Alienware has slashed the price of their Aurora ACT1250 gaming desktop by 20% for a limited time on Amazon, dropping the price a whopping $600.

With an RTX 5080 GPU, an Intel Core Ultra 9 285 processor, and 32GB of memory, this system will offer extreme performance.

Although, if you’re willing to build your PC yourself, can you build a similar—or even better—desktop for less?

Why Build A PC?

Is the Alienware Aurora ACT1250 a bad choice, then?

No, the Alienware Aurora ACT1250 is not a bad option if you’ve got a big budget and you’re looking for a prebuilt desktop. It’s CPU and GPU combination will have you maxing out any game you throw at it.

However, if you’re up for the challenge of building your own PC, the build we offered shows one example part list of how you can build something that will give you even more performance for a little less money.

How to Build A Gaming PC Step-by-Step

This part list is just one route you can go for a similarly-priced PC build. You can alter this part list as you see fit and build a PC that really suits your needs. There are ways to cut the cost on this build as well without sacrificing too much performance so you can save even more. (If you have any questions on how to do so, leave us a comment below.)

The bottom line is that, while the Alienware Aurora ACT1250 is at a really good price point right now thanks to the limited time sale, there are still more savings and performance to be had by building your own system.

The post This Alienware gaming PC is $600 off for a limited time—But DIY saves you even more… appeared first on Tech Guided.

CyberPowerPC is currently running a $100 off discount on one of their Gamer Xtreme configurations, dropping the price to ~$890 for a limited time.

With an RTX 5060 GPU, an Intel Core i5-13400F processor, and 16GB of memory, it looks like a solid pick for the price it comes in at.

But, if you’re willing to build you own PC, is there potential to get the same—or even better—performance for less?

Watch Us Build an $800 PC

Or, watch it on YouTube here.

Is it all bad for the CyberPowerPC Gamer Xtreme?

There is nothing significantly wrong with the CyberPowerPC Gamer Xtreme. For a prebuilt system, it has a good CPU/GPU combination for the price.

However, if you’re willing to build your own PC, you can either come away with a much better system for a similar (or even lower) price, or you can save a lot of money and still get similar performance.

How to Build A Gaming PC Step-by-Step

In fact, we could have posted a third DIY build option that cost the same as the Gamer Xtreme (~$890) and swapped in an RX 9060 XT 16GB graphics card and that build would have an even bigger performance advantage over the CyberPowerPC system.

Ultimately, the Gamer Xtreme is currently sitting at a good price. And, if you absolutely don’t want to build your own PC, it wouldn’t be a terrible option. But, if you’re up for building your own PC, the two builds listed above would give you a lot more bang for your buck.

The post This CyberPowerPC desktop is $100 off for a limited time—Can I beat it with a DIY build? appeared first on Tech Guided.

Are you a budget-oriented gamer looking to build a new sub-$500 gaming PC that can handle your favorite games at 1080P resolution? Looking for good deals to keep your costs down?

We’ve found five limited-time deals on Amazon on that will help you build a $552 gaming PC for just $496.

Check out the part list for this deal build below…

Watch Us Build A $500 PC

More Builds

• $500 Gaming PC Build
• $600 Gaming PC Build
• $700 Gaming PC Build

Build Overview

This budget-oriented build isn’t going to let you max games out on a 1440P or 4K monitor, but it will allow you to jump into your favorite games at 1080P resolution.

It comes with an AMD Ryzen 5 5500 processor, an ASRock B450M-HDV microATX motherboard, an MSI RTX 3050 graphics card, 16GB of DDR4 memory from OLOy, a 500GB Gen3 NVME SSD from PNY, a Cooler Master Q300L microATX case, and a 650-watt power supply from MSI.

Performance Targets

The combination of the Ryzen 5 5500, the RTX 3050, and the 16GB memory will have this build running non-demanding titles (like Minecraft, Roblox, Rocket League, League of Legends, etc.) with no problems.

It will also handle competitive titles (like Fortnite, Valorant, Warzone, Marvel Rivals) reasonably well, too.

For more GPU-intensive titles (like Black Myth Wukong, the new Indiana Jones, Assassin’s Creed, etc.) you will need to turn some settings down, but you should still be able to play them at lower-to-medium settings.

SSD, Case, and PSU

The build does come with a PNY 500GB Gen3 NVME SSD, so you will get decent transfer speeds. However, with modern games continually getting bigger, 500GB of space is going to fill up fast. We recommend that you add additional storage as soon as you can to this build.

The Cooler Master Q300L is the component in this build that comes with the biggest discount, currently coming in at $21 cheaper than its original price. This isn’t the greatest case in the world, but it’ll house this system with no problems. This microATX case has a tempered glass side panel, can hold graphics cards up to 360mm long, and fit CPU coolers up to 159mm tall. So, it is definitely capable of holding bigger and better graphics cards when you’re ready to upgrade.

And, with the MSI MAG A650BN power supply (currently $12 off) you have enough overhead to handle a mid-range graphics card upgrade when you have the budget for it.

Grab these deals while you can!

Some of the parts in this build are on limited time deals, so if you’re looking to build this system and you want to keep the total price low, it would be a good idea to jump on this while you can!

The post Build a $552 gaming PC for just $496 with these LIMITED time deals appeared first on Tech Guided.

This $1,000 build is the perfect 1440P gaming machine.

Are you looking to hop into higher resolution gaming? With a budget of around ~$1,000, you can build a monster 1440P gaming computer.

With an AMD Ryzen 5 7600X, a Radeon RX 9060 XT (16GB), and 16GB of RAM, this build will run any game on a 2K display and maintain a very high average framerate.

You will have to build it, though, as you’ll be hardpressed to find this kind of performance out of a similarly-priced prebuilt PC. Fortunately, that’s easy to do with our Step-By-Step PC Building Guide.

Watch us build this PC and see the full part list below.

Need help with your PC build?

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Watch Us Build This PC

How to Choose Parts for A PC Build

We are constantly looking for the best deals on PC components to provide you with part lists that will offer optimal performance for your budget. You can watch us build PCs on our YouTube channel and we’ve also put together a Beginner’s Guide to Choosing Components that will help you pick the right parts for your build.

Important: For help choosing parts or for any questions you might have, check the FAQ section below, or ask a question in the comment section.

$1,000 Gaming PC Build

AMD Ryzen 5 7600X + AMD Radeon RX 9060 XT 16GB

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Part List

• CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 7600X
• COOL: Thermalright Assassin X
• MOBO: ASRock B650 Lightning
• GPU: GIGABYTE RX 9060 XT
• RAM: 16GB Kingston FURY
• SSD: 1TB Crucial P310
• CASE: Montech AIR 903
• PSU: Corsair RM750e

Pros & Cons

• Great 1440P performance & decent 4K performance
• More raw performance than NVIDIA GPU alternative
• Good cooling configuration
• Less upscaling/ray tracing performance that NVIDIA GPU alternative
• Without X3D chip, less performance in CPU-intensive games

Shop Pre-Built »
Check Price »

Read Overview »

$1,000 PC Build Overview

You’re not messing around anymore. No more consoles. No more cheap laptops. No more older desktops that can barely run Minecraft. It’s finally time to ascend.

This $1,000 build is no joke. This thing is ready to handle anything you throw at.

For specs, this $1,000 build comes with an AMD Ryzen 5 7600X processor, an Gigabyte RX 9060 XT 16GB graphics card, 16GB of Kingston’s Fury 5200MHz RAM, and a Crucial P3 Plus 1TB NVME SSD.

For performance, this build can handle gaming on a 1440P 240Hz+ monitor and will serve as a nice entry point into 4K gaming as well. So, even if you do start out with a 1080P monitor, this build can easily accommodate a monitor upgrade in the future, too.

For 1080P gaming, it would be best to pair this build with a 360Hz+ display. Anything less and you’ll likely be wasting the power of the 9060 XT. If you do just want to game at 1080P, you could save some money and opt for a cheaper GPU instead, or you could potentially bump up the CPU to an X3D chip.

To hold the components in this system, we’ve chosen the Montech 903 Max. This case is a fairly affordable E-ATX chassis that will give you more than enough room to house the parts in this build. It also comes with four preinstalled fans.

For the power supply, you get a gold-rated fully-modular power supply from Corsair. This unit has enough capacity to accommodate the 9060 XT very easily.

Ultimately, this build is a powerful machine that will allow you to max out your favorite games for years to come.

Benchmarks

Need help with your PC build?

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Why Build A PC?

Build FAQ

We chose each of these components for a reason—but there are viable alternatives. Below, we discuss why we chose the components listed above for this build and what other alternatives there are…

1. How Do I Build This PC?

You will need to assemble all of the individual components you have purchased into a working PC. Fortunately, this process is not difficult! And, it’s a lot of fun. If you’ve never built a PC before, use our Step-by-Step PC building guide to walk you through the process.

How to Build A Gaming PC: Step-by-Step

2. AMD or Intel Processor?

In my opinion, you have a bunch of viable CPU options with a $1,000 PC build. We decided to try and strike a nice balance between the CPU and GPU with this $1,000 part list and, to do so, we chose an affordable CPU that wouldn’t be a significant bottleneck to the 9060 XT.

That CPU is the AMD Ryzen 5 7600X.

It would be worth it to check and see what the price of the Ryzen 5 9600x is before you commit to the 7600X, though. Right now the price difference is wide enough and the performance difference small enough to where we thought it would be best to opt for the 7600X

There are solid Intel alternatives (i5-13400F and i5-1440F), however we like the AM5 CPUs better as they offer an easy upgrade path to a Ryzen 7 X3D chip, which is about as good as you’re going to get in terms of gaming performance right now.

3. How Does This Compare to A Prebuilt

4. Plenty of Case Options

There are so many different gaming cases available in the ~$45-$75 price range that would work for this build. We chose the Montech 903 Max, though, because of its affordable price and out-of-the-box cooling.

There are a lot of solid case options in the ~$50-$100 price range, though. You can check out some of our recommendations in our PC Case Buyer’s Guide.

5. How Big of A Power Supply?

We use Newegg’s PSU calculator to determine the power consumption for each of our builds. Accoding to Newegg, even in the most extreme scenarios, this $1,000 gaming PC will require a minimum ~600W power supply.

So, we went with a little bit of extra headroom with a 750-watt unit to ensure there would be no problems down the road. This will not only accommodate this build easily, but it will also allow for GPU upgrades in the future that won’t also require a power supply upgrade.

Check out our guide on How to Choose the Right Power Supply for Your Build.

Conclusion: A Build That Will Max Out Anything

Really, if I had to choose what the perfect budget was for building a gaming computer in terms of value, I would probably say right around the $1,000 mark. As you can see, in this price range you can afford a list of components that will allow you to play any game out there on the highest settings on a 1080P or 1440P monitor.

These parts are also good enough to handle most games at 4K resolution as well.

And, you also get plenty of storage, too. Finally, if you can get the cable management right on this build, and maybe throw in some RGB fans on the front and back of the case, this build will look really nice, too.

So, overall, for ~$1,000 this gaming PC build has everything most gamers could ever want or need.

If you have any questions about the build, or need help choosing components, leave a comment in the section below and we will help you out.

Get Help With Your Build: If you need help putting together a part list for your build post your questions in the comment section!

The post Best $1,000 Gaming PC Build for 2025 appeared first on Tech Guided.

The perfect $800 build for 1080P or 1440P gaming.

Do you want to max out games with an extreme average framerate? Or, do you want to start gaming on a 1440P display? Then, this $800 build is what you’re looking for.

With an RTX 5060, a Ryzen 5 5600, and 16GB of RAM, this build is an excellent option for either 1080P or 1440P gaming.

You’ll just need to build it yourself. But, that’s easy to do with our Step-By-Step PC Building guide.

Check out the part list and watch us build the system below…

Need help with your PC build?

Enter your total budget & email address below. We’ll help you put together a compatible part list for your needs.

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Watch Us Build This PC

Or, watch it on YouTube here.

How to Choose Parts for A PC Build

We are constantly looking for the best deals on PC components to provide you with part lists that will offer optimal performance for your budget. You can watch us build PCs on our YouTube channel and we’ve also put together a Beginner’s Guide to Choosing Components that will help you pick the right parts for your build.

Important: For help choosing parts or for any questions you might have, check the FAQ section below, or ask a question in the comment section.

$800 Gaming PC Build

An excellent build for 1080P or light 1440P gaming

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Part List

• CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 5600
• COOL: Thermalright Assassin
• MOBO: ASRock B550
• GPU: ZOTAC RTX 5060
• RAM: 16GB G.Skill 3600MHz
• SSD: 1TB KLEVV CRAS
• CASE: Okinos Cypress 5
• PSU: Thermaltake 750W

Pros & Cons

• Excellent performance at 1080P
• Good airflow for the price
• Good upscaling performance w/NVIDIA GPU
• Locked into an older CPU socket
• 8GB VRAM GPU isn’t ideal

Shop Pre-Built »
Check Price »

Read Overview »

$800 PC Build Overview

If you’ve read our guide on building a $700 gaming computer, then it might surprise you that this $800 gaming PC build isn’t that much different. For our $800 build, we’ve upgraded to an RTX 5060 graphics card, though, and that will give you a solid jump in GPU performance.

For the full hardware configuration of this build, it comes with an AMD Ryzen 5 5600 processor, Gigabytes RTX 5060 8GB graphics card, 16GB of G.SKILL’s Ripjaws V 3600MHz memory, a 1TB NVME SSD from KLEVV, Okinos’ Cypress 5 ATX case, and Thermaltake’s 750-watt power supply.

This $800 system will give you ideal performance on a 1080P monitor and you can even use this system as a decent 1440P gaming computer as it will be able to handle most games on at least medium settings on a 1440P monitor—if not higher.

And, it does meet the requirements for both the Valve Index, the Meta Quest 3S, and HTC Vive Pro 2. So, if you want to give tethered VR-gaming a go, this system will allow you to do so.

And, for the power supply, we chose Thermaltake’s Toughpower GF1 750-watt unit. It’s an 80PLUS Gold-rated PSU that comes with full modularity. This power supply will be more than powerful enough to run this system and being fully modular, it will make the assembly process and cable management during the build a lot easier.

Not to mention, its 750-watt capacity is big enough to easily acccommodate an ugprade to an even higher-end GPU in the future.

Ultimately, for just under $800, this gaming PC is going to be an excellent option for people who don’t have thousands of dollars to spend, but who want to do some serious gaming—whether that’s competitive gaming at 1080P on a higher refresh rate monitor, or achieving better visuals on a 1440P display.

🚀 Go Up Another Level: $1,000 Gaming PC Build » 🚀

Benchmarks

Assassin’s Creed Valhalla

Cyberpunk 2077

Baldur’s Gate 3

Palworld

Fortnite

Starfield

Need help with your PC build?

Enter your total budget & email address below. We’ll help you put together a compatible part list for your needs.

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Why Build A PC?

Build FAQ

While we try to put the best list of parts together as possible, the reality is that prices are always changing and different people having different needs. There are always other alternatives and different components you can go with.

So, in the section below we’ll highlight some of those different options you have, as well as go over some potential upgrades you might want to make down the road. We’ll also cover what kind of gaming performance you can expect out of this system at various resolutions and across different levels of games.

1. How Do I Build This PC?

You will need to assemble all of the individual components you have purchased into a working PC. Fortunately, this process is not difficult! And, it’s a lot of fun. If you’ve never built a PC before, use our Step-by-Step PC building guide to walk you through the process.

How to Build A Gaming PC: Step-by-Step

2. What Performance Can I Get Out of this Build?

This $800 build comes with an RTX 5060 graphics card, an AMD Ryzen 5 5600 processor, and 16GB of memory, all of which will help it run any game on a 1080P monitor on max settings with no problems. In terms of the types of games you can play at different resolutions, the following will give you a good idea of what you can expect out of this system:

• Non-demanding games like Minecraft, Roblox, Rocket League, Apex Legends, and League of Legends, should run at ~200+ FPS on max settings on a 1080P monitor
• Demanding games like Black Myth Wukong, Starfield, Call of Duty, Assassin’s Creed, etc. should run at ~60+ FPS on ultra settings on a 1080P monitor
• Non-demanding games (see above for examples) should run at ~100+ FPS on higher settings on a 1440P monitor
• Demanding games (see above for examples) should run at ~60FPS on medium-to-higher settings on a 1440P monitor
• This system also meets the requirements for running both the HTC Vive and Valve Index–so it is a VR-ready gaming PC

*Note: Using DLSS will provide even more performance.

These are rough estimates and will vary from game-to-game and scenario-to-scenario.

3. Why the RTX 5060 over the Arc B580 or RX 9060 XT?

If you’re looking to build a gaming PC for $800, right now a ~$300 graphics card seems to fit best in that budget. Assuming you’re only looking for new graphics card options (and not shopping the used market), your best options in that price range are an NVIDIA RTX 5060, an Intel Arc B580, or an AMD RX 9060 XT (8GB).

All three of these GPUs have their pros and cons.

The Arc B580 offers more VRAM (12GB) than the other two options and, therefore, may be a bit more future-proofed.

The 9060 XT (8GB) is typically a bit cheaper than the other two options and has a slight edge in raw performance.

And, the RTX 5060 offers superior upscaling performance than both choices, which will help it reach more comfortable framerates in super demanding titles—especially at 1080P resolution.

So, since this build is mainly targeting 1080P gamers, we opted for the RTX 5060, as we think the upscaling performance would be worth it. However, there are definitely use-cases (especially game-specific use-cases) where it will make sense to choose another one of these GPUs over the RTX 5060. So, while we’ve opted for the 5060 in this build right now, feel free to swap it out for the GPU of your choice.

4. What About an Operating System? Don’t I Have to Pay for That?

We leave the price of Windows 11 out of our builds because there are different ways to get an operating system for less than the $100 that Windows 11 costs. Not all of these methods are ideal, but we figured we’d let you decide which operating system and/or method for getting a copy of Windows is the best option for you. Here are three alternatives to paying ~$100 for a copy of Windows 11:

First, you could install a free Linux-based operating system. This is probably the worst option as you won’t be able to play certain games that aren’t compatible with Linux, but you will save $100.

Second, you could buy a Windows 11 key from a third party marketplace for ~$30. I’ve had good success purchasing Windows keys from Kinguin.net and G2A.com in the past, but there is definitely some risk involved in purchasing a Windows license from a third party source, as it is not technically a method of purchasing Windows that is approved by Microsoft.

Finally, you could just install Windows 11 for free and not activate it with a license key. In my opinion, this is probably the best route to go if you’re working with a tight budget. The ~$125 that Windows 11 costs could be the difference between running your games at max settings and running them at medium-or-lower settings.

Essentially, though, Microsoft allows anyone to install Windows onto their computer without forcing them to activate it. And, for the most part, you can still use Windows normally even when it’s not activated. The only thing you will lose out on is some customization options like setting a custom background for your desktop and you also won’t be able to access Microsoft for support (although this isn’t that big of a deal—I’ve used Windows-based systems for nearly 20 years and I’ve never once called Microsoft to ask them for help with Windows).

But, I think in order to save ~$125, that is not a bad trade-off cost. And, at the very least, you could run the non-activated version of Windows for the time being until you can afford to purchase an activation key for it.

5. Upgrade Paths for This System

The reality is that, if you’re just looking for a computer that can easily max games out on a 1080P monitor, or even play games on a 144Hz monitor or a 1440P monitor, then this system will hold up just fine without needing to be upgraded. However, there are always upgrades that can be made. The first upgrades we would make would be to…

• Upgrade the processor
• Upgrade the graphics card
• Upgrade the storage

The first upgrade we’d make to this build would be to upgrade the AMD Ryzen 5 5600 to a Ryzen 7 5700X3D or Ryzen 7 5800X3D. This won’t make an enormous difference in terms of your average framerate in GPU-heavy titles, but it will give you a significant boost to your framerate if you’re playing CPU-intensive games. As an example, most online competitive titles (Fortnite, Marvel Rivals, COD, etc.) benefit from having a better CPU, and are games where the 5700X3D will offer a lot more performance than the 5600.

And, while the RTX 5060 graphics card should be perfectly fine for 1080P gaming (and for playing non-demanding titles at 1440P resolution), if you want to jump up to serious 1440P or 4K gaming, you’re going to need to upgrade your graphics card to a more extreme option.

One of the new RTX 5000-series GPUs or AMD’s RX 9070 XT or 9070 would be good targets.

It should be noted that, for the higher-end RTX 5000-series GPUs (the 5090 and 5080) would require a PSU upgrade as well.

This build comes with a 1TB NVME SSD and, while that is a decent amount of storage capacity to start out with, it can run out quickly if you have a lot of games/files. So, if you want to beef of your storage capacity you can add an additional SSD.

Also Read: The Best SSDs for Gaming Right Now

Ultimately, though, this build is really solid as is and, if you’re just gaming on a 1080P  monitor, it shouldn’t require an upgrade for a long time.

Conclusion: For Just $800, You Get A Well-Rounded PC Build

In my opinion, if you’re looking for a solid all-around gaming computer that can handle anything on a 1080P monitor, run tethered virtual reality headsets, and serve as a nice entry-level 1440P system, this $800 build is an option worth considering. It should hold up just fine for 1080P gaming for at least the next 4-5 years (and probably well beyond that). And, the included SSD and extra RAM will help this system work pretty well for content creation, too.

Get Help With Your Build: If you need help putting together a part list for your build, post your questions in the comment section!

The post The Best $800 Gaming PC Build for 2025 appeared first on Tech Guided.

Get high-end 1080P gaming performance with this $700 build.

If you are working with a moderate budget and you want to get a PC that will deliver optimal performance at 1080P resolution, then the $700 build we’ve provided in this guide might be what you’re looking for.

With an Intel Arc B570, an AMD Ryzen 5 5600, and 16GB of RAM, this build will allow you to max out any game on a 1080P display and deliver a high enough framerate to where you can take advantage of a high refresh rate monitor.

But, in order to take advantage of the performance this build offers, you’ll need to build it yourself. Fortunately, that is easy to do. Check out our Step-By-Step guide on how to build a PC.

Ready to see the part list?

Need help with your PC build?

Enter your total budget & email address below. We’ll help you put together a compatible part list for your needs.

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Watch Us Build This PC

How to Choose Parts for A PC Build

We are constantly looking for the best deals on PC components to provide you with part lists that will offer optimal performance for your budget. You can watch us build PCs on our YouTube channel and we’ve also put together a Beginner’s Guide to Choosing Components that will help you pick the right parts for your build.

Important: For help choosing parts or for any questions you might have, check the FAQ section below, or ask a question in the comment section.

$700 Gaming PC Build

AMD Ryzen 5 5600 + Intel Arc B570 Build

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Part List

• CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 5600
• MOBO: ASRock B550
• GPU: Sparkle Arc B570
• RAM: 16GB G.Skill 3600MHz
• SSD: 1TB KLEVV CRAS
• CASE: Okinos Cypress 5
• PSU: Corsair 650W

Pros & Cons

• Solid 1080P performance
• Case will provide good airflow
• Far superior performance to same-priced pre-built
• Locked into an older CPU socket
• Will need bigger PSU for GPU upgrade

Shop Pre-Built »
Check Price »

Read Overview »

$700 PC Build Overview

Thanks to an upgraded CPU and GPU, this $700 build will provide a decent performance jump over our $600 PC build.

This $700 gaming computer comes with an AMD Ryzen 5 5600 processor, an Intel Arc B570 graphics card, 16GB of 3600MHz DDR4 memory, and a KLEVV CRAS 1TB Gen 4 NVME SATA SSD.

The combination of the Ryzen 5 5600 and the Arc B570 will allow you to run most games on higher settings with a very comfortable framerate on a 1080P display. For more demanding titles, this build should deliver 60+ FPS on max settings. For non-demanding games like Valorant, Roblox, Apex Legends, League of Legends, and Rocket League, this build will easily be able to handle them on max settings and average over ~200+ FPS.

The specs in this system make it a VR-ready PC build, too. So, if you want to pair it up with a Valve Index or an HTC Vive Pro 2 you can definitely do so.

For the case, we chose the Okinos Cypress 5. This standard ATX chassis features a grilled front panel, a full-length PSU shroud, and four preinstalled 120mm fans. This case also has plenty of room to house even larger graphics cards.

We’ve also chosen a 650-watt 80PLUS power supply from Corsair. This semi-modular PSU will make cable management for this build a lot easier.

The bottom line is that, if you’re looking for a powerful system to run all of your favorite games on higher settings, this $700 PC build will do the trick for you.

🚀 Go Up Another Level: $800 Gaming PC Build » 🚀

Benchmarks

Assassin’s Creed Valhalla

Cyberpunk 2077

Baldur’s Gate 3

Palworld

Red Dead Redemption 2

Starfield

Need help with your PC build?

Enter your total budget & email address below. We’ll help you put together a compatible part list for your needs.

Get My Compatible Parts List »
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Why Build A PC?

Build FAQ

The list above is our choice for the best gaming PC builder under $700. However, there are different routes you can go with this build. And, in fact, at times, the list of parts in this build can actually come in a bit lower than $700. So, there is flexibility in what you can do with this build and how you can maximize your budget.

We’ll discuss all of the other options you have for this build below, as well as what kind of performance you can expect, how to avoid the high cost of buying Windows, and what upgrade paths this system will offer you.

1. How Do I Build This PC?

You will need to assemble all of the individual components you have purchased into a working PC. Fortunately, this process is not difficult! And, it’s a lot of fun. If you’ve never built a PC before, use our Step-by-Step PC building guide to walk you through the process.

How to Build A Gaming PC: Step-by-Step

2. How Will This Build Perform?

With an Arc B570 graphics card and an AMD Ryzen 5 5600 this system will deliver optimal performance in almost any game on a 1080P monitor:

• For less-demanding games like Rocket League, League of Legends, expect ~200+ frames per second on max settings on a 1080P monitor
• For more demanding games like Black Myth Wukong, Starfield, Tom Raider, God of War, etc. expect ~60+ FPS on higher settings on a 1080P monitor

Unless you want to game on a 4K monitor you won’t have to worry about a having a low framerate with this build.

This system should also run most non-demanding games on a 1440P display with an average framerate of at least ~60 FPS or higher.

3. Why Doesn’t This Build Have an Intel CPU in it?

If you prefer Intel CPUs over AMD CPUs, you can definitely go that route with this build. In the past we have chosen the Intel Core i5-12400F or 13400F over the Ryzen 5 5600 or 5600X.

However, a Ryzen 5 5600(X)/B550 chipset motherboard combination is currently cheaper than an i5-12400F/13400F and the Intel equivalent mid-range chipset combination. And, considering both CPUs will provide similar in-game performance and because AMD will allow you to overclock, we felt the Ryzen 5 5600X offered the better overall platform to build on.

Either option will work in this build, though, and if you can get the 12400F (or 3400F, 14400F) and a compatible motherboard for less than you can get a Ryzen 5 5600X and a compatible motherboard, then by all means, go the Intel route.

4. This Build Costs Well Under $700! What Should I Spend the Extra Money On?

In some instances, this build actually comes in at a price that is under $700. If that’s the case for you at the time you read this guide, you can either keep that extra money, or you can upgrade other components in this build.

If there is enough extra money in your budget, upgrading to a higher-end GPU will provide the biggest boost to your in-game experience. You could also spend more money to get a better computer case, or, if you want to future proof it and prepare it for an extreme-level graphics card upgrade in the future, you could opt for a more powerful power supply.

This build also comes with a 1TB SSD to start with. While that should be plenty to get started, modern games are getting really big and so it likely won’t be long before you’ll need more storage. So, one thing you could do with the extra money is to opt for a 2TB (or larger) SSD instead.

Ultimately, though, prices do often fluctuate on any given day and so it is very possible that when you go to read this guide that the total price is actually closer to (or even over) $700.

5. Why Isn’t Windows 11 Included in the Price?

We leave the price of Windows 11 out of our builds because there are different ways to get an operating system for less than the $100 that Windows 11 costs. Not all of these methods are ideal, but we figured we’d let you decide which operating system and/or method for getting a copy of Windows is the best option for you. Here are three alternatives to paying ~$125 for a copy of Windows 11:

First, you could install a free Linux-based operating system. You won’t be able to play certain games that aren’t compatible with Linux, but you will save ~$125.

Second, you could buy a Windows 11 key from a third party marketplace for ~$30. We’ve had good success purchasing Windows keys from Kinguin.net and G2A.com in the past, but there is definitely some risk involved in purchasing a Windows license from a third party source, as it is not technically a method of purchasing Windows that is approved by Microsoft.

Finally, you could just install Windows 11 for free and not activate it with a license key. In our opinion, this is probably the best route to go if you’re working with a tight budget. The $125 that Windows 11 costs could be the difference between running your games at max settings and running them at medium-or-lower settings. Essentially, though, Microsoft allows anyone to install Windows onto their computer without forcing them to activate it. And, for the most part, you can still use Windows normally even when it’s not activated. The only thing you will lose out on is some customization options like setting a custom background for your desktop and you also won’t be able to access Microsoft for support (although this isn’t that big of a deal—I’ve used Windows-based systems for nearly 20 years and I’ve never once called Microsoft to ask them for help with Windows). But, I think in order to save $125, that is not a bad trade-off cost. And, at the very least, you could run the non-activated version of Windows for the time being until you can afford to purchase an activation key for it.

6. How (and When) to Upgrade This Build

The cool thing about this $700 gaming build is that, if your main goal is to play games on higher settings on a 1440P or 1080P monitor, you won’t need to upgrade its graphics card for a long time.

So, in my opinion, your best upgrade path for a system like this would be the following:

• Add more storage

This system comes with a 1TB SSD. While that should be enough storage to hold you over for the time being, in this day and age, it probably won’t be enough for the majority of users over the long run. So, the first thing I’d do with this build is add another SSD. That can be a large SATA SSD for bulk storage, or another NVME SSD. Just note, though, that with the motherboard we’ve chosen can only hold two NVME SSDs max.

• Upgrade to a higher-end processor

While the AMD Ryzen 5 5600 processor will be fine for gaming in 2025 and beyond, you can easily upgrade it to a higher-end Ryzen 7 processor in the future and you won’t have to swap out any other parts. For gaming purposes, the Ryzen 7 5700X3D or 5800X3D would be excellent upgrade options.

Conclusion: For $700, You Get A PC That Will Handle Anything

If you’re a budget-oriented gamer that is in the market for a new gaming computer that can max out any game on a 1080P or 1440P monitor, as well as run a tethered VR headset, then this $700 gaming PC build is exactly what you need. It’s fairly inexpensive and it will easily handle modern games on higher settings.

Get Help With Your Build: If you need help putting together a part list for your build post your questions in the comment section!

The post The Best $700 Gaming PC Build for 2025 appeared first on Tech Guided.

Get solid 1080P gaming performance with this $600 build.

With a $600 budget to build a PC with, you can build a system that can really handle 1080P gaming well. It’s enough to where you can fit a decent GPU for 1080P gaming into your system, but it isn’t so much that it will break the bank.

In this guide, we’ll go over all of the components you can get for ~$600 that will allow you to build a PC that can max out almost any game on a 1080P display, all while maintaining a high average framerate in most games.

We’ve also designed this build to be upgrade friendly, so if at any point you want to improve the performance you’re getting, you can easily upgrade the CPU and GPU to do so.

You will have to build this system yourself, but for the price, you’d be hard-pressed to find a prebuilt PC that can match the performance this build offers. (Check out the FAQ section for a link to our Step-By-Step PC Building guide.)

Need help with your PC build?

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How to Choose Parts for A PC Build

You can see our thought process behind choosing components by watching our Beginner’s Guide to Choosing Parts series, or you can watch us build PCs and discuss PC hardware on YouTube.

Important: For help choosing parts or for any questions you might have, check the FAQ section below, or ask a question in the comment section.

$600 Gaming PC Build

AMD Ryzen 5 5500 + Intel ARC A750 Build

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Part List

• CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 5500
• MOBO: MSI PRO B550M-VC
• GPU: ASRock Arc A750
• RAM: 16GB G.Skill 3600MHz
• SSD: 1TB KLEVV CRAS
• CASE: Okinos Cypress 3
• PSU: Corsair 650W

Pros & Cons

• Decent 1080P gaming performance
• PSU can handle a mid-range GPU upgrade
• CPU will struggle in CPU-bound games
• Locked into an older CPU socket
• Will need bigger PSU for GPU upgrade

Shop Pre-Built »
Check Price »

Read Overview »

$600 PC Build Overview

While everybody would love to spend thousands of dollars on a new gaming computer that has liquid cooling, an insane graphics card and CPU combo, a billion gigabytes of RAM, a ton of RGB lights, and an awesome-looking case, the reality is that you don’t have to have all of those things in order to play your favorite games on higher settings.

So, if your main goal is to simply have the ability to play today’s best PC games on a 1080P display, you can actually achieve that with a budget of just $600.

That’s what the build listed below will give you. No, it doesn’t have an AIO cooler in it and it won’t be able to max out Black Myth Wukong. But it will allow you to experience your favorite games at graphics-levels you never thought possible.

For $600, you get an AMD Ryzen 5 5500 processor, an Arc A750 graphics card from ASRock, 16GB of G.SKILL’s Ripjaws 3600MHz memory, a 1TB KLEVV NVME SSD, an affordable micro-ATX case that will easily house the components this build comes with, and a 650-watt fully modular power supply to power it all.

The combination of the Ryzen 5 5500, the Arc A750, and the 16GB of DDR4 memory are good enough to where this build will be able to any game on a 1080P display. You will likely have to turn some settings down in more demanding titles like Black Myth Wukong and Indiana Jones and the Black Circle.

And, for non-demanding popular titles like Valorant, Apex Legends, Fortnite, Marvel Rivals, League of Legends, Minecraft, Roblox, and Rocket League, this system will handle them with ease.

Ultimately, if you’re looking for the best gaming PC under $600, the array of components listed below would be an excellent option.

Check out the FAQ section for a better idea of what this build is capable of.

🚀 Go Up Another Level: $700 Gaming PC Build » 🚀

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Why Build A PC?

Build FAQ

One of the coolest parts about choosing components to build a new computer is that, while there definitely are right and wrong components to get, there are different ways you can go about it. We believe the components that we listed above will give you great performance for the price you pay. However, there are other routes you can go with this build. So, in the section below we will discuss some of the other options you have.

The other great thing about building a computer is that you will always have the potential to upgrade it in the future. So, we’ll also go over the different upgrade paths that are available for this build, too.

1. How Do I Build This PC?

You will need to assemble all of the individual components you have purchased into a working PC. Fortunately, this process is not difficult! And, it’s a lot of fun. If you’ve never built a PC before, use our Step-by-Step PC building guide to walk you through the process.

How to Build A Gaming PC: Step-by-Step

1. What Kind of Performance Can You Expect out of this $600 Build?

Again, for just under $600, this PC can handle just about any game on max settings on a budget-friendly 1080P monitor. But, to give you a more specific idea of the kind of in-game performance you can expect, check the bullet-point list below:

• This $600 PC can run less-demanding games like Apex Legends, Rocket League, League of Legends, Fortnite, etc. on max settings at ~150+ frames per second
• It will run more-demanding titles like Starfield, Assassin’s Creed, Call of Duy, God of War, Tomb Raider, etc. on higher settings at ~90+ frames per second

So, whether you’re building this system to play competitive esports titles that aren’t very demanding (like Rocket League, LoL, Fortnite, etc.) or you’re building it so that you can play some of the more demanding and graphically-detailed games (like GTA V or Elden Ring, etc.), this build will be able to handle both types of games fairly easily on higher settings.

2. Intel Core i3-12100F or Ryzen 5 5500

In my opinion, there are a couple of processor options that make sense for this build. The AMD Ryzen 5 5500 and the Intel Core i3-12100F. We chose the AMD Ryzen 5 5500, though, because, when you include the cost of the CPU itself and a compatible motherboard, it is the most affordable option right now.

The i3-12100F does edge out the 5500 in most gaming benchmarks. But, the 5500 isn’t too far behind, and it offers better multi-core performance and comes with a better stock cooler.

Not to mention, the Ryzen 5 5500 can easily be upgraded to a Ryzen 7 5700X3D for a solid boost in performance.

So, as of right now, we feel the Ryzen 5 5500 is the better option.

However, there are always sales going on on the various online retailers and so it would probably be a good idea to shop around before you finalize your purchase to see if you can grab anything at a discount. If the i3-12100F were to drop significantly below the Ryzen 5 5500, it would definitely be worth considering.

Also Read: When is the Best Time to Buy Computer Parts?

3. Arc A750 vs Other Options

The ~$200 price range for graphics cards is pretty lackluster right now and, unfortunately, that’s about the price you’re limited to with a $600 budget. It’s not quite enough to jump up and get the ~$235 Arc B570 (although, if you really cut down on some of the other components in this build you could potentially squeeze it in), and the cheaper options below it are a significant drop off (the RTX 3050 and RX 6500 XT).

The A750 is solid, though, and it will allow you to play your favorite games at 1080P resolution on at least medium settings. And, for more non-demanding titles, it will have no problems.

The only other thing you could do in this price range for a GPU is to shop the used market. And, honestly, that isn’t a bad idea, because you could potentially score a much more powerful graphics card.

4. Why Isn’t Windows 11 Included in the Price?

While you will definitely need an operating system in order to get your computer to actually run, we have left out including an operating system in the price of this build. Windows is the best-suited operating system for gaming. Unfortunately, though, a brand new copy of Windows will set you back ~$125.

However, there are alternatives to paying $125 for a copy of Windows. And, so while you will need some kind of operating system, we have left it out of the total cost of your system because of these alternatives that are available.

Here are a few ways to avoid the $125 cost of Windows 11:

First, you could install a free Linux-based operating system. You won’t be able to play certain games that aren’t compatible with Linux, but you will save $125.

Second, you could buy a Windows 11 key from a third party marketplace for ~$30. I’ve had good success purchasing Windows keys from Kinguin.net in the past (and G2a.com is another option), but there is definitely some risk involved in purchasing a Windows license from a third party source.

Finally, you could just install Windows 11 for free and not activate it. In my opinion, this is probably the best route to go. Essentially, Microsoft allows anyone to install Windows onto their computer without forcing them to activate it. And, for the most part, you can still use Windows normally even when it’s not activated. The only thing you will lose out on is some customization options like setting a custom background for your desktop. But, I think in order to save $125, that is not a bad trade-off cost. And, at the very least, you could run the non-activated version of Windows for the time being until you can afford to purchase an activation key for it.

5. Upgrade Paths for this $600 PC Build

This $600 gaming build is pretty good as-is. Again, it is powerful enough to run pretty much any game on a 1080P monitor.

The first upgrade we’d make to this system, though, is to upgrade the graphics card. The 650-watt power supply in this build should be able to hold up one of AMD or NVIDIA’s mid-range GPUs from the past two generations.

The second upgrade we’d make to this system, though, is to upgrade the AMD Ryzen 5 5500 to an AMD Ryzen 7 5700X3D.

The 5700X3D would give you a significant bump in in-game performance in most games.

After that, we’d recommend adding more storage to your build.

Conclusion: $600 Can Deliver You High-End 1080P Performance

If this build proves anything, it’s that you don’t have to spend a ton of money to get a computer that is powerful enough to run today’s top games at higher settings. No, it’s not a high-end gaming computer that can handle 4K gaming, or push a 1440P 144Hz monitor.

However, if you’re someone that currently has a laptop or older desktop that is struggling to run games on a 1080P monitor at a playable framerate and you don’t have a huge budget to upgrade to a high-end system, then this $600 gaming PC build will offer you a fairly affordable solution to your problem.

Overall, this build will provide you with the performance necessary to run the best games out there on the higher settings and it will also give you plenty of room to make upgrades in the future, too.

Get Help With Your Build: If you need help putting together a part list for your build ask your questions in the comment section!

The post The Best $600 Gaming PC Build for 2025 appeared first on Tech Guided.

This $500 build is the perfect budget 1080P build.

Yes, it’s true that PC gaming is initially more expensive to get into than console gaming. However, it is not true that you have to spend thousands of dollars on a extreme gaming computer in order to jump into PC gaming.

Even with a budget of as low as $500, you can get a system that will deliver solid performance on a 1080P display. You have to be willing to build your own computer, though.

Fortunately, building your own PC isn’t that difficult. (Check out our Step-By-Step build guide to see how it’s done.)

In this guide, we’ve provided you with a list of parts you can use to build a powerful gaming desktop for 1080P gaming.

Need help with your PC build?

Enter your total budget & email address below. We’ll help you put together a compatible part list for your needs.

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Watch Us Build This PC

How to Choose Parts for A PC Build

We use our years of hands-on experience with PC hardware and knowledge of the component market to find the best parts at the best prices so that you can build the most powerful system for your budget.

You can see our thought process behind choosing components by watching our Beginner’s Guide to Choosing Parts series, or you can watch us build PCs and discuss PC hardware on YouTube.

Important: For help choosing parts or for any questions you might have, check the FAQ section below, or ask a question in the comment section.

$500 Gaming PC Build

AMD Ryzen 5 5500 + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Build

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Part List

• CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 5500
• MOBO: Gigabyte A520M
• GPU: Gigabyte RTX 3050
• RAM: 16GB TEAMGROUP 3200MHz
• SSD: 500GB TEAMGROUP MP44L
• CASE: Thermaltake Versa H16
• PSU: Thermaltake 600W

Pros & Cons

• Will run non-demanding games fine
• Can easily upgrade CPU and GPU
• Limited to medium-or-lower settings in AAA titles
• Locked into an older CPU socket
• Not a lot of storage out of the gate

Shop Pre-Built »
Check Price »

Read Overview »

$500 PC Build Overview

This $500 gaming PC build comes with an AMD Ryzen 5 5500 six-core processor, an RTX 3050 graphics card, 16GB of TEAMGROUP’s 3600MHz DDR4 memory, and a 500GB NVME SSD from TeamGroup.

How good is this array of hardware?

The combination of the Ryzen 5 5500, RTX 3050, and the 16GB of RAM will allow you to play most games on higher settings on a 1080P monitor.

For non-demanding popular titles like Fortnite, Minecraft, Roblox, League of Legends, Valorant, Rocket League, or older games like Skyrim, etc. this PC will run then on medium-or-higher settings with a high framerate.

This build will also work for running more-demanding titles (like Assassin’s Creed, Cyberpunk 2077, God of War, Elden Ring, etc.) as well and as you can see in the benchmarks below, you can even run those kinds of games on higher or ultra settings with a playable framerate.

You’ll be hard-pressed to find that kind of performance out of a $500 prebuilt PC.

It’s the perfect cheap gaming PC for gamers who don’t have a ton of money to spend, but who want a solid entry-level machine that will allow them to play their favorite games.

🚀 Go Up Another Level: $600 Gaming PC Build » 🚀

Benchmarks

Assassin’s Creed Valhalla

Cyberpunk 2077

Baldur’s Gate 3

Palworld

Fortnite

Need help with your PC build?

Enter your total budget & email address below. We’ll help you put together a compatible part list for your needs.

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Why Build A PC?

Build FAQ

If you’re still on the fence about building your own PC, or you have questions before you make your decision you have three options:

1. Ask a question in the comment section below
2. Scroll through the FAQ below for answers to some common questions

The section below also highlights some of the decisions we made in this part list as well as goes over future upgrades you can make to take this system to the next level.

1. How Do I Build This PC?

You will need to assemble all of the individual components you have purchased into a working PC. Fortunately, this process is not difficult! And, it’s a lot of fun. If you’ve never built a PC before, use our Step-by-Step PC building guide to walk you through the process.

How to Build A Gaming PC: Step-by-Step

2. Why Not Go With an APU?

AMD’s Ryzen APUs are a popular processor option for many budget gamers. Their integrated graphics are good enough to run most games on at least lower settings. However, while AMD’s new APUs are solid alternatives to a budget GPU/CPU combo, at the $500 price point, an AMD Ryzen 5 5500 paired with an RTX 3050 will be more powerful than AMD’s most powerful APU.

I’ve put together a more thorough write-up on the battle of APUs vs CPUs and that should help clear up when the new APUs make sense over a traditional CPU/GPU combo. As of right now, we use the Ryzen 5 5600G in our $300 PC build.  We’ve also used APUs in our $400 gaming PC in the past, too, but currently that’s another budget-range where it makes more sense to go with a CPU and dedicated graphics card.

3. Ryzen 5 5500 or i3-12100F?

It’s a tough decision in choosing the AMD Ryzen 5 5500 over the Intel Core i3-12100F. Both are solid performers for their price and they both offer excellent CPU upgrade paths.

Right now, we’ve given the edge to the Ryzen 5 5500 over the i3-12100F. They both cost about the same when you consider the price of a motherboard and they both perform similarly as well. However, the Ryzen 5 5500 comes with a better stock cooler out of the box and offers a bit more multi-core performance. Not to mention, with AMD releasing new X3D CPU SKUs, the AM4 socket will offer you some nice upgrade options in the future.

However, you could easily opt for the i3-12100F and an H610 chipset motherboard in this build as well. But, we like the Ryzen 5 5500 a bit more at the moment.

4. Why Only An RTX 3050?

In the past, we’ve been able to fit a much more powerful GPU into the $500 build. However, with higher GPU prices, the RTX 3050 is currently the only video card option that makes sense.

You could forego a dedicated graphics card altogether and opt for one of AMD’s APUs (namely, the Ryzen 5 5400G or the Ryzen 7 5700G). The cost would be similar and, while you might not get as much overall GPU performance right now, you would be setup well to upgrade in the future, because all you would need to do is add a higher-end graphics card.

We opted for the Ryzen 5 5500/RTX 3050 combo, though, as it will offer more performance now.

And, as mentioned above, if you can find a good deal on a GPU better than the 3050, you could drop the CPU down to a Ryzen 5 4500 to make room for it.

5. Why Is the Price Higher Than $500?

Even when cryptocurrency miners aren’t driving up graphics card prices, or there are global supply chain issues, or we’re seeing the highest inflation in decades, individual PC hardware prices fluctuate on a daily basis.

So, if I update this guide one day and the total price is under $500, it’s possible that the next day—or even within just a couple of hours—the price could be higher (or lower.)

If you see the prices on this guide go over $500 and you can’t afford to go over that budget, you’ll need to alter the build a bit in order to keep the price down.

While I do try to update this guide on a regular basis, if you want to see a version of this build that gets updated more frequently, check out our Affordable PC Build guide that I linked to at the top of this page.

Also Read:

• How Much Does it Cost to Build A Gaming PC?
• What Parts Are Needed to Build A Gaming PC?

6. Why Isn’t Windows 11 Included in the Price?

Yes, it’s true…

We didn’t include Windows 11 in the price of this build.

But, we do have a few of reasons for that. You will need an operating system for your new build. And, while you can just pay ~$125 for a Windows 11 license from Microsoft, there are ways to get around paying that much.

At ~$125, a copy of Windows will drastically reduce the kind of performance you can get out of a $500 budget.

So, below, I’ve listed three different ways you can either forego purchasing Windows 11, or get it at a discounted price so that you can allocate more money to the actual hardware in your build.

Also Read: How to Install Windows 11 Without a Microsoft Account

You Could Always Go With Linux!

First, Windows 11 isn’t 100% necessary in order to build a gaming PC. You could, instead, go with a free Linux-based system.

However, the downside of Linux is that it doesn’t support nearly as many games as Windows.

But, if you’re strapped for cash, you could always go the Linux route to start with. And, then when you have some more money, you can purchase a Windows key and switch over.

Windows 11 on the Cheap!

The second reason why we did not include the cost of Windows 11 in the build is that there are ways to get it for less than the full retail price (~$125).

Sites like Kinguin.net and G2A.com have Windows 11 keys for as low as $30. And, we have purchased copies of Windows 11 from Kinguin with no problems.

However, there is some risk in dealing with Kinguin or G2A. For more information on that matter, check out our guides on whether or not Kinguin is legit and whether or not G2A is legit.

The short answer is that Kinguin and G2A should probably be avoided for Windows keys, but if you don’t mind the somewhat blackhat nature of it all, it is an option that a lot of people choose. (And, if you do purchase a Windows 11 key from Kinguin, make sure you add the Kinguin Buyer’s Protection.)

If you don’t like the idea of purchasing a Windows key from a third-party site, if you’re a college student or you serve in the military, you can get Windows 11 for 10% off through the Microsoft store.

Windows 11 for Free?!

Finally, it is actually incredibly easy to get Windows 11 for free. In fact, you can go straight to Microsoft’s website and download Windows for free. If you download it to a USB, you can boot from that drive on your new computer, and install Windows with no key necessary.

And, you’ll actually get a working copy of Windows.

The problem is that the free version of Windows won’t be licensed unless you register it with a legit key.

However, a lot of people have reported that you don’t really lose much if you never end up registering your copy of Windows.

And, you could always build your system now, install the free copy of Windows 11, and use that until you can afford to purchase a full license. That would give you an extra $125 to spend on your CPU/GPU combo now, and that could potentially give you a lot more performance to start out.

Is it the most ethical way to go about it? Tough to say. Microsoft doesn’t stop you from adding it to your PC for free, though. And, with such a tight budget, that extra $125 would mean a significant downgrade in components. So, I say skip purchasing a Windows license so that you can maximize your in-game performance now.

7. How to Upgrade this Build

The main goal with all budget PC builds is to eventually upgrade them so that they offer ideal in-game performance.

There are three main ways to upgrade a PC to get better gaming performance out of it:

1. Upgrade your GPU
2. Upgrade your CPU
3. Add more/upgrade your RAM

First, Upgrade Your GPU

In this $500 build, the first thing I would upgrade would be the graphics card. It’s going to have the biggest impact on your in-game performance (as the Ryzen 5 5500 is an adequate processor for 1080P gaming.)

The following GPUs would make for a good upgrade:

• RTX 4060
• RTX 4060 Ti
• RTX 5060
• RTX 5060 Ti
• RX 7600
• RX 7600 XT
• RX 9060 XT
• RX 9060

With the 650-watt power supply we’ve included in this build, you will easily be able to add one of these GPUs into this build.

Second, Upgrade Your CPU

The AMD Ryzen 5 5500 is by no means a high-end processor. But, considering that most modern games rely more heavily on GPU performance than they do on CPU performance, the 5500 will work just fine for 1080P gaming for the forseeable future.

So, it would make sense to hold off on upgrading the 5500 as it won’t be a significant bottleneck even after you’ve upgraded your GPU.

Still, though, it would be good to upgrade it eventually as there are more powerful options out there. With the motherboard in this build, the following processors would make worth upgrades:

• AMD Ryzen 7 5700X3D
• AMD Ryzen 7 5800X3D

Of the two, and since this build comes with a budget-oriented A520 chipset motherboard, we’d probably choose the more power-efficient 5700X3D when it came time to upgrade.

Third, Add More Storage

The 500GB TeamGroup NVME SSD should hold you over for a time. But, most modern gamers can fill up 500GB of storage quick. So, after you’ve upgraded your GPU and CPU, it would be a good idea to add a second SSD so that you have plenty of space to hold all of your favorite games.

Conclusion: A $500 PC Build Can Give You A Lot More Than You Think

The $500 gaming PC build listed in this guide is capable of playing any game on a 1080p monitor. And, through a few different upgrades, it can transform from a decent entry-level gaming PC, into a high-end gaming desktop.

And, really, that is one of the main advantages of going with a gaming computer over a console. Whereas a console’s hardware can’t be upgraded, a computer can be upgraded and added to as your demands as a gamer grow.

Ultimately, this cheap gaming PC build will serve any budget-oriented gamer well as a starter system that they can grow into.

Get Help With Your Build: If you need help putting together a part list for your build post your questions in the comment section!

The post The Best $500 Gaming PC Build for 2025 appeared first on Tech Guided.

These powerful builds will have you gaming at higher resolutions.

You’re ready to go all out. You’ve got a large budget and you want the most powerful PC possible. You want to be able to run games at 1440P or 4K resolution with a high average framerate. How are you going to do it?

You’re going to build it yourself.

In this guide, we’ve presented you with five high-end PC build options that will give you extreme performance, even at 1440P or 4K resolution. So, whether you’re looking for a solid gaming PC to play Fortnite on a 1440P 240Hz resolution monitor, or you want to play Kingdom Come: Deliverance II at 4K resolution, one of the builds listed below will get the job done for you.

Each build lists all of the parts you’ll need to build that system, with links of where to get the parts. We’ve also provided a full overview of what the build comes with and what kind of performance you can expect out of it.

Ready to build your new gaming PC?

Need help with your PC build?

Enter your total budget & email address below. We’ll help you put together a compatible part list for your needs.

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Picking the Best Parts for These Builds

Want to know our thought process behind how we choose each component? Check out our Beginner’s Guide to Choosing Parts.

You can also watch us build computers and discuss PC hardware on our YouTube channel.

Or, if you just want a compatible set of components for a specific budget-range, check out the options below.

Important: For help choosing parts or for any questions you might have, check the FAQ section below, or ask a question in the comment section.

$2,000 Gaming PC Build

AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Ti

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Part List

• CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D
• COOL: ARCTIC Liquid Freezer III
• MOBO: GIGABYTE X870 AORUS
• GPU: ZOTAC RTX 5070 Ti
• RAM: 32GB G.SKILL X5 6000MHz
• SSD: 2TB WD Black SN7100
• CASE: LIAN LI LANCOOL 216
• PSU: Corsair RM850e

Pros & Cons

• Excellent 1440P or 4K performance
• Great upscaling/ray tracing performance
• X3D CPU for CPU-intensive games
• Excellent cooling configuration
• Less raw performance than AMD GPU

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Read Overview »

$2,000 PC Build Overview

So you’ve decided to go all out… You’re not spending a dime under $2,000 on computer parts for your new ridiculously awesome computer build. Alright… that’s cool… some people just have to have the best!

Fortunately, with a $2,000+ budget you can really max out your build. You can get an extreme video card, a high-end processor, a ton of RAM, a nice-looking feature-packed case, and plenty of SSD storage.

This is an extreme gaming computer that can handle higher-resolution gaming with ease. If you’re going to drop this much on a computer, be sure to pair it with some high-end peripherals as well, like a FreeSync monitor, a comfortable gaming chair, and a high-quality gaming headset.

This build features an AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D processor, an RTX 5070 Ti graphics card, and 32GB of DDR5 RAM. The combination of the RTX 5070 Ti and the 9800X3D CPU will be more than powerful enough to have you maxing out games on a 4K monitor or a 1440P 240Hz monitor.

This system also comes with an overclocking-friendly X870 chipset motherboard from Gigabyte, a 2TB Gen 4 NVME SSD from WD, and an 850W Gold fully modular power supply from Corsair. And, while there are a wide option of computer cases that would be able to accommodate this part list, we’ve included the LIAN LI LANCOOL 216 for its roomy interior and excellent airflow.

Overall, this is one of the best systems for pure gaming performance you can build for ~$2,000.

$1,750 Gaming PC Build

AMD Ryzen 7 9700X + NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 Ti

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Part List

• CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 9700X
• COOL: Thermalright PA 120SE
• MOBO: ASUS TUF B850-PLUS
• GPU: ZOTAC RTX 5070 Ti
• RAM: 32GB G.SKILL X5 6000MHz
• SSD: 2TB WD Black SN7100
• CASE: LIAN LI LANCOOL 216
• PSU: Corsair RM850e

Pros & Cons

• Excellent 1440P or 4K performance
• Great upscaling/ray tracing performance
• Excellent cooling configuration
• Less raw performance than AMD GPU
• Without X3D chip, less performance in CPU-intensive games

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Read Overview »

$1,750 PC Build Overview

For a price of $1,750, the sky is the limit in terms of performance. Seriously, with an RTX 5070 Ti GPU this build is ready to push games on a 4K monitor…

$1,750 will also give you plenty of other options as well. For instance, if you’re planning on doing some system tuning, this kind of budget will allow you to hit some decent overclocks. And, it’s definitely a tethered VR-ready PC build (Valve Index or HTC Vive).

Along with the RTX 5070 Ti graphics card, this build features an AMD Ryzen 7 9700X, a solid dual tower air cooler from Thermalright, and the same 850W Gold power supply from Corsair that the $2,000 build has. You will also get a 2TB NVME SSD and 32GB of 6000MHz DDR5 RAM.

While 32GB of memory won’t be used in the majority of older games, newer games are starting to utilize over 16GB of RAM and so the extra memory will ensure that you have enough to meet their demands. And, if you’re into good airflow (and you should be) and RGB lighting, you’ll love the LIAN LI LANCOOL 216 case this build comes with.

This system is powerful enough to easily handle any game on max settings on a 1080P or 1440P monitor and it will nearly max out anything on a 4K monitor as well. For 1080P and 1440P gaming, though, be sure to pair it with a higher refresh rate display to fully maximize its performance (like a 1080P 360Hz display or a 1440P 240Hz display.)

$1,500 Gaming PC Build

AMD Ryzen 5 9600X + AMD Radeon RX 9070 XT

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Part List

• CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 9600X
• COOL: Thermalright PA 120 SE
• MOBO: GIGABYTE B850 Eagle
• GPU: Sapphire RX 9070 XT
• RAM: 32GB G.SKILL X5 6000MHz
• SSD: 1TB Crucial P310
• CASE: Montech AIR 903
• PSU: Corsair RM850e

Pros & Cons

• Excellent 1440P & good 4K performance
• More raw performance than NVIDIA GPU alternative
• Excellent cooling configuration
• Less upscaling/ray tracing performance
• Without X3D chip, less performance in CPU-intensive games

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$1,500 PC Build Overview

For $1,500 you’re getting a very similar computer to our $1,250 build. The only difference? You get a better graphics card.

Whereas the $1,250 build comes with an AMD Radeon RX 9070 (non XT), this system comes with a more powerful RX 9070 XT. While both graphics cards are solid options for high resolution gaming, the 9070 XT is about 10-15% faster in most games. If you can fit it into your budget and you’re gaming at 1440P or 4K, it is definitely worth it.

This system also features an AMD Ryzen 5 7600X processor, 32GB of DDR5 6000MHz memory, a standard ATX B650 chipset motherboard, a Crucial 1TB NVME SSD, and a 850W 80 PLUS Gold power supply.

Ultimately, this build is capable of maxing out anything on a 2560×1440 monitor, handling pretty much anything on a 4K monitor, will work well with a 1440P 240Hz+ monitor, and will allow you to get into VR with the Valve Index or HTC Vive Pro 2. And, it has plenty of storage for your needs and it has enough space to allow you to upgrade in the future as well.

$1,250 Gaming PC Build

AMD Ryzen 5 7600X + AMD Radeon RX 9070

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Part List

• CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 7600X
• COOL: Thermalright Assassin X
• MOBO: ASRock B650 Lightning
• GPU: Sapphire RX 9070
• RAM: 32GB G.SKILL X5 6000MHz
• SSD: 1TB Crucial P310
• CASE: Montech AIR 903
• PSU: Corsair RM750e

Pros & Cons

• Excellent 1440P performance / solid 4K performance
• Great upscaling/ray tracing performance
• X3D CPU for CPU-intensive games
• Excellent cooling configuration
• Less raw performance than AMD GPU

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Read Overview »

$1,250 PC Build Overview

With a budget of $1,250 or more, you can expect to get a high-quality PC build. At this price range, you will be able to put together a machine that will be able to fully utilize a high refres rate monitor, whether that’s a 1080P 360Hz display or a 1440P 240Hz monitor. It will perform well at 4K resolution as well.

However, playing on the highest settings is just one of the many benefits you will receive when you drop $1,250 on parts for a gaming computer. You can also expect your computer to stay relevant for a long time and you can be sure that you have high-quality parts all throughout your build.

That means along with a great processor and excellent video card, you will also get a high-end motherboard and a well-built power supply.

For specs, this build features an AMD Ryzen 5 7600X processor, an RTX 9070 graphics card, a B650 chipset motherboard from ASRock, 32GB of DDR5 memory, a 1TB Gen 4 NVME SSD, and an 80PLUS Gold-rated 750W power supply from Corsair.

The power supply is also fully modular, which will make the build process easier to handle.

$1,000 Gaming PC Build

AMD Ryzen 5 7600X + AMD Radeon RX 9060 XT 16GB

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Part List

• CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 7600X
• COOL: Thermalright Assassin X
• MOBO: ASRock B650 Lightning
• GPU: GIGABYTE RX 9060 XT
• RAM: 16GB Kingston FURY
• SSD: 1TB Crucial P310
• CASE: Montech AIR 903
• PSU: Corsair RM750e

Pros & Cons

• Great 1440P performance & decent 4K performance
• More raw performance than NVIDIA GPU alternative
• Good cooling configuration
• Less upscaling/ray tracing performance
• Without X3D chip, less performance in CPU-intensive games

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Check Price »

Read Overview »

$1,000 PC Build Overview

With a budget of $1,000 you can expect to put together a system that can max out any game on 2560×1440 resolution and is ready for tethered VR gaming. And, you can even expect a $1,000 gaming PC to handle playing most games on a 4K with no problems. (With exception to some more demanding titles.)

The $1,000 mark is the sweet spot for putting together your own computer, as $1,000 in parts is enough to provide optimal in-game performance while still maintaining a reasonable budget. This system comes with an AMD Ryzen 5 7600X CPU, a Gigabyte Radeon RX 9060 XT 16GB graphics card, 16GB of DDR5 5200MHz RAM, and a 1TB NVME SSD from Crucial.

Overall, this is the perfect gaming PC for anyone who is looking to max out titles on a high refresh rate monitor, either a 1080P or 1440P display. Again, this system should be able to handle non-demanding titles at 4K resolution as well.

However, for more demanding games, at 4K resolution, you’ll have to turn down some settings in order to maintain a higher framerate. Just make sure you pair this build with a monitor that utilizes AMD’s FreeSync technology (to match the AMD GPU in this build) to provide the smoothest in-game experience possible.

Need help with your PC build?

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FAQ: Buying/Building the Best Gaming PC

If you’re on the fence of whether or not you should build your own gaming computer, buy a prebuilt computer, get a gaming laptop, or go with a console (like a PS5 or XBox Series X), we’ve put together a list of answers to some questions you likely have.

1. How do I build a PC?

You will need to assemble all of the individual components you have purchased into a working PC. Fortunately, this process is not difficult! And, it’s a lot of fun. If you’ve never built a PC before, use our Step-by-Step PC building guide to walk you through the process.

How to Build A Gaming PC: Step-by-Step

2. Which PC is best for gaming?

There really is no answer to the question of what the best computer for gaming is. The best computer for gaming will vary from individual to individual. For instance, if all you want to do is run non-demanding titles like Marvel Rivals, Rocket League, Apex Legends, Minecraft, and/or Fortnite, you don’t need an extreme $4,000 computer with a multi-GPU setup and an insane liquid cooling configuration.

You could easily get by with spending aound $1,000 on parts.

However, if you want to game on a new 4K monitor, you’re going to need a much better system because of how much more demanding 4K gaming is.

Or, if you want a capable gaming computer that will also serve as a workstation system for your profession, you’ll want to alter the type of system you build or buy to accommodate your needs.

So, the bottom line is that, there is no such thing as the single “best” gaming computer. The reality is that everyone has different needs and a different budget. So, the best gaming PC will be one that gives you the performance you need at a price you can afford.

Also Read: What to Look for in A Gaming PC

3. Can you build a gaming PC in 2025?

With the GPU shortage and supply chain issues mostly over, it is once again far more affordable to build your own PC than it is to buy a prebuilt system. Prebuilt systems and custom-built systems are still a worthy option if you want to forego the building process.

However, if you’re looking for the most bang for your buck, your best bet is to assemble your own computer.

The good news is that it isn’t difficult to build your own gaming PC. All you need to build a computer is all of the parts necessary (which we’ve provided you with the part lists above), a screw driver, some patience, and a good step-by-step building guide. (Check out ours here.)

Also Read: What Parts Are Needed to Build A Gaming PC?

4. Is $2,000 good for a gaming PC?

Yes, a $2,000 budget to put towards a gaming computer will allow you to acquire a high-end gaming desktop. If you’re talking about a prebuilt system, that should be enough to get you an RTX 5070 Ti gaming PC, or something similar. And, that will provide you with enough power to max out just about any game you want to play.

It should be noted, though, that even a $2,000 budget will not be able to max out all games on a 4K display, as some newer titles are incredibly demanding. But, with a $2,000 budget your limitations on what you can do will be very small.

Depending on your needs, you could also spend less and still come away with a PC build that will exceed all of your expectations. Check out our guide on how much it costs to build a gaming PC to get an idea of what kind of performance you should expect for your budget.

5. Is building a gaming PC hard?

If you’ve never built a computer before, the good news is that there are a ton of written and video guides out there that do a great job of walking you through the assembly process. We’ve provided a solid step-by-step building guide (listed above), but you might also want to check out our guide on the most common PC building mistakes and our guide on how long it takes to build a PC to help give you a better idea of the process.

6. Is Intel or AMD better for gaming?

Both processor manufacturers are worthy of considering. In fact, it’s probably not a good idea to commit to one brand over the other and, instead, pick the option that will best fit your budget at the time you go to purchase your components or system.

The reality is that, on a dollar-for-dollar basis, the two processor manufacturer options are going to provide similar in-game performance. What this means is that, for example, if you have ~$200 to spend on a processor, the options available from Intel and AMD at that price range are going to provide near fairly similar in-game performance. So, it’s much better to not commit to either brand, and see which option costs less at the time of purchase.

There are instances where you may prefer one brand over the other, however…

AMD’s Ryzen CPUs have generally provided a decent performance boost over similarly-priced Intel processors in multi-threaded applications and Intels CPUs have typically provided better single core performance which, in the past, helped them perform a little better in games.

However, the last couple of CPU generations have flipped the tables. AMD’s new 3D V-Cache CPUs are able to outperfom Intel’s top CPUs in games that are more CPU-dependant, but lag behind in productivity tasks. Both options are still viable and at any given pricepoint you’ll get similar performance from the competing options.

But, if your main aim is pure gaming performance, it is best to just choose the option that comes with a lower pricetag. As of right now, we like AMD’s CPUs in the majority of budget ranges.

7. Should I get a gaming laptop or a desktop?

A desktop will always offer more performance for the price than a laptop. However, that’s not to say that laptops aren’t capable gaming machines. If you have a larger budget, you can get yourself a really powerful gaming laptop.

There are powerful laptops out there that can deliver a high-end gaming experience. On the flip side, though, for the same amount of money, you can build or buy a PC that offers far more performance and better cooling.

So, whether or not you should get a laptop or a desktop will come down to how much you value the mobility of a laptop. If you need a mobile system that you can take with you on the go, sacrificing a little bit of performance for the mobility that a laptop provides is probably your best option.

If you need as much performance as possible and you don’t mind opting for a stationary system, then a traditional PC offers the most performance regardless of your budget. And, you can squeeze out even more performance from your budget if you opt to build your own system.

8. Which is better? A gaming PC, PS5, or XBox One X?

I’ve touched on this a bit above, but, in terms of hardware and performance potential, a gaming computer will always beat out a PS5 or XBox One X, or any other console. However, that doesn’t mean that a computer would be the best option for you.

For starters, certain titles are only available on consoles. For example, MLB The Show and the Spider Man series are console exclusives. If those are the titles you want to primarily play, you probably shouldn’t spend a ton of money to build an extreme gaming computer.

Of course, the PC platform has its own exclusive titles as well (League of Legends, Dota 2, World of Warcraft, etc.) And, of the games that you can run on both the PC and console (Apex Legends, PUBG, Rocket League, Fortnite, etc.), most of them will run better on a PC than they will on a console.

As I mentioned earlier, though, if you love playing games with your friends and they all game on a console, it might not be worth it for you to start playing games on a computer. Regardless of the advantages that computers offer over a consoles, its always more fun to game with your friends than it is to game alone.

So, again, the reality is that, while PC gaming does offer some advantages over console gaming (like more RGB lighting!), there isn’t a right answer to which platform is better for you.

Get Help With Your Build: If you need help putting together a part list for your build post your questions in the comment section!

The post Best Gaming PC Builds for 2025 appeared first on Tech Guided.

Check out these budget-friendly gaming PC builds.

Just because you don’t have a huge budget to spend on a new gaming PC, doesn’t mean you can’t get a powerful system. If you’re up for the challenge of building your own PC (which, really isn’t that difficult of a process), then you can enjoy all of the benefits of PC gaming—all at an affordable price.

In this guide, we’ve presented you with part lists ranging from as low as $500 to as high as $800.

Need help with your PC build?

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How to Choose Parts for A PC Build

Want to know our thought process behind how we choose each component? Watch our Beginner’s Guide to Choosing Parts or read it here.

Or, if you just want a compatible set of components for a specific budget-range, check out the options below.

Important: For help choosing parts or for any questions you might have, check the FAQ section below, or ask a question in the comment section.

$800 Gaming PC Build

An excellent build for 1080P or light 1440P gaming

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Part List

• CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 5600
• COOL: Thermalright Assassin
• MOBO: ASRock B550
• GPU: ZOTAC RTX 5060
• RAM: 16GB G.Skill 3600MHz
• SSD: 1TB KLEVV CRAS
• CASE: Okinos Cypress 5
• PSU: Thermaltake 750W

Pros & Cons

• Excellent performance at 1080P
• Good airflow for the price
• PSU will allow for easy GPU upgrade
• Locked into an older CPU socket
• 8GB VRAM GPU isn’t ideal

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$800 PC Build Overview

What if I told you that for ~$800, you could build a computer that could serve as an excellent 1080P gaming PC and even as a good option for 1440P gaming?

That’s what this $800 gaming PC build brings to the table. Thanks to an AMD Ryzen 5 5600 CPU, a Gigabyte RTX 5060 8GB video card, and 16GB of DDR4 RAM, this budget PC build is capable of playing most games on a 1440P monitor at medium-to-higher settings with an excellent average frame rate.

And, of course, if you want to play on a 1080P monitor, this budget build will easily handle that, as benchmarks for the RTX 5060 8GB show that it is more than enough to get ~100+ FPS in even the most demanding titles.

In fact, pairing this build with a cheap 144Hz+ gaming monitor would make it an excellent option for competitive gamers. Whether, you’re playing Fortnite, Call of Duty, GTA, Apex Legends, Rocket League, or any other highly competitive game, this build will be powerful enough to deliver a high enough framerate to utilize a fast refresh rate display.

The build also includes a 1TB KLEVV CRAS C910 NVME SSD and a Thermaltake Gold-rated fully-modular 750W power supply. This power supply will handle any upgrades or additions you might want to make in the future.

And, while there are a ton of different cases you can choose between that would work for this build, we’ve included the Okinos Cypress 5. It’s an affordable mid tower case that offers a PSU comparment, four preinstalled 120mm fans, and wood accents.

Ultimately, this is one of the best budget gaming PC builds available. It can easily handle 1080P gaming, it will serve well for 1440P gaming, and it can even run some less-demanding games on a 4K monitor on mediumish settings.

$700 Gaming PC Build

Solid performance in AAA titles at 1080P resolution

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Part List

• CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 5600
• MOBO: ASRock B550
• GPU: Sparkle Arc B570
• RAM: 16GB G.Skill 3600MHz
• SSD: 1TB KLEVV CRAS
• CASE: Okinos Cypress 5
• PSU: Corsair 650W

Pros & Cons

• Solid 1080P performance
• Case will provide good airflow
• Far superior performance to same-priced pre-built
• Locked into an older CPU socket
• Will need bigger PSU for GPU upgrade

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$700 PC Build Overview

With an AMD Ryzen 5 5600 CPU and an Intel Arc B570 graphics cards, this is currently one of the best budget gaming PCs you can build for around ~$700 without shopping the used market.

The combination of the Ryzen 5 5600 and the Arc B570 won’t be quite as powerful as the 5600/5060 combo from the $800 build above. However, it will still run pretty much any game on a 1080P monitor on at least higher settings.

This $700 gaming PC also comes with 16GB of DDR4 RAM and the Okinos Cypress 5 mid tower case. The Cypress 5 will hold this build with no problems and it will also provide excellent airflow out-of-the-box, with four 120mm fans preinstalled.

For storage, this build opts for a 1TB Gen 4 NVME SSD from KLEVV.

You also get a 650W 80 PLUS Bronze semi-modular power supply that will give you enough headroom to accommodate another mid-range GPU upgrade in the future. Although, if you want to bump up to a higher-tier GPU down the road, you’ll need to replace it with some bigger.

Overall, this budget build will offer solid performance at 1080P resolution and even run some non-demanding titles well enough at 1440P resolution.

$600 Gaming PC Build

A budget build that will provide a solid experience at 1080P resolution

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Part List

• CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 5500
• MOBO: MSI PRO B550M-VC
• GPU: ASRock Arc A750
• RAM: 16GB G.Skill 3600MHz
• SSD: 1TB KLEVV CRAS
• CASE: Okinos Cypress 3
• PSU: Corsair 650W

Pros & Cons

• Decent 1080P gaming performance
• PSU can handle a mid-range GPU upgrade
• CPU will struggle in CPU-bound games
• Locked into an older CPU socket
• Will need bigger PSU for GPU upgrade

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$600 PC Build Overview

The main difference between this $600 gaming PC build and the $700 build, is that this build has a less powerful Ryzen 5 5500 CPU and a slightly weaker Arc A750 graphics card. We have been able to fit in much better GPUs in this price range in the past, but due to the ongoing issues with GPU supplies, the best graphics card we can currently fit into this budget without sacrificing too much elsewhere, is the Arc A750.
Arc A750. But, if you want all new parts, the A750 isn’t terrible and it will allow you play any game on a 1080P display on at least medium settings.

The same can be said for the Ryzen 5 5500. It’s fine for an entry-level system, but it should be considered as a placeholder until you can afford something a little more powerful. Again, you could always shop the used market and try and fit in a more powerful CPU for this budget.

But, for popular games like Marvel Rivals, Minecraft, Fortnite, Call of Duty, or Valorant, the combination of the Ryzen 5 5500 and Arc A750 will be able to handle them well enough.

To round out the part list, this build comes with 16GB of DDR4 memory, a 1TB NVME SSD, a micro-ATX case that has four preinstalled 120mm fans, a 650-watt Bronze-rated power supply from Corsair, and a micro-ATX motherboard from MSI.

With the 650-watt power supply, you’ll be able to easily upgrade your GPU to a mid-range option when you can afford to do so.

The bottom line, though, is that this system is a good budget build for the money and it will allow you to jump into PC gaming.

$500 Gaming PC Build

An entry-level build that can be upgraded

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Part List

• CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 5500
• MOBO: Gigabyte A520M
• GPU: Gigabyte RTX 3050
• RAM: 16GB TEAMGROUP 3200MHz
• SSD: 500GB TEAMGROUP MP44L
• CASE: Thermaltake Versa H16
• PSU: Thermaltake 600W

Pros & Cons

• Will run non-demanding games fine
• Can easily upgrade CPU and GPU
• Limited to medium-or-lower settings in AAA titles
• Locked into an older CPU socket
• Not a lot of storage out of the gate

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$500 PC Build Overview

If you’re looking to spend ~$500, this gaming PC build might be the option for you.

These parts are capable of producing an experience on par with a some custom PC builder’s $800+ prebuilt gaming PC.

Still, though, with the budget limitations, there will be a noticeable drop in performance between this system and the $600 PC build listed above. But, if you’re mainly playing non-demanding titles (like Fortnite, Marvel Rivals, League of Legends, Minecraft, Rocket League, etc.) this system will get the job done.

Thanks to an AMD Ryzen 5 5500 processor, an RTX 3050 graphics card, and 16GB of DDR4 RAM, this cheap $500 gaming PC build can run pretty much any game on a budget 1080p monitor.

This build also comes with a 500GB NVME SSD and a 600-watt power supply.

The 600-watt Bronze-rated power supply in this system will make upgrading the graphics card to a mid-range option very easy.

Overall, this system is a good starter build for anyone looking to get into PC gaming or anyone who is looking for the best cheap gaming PC for $500.

NOTE: If you want to maximize the performance you get out of such a low budget, you might be better off shopping the used market for at least your GPU and CPU. Of course, there is always risk in buying used components, but with such a low budget, it might be worth it in order to get a more powerful system.

Need help with your PC build?

Enter your total budget & email address below. We’ll help you put together a compatible part list for your needs.

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FAQ: Questions to Ask Before You Build Your Budget PC

If you’re on the fence of whether or not you should build your own cheap gaming PC, or you have questions, we’ve provided a list of frequently asked questions below to help you find the answers you’re looking for.

1. Why should I build a PC?

2. How do I build a gaming PC for the first time?

To build a PC you need a specific set of components, an operating system, and a screwdriver. While the process might seem daunting, as long as you follow a solid PC building guide, you should be able to finish your build without any problems. I walk you through how to build your own PC in this step-by-step PC building guide.

Choosing components is a bit more difficult as you have to make sure all of your components are compatible. Fortunately, with the pre-made part lists in this guide, we’ve removed that difficulty.

However, if you want to learn how to choose your own parts, we highly recommend reading our guide, How to Choose PC Parts, as it will walk you through all of the comptibility issues you need to be aware of.

3. Is building a gaming PC hard?

Anyone who knows how to read or even how to watch a video and how to use a screwdriver can build their own PC.  I should also add, too, that you do need some patience when building your own computer. Building a gaming PC is not rocket science and is not too difficult of a task.

However, there are moments that can arise during the building process that can be frustrating. The good news, though, is that there are plenty of guides out there that can help walk you through the building process to minimize the chances of you running into these kinds of problems.

Check out our guide on the common PC building mistakes that first-time builders make in order to get an idea of what NOT to do.

Most builders won’t face too many issues during their first build and even the most tech-challenged individuals could probably get through their own PC build if they are patient enough.

We’ve also put together a step-by-step guide to help first-time builders through the building process. You can access it here.

4. How much should a budget gaming PC build Cost?

How much a gaming PC should cost is going to vary from user to user depending on a handful of variables.

How much should a gaming PC build cost for someone who wants to mainly play League of Legends?

What about if someone wants to play Starfield on a 4K 144Hz monitors?

Obviously, the second user is going to have to spend a lot more in order to build a PC that will suit their needs.

So, there is no one-size-fits-all answer to how much a gaming PC should cost. It will depend on what your budget is and what you plan on doing with your system.

In general, though, for 1080P gaming, even a budget of $600-$800 would be suffice for most users.

For more information on the cost of building a PC, check out our guide How Much is A Good Gaming PC?

5. Will it be cheaper to build your own PC going into 2025?

In most cases, building your own PC has typically been cheaper than buying a prebuilt gaming PC with similar hardware. However, you can sometimes find prebuilt PCs on sale at prices that may be cheaper than what it would cost to build that same system.

This is fairly rare, even with somewhat inflated component prices—but, it is worth noting that it is possible to find good deals on prebuilt systems.

6. Should you build a PC or get a console?

There are two sides to this question… Yes, I am a diehard PC fan. But two of my favorite video games are Madden and MLB the Show. And, up until a few years ago, Madden wasn’t available on PC. (And, MLB the Show is still a console exclusive.) So, if I wanted to play Madden in the past, I also had to have an XBox One. (Yes, that’s right, I have a console…)

Or, if you wanted to play a game like Red Dead Redemption 2 at launch, you would have needed a console to play it.

So, before you go out and build a new budget gaming computer, you need to make sure that you understand that certain games aren’t available on PC. But, at the same time, what you lose on a console, you gain on a PC. There are also plenty of popular games that are exclusive to PC, like, for instance, League of Legends (also one of my favorite games), DOTA 2, Factorio, the Civilization games, etc.

And, overall, the in-game experience on a PC is better than it is on a console. That’s simply because on the PC you have the potential to play with better visuals, more detailed graphics, and smoother gameplay.

And, of course, on average, PC games tend to be cheaper and there are also a lot more of them.

So, while a console will cost you less upfront (unless you go with a really inexpensive PC), if you buy a lot of games, in the long run, a PC will win out. Ultimately, though, if you’re like me, you just get both and enjoy the best of both worlds.

Get Help With Your Build: If you need help putting together a part list for your build? Ask your questions in the comment section!

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