How Much Does a Gaming PC Cost?

A gaming PC cost an average of $800 to $1200 for running games from low to medium settings. If you prefer to play high-end games on max settings then a gaming PC costs you as much as $2000 or more than that.

There are two options to choose from when you decide to get a gaming PC that can also affect the cost. You can either choose to build your PC or get a prebuilt one.

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How Much Should You Spend on a Gaming PC

You should spend around $1,100 on a gaming PC if you’re hoping to get a mid-range one that can run games decently. If you’re into high-end PCs and want to experience gaming at 60+ fps on max settings for games, then prepare a budget of around $2,000 to get an exceptional PC.

Cost to Build a Gaming PC

The cost to build a gaming PC is dependent on the cost of the parts. The overall cost to build varies on how much you can stretch your budget and the types of games you want to play. You can also build your own PC digitally to see which parts are compatible using a PC part picker.

Below are the general components of a gaming PC with the average costs tiered out.

Component	Low End	Mid Range	High End
Processor (CPU)	$100-199	$200-$499	$500+
CPU Cooler	$10-24	$25-69	$70+
Memory (RAM)	$30-40 (8GB)	$50-80 (16GB)	$90+ (32GB)
Motherboard	$90-149	$150-299	$300+
Storage	$35 (1GB HDD)	$50 (512GB SSD)	$100 (1GB SSD)
Graphics Card (GPU)	$120-199	$200-899	$900+
Power Supply	$20-49	$50-119	$120+
PC Case	$25-39	$40-99	$100+

Processor (CPU)

CPU delivers the performance on how well you can interact with applications and programs. The quad-core processor is decent for playing games but now you can also get an affordable six-core processor.

CPU Cooler

CPU cooler as the name suggests keeps your CPU cool.

RAM (Random Access Memory)

RAM provides short-term storage and access to applications. More applications running means you need more RAM.

Motherboard

The motherboard is a circuit board that serves as the foundation of a computer to allow communication between parts.

Storage

Storage comes in hard disk drives (HDDs) or solid-state drives (SSDs). But SSDs are always recommended for better performance.

Here are the price ranges for HDDs:

1 TB to 2TB: $35 – $70
3 TB to 4TB: $85 – $100

Here are the price ranges for SSDs:

2.5 SATA: $50-$230
NVME SSDs: $50-$250
External SSDs: $120-$200
M.2 SSD : $50-$230

Graphics Card (GPU)

GPU for gaming renders the image to your display. GPU usually takes the most of your budget.

Power Supply

The power supply as the name suggests converts power for your PC to function.

PC Case

The PC Case or Chassis is the home of all your components. There are a lot of preferences in the market when it comes to design.

Cost of a Prebuilt Gaming PC

The cost of a prebuilt gaming PC varies depending on your gaming preference but you can get a decent prebuilt gaming PC for under $1000.

Aside from gaming, if you also plan to stream your games, there are streaming gaming PCs that cost from $700 – $1700.

If you want to get the best-prebuilt gaming PC that can render high-quality graphics at max settings regardless of the price then prepare to pay at least $2000.

Building a Gaming PC Cost Compared to Buying a Prebuilt PC Cost

Building a gaming PC can cost you less compared to buying a prebuilt PC. But, right now there are a lot of affordable gaming PCs in the market too.

You can check out the individual cost of each component and compare it with a prebuilt PC cost that offers the same specifications and see which will have you save more.