The one great thing about pc building is the control and customisation you get. However, computers don’t come cheap and can easily go out of budget. And with millions of configurations, how can someone know they are getting bang for their buck? This is why we put together this guide to help you build the best Budget Gaming PC under $500.
Also, read – Top 5 Budget Smartphones You Need This 2025
Ultimate Gaming PC Under $500
- GPU – Intel Arc A380
- CPU – Intel Core i3-14100F
- Motherboard – Gigabyte B760M DS3H DDR4
- RAM – Silicon Power Value Gaming DDR4 RAM 16GB (8GBx2) 3200MHz
- PSU – Thermaltake Smart Series 500W
- Storage – Crucial P3 Plus (1TB)
- Case – Cooler Master MasterBox Q300L
GPU
The Arc A380 graphics card from Intel will be used in this system. Although we didn’t think much of the card when it first came out, it has been available on Amazon for a while now for $119. In addition, it has more VRAM, is quicker than AMD’s rival RX 6400, and—most importantly—features complete video encoding/decoding acceleration, including AV1 support.
In benchmarks, the card averaged 54.7 frames per second at 1080p medium. This RX 6500 XT card, which costs about $139 and can bring you up to 65.8 frames per second at 1080p medium, is your best option if you want something a bit quicker and can increase your budget by a few dollars.
CPU
Our CPU of choice is Intel’s Core i3-14100F, which costs slightly less than $125 but offers a lot of performance for the money. This CPU boasts a robust boost rate of 4.7 GHz and four cores, all of which are performance cores. There is no need for a third-party cooler because it comes with one in the box.
Motherboard
Our 14100F requires a motherboard from the Intel 600 or 700 series. It’s crucial to strike the ideal balance between functionality and cost, and you must be cautious when choosing a board that employs the appropriate kind of memory. The Gigabyte B760M DS3H now offers the best overall value.
You could search for a comparable board with Wi-Fi, but this MSI Pro B760-P WiFi, which costs $149, is the cheapest DDR4 board we could locate. That’s a $30 increase for only one function.
Storage
We decided on the Crucial P3 Plus, a very reasonably priced PCIe 4.0 SSD with sequential read and write speeds of up to 5,000 MB/s and 3,600 MB/s, respectively. Although it isn’t the quickest drive available, it is rated for 220 TBW and comes from a reputable brand.
RAM
For our memory, we went with a 2x8GB configuration with 16GB of DDR4-6400 RAM. Once more, it’s crucial to select RAM that is compatible with your motherboard. Although it isn’t the most visually appealing, the Silicon Power Value RAM we selected is affordable, and memory has become a commonplace commodity.
Case
The Cooler Master MasterBox Q300L is our example. The chassis, which comes in black or white, is well-built for the budget and features integrated dust filters, a 240mm AIO cooler support on top, and lots of mesh to let air flow in. It even features an I/O panel that is modular and can be positioned in six different places.
PSU
To reach the $500 pricing threshold, we decided to make a compromise in the area of powering the entire system. For this basic design, which is expected to peak at about 200W of power consumption, the $40 500W PSU should be adequate; however, the Thermaltake Smart series isn’t exactly well-regarded, the description indicates Haswell support, and it only has 80 Plus certification.
