Best PC builds for gaming 2026: From $800 budget rigs to $4,000+ dream machines

If you want a computer that meets your exact needs and budget, you need to put it together yourself. When you build a gaming PC, you get total control over the parts, choosing the exact make and model of the motherboard, the case with the look you like, and even the layout of RGB (or non-RGB) fans. You could save time by purchasing one of the best pre-built gaming PCs, but you'll give up control (and sometimes spend more). To help you assemble the best PC build for gaming or productivity that you can get, we've created recommended parts lists for every budget: from an inexpensive $800 system ($500 just won’t cut it at today’s prices and we’ve dropped that price tier) to an affordable and more powerful $1,100 build, up to a $4,000+ (which ended up at $6,000+) dream machine for those with deep pockets. Prices for RAM and storage have risen significantly over the past several months, so we are forced to raise prices across our tiers to compensate or risk performance degradation. It’s pretty impossible these days to create a competent 1080p gaming machine for our typical $500 entry point.

That said, with pricing for RAM, storage, and most GPUs remaining prohibitively high, the best way to build it yourself right now is to check out our Best RAM combo deals page, which offers heavy discounts when bundled with other items (like CPUs, motherboards), and then build around that. Because this is, sadly, now the way, we’ve left out RAM pricing in the total as with some bundles, you can get the RAM for pre-apocalypse pricing or even better. The problem with adding those to these builds is that they tend to sell out quickly.

Picking and Pricing the Best PC Builds

Note that our best PC build recommendations are based on our component expertise, market research, and testing of the key components in each build — namely, the CPU, GPU, and SSD. You can find performance details for each of those in our CPU benchmarks, GPU benchmarks, and SSD benchmarks. Because we are trying to hit price points and frequently changing these lists to accommodate price changes, we have not tested all of the parts in each build. Some of the less performance-centric parts, such as the case, motherboard, and PSU, may not have been reviewed.

Intel recently launched its Core Ultra "Arrow Lake" refresh chips, and we found they offer as much, if not more, performance than the original Core Ultra series, especially in gaming. However, the new chips won’t find their way into these builds because this page is for gaming, and AMD still rules there, too. Some X3D chips aren't on discount, but we managed to include them where we could.

On the GPU front, we have some good news and bad news: The good news is that you can now purchase the latest Nvidia cards from reputable retailers like Newegg or Amazon. Now you can get these cards, including budget models (typically 8GB cards), close to their MSRP. The bad news is that most other cards are still much more expensive than the SEP, particularly those with more than 8GB of vRAM. It’s tough sledding out there.

Also note that we don't include the cost of an operating system, because you can get Windows 11 for free or cheap. Nor do we include the price of peripherals such as the best gaming monitors, best gaming keyboards, best gaming mouse, or gaming chair. And if you've never built a computer before, you should start with our guide on how to build a PC. In addition to the PC builds listed below, we also have example build logs you can peruse, like our recent Rising Phoenix build.

Best ~$800 PC Build for Gaming

With our lowest-tier custom-built machine, you can still get solid 1080p gaming performance, even with a last-gen budget graphics card, and a system built using DDR4. Your lowest glass ceiling will be the 16GB of RAM, so you may need to close unnecessary applications when playing resource (RAM) intensive games.

To go with this Intel processor, we're sticking with the same Asus B760M-AYW Wifi D4 II motherboard as on our $500 build. It uses cheaper DDR4 memory, which saves money; however, with the price increases on outgoing DDR4, we chose to stick with 16GB to keep the final price as close to $800 as possible while keeping focus on a solid graphics card.

Our graphics card at this price point is the AMD Radeon RX 7600, which is now around $290. The 7600 has solid performance at 1080p ultra settings, averaging well over that magic 60 FPS we’re after. It ranks just above the RX 6650 XT and below the RTX 4060 on our GPU benchmarks hierarchy.

For our storage, we're going with the 512GB Patriot P300. This budget-oriented PCIe 3.0 SSD can't beat top-of-the-line drives like the Samsung 990 Pro or WD Black SN850X, but it delivers better performance than any SATA-based storage options, with sequential read and write speeds of 1,700 and 1,200 MBps, respectively. Here again, we’re hit with ridiculous prices forcing us to a smaller drive to fit within the budget.

Power use with this system shouldn’t peak over 400-450W at worst so we’ve picked ASRock’s Challenger CL-650B. As the name implies, it’s a 650W Bronze-level power supply. Even though it’s a budget unit, it will easily handle the build's output, with some headroom, and is ATX 3.1-ready.

Our case for the $850 build is the DIYPC MicroATX chassis with wrap-around tempered glass panels. It fits MicroATX and Mini-ITX for a small footprint. It also includes three ARGB fans, including two reverse fans for the side. The chassis supports up to 330mm video cards, easily housing the ASRock graphics card we chose, and 170mm cooling height (SAMA CPU cooler is below that).

We have decided not to include RAM prices in our builds because there are so many combo deals at Newegg that could cut the cost in half or more, taking the sting out of these horrendous prices. The problem with entering them here is that the deals tend to not last long, so by the time you read this, it could have expired.

Best ~$1,000 PC Build for Gaming

If you can bump your budget a bit over the $1,000 mark, you can build a PC with the ability to play games really well at 1080p, and competently at 1440p. The best GPU option in this price range right now is still the Nvidia RTX 5060, which goes for as little as $299 for the 8GB model. As shown in our RTX 5060 16GB vs RTX 5060 8GB faceoff, there is a compromise with going with less VRAM, so take that into consideration.

Our recommended CPU for this build is the AMD Ryzen 7 7600X3D. The 7600X3D is a 6-core, 12-thread CPU with 96MB of L3 cache, making it great for 1080p gaming. Although we went down in core count, the generational upgrades are well worth the change from AM4 and the 5000 series. It also gives you an upgrade path to the 9000 series processors and moves into DDR5. We didn’t personally test this CPU, but it’s well known that it beats out non-X3D CPUs and all Intel offerings in gaming.

To support our Ryzen 5 7600X3D, we're using a Gigabyte B650 Aorus Elite AX motherboard. It does hail from the budget side of the house, but it still fully supports the suggested processor and offers Q-Flash Plus, which lets you update the BIOS before you install the CPU. This is helpful for the 9000 series and future-compatible processors that weren’t native to the chipset. There are plenty of USB ports, a decent audio solution, and capable VRMs. The Ryzen 7 7600X3D doesn't come with a stock cooler, so we're adding an inexpensive, mid-range 360mm AIO cooler to the mix.

With this $1,000 build, we're stepping up to DDR5. We only managed to sneak in 16GB (2x8GB) Corsair Vengeance DDR5-5200. While not the fastest kit around, it will do just fine. There's no real need to go faster or increase the capacity at this price point, as costs tend to increase quite a bit for small percentage gains.

Storage on this build is the 1TB Patriot P400. It’s a step up from the $800 build, moving to PCIe 4.0 x4. It delivers strong performance for the money, with sequential read and write speeds of 6,200 and 5,200 MBps, respectively, solid IOPS of 740k/800k reads/writes, and a massive 1,280 TBW endurance. If we’re weak here, it’s with capacity, but there isn’t much we can do about it without sacrificing performance in other areas.We’ve also updated the case to the Montech Sky 3 mid-tower ($90), carrying that over from the $1,100 build. For under $90, it offers three ARGB fans, great video card cooling, and supports multiple radiators, up to 360mm (top). There’s plenty of room for large graphics cards and expansion, too, in this panoramic glass chassis.

We’ve updated the power supply for this build to match the new graphics card's connector. The new PSU is ATX 3.1 and includes a native PCIe 5.1 cable (12V-2x6) for your GPU. ASRock backs the unit with a 5-year warranty. While not the 10 years some expect from high-end devices, it’s more than the 3-year warranty for some of its direct competitors, and certainly capable of driving this build without concern.

Best ~$1,500 PC Build for Gaming

With a $1,500 budget, we're moving up to a build that should be brilliant at 1080p gaming, really strong at 1440p gaming, and capable of running ray tracing games well. We recommend going with an Nvidia RTX 5060 Ti with 16GB (avoid the 8GB model) at this price point.

The RTX 5060 Ti is more than capable of handling 2K gaming, delivering around 61-62 FPS at 1440p with Ultra settings across 14 games. It can even handle high-FPS/frequency gaming (read 144 FPS/Hz+) at 1080p. You can also look at the Radeon RX 9060 XT, which is as fast as the RTX 5060 Ti at 1080p, but it starts to fall behind at 1440p, and especially when you enable any ray tracing.

With ray tracing on at 2K and Ultra settings, those frame rates were a still-playable 51 frames per second. However, consider adding DLSS to further boost those frame rates, as it fell below 60 frames per second.

The Ryzen 7 7800X3D is an 8-core 12-thread processor with slightly higher clock speeds (4.7 GHz to 5 GHz). The additional cores and threads help with modern gaming, where a few titles can benefit from more than a 6C/12T configuration.

We're going with the MSI MAG B850 Tomahawk MAX Wifi, one of the best budget AMD motherboards we’ve tested. It has just about everything you need from the platform, including ample storage options, fast Wi-Fi, and more. Overclocking, PBO, or manual settings are not a concern with the 14+2+1-phase digital VRM design and comprehensive BIOS. It also features built-in Wi-Fi 7, USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 (20 Gbps), 5 GbE LAN, and BIOS flashback capability for next-generation AMD processors.

For RAM, we chose Patriot’s Viper Elite 5 32GB DDR5-6000 as it’s one of the least expensive around at a mind-numbing $380. Again, we didn’t include this cost as you can find RAM in bundle deals for a lot less.

To keep the total price down, we've opted for the Patriot P400 PCIe 4.0 x4 M.2 drive with 1TB capacity. If we’re weak anywhere in this build, it’s storage capacity, but between the increase in RAM, GPUs, and storage, this is the area we can skimp a bit. Hopefully, we can resolve that for the $2,000 build.We’ve also updated the case to the Montech Sky 3 mid-tower ($90), carrying that over from the $1,000 build. For under $90, it offers three ARGB fans, great video card cooling, and supports multiple radiators, up to 360mm (top). There’s plenty of room for large graphics cards and expansion, too, in this panoramic glass chassis.

Last but not least, we chose ASRock’s Steel Legend SL 750-G power supply. It’s 80 Plus Gold (Cybenetics Platinum) and, like the previous ASRock power supply, uses the latest ATX 3.1/PCIe 5.1 standards and includes the native 12V-2x6 cable for the graphics card.

Best ~$2,000 PC Build for Gaming

At a current price of $2,153, our high-end gaming PC build should provide enough performance to dominate games at 1080p, run 1440p ultra settings with strong frame rates, and 4K ultra with playable frame rates. The system derives its GPU muscle from an Nvidia RTX 5070 Ti, which is currently available at major retailers for around $999 (aftermarket cards are still more expensive), or at its MSRP. The card is backed by AMD's Ryzen 7 9800X3D, which features 8 cores, 16 threads, and a massive 96MB of cache to enhance gaming performance. In our tests, the RTX 5070 Ti averaged 100.3 FPS at 1440p on our 16-game rasterization test. It also was capable of 61.2 FPS at 4K.

The AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D offers a superior experience thanks to its 96MB of 3D cache, along with its 8 cores, 16 threads, and 5.2-GHz boost clock. Yes, AMD makes the Ryzen 9 9950X3D, which has 16 cores, but it costs significantly more.

On our suite of Windows 11 tests, running at 1080p with an RTX 4090 card, the 9800X3D averaged 195 FPS, leading the pack along with the much more expensive Ryzen 9 9950X3D and still way ahead of Intel. If you haven’t seen the trend by now, if gaming is your primary use, AMD’s X3D offerings dominate Intel in most tests.

To cool the CPU, we're using an ID-Cooling FX360 360 mm Cooler. When we tested the FX360, we were impressed by its low noise and excellent cooling performance. It has attractive RGB, too; you get all of that for $73.

We again opted for the MSI MAG B850 Tomahawk MAX WiFi, one of the top budget AMD motherboards. That may seem odd for a $2,000 build, but it has just about everything you need from the platform, including ample storage options, fast Wi-Fi, and more. So why pay more? If you want to overclock, you can do so with the 14+2+1-phase digital VRM design and a comprehensive BIOS. It also comes with built-in Wi-Fi 7, USB 3.2 Gen 2x2 (20 Gbps), 5 GbE LAN, and BIOS flashback capability for next-gen AMD processors.

For RAM, we chose the Patriot Viper Elite DDR5-6400 kit, as it’s one of the least expensive 32GB kits at the time of publication and falls within AMD's ‘sweet spot’ for memory speed and cost. You don’t need more than 32GB for gaming, so within this budget, there is little need to step up and pay more.

For the SSD, we're running with the 2TB Patriot Viper PCIe 4.0 x4 M.2 drive. You really can't do much better without spending a lot more money on a PCIe 5 drive or a larger capacity.

Best $4,000+ PC Build for Gaming

The last time we updated this article, our $4,000 build cost $4,845. With the price increase in RAM (plus storage and video cards), that total has jumped up to a wallet-emptying $6,515 dollars as configured. That’s an increase of ~34% total (that’s with the motherboard, case, and AIO all with lower prices).

That sad reality said, our top-of-the-line build features Nvidia's top-of-the-line GPU, the RTX 5090. With the steep price increases over the last several months (thanks, AI!), the cheapest RTX 5090 available now is $3,700. When we last updated this article, the least expensive was $2,600. Oof. If you want the best, you're stuck with paying outlandish prices these days. In our tests, the RTX 5090 was fully capable of playing games at 4K with ultra settings and ray tracing enabled. On our 6-game test, it averaged 90.2 FPS, a full 20 FPS more than its predecessor, the RTX 4090.

Our CPU is AMD's Ryzen 9 9950X3D, which offers faster gaming than any Intel CPU on the market, including the new Core Ultra 270K. Although the 9850X3D is ever so slightly faster in games, this is more of a ‘reasonable’ dream build, so we stuck with a lot of cores, and X3D cache for gaming. Speaking cache, the CPU has a whopping 140MB of it, and it boasts 16 full-power cores and 32 threads, which is more regular cores than the 14900K's eight (to go with 16 E-Cores). In our tests, the Ryzen 9 9950X3D beat Intel's flagship, the 14900K, by a full 40 FPS in our 1080p gaming suite and even more against the 285K. The last-gen Ryzen 7 7800X3D is also really good at gaming, but doesn't reach these heights.

We're using an Asus ROG Strix X870E-E Gaming Wifi, which comes with built-in Wi-Fi 7, four M.2 slots for storage, and USB4. You can go higher, but there isn’t much more to offer hardware-wise. To cool the CPU, we're using a Cooler Master MasterLiquid PL360 Flux, which is relatively affordable at $157 and should do a solid job.

Because we're fattening our budget for this build, we're going with some DRAM that’s towards the end of the memory sweetspot of speed, price, and performance. Here we used Patriots’ 64GB (2x32GB) DDR5-6400 CL32 Viper Venom. We haven't reviewed this kit, but Patriot is typically a solid brand, and there’s typically plenty of headroom if you want to push the limits.

We're going with a 4TB Samsung 990 Pro for storage, which has plenty of capacity and is the fastest PCIe 4.0 drive you can buy. Sure, we can go with a PCIe 5.0 drive, but we don't see enough performance gains to justify it, even in this high-end build right now.

We decided to go with a case that offers a unique, premium look: the Fractal Design North XL. With its wood-paneled front, this chassis looks more like a mid-century modern piece of furniture than a gaming PC, which is a nice touch. However, it also has a tempered glass side panel, which you can use to show off all of your RGB components (or you can buy it with a solid panel and no window). It also offers excellent thermal performance and plenty of room for additional drives and fans. The XL model can accommodate up to an E-ATX motherboard, giving you plenty of room for future upgrades.

With these high-end components, we don't want to skimp on the power supply, and it makes sense to invest in something that will work with future GPU upgrades. We're going with a full 1,000 watts of power and the choosing the Superflow Leadex XP Pro for it’s stable output, reasonable price, and ATX 3.1/PCIe 5.1 support. This power supply is Cybenetics Platinum certified and fully modular.

Building a PC: What to Look For in Each Component

• CPU: This is the brain of your computer and heavily affects 1080p gaming. Look for one with strong gaming benchmarks and, at the higher end, with lots of L3 cache.
• GPU: This is the most important component for gaming, but it's also the most expensive component. Get the best GPU available in your price band that's actually for sale. We’re finally seeing the market stabilize, so you should be able to find most GPUs around or even below their MSRP, and just as critical, in stock.
• RAM: We generally look for the best value in RAM as performance differences are slight. Ideally, you want at least 32GB of RAM. You can save money by going with DDR4 over DDR5 RAM. But you need to make sure your CPU and motherboard support the kind of RAM you're considering.
• Motherboard: Most importantly, ensure the board supports your CPU. If your CPU is newer than the motherboard's chipset, ensure you select a motherboard that supports firmware upgrades without requiring a processor on board (often referred to as BIOS Flashback). Built-in Wi-Fi is a big plus.
• SSD: You need at least 1TB for a solid experience, with 2TB preferable. Shoot for an M.2 PCIe 4.0 drive. PCIe 5 drives are a little faster, but not worth the extra money.
• Cooling: We save on cooling costs by purchasing CPUs with stock coolers included. Otherwise, a 360 or 240mm AIO (all-in-one) is good, but there's no need to spend a lot of money on one.
• Power Supply: On lower-end builds, wattage is more important than anything else. For higher-end builds, you not only need at least 750 or 850 watts, but you want one that includes all the modern connections, such as a native GPU 12V-2x6 connector.
• Case: First and foremost, you need a case that fits your motherboard. If you are buying an ATX motherboard, avoid cases that only support micro ATX motherboards. After that, look for multiple case fan placements, room for a 360mm AIO cooler, a tempered glass side panel, and both USB-C and USB Type-A ports on the front panel.

Finding Discounts on the Best PC Components

To find savings on components of all types, check out our lists of the best PC hardware deals, along with the latest Newegg promo codes, Corsair coupon codes, and Best Buy promo codes.