What is the best cheap gaming PC?

Video gaming is undoubtedly one of the passions most easily shared across the world. Europeans, Asians, Americans, Africans—everyone plays, everyone creates games, and everyone loves it. But to play, you obviously need hardware, and it is not always very accessible. To help you in your quest for an affordable gaming PC, we have put together a guide on the components to choose so you don't break the bank. If you still have some budget left, you can always pick up some gaming glasses, a chair, a keyboard, etc. If you're ready, it's time to discover your future gaming PC!

In this article:

• Why choose an affordable gaming PC
• What do you need? The ultimate checklist
• Accessories to complete your setup

Why build an affordable gaming PC?

The reasons that might drive you to build your own budget-friendly gaming rig are necessarily varied and specific to your life; however, as a general rule, there are several advantages to mention for this type of purchase. For one thing, if you aren't a hardcore "PC master race" gamer, you don't need a heavy-duty machine. It’s not worth putting several thousand euros into a PC if you only plan to play PS4 / Xbox One generation games in 1080p at 60 FPS.

Lower-priced configurations can handle it; not necessarily all games, but it will work. On the other hand, the main argument will always simply be the budget, in general. If you don't want to spend too much on this PC, that is your right, you have your reasons, and it is possible.

What do you need to build an affordable gaming PC?

First of all, what do we consider an affordable gaming PC? We don't want to lie to you: you will still have to dig a little into your pockets. In our guide, we will try to hover around €1000 all-inclusive, even taking into account the exorbitant prices of graphics cards right now. A gaming PC cheaper than that means preventing yourself from playing games from the previous generation, that of the PS4 and Xbox One. The idea is not to offer you a GameCube, but a real gaming PC.

The most expensive components

The graphics card, when stock is available

Well, we are going to start right off with the problematic element. As of the time of writing, graphics card shortages haven't been resolved yet. It's better than in 2020, but it’s still not quite there. So, we aren't going to rush for the latest generations of RTX, but rather look towards the most recent GTX cards. Once again, the stock is catastrophic and the price will inevitably skyrocket.

We will therefore give you the price of the component "at the moment" and its normal price, when things are going well. We advise you to go for an EVGA GeForce GTX 1660 SC ULTRA GAMING. Its current price fluctuates around €380, but it was available for around €250 before the shortages.

The processor, a bit too much choice

There is a very large number of processors on the market with Intel and AMD Ryzen, but one range in particular is interesting for budget-friendly configurations. Our choice therefore focuses on the Intel i5-X400F series. The only question remains the generation: we have the choice between the 9400F, the 10400F, or the 11400F. The price varies very little, but we are keeping to a configuration where the price must avoid getting too high. We will therefore go with the intermediate generation, the Intel i5-10400F: its price is around €170.

Storage: old school or SSD?

It’s very difficult to advise you to go with a traditional "HDD" hard drive in 2021. The price could be lower, but the idea is still to have a machine for gaming. You probably don't intend to only run DOOM 1996, right? We agree. In that case, we suggest a small compromise: go with an SSD and an HDD. The first will be used to install Windows and large games, the second to have large storage for files or smaller games.

The Crucial P2 M.2 PCIe NVMe 500GB can be found for about €60 online. For the standard hard drive, we recommend the Seagate BarraCuda 1TB for about €40. For €100, you have 1.5TB of storage, a third of which is SSD. But you can absolutely opt for just the 500GB SSD if you think that's enough.

RAM, to avoid dragging (logically)

We will be brief on RAM: you need 16GB. Even for a humble, low-cost machine, 8GB of RAM is no longer viable for gaming. You could get by, of course, but you would be far too limited in certain resource-heavy games. We therefore advise you to go with two Crucial Ballistix 8GB sticks, for a total of about €80.

A motherboard compatible with all of this

Yes, we must obviously not forget the one without which nothing is possible: the motherboard. You could have the best components in the world, but if your motherboard is obsolete, you won't be able to do anything with them. Here, you need one compatible with the 10th-generation Intel i5, DDR4 RAM, and especially the M.2 SSD, a specific format.

You can opt for the ASRock B560 Pro4, which is sold for about €120. It's not the best, nor even the one that will allow you the most growth in terms of hardware, but it works with everything we mentioned above, and that is what we ask of it today.

The power supply, otherwise you won't get far

Even worse than the motherboard, if you don't have a power supply, you won't even be able to send the energy needed for the PC to turn on. Logical, you might say. But here, fortunately, we don't need a neutron star in your room, but rather a humble and honest power supply. We can therefore turn to the Corsair CX550M, offered at about €70. There are cheaper ones, but Corsair is a reputable brand in the field, and this model is modular. This means you only need to plug in the cables you use, to improve your cable management.

The other components

We told you about the most expensive components of your future gaming PC, but we must obviously not forget the rest. For a computer in this range, there won't be much more to add, but it's important to do it all the same.

Cooling, it needs to ventilate

With all these power-hungry components, you're going to need to cool it all down. But since we aren't talking about an RTX with an Intel i9, it won't be useful to jump into water-cooling. The Noctua NH-L9x65, available for about €50 depending on the retailer, will do the job perfectly for your i5-10400F. But don't forget to add fans to your case.

With the model we are going to tell you about right after, we advise you to add two ARCTIC P14 PWM (€8 each, i.e., €16). They are very inexpensive and quite quiet. You will have to place them on the top of the case in the direction that blows air outward, since two in the front and one in the back are already included.

A case to hold everything together

While in many other areas there isn't really a gold standard, it's different for PC cases. In this price range and this type of affordable gaming PC, we recommend the MSI Mag Force 100M with our eyes closed. You will find it for about €55 and it meets all the expectations one might have for this configuration.

In summary, how much does this affordable gaming PC cost?

• Graphics card: €380 (€250 without stock issues)
• Processor: €170
• Storage: €100 (€60 without HDD)
• RAM: €80
• Motherboard: €120
• Power supply: €70
• Processor cooler: €50
• Fans: €16
• Case: €55
• TOTAL: €871 to €1041 depending on graphics card stock and your choice of storage.

Still have some budget? Assemble your setup!

With all of that, we honestly think you will be able to build the best affordable gaming PC. If, after having spent the necessary money on buying your PC, you feel you still have budget left, you can always acquire other elements that will orbit your PC. This is what is called a gaming setup, including the PC itself, the screen, the peripherals, and certain comfort elements like the gaming chair or headset.

A screen if you don't already have one

It's quite expensive for a good model, but it's essential. Without a screen, you aren't playing. For gaming, we advise you to look towards a screen of at least 22 inches clocked at 60 Hz minimum, with a response time of 4ms at the very most. Brands like Iiyama offer quality screens that aren't too expensive, but they won't be hardware completely focused on gaming.

Gaming glasses to protect your eyes

Playing for hours, you say? That's very bad for your eyes, you know it. We are completely concerned by the problem, and that is why we offer affordable gaming glasses. Don't hesitate to take a look at our shop, but don't forget that unprotected eyes in front of a screen all day is risking damage, getting headaches, or even encountering concentration problems.

How about an office chair?

You don't have to become the King or Queen of Westeros to have a good seat (especially since the Iron Throne looks absolutely uncomfortable), but you still deserve to sit your butt down comfortably in your chair to go show your skill to the whole world.

As a general rule, gaming chairs are quite expensive, even at traditional retailers like IKEA, for example. But you can always pick up a classic "office chair" that will do the job perfectly. You won't have 4D armrests or a headrest, but you will be better off than on a stool.

The gaming keyboard / mouse combo

Yes, the Logitech combo available at FNAC for €20 might do the trick, it’s true. But it’s not very pretty and it isn't designed for gaming. If you wish to acquire hardware that isn't too expensive (though still a bit, as it is gaming gear), you can opt for certain market benchmarks like the Logitech G502 Hero mouse and the SteelSeries Apex 3 keyboard. These references are just ideas; you can find a huge number of different products.

A headset to talk politely with your friends

If you plan to play online with your friends, avoid being the one who uses iPhone earbuds and hurts everyone's ears. Mic clipping, cut-off words—you would be the one people hesitate to invite. You won't need to invest much to get good hardware; you can even check out our comparison of the best gaming headsets to learn more.

You have your affordable gaming PC, your setup, all good?

What would really make us happy is for our guide to have helped you in the purchase of your affordable gaming PC. We always spend time trying to advise you as best we can. Our goal is not to throw out references on the fly, but to draw on our experience to aim as accurately as possible. So, if this guide helped you, don't hesitate to let us know in the comments or even on our social media!