Best gaming PC build under $800 in 2023

Before we break down the individual components of our best gaming PC build under $800, let’s discuss what you can expect for this amount. While this is considered to be in the mid-range, it has become a bit tricky in terms of recommendations. AMD and Nvidia both have new budget GPUs, however, they don’t offer the same value or results as some of the older generation cards do, especially so since prices have decreased. Regardless, these components are sure to cope with any AAA game titles you throw at them when gaming in 1080p, with some scope for 1440p gaming too.

What You Get For Your $800

Certain compromises have to be made when trying to stay within our $800 target. While you may not be able to get more than six cores from your CPU or an RTX GPU, you can still achieve high FPS in high settings with this PC. AMD’s processors bring brilliant value to the table, meaning you are always able to get great all-round performance for your money.

Performance

This gaming PC will play any game you throw at it, and this is thanks to the combination of components. There has never been a better time to build a PC and this $800 build is going to provide you with a solid 1080p gaming experience, with high frame rates to pair with those high refresh rate monitors.

To ensure high levels of gaming performance, we had to compromise on some of the additional components. That being said, you still get a 1TB NVMe SSD, which is plenty to get you going and will provide you with space for your operating system and favorite games. Along with the storage solution, we see 16GB of fast RAM included. While you could argue this is slightly more than needed in this price range, it future-proofs your system, giving you less to upgrade at a later stage. Of course, the components inside this system are all older generation parts, however, they still provide great results and are ideal for those on strict budgets.

AMD or Intel when building a PC under $800?

At this price range, there isn’t much difference in terms of gaming, but they certainly are in terms of value. We recommend choosing the AMD build path for under $800, simply because the CPU offers excellent value. While this may not change things drastically for gaming, all your over tasks on the PC will be handled more efficiently by the AMD CPU. We feel the AMD build not only makes this a strong gaming PC overall, but its multithreaded nature gives you greater flexibility too.

How We Choose

Our team has years of experience behind them building PCs for a range of needs and budgetary requirements. All this knowledge, combined with hours of research, user feedback, and onsite benchmarking, is what goes into choosing the best components for our builds. We look for value for money, how the components perform together, and focus on gamer’s needs to make sure our builds are the best bang for your buck.

We build all these PCs ourselves, in-house, so trust us when we say we want to make them as good as possible. We actually use all these builds ourselves day-to-day in the WePC offices.

How We Test

We build each of our selected PC’s from scratch to make sure all the parts we recommend work well together, fit into the selected case, and provide the best performance possible for the price range. Once built, the PCs are used in the office for everyday work as well as a range of games from light to heavy-duty. While we test, we also run benchmarking tests to see how well our builds perform, all while keeping an eye on the temperature of the components themselves.

We tested our AMD builds against their Intel counterparts and found that these CPUs performed better across the board, and for a lower price. This is why we only recommend an AMD version.

Why buy a prebuilt PC when you can build your own?

Building a PC from scratch can be a rewarding experience for those who have the technical knowledge and time to do so. However, for many people, purchasing a pre-built PC can be a more convenient and cost-effective option. One of the main advantages of purchasing a pre-built PC is that it eliminates the need to spend time researching and sourcing individual components, ensuring compatibility and negotiating the best prices. Pre-built PCs often come with a warranty, which provides peace of mind and protection against any potential defects or malfunctions.

Another advantage is that pre-built PCs are often pre-configured and optimized for a particular use case, such as gaming, content creation, or general use. This can make it easier for users to get up and running quickly, without having to spend time tweaking settings and installing drivers. Additionally, pre-built PCs are often more cost-effective than building a PC from scratch, especially for those who do not have access to wholesale prices or bulk discounts on components. Pre-built PCs also offer a more flexible upgrade path, as users can simply replace individual components instead of having to buy a completely new system.