What’s the best PC build I can make with a $1000 budget?

Honestly, with the current market, a prebuilt around that price point is your best bet, especially if you’re new to this. It's hard to build effectively with those prices.

New PC parts are super pricey right now. Your best options include hunting for sales or considering a prebuilt deal. Places like Microcenter sometimes have good bundles that offer decent value, but I know it can be tough to navigate for someone who's new to this.

If you're okay with used parts, check out sites like hardwareswap. Facebook Marketplace is another good place for budget SSDs or other components. Just a heads up: always buy your PSU new for reliability. Newegg sometimes has poor deals, but getting a prebuilt system and upgrading it over time can work. I bought a prebuilt rig for $799 and ended up investing a bit over time, and I’m quite happy with it!

You'll need to adjust some expectations given the current prices, especially with GPU costs being high. I'd suggest going for DDR4 RAM instead of DDR5 to save money – 32GB is the sweet spot over 16GB. For the CPU, consider an Intel i5 12th gen; it's a reliable option, and given socket upgrades are quite limited now, it should serve you well long-term. Aim for an NVIDIA GPU, and a GPU with 8GB of VRAM is good for 1080p gaming. Just plan to eventually upgrade your build when prices stabilize, or if you can increase your budget later.

In my opinion, it's really not worth trying to build a PC with a $1000 budget right now. You'd be better off saving a bit more for a prebuilt system that has better specs, like something with a 9070xt or 5070fi. Anything below that isn't really worth your investment at this point.