I don’t think I would have much success trying to build a SFF PC today for 1k or less. You pay a premium for mini-itx and really tiny cases, PSUs, everything. The only cost that is the same is the CPU really, even a heatsink often needs to be very specific to fit a case.

The last two SFF cases I picked up that are high quality were $200. Just look at minisforum stuff, their products are expensive and look nice, it’s all in the same vein.

You can definitely find better deals for desktop gaming performance, for sure, but I doubt people are going to find something that’s off the shelf at 27L or less and same or better perf for cheaper.