Computer Builds Under $1000

For right around $1,000 this is the configuration you should use for your Gaming PC. Upgrades might include doubling up on the ram, or a small solid state drive. Radeon fans may wish to get the HD 6950 rather than the GTX 470. My listing of the GTX 470 rather than the HD 6950 is based on ratings, reviews, gamer popularity, and personal preference. You can also get the 470 right now for a lot less. At this price range another consideration would be to Crossfire 2 Radeon HD 5770, but most prefer the simplicity and stability of a single card. Any video card above this price range will not make anything look more smooth it would just last a little bit longer. It's for this reason we recommend you stick with a video card in the $200-300 range and upgrade in 18-24 months.

This computer would run anything you throw at it at the highest settings for 18 months. Other adjustments to this build could include a hybrid drive rather than the Seagate one listed below or potentially a hard drive that goes to SATA 6Gb/s. As always, doubling up the ram should be your first priority. If you need to save money, then you could consider going with the AMD Phenom II 1090T X6 processor. You'll get 6 cores for around the a third of the price of the next-to-closest Intel chip that has 6 cores ($199.99).



CORSAIR XMS3 DHX 4GB ( 2 X 2GB ) PC3-10666 1333MHz 240-pin DDR3 CL9 Dual Channel Desktop Memory Kit - TW3X4G1333C9DHX
                                                           Amazon Price: $73.77

Intel Core i7-950 3.06 GHz 8 MB Cache Socket LGA1366 Processor
                                                        Amazon Price: $269.99

Seagate Barracuda 7200 1 TB 7200RPM SATA 3Gb/s 32MB Cache 3.5 Inch Internal Hard Drive ST31000528AS-Bare Drive  Amazon Price: $117.99

Gigabyte Intel X58/Intel ICH10R Intel X58 ATX DDR3 2200 LGA 1366 Motherboard (GA-X58A-UD3R)                                    Amazon Price: $222.99

EVGA GeForce GTX 570 1280 MB GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 2DVI-I/Mini-HDMI SLI Ready Limited Lifetime Warranty Graphics Card, 012-P3-1570-AR
                                                               Amazon Price: $299.99

LITE-ON 4x Blu-ray Disc SATA Internal Optical Drive iHOS104
                                                         Amazon Price: $76.99

Corsair Enthusiast Series 650-Watt 80 Plus Bronze Certified Power Supply Compatible with Intel Core i3, i5, i7 and AMD platforms - CMPSU-650TXV2
                                                         Amazon Price: $80.99

Cooler Master HAF ATX Mid Tower Case, RC-922M-KKN1-GP (Black)
                                                                  Amazon Price: $99.91