I see a lot of these, so I figured I’d make one for this month for anyone searching.
To preface:
- I know that in this economy, $1k is not a lot for a gaming computer build. I also know that in this economy, people can’t necessarily just simply save more. Let’s just be clear on that this is for a $1k budget before taxes and make it a hard rule for the sake of this thread.
- With this budget, we aren’t going to be including a display or peripherals. We’ll presume one already has all that, and if not, then they will work towards upgrading them next. This is purely for the main system components. Also, the $1k price target has some give, within $20.
- We also aren’t going to include an OS. I’m sure one could figure out ways to get their system up and running, including just running with a watermark or a free OS like Linux. So we won’t be including this into the budget.
- Finally, we need to be realistic. This absolutely is not going to be a powerful system. It’s not going to excel at any one thing, save being able to fit into a $1k budget. Yes, a 9800X3D is going to be hands down the best. It’s also $450.
- Since this is a WoW forum, it will focus on WoW performance. But general gaming is going to be a consideration as well because most of us want to be able to play a variety of games.
- Upgradability is a “nice to have, but not essential.” Most people that I see who make “build me a $1k PC” have an incredibly old system, which indicates they do not have the history to have made an in-socket upgrade or the desire to do so.
- I’m going to presume one does NOT have access to Microcenter, and lives in the USA. For myself, I live 2 hours away from the closest MC, which is still not terrible, but often the 4 hours time + $50 worth of fuel may negate any potential savings, and that’s not even factoring possible return trips for defective parts. I’ll also presume many people just can’t get to a Microcenter. If you do, then go there and you’ll have many more options, though.
- I’ll be presenting both an AMD and an Intel build. They’ll have different strengths and weaknesses, and while currently AMD is ahead in the flagship gaming segment, Intel still competes well in the budget category. With that said, I’m going to be exclusively recommending AMD GPUs, because with a limited CPU budget, we want to avoid driver overhead issues that affect both Nvidia and Intel GPUs.
WITH ALL THAT SAID, here we go!
AMD:
PCPartPicker Part List: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/PRTQb2
CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 7600X 4.7 GHz 6-Core Processor ($179.19 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: ID-COOLING SE-214-XT PLUS 76.16 CFM CPU Cooler ($19.98 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: MSI PRO B650-S WIFI ATX AM5 Motherboard ($126.51 @ Amazon)
Memory: Crucial Pro Overclocking 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR5-6000 CL36 Memory ($84.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Crucial P3 Plus 1 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive ($61.95 @ iBUYPOWER)
Video Card: Sapphire PULSE Radeon RX 9060 XT 16 GB Video Card ($379.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Zalman S2 ATX Mid Tower Case ($49.98 @ Newegg Sellers)
Power Supply: MSI MAG A750GL PCIE5 750 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply ($89.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $992.58
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2025-08-06 13:47 EDT-0400
Intel:
PCPartPicker Part List: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/sCzQb2
CPU: Intel Core i5-14600K 3.5 GHz 14-Core Processor ($199.89 @ Amazon)
CPU Cooler: Thermalright Assassin X Refined SE PLUS 66.17 CFM CPU Cooler ($19.79 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock B760M PG Riptide Wifi Micro ATX LGA1700 Motherboard ($119.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: Silicon Power XPOWER Pulse Gaming 32 GB (2 x 16 GB) DDR5-6000 CL36 Memory ($79.97 @ Newegg Sellers)
Storage: Crucial P3 Plus 1 TB M.2-2280 PCIe 4.0 X4 NVME Solid State Drive ($61.95 @ iBUYPOWER)
Video Card: Sapphire PULSE Radeon RX 9060 XT 16 GB Video Card ($379.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Zalman S2 ATX Mid Tower Case ($49.98 @ Newegg Sellers)
Power Supply: MSI MAG A750GL PCIE5 750 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply ($89.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $1001.55
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2025-08-06 13:47 EDT-0400
Some notes about the above selection:
- I chose the 9060 XT 16GB model because it is more appropriate for 2025 and allows for higher texture settings in modern games outside of World of Warcraft. 8GB can get you by, especially at 1080p, but in some games if VRAM buffer runs out and it resorts to system RAM, it gets really bad. This can be alleviated by reducing visual quality, and some games automatically do this dynamically when VRAM is limted. Overall, 16GB gives you a better experience over the 8GB models. However, for a game like WoW, you could safely drop this to the $249 8GB model and direct the extra $130 towards CPU or larger storage. In such cases, upgrading to a 2TB storage drive (or a 7600X3D in the AMD build) would yield better results for a pure WoW build.
- The 14600K will be nearly imperceptively slower at WoW than the 7600X, and about the same or slightly faster in other games. It’s really a wash, but you gain superior hardware encoding from its iGPU and it is also much faster when all of it’s cores can be leveraged in some applications. If you are a creator, the Intel system will be better. If you’re just gaming, the 7600X will be better at WoW and a wash in most other games.
- The 14600K system is a dead platform. There are no further sensible upgrades for this platform. The 7600X uses AM5, which has some life left in it. There are perhaps 2 more generations upcoming for this socket. One also has the option to at some future point upgrade to an X3D chip (or, drop down now to an 8GB 9060 XT and get a 7600X3D, which will make the AMD system outperform the Intel system in gaming definitively across the board.)
- The case is subjective. I only chose this one to fit in the budget and that it includes 3 fans. Feel free to find one that works for you as it is mostly personal preference.
- I am not factoring in any overclocking potential. In 2025 most people don’t bother anymore, and if you’re asking for a build guide, you aren’t going to be overclocking either. This is factored into parts selection.
I encourage others to critique these suggestions, to make their own suggestions, and overall to have a fun discussion.
Enjoy!