Building a gaming PC on a $1000 budget in 2025 is can be challenging, but serious performance can be had with this budget. With the release of new AMD and NVIDA GPUs, the market has begun to stabilize more with last generation GPUs becoming readily available.
This build is designed to hit that sweet spot: solid 1080p and 1440p performance, smooth frame rates in modern titles, and upgrade-friendly parts—without blowing your wallet to bits.
If you’re a first time PC builder on a budget, this is the setup I’d recommend right now. Let’s dive into the parts list, with what I picked and why.
CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 7600 3.8 GHz 6 – Core Processor – https://amzn.to/3GpoIrG
This CPU offers a great price to performance ratio while also being supported by the newer AM5 socket. This means upgrade in the future will be made a lot easier, as you don’t have to worry about upgrading your motherboard or RAM.
CPU Cooler: Thermalright Assassin X 90 SE ARGB – https://amzn.to/3GhG7Cj
This is a great cooler if you plan on doing some light overclocking, and it also comes with pretty RGB lights!
Motherboard: MSI PRO B650M-P Micro ATX – https://amzn.to/4cHw5Xi
When building a PC on a budget, there is no need to splurge on a fancy motherboard with all the bells and whistles. This motherboard has all the features we are looking for including PCIe gen 4 support and providing the AM5 socket for our CPU.
RAM: TEAMGROUP T-Create Classic 32 GB – https://amzn.to/3RvGzPN
All around great value for performance memory that runs at 5600 MHz. I’ve been using Teamgroup memory products for years with no issues.
Storage: TEAMGROUP MP44L 2 TB – https://amzn.to/44ENKwJ
Again, another great Teamgroup product. Can’t beat that price for a 2 TB M.2 SSD.
Graphics Card: MSI VENTUS 2X BLACK OC GeForce RTX 4060 8 GB
Now this is where things can get controversial. The graphics card market, while getting better, is not ideal for someone trying to build a PC on a budget. If you’re looking to maximize your price to performance ration, I HIGHLY recommend looking on places like Facebook Marketplace or Ebay to find a good deal on a graphics card. Now, I went with the RTX 4060 due to the DLSS3 support. However, you can find a used AMD Radeon 6700 xt on Ebay for around the same price but with 12 GB of VRAM instead of the 4060’s wimpy 8 GB. This is one component that if you take your time and do your research, you can save A LOT of money or get lucky and end up with a really nice card.
CASE: Fractal Design Pop Air ATX Mid Tower – https://amzn.to/3S0YiyH
Now, this part is completely up to you and how you want to personalize your build. There are many great case options in this price point. Personally, I love Fractal products. I have been pretty much exclusively been using their cases for personal about a decade now. Only downside, is that this case does not come with RGB fans.
Power Supply: Corsair CX650M 650 W 80+ Bronze – https://amzn.to/4iNIMl3
This is one component you DO NOT want to cheap out on. Faulty or poorly made power supplies can cause you so many headaches…. it’s just not worth it. Corsair is a safe a reliable brand that makes excellent power supply. I personally have used their power supplies in many of my builds. This particular power supply is semi modular to make cable management simpler.
Conclusion:
This build will be future proof for many years to come and will be able to run any modern title with ease.
Grand Total: $1059.08 (after shipping and tax)
PC Part Picker: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/9sVJPJ