Best gaming PC for under £1,000
For about £1,000 you can get a gaming PC that plays almost every game at 1080p and still has room to grow. Here is what makes the difference at this budget, and what to avoid.
Why £1,000 is a good budget
At this price you are paying mostly for a stronger graphics card. The graphics card is the part that draws the game on your screen, so it decides how smooth and detailed games look.
A cheaper PC can play popular games. A PC near £1,000 can play the big new games too, with higher settings. It is a good choice if you want one PC that copes with whatever your friends are playing.
What a good £1,000 PC should have
- A solid mid-range graphics card or better. This is where most of the money should go.
- 16GB of memory as a minimum, 32GB if you can. Memory (RAM) is the PC's short-term workspace. More of it helps when games and other programs run at once.
- A fast SSD with plenty of space. An SSD is a fast drive. Modern games are large, so a bigger drive saves you deleting games to make room.
- A good power supply. It feeds power to every part. A good one leaves headroom, so a future graphics card upgrade is simple.
- Good cooling. Enough fans to keep the PC cool and quiet during long sessions.
Not sure if you need 16GB or 32GB? Our guide to how much memory you need explains it simply.
Our PCs from £700 to £1,000 right now
Picked from our shop's list by graphics card strength, then price. Prices update by themselves.
Refurbished1080p gaming
Sandbox Mistletoe RTX 3060 refurbished gaming PC
Ryzen 5 5500 + RTX 3060 12GB
Made for 1080p screens: Fortnite, Valorant, Minecraft and Rocket League play well. The newest big games may need lower settings.
- Processor
- AMD Ryzen 5 5500 (6 cores, 12 threads)
- Graphics
- NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 12GB
- Memory
- 16GB DDR4 memory
- Storage
- 500GB WD Blue 2.5-inch SSD (tested)
- Windows
- Windows 11 Home not included (optional extra, installed by us)
£949
Built to order
Games this PC plays
- Fortnite Plays well
- Minecraft: Java Edition Plays well
- Minecraft (Bedrock Edition for Windows) Plays well
- Roblox Plays well
- VALORANT Plays well
- Counter-Strike 2 Plays well
- League of Legends Plays well
- EA SPORTS FC™ 26 Plays well
- Grand Theft Auto V Enhanced Plays well
- Marvel Rivals Plays well
Comes with an RGB case - you can swap it for a non-RGB case if you prefer.
Sold by Sandbox Computers, Worcester
Refurbished1080p gaming
Sandbox Typhoon RTX 2070 refurbished gaming PC
Ryzen 5 5500 + RTX 2070
Made for 1080p screens: Fortnite, Valorant, Minecraft and Rocket League play well. The newest big games may need lower settings.
- Processor
- AMD Ryzen 5 5500 (6 cores, 12 threads)
- Graphics
- NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 8GB
- Memory
- 16GB DDR4 memory
- Storage
- 256GB SSD + 1TB 3.5-inch hard drive (tested) + 1TB hard drive
- Windows
- Windows 11 Home not included (optional extra, installed by us)
£799
Built to order
Games this PC plays
- Fortnite Plays well
- Minecraft: Java Edition Plays well
- Minecraft (Bedrock Edition for Windows) Plays well
- Roblox Plays well
- VALORANT Plays well
- Counter-Strike 2 Plays well
- League of Legends Plays well
- EA SPORTS FC™ 26 Plays well
- Grand Theft Auto V Enhanced Plays on low settings
- Marvel Rivals Plays well
Comes with an RGB case - you can swap it for a non-RGB case if you prefer.
Sold by Sandbox Computers, Worcester
Refurbished1080p gaming
Sandbox Frost RX 6600 refurbished gaming PC
Ryzen 5 5500 + RX 6600
Made for 1080p screens: Fortnite, Valorant, Minecraft and Rocket League play well. The newest big games may need lower settings.
- Processor
- AMD Ryzen 5 5500 (6 cores, 12 threads)
- Graphics
- AMD Radeon RX 6600 8GB
- Memory
- 16GB DDR4 memory
- Storage
- 500GB WD Blue 2.5-inch SSD (tested)
- Windows
- Windows 11 Home not included (optional extra, installed by us)
£869
Built to order
Games this PC plays
- Fortnite Plays well
- Minecraft: Java Edition Plays well
- Minecraft (Bedrock Edition for Windows) Plays well
- Roblox Plays well
- VALORANT Plays well
- Counter-Strike 2 Plays well
- League of Legends Plays well
- EA SPORTS FC™ 26 Plays well
- Grand Theft Auto V Enhanced Plays on low settings
- Marvel Rivals Plays well
Comes with an RGB case - you can swap it for a non-RGB case if you prefer.
Sold by Sandbox Computers, Worcester
Balance matters
A gaming PC works best when the parts suit each other. A very strong processor with a weak graphics card will not play games well. The same is true the other way round. A balanced PC gives you more for your money.
This is why we look at the whole PC, not just the headline part. Every PC we sell is built and tested on our own bench in Worcester before it goes out.
1080p or 1440p at this budget?
1080p is the most common gaming screen, and a £1,000 PC handles it very well. 1440p is sharper, but it has many more dots to draw, so it needs more power. For lighter games, a £1,000 PC can manage 1440p. For the heaviest games, it is worth looking at the best gaming PCs for under £1,500.
If you are not sure which games need what, see our game-by-game guide.
Questions people ask
What can a £1,000 gaming PC play?
Almost everything at 1080p. Popular games like Fortnite, Warzone, GTA and Minecraft run well. The very heaviest new games may need a few settings turned down, but they will play.
Is 16GB of RAM enough at £1,000?
16GB is enough for most games today. 32GB is more comfortable, especially if you stream, record your games or keep other programs open while you play. At this budget it is worth asking for 32GB if the price allows.
Is a £1,000 PC good for 1440p?
It can be, for many games, if the graphics card is strong enough. For the newest and heaviest games at 1440p, a bigger budget gives a smoother result. At £1,000, 1080p is the safe choice and 1440p is a stretch.
Will a £1,000 PC last?
A well-chosen one should play new games for several years. Pick one with a good power supply and spare room in the case, so you can fit a stronger graphics card or more memory later.