Building the best 4K gaming PC for under $1,000 is no easy feat in 2021. The ongoing GPU shortage makes it difficult to not only find a graphics card, but other components as well. Still, we put together a build that gives you an idea of what to look for once things return to normal, and we even have a few tips on how to snag a coveted GPU.
Further reading:
- Best $500 PC gaming build
- Best gaming headsets
- Best gaming mouse
- Best laptop-cooling pads
- Best 17-inch laptop bags
The best 4K gaming PC under $1,000 and what it can do
We’ll go into more detail about the different components we’ve chosen below, but here’s a quick summary of the parts we’ve picked.
When you’ve got your new components in hand, be sure to read our guide on how to get started building your own PC. You’ll also need a 4K monitor if you don’t already have one.
| CPU | AMD Ryzen 5600X | $299 |
| Motherboard | MSI B550M-A Pro | $77 |
| Graphics | Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070 | $499 |
| Memory | 16GB Corsair Vengeance LPX 3200MHz | $88 |
| Storage | WD Blue SN550 1TB M.2 NVMe SSD | $119 |
| Case | Cooler Master Masterbox Q300L | $38 |
| Power Supply | EVGA BQ 650W 80+ Bronze | $60 |
| Total | $1,180 |
Now, we have to ignore the ongoing GPU shortage to have a system anywhere near $1,000 that’s capable of running games at 4K. If you’re building this machine from scratch, consider using a budget GPU like the GTX 1650 and take advantage of our tips on how to game without a graphics card. The 5600X doesn’t have integrated graphics, so you’ll either need to buy a budget GPU or switch to something like the Intel Core i5-11600K (make sure to swap the motherboard, too). Then, when prices drop, you can easily slot in the RTX 3070. We have some tips below on how to snag a card at or around MSRP.
With the build together, you can expect to play some of the latest AAA games at 4K with ray tracing turned on. That’s partly thanks to Nvidia’s DLSS feature, which massively improves performance in demanding games like Cyberpunk 2077 and Control. Without DLSS, you can still run games at 4K north of 60 frames per second, but you may need to turn down some visual settings and turn off ray tracing.
Components-wise, we chose some budget options to keep the build around $1,000. Bloating the price is the Ryzen 5600X and Corsair Vengeance LPX memory. The Ryzen 5600X isn’t overpriced, but we would normally recommend the 3600X in its place. The problem right now is that the 3600X is only $10 to $20 cheaper than the 5600X, not $50 to $100 cheaper like it should be. Similarly, RAM prices have risen over the past few months, bringing the price of the Corsair kit we chose from $60 to nearly $90.
If you have a hard budget limit at $1,000, consider trimming down the RAM to 8GB and ditch the solid-state drive for a traditional spinning hard drive. Both of those steps will save you around $80 alone, but the responsiveness of the system as a whole will really suffer. You can also move down to the Ryzen 3600, which is just over $200. It’s not as powerful as the 5600X we chose, though.
Regardless, we don’t recommend changing the power supply or graphics card. The RTX 3070 is the only reasonable entry point to 4K gaming, and it requires a 650W power supply.
AMD Ryzen 5600X
CPU
The AMD Ryzen 5600X is the best gaming processor available right now, and it’s not that expensive. For $299, you’re getting a six-core processor that can turbo up to 4.6GHz. Plus, it comes with AMD’s Wraith Stealth cooler, saving you some money on buying an aftermarket cooler.
The 5600X is such a gaming powerhouse thanks to the Zen 3 architecture powering it. The architecture helps each core run faster, and since games usually only stress a few cores, you’ll see that improvement while gaming. As mentioned, you can save some money with last generation’s Ryzen 5 3600. However, it doesn’t perform as well as the 5600X.
MSI B550M-A Pro
Motherboard
The MSI B550M-A Pro is a Micro ATX motherboard with everything you need. The B550 chipset allows you to overclock the 5600X if you want, and it supports memory speeds up to DDR4-4600. In addition, the M.2 slot supports PCIe 4.0 drives, allowing you to use ultra-fast storage, and there are four USB 3.2 ports on the back so you can connect almost any device you need.
Nvidia RTX 3070
Graphics card
The Nvidia RTX 3070 is a great graphics card. With DLSS, it can run 4K games at max settings above 60 fps, and without DLSS, it can run 4K games with medium to high settings. Instead of retreading why it’s a great graphics card, we’re going to show you a few ways to get one.
The best way is through EVGA’s queue system. Instead of a free-for-all, EVGA sends out notifications to people who sign up for the queue system whenever new cards become available, and you’re given a limited window to purchase the card if a space opens up for you. This is one of the only ways to get a card near the original MSRP.
Micro Center is the next best option if you have one near you. Many Micro Center locations sell graphics cards in-store close to MSRP. Consider calling your local store to see if they have any GPU shipments coming in. If they do, make sure to get to the store before it opens. There will be a line.
Finally, there’s Newegg Shuffle. This is a lottery program through Newegg that gives hopeful buyers a chance to get a graphics card. You’re unlikely to get one for MSRP, though. Newegg almost always bundles the cards with some other piece of hardware, so expect to pay a decent premium over the card’s price. We wouldn’t put too much hope in Shuffle, either. Newegg says around 100,000 people participate, making it tough to actually win.
16GB Corsair Vengeance LPX 3200MHz
Memory
As much as most gaming PCs might get away with 8GB of RAM, our 4K gaming rig could struggle with less than 16GB. But we can’t opt for size over speed either, because Ryzen CPUs really benefit from faster memory. This Corsair LPX kit is a nice compromise, offering solid speed and good capacity despite rising RAM prices. Make sure to overclock your RAM by enabling XMP to take advantage of the extra speed.
WD Blue SN550 1TB M.2 NVMe SSD
Storage
High-speed storage is cheaper today than it’s ever been, so we’ve opted for a 1TB WD Blue SSD, and we have pushed beyond the old-school 2.5-inch SATA drive to a proper, grown-up M.2 NVMe drive. This will give your gaming load times a useful boost, and 1TB is sufficient space to install Windows and a number of AAA games.
If you prefer, you could combine a smaller SSD with a large hard drive and use AMD’s StoreMI technology. That lets you turn any two drives (typically an SSD and HDD) into a single storage solution — as least far as Windows is concerned. That way, you get the best of both worlds: A fast, larger storage drive. It won’t be as fast as this drive, though, so if you can make do with 1TB (for now at least), then this is the best drive you can get for your money.
Cooler Master MasterBox Q300L
Case
For $45, you aren’t going to find a better case than the Cooler Master MasterBox Q300L. This case is under $50 and still features a clear side panel and dust filters while looking sleek. It’s also lightweight and has adequate cooling — though you may want to add an additional fan yourself somewhere down the line.
We admit that the asking price is a bit over the top, but we would still urge you to buy it. This mATX case is perfect for our budget 4K gaming rig.
EVGA BQ 650W 80+ Bronze
PSU
Nvidia recommends at least a 650W power supply for the RTX 3070, and we recommend sticking to that. The EVGA unit we chose is a great and inexpensive option. The main reason we selected it is 80+ Bronze certification, which certifies that the power supply can run at a reasonable efficiency and is generally a good sign of the component quality. The EVGA BQ 65 is semi-modular, too, so you only need to connect the cables you need.
