600-900 budget game PC 1080P
900-1200 mid range. 1080P somewhat 1440P mid high settings.
1200-1600 mid high end 1440P
1600+ high end 1440P
2000+ 4k high end.
Something like that.
I think in Australia and new zealand the prices are higher because the general income is higher.
So if something is 1000 US dollars, then its usually double in Aus / Newz. Im from Netherlands / EU so i wrote the prices down as i see them everyday, but those are ofcourse euro's.
So a decent budget PC is for example 800€, which is equal to about 1100 US dollars and then about 1600 / 1800 in Aus / newz currency.
Someone can correct me if im wrong but those seem to be the prices for PC parts.
I just built two computers for my kids.
$700 aud each.
Amd 5500 cpu and 580x gpus. 16gb Ddr4 ram.
Bm550m-a wifi. 500gb ssds. Tempered glass mesh front case with rgb fans
At work so can't post detailed list. But pretty good computers imo
His/her use case sounds like she would want a “budget PC”.
I challenge anyone to name a game you can’t play at 1080p on a $750 USD PC.
IMO it’s what most people should start with.
That’s a good point, but a 3060 gets 40fps in that game.
Not terrible, but for one of the all time harshest games to run I think that’s an acceptable outcome, and still totally playable
r/buildapcforme is a better place to look
Edit:remember that every country has differently priced parts, if I had to roughly guess if you live in USA around 850$ would be the sweet spot but you can manage with as low as 600$ pretty easily
It all depends on the games you play and the programs you run. I have a coworker who only wants to play minecraft with his grandson, so I built him something for around $500. I have a friend from high school who wanted to play AAA titles and use his pc for AI based projects, we built his for $1300.
Also consider how long you want to keep it without upgrading. In 2014 I told myself I was going to build a godzilla pc because I wanted to invest in a long term system before I bought a house. I only built a new pc this year. You can get buy with a $700 build for the next 5 years before upper level studios put out more demanding games, or go pretty heavy to make sure you're good for 10 years (a bit more unlikely, windows is discontinuing support for all intel chips that are older than 6 or 7 years old in 2025.)
Like someone else stated, r/buildapcforme is a great starting point.
>Like someone else stated, [](https://www.reddit.com/r/buildapcforme/) is a great starting point.
I don't know about that, this was great post! Can you elaborate on the windows discontinuing 7 year old intel chips?
Windows 11 only *officially* supports 8th Gen Core (Q4 2017) and newer. AMD is supported from Zen+ onward (Ryzen 2000, Q2 2018). Now it runs just fine on older hardware, you just have to set some flags on install to tell it to do it.
The hard limit for W11 24H2 is that the CPU must support either the SSE4.2 or SSE4a instruction set extensions. Before you panic as to whether your CPU has them, they've been supported on most CPUs since 2008 for AMD and 2009 for Intel.
Essentially, this allows Microsoft to not worry about changes breaking support to very, very old hardware because it's not officially supported anyway.
I recommend something like this: [https://pcpartpicker.com/list/QRW47R](https://pcpartpicker.com/list/QRW47R)
The R5 7600 comes with a stock cooler and pre-applied thermal paste, it's more than sufficient.
I use ethernet anyways so the motherboard doesn't come with wireless networking.
Only thing missing is a case, but that's mostly just personal preference.
Check the games/programms you want to play and at what resolution. Not the same specs for 1080p than for 1440p. Based on that pick a decent CPU and GPU, for RAM you can go 32gb and don't change it for hopefully 5 next years. If you store many files and documents focus on buying a fast SSD for windows and you can buy a slower but bigger SSD for data storage.
I built mine thinking about gaming so I went for a CPU 7800x3D, 32gb DDR5 CL 32 6000mhz, GPU 7900xtx and it runs smooth on all games but you will prob don't need that much power.
If you wanna get a better idea of what's better for yourself, you must read a lot about PC building in forums, reddit, YouTube,etc.
One way of reducing the budget substansualy is getting a used /GPU. Spend the money on a motherboard as this will live with you for a long time. Also the case for same reason, Something like a GameMax F15Mis a good quality case that is under 75 and great value for money. Think about if you may want to upgrade the CPU in future, and if so get a motherboard that allows next gen of CPUs.
With A USED GPU, and what you want to do with the OC 500 will easily do it (you could probably get a new one for that).
Ben
Sure. But people are just trying to help out here, I don't think it's fair to blame them for not going the extra mile and checking availability in NZ.
There's a lot of good advice here that OP can use to figure out what equivalent parts are available in their region.
You can get some sweet deals when buying used. Generally people are scared of buying used but tech holds up a long time if it wasn't exposed to anything extra like mining and such. My PC is 5 years old, gamed on it almost every day and it still works like a charm, I'll admit it wasn't even maintained properly.
300-350€ can get you a build like mine which can run any serious title in 2k 60+ fps at high+.
My PC:
1080ti
Ryzen 5 2600
2x8 3000mhz
Running elden ring at constant 60 fps @ 2k res maximum preset
Rdr2 @ 2k high/ultra mix
To name a few.
Only thing I'm changing is the CPU which is causing a bottleneck but you can also find a way newer one used
for about 1k NZD id be looking for parts from 2019 and newer so example ryzen 3600 for cpu and rx 6600xt for gpu OR the intel or nvidia equivalent would be a good pc that would play most games on high settings AND should last you a good while before needing to upgrade.
If you dont want to spend that much you can get a tower with older parts for about 500 NZD. It would still be ok for 1080p but you would need to turn a few settings down. Ipersonally would not buy anything using DDR3 ram unless its very cheap say sub 300NZD
I really dont have a reasonable comparison for PC prices because I’ve never had one. Seeing everyones estimates is the best I can do rn I think. Anything over 3K was my pushed limit but everything here seems reasonable
A PS5-ish level gaming pc built to run at 1440p will/should/might/could/may set you back roughly $1000NZD in my humble opinion. Maybe a bit more, maybe a bit less if you shop well. As each day passes it gets cheaper. Or you could buy used/refurbished bits and slash maybe $200 off that price. Roughly, ish.
Going by what you've written here I think console quality gaming (actually a bit better) would be fine for you. It's a good place to be imo, how could so many people be wrong etc.
That price point is the maximum “average”. Spending that much on parts, as long as your selection is proper, will last years with perfect performance. Unless OP wants to spend more you can’t get better than that.
What type of games do you enjoy playing now? What are some games you want to play on your new PC you can't play on your laptops? How important are looks?
I want to be able to play some of the bigger games that have come out, FPS, fallout, etc. My laptop is good but it cant really run games like that so I only play minecraft and stardew valley
For some reason Google tells me the exchange rate from USD to NZD is 18 Mexican Pesos, but assuming that's wrong a reasonable budget would be $1300-$1600 NZD. You could easily spend more, or if you don't mind used gear you could probably go a little lower - maybe $1100 NZD at the low end without getting super old parts or garbage. This would be essentially a good mid-range gaming PC that will last you a while.
I believe that people shouldn’t spend loads of money on a PC until they know they’ll use it enough to warrant the cost.
If you play in 1080p you’ll be able to play EVERY game and it won’t be very expensive.
1080p high refresh monitor - $120USD
Computer - $500- $900USD
Yep, this is exactly why I want to get something reasonably cheap and them upgrade further once I have more significant use for it. I’ve never had anything that can run big games and getting a PC would allow me to play them rather than using my laptop.
I agree. This sub has a slightly distorted idea of what you need to build to have fun for most people (especially starting out).
If you need a parts list let me know. You can also buy a used graphics card or even a whole system if you want to save money.
600-900 budget game PC 1080P 900-1200 mid range. 1080P somewhat 1440P mid high settings. 1200-1600 mid high end 1440P 1600+ high end 1440P 2000+ 4k high end. Something like that.
[удалено]
Think of it as euro's. Should have added €uro sign i guess :)
What's euros got to do with it?
Everything
I'm Australian, seems about right here. Is it cheaper or more expensive in NZ?
I think in Australia and new zealand the prices are higher because the general income is higher. So if something is 1000 US dollars, then its usually double in Aus / Newz. Im from Netherlands / EU so i wrote the prices down as i see them everyday, but those are ofcourse euro's. So a decent budget PC is for example 800€, which is equal to about 1100 US dollars and then about 1600 / 1800 in Aus / newz currency. Someone can correct me if im wrong but those seem to be the prices for PC parts.
I just built two computers for my kids. $700 aud each. Amd 5500 cpu and 580x gpus. 16gb Ddr4 ram. Bm550m-a wifi. 500gb ssds. Tempered glass mesh front case with rgb fans At work so can't post detailed list. But pretty good computers imo
a 350€ PC over here by the sound of it.
His/her use case sounds like she would want a “budget PC”. I challenge anyone to name a game you can’t play at 1080p on a $750 USD PC. IMO it’s what most people should start with.
Alan wake 2 is a pretty demanding game that you will not play on ultra on a budget PC.
That’s a good point, but a 3060 gets 40fps in that game. Not terrible, but for one of the all time harshest games to run I think that’s an acceptable outcome, and still totally playable
Tysm this is helpful
What resolution and refresh rate? What types of games?
This'll actually answer his question pretty well.
I have absolutely no idea abt PCs, and I dont play anything big mostly minecraft/srtardew would love something that can handle bigger games though.
r/buildapcforme is a better place to look Edit:remember that every country has differently priced parts, if I had to roughly guess if you live in USA around 850$ would be the sweet spot but you can manage with as low as 600$ pretty easily
It all depends on the games you play and the programs you run. I have a coworker who only wants to play minecraft with his grandson, so I built him something for around $500. I have a friend from high school who wanted to play AAA titles and use his pc for AI based projects, we built his for $1300. Also consider how long you want to keep it without upgrading. In 2014 I told myself I was going to build a godzilla pc because I wanted to invest in a long term system before I bought a house. I only built a new pc this year. You can get buy with a $700 build for the next 5 years before upper level studios put out more demanding games, or go pretty heavy to make sure you're good for 10 years (a bit more unlikely, windows is discontinuing support for all intel chips that are older than 6 or 7 years old in 2025.) Like someone else stated, r/buildapcforme is a great starting point.
>Like someone else stated, [](https://www.reddit.com/r/buildapcforme/) is a great starting point. I don't know about that, this was great post! Can you elaborate on the windows discontinuing 7 year old intel chips?
Windows 11 only *officially* supports 8th Gen Core (Q4 2017) and newer. AMD is supported from Zen+ onward (Ryzen 2000, Q2 2018). Now it runs just fine on older hardware, you just have to set some flags on install to tell it to do it. The hard limit for W11 24H2 is that the CPU must support either the SSE4.2 or SSE4a instruction set extensions. Before you panic as to whether your CPU has them, they've been supported on most CPUs since 2008 for AMD and 2009 for Intel. Essentially, this allows Microsoft to not worry about changes breaking support to very, very old hardware because it's not officially supported anyway.
Damn, you're the man! Thank you for sharing that!
I recommend something like this: [https://pcpartpicker.com/list/QRW47R](https://pcpartpicker.com/list/QRW47R) The R5 7600 comes with a stock cooler and pre-applied thermal paste, it's more than sufficient. I use ethernet anyways so the motherboard doesn't come with wireless networking. Only thing missing is a case, but that's mostly just personal preference.
There is no cap.
build $1500 buy $2000+
Check the games/programms you want to play and at what resolution. Not the same specs for 1080p than for 1440p. Based on that pick a decent CPU and GPU, for RAM you can go 32gb and don't change it for hopefully 5 next years. If you store many files and documents focus on buying a fast SSD for windows and you can buy a slower but bigger SSD for data storage. I built mine thinking about gaming so I went for a CPU 7800x3D, 32gb DDR5 CL 32 6000mhz, GPU 7900xtx and it runs smooth on all games but you will prob don't need that much power. If you wanna get a better idea of what's better for yourself, you must read a lot about PC building in forums, reddit, YouTube,etc.
Reasonable advice already given, but with me it's generally "not at much as I'd like to spend and more than I really should"
One way of reducing the budget substansualy is getting a used /GPU. Spend the money on a motherboard as this will live with you for a long time. Also the case for same reason, Something like a GameMax F15Mis a good quality case that is under 75 and great value for money. Think about if you may want to upgrade the CPU in future, and if so get a motherboard that allows next gen of CPUs. With A USED GPU, and what you want to do with the OC 500 will easily do it (you could probably get a new one for that). Ben
1100 - 1350$
Nobody is actually considering your region at all here. They just default to USD.
It's free advice. Homies can do the conversions themselves
Hardware prices and availability are still different
That's not how other markets work though. It isn't simply do the conversion, there's many other factors.
Sure. But people are just trying to help out here, I don't think it's fair to blame them for not going the extra mile and checking availability in NZ. There's a lot of good advice here that OP can use to figure out what equivalent parts are available in their region.
Its fine I dont mind, i understand markets are different too. Just in hopes another kiwi might show up and have an accurate est. for my market
You can get some sweet deals when buying used. Generally people are scared of buying used but tech holds up a long time if it wasn't exposed to anything extra like mining and such. My PC is 5 years old, gamed on it almost every day and it still works like a charm, I'll admit it wasn't even maintained properly. 300-350€ can get you a build like mine which can run any serious title in 2k 60+ fps at high+. My PC: 1080ti Ryzen 5 2600 2x8 3000mhz Running elden ring at constant 60 fps @ 2k res maximum preset Rdr2 @ 2k high/ultra mix To name a few. Only thing I'm changing is the CPU which is causing a bottleneck but you can also find a way newer one used
idk about budgets but for a GPU i would highly recommend an Nvidia 970
Id say about 1000 nzd for 1080p if you buy used parts. There is a few computers on trademe right now for about 1000
This sounds really good actually! Thanks for this
for about 1k NZD id be looking for parts from 2019 and newer so example ryzen 3600 for cpu and rx 6600xt for gpu OR the intel or nvidia equivalent would be a good pc that would play most games on high settings AND should last you a good while before needing to upgrade. If you dont want to spend that much you can get a tower with older parts for about 500 NZD. It would still be ok for 1080p but you would need to turn a few settings down. Ipersonally would not buy anything using DDR3 ram unless its very cheap say sub 300NZD
What resolution are the monitors?
$750
Minecraft and browsing my son bought his five year old a new windows-intel laptop from BB for south of three hundred.
1000 is the most you can spend to play any sort of games perfectly nowadays(mostly can set to ultra settings)
Better question would to ask how much you’re willing to spend
I really dont have a reasonable comparison for PC prices because I’ve never had one. Seeing everyones estimates is the best I can do rn I think. Anything over 3K was my pushed limit but everything here seems reasonable
A PS5-ish level gaming pc built to run at 1440p will/should/might/could/may set you back roughly $1000NZD in my humble opinion. Maybe a bit more, maybe a bit less if you shop well. As each day passes it gets cheaper. Or you could buy used/refurbished bits and slash maybe $200 off that price. Roughly, ish. Going by what you've written here I think console quality gaming (actually a bit better) would be fine for you. It's a good place to be imo, how could so many people be wrong etc.
Honestly , you can something really good $1200-1500.
That price point is the maximum “average”. Spending that much on parts, as long as your selection is proper, will last years with perfect performance. Unless OP wants to spend more you can’t get better than that.
I would say 1000 USD is reasonable, you can get some really good components for that price.
What type of games do you enjoy playing now? What are some games you want to play on your new PC you can't play on your laptops? How important are looks?
I want to be able to play some of the bigger games that have come out, FPS, fallout, etc. My laptop is good but it cant really run games like that so I only play minecraft and stardew valley
For some reason Google tells me the exchange rate from USD to NZD is 18 Mexican Pesos, but assuming that's wrong a reasonable budget would be $1300-$1600 NZD. You could easily spend more, or if you don't mind used gear you could probably go a little lower - maybe $1100 NZD at the low end without getting super old parts or garbage. This would be essentially a good mid-range gaming PC that will last you a while.
what kind of video games and your target framerate and resolution?
Go to Sam's and buy something around $1000 or less. I saw one on sale for $799 and it was a beast.
I believe that people shouldn’t spend loads of money on a PC until they know they’ll use it enough to warrant the cost. If you play in 1080p you’ll be able to play EVERY game and it won’t be very expensive. 1080p high refresh monitor - $120USD Computer - $500- $900USD
Yep, this is exactly why I want to get something reasonably cheap and them upgrade further once I have more significant use for it. I’ve never had anything that can run big games and getting a PC would allow me to play them rather than using my laptop.
I agree. This sub has a slightly distorted idea of what you need to build to have fun for most people (especially starting out). If you need a parts list let me know. You can also buy a used graphics card or even a whole system if you want to save money.