The Best Budget Gaming PCs for 2024

When players think about gaming on a budget, PC is not the first platform that comes to mind. PC gaming does have a reputation for being a costly endeavor, but that’s not always the case. Given the rapid advancements in computer parts over the past few years, from more powerful GPUs to more effective coolers, players can get a decent gaming PC for far less than they might expect.

Although building a PC is the best way to get the most value out of a gaming PC, most gamers don’t have the time or the equipment to build their own computer. Even while eliminating the most cost-effective solution, players can find plenty of affordable gaming PCs that are ready to tackle the newest game titles.

How to Choose a Great Gaming Computer on a Budget

As with any budget-minded product, some sacrifices will have to be made in order to beat current average prices. The features that are compromised will depend on the type of gamer. Here are some important things to keep in mind while browsing budget gaming PCs:

• Specifications: Players should make sure to check the specs of their chosen gaming PC to ensure that the computer will be able to handle their favorite games. Most games have their base requirements listed on their website, making it easy to cross-reference with pre-built PC specs.
• Upgradeability: More tech-savvy players can save money in their future gaming endeavors by choosing a pre-built PC that can be easily upgraded. Players who want to add or upgrade their PC should choose models with a large case so that it’s easy to work with and leaves lots of room for extra parts to be added in.
• Accessory Features: PC costs can be driven up by convenient extras, such as RGB lighting or additional ports. However, most of these features can be added later or are available as a standalone product. Some useful PC accessories, like USB hubs and external storage solutions, can cut down on up-front costs for PC gamers and bridge the gap between low-cost and high-end computers.

Game Rant’s Top Budget Gaming PCs for 2024

Although $1000 may be a bigger price tag than some budget gamers want to spend on their PC, those who want to be able to play the latest games will find it tough to beat Skytech’s Shadow 4 gaming PC. Packed with an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 GPU and the Intel 13th Generation Core i5, this PC can handle recent titles such as Cyberpunk 2077 and Hogwarts Legacy. Plus, with 1TB of built-in storage, players can really jump right into their favorite titles with ease.

The Skytech Shadow 4 is the best budget gaming PC because it’s perfect for players who want to save a little money without sacrificing much. Sure, the PC doesn’t have the most cutting-edge tech inside, but it doesn’t need it. The RTX 4060 is powerful enough for most gamers and is expected to continue to be a viable option for the foreseeable future. Gamers who want to be able to quickly get to playing and don’t want to have to worry about upgrading anytime soon will find few faults with this budget PC. Along with excellent performance specs, this PC also includes four cooling fans that run incredibly quietly and six USB ports for connecting to any accessory a player might need. Plus, the whole case looks great with its mesh front and colorful RGB lighting.

This sleek-looking gaming PC is one of the best computers for those looking to spend $500 or less. Frequently on sale, this affordable PC is perfect for new gamers or players who have a specific favorite game they love to return to over and over again. That’s largely because of the integrated GPU, which won’t be able to handle recent AAA games very well but can easily tackle titles such as Minecraft, Fortnite, and even Valorant.

The AMD Radeon Vega Graphics is tied to the Ryzen 5 5600G 3.9GHz, 6-Core, 12-Thread CPU in a winning combination that maximizes the PC’s ability to play both cozy indie games and sprawling RPGs. Players looking to catch up on titles like Red Dead Redemption 2 or Elden Ring will be completely satisfied by this gaming PC, though most veteran gamers will probably have a handful of complaints.

However, for just $500, it’s easy enough to justify getting into PC gaming as a newcomer using this Ipason model, as opposed to simply choosing one of the much more affordable consoles to play on. Plus, for those who find that they really love PC gaming, there are a few open spaces ready to accept some upgrades down the road. It also doesn’t hurt that the PC has a pretty stylish design, complete with some bright RGB-lit cooling fans.

It’s not uncommon for gaming PCs to come with price tags over $4,000, especially once top-of-the-line hardware is included, but for budget shoppers, even $1200 is a big ask. However, Skytech once again serves up a budget-friendly option without sacrificing much on the spec side of things.

Using Intel’s i5 12400F CPU and NVIDIA’s RTX 4060 Ti GPU, this gaming PC can handle most new games without any issues. These impressive specs aren’t just ideal for gamers either. Creators who use Unity, Adobe, and Blender will find that this PC runs everything they need with extreme speed and seamless rendering.

The high-quality case features a mesh front cover and four RGB fans to facilitate excellent cooling. The tempered glass side can be easily removed, allowing players to access the wide open spaces waiting for upgrades down the line. Despite all of the internals and the spacious case, the PC actually runs fairly quietly, even when working hard at temperature control.

As expected from a premium gaming PC, the Skytech Archangel has a clean-white shell, accentuated by RGB lighting along the base and integrated with the fans. Those on a budget who want a gaming PC that will work with almost any title their friends might be enjoying should pick up the high-end Archangel gaming desktop.

Having a great lighting setup for a gaming space can have an impact on the gaming experience as a whole. For some gamers, when it comes to RGB lighting on their PC, it’s a must-have feature that MXZ’s gaming PC knocks out of the park. The front of the PC holds three brilliant RGB-lit fans, while three others glow within the spacious PC case.

The MXZ gaming desktop can handle most current game titles right now with its combination of a GTX1660 SUPER GPU and a Ryzen 5 5500 3.6GHz, 6-Core, 12-thread CPU. However, the onboard storage is a measly 500 GB, meaning that most gamers will want to grab an alternative SSD or plan on cloud gaming most of the time. Along with that caveat, players who are willing to wait a little while longer before getting a new PC can spend around $100 more and get an updated version of the same PC, this time with 1 TB of storage and the AMD Radeon RX 7600 GPU, making this option less viable in the long-run.

At the same time, this version is always going to be cheaper than its successor, and players who aren’t obsessed with playing the latest and greatest titles might not find much value in spending more. As it stands, the MXZ gaming PC offers beautiful RGB lighting and plenty of room for future upgrades. Players who want a low-cost, yet stunningly stylish gaming PC for a low price should seriously consider this gaming PC from MXZ.

Gamers with limited space to play have at least one advantage over other players: they can capitalize on more affordable, compact PCs. One of the best small gaming PCs is the Neptune HX99G Mini PC. This computer relies on AMD’s Ryzen 9 6900HX processor, featuring eight cores, 16 threads, and the AMD Radeon RX 6600M GPU. With 8 GB of fast GDDR6 and 1 TB of storage, this mini gaming PC is quite the workhorse.

While it may struggle to play the newest games available, competitive favorites and older titles, like Grand Theft Auto V and DOTA 2, are a cinch to play. The PC is also protected from heat damage through a sophisticated heat dissipation design that uses copper cooling along with strategically placed fans.

This gaming PC is also great for tackling creative work, such as video editing. Despite its small size, the PC can actually hook up to four monitors simultaneously, making editing work a breeze. As far as accessories go, with both Wi-Fi and Bluetooth built-in, it’s easy enough to connect to wireless accessories. Meanwhile, four USB 4.0, one USB-C, and two 3.5mm ports offer wired connectivity. Perfect for players in small rooms or who frequently need to move their PC setup, this surprisingly powerful mini computer is just as capable as most other gaming PCs at this price point.

Even the most capable PC users often don’t have time to build a high-performance, budget gaming rig, but that doesn’t mean they have the funds to buy a pre-built PC ready to tackle anything and everything either. For those gamers on a budget, buying a highly upgradeable PC is the way to go, and the best option in 2024 is Skytech’s Nebula gaming PC.

Packed with the NVIDIA Geforce RTX 4060 and Intel Core i5 13400F, this budget gaming PC can tackle most current game titles without breaking a sweat. The four RGB-lit fans look fantastic but are also very effective at keeping the case cool through hours of gaming. Plus, the PC comes with a 1 TB NVME SSD for incredibly fast load times across a multitude of games.

Despite these impressive specs, as is Skytech’s style, this PC has tons of open space ready for new parts to be installed. This model is even more spacious than other Skytech PCs, as the Nebula fits all of its parts within a mid-size ATX, much bigger than what the PC actually needs. Tech-savvy players will get a lot of bang for their buck with this PC, considering that it’s able to handle top-rated games out of the box yet offers lots of room for growth in the future. The only real downside to this PC is the lack of ports, although it does include a standard, yet simple, array of ports along the top.

FAQ

Q: What’s a good budget for a gaming PC?

Budget PCs should cost somewhere between $700 and $1400, depending on how up-to-date a player wants the specs to be.

Q: How long do gaming PCs last?

Most gaming PCs last around 5 years. It’s not uncommon for cheaper PCs to only last 2 years, while higher end PCs can work for around 7 years.

Q: How much does the average gaming PC cost?

The average price of a gaming PC is about $2,000. Most gaming PCs are priced between $1,000 and $4,000.