Gaming PC build under $900?

Greetings! As the title suggests, a colleague of mine is looking to pick up a PC setup for $2000 that includes a monitor dedicated strictly to gaming. He’s based out in Naperville, and while he mentioned wanting to buy from Micro Center, he honestly doesn't care which retailer he uses—if there's somewhere else where he can get better value for his money, that would be ideal. From what I understand, most major retailers offer assembly and delivery services, right?

Now, for my specific question regarding his needs: is it actually possible to find a 144 Hz monitor within this budget without having to compromise on the power of the graphics card or the processor? Back in the day, before his old rig finally gave up the ghost, he used to play Counter-Strike, so he'll likely be jumping back into CS again. Once you experience the difference between 144 Hz and 60 Hz in a game like CS, there really is no going back. 🙂

Thanks in advance!

Edit: Just a heads-up, he'll be buying on an installment plan if that makes a difference!

Dell monitor VG248QE Ultimate gaming 144 Hz
Corsair 500 w NAXN Basic Series
Gigabyte GA-AB350M-DS3H V2 (rev. 1.1)
G.Skill Ripjaws 2x4GB DDR4 2666MHz
SAPPHIRE Video Card Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060 4G GDDR5 HDMI / DVI-D / DP W/ExxonMobil (BIOS)
Corsair Z1 neo Midi-Tower ATX case, no power supply, black
Samsung 870 EVO SSD 480 GB 480 GB 2.5" Serial ATA III
AMD Ryzen 3 1200

Uzishop ~ $2.00 on installments

Ryzen 3 1200 paired with an Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060

If you aren't using a 144Hz monitor, I guess you could probably get away with an Intel Core i5-7600K/1600/2600 and 16GB of RAM.

1 * Dell monitor VG248QE Ultimate gaming 144 Hz
Model number: 0225142 - $540

1 * Intel Core i5-7600K Desktop CPU (3.2/3.4GHz Boost, 10MB, 65W, AM4) box, including Wraith Stealth 65W cooler
Part number: YD1400BBAEBOX - $327

1 * ASUS Main board desktop AMD B350 (S.AM4, 4xDDR4, RAID) mATX
Part number: GA-AB350M-DS3H - $170

1 * Patriot Elite DDR4, 2666Mhz, 8GB (2x4GB)HS
Part number: pat-ps48g2666k-8gh - $148

1 * Sapphire GTX 1050 Ti Pulse OC, 8GB GDDR5
Part number: sap-rx570pulseo-8g - $476

1 * Samsung 870 EVO SSD 480 GB, SATA III, 3D NAND TLC, 550MBs/480MBs
Part number: GP-GSTFS31480GNTD - $166

1 * XFX 600W XT Series, 80+ Bronze Power Supply
Part number: XFX-P1-600B-XTFR - $133

1 * Zalman S3, 1x120mm, USB3.0
Part number: ZAL-S3 - $88

Total: $2048 (-2%=$2.00)
Free assembly and shipping included

crimsonstag84 said:Dell monitor VG248QE Ultimate gaming 144 Hz
Corsair 500 w NAXN Basic Series
Gigabyte GA-AB350M-DS3H V2 (rev. 1.1)
G.Skill Ripjaws 2x4GB DDR4 2666MHz
SAPPHIRE Video Card Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060 4G GDDR5 HDMI / DVI-D / DP W/ExxonMobil (BIOS)
Corsair Z1 neo Midi-Tower ATX case, no power supply, black
Samsung 870 EVO SSD 480 GB 480 GB 2.5" Serial ATA III

Local shop ~ $2.00 on installment plans

Ryzen 3 1200 paired with an RX 570

If you aren't using a 144Hz monitor, you could easily swap in a Ryzen 1600X/1600/2600 and 16GB of RAM.

Does that price include the processor?🤔😬

Hey guys, a colleague mentioned that we could potentially go up to $200 instead. If we increase the budget to $200, would that actually allow us to snag a better processor or a better graphics card, or does it pretty much stay the same regardless of the extra cash?

Is it possible to get a GTX 1060? I've been hearing from some buddies that it's a fantastic card—is the GTX 1060 actually an upgrade over the ones you guys have listed here?

And honestly, can we aim for something even better than a GTX 1060?

What would a build look like if we bumped it up to $2200? He’s looking at paying in installments, so he was told that $200 wouldn't really change the value proposition much.

Edit: Could someone please let me know which shop you used to put this together? ownswiftfalcon89 didn't specify the location.

A GTX 1060 isn't even worth considering at these prices. You're better off grabbing a 1660 Ti (around $833) or maybe an RX 570/580 (between $500). I figured the price would drop since Nvidia officially slashed it to $179, which should be about $500, but I guess that's not happening anytime soon.

On a different note, I spotted this monitor... I’d definitely pull the trigger on that.

Corsair Z1 neo Midi-Tower ATX case, no PSU, black
Samsung 870 EVO SSD 480 GB 480 GB 2.5"
Patriot V Elite DDR4, 2800Mhz, (2x 4GB),8GB, CL16
AMD Ryzen 5 2600 - boxed
SAPPHIRE Video Card Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060 4G GDDR5 HDMI / DVI-D / DP W/ExxonMobil (BIOS)
EVGA PB500 Power Supply 500W, 80+ Bronze, Japanese capacitors, 120mm smart control fan, US plug
ASUS Main board desktop AMD B350 (SAM4, 4xDDR4, Realtek ALC887, 1x10/100/1000 Mbit, 1xPCIEX16

~$1.75 on installments - Best Buy

I saw that one too, though honestly, I’d much prefer to just grab everything from a single retailer xD. You know, just place one order and have the whole setup—PC and monitor—arrive together in one go. So, for $2200, are you saying there's no way to score anything better than a GTX 1050 Ti paired with that
?

crimsonstag84 said:The GTX 1060 isn't worth it at these prices, period. It’s either a 1660 Ti (2400-$833) or an RX 570/580 (1200-$500). Prices should have dropped since Nvidia officially slashed it to $179, which would be about $500, but we aren't seeing any of that yet.

Speaking of changes, I spotted this monitor... definitely grabbing it.

Corsair Z1 neo Midi-Tower ATX case, no PSU, black
Samsung 870 EVO SSD 480 GB 480 GB 2.5"
Patriot V Elite DDR4, 2800Mhz, (2x 4GB),8GB, CL16
AMD Ryzen 5 2600 - boxed
SAPPHIRE Video Card Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060 4G GDDR5 HDMI / DVI-D / DP W/ExxonMobil (BIOS)
EVGA PB500 Power Supply 500W, 80+ Bronze, Japanese capacitors, 120mm smart control fan, US plug
ASUS Main board desktop AMD B350 (SAM4, 4xDDR4, Realtek ALC887, 1x10/100/1000 Mbit, 1xPCIEX16

~$1.75 installment plan - Uzishop

A TN panel? 🙂

What exactly is a TN panel? unknown. Also, I’d love for someone to give me a full breakdown of $2200 everything that comes with the ASUS VG248QE Ultimate monitor—basically, is it actually worth the money? I just want to make sure I'm getting the absolute best value for my buck right now. This guy isn't interested in waiting around; he wants to pull the trigger and order immediately LOL. He's building his PC today, and who knows when he'll ever get around to doing this again—maybe in 30 years! hehe

edit, ON INSTALLMENTS!!! I see that swiftfalcon89 is paying for everything upfront, how classy lol

Good grief, did you see that last post? Now he’s claiming it can go up to $7,000, and apparently, it’s only because he didn't realize the interest rates would bump up the total if we opted for financing. Honestly, $0.33 isn't any better either. Could someone please just hammer out the final numbers at $7,000? My blood pressure is through the roof already! xD