Best Gaming PC Under $1000 (Prebuilt)

Let’s be honest, building a gaming PC is a painstaking process. Not only is it expensive, but it also requires a certain level of technical know-how that not everybody wants to deal with it.

Thankfully, prebuilt PCs are an option! These PCs are generally fairly priced and you don’t need to deal with manual labor or anything. Just plug and play!

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In this article, we’ll be covering the top 5 best prebuilt gaming PCs you can get for $1000 or less.

Top 5 Best Prebuilt Gaming PCs Under $1000

For this list, we’ll be looking at gaming PCs that are more in the entry-level to mid-level range.

They are capable PCs and they should allow you to play the latest games, as long as you make some sacrifices in graphical fidelity!

Additionally, these PCs can be upgraded down the line as well, so you can use them as a base and upgrade later on!

This handy chart below covers the basics of each PC on this list, noting the main components they have.

Brand	CPU	GPU	Storage	RAM	Buy Now
iBUYPOWER	i5-12400F	GTX 1650 4GB	500GB NVMe SSD	8GB DDR4	Check Price
SkyTech	i5-10400F	RX 6600 8GB	500GB SSD	16GB DDR4	Check Price
CyberpowerPC	i5-12400F	GTX 3050 8GB	500GB NVMe SSD	16GB DDR4	Check Price
ACEMAGICIAN	Ryzen 7 5800U	None	512GB M.2 SSD	32GB DDR4	Check Price
EXCELIUS	i5-6500	GTX 1650 OC	250GB SSD, 1TB HDD	16GB DDR4	Check Price

Brand	CPU	GPU	Storage	RAM	Buy Now
iBUYPOWER	i5-12400F	GTX 1650 4GB	500GB NVMe SSD	8GB DDR4	Check Price
SkyTech	i5-10400F	RX 6600 8GB	500GB SSD	16GB DDR4	Check Price
CyberpowerPC	i5-12400F	GTX 3050 8GB	500GB NVMe SSD	16GB DDR4	Check Price
ACEMAGICIAN	Ryzen 7 5800U	None	512GB M.2 SSD	32GB DDR4	Check Price
EXCELIUS	i5-6500	GTX 1650 OC	250GB SSD, 1TB HDD	16GB DDR4	Price

Best Overall: iBUYPOWER SlateMR 2150V2

Our first pick is what we consider the perfect balance of performance and price. iBUYPOWER’s SlateMR 2150V2 is a fairly-priced entry-level PC!

This PC comes with a 12th-generation Intel CPU, the i5-12400F which has 6 cores and can go up to 4.40Ghz of speed. It’s more than enough for most modern games, that’s for sure.

The GPU is a GeForce GTX 1650 with 4GBs of VRAM, which might be the weakest component of the rig. It’s a great GPU and is still good nowadays, mind you, but 4GBs of VRAM might not be enough for certain games.

It comes with 8GBs of DDR4 RAM, which is pretty decent but somewhat on the lower side. However, RAM is the cheapest PC component and it’s easy to upgrade, so you can get more later on!

Lastly, it comes with a 500GB NVMe SSD that has Windows 11 Home pre-installed on it. It’s a fast drive, and the PC is ready to go, so you can game as soon as you get it plugged in!

It’s a very solid build for the price. You shouldn’t have a problem playing popular competitive games at high framerates, such as Counter-Strike.

It’s a very solid entry-level system and has a very affordable price when it’s all said and done. We do wish it had more RAM and VRAM, but it’s still powerful enough for modern games.

Alternative Choice: SkyTech SHADOW 3.0

If you feel that the previous pick’s RAM and VRAM weren’t enough for you, we offer you this alternate choice from SkyTech!

This PC comes with a 10th-generation Intel CPU, the i5-1400F, which has 6 cores and can go up to 4.30 GHz at max turbo frequency. Overall, it’s a weaker and older CPU than what our previous choice had.

But, on the other hand, the GPU is better! This build has an RX 6600 with 8GBs of VRAM. It’s a fantastic GPU, making it perfect for modern gaming without many issues!

This build also has 16GBs of DDR4, which should meet the recommended specs of most modern games. For storage, it has a singular 500GB SSD that has Windows 11 Home pre-installed.

This rig can be considered a sidegrade to our best overall pick: you sacrifice CPU power for a better GPU and more RAM. It also costs a bit more than our other pick, but not much!

Ultimately, we recommend this PC over our previous choice if you favor more RAM and better graphics.

You’ll sacrifice some processing power with the weaker CPU, but you should still have no problem running games flawlessly on this system!

Premium Choice: CyberPowerPC GXiVR8060A16

If you don’t mind stretching your budget a bit for a better PC, this is our recommendation for you! Just see it as an investment. We’re still staying under $1000, though, mind you.

This beastly rig comes with a 12th-generation Intel CPU, the i5-12400F. We already covered previously in this article but as a refresher: this CPU has 6 cores and goes up to 4.40Ghz at maximum frequency.

The GPU is an RTX 3050 with 8GBs of VRAM and is possibly the most impressive part of this build. It’s an extremely powerful midrange GPU that should have no trouble running any games you throw at it.

It’s the best GPU of any of our other picks on this list, easily! As a modern Nvidia GPU, it supports DLSS to give you better performance without a noticeable drop in visual fidelity. It even supports RayTracing!

As for the other specs, it comes with 16 GB of DDR4 RAM and a 500GB NVMe SSD. As usual, it comes with Windows 11 Home pre-installed.

To sweeten the deal even further, it comes bundled with a gaming keyboard and mouse. It’s a nice bonus, considering the rig itself is already so good.

Of course, the one flaw is its pricing, as this PC just barely stays under our top of $1000. We definitely recommend it if you don’t mind the price, though!

Best Mini-PC: ACEMAGICIAN AMR5

Do you want a powerful PC in a tiny package? ACEMAGICIAN’s AMR5 mini-PC might be perfect for you!

The CPU on this particular PC is a Ryzen 7 5800U which has 8 cores (16 threads) and can go up to 4.4Ghz. It’s a pretty great CPU that also doubles as the GPU for this rig.

Yes, indeed! As a mini-PC, this system doesn’t come with a dedicated GPU and instead relies on the CPU for graphics.

While this does somewhat limit its graphical power, it’s still capable of running modern games well. You should be fine as long as you don’t want to play on High or Ultra settings!

That aside, this mini PC has an impressive amount of RAM: 32 GB of DDR4 RAM. You’ll have a hard time running out of memory no matter what game you run on this tiny beast!

As for storage, it comes with a 512GB M.2 SSD that has Windows 11 Pro pre-installed.

Ultimately, the lack of a GPU somewhat impacts gaming performance, there’s no denying that. However, it’s still a solid gaming choice if you find yourself needing a mini PC, with its CPU and RAM being particularly impressive.

Also, before we forget, it’s worth noting that its price is also comparatively tiny!

Most Budget-Friendly: EXCELIUS BETA NYX GreenPC

Looking for something on the lower end when it comes to pricing? That’s the niche this build from EXCELIUS fills!

First off, though, it’s worth noting why this PC is so affordable: it’s a refurbished PC. That means that this is a system that was repaired and put on the market again. It’s guaranteed to work, but it’s sold cheaper than brand new!

The CPU on this build is relatively humble: i5-6500. It’s a quad-core 6th-generation CPU that goes up to 3.60 GHz. It’s old by now, but it’s still good enough for modern gaming nonetheless!

The GPU is a GTX 1650 OC with 4GBs of VRAM. As we’ve previously detailed, this is a powerful entry-level GPU that holds up well but has low VRAM. You may have to turn down resolution and texture settings on some games, but it does the job!

But there are some notable positives about this build, as well! This PC comes with 16GBs of DDR4 RAM which is plentiful for gaming.

For storage, this build comes with both a 250 GB SSD and a 1TB HDD! This makes it the PC with the most storage space on this list, but we only recommend using the HDD for older games.

All in all, it’s a solid entry-level PC that will get you ready to play modern games, especially competitive games like Call of Duty.

To Sum Up

iBUYPOWER’s SlateMR 2150V2 is our first overall pick because it just hits the right balance of overall power and pricing. Its GPU and RAM could be better, but it’s a good entry-level PC!

Conversely, SkyTech’s Shadow 3.0 build is similar in overall power to iBUYPOWER’s PC. However, it sacrifices the CPU in favor of having better GPU and RAM. You’ve got to keep things balanced!

As such, our recommendation between those two PCs depends on whether you need a better CPU or better GPU and RAM.

Of course, you can just stretch your budget more and get CyberpowerPC’s GXiVR8060A16! This PC just barely stays under $1000, but it’s an absolute beast of a PC for the price.

ACEMAGICIAN’s AMR5 is also a great choice, particularly if you need a compact PC. It’s tiny, cheap, and powerful! However, the lack of a dedicated GPU does limit its gaming power.

Lastly, the EXCELIUS BETA NYX GreenPC is our recommendation if you want something cheaper. It’s a cheap full-fledged PC, though its CPU and GPU are only really fit for entry-level gaming.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. Are prebuilt gaming PCs any good?

Yes, they are just as good as custom PCs. Most prebuilt gaming PCs are assembled by professionals, making them a great choice for people who don’t want to go through the trouble of building their own PC or for people who don’t have the knowledge.

2. Is it better to build a gaming PC or buy a prebuilt?

If you don’t know much about computer parts, then it is a better idea to buy a prebuilt PC. On the other hand, if you know what you are doing, building your own PC is better just because you can tune it to your preferences and needs.

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