Best cheap gaming PC deals today

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Under $1000
$1,000 - $2,000
$2,000+
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Gaming PC deals

Gaming PC group shot — (Image credit: Future)

1. Quick links
2. Under $1,000
3. $1,000 – $2,000
4. $2,000+
5. UK deals
6. GPU hierarchy

If you're seeking the ultimate PC gaming experience without breaking the bank, these cheap gaming PC deals could be precisely what you need. They balance performance and affordability perfectly, ensuring you can enjoy immersive gameplay no matter the budget.

There's no getting away from it; PC gaming is an expensive hobby and though the games can be cheap the systems themselves rarely are. And that's where the guidance of expert tech bods proves invaluable. That's precisely where we come into play—we've scrutinized the newest systems on sale this week, allowing you to make informed decisions about where to invest your hard-earned money.

Our gaming setups are categorized into three clear tiers: entry-level, sweet spot, and luxury. The sweet spot, nestled within the $1,000 to $2,000 price range, is where you'll encounter numerous gaming systems that deliver exceptional value. However, regardless of your budget, we aim to ensure you get the most bang for your buck.

Next-gen graphics cards are now with us but we're still seeing some great deals on systems using Nvidia's RTX 40-series cards, many of which are still well worth the money, especially at the low-end. But if you want more guidance, check out our picks for the best gaming PCs. It'll give you a good idea of how the rigs we've spotted on sale stack up in terms of performance.

Five things I always tell people before they buy a new gaming PC

1. Start by choosing a graphics card

2. 16 GB of RAM is fine on a budget, but try to get DDR5

3. Make sure it has an NVMe SSD with 1 TB capacity or more

4. Consider your CPU's general performance and socket upgradeability

5. Remember you can always upgrade later

What does 'price watch' mean?

We've added a new "price watch" qualifier to all our individual deals, making it easy to see whether a price has gone up 🔼 or down 🔽 since we last checked it out. It's important to note that any deal in this guide (even if it's slightly risen in price) is still one of our top picks, as we only show you deals that are actually worth buying.

Nvidia GeForce-powered gaming PCs

RTX 4060 - Yeyian Yumi | $780 @ Newegg
RTX 4060 Ti - iBuyPower Scale Orange | $1,000 @ Amazon
RTX 4070 - no good options in stock
RTX 4070 Super - no good options in stock
RTX 5070 - Acer Nitro 60 | $1,750 at Best Buy
RTX 4070 Ti - no good options in stock
RTX 5070 - Skytech Azure | $1,700 @Newegg
RTX 5070 Ti - AVGPC Whirlwind | $2,279 @ Newegg
RTX 4080 - no good options in stock
RTX 5080 - Yeyian Phoenix | $2,706 @ Newegg
RTX 5090 - ABS Eurus Ruby | $4,800 at Newegg

AMD Radeon-powered gaming PCs

RX 7800 XT - iBuyPower TraceMesh | $1,700 @ Newegg
RX 7900 XT - no good options in stock
RX 7900 XTX - Computer Headquarters gaming PC | $2,300 @ Newegg
RX 9070 - iBuyPower Y40 Pro Black | $1,900 @ Newegg
RX 9070 XT - Xidax X6 | $2,450 @ Newegg

Under $1000

Price watch: 🔽
Zhic gaming PC | Ryzen 5 5600G | 16 GB DDR4-3200 | 1 TB SSD | $599 $479.99 at Walmart (save $119.01)
This is a really good starter PC. The Ryzen 5 5600G's Vega GPU isn't going to get you playing the latest games at high resolutions on its own, but for some lite 720p gaming it should do fine. The main goal here, though, is to have a base that you can upgrade from with a proper discrete GPU down the line. Slap an RTX 4060 or RTX 4060 Ti in there and you've got a fine gaming PC without spending a fortune, and you just need a screwdriver and the will to make it happen.

Price watch: NEW DEAL!
ABS Cyclone Aqua | Core i5 14400F | RTX 4060 | 32 GB DDR5-6000 | 1 TB SSD | $1,299.99 $899.99 at Newegg (save $400)
Unless you're wanting to ditch a discrete GPU entirely, a gaming PC like this one is about as cheap as you'll get for a decent entry-level rig. With the RTX 4060 at the heart of this build gives you access to DLSS frame generation, which should help play more demanding titles, and the rest of the PC's specs are relatively generous for a gaming PC so cheap, too—especially the 32 GB of fast DDR5 RAM.

$1,000 - $2,000

Price watch: NEW DEAL!
Skytech Azure | Ryzen 5 7600 | RTX 5070 | 16 GB DDR5-6000 | 1 TB SSD | $2,099.99 $1,699.99 at Newegg (save $400)
This is about as cheap as you can pick up an RTX 50-series gaming PC right now. Buying an RTX 5070 on its own can be expensive, but as part of a discounted pre-built like this it's pretty reasonable. If you can stretch your budget a little, it'll be better to opt for something with more RAM, storage, and a current-gen CPU, but if you want that Multi Frame Gen magic for as cheap as possible, this Skytech build will get you there.

Price watch: NEW DEAL!
iBuyPower Y40 Pro Black | Ryzen 7 9700X | RX 9070 | 32 GB DDR5-5200 | 2 TB SSD | $2,299.99 $1,899.99 at Newegg (save $400)
If you're not dead-set on a GPU from team green, an all-AMD build such as this one is incredible value in the current market. You're not only getting a current-gen, high-end CPU and GPU combo, but 32 GB of RAM and 2 TB of storage. Plus, the RX 9070 is a great overclocker, meaning you might be able to push close to RX 9070 XT or RTX 5070 Ti levels of performance with some tinkering.

$2,000+

Price watch: NEW DEAL!
AVGPC Whirlwind | Ryzen 7 9700X | RTX 5070 Ti | 32 GB DDR5-6000 | 2 TB SSD | $2,499 $2,279 at Newegg (save $220)
If you're looking for a great all-round, high-end, current-gen Nvidia build, I'd say this is it. The RTX 5070 Ti is arguably what you want to go for if you're looking for. It's a great overclocker and can get you close to RTX 5080 performance, so combined with 32 GB of fast RAM, 2 TB of storage, and a current-gen 8-core CPU, you're getting a solid build here for well under $2,500.

Price watch: NEW DEAL!
Xidax X6 | Ryzen 7 9800X3D | RX 9070 XT | 32 GB DDR5-5600 | 2 TB SSD | $2,599.99 $2,449.99 at Newegg (svae $150)
You can certainly get RX 9070 XT builds for cheaper than this, but the problem with cheaper ones is they tend to conflict against even cheaper RX 9070 (non-XT) builds which often get the upper hand for value. This RX 9070 XT build, however, is tippity-top of the line thanks to its pairing with the Ryzen 7 9800X3D, the absolute best CPU for gaming on the market. If you're looking for a top-end gaming PC and you're happy with all-AMD silicon, look no further.

Price watch: ➖
Skytech Legacy | Ryzen 7 9800X3D | RTX 5080 | 32 GB DDR5-6000 | 1 TB SSD | $3,699.99 $3,089.99 at Newegg (save $610)
If you want the best RTX 5080 build rather than almost the best, this Skytech Legacy build might be a better shout than the Chronos above thanks to its Ryzen 7 9800X3D. This is by far the best CPU on the market right now, paired with the best GPU barring the prohibitively expensive RTX 5090. The only downside is that this build only has 1 TB of storage, which is difficult to justify for the price tag, but at least storage should be cheap and easy to upgrade.

UK gaming PC deals

Scan: Gaming PCs from £820
Overclockers UK: Prebuilt PCs with £100s off
Cyberpower PC: RX 7600 PC for just £884
Ebuyer: £100s off gaming PCs
CCL: Gaming PC with an RTX 5070 for £1,590

Price watch: ➖
ADMI Gaming PC| Core i5 12400F | RTX 4060 | 16 GB DDR4-3200 | 1 TB SSD | £749.99 £724.95 at Amazon (save £25.04)
Yes, this six-core, 12-thread CPU is now two generations old but for the money, you really can't complain. Well, a bit more RAM would have been nice, but you're not going to get many gaming PCs with an RTX 4060 and a 12th Gen i5 for less than £800. The PSU is only rated to 500W, however, so if you're planning on using this as a base to upgrade in the future, you might need a better supply unit for a top-end GPU.

Price watch: 🔽
Scan gaming PC | Ryzen 5 5500 | RTX 4060 Ti | 16 GB DDR4-3600 | 1 TB SSD | £879.98 at Scan
This is pretty cheap for an RTX 4060 Ti build and makes for a great entry-level gaming PC. With the 4060 Ti, you're getting a pretty significant step-up in performance from the RTX 4060, and this should stand you in good stead even at 1440p resolution. The only real downside to this build is its older socket AM4 CPU which will prevent upgrading to a newer socket AM5 one. If this is a big concern, you could consider the Core i5 14400F alternative for £1,000. But that's an extra £150 for the sake of upgradability.

Price watch: ➖
AWD-IT Charger | Ryzen 5 5600 | RTX 5070 | 16 GB DDR4-3200 | 1 TB SSD | £949.99 at AWD-IT
How do you get prices down on a new RTX 50-series gaming PC? You go for an older generation of chipset. This RTX 5070 build comes in at a decent price (considering the current price gouging) and does so by sporting an older six-core AMD chip from the Ryzen 5000-series. It's still an effective chip even today, though you are sitting on a dead-end AM4 platform with DDR4 memory. You will also need to update the spec on the page with a B550 motherboard and a 1 TB SSD to get a spec that won't make you sad.

Price watch: 🔽
Horizon gaming PC | Ryzen 5 7600 | RTX 5070 | 32 GB DDR5 | 2 TB SSD | £1,589.99 at CCL
We're now in the new generation of GPUs, and at this price point it makes sense to opt for an RTX 5070 or RX 9070 gaming PC. This build in particular is pretty well-rounded for a circa £1,600-£,1700 rig. The Ryzen 5 7600 is more than adequate for gaming today (though don't expect miracles) and 32 GB of DDR5 memory and 2 TB of storage is the sweet spot for midrange and even high-end gaming PCs.

Check out our dedicated WhatsApp channel for the latest PC hardware deals.

Graphics card hierarchy

The most important component for any gaming PC build will always be the graphics card. That will give you the best idea about how one machine matches up with another just in terms of raw gaming performance.

Below, we've listed the slew of GPUs we've had over the past couple of years listed in terms of their Time Spy Extreme index score as a way to put them in some consistent hierarchy.

Should I build my own gaming PC or buy a prebuilt?

One of the biggest advantages of putting together your own budget gaming PC build is the ability to choose every single component in the system. This allows you to shop around for deals and find the perfect combination of parts to fit your budget and performance needs. The downside for most inexperienced builders is that this whole process can take some time and has the potential to cause quite a headache if something goes wrong. This is where prebuilt gaming PCs really shine.

When you pay the premium to configure or purchase a prebuilt PC, you pay for more than just the parts. You are paying for warranty service, support, and the peace of mind that professionals put your system together. These are some of the things we value highly when considering the best budget gaming PCs. We also look at other unique selling points like design, upgradability, and anything you couldn't do when building it yourself.

Now that graphics cards are regularly available and the silicon shortage is starting to clear up, building your own PC is much easier than it was before. A prebuilt rig is still a reliable way to get your desired graphics card.

For most users who don't have the luxury of spending over $1000 on a prebuilt gaming PC, upgradability and performance per dollar are paramount. When we decided to choose our top choices for budget prebuilt gaming PCs, we looked at almost every major manufacturer and system integrator to find the best combination of value, reliability, customer feedback, design, and performance under $500 and under $1,000.

We still highly recommend the experience of building it yourself, but if you can't do that, one of the systems above will have you gaming in short order.

What is a decent price for a gaming PC?

The $1,000 - $1,500 mark is probably around the sweet spot for a new gaming PC. That will get you a graphics card that can nail 1440p at solid frame rates and a really good supporting spec. That should mean a relatively sizeable NVMe SSD, around 500GB, as well as 16GB of speedy memory and a modern CPU.

Is PC gaming better than console?

Unquestionably. In real terms, it's more expensive in terms of hardware, but there is a games library stretching back decades that no other gaming platform can possibly match. Games are also regularly cheaper or free on PC, too.

The PC is also more capable of doing more things than a games console, too. Try browsing the web on your PlayStation, and you'll know what we mean. It can also be portable, in either laptop or Steam Deck style.

What PC is equivalent to a PS5?

We suggest that the AMD RX 6700 GPU will deliver around the same level of raw graphics performance as Sony's PS5. That's an OEM part, so you'll only find it in a prebuilt gaming PC, but it's an 11.3 TFLOP GPU versus the 10.3 TFLOP of the PS5.

Those numbers aren't wholly comparative, but you would also need an 8-core CPU, 16GB of memory (though the PS5's is spread between GPU and system), and a 500GB+ SSD.

TOPICS

Dave has been gaming since the days of Zaxxon and Lady Bug on the Colecovision, and code books for the Commodore Vic 20 (Death Race 2000!). He built his first gaming PC at the tender age of 16, and finally finished bug-fixing the Cyrix-based system around a year later. When he dropped it out of the window. He first started writing for Official PlayStation Magazine and Xbox World many decades ago, then moved onto PC Format full-time, then PC Gamer, TechRadar, and T3 among others. Now he's back, writing about the nightmarish graphics card market, CPUs with more cores than sense, gaming laptops hotter than the sun, and SSDs more capacious than a Cybertruck.

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