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The best cheap gaming PCs in 2023

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Written By
Chris Coke

Updated Apr 19, 2023 10:26 AM

PC gaming and gaming PCs have never been so exciting. Over the last few years, we’ve seen an explosion of new technologies like ray tracing and intelligent upscaling, which make games look and play better than ever before. Diving into the PC gaming world can seem daunting and expensive, but it doesn’t need to be. Whether you’re looking to get lost in New World or stay up until the wee hours with just “one more turn” in Civilization VI, we’ve rounded up the best cheap gaming PCs to get you gaming without breaking the bank. These PCs can make excellent gifts if you’ve got a serious gamer in your life (it can be yourself) but are on a tighter budget. We even have a compact gaming PC if they’re short of space but still want to play titles on Steam rather than stores created by Microsoft, Sony, or Nintendo. The best cheap gaming PCs also allow your favorite gamer to play non-console games on their big screen.

Best overall: HP Pavilion Gaming Desktop TG01-2170m
Best for content creators: Lenovo Legion Tower 5i
Best compact PC: BOSGAME Mini PC
Best for work and play: CLX Set Battlebox
Best budget: Acer Predator Orion 3000

How we chose the best cheap gaming PCs

I’ve been a PC builder for more than 15 years and a tech critic for IGN, Tom’s Hardware, PC Perspective, and MMORPG.com for over half a decade. In that time, I’ve become intimately familiar with the components that make gaming PCs tick. A high price doesn’t always mean the best performance, and a low price doesn’t necessarily mean good value. So, for this round-up, I’ve scoured retail sites with an eye toward the hardware inside each machine. After finding the best bang for the buck in each product category, I looked closely at user reviews to identify any red flags, such as poor packaging or carelessness in the build process.

Now you know what to look for to ensure the optimum experience at the best price. Here’s our selection of the best cheap gaming laptops we’ve found for around $1,000. In most cases, you can upgrade if the model you selected doesn’t have all the features you want.

Best overall: HP Pavilion Gaming Desktop TG01-2170m

Why it made the cut: The HP Pavilion TG01-2170m offers great performance, even in the latest games.

Specs

Price: $1009.99
CPU: AMD Ryzen 3 5600G
GPU: Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060
Memory: 16GB
Storage: 256GB

Pros

Can be configured up to an RTX 3060
Highly customizable
Compact design

Cons

Limited configuration options under $1,000 with the RTX 3060
Small SSD

The HP Pavilion easily offers the overall best cheap gaming PC we’ve encountered. This configuration equips it with a powerful RTX 3060 and 16GB of RAM for $1,309, making it the most powerful gaming PC in our line-up. It’s capable of the best FPS of any machine we considered and can be pushed even further with only a slightly higher budget.

The stock prebuilt price here is higher than our target, but the good news is that you can go to HP’s online store and configure it with a much wider range of specs. If you’re willing to drop to a quad-core Ryzen 3 5300G, you can get the price down to an impressive $1,019. Of course, we’d recommend spending a little more to get a better processor or a bigger hard drive. No matter how much you spend, though, you can get a lot of machine for your money.

Best for streaming and content creation: Lenovo Legion Tower 5i

Lenovo

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Why it made the cut: This PC delivers great 1080p frame rates and offers plentiful storage.

Specs

Price: $1,139. 99
CPU: Intel Core i5-11500
GPU: Nvidia GeForce GTX 1660 SUPER
Memory: 32GB
Storage: 1GB SSD, 2TB HDD

Pros

Lots of storage
Great GPU for 1080p gaming
6-core, 11th-gen Intel CPU

Cons

Bland design
Included accessories are generic

The Legion Tower 5i from Lenovo is easily the best cheap gaming PC for new content creators looking for a machine to let them try streaming on a budget. It comes equipped with a high-quality, modern Intel processor with enough cores to handle gaming and streaming simultaneously. Its Nvidia GTX 1660 SUPER has plenty of horsepower to run modern games at medium to high settings, ensuring your audience has the high-quality stream they crave. When it’s time to edit together your latest killstreak, it has space to spare with its 1TB SSD (perfect for installing your favorite game or two) and a 2TB hard drive for archiving video clips.

The one area where this PC feels limited is memory, as it only includes 32GB of system memory. This ensures great stream performance, especially if you want to monitor your chat in a second window. The rest of the system is uniquely suited to aspiring streamers, so we recommend it.

Best compact: BOSGAME Mini PC

Why it made the cut: Bosgame’s Mini PC is a tiny computer that can hide out behind your monitor but has the horsepower for both streaming and content creation.

Specs

Price: $499.99
CPU: Ryzen 7 5600H
GPU: Integrated
Memory: 16GB
Storage: 512GB

Pros

Powerful AMD Ryzen 7 CPU and 16GB of RAM
Pint-sized
512GB NVMe SSD

Cons

Integrated graphics only

The Bosgame Mini PC is tiny, but don’t mistake its small size for low power. This compact gaming PC can run most modern games at 1080P with medium settings enabled, and you may be able to eke out even more performance on a game-by-game basis. That’s largely due to the machine’s Ryzen 7 5800U 8-core processor, 16GB of RAM, and NVMe SSD. These are components we’d expect to see in computers that cost one to two hundred dollars more. AMD has put a lot of work into making its integrated graphics chips as powerful as possible, so while this Mini PC’s graphics card is its greatest liability, it’s by no means weak.

Bosgame went out of its way to equip its mini PC with a ton of ports. Three HDMI ports around the back allow you to connect this computer to three 4K monitors simultaneously, and the generous number of USB-A ports makes connecting peripherals a snap. We’re especially fond of the USB-A and USB-C ports on the front of this machine, which make plugging in a thumb drive much more convenient. If your gaming space and budget are both limited, Bosgame’s Mini PC may be all you need to play Steam games on your big screen.

Best for work and play: CLX Set Battlebox Gaming PC

Why it made the cut: Getting a Battlebox Gaming PC from CLX will set you up for a long, long time.

Specs

Price: $1,199
CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 5600X
GPU: GeForce RTX 3060
Memory: 16GB
Storage: 1TB SSD

Pros

See-through case
Excellent performance
Designed to be upgraded

Cons

Appearance won’t appeal to all

I checked out a budget-friendly CLX’s Battlebox Gaming PC build, and it’s certainly the computer I’d recommend to computer gaming enthusiasts. Its see-through case and RGB lighting immediately draw the eye but never got too distracting. If anything, it made my gaming setup more aesthetically pleasing even when it wasn’t turned on.

The benefit of choosing a gaming PC from CLX is the ability to customize its components to suit your needs. This is a common practice for all PC makers, but CLX specializes in gaming hardware, so you’re only given a few choices for each component that would impact how smooth games run.

My PC gaming needs are admittedly modest, and I spent my time playing through indie games like Tunic and Hi-Fi Rush along with older titles from my backlog, like the somewhat-recent 4K remaster of Star Ocean: The Last Hope. These games ran smoothly and accessing the Xbox and Steam apps to access my library was trivially easy.

The CLX build I was given to test was certainly powerful enough to play games like Elden Ring or the upcoming Resident Evil 4 remake with plenty of headroom to spare. On a similar note, popping off the side panel of this PC build was easy, and we immediately had access to all of the computer’s core components. If you’re looking for a gaming PC that’ll last a long time but was also designed to be upgraded when your needs change, this is a great choice.

Best budget: Acer Predator Orion 3000

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Why it made the cut: The Acer Predator Orion 3000 brings specs that will let new players explore what makes PC gaming great.

Specs

Price: $1,299
CPU: Intel Core i7
GPU: Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070
Memory: 16GB
Storage: 1TB

Pros

6-core, 11th-gen Intel CPU
Great graphics card for 1080p gameplay
Slick but not overstated look

Cons

Included mouse and keyboard are unimpressive

For new PC gamers looking for the best cheap gaming PC for beginners, Acer has one of the most compelling bundle packages we’ve come across with the Predator Orion 3000. The desktop expertly balances price, performance, and aesthetics, making for a superb introduction to PC gaming. It has specs capable of streaming, light video editing, and, of course, playing modern PC games. The Predator Orion 3000 bundle also comes with a mouse and keyboard, so all you’ll need is a monitor to get started.

One of the highlights of this system is its subdued yet stylish look. It doesn’t overdo it with RGB lighting, but its blue front fan and slim LED strips make it clear that this machine is purpose-built for PC gaming. If you’re shopping for a PC gamer who may not have their style preferences set in stone, this is a great entry point.

The biggest drawbacks to this machine are the generic, unimpressive quality of its included peripherals. And there are great gaming mice and gaming keyboards available when you’re ready to upgrade.

Things to consider before buying a cheap gaming PC

Shopping for a gaming PC on a budget can be a confusing mix of big promises and perplexing specs. It’s important to know what matters most so you can cut through the hype and find a PC that will perform the way you expect it to. When buying a prebuilt gaming PC, the core components are just part of the picture. You also need to remember its capacity to take on upgrades and other factors. Here’s what to keep an eye on when shopping around.

Graphics card (GPU)

The most important element of any gaming PC is its graphics card. The graphics card, or GPU, is responsible for rendering 3D graphics and is the most influential factor in how many FPS you’ll see in different games. If you spend extra money on a feature, it’s worth your while to get a PC with a more capable graphic card.

Two companies design different types of graphics cards: Nvidia and AMD. They license out their graphics processors to third-party manufacturers, such as EVGA and Sapphire, who create their own versions of each card with specs. These cards are broken into different standardized performance tiers.

For Nvidia, the first two numbers indicate the card generation, and the third number specifies the caliber of the card. Nvidia current “30”-generation cards include the RTX 3050, RTX 3060, 3070, 3080, and 3090.

For AMD’s Radeon cards, the first number indicates the generation, and the second specifies the card’s power. AMD’s current Radeon cards include the 6600, 6700, 6800, and 6900.

Both companies also include half steps, which offer slightly better performance than the base model. For Nvidia, these are noted with the “Ti” or “Super” branding. For AMD, it’s “XT.”

The most important thing to consider when comparing different versions of the same GPU “make,” such as an Nvidia RTX 3060 or AMD Radeon 6700, is heat. When shopping for a less expensive GPU, a prerequisite for getting a cheap gaming PC, try to avoid GPUs with only one fan or ultra-slim designs. While they may be fine, it is more possible to push a low-end graphics card so hard that it slows down due to “thermal throttling.”

Processor (CPU)

You’ll also want to give some thought to the central processing unit, or CPU. As with graphics cards, there are two primary manufacturers for processors: AMD and Intel. Both companies have a vast catalog of processors that may show up in cheap gaming PC configurations, but AMD’s Ryzen processors or Intel’s Core processors tend to be the most common. Like GPUs, each brand breaks its chips into different performance tiers that ascend in power as their number grows. For Intel, that’s Core i3, Core i5, Core i7, and Core i9. For AMD, that’s Ryzen 3, Ryzen 5, Ryzen 7, and Ryzen 9. For gaming, we recommend sticking to Intel Core i5 and Ryzen 5 CPUs and above if possible.

When deciding which CPU is the best fit for your cheap gaming PC, it’s important to consider exactly what you plan to do with it. While some modern games work better with higher core counts, for pure gaming, a quad-core CPU is probably good enough. If you plan to stream or multitask with video or audio editing software, it’s wise to save up and go for at least six cores to prevent any potential bottlenecks.

You should also pay attention to the processing speed, measured in GHz. That indicates how many processing cycles a processor can compute per second. For gaming, it’s wise to target the 4GHz to 5GHz range or above (that’s 4 billion to 5 billion processing cycles per second). Many games benefit from higher clock speeds over higher core counts, so higher speed can often result in higher FPS.

Finally, the generation of processors can also affect your CPU’s performance. New generations of processors often add new features that improve performance in addition to adding more power. As a rule, it’s best to decide on how many cores you need first and then buy the fastest, newest CPU you can afford after that.

Memory (RAM)

Memory is another critical component. Whether you’re gaming, streaming, or just browsing the web with a dozen different tabs open, once your memory fills up, system performance suffers. In 2022, you need at least 8GB of RAM. Realistically, 16GB is the current “sweet spot” for both price and performance but may be hard to find in a less expensive system. Luckily, it is also one of the easiest and most affordable PC upgrades. You can even add more memory yourself.

Storage (HDD, SSD, NVMe)

Games are getting bigger every year, so it’s important to consider how much and what kind of storage you’ll need for the games you want to play. Broadly, there are three kinds of hard drives you should be aware of: mechanical hard drives (HDDs), solid-state drives (SSDs), and NVMe drives. Mechanical hard drives are, by far, the slowest but offer the best capacity per dollar. NVMe drives are the fastest but most expensive. Solid-state drives are a middle ground between price and performance.

When choosing a gaming PC, try to find one with at least an SSD to run your operating system and most-played games. Compared to traditional hard drives, using an SSD as your primary hard drive reduces in-game load times and makes the entire system feel faster and more responsive. Many cheap gaming PCs will feature smaller SSDs, so you may need to swap out which games are installed on them as you finish and move on to new titles.

The other big thing to consider is how much storage you’ll need altogether. Games are bigger than ever. Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War, for example, can easily occupy more than 200GB, so settling on a PC with a 256GB hard drive wouldn’t be a good choice for Call of Duty fans. Look at the recommended storage requirements for your favorite games to get an estimate for how much storage space you require. Modern PCs generally have room for many internal hard drives so some gaming PCs may come with a small SSD and larger HDD. You can also install extra hard drives if you’re open to the idea of upgrading on your own.

Monitors, peripherals, and other accessories

If it’s your first time buying a prebuilt gaming PC, you might be surprised to find that prebuilt gaming PCs often don’t come with a mouse and keyboard, and only rarely include a monitor with the tower. Be sure to read the product listing carefully to identify exactly what is included with your purchase.

Though it might not seem so at first, separating the price of the PC from these accessories can actually be a good thing. When you’re purchasing a cheap gaming PC, you want every spare dollar to be invested in the hardware to improve the gaming experience. Often, any accessories that come with a prebuilt PC are poorly made and among the first things you’ll want to replace in a new setup. This isn’t always the case: Sometimes pack-ins can genuinely enhance the value of a PC bundle but look carefully at the whole package when buying a bundle—sometimes the “added value” of the accessories isn’t worth the savings.

Packaging, build quality, and warranty support

One of the most important factors to consider in buying a prebuilt gaming PC online is how well it will be built and how the vendor will actually ship it to you. Certain components, like the graphics card, should be secured during shipping to prevent damage to the motherboard. Other considerations, like cable management, can have a direct impact on the temperature of the PC and its performance in games. These elements are rarely included in online product listings, so it’s worth the extra time to read product reviews from real customers.

And even the best gaming PC can have problems. Read the warranty guarantee and user reports about how the company handles post-purchase support. This is also a case where investing in an extended warranty isn’t always a bad idea, especially if the factory warranty is only 30 days.

FAQs

Q: Is a gaming PC worth it?

Of course! The world of PC gaming is rich, diverse, and at the cutting edge of game development. Since PCs don’t release in generations the way consoles do and the barriers to entry for developers are fewer, there is a wider array of games to choose from. Many of the most popular games of the last five years have begun their lives on PC, such as PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds (PUBG). Likewise, if you want to experience the latest and greatest graphics video gaming has to offer, a PC is usually the first and best way to experience it. If that isn’t enough, PC gaming is notorious for its deep discounts and bundle sales through platforms like Steam, often making it the cheapest way to play games you may have missed when they were first released.

Q: Are cheap gaming PCs good for work?

A PC that’s great for gaming can still do other things. There are certain upgrades that everyone needs for gaming, but most people don’t need for work—like a graphics card; however, for most people, a gaming PC is really just a really, really powerful computer. Unless the cheap gaming PC is very old, it should be able to handle all of the spreadsheets, PowerPoint presentations, and essays you’d care to throw at it.

Q: Is a $500 gaming PC worth it?

At this time, I’d say no. Buying a $500 gaming PC usually means two things: old hardware and poor performance in modern games. Because the hardware tends to be older, finding upgrades can also be more difficult. Meanwhile, the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X provide incredible performance for the same $500. There are times, usually late in the PlayStation and Xbox consoles’ life cycles, when it makes sense to build a very cheap gaming PC rather than buying a console. Now is not one of those times.

Q: How much should a gaming PC cost?

This depends on the types of games you want to play, but if you’d like to game in HD at medium settings, there’s no reason to spend more than $500. If you want to play the latest titles at 4K with ray tracing turned on, you may need to spend upwards of $2,000.

Q: Can I build my own gaming PC?

Yes. The most cost-effective way to game on PC is to buy all the parts and assemble them yourself. Be sure to do your research if you go this route to ensure every component is compatible with one another.

Final thoughts on the best cheap gaming PCs

Best overall: HP Pavilion Gaming Desktop TG01-2170m
Best for content creators: Lenovo Legion Tower 5i
Best compact PC: BOSGAME Mini PC
Best for work and play: CLX Set Battlebox
Best budget: Acer Predator Orion 3000

Buying a prebuilt gaming PC can be one of the best ways to join the PC gaming community. For users that aren’t comfortable building their own or are having trouble finding the components they need within their budget, a prebuilt machine can take the stress out of getting started and get you gaming faster.

As with any major tech purchase, there is a lot to consider when shopping for the best cheap gaming PC. Knowing the games you’d like to play, and how you’d like them to run, is the best place to begin and your guiding principle when shopping. Whether you’re just interested in seeing the best graphics possible within your budget or getting your feet wet as a streamer, there are plenty of options worthy of a closer look.

Why trust us

Popular Science started writing about technology more than 150 years ago. There was no such thing as “gadget writing” when we published our first issue in 1872, but if there was, our mission to demystify the world of innovation for everyday readers means we would have been all over it. Here in the present, PopSci is fully committed to helping readers navigate the increasingly intimidating array of devices on the market right now.

Our writers and editors have combined decades of experience covering and reviewing consumer electronics. We each have our own obsessive specialties—from high-end audio, to video games, to cameras, and beyond—but when we’re reviewing devices outside of our immediate wheelhouses, we do our best to seek out trustworthy voices and opinions to help guide people to the very best recommendations. We know we don’t know everything, but we’re excited to live through the analysis paralysis that internet shopping can spur so readers don’t have to.

Best cheap gaming PC deals in June 2023

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(Image credit: Future)

The best cheap gaming PC deals are falling even further due to the RTX 40 series now being widely available. This means that the RTX 30 series and its equivalent GPUs are now at their lowest cost ever, meaning it’s much easier to get into 1080p PC gaming.

What’s been most notable is that cheap gaming PC deals are now running the latest Intel Core 12th Gen processors more and more with their prices slashed too. Additionally, there are more affordable rates than ever on some of the best graphics cards inside these rigs at the wallet-friendly side of the scale.

If you would like to turn your attention towards portable power then the best cheap gaming laptop deals are a strong recommendation for your next move. What’s more, we’re also rounding up the best cheap graphics card deals, too.

The best cheap gaming PC deals in June 2023

best cheap gaming PC deals under $1,000 – US

Acer Nitro 50 N50-640-UR13 | ~~$1,199.99~~ $689.99 at Newegg
Save $510 – Now down to the lowest price ever, this Acer gaming desktop offers great value for money. It’s also ideal for anyone looking for a VR unit. Features: Intel Core i5 12th Gen 12400F, 16GB RAM, 1TB HDD + 512GB SSD, Windows 11, RTX 3050.

Skytech Chronos | ~~$949.99~~ $749.99 at Newegg
Save $200 – Down to its lowest price for quite some months, this Lenovo Chronos is one of the cheapest ways to get an RTX 3050. Features: Intel Core i5 12400F processor, Nvidia RTX 3050, 1TB SSD, 16GB RAM, 600W GOLD PSU, Windows 11

Lenovo Legion Tower 5 | ~~$1,499.99~~ $799.99 at MicroCenter
Save $700 – Now this is a great deal. How about a saving of almost a grand? This Lenovo machine is as cheap as they come and will likely not last long. Features: AMD Ryzen 7 5700G, 16GB RAM, RTX 3050, 512GB SSD + 1TB HDD

Skytech Nebula Gaming | ~~$899.99~~ $799.99 at Amazon
Save $100 – Down to its lowest price ever, this Skytech Nebula is a decent budget option with a new $100 reduction applied. Features: Intel Core i3 processor, RTX 3050 graphics card, 500GB SSD, 16GB RAM, Windows 11

Lenovo IdeaCentre | ~~$899.99~~ $799.99 at Best Buy
Save $100 – A decent discount takes this Lenovo rig down to under $800. It’s a great entry-level rig that will do 1080p gaming well. Features: Intel Core i5-12400F, 16GB RAM, RTX 3050, 512GB SSD, Raven Black

IPASON | ~~$1,099.00~~ $899.00 at Newegg
Save $200 – An 18% discount makes this IPASON a cheap way to get an RTX 3060 build. It’s one of the highlights of Memorial Day 2023. Features: AMD Ryzen 5 processor, GeForce RTX 3060, 16GB RAM, 500GB SDD, Windows 11

CyberPower PC | $924.99 at Best Buy
A new CyberPower rig has made its way to digital shelves, offering a great cheap way to pick up an RTX 3050. It’s also got a sleek white setup, something that you would usually have to pay more for. Features: Intel Core i5-12400F processor, 16GB RAM, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050, 500GB SSD

Skytech Blaze 3.0 | ~~$1,056~~ $999.99 at Amazon
Save $56 – This is an excellent price on an entry-level machine that’s ready for 1080p and 1440p ray-traced gaming with the VRAM to spare. Features: Intel Core i5 10400F, RTX 3060, 16GB RAM, 1TB SSD.

Skytech Archangel 3.0 | $999.99 at Amazon
Another Skytech rig is available under the $1,000 mark. This is only $18 away from being its cheapest-ever price, so if you’re interested, get on it. Features: Intel Core i5 10400F 2.9 GHz processor, RTX 3060, 1TB SSD, 16GB DDR4 RAM, 600W Gold PSU, Windows 11

Cheap gaming PC deals over $1,000 – US

HP Pavilion | $1,009.00 at Walmart
While not a deal on the face of it, this HP Pavillion has dropped by almost $1,000 since it launched. It offers 32GB RAM, 1TB SSD, 2TB HDD, an I5-10400F processor, and a GeForce RTX 3060.

iBuyPower TraceMR258i | ~~$1,299.00~~ $1,099.00 at Walmart
Save $200 – A great entry PC with some respectable specs accompanying it with a nice 15% discount available. Features: Ryzen 7 5700, RTX 3060 12GB, 16GB, 1TB SSD, RGB, Windows 11 Home

Skytech Shiva | ~~$1,399.99~~ $1,149.99 at Best Buy
Save $250 – This is one of the more aggressive rates that we’ve seen in recent memory on a Skytech Shiva build featuring this hardware. Make no mistake, this is a premium rig through and through, despite running a previous generation i7, more than capable of pushing 1440p to the limit. Features: Intel Core i7-11700F, RTX 3060, 16GB RAM, 1TB SSD.

Acer Predator Orion 3000 | ~~$1,649.99~~ $1,149.99 at Newegg
Save $500 – A great 30% discount makes this Acer rig more appealing than ever. It even comes with a keyboard and mouse. Features: Intel Core i7 processor, 16GB RAM, + 1TB HDD, 512GB SSD, RTX 3070, Windows 11

HP Envy | ~~$1,699.99~~ $1,229.99 at Amazon
Save $470 – Now down to its lowest price ever, thanks to a 28% discount, this is a great way to get an RTX 3070 with great specs and a low price to back it up. Features: Intel Core i9 processor, 16GB RAM, 1TB SSD, RTX 3070, Windows 11

IPASON | ~~$1,799. 00~~ $1,119.00 at Newegg
Save $670 – Now this is a great deal. Not only do you get an IPASON rig with some decent specs at a low price but you also get a $50 promotional gift card to spend on whatever games you, please. Features: Intel 12th i5 12600KF 10 processor, RTX 3060 Ti, 1TB SSD – 16GB RAM, Windows 11

Alienware Aurora R14 | ~~$1,759.97~~ $1,399.99 at Amazon
Save $360 – Alienware builds are known for their quality and their high price. This new Amazon discount solves that issue by slicing 20% off the asking price. Features: AMD Ryzen 7 5800 processor, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD, 1TB HDD, Air Cooled, Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth, USB-C, Windows 11 Home

Best cheap gaming PC deals under £1,000 – UK

CyberPower PC | ~~$625.20~~ $565.20 at Amazon
Save $60 – It’s dropped continuously in cost over the last few months so this budget build is now down to its lowest-ever cost. It might be worth upgrading the processor but it’s still a good cheap option. Features: RTX 3050, 8GB RAM, 240GB SSD, Windows 11, AMD Ryzen 3 4100

ADMI | £669.95 at Amazon
An ultra-cheap way to get an RTX 3050 PC built and ready to go. At under $700, it doesn’t get much cheaper than this. Features: Ryzen 5500 processor, RTX 3050 Graphics Card, 16GB RAM, 500GB SSD, White Mesh RGB Gaming Case, Windows 11

Admi Gaming PC | ~~£1,199.95~~ £729.95 at Amazon
Save £470 – Down by 34%, this Admi recently had its RRP lowered, so this model is actually substantially cheaper than in the past. It’s come back in stock after selling out and there’s little else you could ask for given the power of this machine. Features: AMD Ryzen 5 3600, RTX 3060, 16GB RAM, 240GB SSD + 1TB HDD.

XUM Gaming PC Desktop | ~~£849.99~~ £770.39 at Amazon
Save £80 – At well under £800, you can take home this RTX 3060 rig with solid hard drive storage. This is the cheapest we’ve ever seen. Features: I5-10400F 4.3GHz, RTX 3060, 32GB 3200MHZ DDR4 RAM, 1TB HDD, Windows 11

Vibox II-41 | ~~£914.99~~ £779.95 at Amazon
Save £145 – This is by far the cheapest we’ve seen the Vibox II-41 selling for in recent memory and an excellent value proposition at just over £800 given the components your money gets you. Features: Intel Core i5-10400F, RTX 3060, 16GB RAM, 240GB SSD + 1TB HDD.

ADMI | ~~$899.90~~ $799.00 at Amazon
Save $100 – Down to its lowest price ever, this ADMI build has some specs that will get the job done and for the price, it’s hard to argue. Features: AMD Ryzen 5500 processor, RTX 3060, 1TB SSD, Windows 11, 16GB memory

CyberPowerPC Warrior | ~~£1,095.60~~ £820.80 at Amazon
Save £275– The CyberPowerPC Warrior is running the latest Ryzen 5 CPU, and includes a decent amount of fast storage space for your cash, too. For a little over a grand, you’re getting your money’s worth. Features: AMD Ryzen 5 5600G, RTX 3060 Ti, 16GB RAM, 1TB NVMe SSD.

Vibox III-45 | £~~1,059.95~~ £879.95 at Amazon
Save £180 – This Vibox rig is at its cheapest price we’ve ever seen at the retailer and offers some strong specs for the pricing. You walk away with an i7 10700F processor, RTX 3060, 16GB RAM, 1TB SSD, and Windows 11.

OCUK Enigma Essential | ~~£1099.99~~ £879.99 at Overclockers
Save £220 – This custom-built Enigma Essential build is a stunning bit of kit for the money and with a new 20% discount, it’s more affordable than ever. Features: AMD Ryzen 5 5600 6 processor, 16GB RAM, Nvidia RTX 3050, 240GB SSD, 1TB Hard Drive

AWD Forge M100R + Marvel’s Midnight Suns| ~~£1,199.99~~ £899.99 at AWD
Save £300 – Designed with the likes of Fortnite, Apex Legends, Call of Duty, and Division 2 in mind (according to the description), this built-to-order AWD machine has a great £200 discount, dropping it under a grand. It has Intel i5, 16GB memory, Zotac RTX 3070 Ti, 240GB SDD, and Corsair PSU power supply.

Cheap gaming PC deals over £1,000 – UK

Cube Mythic | ~~£1,749.99~~ £1,084.99 at Box
Save £665 – Now this is a huge saving – more than £600. The Cube Mythic has dropped significantly and has some decent specs in exchange. Features: RTX 3070, AMD Ryzen 5 5600, 16GB RAM, 2TB HDD, Windows 11

Punch Technology Gemini Core | £1,283. 97 at Laptops Direct
A cheap way to get an RTX 3070 model is this Punch Technology build. You get a free copy of Warhammer 40,000: Darktide – Imperial Edition too. Features: i7-11700F processor, 16GB memory, 1TB SSD + 1TB HDD

PCSpecialist Vortex G70 | ~~£1,799.99~~ £1,499.99 at Currys
Save £300 – As far as RTX 3070 rigs go, this PCSpecialist Vortex G70 is one of the better options we’ve come across. You’re getting the latest i7 CPU here as well. Features: Intel Core i7-12700F, RTX 3070, 16GB RAM, 1TB SSD.

The best cheap gaming PC retailers

US:

Amazon: one of the largest ranges and deals on budget gaming PCs
Newegg: consistently offers some of the lowest rates on mid-tier PCs
Best Buy: deep discounts are common on established gaming PC brands
Dell: huge savings on the Alienware Aurora line are frequent
Walmart: representation and offers on all major computer manufacturers
Adorama: extensive deals on the likes of CyberPowerPC and MSI machines

UK:

Amazon: extensive choice of budget gaming PC builds
Currys: specializes in mid-range gaming PCs with RTX GPUs
Overclockers UK: competitive prices on the newest hardware builds
Ebuyer: RTX 30-series builds starting from just £699. 99
Box: frequent deals on entry-level Ampere machines
Argos: aggressive rates on GTX and RTX builds from major manufacturers

Complete your setup with the best gaming monitors, best gaming desks, and best gaming chairs that the market has to offer. Plenty of cheap deals well worth taking advantage of.

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Currently a Hardware Editor at GamesRadar+ and in charge of all things PC after graduating from University with a degree in Politics and International Relations in 2022. During my time at University I managed to obtain a platform on social media – specifically TikTok – where I reviewed tech and gaming hardware and produced creative and innovative gaming content. My platform allowed me to be an advocate for females in gaming and within the tech industry as a whole. I’m primarily a PC gamer and have been for over 8 years now and with no specific genre I enjoy, I have been able to play and love many titles from the past decade. I would label myself as a Nintendo Fanatic and also am extremely interested in VR and hoping to follow it closely in upcoming years.

How to choose a good gaming computer from ITmag

The current desire for portability is turning gamers into the laptop-loving segment. But a good gaming PC is ideal for handling complex applications, easily adapting to changing software.

How to determine that you have a powerful gaming PC in front of you:

component balance. If it has a powerful video card installed, then the processor and RAM are selected so as to fully reveal its potential. The power declared by the manufacturer will be clearly demonstrated in modern games;
reliable thermoregulation. The cooling strategy is ideally thought out by the developers, even with a margin for a possible upgrade;
easy scalability. In the system unit, you can install the required number of memory bars, additional drives, a more advanced graphics accelerator, and even a processor.

High gaming performance is possible on a PC where all components are high-end. The desire to save on one module will not allow everyone else to “accelerate”. Compatible structural elements contribute to active work without delays, lags and braking.

What is a good computer for games:

equipped with a convenient monitor, peripherals;
adapted to your wishes – mobility with a compact system unit or without reference to dimensions, because it is always permanently installed in one place;
CPU with support for multi-threading tasks. 2-4 cores is enough for Full HD mode. CPU Core i5 / i7 are suitable, only the frequency is not lower than 2.5 GHz;
RAM from 8 GB;
internal storage 512 GB or more;
fully equipped with interfaces for connecting peripherals, keyboards, mice.

It’s convenient that a modern good gaming PC can be neat and tidy without a bunch of wires. Only the connected monitor and all. Other external devices can be connected via Bluetooth, Wi-Fi.

What parameters should a good computer have?

Only examples will help to better understand the big picture. In deciding how to choose a PC for gaming, the microprocessor (Intel Core i7-7700, AMD Ryzen 5 1500X), RAM (8/16/32 GB and above) and video card (GeForce with at least 3 GB of video memory) should be key.

There are other accessories to consider as well. A hard drive for storing video content and media files is better to pick up at least 2 TB, it’s good when there is a high-speed solid-state SSD for installing the OS, for example.

The more powerful the “stuffing”, the more power each component needs. The power supply must be from 600 watts. When the system unit is completed, select a monitor. You need at least a Full HD screen with a minimum response (no more than 5 ms) so that dynamic scenes are not blurry.

How to choose a gaming computer – the question is individual in each case. It all depends on the planned budget.

What accessories to choose for a gaming PC

The foundation of the system is the motherboard. In recent years, Intel has pursued a policy of authoritarian upgrades – changing the processor, you will need to replace the entire motherboard. Only the standard case, power supply and hard drive will remain.

You can assemble a good PC for games on your own with the possibility of further upgrading it. It’s much cheaper and easier than upgrading a laptop. Gaming equipment is similar to choosing a workstation for specific tasks (working with 3D). The main trio:

the most powerful processor (4 cores, 8 threads or more). Hi-end “pebbles” make a good gaming computer more expensive;
graphic software is processed precisely on RAM, so its volume should be sufficient;
only a discrete video card (unless you only have Photoshop in your arsenal, then the integrated module will suffice).

When choosing components for specific purposes, you know for sure that every penny of the budget is rationally invested. And in the event of a repair, you are not left without computer equipment (this will be the case with a laptop), but you can only give a failed part to the service.

Purchase in Kazakhstan

Confused in the parameters, do not know how to choose a computer for games? Itmag.