Why buy a sketchy build from a volume seller (that has literally been thrown together) on a platform that rhymes with 'Scamazon' when you can have a budget PC built by someone who actually cares? This is a fresh build using both new and used components assembled by a builder with 30 years of experience. Crafted to extract the maximum amount of performance for the price, it makes no compromises on appearance. This is one of the smallest mATX builds you will find and, with the crisp looks of the Cooler Master Q300L and ARGB lighting, it will fit neatly into any living space. With removable dust filters on the front, top and bottom of the case, cleaning will be infrequent and easy.

This PC is an excellent performer at 1080p with eSports titles and the vast majority of AAA games. Performance of the EVGA GTX 1080 FTW is similar to a more recent budget GPU, such as the RX 7600 or RTX 3050 8GB and features RGB lighting. It has been extensively stress tested and benchmarked to validate the build.

The GPU has been carefully refurbished and improved by adding additional thermal pads to allow the metal backplate to function as a heat spreader and to improve heat transfer to the heatsink. In spite of the diminutive 3 liter case and compact two fan form factor of the GPU, GPU temperatures stay in the mid 60s C under stress testing, which is even more intensive than a gaming workload. In addition to gaming, this PC is capable of editing and rendering video with NVENC encoding.

The PC is running Windows 10 Pro and is activated. It is bloat free and only uses around 2GB RAM at idle, leaving 14GB free for gaming or any productivity loads. MSI Afterburner is installed and programmed with some tested GPU overclock settings. The GPU is capable of running at stock clocks with the power turned down to 85% and will happily run with a 20% VRAM overclock at stock power levels.

Specs: CPU: intel Core i7 4790S 4c8t (Benchmarks like a 4790K but uses half the power)

RAM: 16GB – 2x8GB SP 1600MHz DDR3 (This RAM outperformed Corsair Vengeance and Patriot G2 'Gaming' DDR3 RAM in this very build and scored better than any DDR4 I have tested at 3000MHz and some I have tested at 3200MHz)

SSD: 1TB Teamgroup AX2 (New)

GPU: EVGA GeForce 1080 FTW2 8GB

MB: Asus H81M-D Plus

PSU: EVGA 500W BR 80+ Bronze (New)

CPU Cooler: Thermalright Assassin X 120 R SE (New)

Fans: Thermalright TL-C12C-S FDB ARGB. Cooler, Rear Exhaust and 2x Front Intake. (New)

Case: Cooler Master Q300L with Tinted Side Panel (New)

I/O: Rear: 2xUSB3.2 Gen1; 2xUSB2.0; Analog Audio Line In, Line Out and Mic In; Dual PS/2 ports; Parallel Port; Display Port x3, HDMI x1, DVI-D (Dual Link). Gigabit Ethernet. Wi-Fi via included TP Link USB adapter.

I/O Front: 2xUSB3.2 Gen 1; Analog Audio, Headphone and Mic.

Gaming Performance:

RDR2: 1080p High 90+ FPS

Spider Man Remastered: 1080p High 60+ FPS

Elden Ring: 1080p Ultra 60 FPS

AC Valhalla: 1080p High 75+ FPS

Hogwarts Legacy: 1080p Medium 60 FPS

RE 4 Remake: 1080p Medium 75+ FPS

CS:GO: 1080p High 200+ FPS

Batman Gotham Knight: 1080p Highest 75+ FPS

Fortnite 1080p High DX12 100+ FPS

Witcher 3 Next Gen: 1080p High 60+ FPS

Uncharted 4: 1080p Medium 80+ FPS

Warzone 2.0: 1080p Low 100+ FPS

TLOU: 1080p High FSR Quality 60+ FPS

FH5: 1080p Ultra 100+ FPS

BG3: 1080p Medium 85+ FPS

Palworld: 1080p Medium 75+ FPS

Halo Infinite: 1080p High 60+ FPS

Cyberpunk 2077: 1080p Medium FSR Quality 60+ FPS

Starfield: 1080p Low 40+ FPS

Alan Wake 2: 1080p Low FSR Quality 30+ FPS