Best Prebuilt Gaming PC Under 500: Powerful Budget Desktops Tested

Not everyone is skilled enough for building a gaming PC, and that's alright. We have worked on a detailed list of the best prebuilt gaming PCs for all of you. Not only that, we have included budget gaming desktops that cost under $500. So you'll be good to go for the entry-level PC gaming.

Gaming computers can cost to the tunes of thousands of dollars. And a large chunk out if it is justified thanks to their high-performance computer hardware components. Some of the good models of graphics cards like Radeon RX VEGA 56 and GeForce GTX 1070 can cost as much as your PC from our list would! So it is natural that a cheap gaming PC will have limitations to what it can and cannot do.

Choosing The Best Prebuilt Gaming PC Under 500

Whether you are going to build a gaming PC or buy prebuilt, the key buying considerations are mostly the same. For example, you will have to have component specifications that are at least worthy of the entry-level gaming, as this isn't going to be a casual use PC. Starting from the processor to GPU, RAM, storage, and limits on future flexibility, everything needs to match your requirement.

Best Prebuilt Gaming PC Under 500 – Buyer's Guide

Processor The processor or the CPU is the first and most basic element of the PC, therefore, you would be hard-pressed not to compromise on this. Since we have a cap on our spending, the most high-end processors will be out of range. Between AMD and Intel, we're more likely to find a greater number of AMD processors in prebuilt PCs of our range.

Whether they better in performance is subjective to each chipset. Looking at Intel you might be able to get a good deal with an i3-8100, i5-8400, Intel Xeon E3-1225 v5, Ryzen 3 2200G, or Ryzen 5 2600 mounted. However, do keep in mind that at the lower end of the performance, AMD is sometimes just a little better in value than Intel. This changes as we go up the ladder.

Graphics Card Some time ago one might have suggested going with the stock card you get if you were just going to use the PC casually. But not these days, and certainly not for gaming PCs. While some prebuilt PCs will come with the standard Intel UHD Graphics 630, it will be able to run almost all new games although at low settings only. You will have to look for a better graphics card, like the AMD Radeon RX Vega 8, NVidia GeForce GTX 1050 and AMD RX 550 (about 2GB)

RAM High-end desktop PC models can even house as high as 64GB of RAM these days. While the rule of thumb is the same i.e. greater RAM means more memory for the program to access outside the CPU. However, on a tight budget of $500, you will have to settle for a PC with anything close to 8GB RAM. This isn't the best but it is certainly not bad. In fact, 8GB will be sufficient to match performance with the rest of the components to let you play games at medium.

Storage Among the two types of storage options, a budget PC like this one will stick with the older and cheaper but slower technology of HDDs. While SSD storage is incomparably faster, in such a short budget you will not be able to get larger than 256GB SSD. On the other hand, nonetheless, a similarly priced gaming PC could pack as much as 1TB HDD. The choice is between speed and spending.

Ports With the ever-increasing number of platforms and peripherals that we use, integrated experiences are all the more relevant. Connectivity also has its needs. And you will be using a number of peripherals as well as displays, and maybe even a VR HMD. These will need at least half a dozen USB 3.0 ports and a couple of DisplayPort and HDMI. You could also opt for a USB Type C Thunderbolt, but you might need to sacrifice super-fast transfer speeds for a price tag within your range.

Best High End Gaming PC SkyTech Shadow FX-4300 GTX 1050 Goodness

It is always a catch if you manage to get your hands on a budget gaming PC with a dedicated graphics card. Instead of the expected stock cards, the SkyTech Shadow packs an Nvidia GeForce GTX 1050 coupled with an AMD FX-4300 3.80GHz. That is if you are lucky to get it on the lows.

Check Price on Amazon Check Price on Newegg While technically some of the time this PC goes beyond the $500 mark, its price fluctuates back to our budget more often than not. Given that, or the additional hundred bucks, you are all set for inexpensive but considerable quality gaming.

Thanks to the better Nvidia GeForce GTX 1050 2 GB GDDR5 Graphics Card and the accompanying extra HDD storage, you won't have to make a choice between two games. The prebuilt gaming PC is equipped with 1TB 7200RPM HDD. While that is nothing like the super fast SDDs of today, the 7200RPM hard disk is on the high end of what you can get close to the $500 mark.

There is one area where the company has tried to cut down their expenses: the processor. Despite being an older model, it didn't get any upgrades on the processor which is still an AMD FX-4300 3.80GHz. However, this is part of the reason why the company is able to give you an 8GB RAM, a Windows 10 64-bit installed, and the GTX 1050.

Moreover, the processor turbos to 4.0 GHz, and at the entry level of gaming, its 3.8 GHz quad-core won't be limiting. Moreover, the combination of its GPU and CPU form a good performing mix for most of the new games at medium to high settings. Generally, it has been received as a reliable cheap gaming PC.

Moving on to other aspects. They have done well in the aesthetics department as the lighting and metallic feel make it look perfect for a gaming station. It isn't too heavy or bulky, so LAN parties are still a go. Moreover, the noise production levels aren't too notorious as well. There are seven USB 2.0 ports, two USB 3.0 ports, an HDMI 2.0b, and a DisplayPort. But there is no USB 3.1 Type C Gen 2 port.

If there was a problem it would be with multitasking over multiple programs. The computer has a lower single thread rating and also uses a DDR3 RAM. However, that's nothing a minor addition won't fix, and that's not something which can't wait until you have a little more to spend.

Best Overall Prebuilt PC HP Pavilion Gaming Desktop - Ryzen 3 2200G All the games that you want!

HP prebuilt PC models have been around for a long while now. And it will probably be one of the few big names that have made the cut in our list. The PC packs a much solid AMD Ryzen(TM) 3 2200G Processor as compared to the SkyTech model. It also has a DDR4 RAM.

Check Price on Amazon Check Price on Best Buy Equipped with mostly what your games' system requirements are, the HP Pavilion Gaming Desktop Computer can play Fortnite at over 120 fps with custom settings and also games like Far Cry 5 (limited FPS) with ease.

Although there also are gaming laptops under 500, this is the benefit of choosing a prebuilt gaming PC over them. You can get specific components that are better, and then there is the chance of greater upgrades. In case of the HP gaming computer, you can up the 8GB DDR4 RAM to as high as 32GB.

At about 550 dollars, this is as good as a budget gaming PC can get. The processor is a well rated AMD Ryzen 3 2200G. Which is rated better for the CPU performance than SkyTech's AMD FX-4300 Quad Core, also at single thread performance. While the PC has a slower GPU, it doesn't stop you from sticking to medium to high graphics settings.

Agreed, the drop from GeForce GTX 1050 to a Radeon RX 550 GPU is a fall. But the overall product makes up for it by using complementing or better PC hardware components. The case more than well equipped in the ports section. You get 2x USB 3.1 Gen 2 as well as 1x USB 3.1 Gen 1 Type C and 4x USB 3.1 Gen 1 (rear panel). There also are the standard USB 2.0 ports for basic peripheral connectivity alongside HDMI and DVI-D, DisplayPorts instead of VGA.

The best part is how greatly you can improve the performance on this one with slight tweaks to the PC like the fan curve positioning for better heat management, optimum power points, and even core clock tweak with some external help.

As it is the case with even the splurge choice in our list, the RAM is mostly going to be the limiting factor. However, almost all the products we have chosen for you, allow you to expand the memory. So even that shouldn't really be a problem given the slight addition it will make to the overall cost – you won't even need to ditch its stock 8GB RAM.

Best Budget Gaming PC iBuyPower Enthusiast Gaming PC Desktop AMD FX-6300 Superbooting with limited SSD

It is not easy to get your hands on a high-end processor when your entire budget is limited. Especially for gaming rigs, a worthy budget gaming computer is mostly a myth. However, we have done okay with the iBuyPower Enthusiast Gaming PC, given what the small price tag let them add to it.

Check Price on Amazon Check Price on Best Buy So if you want a PC but with some gaming potential, or gift one to someone who'll start playing now, maybe the AMD FX-6300 CPU coupled with 8GB RAM and its NVIDIA GeForce GT 710 1GB card will suffice.

If you don't get too greedy and settle for medium settings, this guy can do well. Although the GT 710 1GB is old and superseded by many, you will be getting out of it just a little over the stock. Its processor, the AMD FX-6300 is also not a major force to reckon with although the 6-Core 3.5 GHz can turbo to 4.1 GHz.

One area that the iBuyPower PC takes the lead in, is storage type. Even after the price cuts, SSD is still an expensive storage solution. Which is why most of the budget gaming PC models we tested only carried HDD storage. Not this one though!

The gaming PC at hand has a 120GB SSD. Although that is nothing in comparison to today's needs, it does mean you can expand with an old HDD. Now you'll have a super fast booting device thanks to the SSD and also, enough storage for those AAA video games.

Needless to say, you cannot compare the build quality of this one with that of the HP gaming computer above. The build material isn't as high end. And it comes with a free Keyboard and Mouse, both of which are not recommended for regular gaming. However, it does come with 2x USB 3.0 ports although most of the low end PCs are older and so they don't carry the newer USB technology.

Needless to say, you will have to upgrade from the Nvidia GeForce GT 710 card, get at least a GTX 90 or something. It does have some design elements like the tempered glass and a lit fan on the inside. But there no RGB, just slots for light on the front.

Maximum Storage CyberPowerPC Gamer Master GMA7400CPG 2TB storage meets all demands

One thing that we can't thank PCs enough for is the abundance of storage capacity. However, cheap gaming PC models have this as a limiting factor. Which is why including this 2TB monster in the list was essential.

Check Price on Amazon Check Price on Best Buy CyberPowerPC makes a variety of gaming computers, some reputed others untested. Specifications wise, the Gamer Master GMA7400CPG powerful with 8GB DDR4 and a Ryzen 3 too! But it is the massive storage capacity that takes the cake.

Most of the times, when you buy a shady product you end up at the receiving end of the bad news more often than not. Either the components are slacking, missing, or simply not good enough, or the build quality has issues. CyberPowerPC has had multiple runs with substandard as well as quality products in the past so we expect them to churn out reliability now.

The gaming PC at hand has the same processor chip as the HP Pavilion Gaming Desktop above. So the AMD Ryzen 3 2200G does have a processing power limit to it but coupled with its 8GB DDR4 RAM, it is a step ahead of many since it meets our overall best pick in these two regards. Additionally, the AMD A320 chipset, despite not being too boisterous will make gaming at medium-high graphical settings easy.

There is a problem for some in the form of its Vega based Radeon graphics card. The prebuilt PC doesn't come with a dedicated graphics card. Instead, it packs the AMD Radeon Vega 8 Integrated Processor Graphics with DVI. We know the Vega technology to also use some of the PC's RAM as VRAM. Which isn't always ideal for demanding tasks.

However, this isn't a deal-breaker since you can always upgrade the RAM to 16GB down the line. And when you are getting twice as much storage as any of the other models listed here, why not! It is for the additional one terabyte that you will have to spend a little over the $500 budget, nonetheless.

We didn't find anything of concern in terms of connectivity, setup, and use. The PC comes with Windows 10 Home installed, has as many as six USB 3.1 ports and 2x USB 2.0 ones. There is a dual tempered glass to show off the lights on the motherboard, on both sides of the PC case.

The Bottomline

It isn't ideal to want a true gaming PC, with considerable firepower in it, and that too at a very small price tag. Prebuilt gaming PC models tend to be more expensive than casual or work use desktops. Therefore, it is harder to get one on a small budget, to begin with. This means there will be some areas where you compromise when sticking to the spending plan. You are directly challenged by reduced storage (also type of storage: HDD instead of SDD) and RAM, as well as problems caused by integrated graphics.

Many of the choices in your price range won't have a dedicated graphics card, thus, integrated ones will utilize the system memory. As a result, you get less than advertised RAM at your disposal. Moreover, even if you do get your hands on a model with a considerable AMD or Nvidia graphics card, don't expect it to be the high end: the best graphics card we could find close to our budget was Nvidia GeForce GTX 1050, in the SkyTech Shadow FX-4300 model. Make sure you know what you can compromise, you will definitely find something worth your while here.