Gaming

Gaming PC build guide 2019

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Gaming PC build guide 2019

So it’s time to re-evaluate our 2019 gaming PC build. As with our previous forays into gaming PCs we’ll be putting together a machine with a budget that sits around $1000. If this is your first build, congratulations on taking your first steps into a larger world. But before you start adding those shiny new components to your shopping cart, make sure you take a look at our guides for best gaming motherboards or best PC cases to give you a better general idea. And if you need some help figuring out what goes where, our handy PC build guide is here to walk you through the whole process. 

Our goal is to try and stay within those limits while putting together a system that can competently run modern games at 60fps at 1080p, running at or close to max settings. This time around we also wanted to give you some recommendations that give you room to grow. Our motherboard, for example, is compatible with the 3rd generation of AMD Ryzen processors, giving you the option to upgrade down the line, and our modular PSU has power to spare, so you should have no problem getting the juice you need. And because we’ve decided to go with an AMD processor, we also have the option to overclock our CPU to squeeze out just a little extra performance if need be.

Just like with all of our build guides, we like to point out that our budget here doesn’t account for a number of essentials, our $1000 mark is what we allocate purely for components. If you’re planning on picking up one of the best gaming monitors, or you need a chair or other peripherals, you’ll need to set aside some extra cash for that. But most computer parts experience pretty rapid fluctuation, so if you keep an eye out for deals, especially around Black Friday, you shouldn’t have much trouble saving the kind of money you need.

Best gaming monitor | Best gaming mouse | Best gaming keyboard
Best gaming headset | Best gaming router | Best gaming chair

You can always cut some small corners here and there—going with a slightly smaller SSD or stepping your CPU down a notch to save some money shouldn’t have a huge impact on your overall performance. But we recommend holding firm on the price point of your GPU as it will have the greatest impact on your framerates. On a final note, it’s important that you’re building the rig you want. There is nothing wrong with just buying parts piecemeal until you have exactly what you want, especially if it means biding your time for a better price. Ultimately this is about making something that’s very personal to you and should be a point of pride when all is said and done.

CPU

AMD Ryzen 5 3600

(Image credit: AMD)

AMD Ryzen 5 3600

Cores: 6 | Threads: 12 | Base Clock: 3.6GHz | Turbo Clock: 4.2GHz | Overclocking: Yes, 4.2GHz typical | L3 Cache: 32MB | TDP: 65W | PCIe 4.0 lanes: 16

Low price for 6 core/12 thread CPU

Very secure and reliable

Good pairing with AMD GPU

Not the best for high-end gaming builds

AMD’s 3rd generation Ryzen CPUs are here and the Ryzen 5 3600 is an excellent candidate for mid-range gaming. It outclasses our previous pick for this build, the Intel i5-8400 and offers superior performance, along with overclocking and a slick-looking stock cooler all around the same price point. 

Alternatively, you could go with the previous generation Ryzen 5 2600 for a small drop in price, and while it may not be quite as fast as the 3600, it still has all the same features and matches the i5-8400 almost pound for pound. If you’re looking for a little more juice though, the Ryzen 5 3600X can give it to you for about $40 more.

Ultimately we went with the 3600 because it gave us the best bang for our buck and some additional room to expand into more powerful 3rd gen AMD CPUs down the line. Also, the overclock potential is not to be underestimated.

If you’re looking for a little extra power in your next build, check out our guide to the best CPU for gaming in 2019.

Motherboard

(Image credit: MSI)

MSI B450 Gaming Plus

A good all rounder with Ryzen 3rd gen compatibility

Chipset: B450 | Memory: (4) DIMM, 64GB, DDR4-3466 | PCIe slots: (1) x16, (1) x16 (x4), (4) x1 | USB ports: (6) rear IO, (6) internal | Storage: (1) M.2, (6) SATA | Network: Ethernet | Lighting: Full RGB

Good performance and features

Great starter

Cuts out extras (wi-fi, second M.2)

Budget audio and network

The MSI Performance B450 Gaming Plus is a solid motherboard that will deliver everything needed to run the Ryzen 5 3600. It may not necessarily be pretty or pack in a ton of extras, but it gets the job done.

The B450 supports memory speeds up to DDR4-3466 and includes an M.2 slot for a fast SSD or Optane Memory. And while this setup would need a little TLC to support it, this motherboard could potentially handle SLI or crossfire if need be.

Motherboard compatibility for Ryzen’s 3rd gen processors is pretty prolific, but make sure to check the compatibility on the manufacturer’s site if you’re committing to something with more options. But if you’re after something better than this MSI board, you’re probably also looking at a higher-end build, which we cover in our high-end gaming PC build.

Here’s our guide to the best gaming motherboards in 2019.

GPU

(Image credit: ©AMD)

AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT

An excellent AMD alternative to Nvidia’s supers

GPU Cores: 2,560 | Base Clock: 1,605MHz | Boost Clock: 1,905MHz | GFLOPS: 9,754 | Memory: 8GB GDDR6 | Memory Clock: 14 GT/s | Memory Bandwidth: 448GB/s

Outperforms the 2060 Super for the same price

No ray tracing hardware or driver support

It may look like a piece of modern art, but the 5700 XT was a relatively easy pick for this level of build and a solid replacement for the Nvidia 2060 Super. Our build is mostly looking to push 60fps at 1080p, which is where this particular GPU excels, and at a lower price point than the 2060 Super, the choice was clear.

The 5700 XT does lack dedicated hardware for ray tracing and DLSS, but in terms of actual in-game performance, it just edges out the 2060 Super. Additionally, these extra features only tend to matter once you start reaching the edge of the performance envelope. For that I recommend you check out our extreme gaming PC build guide.

For our mid-range build, the 5700 XT really hit that sweet spot of cost versus performance and is suitable so long as you aren’t trying to push 4K resolutions (and don’t mind it’s funky looking dent).

Memory

http://www.pcgamer.com/

(Image credit: Corsair)

Corsair Vengeance LPX 16GB (2x8GB) DDR4-3000

The best value RAM you can get

Capacity: 2x8GB | Speed: 2400MT/s | Timings: 15-17-17-35 | Voltage: 1.35V

High frequencies on a budget

Can be overclocked

High CAS Latency

Memory is pretty straightforward these days, as you really just want a solid choice that will get the job done, though if the price isn’t much higher you can improve performance slightly with faster RAM. DDR4 prices are have thankfully galvanized somewhat, with typical prices for 16GB falling below $100. Buy from a reliable memory manufacturer and you should be fine, and there are many options to choose from: Adata, Ballistix, Corsair, Crucial, G.Skill, GeIL, Gigabyte, Hynix, HyperX, Micron, Mushkin, Patriot, PNY, Samsung, Team, and XPG are all good brands as far as we’re concerned.

Our main goal for gaming memory is DDR4-3000 or higher, with as low a CAS latency as possible, but at a good price. It doesn’t make a lot of sense to buy extreme memory with a Ryzen 5 3600, but with DDR4-3200 only costing $10 more than basic DDR4 kits, it’s worth buying nicer memory on AMD builds.

For more information, check out our guide to the best gaming RAM options in 2019.

Primary Storage

Image 1 of 1

http://www.pcgamer.com/

(Image credit: Crucial)

Crucial P1 1TB NVMe

Great performance, price, and capacity

Capacity: 1TB | Interface: M.2 PCIe 3×4 | Sequential IO: 2000/1700MB/s read/write | Random IO: 170K/240K IOPS read/write

Super fast R/W speeds

Respectable brand

Reduced performance when full

The Crucial P1 is currently our top pick for gaming SSDs. It’s fast read/write speeds and low price point make it an easy pick, especially considering it’s cheaper than most SATA drives. And for what it’s worth, I’ve always found installing M.2 drives easier anyway.

The one drawback is that the speeds don’t always hold up under load or if the drive is mostly full. Still, the P1 is great for gaming it will outpace most SATA drives, and there’s little reason not to make this a part of our build. 

The Crucial P1 has a low price point and has enough space and reliability to hold you over until you invest in some bulk storage, which is relatively easy to slot into you build after the fact.

Additional Storage

HDD: WD Black 1TB

WD Black 1TB (Optional)

The quickest regular HDD, offering storage on a budget

Capacity: 1TB | HDD speed: 7200RPM | Cache: 32GB | Connectivity: SATA 6Gb/s | Warranty: 5 years

A cheaper storage option

Not much slower than SATA drives

Great reliability

Slower than SSDs

Expensive for an HDD

Given the install sizes of most modern PC games, it’s probably a good idea to get yourself an additional drive for your gaming PC. While SATA SSDs are almost cheap enough to recommend as secondary storage (what a world we’re living in), you’ll probably need to get a regular HDD to keep the cost down.

We recommend the WD Black drive because it’s a 7200RPM drive with a respectable 32GB cache, which offers 1TB of storage for about $70 or less. While you could easily get a WD Blue or Seagate Barracuda for less, the WD Black offers speed over capacity. Realistically, you’ll appreciate that speed if you’re planning to keep your HDD inside a gaming PC for more than a couple of years, as we’re already seeing load times creep up for the biggest games of 2019. 

PSU

PSU: Corsair TX650M 650W

Corsair TX650M 650W

Highly reliable and efficient power without going overkill

Output: 650W | Efficiency: 80 Plus Gold | Connectors: (1) 24-Pin ATX, (1) 8-Pin (4+4) EPS12V, (4) 8-Pin (6+2) PCIe, (6) SATA, (4) Molex, (1) Floppy | Modular: Partial

source: gamezpot.com