I was recently asked by a Reddit user to help him find him gaming PCs under $1,000. He wanted to play games like Arma 3, GTA 5, G MOD (Garry’s Mod), Total War series, and Mount & Blade 2. This person was looking at buying a friend’s PC (Alienware Aurora R4) for $300.00. The problem with it is that it had a GTX 555 graphics card. This PC, in his opinion didn’t play these games well. The PC was also older and had its fair share of wear and tear. With a budget of $1,000, I let him know he could get a lot more for his money. He also said he would prefer to spend less, so I gave him the options below, which range from $500 to $900.
Best Gaming PCs Under $1,000 – #1
Gaming PC by Shinobee-USA – $500
The first build I shared with him is by Shinobee-USA. The price was listed at $500 and includes the following hardware:
- Intel i5 12-Thread Gamer PC (Intel i5-10400F 4.3GHz)
- 16GB DDR4 3000
- NVIDIA GT 1030 2GB GDDR5 Graphics Card
- 512 GB SSD
- 802.11AC WiFi
- Win 10 Professional
- Color: Black #5826
This gaming PC is by no means a typical gaming PC that you find on Amazon. It is simple with no RGB fan colors. I am guessing that helped save a little on the cost. The GT 1030 2GB graphics card is not high end by any means. I would not pick this graphics card if I were looking at playing modern games like Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, Halo Infinite, Elden Ring, or Far Cry 6 (see Will My Graphics Card Handle Far Cry 6).
But, for Arma 3, GTA 5, and the other games he listed, this graphics card works very well and can play them on high settings while achieving over 60 FPS. For this price point it also has a decent processor and 16GB of RAM, which seems to be hard to find in this price range. It also comes with the latest wireless AC technology, which provides more throughput.
Best Gaming PCs Under $1,000 – #2
SkyTech Chronos Mini Gaming Computer PC – $750
This next gaming PC had me a little hesitant for the price point, until I saw the graphics card and then I understood. If you can get past the processor and memory, you have a very good graphics card in a PC for this price range. For the Reddit user, he could play any of the games he wanted, plus add games like Halo: Infinite, Elden Ring, Far Cry 6, and Apex Legends. Granted, you won’t probably be playing those games on super high graphics settings, you could still play and have a good experience. Here are the specs for the SkyTech Chronos Mini Gaming PC:
- Intel Core-i3 10100F 3.6GHz
- NVIDIA GTX 1650 4GB Graphics Card
- 500GB SSD
- 8GB DDR4 RAM
- RGB Fans
- AC WiFi
- Windows 10 Home 64-bit
If you have the budget and are able to spend a little extra money, then I would recommend the Skytech Chronos. You can see my Skytech Chronos review here.
Best Gaming PCs Under $1,000 – #3
Skytech Blaze II Gaming PC Desktop – $899
This gaming PC is similar to the one above. It has a similar processor and NVIDIA GTX 1650 4GB graphics card. But it also has 16GB of RAM. It’s a simple upgrade, but I do believe that in order to future proof your PC, you should have 16GB of RAM. It will at least allow you to have a couple of browser windows open or maybe another application in the background running while you game. 8GB of RAM is really the bare minimum anyone should get in 2022. Here are the specs for the Skytech Blaze II Gaming PC Desktop:
- Intel Core i3 10105F 3.7 GHz
- NVIDIA GTX 1650 4GB Graphics Card
- 500GB SSD
- 16G DDR4 3200 RAM
- 600W Gold PSU
- AC Wi-Fi
- Windows 10 Home 64-bit
Conclusion
In conclusion, any of these gaming PC’s would work for the Reddit user I mentioned earlier. Starting at the first selection, he would be able to play any of the games he mentioned. That includes GTA 5, Arma 3, Total War, etc. with an okay experience. The #2 and #3 selections are where I would really be encouraging him to look for the better graphics card. The RAM in selection #2 could always be upgraded down the road. That is helpful if you were looking to save some money on the front end.
Questions or comments? Please let me know on Twitter @GoodTechMaster.