Gaming PC build guide for 2019

You can still put together a great gaming PC build even if you are working with a less than ideal budget. Choosing your own parts is the best way to build a gaming PC that suits your needs, and our build guide is here to help you assemble an awesome custom gaming PC that should still be able to play games at high settings two or three years from now—and worth every penny. For some, though, knowing where to start is a problem, and it can be intimidating building your own PC because if you get the wrong part it could cost you $100s to fix or adjust. 

This custom gaming PC, which you can assemble from our suggestions below, is meant to play the best PC games with no compromises at 1080p or 1440p, hitting framerates of 60 fps and up. We have other gaming PC build guides if you're on more of a budget, want to play games at 4K, or need to crush even the most demanding games at 100+ fps. This is the balanced option: powerful enough to still run games in a few years, but still reasonably affordable. Obviously, prices vary, but right now you've never had as much choice of GPU as you do now, so it's an exciting time to be building a PC.

The price point also doesn't account for the operating system or any peripherals. You'll need to account for a decent monitor and potentially a headset too. If you're completely new to PC building, you'll also have to save for a keyboard and mouse so you really should add these into your budget at the start. Here are our guides to the essential PC peripherals.

Best gaming monitor | Best gaming mouse | Best gaming keyboard
Best gaming headset | Best gaming router | Best gaming chair

We based this build on prices we could find at the time we updated this article, but prices do change, especially during the holiday shopping spree. You'll find real-time prices for the parts in the list and part descriptions below.  At the time of writing, the total comes to just $1,000 / £1,025, and there are plenty of options if you want to opt for a faster CPU, GPU, better cooling, etc. We'll mention several potential upgrades below.

Components

CPU: Intel Core i5-8400

Cores: 6 | Threads: 6 | Base Clock: 2.8GHz | Turbo Clock: 4.0GHz | Overclocking: No | L3 Cache: 9MB | TDP: 65W | PCIe 3.0 lanes: 16

Intel's Coffee Lake processors pushed the Core i5 from 4-core to 6-core territory, and the Core i5-8400 matches the i7-7700K, at a substantially lower price. And unlike the enthusiast K-series parts, you get a cooler in the box. It's not just core counts that have improved, with higher turbo clocks on 8th gen processors.

Don't let the low base clock fool you. In testing, the i5-8400 clocks at 3.8GHz in all multithreaded workloads, and 4.0GHz in lighter workloads. Even with a GTX 1080 Ti, the i7-8700K, is only about six percent faster in games at 1080p. At 1440p the CPU isn't even really a factor. For non-gaming purposes, the extra cores still keep the i5-8400 basically tied with the i7-7700K, though chips like AMD's Ryzen 7 and Intel's i7-8700K (not to mention Core i9 and Threadripper) are all substantially faster—and substantially more expensive.

The only real drawback to the 8400 is that it's not an unlocked "K" chip, meaning you can't overclock it. But you won't really need to—this CPU will be great for gaming for years to come. Bottom line is that for most gamers, the Core i5-8400 is currently the best option. If you want overclocking or more threads, look to the Core i7-9700K as a $200 step up, or the Core i5-9600K as a $100 bump in cost.

Here's our guide to the best CPU for gaming in 2019.

Motherboard: Gigabyte Z370P D3

Chipset: Z370 | Memory: (4) DIMM, 64GB, DDR4-4000 | PCIe slots: (1) x16, (2) x16 (x4), (3) x1 | USB ports: (6) rear IO, (6) internal | Storage: (1) M.2, (6) SATA | Network: Ethernet | Lighting: Full RGB, (1) RGB header

The Gigabyte Z370P D3 is a mainstream motherboard that will deliver everything needed to run the i5-8400. The board is capable of overclocking, if you have a K-series chip, though if you're going that route you might want something geared more toward enthusiasts.

Not that there's anything wrong with the Z370P D3. It supports memory speeds up to DDR4-4000 and includes an M.2 slot for a fast SSD or Optane Memory. About the only thing missing is USB 3.1 Type-C support, and there's also no wi-fi or extra accouterments, so for example SLI isn't supported (though CrossFireX is).

If you're interested in those extras, there are tons of 300-series boards for Coffee Lake processors, including new Z390 options. But if you're after something better than this Gigabyte board, you're probably also looking at a higher-end build, which we cover in our best high-end PC.

Here's our guide to the best gaming motherboards in 2019.

GPU: Nvidia Geforce RTX 2060

Base Clock: 1365MHz | Boost Clock: 1680MHz | Memory Speed: 14 GT/s | GDDR6 Capacity: 6GB | Bus Width: 192-bit | TDP: 160W

We’ve dropped the GTX 1070Ti from this build as it’s no longer generally available, replacing it with the new RTX 1060. The future consists of real-time ray tracing effects, used to enhance lighting and shadows, reflections, and refractions—three elements of graphics that are notoriously difficult to get 'right.' The price of entry to this future, though it’s a poorly supported future just now, recently dropped with the release of the RTX 2060.

$349ish gets you basically everything that's in the $499 RTX 2070, just a bit less of each. There are 30 SMs instead of 36, and 6GB of GDDR6 instead of 8GB. But to put that in perspective, the drop from the RTX 2070 to the RTX 2060 is more like the difference between the GTX 1070 Ti and GTX 1070, rather than the 1070 and 1060. 

In our testing t’s more than capable of busting an average of 100 fps in games at 1080p and Ultra settings, and manages a respectable average of 74 fps at 1440p. It’s not really a 4K card, however, unless framerates lower than 45 fps are tolerable to you.

Despite that, this is the best upper midrange card (or lower high-end card) that we've seen since the 1070 Ti, which it ties with for performance. The addition of ray-tracing and DLSS, however, means it pulls ahead of the last-gen pack and earns its place in our mainstream build.

These are the best graphics card options in 2019.

Memory: 16GB (2x8GB) DDR4-2400

Capacity: 2x8GB | Speed: 2400MT/s | Timings: 15-15-15-36 | Voltage: 1.2V

Memory is pretty straightforward these days. as you really just want a solid choice that will get the job done, though if the price isn't much higher you can improve performance slightly with faster RAM. DDR4 prices are returning to 'normal' from the highs of the last two years, with typical prices for 16GB falling below $100. Buy from a reliable memory manufacturer and you should be fine, and there are many options to choose from: Adata, Ballistix, Corsair, Crucial, G.Skill, GeIL, Gigabyte, Hynix, HyperX, Micron, Mushkin, Patriot, PNY, Samsung, Team, and XPG are all good brands as far as we're concerned.

Our main goal for gaming memory is DDR4-2400 or higher, with as low a CAS latency as possible, but at a good price. There's not much benefit to sky-high RAM clocks, particularly with the i5-8400, so really it's about finding a good balance. You can often find 16GB DDR4-2400 kits on sale for under $100, but if the step up to DDR4-2666 and DDR4-3200 isn't too much, those are worth considering.

Check out the best DDR4 RAM options in 2019.

Storage: Samsung 970 Evo 500GB M.2 SSD

Capacity: 500GB | Interface: M.2 PCIe | Sequential IO: 3,400/2,300MB/s read/write | Random IO: 370K/450K IOPS read/write

At PC Gamer, we've reached a point where spinning disc drives are simply not worth our time (at least for your OS drive). If you’ve never used an SSD-powered system before, the difference between running on an SSD and HDD is like night and day. We consider it an essential part of any gaming PC.

For this build, you have a couple of choices. If you want to save money, the Samsung 860 Evo and Crucial MX500 500GB are slower SATA drive that are still more than fast enough for gaming—both rank high in our best SSD guide. But SATA is old school, and with a new build we felt it was time to step up to a higher performance M.2 NVMe drive.

If you want more capacity, an alternative would be to drop down to a 240-256GB SSD and then grab a larger 1-3TB HDD ($50~$75). With some games now hitting the 100GB mark, even a 500GB SSD can get full fast, so a larger HDD picks up the slack in that regard. Or you could just grab a 1TB SATA SSD for twice the capacity and still plenty of performance, if you don't mind the slight drop in speed and the additional wires in your overall aesthetic.

Here's our guide to the best SSD for gaming in 2019.

PSU: Corsair TX650M 650W

Output: 650W | Efficiency: 80 Plus Gold | Connectors: (1) 24-Pin ATX, (1) 8-Pin (4+4) EPS12V, (4) 8-Pin (6+2) PCIe, (6) SATA, (4) Molex, (1) Floppy | Modular: Partial

Power supplies are one of the least sexy parts of any build. After all, it can be hard to tell them apart in terms of features. Even so, you don't want to skimp on your PSU. Corsair has an excellent and well-deserved reputation for its power supplies, and the TX650M comes at a reasonable price and delivers 80 Plus Gold efficiency.

Most power supplies from the bigger names are generally good, but we wouldn’t recommend that you put your money in anything with a warranty of less than five years or an efficiency rating below 80 Plus Gold (maybe Bronze in a pinch). The $10 or $20 saved just isn't worth the risk.

We also tend to go with modular PSUs where possible. It means less cable mess inside the case, since you don’t have to stash unused cables somewhere. Instead, the unused cables have to find a home in your closet. If you’re looking for more details, check out our article on what to look for in a PSU.

Case: Phanteks Eclipse P400

Type: ATX mid-tower | Motherboard Compatibility: EATX, ATX, Micro-ATX, Mini-ITX | Drive Bays: (Up to 6) 3.5/2.5-inch internal (2 included), (2) 2.5-inch SSD | Front Ports: (2) USB 3.0, Headphone, Mic | Fan Options: Front: (3) 120mm (1 included) or (2) 140mm, Top: (2) 140/120mm, Rear: (1) 120mm (included) | Max GPU Length: 395mm | Dimensions: 465x211x470mm (HxWxD) | Weight: 7.0kg

Cases can be as sexy or boring as you want. We're going to go for the former rather than the latter, with the Phanteks Eclipse P400, a sweet tempered glass case. It's available in white or black, and there are also variants that skip the tempered glass and go with a windowed side panel instead. The Phanteks Eclipse P400 is also reasonably priced, which is always a bonus.

If you want other options, check our guide to the best ATX mid-tower cases. The NZXT S340 was our previous pick, and it's still highly recommended. The clean look goes well on any desk and doesn't obnoxiously stand out like many so-called "gaming cases."

Here are the best PC cases you can pick up right now.

CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 Evo (Optional)

Size: 120mm | Fan speed: 600-2,000rpm | Noise level: 9-36 dB(A) | Dimensions: 120x159x51mm | Socket support: LGA115x/1366/2011/2066, FM1/2, AM2/3, AM4

The Core i5-8400 includes a cooler, and it will be more than sufficient. But in case you're looking at the i5-9600K or i7-9700K as a higher performance option, or you want something quieter, we felt it would be worth mentioning our old standby cooler, the Hyper 212 Evo. It's something to always keep as an option with system builds.

If you're willing to spend a bit more, a nice AIO liquid cooler is another option worth considering, especially if you're planning on overclocking a K-series CPU. If you're serious about overclocking an i7-8700K or one of the new 9th Gen CPUs, though, we recommend moving up to AIO liquid coolers like the NZXT Kraken X62, which is a substantial jump in price.

Here's our guide to the best CPU coolers in 2019, liquid and air.

Some online stores give us a small cut if you buy something through one of our links. Read our affiliate policy for more info.