While there are a lot of arguments on whether gaming on a console or on a gaming PC is better, the latter does offer some more opportunities if you really want to push the boundaries of graphics, as well as have a slightly more versatile machine. Luckily, a lot of the big brands out there have started putting out some great pre-built PCs with a ton of solid configurations that are worth picking up. While you could potentially spend less money building something on your own, the deals we’re seeing make up for that difference, plus they save you the extra time and effort. With so many options out there, it can be hard to find something good, which is why we’ve gone out and collected some of our favorite options, including some that can play the best PC games on the market.
Once you’ve grabbed a pre-built, check out gaming monitor deals for a chance to save on a nice display. If the machine you pick up needs some upgrades, you can save with GPU deals, SSD deals, and RAM deals.
Best gaming PC deal for gamers on a budget
CyberPowerPC Gamer Master Gaming Desktop with RTX 4060 — $800 $880 9% off
If you’re looking for the cheapest gaming PC that’s still a viable gaming PC, the iBUYPOWER Scale nets you an RTX 4060, a 1080p card that will be able to handle most more games with higher graphical settings and refresh rates. It also gives you access to the latest DLSS, although not the latest one, since you didn’t get that on the previous generations. RAM is pretty good for this price point at 16GB, and it’s DDR5 Memory, so it’s a bit faster, while the 1TB should be more than enough to get you started. As for the processor, the AMD Ryzen 5 5500 is a couple of years old and not too powerful, but it’s pretty good for gaming, and helps keep the price down.
Best gaming PC deal for entry-level gamers
iBUYPOWER Trace 7 Mesh Gaming Desktop with RTX 4060 — $1,000 $1,300 23% off
On the other hand, if you’re willing to spend a little extra, this iBuyPower gives you a bit more oomph under the hood for not much more cash. For example, you get the better RTX 4060, so you’ll be able to increase graphical or resolution settings a bit. You also get 16GB of RAM, which is a nice amount for the price point and for gaming and day-to-day use. You also get the better AMD Ryzen 7 5700 processor under the hood, which will let you handle more simulation-based games and tasks, as well as potentially even doing some light streaming on lower resolutions if you’d like to.
Best gaming PC deal for streaming
MSI Codex Z2 Gaming Desktop — $1,099 $1,300 15% off
The MSI Aegis R2 Gaming Desktop has an RTX 4060 Ti Super graphics card as well as a powerful AMD R7-8700F processor, which is a solid mid-to-high end CPU on the market and can handle both gaming and streaming at the same time. You’ll still be playing and streaming at 1080p, and it’s a good mid-range desktop to start with, especially since Twitch and YouTube lock you at lower resolutions and refresh rates when you’re starting out, so you don’t need something powerful. The 32GB should also be more than enough, along with the CPU, to run OBS or other streaming software.
Best gaming PC deal for gaming with DLSS 3.0
Lenovo Legion Tower 5i — $1,600 $2,300 30% off
The Lenovo Legion Tower 5i comes with an RTX 4070 Super, a powerful 1440p card that will let you play most games at 100+ fps on reasonably good graphical settings. Also, since it is within the RTX family, you get access to DLSS 3.0, so you could potentially increase the graphics quality of the games it supports. While the RTX 4070 also gives you access to DLSS 3.0, it doesn’t have as much raw power, and the RTX 4080 can be prohibitively expensive, so this is a great middle ground. You also get a solid Intel Core i7-14700F and 32GB of DDR5 RAM, which is also pretty fast.
Best mid-range cheap gaming PC deal
Acer Predator Orion — $2,100 $2,500 16% off
One excellent mid-range desktop PC is the Acer Orion with an RTX 4070 Ti, which is good for both 1440p gaming at a very high refresh rate and graphics or 4k gaming at lower graphical settings and refresh rate. Either way, you have a lot more options for how you want to prioritize your gaming with the raw power from the RTX 4070 Ti. That said, you can just upgrade it at that point if you’d like more power since it’s a good starting point, and GPU switches aren’t difficult. Besides that, you get an Intel Core i7-13700F and 16GB of DDR5 RAM, so it’s a powerful PC otherwise.
Other cheap gaming PCs we love
- : This is a solid alternative to our entry-level pick above. It has a Radeon RX 6500 XT, which is still a solid graphics card that will handle older games fine and is a solid 1080p gaming PC, especially for under $1,000. It also has a mid-range AMD Ryzen 5 5600 CPU, which makes it very versatile, and it even has 16GB of RAM and 1Tb of storage.
- : The Lenovo Tower 5i has an RX 7600, which is a very solid 1440p gaming GPU, as well as a midrange AMD Ryzen 5 7600 processor. It also has 16GB of DDR5 RAM and512TB of SSD storage. It also has a much more muted look than the similar Thermaltake, so if you want something less flashy, this is a great option. It’s also a good alternative to the our other Lenovo suggestion above, although this one doesn’t have access to DLSS.
- : If you want one of the best, if not the best gaming PC out there, this Alienware R16 is probably it, with some of the best gear, including an RTX 4090, 32GB of RAM and 2TB of storage. That said, it does come with quite a steep price, even after the discount, so be prepared.
Common questions about cheap gaming PCs
What is the cheapest but still good gaming PC?
The Lenovo Legion Tower 5 is a good entry-level option, especially if you go with the configuration that has an RTX 4060, which is a solid 1080p GPU at a good price and gives you access to DLSS 3.0, where it’s supported. This Legion Tower 5 configuration also comes with an AMD Ryzen 5-7600, which is an excellent mid-range CPU, and 8GB of RAM, which is a good starting point.
Is $500 good for a gaming PC?
While you can certainly find gaming PC deals around that price, they aren’t going to be able to play the most modern games, and you will have to compromise when it comes to graphical quality and refresh rate. That said, they are a good starting point, and if it has a powerful enough power supply, you could always upgrade the GPU down the line to get better performance.
Is 1650 good for gaming?
The GTX 1650 is a very entry-level gaming card, and while it will play casual and indie games, it might struggle to play more modern games. That said, it’s a good way to get started if that’s all you have the budget for, and it should be able to handle popular free-to-play games like CS:GO and Team Fortress 2.
Is PC gaming a cheap hobby?
It can be as expensive or as cheap as you want it to be; it all depends on what sort of graphics you can be happy with. If you’re only aiming for 1080p at 60Hz, then you can certainly find a good gaming PC to hit that at a budget, but if you’re aiming for 4k with 100+ frames, then you can easily spend thousands of dollars on that. The good thing is, regardless of how much you spend, a gaming PC is versatile and can be used for other things, plus there are more games available on PC than consoles.
