intel Core i5-4690K 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($229.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: Asus Z97-A ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($144.99 @ NCIX US)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance Pro 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($97.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($69.89 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 980 Ti 6GB Video Card ($649.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Corsair 750D ATX Full Tower Case ($139.99 @ B&H)
Power Supply: Corsair CX 750W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($74.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $1507.82
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-07-07 17:36 EDT-0400
Since this build is gaming-centered, there's no reason to upgrade to an i7 at this price point. The i5 + 980 Ti will make for a much better combination than an i7 + a lesser GPU. I chose the 980 Ti because it's one of the best performing cards available and currently cheaper than the Fury X (which it outperforms in a lot of benchmarks) and has an extra 2GB of VRAM. Still sticking with DDR3 for this build; if you're desperate for DDR4 memory, you'll have to take a hit in gaming performance.
The rest of the build is similar to the $1000 build, with the same PSU and a similar case being used. 2TB mass storage will be more than enough for storing large game libraries, and the 250GB SSD will allow for a much more spacious boot drive with room to store lots of commonly used games/programs.
The rest of the build is similar to the $1000 build, with the same PSU and a similar case being used. 2TB mass storage will be more than enough for storing large game libraries, and the 250GB SSD will allow for a much more spacious boot drive with room to store lots of commonly used games/programs.
$2000 - High budget X99 gaming PC/Workstation
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant
CPU: Intel Core i7-5820K 3.3GHz 6-Core Processor ($378.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: MSI X99S SLI Plus ATX LGA2011-3 Motherboard ($215.99 @ B&H)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix Sport 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2400 Memory ($124.99 @ B&H)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($97.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($69.89 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX Titan X 12GB Video Card ($999.99 @ B&H)
Case: Corsair 750D ATX Full Tower Case ($139.99 @ B&H)
Power Supply: Corsair CX 750W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($74.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $2102.82
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-07-07 17:34 EDT-0400
CPU: Intel Core i7-5820K 3.3GHz 6-Core Processor ($378.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: MSI X99S SLI Plus ATX LGA2011-3 Motherboard ($215.99 @ B&H)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix Sport 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2400 Memory ($124.99 @ B&H)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($97.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 2TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($69.89 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX Titan X 12GB Video Card ($999.99 @ B&H)
Case: Corsair 750D ATX Full Tower Case ($139.99 @ B&H)
Power Supply: Corsair CX 750W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($74.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $2102.82
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-07-07 17:34 EDT-0400
This build is a little over budget, but well worth the extra $100 at this price point. This build required more thought than the rest; particularly when deciding upon a video card. The Titan X is $350 more than the 980 Ti, with only a slight increase in gaming performance. However, the 12GB VRAM the Titan X provides will allow you to perform any rendering tasks with ease. Another choice was to get SLI 2 GTX 980s; although it would perform incredibly in games, you shouldn't build a PC with multiple GPUs unless they are the best available. If you're looking for pure gaming performance though, get 2 980s, but then you have to deal with SLI issues.
I chose to use the X99 chipset for this build as it has support for DDR4 memory. The 6-core i7 will be able to handle any games thrown at it with ease, along with any intensive multi-core processes. However, you will need to buy a CPU cooler with this build, as the i7 doesn't come bundled with one.
I chose to use the X99 chipset for this build as it has support for DDR4 memory. The 6-core i7 will be able to handle any games thrown at it with ease, along with any intensive multi-core processes. However, you will need to buy a CPU cooler with this build, as the i7 doesn't come bundled with one.
Alternate Builds
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant
CPU: Intel Core i5-4460 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($176.95 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: ASRock H97 Anniversary ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($69.89 @ OutletPC)
Memory: Kingston HyperX Fury White 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($50.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($65.25 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($52.49 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: MSI Radeon R9 390 8GB Video Card ($329.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: NZXT S340 (White) ATX Mid Tower Case ($63.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: SeaSonic G-750 750W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($104.99 @ NCIX US)
Total: $914.53
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-07-11 03:45 EDT-0400
Build Submitted by Diacor
CPU: Intel Core i5-4460 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($176.95 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: ASRock H97 Anniversary ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($69.89 @ OutletPC)
Memory: Kingston HyperX Fury White 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($50.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($65.25 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($52.49 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: MSI Radeon R9 390 8GB Video Card ($329.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: NZXT S340 (White) ATX Mid Tower Case ($63.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: SeaSonic G-750 750W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($104.99 @ NCIX US)
Total: $914.53
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-07-11 03:45 EDT-0400
Build Submitted by Diacor
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant
CPU: Intel Core i5-4460 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($176.95 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: ASRock H97 Anniversary ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($69.89 @ OutletPC)
Memory: Kingston HyperX Fury White 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($50.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($65.25 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($52.49 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: MSI Radeon R9 390 8GB Video Card ($329.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: NZXT S340 (White) ATX Mid Tower Case ($63.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: SeaSonic G-750 750W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($104.99 @ NCIX US)
Total: $914.53
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-07-11 03:45 EDT-0400
Build Submitted by Diacor
CPU: Intel Core i5-4460 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($176.95 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: ASRock H97 Anniversary ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($69.89 @ OutletPC)
Memory: Kingston HyperX Fury White 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($50.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($65.25 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($52.49 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: MSI Radeon R9 390 8GB Video Card ($329.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: NZXT S340 (White) ATX Mid Tower Case ($63.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: SeaSonic G-750 750W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($104.99 @ NCIX US)
Total: $914.53
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-07-11 03:45 EDT-0400
Build Submitted by Diacor
CPU Coolers
For your cooler; if you don't plan on overclocking, just use the stock cooler. Some CPUs (such as the G3258) can be overclocked pretty hard without needing an aftermarket cooler. Here are some coolers I recommend though if you do plan on buying one:
Air Cooling:
Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO
Noctua NH-D15
Cooler Master RR-HT2
AIO Water Cooling:
Corsair H60/H100i/H105/H110
NZXT Kraken X31/X41/X61
Cooler Master Seidon 120M/240M
Cooler Master Nepton 240M
Swiftech H240-X
If you find any inaccuracies in this guide, or if you think better components could be used in any of these builds, feel free to comment below. Also, if you have any builds for other budgets, please post them and I will try to add them to this collection. I made this guide with the intention of being able to give people builds/build ideas at their budget. Hopefully this will decrease the amount of "Build me a PC for $X" posts that litter this sub-forum. This thread will be updated regularly with new builds whenever new, suitable components are released. This site is also great for getting builds at any budget, but isn't specifically tailored towards builds for gaming.
Last edited: