You submitted, we voted, and now its time to reveal the Spring 2019 Best PC Builds. Each season we put our community to test, showing off their PC building skills in a friendly competition designed to distillate their vast knowledge in a variety of budget categories. Our members have a natural talent for finding the best prices on the best quality components, and this time around is no exception. The competition was fierce to say the least, and it was an extraordinary challenge to narrow down your submissions into a top five. Almost all of your submissions would make for a great PC, but there can be only one Best PC. Thanks to all of the readers and forum members who participated! We always welcome a good discussion or hot take. Let us know what you think with this years picks in the comments below. Better yet, submit your own ideas next time around.
Best Custom PC Builds For Gaming
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CYTOTOXIN$500 Build
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- Case
- DIYPC MA01-G MicroATX Mini Tower
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- Cooling
- ✗
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- CPU
- Intel Core i3-8100
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- Graphics
- PowerColor Radeon RX 580 8 GB
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- Memory
- G.Skill Aegis 8GB (1x 8GB) DDR4-2666
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- Motherboard
- Gigabyte H310M A Micro ATX LGA1151
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- PSU
- SeaSonic S12III 450W
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- Primary Storage
- Inland SSD (480GB)
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- Secondary Storage
- ✗
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- Other
- ✗
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- Built By
- The Dark Lord of Tech
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Under-Arm ITX$1,000 Build
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- Case
- Fractal Design Define Nano S Mini ITX
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- Cooling
- ✗
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- CPU
- AMD Ryzen 5 2600
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- Graphics
- Zotac GeForce RTX 2060 6GB
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- Memory
- GeIL Super Luce RGB 16GB (2x 8GB) DDR4-3200
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- Motherboard
- Gigabyte B450 I Aorus Prp WiFi Mini ITX AM4
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- PSU
- SeaSonic Focus Plus Gold 650W
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- Primary Storage
- Adata XPG SX850 (512GB)
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- Secondary Storage
- Hitachi Deskstar 7K2000 2TB
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- Other
- ✗
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- Built By
- LutfiJ
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Le Petite Gaming Streamer$1,500 Build
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- Case
- Fractal Design Define Nano S Mini ITX
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- Cooling
- ✗
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- CPU
- AMD Ryzen 7 2700
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- Graphics
- EVGA GeForce RTX 2080 8GB Black
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- Memory
- G.Skill Trident Z RGB 16GB (2x 8GB) DDR4-3200
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- Motherboard
- Gigabyte B450 I Aorus Pro WiFi Mini ITX AM4
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- PSU
- SeaSonic Focus Plus Gold 650W
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- Primary Storage
- Adata XPG SX850 (512GB)
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- Secondary Storage
- Hitachi Deskstar 7K2000 2TB
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- Other
- ✗
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- Built By
- LutfiJ
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Je suis Monsieur Blender$2,000 Build
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- Case
- Fractal Design Define Mini C TG MicroATX
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- Cooling
- Noctua NH-U12S TR4-SP3
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- CPU
- AMD Ryzen Threadripper 1920X
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- Graphics
- EVGA GeForce RTX 2080 8GB Black
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- Memory
- G.Skill Aegis 32GB (2x 16GB) DDR4-2666
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- Motherboard
- ASRock X399M Taichi Micro ATX TR4
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- PSU
- SeaSonic Focus Plus Platinum 550W
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- Primary Storage
- Samsung 970 Evo Plus (500GB)
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- Secondary Storage
- Seagate 5900RPM 4TB
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- Other
- ✗
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- Built By
- LutfiJ
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Duke Puke'em$5,000 Build
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- Case
- Fractal Design Meshify S2 White
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- Cooling
- Custom (See Component List Below)
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- CPU
- AMD Ryzen Threadripper 2970WX
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- Graphics
- MSI GeForce RTX 2080 Ti RTX 2080 TI SEA HAWK EK X 11GB
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- Memory
- Kingston HyperX Predator RGB 32GB (4x 8GB) DDR4-3200
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- Motherboard
- ASRock X399 Taichi ATX TR4
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- PSU
- SeaSonic Prime SnowSilent 750W
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- Primary Storage
- Samsung 970 Evo Plus (1TB) and (250GB)
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- Secondary Storage
- 2x Kingston HyperX Fury RGB (480GB)
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- Other
- Fractal Design Flex VRC-25
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- Built By
- LutfiJ
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While spring may not historically be the best time of year to buy PC parts, this year may be the exception that proves the rule. Recent developments in the PC Market have made it a great time to build. Graphics cards are actually affordable (sorry crypto miners), SSDs are an amazing bargain, and CPUs are extraordinarily fast no matter your budget (thank you Ryzen). Even RAM prices have made a return to normalcy. Its now possible to get two 8 GB sticks of DDR4 RAM for less than a $100.
While the latest GPUs from AMD and Nvidia may have left the community wanting, they have also had the effect of pushing prices of the previous generation down. Affordable GPU prices have made smooth 1080p, and low-level 1440p gaming within reach of even the most budget-strapped builders. These price drops are readily apparent in this set of Best PC Builds. The new minimum is an RX 580 8GB. Looking back in November a GTX 1050 2GB cost almost as much. It's a rare and great win for the consumer. If you were putting off that upgrade due to inflated prices, we would argue that now is the time to pull the trigger.
The text accompanying each build below is provided by the forum member who designed it, giving you more insight into their system building process.
Best $500/£550 PC Build
"CYTOTOXIN" Built By: The Dark Lord of Tech
MORE: How To Build A $500 Gaming PC
MORE: AMD vs. Intel: Which PC Build is Better for Under $500?
My CPU of choice to power this console killer is the very capable quad-core Intel Core i3-8100. I paired the CPU with the budget-friendly Gigabyte H310M-A motherboard and 8GB of G.Skill Aegis DDR4 2666 memory. The money saved on the budget motherboard allowed me to choose the PowerColor RX580 8GB for some excellent graphical horsepower at a no-brainer price of $169.99. For the storage, I chose a 480GB Inland SATA III SSD to allow for a smooth gaming experience at a bargain price. For reliable power deliver, I went with the value series Seasonic S12III 450W Bronze power supply. All of the components for CYTOTOXIN are mounted in the DIYPC MA01-G MicroATX Mini Tower Case which was chosen because it is viable at a very low cost.
MORE: Best CPUs
MORE: Intel & AMD Processor Hierarchy
Best $1,000/£1,200 Main Stream Gaming PC Build
"Under-Arm ITX" - Built By: LutfiJ
MORE: How To Build A $1,000 Gaming PC
In our previous runs for this contest, it was tough to make an ITX based parts list viable at the $1,000 category. With the prices for a lot of components down to their record lowest, I thought, why not go all out? In my submission for this category, I tried to get at least an 80+ Gold rated PSU, an upgradeable ITX chassis, dual channel DDR4-3200MHz RAM kit, and the latest and greatest Ray Tracing technology with an entry level RTX card. In short, this build has all the elements of a mainstream gaming system. Arguably 650 watts is more than the system will need, however the best upgrade path is to have the PSU with some headroom for beefier upgrades, and overclocking down the road.
MORE: Best Graphics Cards
MORE: Desktop GPU Performance Hierarchy Table
Best $1,500/£1,650 Streaming and Gaming PC Build
"Le Petite Gaming Streamer" - Built By: LutfiJ
MORE: How To Build A $1,500 Gaming PC
For this build, I took my $1,000 submission as the backbone, and built up from there. I swapped the AMD Ryzen 5 2600 for a Ryzen 7 2700 then set my sights on getting an Nvidia RTX 2080 card as Streaming while Gaming has both CPU and GPU demands. There is still plenty of headroom with the PSU, and the chassis has options for more storage in the 2.5-inch form factor.
MORE: Best Motherboards
MORE: How To Choose A Motherboard
Best$2,000/£2,500 High End Content Creation and Gaming Rig
“Je Suis Monsieur Blender” - Built By: LutfiJ
MORE: How To Build A $2,000 Gaming PC
I’m a fan of small-form-factor builds and tend to build SFF systems where possible. Content creation demands a step above previous category requirements and likewise, due to prices and the performance, I felt AMD’s TR4 platform was the ideal choice. I swapped the 80+ Gold-rated PSU for an 80+ Platinum rated unit, went with an NVMe drive for the OS and for use as a scratch disk, and also included 4TB of mechanical storage for long-term use. All of this is wrapped inside a Fractal Design Define Mini C TG, so it not only do you get a smaller footprint, it’s sleek enough to be put in an office environment. Since this is a Threadripper build, aftermarket cooling is mandatory and the only possible candidate was courtesy of Noctua due to the compact case size.
MORE: Best Gaming Monitors
MORE: How To Choose A Monitor
Best $5,000/£5,500 Ultimate Everything RGB Build
"Duke Puke'em" - Built By: LutfiJ
Custom Liquid Cooling Components
| Quantity | Product | Price | Buy |
| 4 | EK-HD PETG Tube 12/16mm 500mm (2pcs) | $14.99 ($59.96) | $14.99Amazon |
| 4 | EK-Vardar EVO 120ER RGB | $24.99 ($99.96) | $24.99Newegg |
| 1 | EKWB EK-RES X3 250 Reservoir, Black | $65.99 | $65.99Amazon |
| 1 | EK-UNI Pump Bracket (120mm Fan) | $14.59 | $14.59Amazon |
| 1 | EKWB EK-XRES 140 Revo D5 RGB PWM | $179.99 | $179.99Newegg |
| 1 | EKWB-Supremacy sTR4 - Nickel | $89.99 | $89.99Newegg |
| 1 | EK-RGB 4-Way Splitter Cable | $9.99 | $9.99Newegg |
| 1 | EKWB EK-CoolStream PE 120 | $49.99 | $49.99Newegg |
| 1 | EKWB EK-CoolStream XE 360 | $123.99 | $123.99Amazon |
| 1 | Cooler Master RGB Controller/Hub | $32.96 | $32.96Newegg |
| 1 | Cooler Master 1-to-3 RGB Splitter Cable | $6.99 | $6.99Newegg |
| 2 | EK-HDC Fitting 16mm - Nickel (6-pack) | $48.99 ($97.98) | $48.99Newegg |
| Total | $832.38 |
People often go for multi-GPU setups and crazy RGB fountains but I thought to myself, "Why not try and get functionality out of this budget?" I tried assembling a system with both function and aesthetics in mind. For the PSU I used an 80+ Titanium rated Snow Silent unit and the chassis of choice was the white Meshify S2 from Fractal-Design for a color neutral setup all the while allowing for the light to bounce off of the interior. Do note that a vertical GPU mounting bracket (and extension cable) was added on and the GPU has a full-cover waterblock. If you look through the specs, it’s actually worthy of the Content Creators system pedigree and doubles as a showcase PC, worthy of your table top. This version of the build would have me rely upon EKWB for the watercooling solution, primarily due to their comprehensive parts list.
MORE: How To Build A PC
MORE: PC Building Tips for Beginners
MORE: All PC Builds Content
I was especially impressed with the dual computer build by LogainOfHades, nice job!
Regardless, thank you to the community for voting for my build in the $1,500 category. I'm very humbled! I also want to congratulate Barty, Techy, Arthur and Logain for winning their respective categories. Ofc, the votes from the community and our reader base had a hand in that
+ We need more of this competition.
Agreed, maybe like best ITX/MATX/ATX/EATX within a certain budget.
Using a 3GB GTX 1060 instead of the 1050 would have pushed the cost up another $70, but given it more mainstream gaming capabilities. I've used it to play Total War games at 2K with decent results.
shouldn't be the other way around? thanks
You're absolutely right. I thought I was future proofing myself by dedicating a 1TB EVO 960 M.2 as a STEAM-only drive on my new build, but really 500GB is the minimum you want these days, and that's assuming it's not also being used for OS or anything else. And I say that as someone who usually only has a dozen or so games installed at any given time.
Nothing dampens your enthusiasm and slows your New Game Roll like having to figure out what previous games to delete first.
AMD's StoreMI; loading times of an SSD, w/o consuming all your storage. each build i did with an AMD cpu had this tech in-mind. made sure to use M.2 (if i could afford it) to further the effect. SSDs are much cheaper lately, fo sho - but still not as cheap as the combo (& every penny mattered).
but my builds didn't win anything here, so take advice from me with a grain -lol
i can't speak for the winners, can only say why i'd personally do it... i'd normally prefer to let auto-boost do it's thing with an "X" chip, which will be the same on either mobo. but if i'm building with a non-X cpu, then i'm manually OC'g & want the added VRM stability. course, pricing constraints in the competition rarely let me do what i prefer.
i found it odd that the "Mainstream Gaming" system wasn't full of i5 entries/votes, and the "Content Creation & Gaming" winner wasn't a threaded workload monster with massive SSDs. when i saw the $5k dual build, i knew it was over for the rest of us, lol (GJ mate).
(@moderator - shouldn't $500 segment read "Console Killer"? "We are looking for the best performing gaming PC under $500")
i can agree with points made on updates to this site's suggestions, & price fluctuation is hourly on components (so differing models with same specs will change the advice) ...but a custom-built PC costs more than pre-builts due to the quality of components.
mainstream OEM systems tend to be a hot tin box filled with the absolute lowest tier junk that actively prevent upgrades so you'll buy another whole PC instead. even many of the the boutique pre-builts (which are normally more expensive for the same hardware) tend to cut corners that i wouldn't, or be configured in ways that diminish value.
people don't build their own unless they are really into the idea, so those who could care less are not the reader a contest like this will attract anyway.
Also shows the price for the 352: the 652S on Amazon from a 3rd party seller (NewEgg doesn't even have it) is about double the price too.
Might want to change to a more available ATX case while you're at it.
Question from alinelopesfuruya : "Building a new dream pc"
If you are not gonna build till the middle of the year then wait. A lot can happen in 6 months in the tech industry. Rumors suggest that AMD's 7nm Ryzen CPUs are going to be impressive.
The competition was tough and close. Unfortunately, I got a distinct feeling with the voting, hopefully completely incorrect. I think... one way to alleviate such a feeling, and it's possible others may have felt it too... is this:
1) Submit the builds blind to the competition. This will keep who's build is what quiet. This will also keep someone from just taking a build and changing a couple of things and submitting it as theirs. (Admittedly, this last one can be a problem too if john doe and Mr Smith come up with the same name and/or build on their own. Both would need to be informed so either one or both can change it.)
2) When it comes to open voting, only disclose the name of the build and the build itself, not the builders. If anyone feels that a vote is based on popularity of the builder, this will be squashed in this manner, and still let the chosen and vetted builds be reviewed.
Just something to ponder. I really do like the competition and would like to see it more often.