Gaming PC build for $1,100 - $1,200?

Hey there,

So, I’ve finally pulled the trigger on building a new rig, looking to drop somewhere in the neighborhood of $750 to $2667. I've been doing a bit of digging, and I was thinking about trying to squeeze an Intel Z170 motherboard and an NVIDIA GTX 970 into the budget. Right now, I'm running an MSI 570 that’s about four or five years old, and let me tell you, whenever I actually put any real load on it, the thing screams like it's fighting for its life, though it hasn't kicked the bucket just yet. If I could snag an MSI version of that 970, that would be killer. As far as the motherboard goes, my main priority is making sure it can handle those high-end NVMe drives if I decide to go big on storage down the road. For right now, a Samsung 870 EVO is plenty for me. I'm not planning on overclocking anything—at least not until the warranty expires—so I don't think I'll need some insane, overkill cooling setup.

Honestly, the market is such a mess right now that I have no clue where the deals are, what’s actually worth the money, and what’s just a total "idiot tax." If anyone out there has a kind soul and could put together a solid build list for me, I’d really appreciate it.

Washington, D.C.? With or without the suburbs?

Regarding the Western Digital drives, all boards support SATA3—unless you meant an M.2 SSD (which the Intel Z170 boards can handle too)?

Seagate Barracuda 1 TB, 64MB, 7200rpm.
The EVGA GeForce GTX 970 is a solid little card.
The SanDisk X400 256GB SSD—it's a 2.5” 7mm drive with SATA 6 Gbit/s speeds. You’re looking at about 540 MB/s read and 520 MB/s write. I guess that's decent enough for most basic setups.
The Zalman mid tower case in black, specifically the ZAL-R1 model.
Kingmax 1x8GB DDR4 2133 GLJG, KIN-8GB DDR4 2133
It’s an Intel Core i5 6500, I guess.
Intel Core i5 6500 with Corsair SF550
The ASRock Z170A-X1.

All things considered: $2515 I suppose there isn't much to say about Centro. Maybe it's just one of those things.

Intel Core i5-6402P.
8GB DDR4 2133MHz HyperX Fury RAM.
SanDisk Ultra SSD 256GB, 2.5” 7mm, SATA 6 Gbit/s, Read/Write: 540 MB/s / 520 MB/s.
Seagate Barracuda 1TB, 64MB, 7200rpm HDWD110UZSVA.
DeathClaw Midi Tower Black case.
EVGA SuperNOVA Power Supply. It gets the job done.
The MSI GeForce GTX 970. It's fine, but don't expect miracles.
That LC Power cooler? It's basically like trying to cool a desert with a handheld fan. Don't bother.
Gigabyte GA-Z170-HD3P motherboard. Socket 1151, Z170 chipset, DDR4 support, S3, USB 3.0, DVI. Simple as that.
7.649,59

I don't know what you're trying to get at with that link. Just say what you mean.

Nice work. Honestly, I tried putting together something similar at Micro Center, but they wouldn't let me get anywhere near that price point—it stayed stuck way above $800.

Regarding those SSDs, I remember reading somewhere that M.2 drives are supposed to be faster, but man... if you're willing to cough up the extra cash for it. Personally, I figured I'd just let one sit on the shelf for now in case I actually need it later.

I’d honestly just drop an AMD Radeon R9 390 in there instead of the GTX 970. At this point, the performance gap between them is just too wide to ignore.

silentrider14 said:Nice work. Honestly, I tried putting together something similar at Micro Center, but they wouldn't let me get anywhere near that price point—it stayed stuck way above $800.

Regarding those SSDs, I remember reading somewhere that M.2 drives are supposed to be faster, but man... if you're willing to cough up the extra cash for it. Personally, I figured I'd just let one sit on the shelf for now in case I actually need it later.

At Micro Center, the prices in your cart aren't the cash prices; you see the actual totals 😁 once you pick your payment method.

Cooler Master Hyper TX3i evo, $57
Zalman Z3 mid Tower case, $101
ASRock Z170A-X motherboard, LGA 1151: $303
Intel Core i5-6402P processor: 1,$156
Corsair VS Series 550W power supply: $138
Crucial BX200 240GB SSD, SATA3: $180
Seagate Barracuda 1TB HDD, 3.5", 7200RPM, 32MB Cache, SATA3: $126
Kingston HyperX Savage 8GB (2x4GB) DDR4 PC4-17000 2133MHz CL13: $130
LG GH24NS DVD burner, DVD±RW, 24x: $43
Sapphire Nitro R9 390 8GB GDDR5 Tri-X: 2,$300

= $550, AMD

If you'd rather have an Nvidia card like the Gigabyte GTX 970 G1 gaming, 4 GB: 2,$310, price is about the same.

I wouldn't dream of putting a Corsair VS power supply in a build worth about $2667.

Alexander Moore67 I can't believe this. Seriously?
I'm looking at a PC build around... $2667 I wouldn't be caught dead putting a Corsair VS series PSU in my build.

N/A
Steady rails.
Look at that ripple—or rather, the total lack of it. You honestly won't find many power supplies this clean.
What a steal! $100? That’s absolute madness—pure insanity, I’m telling you!
Solid aesthetics.
Full sleeves on a budget? Now we're talking!
Japanese caps FTW!

The bad.
Loose screws? That's a disaster waiting to happen.
The Mediocre:

The sleeving doesn't even reach the top.
What if that plastic fan deflector just pops off? Total disaster waiting to happen.
That "leaning transistor of doom" thing? Honestly, it’s not even that big of a deal.
Wattage label is hidden. Link? Where? Give me the link!

If you’re looking for a solid PSU under $50, the VS Series PSUs are hands down the best move you can make. No contest. It's an incredible unit—clean design, a quiet 120mm fan, and plenty of ports. Honestly, we went looking for flaws just to be thorough, but we couldn't find a single thing wrong with it. Best buy, period. [Link]

Pretty solid PSU for this category.

Christian Torres3 said:Cooler Master Hyper TX3i evo, $57
Zalman Z3 mid Tower case, $101
ASRock Z170A-X motherboard, LGA 1151: $303
Intel Core i5-6402P processor: 1,$156
Corsair VS Series 550W power supply: $138
Crucial BX200 240GB SSD, SATA3: $180
Seagate Barracuda 1TB HDD, 3.5", 7200RPM, 32MB Cache, SATA3: $126
Kingston HyperX Savage 8GB (2x4GB) DDR4 PC4-17000 2133MHz CL13: $130
LG GH24NS DVD burner, DVD±RW, 24x: $43
Sapphire Nitro R9 390 8GB GDDR5 Tri-X: 2,$300

= $550, AMD

If you'd rather have an Nvidia card like the Gigabyte GTX 970 G1 gaming, 4 GB: 2,$310, price is about the same.

This build is junk. You can get way better power supplies and SSDs for this kind of money. And nobody needs a DVD drive anymore.

Christian Torres3 said:

Alexander Moore67 I can't believe this. Seriously?
I'm looking at a PC build around... $2667 I wouldn't be caught dead putting a Corsair VS series PSU in my build.

N/A
Steady rails.
Look at that ripple—or rather, the total lack of it. You honestly won't find many power supplies this clean.
What a steal! $100? That’s absolute madness—pure insanity, I’m telling you!
Solid aesthetics.
Full sleeves on a budget? Now we're talking!
Japanese caps FTW!

The bad.
Loose screws? That's a disaster waiting to happen.
The Mediocre:

The sleeving doesn't even reach the top.
What if that plastic fan deflector just pops off? Total disaster waiting to happen.
That "leaning transistor of doom" thing? Honestly, it’s not even that big of a deal.
Wattage label is hidden. Link? Where? Give me the link!

If you’re looking for a solid PSU under $50, the VS Series PSUs are hands down the best move you can make. No contest. It's an incredible unit—clean design, a quiet 120mm fan, and plenty of ports. Honestly, we went looking for flaws just to be thorough, but we couldn't find a single thing wrong with it. Best buy, period. [Link]

Pretty solid PSU for this category.

Nah, that's a terrible power supply. Especially for a build at this price point where you actually have some decent options to choose from.

Robert Rodriguez2 said:Nah, that's a terrible power supply. Especially for a build at this price point where you actually have some decent options to choose from.

Fine, for $150$67 they could definitely grab something better, but what exactly makes this unit so bad? The VS Series PSUs are just Corsair's entry level line. They're all five-star rated, so where's the proof? Where are the users actually complaining about bad experiences?

Christian Torres3 said:Fine, for $150$67 they could definitely grab something better, but what exactly makes this unit so bad? The VS Series PSUs are just Corsair's entry level line. They're all five-star rated, so where's the proof? Where are the users actually complaining about bad experiences?

It’s those cheap Chinese capacitors, and that's the whole issue. The claim about them using Japanese parts is a lie, and besides, that link you sent is for the VX, which is a completely different story.

Christian Torres3 said:

Alexander Moore67 I can't believe this. Seriously?
I'm looking at a PC build around... $2667 I wouldn't be caught dead putting a Corsair VS series PSU in my build.

N/A
Steady rails.
Look at that ripple—or rather, the total lack of it. You honestly won't find many power supplies this clean.
What a steal! $100? That’s absolute madness—pure insanity, I’m telling you!
Solid aesthetics.
Full sleeves on a budget? Now we're talking!
Japanese caps FTW!

The bad.
Loose screws? That's a disaster waiting to happen.
The Mediocre:

The sleeving doesn't even reach the top.
What if that plastic fan deflector just pops off? Total disaster waiting to happen.
That "leaning transistor of doom" thing? Honestly, it’s not even that big of a deal.
Wattage label is hidden. Link? Where? Give me the link!

If you’re looking for a solid PSU under $50, the VS Series PSUs are hands down the best move you can make. No contest. It's an incredible unit—clean design, a quiet 120mm fan, and plenty of ports. Honestly, we went looking for flaws just to be thorough, but we couldn't find a single thing wrong with it. Best buy, period. [Link]

Pretty solid PSU for this category.

You linked the VX series instead of the VS, but let's be real—the VX is at least a tier above today's CX line, let alone the VS series. Trying to run an R9 390 on a 550W VS unit is just asking for trouble. If you're looking at the deals from Micro Center, you should grab at least a Hyper 600W.

Alexander Moore67 said:It’s those cheap Chinese capacitors, and that's the whole issue. The claim about them using Japanese parts is a lie, and besides, that link you sent is for the VX, which is a completely different story.

You're right about that first link, my bad. And regarding the VS550, I see everyone shouting "bad caps, bad caps," but on Amazon.com, out of 90+ users, it's got a 4.5/5 rating. As far as I can tell, I don't see enough actual issues with them to say they're above average.

Anyway, the OP has recommendations and opinions, so I guess they'll figure out what to pick.

There is absolutely no way that unit can handle an R9 290/390. According to the official Corsair website:

VS Series PSUs are the entry-level line of 240 Volt power supplies with high-end features. VS Series PSUs are a great choice if you’re building a home or office system with lower power demands, but you still demand the compatibility and reliability that Corsair is known for.

Think of it as a slightly higher-quality budget option compared to something like an EVGA or similar brand—perfect for a standard office PC or maybe a light budget gaming build.

Kimberly Gomez34 said:There is absolutely no way that unit can handle an R9 290/390. According to the official Corsair website:

VS Series PSUs are the entry-level line of 240 Volt power supplies with high-end features. VS Series PSUs are a great choice if you’re building a home or office system with lower power demands, but you still demand the compatibility and reliability that Corsair is known for.

Think of it as a slightly higher-quality budget option compared to something like an EVGA or similar brand—perfect for a standard office PC or maybe a light budget gaming build.

Some people actually run a 290/390 with a VSom, and if you ask directly on the Corsair forum if a VS550 can handle that kind of setup, the moderator basically says yeah, it works. But honestly? The consensus seems to be that for a 390, you really want a PSU pushing 600W of actual power, whereas the VS550 only puts out 504W.

A 504W rating on the +12V rail might technically cut it, but I suspect that once you push the system hard, the actual build quality of the power supply will start to show its flaws—and let’s be honest, these units aren't exactly top-tier.
I've seen plenty of people on various forums running an Radeon HD 7950 just fine on an EVGA 550W Core Edition (which puts out 528W on the +12V rail), even when paired with a 125W FX processor; it might have been a bit louder under load, sure. Various 550W Gold-rated units are slightly more robust, offering around 540-550W on the +12V rail, and they're frequently a step up in quality compared to Bronze-rated PSUs, though that isn't a universal rule. For instance, moving up to reliable 600W Bronze models—like those from Fortron—and anything above that would be a smart choice for an Radeon HD 7950.