Build a killer Windows 8 gaming PC for under $1,000

November 14, 2012

Building a fast gaming PC is easier than ever. Building a fast gaming PC on a tight budget is a little harder—not because of the building, but because of the shopping. You have to scour the web (or your favorite retail stores) for the right prices on components. I've built gaming rigs that cost under a grand a number of times in the past. Typically, I'd hunt around for the lowest-cost set of components that could hit the price point. But given the rapid pace of change in the PC industry, this edition of the $1,000 gaming rig required fewer sacrifices. This time around, I felt free to take a different approach. I wanted a PC that could be gracefully upgraded in order to keep pace with technical advancements. To achieve this, I had to spec out relatively modern core components, particularly the motherboard. I spent a lot of time number juggling to get a faster CPU, but also wanted a graphics card that could deliver good performance at 1080p. In the end, I barely squeaked under that magic $1,000 mark, mostly due to the current high prices of hard drives. I'll walk through the component list, and then take a look at performance. The build list I'm providing two lists of components. The first, with all the entries boldfaced, are the components I actually used. The second is an alternate list, with a few changes to drive the price even lower. To read this article in full or to leave a comment, please click here

Link: http://www.pcworld.com/article/2013741/build-a-killer-windows-8-gaming-pc-for-under-1-000.html