How much does it cost to Build a Gaming PC?

Many people are confused with the price/performance aspect but how much does it cost to build a gaming PC in 2020?

Short Answer: It can cost anywhere from $200 to $2000. We hope to answer this question with an in-depth guide.

Hardware has also gotten more affordable and more accessible to a wider audience.

Every manufacturer is competing to be the best, and that leaves the consumers with a lot of options.

But sometimes the market can get a bit saturated, and it’s difficult to put together a PC build without wasting a single dollar.

This guide should serve as good insight on what type of PC you can get for your budget.

A lot of manufacturers sell their pre-built machines.

But which one should you choose? Well, the answer is quite simple.

Pre-Built Gaming PC

If you just can’t spare the time and are intimidated by putting together your PC on your own, pre-builts aren’t a bad choice.

But you will have to search for a while to find a decent deal.

There’s also the advantage of warranty and customer support, so you won’t have to troubleshoot much on your own.

Custom Gaming PC

On the other hand, you can potentially save a considerable amount of money if you put together your rig on your own.

If you’re tight on a budget, we recommend putting together a cheap gaming PC by yourself.

Just remember that if a single part malfunctions, you’ll have to troubleshoot it on your own or contact the individual manufacturer.

The Processor

The CPU enables you to interact with all of your programs and applications.

We don’t think we need to explain how it works but you are probably already aware of that.

If your focus is just to play games, a quad-core processor should be enough.

Although six-core processors have gotten more affordable thanks to AMD.

RAM (Random Access Memory)

RAM or memory has thankfully gotten much more affordable over the last year or so.

In 2020, you can a 16GB kit for around $50 to $70.

We recommend 16 gigs for most people, especially since the games are getting more demanding these days.

Storage (Hard Drives and SSDs)

In 2020, we wouldn’t want any newcomer out there to suffer the frustrations caused by a conventional mechanical hard drive.

Even if you can’t afford a higher capacity SSD, we recommend just getting a 120GB SSD for booting up Windows and other programs.

Note: We have written this guide to help you choose the best gaming SSD in 2020.

The Power Supply

While you might be tempted to buy a random 450W power supply and call it a day, we are definitely against that idea.

Sure, if you don’t plan on upgrading at all a 450W power supply will do.

But if you’re going to spend a lot of money on the other components, it’s important to keep them safe with a decent power supply.

Always look for the 80+ power efficiency branding, and 80+ bronze is a good and reliable choice for budget builds.

If you plan on upgrading, make sure to get a higher wattage PSU than what you need right now.

While most cases usually come with a fan or two already attached, you might want to add more down the line.

Important: You can read this guide to know which cooler to Pick for your Processor.

Apart from that, if you’re overclocking then you need a good cooler to keep the processor in check.

Ultimately both of these things can affect your total budget.

It’s also important to keep shipping and taxes in mind.

You can also buy used parts, especially if you can find a faster graphics card than a newer one.

A lot of old GPUs are going for a great price right now, so if you can stomach the risk of buying used hardware that is another option.

However, don’t think of buying a used power supply or storage, because you can’t bank on how long they will last.

Now that you’re familiar with all the quirks and caveats that come with building a gaming PC, let’s have a look at a few build guides for specific budgets.

However, keep in mind that you’ll be playing most of these games at 1080p and some even at 720p.

After a lot of research, we concluded that this $300 build is the best bang for your buck you can get for an entry-level build.

Note: This build doesn’t include a separate graphics card. (That’s because of the AMD Ryzen 3 2200G, which has integrated GPU.)

Gaming PC Build under $300

This rig can handle most Esports games at 60fps but that’s in 720p most of the time.

If you’re only looking to play games like CS: GO, Rocket League, or League of Legends, this should be more than enough.

Plus you could always add a graphics card down the line.

However, we acknowledge that this isn’t exactly the most powerful PC in the world.

So if you want to build the best possible budget gaming PC in 2020, you’ll have to resort to either used parts or raise your budget a bit.

If you’re going for used, you can pick up an older AMD FX8320 or a 4th gen i7.

Pair that with a used GTX 970 or a new RX570 and you’re good to go.

Sadly, we can’t exactly say what prices you’ll get for these used parts.

But you could put together a system with those configurations for about $350 to $400. Not bad at all.

This $600 build we put together is a great example.

Gaming PC Build under $600

It utilizes Intel’s Core i3 9100F, which is the most capable Core i3 we’ve seen for gaming.

Pair that with a GTX 1650 Super, and we have a 1080p gaming champion.

We even got rid of the traditional hard drive in favor of a 960GB SSD from Crucial.

However, if you don’t want that SSD, you could bring the price down to $500.

As prices tend to change from time to time and new products come out, you might be able to put together an even better rig in the future.

But if you want to play most of the games out there in 1080p, this $600 budget-zone tends to be the sweet spot.

Well, it’s hard to give a solid figure, but expect anywhere around $1000.

Obviously, this depends on your use case.

We have compiled the list below for this one, but there are too many options and a lot of it comes down to personal preference.

This gaming rig is based on AMD Ryzen 5 3600, which is a Hexa-core processor.

Gaming PC Build under $1000

You can pair that with an RX 5700 XT.

Add in an SSD, a good looking case, the rest of the components, and it should come to around $1000.

If you want to play games at 1440p at a higher refresh rate like 144Hz, you’ll appreciate this graphic card, though if you can increase your budget, you can get an RTX 2080!

Note: We have written this guide about the best 144hz gaming monitors available in the market.

The RTX 2080 is a great performer for that situation.

It can handle every title out there at max settings in 1440p and even 4k and if you’re a competitive gamer, you will appreciate the extra frames you get.