I want to play arc raiders at the highest fps I can with no input lag or stuttering. I don’t really care how great it looks but obviously I don’t want it to look bad.
I’ve never played on 1440 and my monitor now is a cheap 1080p 165hz monitor from Walmart.
What is the best bang for my buck right now? Should I build my own or just go with another prebuilt? The one I have now has worked great but it’s just not keeping up with the cpu heavy workload that arc raiders puts out. I don’t want to spend 3k on a computer right now but it almost seems like that’s what you need to get 200+ fps in that game. Would 165fps on a 165hz monitor be more ideal in my price range ? I really want to stay under 1500 for a new computer and possible a better monitor.
If you’ve never build a pc before than a prebuilt would be a good option. But you can get better performance for your money if you build a pc instead of buying one. But here’s a good prebuilt:
It has a 9060xt 16gb and a 9600x and it’s upgradable (up to at least a 7800x3d for the cpu (if you upgrade the cooler) and a 9070xt or higher for a gpu (but you might want to upgrade the psu before you upgrade the gpu)). But if you want to try building a pc than here’s a good pcpartpicer list:
It has the same specs as the prebuilt but probably a better psu and it has a good motherboard that is possibly a bit better than the one in the prebuilt and the list has a 360mm aio unlike the prebuilt (which only has a single tower cooler). Is there anything else that you need to consider? Or will one of these options work?
If your main goal is high FPS, low input lag, and smooth gameplay, you don’t need to spend anywhere near $3k. With a $1,200–$1,500 budget, you can absolutely hit 165+ FPS at 1080p and even solid 1440p performance if you balance your parts well.
For CPU-heavy games like Arc Raiders, I’d prioritize:
Strong CPU (Ryzen 5 7600 / Intel i5-13600K)
Fast RAM (32GB DDR5 if possible)
Mid-range GPU (RTX 4060 Ti / RX 7700 XT)
NVMe SSD for smooth loading
Building your own will give you better performance per dollar, but if you go prebuilt, just make sure you’re not overpaying for flashy RGB or weak components.
You can also find good PC build guides and budget performance tips on capcapk, which might help you dial in the best value parts for your budget.
At your price range, 165 FPS at 1080p on a 165Hz monitor is very realistic, and you can upgrade to 1440p later without rebuilding the whole system.
I agree with Farmcrafters or Keguns builds here. especially Keguns second one, it’s the strongest build suggested for the money. using all modern parts.