Full gaming system for a grand?

Soldato
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A mate of mine is wanting to get into PC gaming and he's set himself a budget of £1,000 to put something together.

Can someone give me some idea of what the best spec I can get for this budget including monitor and peripherals?

Thanks muchly....
 
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I would seriously consider using the Member's Market for this.

Prices assumed new unless otherwise stated:
Ryzen 3600 - £180.
B550 board - Get a good one, not the cheapest. Allows for future upgrades. £90.
Ram - Any 16GB 3200 or 3600 kit. £60-£80.
WD Blue 1TB NVME SSD - There are faster but makes no difference to a gamer. £87.
PSU - Aim for 600W or more to ensure future graphics upgrades £70-£80.
Case - Pick whatever as they start at £25 for naff ones, yet they all work the same - £25.
Monitor - Assuming he wants a gaming screen. It will be a 144hz VA panel. I would go for 144hz 1440p, but at £300 would be hard to get in your budget. Used is far a better choice here. £200-300.
Mouse & keyboard - The price range is huge. £50-£100.
Graphics - This is what matters most for gaming. They really are not great value at the moment. If you insist on new then you will really struggle here. A 3060Ti would be incredible, but they are £370+ and out of stock.
Speakers/headset - Assume a £20-£30 from wonderful Ebay. They will be pooh, but the budget is gone sadly.

If you buy used from the MM:
Ryzen 3600 - £150
Motherboard B450/B550 - £70
Ram - £50
Monitor - £200
This leaves £300 for a graphics card. Personally I would save up a smidge more and get either a used 1080Ti (I know it is from 2017, but it is a monster), 2060S/2070/2070S or a new 3060Ti. A 2070 sold on the MM a few weeks ago for £320. A 2060S for £300.

This brings the whole lot into the £1000-£1100 range and ensures it is powerful enough to run games at high FPS at 1440p.
 
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Soldato
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Big question/variable is 1080p vs 1440p. For a complete system under £1000, I think 1080p is the better choice. Plenty of decent GPU around £200 or less used will drive 1080p well.
 
Joined
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Big question/variable is 1080p vs 1440p. For a complete system under £1000, I think 1080p is the better choice. Plenty of decent GPU around £200 or less used will drive 1080p well.
Buying all parts new, 1080P is definitely the only choice.
I do think that with a small amount of work on the Member's Market then a 1440p setup can be had and the setup with be vastly superior :).
 
Soldato
OP
Joined
2 Jan 2004
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Location
Chesterfield
Thanks for the replies, in terms of screen I'd imagine 1080p will be fine and while I'm comfortable with 2nd hand components he wants to buy new so that's what I need to be looking at!
 
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