Best budget hardware under R1,000

The best, most powerful technology may be out of reach for most gamers but that doesn’t mean those who work with a budget can’t give their system a bit more grunt.

Nowadays R1,000 can get you a very good night out with your mates, a mid-range pair of hiking boots, or a playset of those vital and rare Magic the Gathering cards.

However if you prefer your PC to drinking, hiking, and card games, R1,000 can also get you the following:

OCZ Agility 3 120GB SSD

SSDs have always been the plaything of the more wealthy gamers, with high prices keeping them out of reach for most of us. However, the prices have been falling at such a rapid rate that current generation 120/128GB drives are cheaper than the previous generation 60/64GB drives – and that’s a good thing.

The OCZ agility 3 may be the company’s more mainstream drive but it’s no slouch – capable of 525MB/s read and 500MB/s write speeds, as well as 50,000 4K random write IOPS, the Agility 3 is perfect for an OS drive, or a separate storage drive for resource intensive games with long load times.

OCZ Agility 3 SSD

LG 20.5-inch Full HD LED monitor (E2042C-BN)

Full HD monitors are par for the course for modern gamers, though the smaller, cheaper monitors have typically only offered resolutions up to 1600 x 900. LG have aimed to change that with a sub-R1,000, 20.5-inch monitor with a 1920 x 1080 resolution.

LED backlighting, 5ms response time, 5,000,000:1 contrast ratio and built in cable management all come standard, and while the monitor may not be high-end it does punch above its weight thanks to the low price.

LG 20.5 inch Full HD

16GB DDR3 1,600MHZ CL 9 RAM (G.Skill or Team)

One of the most satisfying things when building a new gaming PC is filling up all of the RAM slots, and thanks to budget-friendly kits from Team and G.Skill you can slap 16GBs into your PC for under R1,000.

Both sets run at 1,600MHz CL9, both sets come with a lifetime warranty, and both run at 1.5v, meaning you can use them across multiple platforms without worrying about compatibility. In fact, one of the only apparent differences between the kits is the heatsinks they come with, so your preference of red or black will probably sway your decision.

G.skill Ripjaws Z

Corsair GS800 Power supply

Upgrading your graphics card or CPU may mean your current power supply is a bit on the weak side, but without a decent unit your new component will be all show and no go. Corsair has the solution, the GS800 800watt power supply for under R1,000 locally.

No modular cabling unfortunately, but the unit does come with 4 x 8 pin (6+2) graphics card power plugs as well as 8 SATA power connectors to power most mid-range systems. A 140mm variable speed fan, 3 year warranty, and 80 plus bronze certification round off the deal, giving you a cool and efficient unit that will outlast most of your other components.