RTX 40-series gaming PCs like these ones are getting cheap enough that they might actually be worthy of the name 'budget'

Thermaltake and AVGPC gaming PCs on a blue background
(Image credit: Thermaltake | AVGPC)

'Tis soon the season to be brimming with the spirit of unbridled capitalism and snaffling up copious holiday tech deals, including those for budget gaming PCs. Manufacturers and vendors certainly seem to be prepping themselves for Black Friday, because there are already some pretty spectacular deals popping up, such as these two.

RTX 40-series gaming PCs in particular seem to be feeling jolly and generous in their pricing. Whatever the reason for that, I'm here for it, because it's giving us some pretty stellar options in the sub-$1,000 bracket. 

If you're pushing close to $1,000 you can get a solid all-rounder with the Thermaltake LCGS View i460T V2 with RTX 4060 Ti for $1,000 at Best Buy (save $300), or if you want something super-cheap there's the AVGPC Max with RTX 4060 for $665 at Newegg (save $185.21).

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Budget AVGPC and Thermaltake gaming PCs

AVGPC Max | Ryzen 5 5600X | Nvidia RTX 4060 | 16 GB DDR4-3200 | 1 TB SSD |$849.99$664.78 at Newegg (save $185.21)

AVGPC Max | Ryzen 5 5600X | Nvidia RTX 4060 | 16 GB DDR4-3200 | 1 TB SSD | $849.99 $664.78 at Newegg (save $185.21)
This build's 5600X and 4060 combo is fairly entry-level, but more than enough for some 1080p or 1440p gaming, and getting this for well south of $700 is fantastic. The 1 TB SSD is great for starters, too, though you might want to upgrade to 32 GB RAM down the line. Thankfully, though, that shouldn't be too expensive as it's DDR4 RAM.

I'm pretty sure this AVGPC build is the cheapest I've seen a non-atrocious RTX 4060 going for in quite some time. It's even approaching the price of some ultra-budget builds lacking a discrete GPU. This is great given the RTX 4060 is perfectly capable of mainstream gaming at 1080p and 1440p today, though not at high refresh rates on max settings in AAA games.

Of course, you're making some sacrifices for a build so cheap, such as the CPU which is now two generations old, and the 16 GB of previous-gen DDR memory. But slap in another cheap 16 GB of RAM and you should be golden. 

The CPU could definitely do with an upgrade down the line, too, as it's in that sweet spot where it'll keep your GPU churning out frames just fine, but switching out to a current-gen motherboard and CPU will be a significant upgrade. Win-win, really: It's a fantastic cheap build to get you out the gate, and when you decide to upgrade you can be sure the improvement will be worth it.

Thermaltake LCGS View i460T V2 | Core i7 14700F | RTX 4060 Ti | 32 GB DDR5-5600 | 1 TB SSD |$1,299.99$999.99 at Best Buy (save $300)

Thermaltake LCGS View i460T V2 | Core i7 14700F | RTX 4060 Ti | 32 GB DDR5-5600 | 1 TB SSD | $1,299.99 $999.99 at Best Buy (save $300)
This Thermaltake build is I think the best all-rounder I've seen for $1,000. That's primarily because it features the 20-core (8x P-Core) Intel Core i7 14700F. That's a big step up from the other RTX 4060 Ti builds you see a little cheaper than this, such as ones with a Core i5 13400F or 14400F. This likely won't benefit you massively for gaming, but for other things such as productivity tasks, it'll be a real boon. Oh, and it's all housed in a lovely white Thermaltake case wit the company's own cooling, power supply, and so on.

If you're not looking to keep your spending as low as possible, opting for a build like this Thermaltake one isn't a bad shout. Compared to the AVGPC build above, for $300-odd extra you're getting a cracking all-round build that should deftly handle modern AAA games at 1440p, even on max settings in many cases.

There's an added benefit to this rig beyond gaming, too, thanks to its 32 GB of DDR5 RAM and its Core i7 14700F. Yes, that "F" means it lacks an integrated GPU, but you've got a 4060 Ti to work with here, and you're getting 20 14th Gen cores. Just ensure you have the latest microcode patch to prevent any instability issues.

In practice, this means the Thermaltake will not only be much better than the AVGPC gaming PC at productivity tasks and multitasking but also better than most other gaming PCs that cost substantially more than it. From $1,000–$1,500, you're usually looking at PCs with a Core i5 13400 or 14400—which are great processors, but not quite in i7 territory.

You also get a nice physical build, packed to the brim with Thermaltake's proprietary parts, and a nice clean white-with-RGB finish. If the AVGPC Max above is getting your foot in the door with PC gaming, this Thermaltake LCGS View i460T V2 is getting settled... even if its name is a bit of a mouthful.

Jacob Fox
Hardware Writer

Jacob got his hands on a gaming PC for the first time when he was about 12 years old. He swiftly realised the local PC repair store had ripped him off with his build and vowed never to let another soul build his rig again. With this vow, Jacob the hardware junkie was born. Since then, Jacob's led a double-life as part-hardware geek, part-philosophy nerd, first working as a Hardware Writer for PCGamesN in 2020, then working towards a PhD in Philosophy for a few years (result pending a patiently awaited viva exam) while freelancing on the side for sites such as TechRadar, Pocket-lint, and yours truly, PC Gamer. Eventually, he gave up the ruthless mercenary life to join the world's #1 PC Gaming site full-time. It's definitely not an ego thing, he assures us.

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