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November 2018 Gaming PC Builds of the Month
This month you can build a gaming pc build using the new RTX graphics cards. More specifically, we have included the RTX 2070 in the $1500 gaming pc build to replace the previous GTX 1080. The reason being is that the RTX 2070 outperforms the GTX 1080 slightly in some gaming scenarios, and is, in fact, the same price at the moment — making this new graphics card a no-brainer for this build.
For those of you visiting for the first time, these monthly best gaming pc builds of the month provide you, the builder, with the most up to date best value gaming builds that are up to date. Each of the three builds is chosen specifically with cost and performance within each cost bracket of under $700, $1000 and $1500.
The under $1500 gaming pc this month has had the most changes this month. As stated above we have added in the brand spanking new RTX 2070 graphics card making it a bump more powerful than last month giving it a more future proof ability utilizing the RTX’s new technology, like ray tracing. We have also bumped up the storage to a 1TB Western Digital SSD and switched gaming pc case to an NZXT H500i with RGB lighting.
The under $1000 gaming pc still utilizes the Intel i5 8400, although supplies have been a little low you should be able to get your hands on one. This build also utilizes an RX 580 graphics card, however, you are also given the option to upgrade to a GTX 1070 should you have the extra cash.
And finally, the under $700 gaming pc build stays pretty much the same around this time and is still a great choice for gamers looking to just build a pc that can withstand popular games at 1080p resolutions.
So if you are looking to build the best possible gaming pc build this month, you have come to the right place. November is always a fantastic time to build a pc as Black Friday PC deals loom along with Cyber Monday. So my advice would be if you have a build in mind (such as those you see below) you could keep an eye out throughout the month to grab a good deal on specific pieces of pc hardware.
Best of luck building and if you have any questions along with your journey, please let us know by leaving a comment below!
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The Best Under $1500 Gaming PC Build | November 2018
Performance: Game with Extreme settings and High FPS at resolutions of 1920×1080 (1080P) & 2560×1440 (1440p) + good gameplay at 4K
*This PC Build is powered by the AMD Ryzen 7 2700K CPU and RTX 2070 GPU
Hardware Link | Price | Image | |
---|---|---|---|
Processor |
AMD Ryzen 7 2700X Processor with Wraith Prism LED Cooler – YD270XBGAFBOX |
$309.98 | |
Cooler | *Included: The cpu comes with a Wraith Prism RGB Cooler
Need more cooling? See the hardware alternatives table below. |
-Included | |
Motherboard | GIGABYTE X470 AORUS ULTRA GAMING (AMD Ryzen AM4/ X470/ USB 3.1 Gen 2 Front Type C/ ATX/ DDR4/ Motherboard) | $131.58 | |
Graphics Card | GTX 1080 – GIGABYTE GeForce RTX 2070 WINDFORCE 8G GGDR6 | $499.99 | |
RAM | $154.97 | ||
SSD | WD Blue 3D NAND 1TB PC SSD – SATA III 6 Gb/s, 2.5″/7mm – WDS100T2B0A | $139.99 | |
Power Supply | EVGA SuperNOVA 750 P2, 80+ PLATINUM 750W, Fully Modular ECO Mode, 10 Year Warranty, Includes FREE Power On Self Tester, Power Supply 220-P2-0750-X1Corsair | $99.99 | |
Computer Case | NZXT H500i ATX Computer Case, with digital fan control and RGB lighting, Black (CA-H500W-B1) | 97.00 | |
Estimated Price : | $1434 – (2018)
|
Overview | Best Gaming PC Build for $1500
November 2018 Update: This best under $1500 gaming pc build will crush games from 1080p with high frame rates and even 1440p at higher frame rates. This November we include a brand new RTX 2070 graphics card, which has been shown to perform near and sometimes better than a GTX 1080 (previous generation graphics card and previously included in this pc build). There is also a larger SSD included this month as the cost of these keeps going down, with the inclusion of a Western Digital 1TB SSD.
The CPU used this November is the AMD Ryzen 7 2700X CPU, which comes with eight cores and 16 threads and comes with a decent Wraith Prism (with RGB lights) CPU cooler. And should you want to upgrade to something like a higher-performing liquid CPU cooler, you now have more funds to do so, which you could consider if you wanted to overclock the heck out of this thing.
The graphics card used is an RTX 2070 (specifically the Gigabyte GeForce Windforce RTX 2070). This is a brand new card, which seems to be priced right at the moment as it performs very similarly and sometimes better in games than the previous graphics card included in the $1500 gaming pc build, the GTX 1080. The RTX 2070 utilizes GDDR6 memory, which is the new generation of memory and it does have a faster memory speed than either a GTX 1080 or 1080 Ti in some cases.
The motherboard included in an X470 chipset motherboard, the GIGABYTE X470 AORUS ULTRA GAMING motherboard. Alternatively, if you have more moola to throw at a motherboard, you could consider the Gigabyte X470 Aorus Gaming 7 Wi-Fi instead, which is more pricey but has more features including built-in wifi and better audio. This motherboard basically has more than most gamers with probably utilize including (see the full list of features at gigabyte.com):
- Chipset AMD X470
- Form factor ATX
- CPU support AMD Socket AM4
- Memory support Dual-channel, four slots, max 64GB
- Sound Eight-channel Realtek ALC 1220
- Networking 1x Intel Gigabit Ethernet
- Ports 1x M.2 PCIe 3.0 x4 32Gbps/SATA 6Gbps up to 22110, 1 x M.2 PCIe 2.0 x4 16Gbps up to 2280, 6 x SATA 6Gbps, 1 x USB 3.1 Type-A, 1 x USB 3.1 Type-C, 1 x USB 3.1 Type-C header, 8 x USB 3.0 (4 via headers), 8 x USB 2.0 (4 via headers), 1 x LAN, audio out, line in, mic, Optical S/PDIF out
- Dimensions (mm)305 x 244
Included in the high-end build is 16GB total in memory, a kit of two 8GB sticks of Kingston HyperX 2400. RAM prices are a tad better now, so don’t be too shy to get what you need.
The storage included in the $1500 gaming pc build is a 1TB Western Digital Blue 3D Nand SSD, which is an upgrade from the previous 500GB SSD included in this build. The Western Digital has sequential read speeds up to 560MB/s and sequential write speeds up to 530MB/s.
The included power supply unit (PSU) this month is back to the quality EVGA SuperNOVA 750 P2, 80+ PLATINUM 750W, which is a bump up from last months included PSU in terms of power efficiency. Overall this is a very solid power supply.
For November, we have also switched up our gaming pc case with an NZXT H500i Black RGB edition with RGB lighting and digital fan control. This is essentially what I would describe as a fine, sophisticated pc case with some hot added featured like the smart RGB lighting using HUE+ and GRID+ digital controllers, adaptive noise reduction and super easy fan control.
Upgrade Suggestions | Best $1500 PC Build Upgrade Suggestions 2018
STORAGE UPGRADE | WD Blue 3D NAND 2TB PC SSD | $329.99 | |
GRAPHICS CARD UPGRADE | Gigabyte AORUS GeForce GTX 1080 Ti 11GB Graphic Cards GV-N108TAORUS-11GD | $799.99 | |
CPU COOLER UPGRADE | Purchase a liquid CPU cooler: Corsair Hydro Series Extreme Performance Liquid CPU Cooler H100i |
$138.78 | |
STORAGE UPGRADE | PCIe SSD (faster): XPG SX8200 480GB 3D NAND NVMe Gen3x4 M.2 2280 Solid State Drive (ASX8200NP-480GT-C) |
$139.99 |
The hardware upgrades you see above are recommendations for the best November 2018 gaming PC builds $1500 build. That is if you have more cash to spend or want upgrade ideas, here they are.
If you think you’ll want more than the included 1TB of storage, you could opt for the 2TB version of the Western Digital Blue Nand SSD instead for slightly more in cost.
If you want to further increase your overall gaming performance in the $1500 pc build, then you could opt for a GTX 1080 Ti graphics card. This card is recommended to those who first, want to maximize their FPS, and secondly for those who think they will gaming at 4K or doing a lot of Virtual Reality gameplay.
The above pc build does include an SSD, which is perfectly suited for most gamers and pc builders, but if someone were searching for the fastest and one of the most efficient methods of storage, you could consider a premium PCIe Solid State Drive, such as the XPG SX8200 480GB SSD above.
If you want more than the included air CPU cooler included in the main build, the above is the Corsair Hydro Series H100i liquid CPU cooler. This cooler would be a substitute for the stock AMD Wraith Prism CPU cooler, should you feel you need it.
The Best Under $1000 Gaming PC Build | November 2018
Capability: Game with Extreme settings at 1920X1080 (HD) resolutions up to Higher Settings at 2560×1440 (2K)
Powered by the Intel i5 8400 and the RX 580 8GB Graphics Card
Hardware Link | Price | Image | |
---|---|---|---|
Estimated Price: | $890.00 (2018) | ||
Processor | Intel Core i5-8400
|
$209.99 | |
Cooler | Included | ||
Motherboard | $99.99 | ||
Graphics Card
|
RX 580 8GB: MSI VGA Graphic Cards RX 580 Armor 8G OC
*For even greater performance could consider a GTX 1070 such as this Gigabyte GV-N1070G1 GAMING-8GD REV2.0 GeForce GTX 1070 |
$224.99 (RX 580)
$389.99 (GTX 1070) |
|
RAM | $83.99 | ||
SSD | $83.98 | ||
Power Supply | EVGA Supernova 750 P2, 80+ Platinum 750W, Fully Modular ECO Mode, 10 Year Warranty, Includes Free Power On Self Tester, Power Supply 220-P2-0750-X1 | $99.99 | |
Computer Case | $79.99 |
Overview | $1000 Best Gaming PC Build 2018
November 2018 Update: The under $1000 gaming pc build of the month is really for those wanting to rock 1080p gameplay or dabble into 2K resolutions and still get good performance. This month we stay with the solid Intel i5 8400 CPU as it performs superbly in games and pair that with an RX 580 graphics card. However, there is also the option to pair this with a GTX 1070 graphics card should you have that extra cash — however well worth it!
The included gaming CPU this November is the Intel i5 8400. This gaming CPU is a great choice and purchase for the cost. If you have a little more to spend on the CPU, check the alternatives tables below where we include the Intel i5 8600K, which gives you more performance potential.
For the gaming graphics card, we have an AMD RX 580 graphics card, of which you should expect to play pc games phenomenal at resolutions of 1080p and great into 2K. If you have a little more to spend and want to invest in what will guarantee you the most performance in terms of your dollars spent, then you could consider a GTX 1070 (see the hardware upgrades table below).
The motherboard that has been included in the under $1000 gaming pc build is the MSI Z370 GAMING PLUS CFX, which is fully compatible with the included Intel i5 8400 CPU and comes with the following specifications (learn more at MSI.com):
- Supports 8th Gen Intel® CoreTM / Pentium® Celeron® processors for LGA 1151 socket
- Supports DDR4 Memory, up to 4000+(OC) MHz
- Lightning Fast Game experience: 1x TURBO M.2, Intel Optane Memory Ready.
- AUDIO BOOST: Reward your ears with the studio-grade sound quality for the most immersive gaming experience
- DDR4 Boost: Fully isolated, shielded and optimized DDR4 PCB design to give your DDR4 memory a performance boost.
- GAMING LAN, powered by Intel®: The best online gaming experience with the lowest latency and bandwidth management.
- MULTI-GPU: With STEEL ARMOR PCI-E slots. Supports 2-Way AMD Crossfire™
- VR Ready: Best virtual reality game experience without latency, reduces motion sickness
- Military Class 5, Guard-Pro: Latest evolution with high-quality Japanese components for best protection and efficiency
- In-Game Weapons: Game Boost, GAMING Hotkey, X-Boost, WTFast
- EZ Debug LED: Easiest way to troubleshoot
- Click BIOS 5: Award-winning BIOS with high-resolution scalable font, favorites, and search function
- GAMING CERTIFIED: 24-hour on- and offline game and motherboard testing by eSports players
The RAM kit included is the affordable kit of Kingston HyperX Fury 8Gb kit, which is enough memory for most gaming pc builds, and you always have the option to upgrade more in the future if need be with the extra couple of slots on the included motherboard.
We have switched up the storage solution this month to a Western Digital Blue 3D Nand SSD 500GB SSD. This SSD is priced really well this month and is a solid performing SSD.
The under $1000 gaming pc build is using the CORSAIR CARBIDE 275R gaming pc case, which comes in your choice of white or black. The Carbide 275R is a minimalistic designed pc case with an edge to edge tempered glass. The specifications of the Carbide 275R include versatile cooling, expansive storage space, direct airflow path cooling and built-in cable routing (to learn more visit corsair.com). The Corsair Carbide 275R is a newer case as of 2018 as a budget-friendly pc case and has had great reviews all around.
Upgrade Suggestions | Best $1000 PC Build Upgrade Suggestions 2018
CPU UPGRADE | Add a Better CPU (This one can be overclocked for further performance. *Note: You will need to also purchase a CPU cooler like this Hyper 212 EVO): Intel BX80684I58600K 8th Gen Core i5-8600K Processor | $250.91 | |
GRAPHICS CARD UPGRADE | GTX 1070: GTX 1070 such as this Gigabyte GV-N1070G1 GAMING-8GD REV2.0 GeForce GTX 1070 | $389.99 | |
RAM UPGRADE | Add More RAM (16GB) – HyperX Kingston Technology Fury 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4 2400MHz DRAM | $154.97 | |
CPU COOLER UPGRADE | Corsair Hydro Series H80i v2 Extreme Performance Liquid CPU Cooler, Black- Add a liquid CPU Cooler for a quieter, more customized and efficient cooling experience. |
$94.99 |
Above are the suggested upgrade ideas for the best November 2018 $1000 gaming PC build, these are recommended if you have a larger budget or want some upgrade suggestions later on.
If you wanted to easily upgrade your CPU, you could simply swap for the Intel i5 8600K. The 8600K gives you the potential to further overclock your CPU for a slightly higher cost. You do have to keep in mind though that if you go with the 8600K, you will need to add a CPU cooler (such as the Cooler Master Hyper 212).
Right now a great purchase could be a GTX 1070 graphics card. This could max those games out in 2K resolutions without a problem, which will enable higher frame rates in more demanding games. Considering the release of the NVIDIA RTX 2070 (which was thought to be replacing the 1070) peforms better, but at a much higher price point, we may not see the GTX 1070 going anywhere just yet.
Since the $1000 pc build above includes 8GB of RAM, you could bump this up further to 16GB with a kit of Kingston HyperX Fury RAM.
You could also go with a liquid CPU cooler such as the Corsair Hydro Series H80i V2 in place of the included air cooler already included in the above build above. This could help keep things quiet and a tad cooler when overclocking and it offers a more customize the cooling experience — this could also be used if you decided to go with the Intel 8600K CPU upgrade as it doesn’t come with a cooler.
The Best Under $700 Gaming PC Build | November 2018
Capability: Game at Smoothly with High settings and FPS at 1920X1080 resolutions in most games.
Hardware Link | Price | Image | |
---|---|---|---|
Estimated Price: | $670 (2018) | ||
Processor | $159.99 | ||
Motherboard | GIGABYTE GA-AB350-Gaming AMD RYZEN AM4 B350 SMART FAN 5 HDMI M.2 SATA USB 3.1 Type-A ATX DDR4 Motherboard | $89.99 | |
Graphics Card | GTX 1060 (3GB): Gigabyte GeForce GTX 1060 Windforce OC 3GB GDDR5 Graphics Card | $189.99 | |
RAM | Kingston HyperX FURY Black 8GB Kit (2x4GB) 2133MHz DDR4 Non-ECC CL14 DIMM Desktop Memory (HX421C14FBK2/8) | $83.99 | |
SSD | Kingston Digital, Inc. 120GB A400 SATA 3 2.5 Solid State Drive | $27.99 | |
Power Supply | Corsair CX Series, CX500, 500 Watt (500W) Power Supply, 80+ Bronze Certified | $55.79 | |
Computer Case | Antec Gaming Series Three Hundred Two Mid-Tower PC/Gaming Computer Case | $61.87 |
Overview | Best Gaming PC Build for $700
November 2018 Updates: The November under $700 gaming pc build uses a Ryzen 5 2600 and pairs that with a GTX 1060 3GB graphics card. This build is for those wanting a simple, affordable gaming pc that will play any pc game on the market at 1080p resolutions with high settings.
The CPU this month is the Ryzen 5 2600 CPU is a superb value coming in with 6 CPU cores and 12 threads at 3.4Ghz.
For the graphics card this November 2018, we have a GTX 1060 3GB graphics card, which is a great GPU that provides you with awesome 1080p performance. If you need to further boost your graphics performance you could consider and RX 580 graphics card as you see included in the $1000 gaming pc build.
This months motherboard for the under $700 gaming pc build is an AMD B350 chipset motherboard — the GIGABYTE GA-AB350-Gaming. This motherboard is perfect for the included build included in the above under $700 gaming pc build as is, however, if you did have a little bit more to spend, you could consider an upgrade to an AMD X470 chipset motherboard; that way you could overclock quite easily.
The RAM included is a kit of Kingston HyperX Fury (the same as in the $1000 pc build) which is enough memory for most gaming pc builds, and you always have the option to upgrade more in the future if need be with the extra couple of slots on the included motherboard.
The storage included is a Kingston Digital 120GB solid state drive SSD. This is a great start in terms of storage speed and capacity, however, if you do think you’ll need more storage right away, you could consider a 256Gb or larger SSD as well — or heck throw in another Kingston 120GB SSD for another $30 or so.
The included power supply unit in this pc build is the reputable and affordable Corsair CX Series, CX500, with enough juice to power this build and for a good cost.
The gaming pc case for November 2018 is the Antec Gaming Series Three Hundred Two pc case. This case is a classic high-quality gaming pc case. This is a great affordable pc case that performs very well with a hot aggressive front bezel and great cooling system. Learn more at antec.com.
Upgrade Suggestions | Best $700 PC Build 2018
CPU Upgrade | AMD Ryzen 5 2600X Processor with Wraith Spire Cooler – YD260XBCAFBOX | $209.99 | |
MOTHERBOARD Upgrade | MSI X470GPLUS Performance GAMING AMD X470 Ryzen 2 | $116.98 | |
GPU Upgrade | RX 580 8GB: MSI VGA Graphic Cards RX 580 Armor 8G OC | $224.98 | |
STORAGE UPGRADE | Samsung 860 EVO 250GB 2.5 Inch SATA III Internal SSD (MZ-76E250B/AM) |
$55.99 |
The above are upgrade ideas should you have more to spend than the allotted $700 for this gaming pc build. There are some significant performance upgrades above including the CPU and graphics card – and even further, if you upgrade the CPU you could also upgrade the motherboard for an even more overclocking capability for even more of a performance boost for nothing.
The CPU upgrade suggested is an AMD Ryzen 5 2600X, this could be a slight upgrade in computing power and it overclocks quite nicely.
The motherboard upgrade suggestion is an AMD socketed X470 board — the MSI X470GPLUS Performance GAMING motherboard. This motherboard can further leverage the included Ryzen cpu by providing an easier overclocking experience.
If you are looking the simplest performance upgrade, then you could consider upgrading the graphics card to an RX 580 8Gb GPU, which should enable quality PC gaming performance at 1080p.
You could also increase your storage space by going with a larger capacity 256GB Samsung 860 EVO SSD. This would be recommended if you think you will need more than 120GB as included in the SSD in the base build above.
Additional Gaming PC Components
There is a lot more additional PC components that you may or may not need for your gaming pc build, and below are some suggestions. Such as you may want to add WiFi functionality, which isn’t inherently included in the above builds, and you may not already have an operating system to install on your new pc.
Operating System | What will you run Your Gaming PC Build With?
You will need an operating system (OS) for your gaming pc build and If you don’t already have one laying around, then you’re going to have to purchase a standard OS such as Windows 10 or check out some free alternatives that you could consider. Keep in mind that it is recommended to purchase Windows online or as a USB stick and install it that way as optical drives are not included in any of these builds and nor would you generally need one for any modern gaming pc.
Included below is a USB copy of Windows 10, which is probably what most people need. I have also included two other operating systems that are both currently free – so could be worth the time trying out. Ubuntu is a Linux based operating system. The last OS is SteamOS, which is also a Linux OS being developed by Valve Corporation.
OS Link | Price | Image | |
---|---|---|---|
Windows 10 | Microsoft Windows 10 Home USB Flash Drive | $119.99 | |
Ubuntu | Ubuntu – Desktop | Free | |
SteamOS | SteamOS – “Build your own Steam Machine” | Free |
Network Card/USB | Add Wireless Internet to Your PC Build
Not all gaming pc motherboards have wifi, in fact not many do unless you are willing to purchase a more expensive board. So if you want wireless internet (wifi), then you will need to either purchase a wireless PCIe card or USB dongle. Whichever you choose is up to you, but essentially a wireless PCIe card plugs directly into your motherboard and usually has antennas that come out of the back of your PC case, and a USB dongle simply plugs directly into your PC case via a USB port.
Here are a couple examples:
Link | Price | Image | |
---|---|---|---|
PCIe Card | TP-Link TL-WN881ND N300 PCI-E Wireless WiFi network Adapter card | $19.99 | |
USB Adapter | Linksys AE1200 Wireless-N USB Adapter | $17.99 |
November 2018 Gaming PC Builds of the Month Overview Video
*Coming soon
Comments 5
I have two questions, it doesn’t affect that the RAM is optimized to Intel’s 200 series chipsets, and the motherboard has a Intel’s 300? there’s no problem of compatibility or any problems?
Author
Hi Benja,
Yes they are all fully compatible, however you won’t be overclocking the i5 8400 as it is locked.
Thank you!
Mr cory I built a pc from this list back in 2015 but added some things I was wondering if I can change the cpu from an i54690k to i74790k without changing anything else
system specs:
CPU: i5-4790k
MOBO: ASUS Z97-A
MEMORY: 16GB HYPER X FURY
GPU: GEFORCE GTX970 4G GAMING
SSD: SAMSUNG 256GB SSD
STORAGE: 1TB HARD DRIVE
Oh and PSU is 600w bronze 80
Author
Hi Daniel — Welcome back! Yes you can swap an Intel i5 4690K for an Intel i7 4790K no problem as they are both the same socket size 🙂 how has the PC run thus far?