Winning just got cheaper: The best gaming PCs under £1,000 in 2024

Every serious gamer wants to score one of the best PCs of the year, but what if you could achieve those big wins on one of the best gaming PCs under £1,000? Even with next-gen consoles providing ever-better 4K gaming on a budget, the popularity of PC gaming is still on the rise. And that's partly thanks to the sheer performance on offer – with super-high frame rates and advanced graphics that leave consoles in the dust.

While consoles are fantastic ways to experience gaming – you'll find that they don't have the freedom, open customisation and the sheer library of games available to PC gamers. So, with an audience of approximately 1.8 billion players (and rising), it's safe to say that the best gaming PCs offer a huge platform that's here to stay. But how do you go about choosing the right machine for you?

Best gaming PCs under £1,000 in 2024 at a glance:

• Best overall: ADMI Gaming PC – View on Amazon
• Best budget: CYBERPOWERPC Wyvern Gaming PC – View on Amazon
• Best for graphics: SCAN Argen Gaming PC – View on Amazon
• Best bundle: Vibox IV-8 Gaming PC – View on Amazon

To help you easily uncover some excellent gaming experiences, we’ve rounded up the best gaming PCs under £1,000. These are a little more expensive than your standard budget gaming PC, but they're all ready to go right out of the box.

These powerful PCs will be ideal for accessing smooth and immersive gaming experiences. With hugely respectable CPUs, GPUs and RAM, our selected options are perfect for gamers, content creators and budding streamers. If you're stuck on all the jargon we’ve included a buyer's guide and some games' system specifications, including Fortnite and Call Of Duty. So, let's gear up and find the perfect PC gaming rig for you.

Best gaming PCs under £1,000 in 2024:

Please note: All prices are correct at the time of writing. Prices, stock and deals are subject to change without notice.

The best gaming PCs under £1,000 in 2024: Buyer's guide

Choosing a new PC can be complicated at the best of times, but it can seem even more so when you throw gaming into the mix. With the choice of components, codes and frequencies being so vast, it can be a little overwhelming. But have no fear. You can read on to find out what to look for in a gaming PC and how to choose the right one for you.

Prebuilt or custom?

Many popular prebuilt rigs can start at over £1,000, with the option of custom configurations only adding to the cost. Custom-built PCs are often heralded as a more economical way of getting into high-spec PC gaming. This is all good, but a self-build can feel like an overwhelming prospect to a newcomer in a world already heavy with jargon, abbreviations, and acronyms. But you can grab the best gaming PCs under £1,000 that are pre-built and more than up to the task. The key is to know what to look for – here are some tips.

Balance your CPU, RAM and GPU

As with most tech, the more you can afford to spend on any one component the better. If money is no object then 32GB of RAM, an Intel i9 or Ryzen 9 CPU with high clock speeds, a 2TB or higher SSD and a high-end Nvidia 40-series graphics card will tackle any game you throw at it. At the more budget end, light and casual gamers who play less graphically-intensive titles should look at 8GB of RAM, an i5, i7 or Ryzen 5 or Ryzen 7 CPU and a 1TB SSD. Your money here should be spent on any dedicated (not onboard or built-in) graphics card as the latter are not powerful enough for the vast majority of games.

Decide what sort of games you want to play

This can be a specific game or genre. Think about what you want to play, look up the specifications required, and search for a gaming PC based on these stats. This can help you prioritise your needs and maximise the impact of your cash.

Blockbusters like Elden Ring and Baldur's Gate 3 and the next-generation update of The Witcher III are very resource-heavy, requiring plenty of RAM and a powerful GPU. However, older releases and indie games, from Civilisation 5 and Portal 2 to Stardew Valley and Among Us, aren’t going to need as much oomph.

Consider using your PC for non-gaming tasks

Do you want to use the PC for other tasks, like Photoshop or video editing? If so, then powerful GPUs and CPUs are be needed, even if you only ever play Minecraft. This is also the case if you’re planning to stream your content on platforms like Twitch.

If you plan on using your PC for creative pursuits, you'll also want to consider getting one of the best monitors for the job. When doing so, pay particular attention to the panel type and colour support such as P3 or Adobe sRGB.

Add up your storage needs

How many games do you have or want, and how big are they? The answer to this question will determine how much storage you need and in what form. Only want to play CS:GO? Cool – a 240GB SSD will do for a start. Want to play Microsoft Flight Simulator and COD: Warzone? Well, that’s over 200GB combined, so you need a big SSD or HDD. Remember, you'll need some space for updates, too.

If you plan on editing photos and videos, you’re also going to find memory getting tight. An external drive will help with these, but we recommend that games are always stored internally – ideally on SSD or at least a fast HDD.

Don't forget peripherals

Once you’ve picked out your chosen PC tower, you will want the best gaming peripherals. Nothing will help your stats better than a quality gaming keyboard and a gaming mouse; And some of the best budget gaming monitors are a great match for the systems we've recommended here. Bear in mind that your monitor will need to have some high refresh rates and response times for gaming, too.

Gaming PC Jargon explained:

CPU

A Central Processing Unit, or CPU, processes and executes instructions. Processors often consist of multiple cores and threads, and the higher the number of both the more concurrent processes it can carry out, improving performance. A CPU's clock speed is also important and is measured in GHz. For a good gaming experience, your average player will typically want between 3.7GHz and 5GHz.

RAM

Random Access Memory, or RAM, is a component that temporarily holds bytes of information for quick and random access by the CPU. The information will be related to programs and services that are in use. The more RAM available, the more quick-access information there is available to the CPU, thereby improving computer performance. Gamers will want no less than 8GB of RAM.

DDR3 and DDR4 are generations of RAM. DDR3 was introduced in 2007, and DDR4 in 2014. The main differences between the two relate to the voltage used, latency times, clock speeds, and overall performance. For most entry-level users, the variations between the two will not matter, as both perform very well.

Graphics cards

The best graphics cards improve the visual experience and improve a PC’s overall performance – they are seen as essential components for gamers.

A graphics card’s job is to convert CPU data into visual output. There are many types, specifications, and sizes of graphics cards. Typically, these cards have dedicated RAM and processor(s), fans and heat-syncing solutions. Sometimes graphics cards are referred to as GPUs, which is just an abbreviation of the card's processor name, a Graphics Processing Unit. Some of the best PC games available right now require top-of-the-range cards to perform at their best, so do your research.

Some CPUs and motherboards have in-built graphics cards. While acceptable for standard computer usage, these in-built options are insufficient for high-performance gaming, especially when compared with dedicated graphics cards.

HDD and SSD storage

Hard drive disks (HDD) are mechanical, writing, and reading information on spinning disks (or platters) via an actuator arm, which moves across the platter. The platters are broken down into a series of tracks and sectors. It's within these that data is stored and addressed with a location. HDDs are reliable, though they are larger and slower than SSDs. HDDs are cheaper though, and are available with much larger storage capacities. It is common practice within the gaming community to have both an SSD and HDD in a build.

Solid State Drives write and read using flash memory, much like USB flash drives. Data is stored in grids and blocks, and though the process is more complicated than in HDD, the available space is utilised more efficiently thanks to a series of processes that go on behind the scenes. Some of the best SSDs on the market are super-fast and aimed at gaming PCs. SSD technology uses no moving parts and is popular within the gaming community due to its rapid load times.

Quick reference guide: Popular game specs

Specifications as reported by wepc.com

Fortnite

• CPU – Minimum: Core i3 2.4GHz / Recommended: Core i5 2.8GHz

• RAM – Minimum: 4GB RAM / Recommended: 8GB RAM

• Storage – Required: 16GB free space

• GPU – Minimum: Intel HD 4000 (integrated graphics) / Recommended: Nvidia GeForce GTX 660, AMD Radeon HD 7870, or equivalent with 2GB memory or higher VRAM.

• OS – Required: Windows 7, 8.1, or 64-bit Windows 10

Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare III){href='https://www.callofduty.com/modernwarfare3#:~ =Call%20of%20Duty%C2%AE%3A%20Modern%20Warfare%C2%AE%203%20(2023)' target='_blank' rel='noreferrer noopener'}

• CPU – Minimum: Intel Core i5-6600 or AMD Ryzen 5 1400 / Recommended: Intel Core i7-6700K or AMD Ryzen 5 1600X

• RAM – Minimum: 8GB RAM / Recommended: 16GB RAM

• Storage – Required: SSD with 149GB available space (78GB if COD HQ and Warzone are already installed)

• GPU – Minimum: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960 / GTX 1650 or AMD Radeon RX 470 / Recommended: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080Ti / RTQ 3060 or AMD Radeon RX 6600XT

• OS – Minimum: Windows 10 64 Bit (latest update) / Recommended: Windows 10 64 Bit (latest update) or Windows 11 64 Bit (latest update)

Elden Ring:

• CPU – Minimum: Intel Core i5-8400, AMD Ryzen 3 3300X / Recommended: Intel Core i7-8700K, AMD Ryzen 5 3600X

• RAM – Minimum: 12GB RAM / Recommended: 16GB RAM

• Storage – Required: 60 GB of storage space

• GPU – Minimum: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060, 3GB or AMD Radeon RX 580, 4GB / Recommended: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1073, 8GB or AMD Radeon RX Vega 56, 8GB

• OS – Minimum: 64-bit Windows 10 / Recommended: 64-bit Windows 10

Dragon's Dogma II:

• CPU – Minimum: Intel Core i5 10600 or AMD Ryzen 5 3600 / Recommended: Intel Core i7-10700 or AMD Ryzen 5 3600X

• RAM – Minimum: 16GB RAM / Recommended: 16GB RAM

• Storage – Required: 70 GB of storage space

• GPU – Minimum: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 or AMD Radeon RX 5500 XT / Recommended: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 or AMD Radeon RX 6700

• OS – Minimum: 64-bit Windows 10 or Windows 11 / Recommended: 64-bit Windows 10 or Windows 11

Baldur's Gate 3

• CPU – Minimum: Intel Core i5 4690 or AMD FX 8350 / Recommended: Intel Core i7 8700K or AMD Ryzen 5 3600

• RAM – Minimum: 8GB RAM / Recommended: 16GB RAM

• Storage – Required: 150 GB of storage space

• GPU – Minimum: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 or AMD Radeon RX 480 / Recommended: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 Super or AMD Radeon RX 5700 XT

• OS – Minimum: 64-bit Windows 10 / Recommended: 64-bit Windows 10

FAQs

What makes a great gaming PC?

All modern computers have similar needs when it comes to basic components. But what sets a gaming PC apart from a standard home or office PC is that you are investing in more power where it's needed. Yes, you'll need a fast Wi-Fi card for gaming and other extras like a gaming mouse, but here's a quick overview of the key components to bear in mind:

Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) – Perhaps the most important component of any gaming PC is the GPU. With leading game titles demanding ever-higher resolutions, 3D graphics, dynamic lighting and other effects, the more power your graphics card has the better. AMD and NVIDIA are leading brands, each with their own series of cards and chips with varying amounts of onboard video RAM. Prioritise your spending here and you won't go far wrong.

Central Processing Unit (CPU) – This chip is central to your gaming system. It'll crunch all the numbers and, in part, dictate how fast your machine will run games. The most popular CPU brands are Intel and AMD. Other than their particular model name, CPU speed is measured in megahertz (MHz) or gigahertz (GHz) – the higher the better. And the more cores and threads the CPU has the more concurrent calculations it can make.

Random Access Memory (RAM) – RAM is the working memory of your gaming PC. A CPU without several gigabytes of RAM would have no space to perform any calculations. The typical RAM requirement for gaming is 16GB, but 32GB is more future-proof.

Solid State Drive (SSD) – This is your storage space for applications and, of course, games. So, if you're planning on playing a large library of AAA games, you'll need at least 1TB of space – preferably 2TB. A solid-state drive is much faster than a traditional hard drive – ideal for the operating system and speedy load times.

Are gaming PCs better than consoles?

A console can rarely be upgraded – with the exception of adding extra storage drives. They do, however, offer some seriously powerful custom-designed hardware in the form of CPUS and graphics power. If you're not into the ins and outs of owning and updating a gaming PC, a next-gen console is the way to go.

But, PCs have the edge when it comes to upgradability, allowing you to add more RAM and a new GPU as time goes by. Plus, a gaming PC doesn't have to be used purely for gaming, it can be used for other highly demanding tasks such as editing and rendering, as well as your essential web browsing. For games, PC has always had the best and latest hardware to deliver cutting-edge experiences. Plus, because a PC isn't as locked down as consoles, you can indulge in some modding. That means proper game upgrades, fan-based content, and true freedom to play your way.

Is a £1000 PC good for gaming?

Absolutely. If you're looking at spending around £1000 you'll have plenty of choice – as you can see from our recommendations above. But you'll also be able to play the latest games reliably without breaking the bank on a rig costing thousands. Yes, the more you spend the faster and more powerful your system will be – but by choosing a PC in this price bracket you can upgrade your components later to spread the cost and keep up with the latest tech as you go.

What is the best gaming PC to buy?

As with our recommendations here, this is all down to identifying your needs. And that means looking at the sort of games you like to play the most. If you're into the latest AAA game titles then you'll need a rig with more grunt in the GPU and RAM department. But, if you love indie titles and less graphically intensive games then you will be able to buy a PC for a little less money with a more conservative spec, allowing you to upgrade later if you need to.

William Lobley is the Editor for What's The Best. Here, he oversees, curates and researches listicles and reviews as many products as his home office can handle.

He has spent nearly five years writing about tech, audio, outdoors and fitness and has reviewed everything from smartphones to ice baths. In addition, he's well-versed in sniffing out the best deals and savings the internet offers.

When not at his desk writing, reviewing or deal-hunting, he'll be relaxing with Japanese crime novels, bingeing some classic anime, strolling the countryside or at the gym listening to the heaviest metal Spotify has to offer.

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