Gaming Desktop Computer Builds 2012 -
Recommended Budget and Mid Range Builds

If you need help choosing the best value components for your new custom gaming desktop computer build, the following four recommended gaming desktop computer build examples for 4 different price ranges are here to help. The builds continually stay updated from day to day to ensure they keep up with any notable changes in the ever-changing PC hardware industry that would lead to better performance for the money.

All the painstaking research has been done for you and we carefully select the best components for your money in each of the builds. You can be sure the parts are fully compatible with each other, and that we only include the most trusted and reliable brand names for each respective component. Each of the recommended custom gaming desktop computer builds are capable of playing recently released titles that can be demanding on your system such as Battlefield 3, Modern Warfare 3, Skyrim, WoW, SWTOR and upcoming titles like Diablo 3.

Note that we currently recommend Tiger Direct as the place to buy individual parts simply because they generally tend to have some of the most competitive prices in the industry, and their shipping has always been fast and reliable. Buying your PC hardware online will save you money in the majority of cases, as large online stores such as Tiger Direct are able to sell for sometimes significantly less than at your local computer shop or department store.

Budget Gaming PC Build

Motherboard

MSI 970A-G45 AMD 9 Series ($90)

CPU

AMD Phenom II X4 960T Black Edition ($125)

RAM

Corsair Vengeance 4GB DDR3 ($25)

Video Card

EVGA GeForce GTX 550 Ti (1GB) ($120)

Hard Drive

Seagate Barracuda 1TB ($125)

Optical Drive

LG 24x Internal DVDRW Drive ($18)

Case

Cooler Master RC-430-KWN1 Elite 430 ($50)

Power Supply

Cooler Master Elite Series 460 Watts ($40)

Total Cost: $593 (USD)

Recommended Budget Gaming PC Build

Budget Gaming Build Summary

The Budget Gaming Build is a great example of a highly capable gaming desktop PC at a very affordable price. At a total cost of just over 600 dollars, most gamers will be able to afford this build. But just because it's cheap doesn't mean it lacks quality or high performance, and you will find it to be capable of playing all of the latest games now and into the near future. The amount of bang for your buck you get with this particular build is quite astounding, it could easily outperform many full-built computers that are twice the price.

The Components

The MSI 970A-G45 AMD 9 Series AM3+ Motherboard chosen for the budget build has everything you would need for your build and is a very high quality budget motherboard for gaming. MSI motherboards tend to be reliable and this board is no exception.

Combined with the super value of the AMD Phenom II X4 960T Black Edition Processor and you have a very powerful base for such a cheap system. I would still choose Phenom II X4 models such as the 960T included in the budget build (or the 955 and 965 models) over the newer "bulldozer" AMD FX range at this stage, as the new range has generally failed to impress gamers so far by not living up to performance hype.

4GB of Corsair Vengeance DDR3 RAM is great for the price, and 4GB is enough for smooth performance in games right now. Kingston is one of the most respected manufacturers of quality and reliable RAM for desktops. If you want to give the budget build a significant performance boost, consider getting 2 or even more of these RAM sticks for your build.

The popular GeForce GTX 550 Ti is one of the best value mid-range cards on the market right now. With this beast inside your machine you can easily play all of the latest games even on higher settings, and it comes with a large 1GB of onboard GDDR5 video memory to help with the more graphically intensive games.

You may have noticed a dedicated sound card was not included for this build and we have just gone with integrated audio on the motherboard which is good enough for those on a tight budget. But if you are set on getting a separate sound card because you want the very best audio experience then we would suggest the Creative Labs Sound Blaster X-Fi Xtreme which is recommended in the mid-range build up next.

The Cooler Master RC-430-KWN1 Elite 430 is a great value case for a custom gaming build and is easy to work with for the novices out there. It has good airflow and plenty of room inside for other components. The case looks awesome too with a clear side panel to see your build in action when you're done.

The Cooler Master Elite Series 460 Watt Power Supply is good enough to support the budget build and this unit is very quiet, easy to install, and Cooler Master PSUs are known for quality and reliability. 460 watts is more than enough to power the budget build.

Then there's the Seagate Barracuda 1TB hard drive which is fast and I haven't had any problems with these Seagate drives. 1TB of storage is a huge amount and most gamers won't need any larger than this. If you're on a tight budget and you don't think you need 1TB then include a smaller drive in your build to save some extra money. A great reliable alternative to Seagate would have to be Western Digital, and Hitachi are also quite good.

Finally, there is the internal LG DVD drive which is great for the price and does everything you would need it to do including reading and writing of many DVD and CD formats. It runs quietly too compared to most other DVD drives.

So that makes up the core system for the budget gaming desktop computer build. All you need for a working system is a monitor, keyboard, mouse, and operating system software too (64-bit Windows 7 is what I would recommend personally). We share some good-priced recommendations for peripherals, operating system software, and accessories at the bottom of this page to help you with your choices if you don't already own these.

But first let's take a look at the mid-range build, which will appeal to those with a little more to spend on their gaming desktop computer for even better performance and longer lastability.

Mid Range Gaming PC Build

GIGABYTE GA-Z68X-UD3H-B3 Intel Z68 ($160)

CPU

Intel Core i5-2500K ($230)

RAM

Corsair Vengeance DDR3 8GB (2x4GB) ($42)

Video Card

EVGA GTX 560 Ti 1GB ($230)

Sound Card

Creative Labs Sound Blaster Audigy 7.1 ($30)

Hard Drive

Seagate Barracuda 1TB ($125)

Optical Drive

LG 24x Internal DVDRW Drive ($18)

Case

NZXT M59 Gaming Mid Tower ($50)

Power Supply

Corsair Builder Series CX600 (600W) ($70)

Total Cost: $935 (USD)

Recommended Mid Range Gaming PC Build

Build Summary:

The mid-range custom gaming desktop computer build will let you experience spectacular gaming performance into the future, capable of handling the latest games very well on even the highest settings. Compare it to pre-built PCs of this type of price range and you will be hard-pressed trying to find the same power, performance, reliability, and expandability that the mid-range build provides.

Just because it's named the 'mid range' build, doesn't mean it's not a high-end gaming PC. This build can handle anything you throw at it with relative ease. You can expect to play all the latest and greatest games in amazing high quality, even with all the video and game settings turned on high.

All the parts for the build have been chosen again with value and performance in mind, and it is very future-proof so that you won't need to upgrade anytime soon. Ok, let's take a look at the individual parts and why they were chosen.

The Components:

First off there's the Intel Core i5-2500K Unlocked Quad-Core Processor which is one of the best bang for your buck processors in the mid to high-end gaming market and will handle the latest games flawlessly. Although the stock CPU fan does its job quite well, if you want to keep it running as cool and quiet as possible I would consider adding a better cooler (only if you have extra to spend on your build), such as the Corsair Hydro H60 which is considered one of the best for a Core i5 processor.

The GIGABYTE GA-Z68X-UD3H-B3 Intel Z68 motherboard is a great companion for your Core i5 CPU and makes for a perfect platform for high-end gaming into the future. Then there is 8GB of super-fast Corsair Vengeance DDR3 RAM 1600 Mhz which is plenty for playing the latest games now and into the future. Plus, these RAM sticks look awesome in a case with a see-through side panel.

Now to the beast of a video card, the EVGA GeForce GTX 560 Ti 1GB. At this moment in time the 560 Ti is one of the best value cards in the mid/high range video card market, and with one of these your gaming PC will tear through any game for a while to come.

For this build we included a dedicated sound card, the Creative Labs Sound Blaster Audigy 7.1. This 7.1 surround sound card is amazing value and is good enough to get the most from your games in terms of sound quality. Creative products never fail to impress.

Just like the budget build though, a sound card is completely optional. The motherboard provides decent on-board sound that will please the average gamer, but if you're after the very best audio or you are using high quality speakers and want to take full advantage of them, then a dedicated sound card is a good idea.

The NZXT M59 Gaming Mid Tower Case is another great value case for a budget gaming PC build. It's the same price as the case included in the previous budget build, so you could use either case for each build as they are both great mid tower cases. The M59 is easy to work with, has a lot of room, airflow is effective, and it's also very easy on the eye with an awesome futuristic-looking design.

The Corsair 600W power supply included in the build is of decent quality and the price is very good. 600 watts is enough power for the mid range build, also taking into account any common upgrades you may want to make in the future. The truth is, most first-time builders greatly overestimate how much power they actually need for their build. In fact you could easily get away with using the budget build's PSU if you want to save a little money and don't plan on any significant upgrades to the mid range build.

The DVD drive and hard drive are the same as the budget build, simply because they do the job well and at the current price you can't go wrong. Once again, these are all the core parts you need to make up your actual PC tower, but for a new working build you will also need a monitor, mouse, keyboard, and operating system. We give our own value-picked recommendations for these parts at the bottom of this page if you are looking for the best deals at the time of writing.

Common Mid Range Build Changes:

If your budget is somewhere between the budget and mid-range builds, we would suggest taking the main workhorse components from the mid range build (the CPU, motherboard, video card, and RAM) which have the most bearing on game performance, and combining them with the case and power supply from the budget build, and also leaving out the sound card.

Remember the general rule of thumb: if you have more to spend on a particular build and your aim is to maximize performance for your dollar, spend your extra dollars on parts that will make the most difference in actual performance (ie: a better CPU and motherboard, more RAM, and a faster/additional video card).

The High End and Extreme Gaming Builds

We have saved the best until last, and the next 2 recommended gaming desktop computer builds are suited for those who want the absolute best performing machine available on the market.

If you're lucky enough to afford all the best high-end components for your build, the High End Gaming Build for this month will show you how to spend your money wisely on only the very best performing parts for the ultimate gaming experience for years to come.

Then lastly there is the Extreme Gaming Build for either those lucky few who have no spending limit whatsoever, or those who need supercomputer-like performance for professional use.

High End Gaming Computer Builds: February 2012.

High End and Extreme Gaming Builds

OS Software, Peripherals, Accessories

For all four of our recommended custom gaming PCs we haven't included the operating system (which is required for a working build), peripherals such as the mouse, keyboard, monitor, and optional accessories such as speakers and headphones.

Here are our top value picks in order of price to include with either of the builds, but if you are on a strict budget it might be an idea to try and re-use your old peripherals/accessories where you can to save money.

Just a side note on operating systems. We currently recommend Windows 7 as the operating system to use for a new gaming PC build, but which edition is best? Windows 7 Home Premium will do just fine for the majority of builds, unless you are building a high-end system with more than 16GB of RAM because Home Premium only supports up to 16GB.

For the few of you who want/need more than 16GB of RAM in your build you will need to go with either Windows 7 Professional or Ultimate, as these editions don't have any cap on the amount of RAM. As for choosing 32 or 64 bit, for all editions of Windows 7 I would stick with 64 bit as it is the way of the future.

Operating System

Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium ($100)
(Suggested for Budget, Mid-Range and High End Builds)

Microsoft Windows 7 Ultimate ($190)
(Suggested for Extreme Build)

Mouse

Logitech M110 Optical Mouse ($13)

Logitech G500 Gaming Mouse ($60)

Logitech G700 Gaming Mouse ($90)

Keyboard

Microsoft Keyboard 600 - USB, Black ($14)

Logitech G510 Gaming Keyboard ($100)

Speakers

Corsair SP2200 Gaming Audio Series 2.1 Speakers ($65)

Headphones

Razer Orca Gaming Headphones ($45)

Logitech F540 Wireless Headset ($100)

Monitor

Inc 19" LED (5ms) ($90)

ViewSonic 22" LED(5ms) ($160)

Samsung 23" LED (5ms) ($200)

Conclusion

If you want to make changes to the builds, however big or small, that is fine. The parts can be mixed and matched to suit your own particular budget, your taste, and your gaming needs. Just make sure when swapping parts around they are still compatible with the rest of your system, and in many cases they will be because components these days are made to be interchangable. If you're new to building computers you can read the updated component buying guides throughout the site to learn how to choose components for yourself so that you can check that your parts are compatible (start here).

Building Your Gaming PC

If you are building your first PC you can feel safe that these days it's actually quite easy to do, and in most cases you don't need any prior experience. The instructions that you receive with the actual parts is enough for many first-time builders, and installing your components these days is quite a straightforward process.

The real trick to building a PC is not actually building it, but choosing the right parts that give you the best performance for your price. If you get stuck with building your system, the How To Build A PC: Installation Guides are here to help. However you go about getting your dream gaming machine, good luck and long live PC Gaming!

Return to How To Build Gaming Computers from Recommended Gaming Builds.