Ready to take the plunge on a new gaming PC but fancy building it yourself? You've come to the right place.
There's nothing like the feeling of pressing the power button for the first time on your shiny new gaming PC, built by your own two hands, and watching it whir to life. There's also nothing like when you hit the power button and nothing happens and you realise you've messed something up along the way—but less said about that the better.
If you're new to this, don't worry. I'll make it easy for you. I've been building PCs for years and I'm going to use that experience and our expert reviews here on PC Gamer to pick out the best PC components from the remains of the Prime Day sales (which are now over, sadly) and beyond. I'll make sure it all works together and will offer you top performance.
Below you'll find my recommendations for a gaming PC build around the $1,000 mark (almost to the dollar) and targeting both excellent 1440p performance, longevity and dashing good looks. I'll also post live updates to this page further down with recommendations for further deals on PC parts that catch my eye as I find them.
The $1,000 Prime Day gaming PC build
| Category | Part | Current price (US) |
|---|---|---|
| Motherboard | ASRock B650M Pro RS WiFi | $140 |
| Processor | AMD Ryzen 7 7700X | $245 |
| Graphics card | PowerColor Fighter Radeon RX 7700 XT OC | $361 |
| Cooler | BeQuiet! Dark Rock Pro 5 | $64 |
| Memory | Lexar Thor OC DDR5-6000 32 GB (2x 16 GB) | $85 |
| Power supply | Corsair RM750x power supply | $85 |
| SSD | Lexar NM790 1TB | $70 |
| Case | Fractal Design North chassis | $110 |
I've not cut corners on this PC build. I've chosen parts I would want in my own gaming PC. These are components that will deliver high frame rates today and overhead to deal with the next-generation of demanding games; that look fantastic together and should keep relatively quiet while gaming.
Processor
The first decision for any PC build is which CPU to go for: Intel or AMD?
I've sided with AMD here. The Ryzen 7 7700X is my chip of choice. There are a few reasons for that.
Firstly, it's hugely discounted down to just $245 today. You can buy it at Newegg or Amazon for that price, though it's a Prime only deal on the latter.
Secondly, AMD's AM5 platform will have more room to grow with support for future generations of AMD chips. With eight cores and 16 threads of Zen 4 at its disposal, you won't have to worry about replacing the 7700X anytime soon, but should you want to, you need only ensure your BIOS on your motherboard is up-to-date and replace the CPU with any other AM5 compatible chip.
We know the 9000-series will use the same AM5 socket as the 7000-series, so that's one upgrade you could make. I'd wager future 3D V-Cache processors would also make for a tasty upgrade if you can spare the cash.
Graphics card
I'm also choosing AMD for the graphics card in this PC. The PowerColor Radeon RX 7700 XT found over at Amazon (now sold out at Newegg) is an excellent price to pay for a modern GPU with 12 GB of VRAM. This card will roundly beat the similarly priced RTX 4060 Ti at 1440p and offers great bang-for-your-buck at 1080p, too.
Motherboard
For the motherboard, I've opted for the ASRock B650M Pro RS WiFi. It's a compact Micro ATX motherboard but it offers all I could ask for at this sale price. The VRM is a suitable 8+2+1 design, there are plenty of USB ports (including USB Type-C) and three NVMe SSD slots. One of which is also PCIe 5.0 compatible, though I won't be taking advantage of that for this build.
This motherboard comes in a white and black colourway, which will be important once we talk about the chassis later on.
Cooler
You could opt for a cheaper cooler to save some cash here, though in the interests of noise levels under load I've decided to opt for the brand new BeQuiet! Dark Rock Pro 5. A chunky air cooler capable of dissipating up to 270 W, it won't struggle to keep this 105 W Ryzen chip under control. There are two Silent Wings PWM fans included with this cooler and designed to keep noise to a minimum.
For the avoidance of doubt, I do like a liquid cooler. However, I have an air cooler in my personal PC and they're often fantastic value for the performance on offer.
The Dark Rock Pro 5 offers 45 mm of clearance for the RAM and shouldn't pose an issue with my 40 mm tall pick below. It's also 168 mm tall, which will just slide in perfectly into the Fractal chassis (max cooler size for the case is 170 mm).
Memory
I've opted for 32 GB of genuinely fast DDR5 RAM for this build. In the interests of saving money, I had expected to go for 16 GB, though a Prime Day deal on Lexar's 32 GB Thor OC DDR5-6000 kit was too tempting to resist. It is asking little more than some 16 GB kits, and yet it's genuinely speedy memory at 6000 MHz (effective) at CL32 and officially certified for AMD Ryzen systems through AMD Expo.
SSD
For storage, I've chosen the 1 TB Lexar NM790 solid state drive. This NVMe SSD is currently discounted with a heatsink attached, though one is included on the ASRock motherboard. It might be an idea to use this Lexar drive in one of the non-heatsink slots on the motherboard and use the motherboard's heatsink for an upgrade down the line.
I reviewed the massive 4 TB version of the Lexar NM790 and came away thoroughly impressed with the performance it delivers.
Power supply
Powering the lot is the Corsair RM750x power supply, currently on offer at Amazon. This fully-modular power supply is from a dependable manufacturer and rated to 80 Plus Gold and Cybenetics Gold standards. It also comes with a ten-year warranty for peace of mind.
Nothing makes me more uncomfortable than a thousand dollars worth of PC parts plugged into a no-name PSU with lacklustre electronics. Not on my watch.
Case
Lastly, the chassis into which it all slots in. The Fractal Design North case is held in high esteem by the PC Gamer team and further afield. You can pick it up in black or white for the same price in the sales, though I'm opting for white to match my pick of motherboard. Either way, it looks excellent with that wood finish up front. It also comes with two fans pre-installed for adequate cooling without spending any extra.
Hey, welcome to the live page covering the best component deals from Prime Day and beyond. I'm Jacob, senior hardware editor here at PC Gamer.
I'll post any great deals I find on components right here, including any alternatives for the build above. The page will automatically update, so stay right here.
So, you want something cheaper.
If you can't stretch your budget to the above, I've some cheaper CPUs for your consideration. The Ryzen 5 7600 is a six-core, 12-thread processor with all the benefits of the Zen 4 architecture and AM5 socket still intact.
A 65 W TDP means the 7600 is happier with a cheaper cooler, such as the Hyper 212. Though you can also get by with the entirely free cooler included in the boxed version of the chip. Neat!
There are other options available to you, however. Intel makes a mean CPU in the Core i5 13400F, though it will require a complete rethink of the motherboard. As will one of AMD's last-generation 5000-series chips, which are on the AM4 socket.
Though many Ryzen 5000-series chips are incredibly affordable for what you get. You can score one of the best gaming CPUs of the AM4 generation, the Ryzen 7 5700X3D, for less than the 7600 today—no cooler included on that one, however.
Eyeing up more storage space?
While it used to be the done thing to buy a Samsung SSD and be done with it, we actually prefer some other brands of SSDs for straightforward gaming use. Such as the WD Black SN850X, Lexar NM790, or Nextorage NEM-PA. All three are quick, effective and cheaper than the Samsung 990 Pro.
We gave all three drives high scores in our reviews, as you can check out for yourself below.
Nextorage NEM-PA review
WD Black SN850X review
Lexar NM790 review
If you want to improve your frame rate above and beyond what the RX 7700 XT can muster, you might want to check out the RX 7900 GRE. Launched exclusively in China for a short while, this model has since been released to the rest of the world. It's on the cheaper end of 4K capable—though would make a superb GPU for 1440p or ultrawide performance.
The alternative from the green team is the RTX 4070, if we're talking a straight price comparison. The GRE does generally outdo the RTX 4070 in rasterised performance, though as with most AMD vs Nvidia battles, turn on ray tracing and Nvidia claws back performance. That's especially true of the RTX 4070 Super, which is more competitive versus the RX 7900 GRE across the board, though costs quite a bit more.
Check out our RX 7900 GRE review for more.
We've spoken about saving cash, but what if you wanted to spend more of it on this gaming PC build? You have a couple of options for a drop-in CPU upgrade, all on sale right now.
The best of the lot for gaming, courtesy of a huge Prime Day discount, has to be the Ryzen 7 7800X3D. This is the fastest gaming CPU on the planet right now, so for pure performance in games, go for this.
If you prefer to prioritise performance in heavy multicore applications, you might want to look into the Ryzen 9 7900X. This is a multitasking champ.
Finally, if you prefer a blend of productivity and gaming, it's the Ryzen 9 7900X3D you're after. This offers the higher cache quantity of the 7800X3D with all the extra cores of the 7900X. You might think this is the clear winner of the lot, considering it's one of the cheaper chips, too, and I'd agree with you. However, it's worth pointing out that the 7800X3D is reliably a teeny bit quicker in games and the 7950X is reliably a teeny bit quicker in CPU tests. I mean, it's marginal either way, so imma say pick this and don't sweat it.
Our Nick has searched across the web to find the five deals on PC cases worth buying this Prime Day. He's made some good picks here—which I say as someone that has built PCs into the Corsair 5000D and Lian Li O11 Dynamic. The former is wicked for cable management and tidy builds, the latter for customisation options with fully liquid cooled machines.
We don't often talk about power supplies much. We should, they're underrated, but we don't. And that's sad.
BeQuiet! Straight Power 12 1200W | $179.99 at Newegg (save $70)
Corsair RM1000x 1000 W | $123.49 at Newegg (save $66.50)
Corsair RM850x 850 W | $94.99 at Amazon (save $55)
Hey, check it out: our favorite quiet air cooler is on sale for a nice little discount for Prime Day. Here's what we had to say about it in our guide to the best CPU coolers:
"It's a single-tower cooler with the company's highly regarded Pure Wings 2 PWM fan, with a low 26.8dB(A) noise rating. That means it's very quiet indeed. It feels excellent, too, an indicator of good build quality... The Pure Rock 2 will keep your chip cool and quiet for anything other than high-end CPUs. If you're interested in bling and want something that's a step up from bundled coolers, the Pure Rock 2 is a fantastic choice. It will cool out of sight, mind, and earshot."
Lauren put together this fun (but also practical!) list of affordable accessories no PC gamer should be without. Well, maybe you can do without the rabbit-eared charger, but a mic arm, better cable management gear, and a compressed air duster for keeping your computer and keyboard clean? Vital tools, and they're all cheaper than usual.
If you're going to pick just one, I gotta recommend the cable management kit.
Hey, Jacob here again for the morning shift. Prime Day may be over but don't fret: there are still plenty of deals available across the web.
Newegg's Fantastech sale is still on for another day, which means many of my picks here are still live and kickin'.
