Build guide: the best cheap gaming PC

in #pc7 years ago

PC gaming can be expensive, i know, especially when you're brand new and don't have a previous rig to upgrade or retrofit. This build is aimed at creating a gaming PC that performs decently well for as little money as possible. It cuts corners on any sort of bells and whistles, opting purely for components that provide the best performance in the bottom price tier. Long story short: this is the best gaming PC build for $500.

To be clear, this build won't break any performance records, but you can expect to pull in around 30 to 60 average FPS at 1080p max settings in the latest games. Nothing to write home about, but when you consider the entire rig checks in at right around $500/£500, it's pretty impressive.

To do that, the build uses a relatively budget motherboard, low-end CPU, and a cheap case, opting to spend money on the best (budget) options in the GPU and SSD category. It'll boot up and load games quickly, and perform well enough in the latest games. What it won't do is let you play in 1440p or 4K, and your upgrade options in the future are fairly limited.

Take note that this is also a "barebones" build. It skimps on storage and cuts out an optical drive and other optional features in order to save money. If you're interested in those sort of add-ons, we've included recommendations throughout.

The price point also doesn't account for the operating system or any peripherals.

Intel Pentium G4560

GeForce GTX 1060 3GB

ASRock B250M Pro4

Crucial 8GB (2x4GB) DDR4-2133

Crucial MX300 275GB

EVGA 450W 80+ Bronze PSU

Upvote if you like it.It helps me keep up.Thanks in advance :)

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Nice build and post. UP. But why not saving some money and go with a hdd instead of a ssd and put the money into a Ryzen 1400? Also that for low end components the power supply is quite expensive.

Don't forget its a budget "gaming" pc build and gamers dont like big load times to play the games they love.Also your pc will feel more "responsive" with an ssd over an hdd.
As for the psu getting an at least bronze certified psu will cost you some more but you can be sure about the output you get and since its evga and not some shaddy company you can also feel good about the build quality and warranty in the distant case the psu goes "poof".
As for the intel cpu vs the ryzen.
Intel pentium offers higher core speed than the amd, and since even now most games dont use more than 2 cores you will get more performance out of the intel.
And again i remind you what i say only applies on a gaming build.
Hope it helped.

Thx. My first thought was... that newer games depending on the enigne will not start with only 2 cores. But then I realized this proc. has HT so you are fine.

Its a beast of a cpu for the money it costs :)
I've used it in over 3 builds now and everyone was more than happy with the perfomance/dollar.

Nice write-up and guide man. Up-voted.