Gaming PC build under $1,300?

I could really use some help putting together a gaming rig within my budget—if we can manage to squeeze in a GTX1070, that would be awesome! I'm looking at shops here in the US, thanks in advance!😁

AMD Ryzen 5 1600 x processor, 3600/4000 MHz, Socket AM4, no cooler included
GIGABYTE AX370M-Gaming 3 motherboard, Socket AM4, DDR4, VGA, DVI, HDMI, mATX
120 GB GIGABYTE SSD, 2.5", SATA III
FRACTAL design Core 2300 case, no power supply included
1 TB TOSHIBA P300 hard drive, 3.5", 7200 rpm, SATA III, HDWD110UZSVA
FORTRON Hexa 85+ 550W power supply, 80+ Bronze, ATX
G.SKILL 16 GB (2x8 GB) DDR4 memory, 3000 MHz, DIMM, Aegis, F4-3000C16D-16GISB
GIGABYTE Nvidia GeForce GTX1070 ti WF2 graphics card, 8 GB GDDR5
ARCTIC COOLING Freezer 33 plus CPU cooler, AMD AM4, Intel 2066/2011/1155/1151/1150/1156

Total: $2868 - HGSpot

1 * AMD Ryzen 5 1600 x, 6C/12T, 3.6GHz, 19MB, Socket AM4, without cooler
Sifra: amd-r5-1600x - $416

1 * ARCTIC COOLING Freezer 33 plus CPU Cooler, compatible with 1151/1150/1155/1156/2011-v3/2011/AMD AM4
Sifra: 050.903.341- - $66

1 * Adata DDR4 16GB (2x8GB) 3000MHz XPG GAMMIX D10 RAM
Sifra: 0704631- - $413

1 * Asrock AMD AM4 B450M-HDV motherboard
Sifra: asr-b450-pro4 - $263

1 * Inno3D Video Card GeForce GTX 1070 iChill X3 V2 (1582Mhz / 8Gbps) / 8 GB GDDR5 / 256-bit / Dual DVI+HDMI+DP / VA12U / GP104F8532
Sifra: C107C3-3SDN-P5DSX - $1170

1 * Kingston SSD A400, R500/W450, 480GB, 7mm, 2.5"
Sifra: king-sa400-480g - $208

1 * GIGABYTE B700H Power Supply 700 w, Modular, 80+ Bronze, featuring Japanese capacitors, 120mm smart control fan, US plug
Sifra: sifra : GP-B700H - $173

1 * SilentiumPC Armis AR3 Black Case, includes 2x120mm fans
Sifra: 29150648 - $120

Total: $2829, Futura-It, free assembly and shipping included

Thanks! Just one thing though—is the Ryzen going to be enough to handle 144 Hz gaming? I know Intel usually has the edge there.

You didn't mention aiming for a high refresh rate, so I'm assuming this budget is targeting roughly 1440p at 60Hz for
gaming.
The issue is simple: if you grab an Intel processor that actually outperforms the Ryzen 1600 x or 2600 x—meaning you’d need at least an 8600K to see any real difference—it’s going to cost more. That leaves you with less cash for the GPU, making a beefy CPU pointless since the graphics card won't be able to push high refresh rates even at 1080p.

To hit those higher refresh rates, you realistically need at least a GTX1080 paired with an 8600K.

With a budget under that, I'd rather aim for 1440p at 75Hz. The GTX1070 can handle that, and you won't run into a massive CPU bottleneck; a Ryzen will push that refresh rate just fine.

An i5 8400 isn't much of an alternative either. Its clock speed is lower than the 8600K, so sticking with Ryzen makes more sense for the money.

P.S.

If you're playing stuff like CS:GO or Overwatch—games a microwave could probably run at 200FPS—then honestly, it doesn't matter.

It beats any Intel chip you could grab at that price point. You’re still going to run into a GPU bottleneck regardless—whether you're rocking a GTX1070 or a 1070ti—rather than the CPU being the thing holding back your FPS.

Bottom line: the PC is very well-balanced. Don't sweat it; you honestly couldn't build anything more powerful for this amount of money, even accounting for all those sudden price hikes.

Thanks! I really need high FPS specifically for Overwatch—as for other games, I don't mind if they run a bit lower, it won't bother me too much.

You're going to see massive FPS numbers with that setup; honestly, the game isn't even that graphically demanding compared to most titles out there today.

I wouldn't suggest picking up any components or peripherals here in the States right now, because honestly, current prices don't seem to have much to do with common sense, but if you were to take a look at some of those "tried and true" online retailers based in the US or even overseas like Computeruniverse, you wouldn't just find better deals, you'd actually end up saving quite a bit of money... 👍

Adam Allen said:I wouldn't recommend buying any components or peripherals here in the States. Right now, prices have zero connection to reality. You'd be better off checking out some "tried and true" shops over in the EU, like Computeruniverse. It wouldn't cost you a fortune—in fact, you'd actually save a few bucks.👍

Just drop a build list with prices.

Computer Universe - I've put together two separate builds from them (back in 2013 and 2017)

AMD Ryzen 5 1600 x - $159.00
MSI B450M BAZOOKA - $88.00
Corsair Vengeance LPX Black 16GB DDR4 Kit (2x8GB) - $125.00
ZOTAC GeForce GTX1070 ti WF2 - $495.00
Samsung SSD 860 EVO SATA3 500GB - $94.00
Seasonic S12II-620 Bronze 620 Watt - $58.00
ARCTIC COOLING Freezer 33 plus - $23.00
Cooltek KX White Midi Tower - $33.00

Total - $1,075 + $40 shipping = $1,115 ($2552) via PayPal

I decided to mirror your exact build just to avoid any unnecessary debates about why I chose one part over another, though I did opt for a slightly better SSD and power supply to ensure quality, which really doesn't change the budget much at all $333... personally, I don't think getting a free assembly service at a local shop is worth it when they rush through everything and clearly have zero interest in decent cable management... as far as warranties and customer service go, I honestly don't think any single retailer in America can compete with the level of service you get from Computer Universe, unless anyone here thinks differently...

They’ve got decent prices, and you forgot to mention that’s a GTX1070You so it's actually half a class stronger.

So it ends up costing a bit more than what you claimed.

With the cheapest GTX1070Ti, plus DHL shipping and 25% sales tax (which gets added once you punch in your US address), you're looking at $1107 or basically $2750.

If you opt for the GTX1070 instead, it’s about $35 cheaper, which makes it roughly $2667.

Whether the assembly and the local warranty here in the States is worth that $167 difference... that's on you to decide.
But it definitely isn't "just a few bucks" XD

Just my two cents, but sales tax has always been baked right into the prices listed on the web shop, so this seems to be a fresh change... I know everyone has their own way of looking at things, but I just wanted to broaden the perspective since there are so many different ways of doing business here in America and beyond.

That works too, provided you can manage the assembly yourself.

Generally speaking, yes—sales tax is based on the buyer's location (it’s the same way Amazon handles it), and they don't calculate it until the final checkout stage.

Unless, of course, you're dealing with shops that have relatively low sales volume within the US.

Yeah, if a shop pulls in over $100k in annual sales from a specific US state, they have to deal with that state's sales tax. So, you'd have to tack on an extra 6% to those German net prices—which works out to about a 5% bump on the gross total.

Now, Computer Universe has decent pricing, but it’s not "world-changing" good. The price gaps aren't massive. Honestly, prices here in the States aren't half bad either.

Everything seems to be in order, though what really gets to me is how limited the component selection can feel here in America, as the variety just isn't what it should be... personally, I tend to stick exclusively to m-ITX builds, so here is a quick look at the surprisingly deep selection of m-ITX motherboards for the 1151 socket available over at Futura-It https://ibb.co/cjF0Qq

Yeah, whatever, it's a tiny market.
Some shops have more flexible stock, meaning they basically order stuff on demand (I think Micro Center does this)

I feel kind of bad jumping into someone else's thread like this, but since the price point and the build specs are basically identical, I figured I'd just throw my hat in the ring...
This is what I'm looking at right now from two different shops; I think I could probably shave about $300 off the total, though I'm honestly not quite sure where $167 🙂

Here's option one:
Toshiba 1TB Hard Drive, 7200rpm, 64MB
sifra : GP-B700H $116

Kingston A400 SSD, R500/W350, 240GB, 7mm, 2.5" - SALE
sifra : king-sa400-240g $119

AMD Ryzen 5 1600 x Processor, 3.6GHz, 19MB, Socket AM4, no cooler included, YD160XBCAEWOF - SPECIAL DEAL
sifra : INP-00046 (40245-1109) $652

Fortron Hexa 85+ 550W Power Supply, 80+ Bronze, ATX
sifra : fsp-nap-hexa85-550 $169

FRACTAL design Core 2300 Case, black, no power supply, Mid Tower
sifra : frac-core-x3-2300 $155

Inno3D GeForce GTX 1070 iChill X3 V2 Graphics Card (1582Mhz / 8Gbps) / 8 GB GDDR5 / 256-bit / Dual DVI+HDMI+DP / VA12U / GP104F8532
sifra : C107C3-3SDN-P5DSX $1310

Asrock AMD AM4 B450M-HDV Motherboard
sifra : ASR-B450M-HDV-Es $213

Acer 24" Nitro VG240Ybmiix Monitor, IPS, gaming, FreeSync, 75Hz, UM.QV0EE.001, Full HD - BEST BUY
sifra : ACR-1959 $351

Xilence "A404T" CPU Cooler, S.AM4/AM3/AM2/AM2+/FM2+/FM2/FM1, 92×92×25mm, PWM fan
sifra : 38440 $75

Adata DDR4 8GB 3000MHz XPG GAMMIX D10 Memory
sifra : 0704631 2kom x $249=$497

Total: $10,968.96

Option two:

AMD Ryzen 5 1600 x, 6C/12T, 3.6GHz, 19MB, Socket AM4, no cooler
sifra : amd-r5-1600x $416

GIGABYTE AX370M-Gaming 3 Desktop Main Board
sifra : GA-AX370M-GAMING_3 $238

GIGABYTE SSD UD PRO 256GB, 2.5, SATA III, 530MBs/500MBs, Retail
sifra : GP-GSTFS30256GTTD $166

SilentiumPC Regnum RG4 Black Case, 3x120mm
sifra : 29150644 $130

Toshiba P300 1TB, 64MB, 7200rpm
sifra : to-hdwd110uzsva $113

GIGABYTE B700H Power Supply 700W, Modular, 80+ Bronze, Japanese capacitors, 120mm smart control fan, US plug
sifra : GP-B700H $220

Adata DDR4 8GB 3000MHz XPG GAMMIX D10 Memory
sifra : 0704631 2 x $206=$413

Inno3D GeForce GTX 1070 X2 V4 8GB GDDR5
sifra : INO-N1070-4SDV-P5DS $1133

ARCTIC COOLING Freezer 33 plus Cooler, socket 1151/1150/1155/1156/2011-v3/2011/AM4
sifra : 050.903.341- $66

Acer ET241Ybi LED Monitor IPS ZeroFrame
sifra : ACR-1920 $378

Total: $9,820.00

Obviously the second option is the better deal, but they don't really have a decent monitor included in that bundle. Or maybe I'm just blind and can't find a good one? It would be pretty awesome if I could snag a solid monitor while keeping the overall price closer to what that second option is asking.

Thanks for any help! 😍

Which stores are we talking about?
The component selection is mostly fine, but some parts are way overpriced compared to the first option.

That GTX1070 should be priced lower than $1167, and the Ryzen 1600X should be under $433, just like in the second quote.

Why not just grab the PC from one shop and the monitor from another?

So, I'm looking at this EVGA GeForce RTX 3080—specifically the 8GB HBM2 model. It’s an interesting piece of hardware, I guess.
Maybe an Intel Core i5-7600K in a retail box, clocked at 3.6GHz with 16MB, on an LGA 1200 socket.
Corsair Vengeance LPX, 16GB DDR4 (2x8GB) kit, PC4-21300 at 2666MHz with CL16 timings.
I guess the MSI B350M Mortar is what we're looking at here—it's an LGA 1200 board.
I guess I'm looking at a 240GB Samsung 870 EVO SSD, SATA3, model SA400S37/240G.
Seagate BarraCuda 1TB HDD, 3.5", 7200RPM, 64MB Cache, SATA3, HDWD110UZSVA
It’s an FSP 600W unit, specifically the Hyper series—an ATX 2.31 model (HP600, PPA6003302). I guess it's just your standard power supply.
Arctic Freezer 33, compatible with LGA 1200, 1150, 1151, 1155, 1156, 2011, 2011-3, 2066, and LGA 1200, ACFRE00028A.
Corsair Hydro Series case, black with a window, no PSU included, ATX, fsp-cmt240-bl.

Total: $2.75 AMD

Plus a 144Hz VA monitor with FreeSync.

Found this AOC monitor on a site over at Best Buy. Might be worth a look, I guess.

🙂