If you buy a $1,200 prebuilt, you'd be lucky to have $700-$800 in parts. The builder usually aims for at least a couple hundred profit, the store aims for a couple hundred profit, and the shipping/commission add at least another $30-$50. I understand not everyone wants to build their own PC, but there is still a third option which is to find a local PC store or expert willing to build it for you. If you provide the parts, then they just need the labor to build it, and most will probably do it for $100-$150. The graphics card is the most important component in a gaming PC and provides that bulk of the performance. With Nvidia their 4070 and up are excellent. Anything worse than a 4070, AMD you're much better off with AMD graphics. I recommend Tom's Hardware GPU hierarchy as a source: https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/gpu-hierarchy,4388.html The CPU is the next most important, but it mostly has to be able to just keep up with the graphics card. Generally my rule of thumb is to allocate half the budget to the graphics card. In your budget, cards like the 7900GRE, 7900XT, 4070, or 4070 Super are my recommendation: PCPartPicker Part List Type | Item | Price | Video Card | Sapphire PULSE Radeon RX 7900 XT 20 GB Video Card | $639.99 @ Newegg | Video Card | MSI VENTUS 2X OC GeForce RTX 4070 12 GB Video Card | $489.99 @ Amazon | Video Card | MSI VENTUS 2X OC GeForce RTX 4070 SUPER 12 GB Video Card | $589.99 @ Walmart | Video Card | ASRock Challenger OC Radeon RX 7900 GRE 16 GB Video Card | $529.99 @ Newegg This could be paired with a $550 PC like: Intel PCPartPicker Part List Type | Item | Price | CPU | Intel Core i7-12700KF 3.6 GHz 12-Core Processor | $179.99 @ Newegg | CPU Cooler | Thermalright Peerless Assassin 120 SE 66.17 CFM CPU Cooler | $34.90 @ Amazon | Motherboard | ASRock H670 PG Riptide ATX LGA1700 Motherboard | $94.99 @ Amazon | Memory | Silicon Power GAMING 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR4-3200 CL16 Memory | $42.97 @ Amazon | Storage | MSI SPATIUM M482 Eco-Pack 2 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive | $89.99 @ MSI | Case | DIYPC S3-BK-ARGB ATX Mid Tower Case | $48.62 @ Newegg | Power Supply | MSI MAG A750BN PCIE5 750 W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply | $59.99 @ Amazon | Total | $551.45 AM4 PCPartPicker Part List Type | Item | Price | CPU | AMD Ryzen 7 5700X3D 3 GHz 8-Core Processor | $209.79 @ Amazon | CPU Cooler | Thermalright Assassin X SE 32.77 CFM CPU Cooler | $16.69 @ Amazon | Motherboard | ASRock B550M Pro4 Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard | $79.99 @ Newegg | Memory | GeIL Orion AMD Edition 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR4-3600 CL18 Memory | $47.99 @ Newegg | Storage | MSI SPATIUM M482 Eco-Pack 2 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive | $89.99 @ MSI | Case | DIYPC Shadow-H3-ARGB ATX Mid Tower Case | $47.84 @ Newegg | Power Supply | MSI MAG A750BN PCIE5 750 W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply | $59.99 @ Amazon | Total | $552.28 AM5 PCPartPicker Part List Type | Item | Price | CPU | AMD Ryzen 5 7600 3.8 GHz 6-Core Processor | $178.99 @ Amazon | Motherboard | MSI PRO B650M-P Micro ATX AM5 Motherboard | $99.99 @ Amazon | Memory | Silicon Power Value Gaming 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR5-6000 CL30 Memory | $82.79 @ Amazon | Storage | MSI SPATIUM M482 Eco-Pack 2 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive | $89.99 @ MSI | Case | Cougar MX330 ATX Mid Tower Case | $39.99 @ Newegg | Power Supply | MSI MAG A750BN PCIE5 750 W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply | $59.99 @ Amazon | Total | $551.74 More on reddit.com

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for $1k you really really want to build your own, the $1k range is where prebuilds are the most overpriced and a poor value. It's wayyy easier than you think. This is because you're paying a few hundred more for the same performance as a DIY build, and that few hundred bucks makes a huge difference. Basically, this PC would perform the same as a $750 DIY build, but a $1k DIY build performs the same as a $1250 pre-build. You're paying more money for worse performance. Just looking at the build you listed- for $1k that's honestly a terrible value, the 4060 is fine, it can run every game smoothly, but it's overpriced- 16gb of ram is also fine for now, but is it ddr4 or ddr5? current gen is ddr5, the worst thing imo i just 512gb of storage- that's barely enough for your OS and like 3 games build this PC instead: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/KvYnPF Ryzen 7600 offers superior performance and upgradability, in 5-7 years you can easily swap out this CPU to something high end without any issues and you won't need to rebuild your whole system like you have to with intel 32gb of high speed low latency RAM 1tb ssd, you can add more as needed 7700xt, offers about 40% more performance, check out the 1080p performance chart . Imo it's the most future-proof 1080p GPU, it's not so overkill that you have diminished returns like something like a 4070 super gets when used at 1080p, instead you just have great high-end performance that can withstand years of AAA games. EDIT for January 2025, prices/availability change a lot, here's an updated list I'd opt for instead: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/NPtyVF More on reddit.com

If you can spend around $50 more you can get a 7700XT and 7600X build which will be crazy powerful. https://pcpartpicker.com/list/n6ydb2 More on reddit.com