Best Inexpensive Gaming Computer

Best inexpensive gaming computers—FAQs

Which kind of computer is ideal for gaming? 

There are a few things to keep in mind when buying a new gaming PC, as gaming requires a certain amount of hardware, and not all PCs have the hardware you need. Make sure that any PC you buy for gaming comes with a nice new graphics card.

All you really need is an Nvidia RTX 3000 series, AMD Radeon RX 6000 series, or Intel Arc graphics card (or GPU). It’s still not powerful enough to run modern PC games. Keep in mind that you don’t need the best Intel processor of this generation or the best AMD processor.

An Intel Core i5 or Core i7 (or AMD Ryzen 5 or Ryzen 7) are great, but if you can get your hands on an AMD Ryzen X3D series processor (like the Ryzen 7 7800X3D), those are the best gaming processors you can find.

The storage isn’t that big, and it’s easy to upgrade to one of the best SSDs on the market, so a 512GB SSD should do the trick (though you’ll need to manage that gaming setup). Unless you’re particularly familiar with home PCs, we recommend sticking with larger OEMs like Dell, Alienware, HP, Lenovo, Asus, and MSI rather than more established manufacturers. There’s nothing wrong with companies like Main Gear and History (both of which make great products), but these companies really need to do more for the fans. If that’s you, you’ll love what they make, but if you don’t know what BIOS is, you’re better off going with a larger manufacturer.

Is it better to construct your own gaming PC or buy one? 

Building or buying a gaming PC is the whole point. For some PC gamers, a home system is the way to go because it allows you to customize your rig in a very specific way. Unfortunately, finding the right parts to build a PC has become harder than ever. While you may be tempted to build a custom gaming PC, you may not be able to do so.

No, you may not be able to customize it exactly to your liking, but if all you want to do is play your favorite PC games, buying one of the best gaming PCs you can afford makes the whole process easier.

Which is best for you, a gaming PC or a next-generation console?

There may not be a clear answer to the gaming PC vs. next-gen console debate, but there are some important things to consider before you buy. Both technologies work great for playing the biggest games, but consoles like the PS5 still have exclusive games that can’t be played directly, like Horizon Forbidden West.

The next-gen console is also an all-in-one console package that includes the console and at least one controller in the same purchase. However, the best pre-built gaming PCs usually require a tower, monitor, keyboard, and mouse, which are all purchased separately. When you require items like the finest gaming mouse, keyboard, and headphones for PC gaming, the cost of these accessories only goes up. The impact of scarcity has made it difficult to find consoles, as well as new PC gaming sites.

It’s not much of an investment if you can buy them at retail prices, but it’s become difficult to find a reasonable price among scalpers. Products also often sell out quickly, making it difficult to own both technologies. Especially if you don’t have the space to dedicate everything to your PC gaming setup. However, the best gaming PCs will run at speeds comparable to the latest next-gen consoles, so ultimately it comes down to the gaming experience you’re looking for; choose between a next-gen console or a gaming PC, both of which are Win.

What is the Best Gaming Computer On The Market?

For a decent gamer focused on 1080p gaming, you can expect to spend at least $1,000, £1,000, or AU$1,500. But at that point, you’ll need to rely on AI upgrades like FSR and DLSS to keep the frame rate stable at 60 fps. For just $1,500 / £1,500 / AU$2,300, you can get a mid-range device that can game reliably at 1440p and still make use of the powerline.

A gaming PC has no set pricing; however, the RX 4090 and RX 7900 XTX models, which have a ton of RAM and storage, start at about $3,500 / £3,500 / AU$5,000. Our guide will cover the entire price/performance spectrum, from consumer to amateur, to help you find the right one for your purposes.

Selecting the Ideal Best Gaming Desktop PC Under $1000 For You. 

Since building a gaming PC from scratch can be expensive and a bit cumbersome, buying the best gaming PC you can afford will make the whole process easier. With some of the latest offerings from companies like HP and Dell, you don’t have to spend a fortune. Knowing what you want within your budget is always a smart idea, though. It manages to stay within your budget without sacrificing performance or sacrificing important features like a healthy selection of ports and attractive RGB lighting.

This is either the best pre-built gaming PC available for 4K games at an expensive price, or it’s among the best gaming PCs under $100 that allow you to play competitive 1080p games at an affordable price. Don’t worry too much about the décor and design unless you can afford to upgrade or have deep pockets. If you plan on gaming at 4K, you’ll need at least an Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070 (or RX 7800 XT), while the RTX 4060 Ti can support 1440p gaming. A second-hand PC won’t come with a subpar CPU, as you want a CPU that can keep up with something like an Intel Core i5 or i7. Additionally, AMD offers good mid-range CPUs in the Ryzen 5 and Ryzen 7 series. 

Additionally, you must confirm that you have fast storage and enough RAM. 8GB of DDR4 memory is the minimum today, and I recommend at least 16GB if possible. Having enough SSD storage is also ideal, as many of the best games will use up a lot of space, but you can always buy additional drives later. Now, in 2024, it’s going to be increasingly common to find faster DDR5 devices (even on a budget), so opt for fast memory if you can.

Lastly, confirm that you have the funds to purchase the appropriate gear. After all, a gaming PC is only as good as its hardware. Your gaming setup is only complete when paired with the best gaming monitors and keyboards. You don’t want to skimp on the best computer speakers, which are great sound, because some monitors don’t have built-in options and aren’t as good as the best gaming TVs. 

How We Experienced the Top Gaming PC Selections 

A gaming PC is a big purchase that shouldn’t be taken lightly, so we don’t take our testing lightly. For us, testing PC games has always been a success; we use them not just to play the latest or newest games, but also to play older but still demanding games, for work (especially games), and to deal with issues like noise and ping. Additionally, we use artificial benchmarks such as Geek Benchmark 6, PC Mark 10, and 3DMark. Build quality is a big part of the best pre-built gaming PCs, so we’ll also take into consideration the price of the PC and whether a product looks cheap or flimsy, which will be marked up on a more expensive product.

For good measure, we’ll also check how it performs in everyday tasks, since most of us don’t use it to play PC games; it’s also keeping an eye on our modern PC. We will compare everything we know about the gaming PC to its price, whether its performance and features are worth the price, and whether it will deliver the best customer experience.