12 Best Budget Prebuilt Gaming PCs in 2023 – Under $1500, $1200, $1000, $800

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Today, we’re going to take a look at the 12 best budget prebuilt gaming PCs in 2023. We have options for every budget, with offerings under $1500, $1200, $1000, and $800, meaning you’ll be able to find the perfect gaming PC to fit both your needs and your budget.

Due to prebuilt PCs typically being slightly more expensive than if you were to build one yourself, we aimed to pick not only PCs that are quality and reliable but also those that offer strong performance per dollar.

Use the links below to skip to a section with your preferred budget. Each section features three slightly different options to fit your personal needs.

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Best Prebuilt Gaming PCs Under $1500

Best Prebuilt Gaming PCs Under $1200

Best Prebuilt Gaming PCs Under $1000

Best Prebuilt Gaming PCs Under $800

Best Prebuilt Gaming PCs Under $1500

If you know what to look for, $1500 gaming PCs can offer a perfect mix of gaming performance and affordability. They’re typically going to include mid-tier components from the current generation, giving you a high degree of both performance and forward compatibility.

They’ll be able to play AAA titles at up to 1440p, though for really demanding games, you might have to choose between the highest settings and smooth frame rates.

Additionally, these rigs will be perfect options for budget-conscious competitive gamers. If you plan on buying a 144hz or even 240hz monitor, gaming PCs in this price range will deliver a high-level gaming experience in nearly all popular titles.

You can expect 100+ FPS in popular multiplayer titles such as Call of Duty: Warzone or Halo Infinite and 200+ FPS in less demanding games like Fortnite, Overwatch, Counter-Strike, or Apex Legends, to name a few.

Subsequently, $1500 prebuilt gaming PCs will have the fewest compromises, making them ideal for serious gamers who’re looking to pair their PC with high-end 1440p monitors and enjoy smooth and immersive gameplay.

The table below will give you a quick look at our selections for the 3 best prebuilt gaming PCs under $1500 currently available on the market. To read a full review, simply click on ‘review>>’ in the respective row.

Product	Image	Rating
1. SkyTech Nebula ''Best prebuilt gaming PC under $1500 overall''		9.9	Check Price review>>
2. CyberPowerPC Gamer Master ''Best overall runner-up''		9.8	Check Price review>>
3. YEYIAN Kunai X13 ''Honorable mention''		9.6	Check Price review>>

1. SkyTech Nebula

REASONS TO BUY

Excellent value for the money
Smooth 1080p and 1440p performance
The best GPU in this price range
High-quality build
Neat design with lots of RGB
Good thermals
Bundled peripherals

REASONS TO AVOID

Older and weaker DDR4 memory
No liquid cooling for the CPU

Our Rating: 9.9/10

The SkyTech Nebula is a hidden gem when it comes to budget prebuilt gaming PCs and, by far, our number one recommendation for gamers shopping with a $1500 budget.

Above all, it offers the best performance in this price range, quality build, and great cooling. There is a couple of small drawbacks, but none of them are dealbreakers, and you can easily work around them–we’ll cover those later in this review.

First off, the quality of this PC is excellent, especially for a budget PC with such high value proposition. The PC sports a sturdy and neat-looking chassis, with 4 quality RGB fans pre-installed that do a great job at keeping the whole build cool and quiet, even under heavier loads.

In addition to that, the cable management is clean, and the PC comes well-packaged, protecting it from damage during shipping. What we see as a small drawback is the CPU cooler–While the air cooler does a great job at keeping the Ryzen 5 5600X cool, most prebuilt desktops in this price range come standard with an AIO liquid cooler.

Performance-wise, this PC is an absolute beast in the sub-$1500 category. This particular model uses the aforementioned AMD Ryzen 5 5600X processor, an Nvidia RTX 4070 GPU, 16 GB of DDR4 RAM operating at 3200Mhz, and a fast 1TB NVMe drive.

Compared to other prebuilts in this price range, the graphics card is the absolute best–In fact, the SkyTech Nebula is currently the only prebuilt rig with an RTX 4070 for less than $1500. Most $1500 prebuilt desktops offer either RTX 4060 or RTX 3070 cards, and the standard price for a PC with an RTX 4070 is around $1700-2000.

The Ryzen 5 5600X is also a great addition–It performs exceptionally for gaming while also being one of the most power-efficient and easy-to-cool chips on the market.

The obvious drawback is the RAM–In order to keep the price low, SkyTech opted for DDR4 RAM, while most current PCs offer the newer, better-performing DDR5 memory. This won’t bottleneck your gaming performance, but if you do some video editing or professional work on the side, the weaker RAM may bother you.

In terms of real-world gaming performance, this PC outshines the competition. For competitive games, you’ll be able to connect to it the fastest gaming monitors and enjoy smooth 100+ or even 200+ FPS with the current popular competitive titles at 1440p.

In terms of the latest AAA titles, you’ll be mostly fine at 1440p on high settings but be prepared to dial the settings back on 4k monitors. That being said, if you don’t mind playing on lower settings, the PC can handle games at 4k without an issue.

Lastly, the Nebula also ships with a free mechanical keyboard and a wired mouse, which adds even more value on top of the impressive performance per dollar. As you’d probably expect, they’re not premium quality, but they don’t feel cheap either.

If you’re short on peripherals or switching from console to PC, for example, they will be sufficient before you make an upgrade.

All in all, the SkyTech Nebula is hands down the best prebuilt gaming PC under $1500, and maybe even overall, when considering what you’re getting for the money. It features a quality build, efficient cooling, and unmatched performance that will provide you with enough juice for all levels of gaming, as well as some serious professional work. For less than $1500, you’ll be hard-pressed to find anything better.

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2. CyberPowerPC Gamer Master

REASONS TO BUY

High-quality build
Amazing performance per dollar
Excellent hardware for 1440p gaming
Current-generation components
Striking design with plenty of RGB
Sufficient cooling installed, including liquid cooling
Excellent RAM and storage configuration
Bundled keyboard and mouse
Good thermals

REASONS TO AVOID

Weaker gaming performance due to the lower-tier GPU

Our Rating: 9.8/10

Our second recommendation for the best prebuilt gaming PC under $1500 is the Gamer Master from CyberPowerPC. It’s another quality option from a reputable manufacturer, but compared to the SkyTech Nebula, it focuses more on balanced performance, with the inclusion of a newer CPU and more memory at the cost of a weaker GPU.

This makes it a better option for users who are willing to sacrifice a bit of gaming performance in favor of more productivity potential for things like streaming, video editing, and other CPU and memory-heavy applications.

Starting with design and build quality, this PC is great for an affordable prebuilt rig. It features a good-looking and sturdy chassis with a wrap-around tempered glass panel and a unique chassis design.

The front panel is sealed, which isn’t ideal for airflow, but the PC doesn’t suffer from overheating. What you’ll definitely appreciate is the addition of an AIO liquid cooling for your Ryzen 7 7700, which will allow you to push your CPU to the limit.

In addition, the PC comes equipped with three 120mm fans, two in the front and one in the back of the case, providing you with great airflow across all of the components. The fans, as well as the RAM sticks, are equipped with programmable RGB LEDs, allowing for more customization and a premium gaming aesthetic.

On top of that, the core components are excellent for the price range as well. This $1500 model comes equipped with an Nvidia GeForce RTX 4060 Ti, an octa-core AMD Ryzen 7 7700 (voted the best Ryzen 7 CPU in 2023), massive 32GB DDR5 memory, and an equally large 2TB NVMe storage drive.

With this hardware, there’s virtually nothing this PC cannot run. It will handle any game at both 1080p and 1440p, be it competitive titles like Call of Duty: Warzone, Apex Legends, or Fortnite or the latest releases with higher demands on your graphics card.

But, compared to the Nebula PC above, you can expect around 15-20% lower FPS because of the weaker graphics card.

However, this PC has much better potential to be used as a workstation, thanks to the current-gen processor and high-performing 32GB of DDR5 memory. This makes it a much better option for gamers who also plan to use productivity apps for video editing, 3D graphics rendering, but also streaming.

Another point for this PC is the inclusion of bundled peripherals. As it’s typically the case, the keyboard and mouse you get are nothing to write home about, but for someone who doesn’t have them already, they get the job done.

And lastly, forward compatibility is much better here as well. Because the PC is built using the current-gen AM5 platform, you won’t have to replace your motherboard or RAM in the event of future upgrades. That isn’t the case with the SkyTech Nebula.

All things considered, the CyberPowerPC Gamer Master is another excellent $1500 prebuilt gaming PC that offers amazing value for the money. The reason we recommend it is mainly the all-around implementation of current-gen components that provide both excellent performance and peace of mind for future upgrades.

It’s also one of the few prebuilts that won’t force power users to upgrade RAM or memory right after the purchase.

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3. YEYIAN Kunai X13

REASONS TO BUY

Excellent gaming performance for the money
Mostly quality components from reputable brands
Well-assembled with neat cable management
Cool and quiet operation
Liquid AIO CPU cooler
Fast DDR5 memory
Nice aesthetics with plenty of RGB
Extended warranty

REASONS TO AVOID

No bundled peripherals
Lower-quality chassis

Our Rating: 9.6/10

Our third and final recommendation for the best prebuilt PC in the sub-$1500 category is the Kunai X13 from YEYIAN. YEYIAN is a newer brand, founded in 2017 and located in the USA, and from what we’ve seen so far, they produce quality PCs at affordable prices.

The Kunai X13 continues this trend with high-quality build and components, ultimately providing a reliable gaming PC with excellent performance per dollar.

In terms of construction, the PC comes well-assembled with clean cable management and plenty of RGB to make the design pop. On top of that, it comes tightly packaged with protective foam to avoid damage during shipping.

The only gripe we have here is the chassis. It’s made in-house by YEYIAN, and it’s not terrible, but it’s on the smaller side, which makes the build feel a bit cramped. Plus, there is a lot of cheap plastic used, which may potentially hinder the lifespan and durability of the PC.

Cooling-wise, we found no issues. The PC comes with four 120mm RGB fans pre-installed (also made in-house by YEYIAN), and uses liquid cooling for the CPU in a form of a 120mm AIO cooler. With this configuration, the PC stays cool and quiet even during marathon gaming sessions.

In terms of hardware, you get a ton of current-gen components, mostly from reputable brands. This model comes equipped with an Intel Core i5-13600KF processor and an Nvidia RTX 3070 graphics card–One of the best-performing CPU and GPU combo in the $1500 price category.

In addition to that, you get 16GB of the new DDR5 memory clocked at 4800MHz and a fast 1TB NVMe storage drive. That’s not that impressive, but still, an adequate configuration for high-end gaming.

When it comes to gaming performance, this is going to give you peak visuals for both 1080p and 1440p high-refresh-rate displays. Mainly thanks to the inclusion of the RTX 3070 (which performs marginally better than the current-generation RTX 4060 Ti), any of your favorites from recent years should be able to run at 100+ FPS on high settings, even at 1440p.

Some 4k gaming is on the table as well, but that’s not the focus of this PC–For a reliable 4k performance, you’d have to increase your budget substantially.

When it comes to content creation or some difficult rendering tasks, this desktop definitely has enough power to second as a workstation. But, compared to our other picks from above, it doesn’t do as well and can slow down your productivity.

Another drawback of this PC is the lack of bundled peripherals. Admittedly, peripherals bundled with prebuilt PCs are typically pretty disappointing, but if you were hoping to get a keyboard and mouse with your PC purchase, you’ll have to look elsewhere.

What sets this PC apart from the competition is the warranty. The industry standard for prebuilt gaming PCs is 1 year, but YEYIAN offers up to 4-year warranty for parts and lifetime labor for extra peace of mind. Plus, you get lifetime tech support as a part of their shield program.

All-in-all, the Kunai X13 is another very solid gaming PC for $1500. It’s a well-built, reliable, and high-performing gaming PC with an extended warranty for extra peace of mind. The chassis isn’t the best, and you don’t get any peripherals with the purchase, but for the money, you could do a lot worse.

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Best Prebuilt Gaming PCs Under $1200

There’s a lot of flexibility in this tier, making $1000-1200 one of the most difficult price ranges to shop in.

You can find anything from absolutely miraculous machines that somehow cost less than the sum of their parts to extremely mediocre builds that are coasting on unfeasibly large amounts of RAM to justify charging hundreds more than they’re actually worth.

The options we’ve picked out in this tier are going to offer a level of performance suitable for competitive online gaming as well as most new games at both 1080p and 1440p. Though, in some extreme cases, you’ll have to take a slight hit on either quality or framerate. They also pass muster for streaming and content creation.

The table below will give you a quick look at our selections for the 3 best prebuilt gaming PCs under $1200 currently available on the market. To read a full review, simply click on ‘review>>’ in the respective row.

Product	Image	Rating
1. CyberPowerPC Gamer Master ''Best prebuilt gaming PC under $1200 overall''		9.8	Check Price review>>
2. YEYIAN Shoge ''Best overall runner-up''		9.7	Check Price review>>
3. MXZ Gaming PC ''Honorable mention''		9.4	Check Price review>>

1. CyberPowerPC Gamer Master

REASONS TO BUY

Quality, well-assembled desktop
Excellent performance for the money
Uses only current-generation components
Stylish design with some RGB
Strong 1440p gaming performance
Great productivity and multitasking capability
Good thermals
Bundled peripherals

REASONS TO AVOID

No liquid cooling for the CPU
The GPU is slightly weaker than the RTX 3070 found in other PCs in this price range

Our Rating: 9.8/10

CyberpowerPC desktops have come a long way from previous years, which haven’t even been worth mentioning except derisively. This year’s model actually manages to combine excellent specs with a surprisingly good price, making the Gamer Master hands down the best gaming PC under $1200 currently available on the market.

Unlike the competition at this price point, it’s fully equipped with the latest generation of components, providing unmatched performance as well as a high degree of forward compatibility.

When it comes to design, the chassis is surprisingly sturdy and stylish, with the combination of a full-white aesthetic and tempered glass side panel. Luckily, the front panel of the case is perforated, which not only looks cool but also improves the airflow and thermals.

Speaking of thermals, the PC features three 120mm RGB fans (two in the front, one in the rear) preinstalled, which are enough to keep the PC cool during intense gaming sessions thanks to the good airflow of the chassis. For your CPU cooler, you get a standard air cooler, which is a small point against.

In terms of hardware, this PC represents an amazing value–It is one the cheapest way to get the included current-gen components, which include the latest Ryzen 5 7600 processor, an Nvidia RTX 4060 Ti graphics card, and 16GB of the new DDR5 memory along with fast 1TB of NVMe storage.

Plus, as we mentioned earlier, the forward compatibility is also a huge plus of this rig. According to AMD, the AM5 platform will be around for a few years, so if you decide to upgrade your CPU or RAM in the future, you won’t be forced to also buy a new motherboard.

Performance-wise, these components are going to enable you to run basically any game at 1440p, be it the newest AAA titles or competitive games where smooth FPS count is essential. On top of that, the PC has enough power for streaming and content creation, making it a perfect all-around starter PC for a large variety of users.

In addition to that, this gaming PC is another option on our list to ship with peripherals, making it an even better deal than it would initially appear. The PC comes with a wired mouse and a backlit gaming keyboard. That can cut down on how much you spend on your initial setup if you’re starting completely from scratch, or if nothing else, can make a decent backup.

Overall, this is an excellent prebuilt rig and our number-one recommendation for gamers looking for the best gaming PC with a $1200 budget. It’s well-built, performs exceptionally well for the money, and uses only current-generation components, making it viable for years to come. For $1200, it doesn’t get any better.

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2. YEYIAN Shoge

REASONS TO BUY

Fantastic gaming performance for the money
Best GPU in this price range
Top 1440p performance (light 4k gaming viable)
Cool gamer aesthetic with RGB
Liquid cooling installed
Good airflow and thermals
Ships with decent-quality peripherals
Extended warranty

REASONS TO AVOID

Older DDR4 RAM
Future upgrades will be complicated
Weaker productivity and multitasking potential

Our Rating: 9.7/10

Our second recommendation for the best $1200 prebuilt gaming PC is the Shoge from a US manufacturer, YEYIAN. Similar to the $1500 Kunai x13 model, it’s a striking PC that offers amazing performance for the money, great cooling, and reliable components from reputable manufacturers.

As we mentioned earlier, YEYIAN uses their in-house PC cases for their prebuilts, which is great if you want to stand out from the crowd. Plus, this one not only looks cool but is also highly functional.

It features a full-size tempered glass side panel for an unobstructed view of the interior, an RGB strip on the front panel for extra customization, and a large vent on the left side of the panel for better airflow. And while not a premium case, it’s fairly durable for a budget gaming PC.

Cooling-wise, the airflow is supported by the four 120mm RGB fans preinstalled (again manufactured by YEYIAN), with three in the front and one at the top. On top of that, the PC comes equipped with a 120mm AIO liquid cooler, which is a bit overkill for the efficient Ryzen 5, but definitely nice to see in a PC with already such a high value proposition.

Now, despite the PC providing excellent gaming performance, the components are a bit of a mixed bag. On one hand, you get a great CPU and GPU combo, with Ryzen 5 5600X, one of the most efficient and popular processors, and an Nvidia RTX 3070, by far the best-performing graphics card for this price range.

On the other hand, you get only 16GB of the older DDR4 memory clocked at 3200MHz (around 40% less than DDR5) and a 1TB NVMe drive for storage. While the storage is in line with the price, the RAM is a notable drawback–Even worse, if you decide to upgrade your RAM in the future, you’ll have to buy a new motherboard and CPU.

It’s worth noting that this doesn’t impact the gaming performance in any meaningful way; however, for video editing and other memory-heavy tasks, you’re sure to experience slowdowns in your workflow.

If that doesn’t bother you, the gaming performance is amazing. The RTX 3070 is a beast for 1440p gaming and will give you optimal performance (80-100+ FPS and high settings) on the vast majority of new titles at 1440p, and even puts some light 4k gaming on the table.

Productivity apps and workstation use are solid as well, but nowhere near the newer-generation Ryzen 7000 processors and DDR5 memory. It will perform streaming and video editing decently, but make sure you upgrade your RAM to 32GB if that’s what you’re planning to do on your new PC.

YEYIAN makes a lot of components by themselves, such as power supplies or PC fans, and the same goes for peripherals. This particular PC ships with a wired mouse and keyboard–As usual, they’re solid for casual gamers or as a backup, but if you’re a serious gamer, you’ll want to upgrade as soon as possible.

Lastly, YEYIAN offers one of the best coverages among gaming PC manufacturers. As a standard, you get a 2-year warranty on parts with 3 years on labor. This can be upgraded up to 4 years and a lifetime, respectively, within their ‘shield’ program.

Despite some shortcomings, the YEYIAN Shoge still remains our top recommendation if you’re looking for a gaming PC in the sub-$1200 category. If you’re looking to buy a PC purely for gaming, then it’s an amazing buy–It offers the best GPU in this price range, along with liquid cooling and a cool gamer aesthetic.

However, the weaker DDR4 RAM, along with the previous generation processor, limits its productivity potential.

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RELATED READING: Best PCs For 1440p 144hz Gaming

3. MXZ Gaming PC

REASONS TO BUY

Amazing performance per dollar
Affordable price (way below $1200)
Top-notch 1440p performance
Best GPU in this price range
Respectable current-generation processor
Nice design with a lot of RGB
AIO liquid cooler installed
Good thermals (6 fans pre-installed)

REASONS TO AVOID

Flimsy chassis with acrylic panels
Cheap fans and power supply
Old DDR4 memory
Questionable longevity

Our Rating: 9.4/10

Our third and final recommendation for gamers in this price range is the MXZ Gaming PC. This is a great PC on paper, as it’s equipped with high-performing hardware as well as the lowest price in this price bracket. However, it cuts corners in nearly every other aspect, making us question its reliability.

Let’s get the worst out of the way. To get the price this low for seemingly great hardware, MXZ saved money on a variety of components, including the chassis, fans, and even the power supply.

First, the chassis, while looking pretty good, doesn’t feature the standard tempered glass panel you’ll find on its competitors. Rather, it uses acrylic, resulting in a cheap and flimsy case that very easily picks up scratches. Plus, there’s a lot of cheap plastic on the inside of the chassis as well.

Next, the PC comes equipped with six 120mm RGB fans and an AIO liquid cooler, which is the most robust cooling system out of any PC on this list. However, as you can imagine, they’re not the best quality, and you may find yourself having to replace them in the future.

Even worse, MXZ doesn’t guarantee the power efficiency of your PSU. So while they guarantee a 700W power supply, which is admittedly a good wattage for a PC this cheap, they may very well just use a low-quality 80+ Bronze or White unit, continuing the trend of an unreliable PC–Which is the last thing you want when buying a prebuilt PC.

And lastly, MXZ doesn’t include any bundled peripherals with the PC, which may or may not be a drawback, depending on your current setup.

On the brighter side, the gaming performance is probably the best when considering the lower cost of this PC. It comes equipped with a current generation processor, the Intel Core i5-13400F, which is a very well-performing 10-core CPU featuring Intel’s newest hybrid architecture.

In addition, the GPU included is the best in this price range, the Nvidia RTX 3070–A powerful video card that provides exceptional 1440p performance and even handles less demanding games at 4k. If you have a 1080p or 1440p monitor, you’ll be able to play any game that’s currently out with smooth frame rates.

Now, for the other components in play, 16GB of DDR4 RAM is going to be enough. Currently, it is the standard amount for gaming and general productivity, meaning you won’t have to worry about upgrading your memory for the foreseeable future.

With that being said, if you plan on doing video editing or other memory-intensive tasks, you’ll definitely want to upgrade your RAM as soon as possible. Other than that, the processor is potent for content creation and provides much better rendering speeds compared to the previous-generation chips without the hybrid architecture.

In conclusion, this gaming PC from MXZ won’t be for everyone. If you’re looking for the best possible gaming performance at the lowest price point, it fits the bill nicely with potent hardware and a price tag way below $1200. However, if you’re looking for a quality and reliable PC that you can upgrade as time goes on, there are much better options available.

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Best Prebuilt Gaming PCs Under $1000

With $1000 prebuilt gaming PCs, we’re firmly in the budget territory. So forget about current-generation components–You’ll see a lot of older-generation components, such as entry-level 30-series Nvidia cards, Ryzen 5000-series, or even 3000-series processors, and DDR4 RAM kits.

As a result, PCs in this price range are a perfect fit for gamers playing at 1080p. At this resolution, you’ll be able to run the vast majority of games, including some of the bigger titles from this year.

Some light 1440p gaming is on the table as well, but primarily when it comes to less graphically demanding games, like Minecraft, Fortnite, and a lot of popular MMORPGs or MOBAs. With more demanding games, you’ll definitely have to dial the settings back to a minimum to achieve smooth frame rates.

The table below will give you a quick look at our selections for the 3 best prebuilt gaming PCs under $1000 currently available on the market. To read a full review, simply click on ‘review>>’ in the respective row.

Product	Image	Rating
1. SkyTech Shadow 3.0 ''Best prebuilt gaming PC under $1000 overall''		9.8	Check Price review>>
2. ViprTech Ghost ''Best overall runner-up''		9.7	Check Price review>>
3. CyberPowerPC Gamer Xtreme ''Honorable mention''		9.4	Check Price review>>

1. SkyTech Shadow 3.0

REASONS TO BUY

Quality build with clean cable management
Sturdy, reliable chassis with good airflow
Best GPU in this price range
Great 1080p gaming performance
Good thermals
Tempered glass side panel with toolless access
Bundled peripherals
Lots of customizable RGB

REASONS TO AVOID

Older-gen components
Older operating system

Our Rating: 9.8/10

Our number one pick for the best $1000 prebuilt gaming PC is the Shadow 3.0 from SkyTech. It’s an older PC using mostly older-generation components, but it still provides fantastic 1080p gaming performance. Additionally, it’s a reliable PC with efficient cooling as well as some RGB, which gives it a bit more premium look.

Construction-wise, there is nothing to be afraid of. SkyTech uses quality components packed into a sturdy Thermaltake H200 chassis that promotes good ventilation and durability. The case also features a tempered glass side panel as well as a large vent at the front and meshed top and bottom panels to help with airflow.

Speaking of airflow, SkyTech also implemented the cooling well for this PC. Beyond the standard air CPU cooler, the case comes equipped with three 120mm RGB fans, with two of them installed at the top with one at the back. In combination with the good airflow, this configuration works well and prevents overheating during extended gaming sessions.

Regarding hardware, the PC is built using primarily older-generation components to save money. That being said, SkyTech managed to keep the price under $1000 with some impressive components.

The PC features an AMD Ryzen 5 3600 processor, an Nvidia RTX 3060 Ti graphics card, 16 GB of DDR4 RAM operating at 3200MHz, and a 1TB NVMe drive. The brand of the components varies based on availability, but from our experience, SkyTech mainly uses quality parts from reputable brands.

Now, the graphics card is by far the best you’ll get in the sub-$1000 category and perfect for gaming on high-refresh-rate 1080p monitors. The CPU is a bit weaker, especially when you compare it to the newest generation, but still offers enough juice for 1080p gaming. The RAM is the same story–It’s an older standard but offers plenty of headroom for gaming.

To be more specific, you will be able to run the vast majority of current games on low-to-mid settings, including AAA titles, but you’ll definitely have to dial the settings back for some titles. For competitive classics like Fortnite, League of Legends, CoD: Warzone, Overwatch, and others, you’ll have no issues hitting 100-200 FPS, depending on your settings.

Where this PC will definitely struggle is 1440p gaming and productivity applications. You’ll be able to get some video editing and light 1440p gaming out of it, but it will be more of a headache than anything else. This is an affordable PC and performs like one.

Lastly, SkyTech offers bundled peripherals with the majority of their PCs, and this one is no exception. You’ll get a wired mouse and keyboard with the purchase, but as is the case with budget prebuilt PCs, don’t expect anything special–They’re fine if you don’t have your own or as a backup.

Overall, the SkyTech Shadow 3.0 is, in a lot of ways, exactly what we’re looking for in a budget prebuilt PC under $1000. It allows you to play the majority of the current games at 1080p, even if some of them are not as pretty as they could be. Plus, it’s a quality, well-cooled rig ready to go, without tweaking, right out of the box–If you’re shopping with a $1000 budget, this is currently your best option.

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2. ViprTech Ghost

REASONS TO BUY

Excellent value for the money
Quality chassis with good airflow
Excellent 1080p gaming performance
Solid for productivity apps and multitasking
Beautiful all-white design with RGB
Excellent customer support
Great cooling (good thermals)
Well-assembled

REASONS TO AVOID

Insufficient storage for modern gamers
Older generation components
No bundled peripherals

Our Rating: 9.7/10

Our second recommendation in this price range is the ViprTech Ghost gaming PC. ViprTech is another US manufacturer that’s new to the industry, being established in 2017 in Maryland, USA.

So far, they seem to be putting out quality gaming PCs at competitive prices, and people really praise their customer support. So in case something goes wrong with your PC, you should be in good hands.

This particular model is their top offering in the $1000 price range. It’s a quality rig with a flashy design that features some excellent components for the price. Compared to the Shadow 3.0, our top pick for this budget, you’ll be trading a weaker graphics card for some more processing power and, in our opinion, better aesthetics.

Quality-wise, the Ghost is solid, considering it’s a budget computer. Their chassis of choice for this prebuilt is the Montech X3–A spacious mid-tier PC case that offers both nice aesthetics and good airflow–We couldn’t be happier with this choice.

Speaking of airflow, the cooling configuration is also excellent. The PC comes pre-installed with four 120mm RGB fans, with three in the front and one in the back of the case. In addition, you get a quality air CPU cooler (Vetroo V5), and you have the option to upgrade to a 120mm AIO liquid cooler.

In terms of performance, this is actually a pretty solid build, especially when considering how much you pay for it. It’s a PC that wouldn’t be out of place in some of the higher tiers, with an AMD Ryzen 5 5600G processor and a potent 1080p video card, the RTX 3060 (non-Ti).

Typically, once you move into this price bracket, you start seeing pretty major drops in framerate, even for games that these PCs can technically run. But this PC doesn’t see that lagging framerate in most cases. Obvious exceptions do still apply (demanding AAA titles), but they’re not nearly as frequent as we expected for the price.

It all comes down to what games you intend to play–Just like the Shadow 3.0, this is a PC meant for 1080p gaming and does a great job at it for the most part.

If you mainly have games like Overwatch, Fortnite, Call of Duty, Rainbow 6, and similar graphically demanding games in your repertoire, you’ll find the gaming performance of this desktop more than sufficient for your needs.

Now, both the RAM and the hard drive are on the lower side, especially the drive–512GB just isn’t enough in 2023. Though this is a feature you start seeing fairly often at lower price points. RAM is the easiest and cheapest component to upgrade, with the hard drive not far behind.

So once you have a bit of money back in your budget, you can bump it up to 32GB and 1-2TB for pretty cheap and have a competitive PC with virtually no downsides.

Unfortunately, this PC doesn’t ship with any peripherals. This may or may not be a drawback depending on your current setup, but extra peripherals are always nice. On the other hand, the PC is roughly $50 below the $1000 budget, so you can buy a mouse and keyboard of your own choosing.

All in all, the ViprTech Ghost is easily one of the best gaming PCs for less than $1000 available in 2023. It outperforms the majority of its competitors, and it sports a very attractive all-white design. There are no bundled peripherals, and you’ll most likely be forced to upgrade the storage in the near future, but these are frequent drawbacks you’ll run into when shopping in the budget categories and certainly not dealbreakers.

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3. CyberPowerPC Gamer Xtreme

REASONS TO BUY

Solid value for the money
Respectable 1080p gaming performance
Viable for light content creation
Efficient power supply
Quality construction
Shipps with a keyboard and mouse
Well-assembled with clean cable management

REASONS TO AVOID

Poor thermals
Weaker gaming performance compared to the competition
Low storage
Old DDR4 memory

Our Rating: 9.4/10

The last PC in the $1000 price range is a bit of an honorable mention than anything else. It’s still a quality PC from a reputable manufacturer, but compared to our top picks, it performs substantially worse and has noticeably worse thermals. With that being said, if you can find it on a sale, it’s still worth considering.

When it comes to construction and quality, there are no red flags–The case is fairly sturdy, and the PC is well-assembled with no cables hanging around.

However, the case doesn’t have the best airflow, and the whole build runs hotter than it should. It should not reach critical temps, but it’s definitely not optimal and may lead to a shorter lifespan of the components.

Despite that, the cooling that’s installed by CyberpowerPC seems adequate. The PC comes pre-installed with four 120mm fans with addressable RGB LEDs and a standard air CPU cooler. This is typically enough for budget PCs, but as we mentioned, the airflow can become an issue.

Now, since this is a budget PC, the hardware is a bit of a mixed bag. We’ll start with the good. The processor is a potent 6-core 12th-generation i5-12400 that provides snappy gaming performance and enough power for productivity and multitasking–It’s one of the better CPUs you will see in this budget range.

In addition to that, the RAM configuration is also good, with 16GB of DDR4 RAM, and you also get an efficient 600W 80+ Gold power supply unit. The RAM is enough for most gaming needs and some light content creation, while the gold-rate PSU is also a nice addition, given most $1000 prebuilt PCs come with cheaper, 80+ bronze or white ratings.

On the other hand, the GPU is the weakest of the RTX 30-series lineup, and while CyberpowerPC claims it can run games at ultra-high settings, the number of those games will be very limited.

It’s still a decent GPU for 1080p gaming, but if you plan on playing graphically demanding titles, you’ll have to dial the settings back to the minimum in the majority of cases.

Whether it’s adequate for you is going to come down to what type of gamer you are. If you casually play old favorites, it’s perfect. Competitive online gamers will also get some use out of it, but if you’re looking for something that will keep you on the cutting edge with all the newest games, this PC will come up short.

In addition to that, the storage is on the low side as well, with only a 500GB drive. With today’s games being up to 100GB in size, sometimes even more, you’ll be forced to upgrade it very soon. In the sub-$1000 category, we’d expect at least a 1TB drive.

On the brighter side, the PC does come with bundled peripherals with the purchase. You’ll get a wired mouse and wired backlit keyboard at what we could call default quality. They’ll work, but they’re definitely not as exciting as some of the other options

Overall, the Gamer Xtreme from CyberPowerPC does a good job as a first-time gaming PC. It’s fairly affordable and is going to be a massive upgrade over a school laptop or family computer. But, there are better options available, and we’d only recommend this if you can find it on sale.

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Best Prebuilt Gaming PCs Under $800

Pre-built gaming PCs in the sub $800 category are on the edge of what we’d recommend for gaming. They’re going to be using previous-gen components with less performance to keep the price down, and as a result, will struggle to play some newer games.

Besides that, they may not have as much RAM or hard drive space, which can make them a bit sluggish and require you to keep a smaller game library installed.

However, they’ll be fine for indie games, building sims, strategies, and RPGs. Though obviously, they’re going to fall short of competitive gaming and AAA titles.

Because of that, we’d only recommend shopping in this price range if you’re a very casual gamer or you’re looking for an entry-level gaming PC for your kids.

The table below will give you a quick look at our selections for the 3 best prebuilt gaming PCs under $800 currently available on the market. To read a full review, simply click on ‘review>>’ in the respective row.

Product	Image	Rating
1. SkyTech Chronos Mini ''Best prebuilt gaming PC under $800 overall''		9.8	Check Price review>>
2. CyberPowerPC G104 ''Best overall runner-up''		9.7	Check Price review>>
3. MXZ Gaming PC ''Honorable mention''		9.4	Check Price review>>

1. SkyTech Chronos Mini

REASONS TO BUY

Exceptional value for the money
Best components in the price range
Best gaming performance for under $800
High-quality case with tempered glass side panel
Great airflow and thermals
Lots of customizable RGB
Efficient power supply
Ships with bundled peripherals

REASONS TO AVOID

Slightly over the budget

Our Rating: 9.8/10

When shopping in this price range, the SkyTech Chronos Mini is hands down your best option. It dominates the competition with the best performance per dollar, but even with the build quality, functionality, and aesthetics.

The only downside is that it costs slightly over the budget, which may be a dealbreaker if you can’t afford to spend a little bit extra.

For starters, this gaming PC offers great cooling, which is where you’ll see other PCs in this price category cut corners. It comes with three quality 120mm RGB fans preinstalled, with two in the front and one in the back of the case, and a quality air CPU cooler. Plus, it uses a ton of mesh paneling to augment the work the three fans will do to keep everything cool.

Furthermore, the Skytech Chronos is a great example of how a quality prebuilt PC should look. The case is on the smaller side but very sturdy and functional, making it easy to upgrade and swap out components. Besides that, it comes with a full-size tempered glass side panel and built-in RGB, scoring high marks in aesthetics as well.

In terms of hardware, this PC has everything you need to game comfortably at 1080p, which is rarely the case with $800 gaming PCs. It comes equipped with an AMD Ryzen 5 3600 processor, which is an older chip but still solid for the price point, and an RTX 3050, the best graphics card you will see at this price point.

In addition to that, there is a full 16GB of DDR4 RAM operating at 3200MHz, which is again the best for the price point, and a fast 500GB NVMe drive–That will probably need to get upgraded, depending on your gaming library.

This PC doesn’t disappoint even when it gets to the PSU, coming in with a 600W 80+ Gold power supply, with many other brands resorting to cheaper and less efficient 80+ Bronze or White units.

In terms of gaming performance, this PC goes neck and neck with more expensive PCs, providing an admirable 1080p performance in the majority of popular titles. It’s perfect for games like Fortnite, Minecraft, Warzone, Overwatch, CS: GO, and other similar or less-demanding games.

However, it will struggle with demanding AAA titles, and you’ll have to ease up on the settings in order to get smooth frame rates. Also, it’s capable of some light video editing but don’t expect much–That’s not what this PC was built for.

In addition to the great performance, the Chronos Mini also ships with a gaming mouse and keyboard, making this the perfect bundle for first-time gaming PC buyers. You’ll get a full-sized wired mechanical keyboard and a decent-quality mouse–Definitely above average compared to what we’ve seen other prebuilt PCs ship with.

All things considered, the SkyTech Chronos Mini is easily our number one recommendation for gamers shopping for the best gaming PC for $800 or less. The paradox of budget computers is that the less you pay for them, the more it can feel like you wasted your money. This PC is a massive outlier from that trend. The price feels like a total bargain, and the specs are balanced perfectly to exceed your expectations.

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2. CyberPowerPC G104

REASONS TO BUY

High-quality, sturdy chassis
Great overall value for less than $800
Exceptional cooling system (8 fans preinstalled)
Attractive aesthetics with two tempered glass panels and RGB
Respectable 1080p gaming performance
Well-assembled
Easily upgradeable
Good thermals

REASONS TO AVOID

No bundled peripherals
Several generations old components
Low storage

Our Rating: 9.7/10

The CyberPowerPC G104 is another hidden gem in this price range and not far from the value of the Chronos Mini, our number one selection. Compared to other cheap prebuilt PCs, it features one of the best component sets, a good-looking case, and excellent cooling out of the box. And, unlike the Chronos, it fits the budget.

First and foremost, the chassis not only looks good, but it’s also functional and fairly durable. It features not one, but two tempered glass panels, with one on the side and one on in the front. Otherwise, the case is mostly plastic on the inside but doesn’t give off a cheap or flimsy vibe and should last for a long time.

What we like about the case, apart from the aesthetics and quality, is the fact that the front panel isn’t completely sealed, leading to much better airflow. Meshed PC cases will almost always be best for airflow, but thermals don’t seem to be a problem whatsoever with this one.

The reason for that is mainly the preinstalled cooling system. The PC has a total of six 120mm RGB fans (ALSEYE Halo V3), with three intake fans in the front and three exhaust fans at the top and rear of the case. With 1500 max RPM and 24 dBA maximum noise level, they do a good job of keeping the PC cool while staying relatively silent.

In terms of components, you do get a reasonable amount of power out of the gate, with a hexacore Intel i5-10400F processor and 16GB of RAM operating at 3200MHz. For the budget, it’s a pretty reasonable level of performance and is going to support just about any basic operation you’re looking to run on this machine.

For the GPU, you get an Nvidia GTX 1660 Super, which is the second-best graphics card in this price range, right behind the RTX 3050. It’s an older model but still offers enough power to run the majority of popular and older games with smooth FPS, with the exception of newer, graphically demanding titles.

Furthermore, the PSU is a solid 600W unit, but the manufacturer doesn’t guarantee the efficiency rating, so you’ll most likely end up with a bronze-rated power supply. But that’s definitely not a dealbreaker, as most prebuilt PCs in this price category come with less efficient PSUs.

What we see as a bigger drawback is the lack of bundled peripherals. A big percentage of people shopping in this budget range will be new folks or gamers switching from consoles, so it’s surprising to see none here. To be fair, it’s a fairly cheap fix, but it’s always nice to have an extra keyboard and mouse at your disposal.

Nonetheless, the CyberPowerPC G104 still remains our top recommendation for gamers on a very limited budget. Despite the lack of peripherals, you get a functional, very well-performing PC with aesthetics to match.

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3. MXZ Gaming PC

REASONS TO BUY

Aesthetically pleasing
Overall solid value for less than $800
Great 1080p gaming performance
Current-generation processor
Feasible for some light content creation
Six RGB fans preinstalled
Quiet operation

REASONS TO AVOID

Disappointing build quality
Weak PSU will make upgrades complicated
Only 500GB of storage
Poor airflow

Our Rating: 9.4/10

This gaming PC from MXZ is our last recommendation for the $800 budget range. It’s got some excellent features that may very well surprise you for how affordable it is, but at the same time, it saves money on some essential things. It’s good for the 3rd spot on our list, but it’s far from what we would call a strong recommendation.

Let’s start with the design and quality. Aesthetics are definitely a strong feature of this PC, with a lot of RGB and a smooth finish of the chassis, but that’s about all that’s good about the chassis. Most of the case is cheap plastic, and it uses a cheap acrylic side window instead of tempered glass.

This leads to a substantially worse build quality compared to most PCs on this list and has us questioning the longevity of this rig. And while the PC is pretty quiet, even under heavier loads, the airflow is poor with a completely sealed front panel, which will lead to higher temperatures.

On the brighter side, the cooling system equipped here is one of the best we’ve seen. The PC comes with a total of six 120mm fans, all equipped with customizable RGB LEDs. However, they have to work harder to keep everything cool due to the worse airflow of the chassis. This may lead to the fans wearing out over time, again reducing the lifespan of this PC.

The hardware included is the sole reason why we decided to feature this PC on our recommendation list. You’ll get probably the best CPU and GPU combo, with an Intel Core i3-13100F and an Nvidia GTX 1660 Super. In addition to that, the PC comes with a surprising 16GB of DDR4 RAM and a fairly standard 500GB NVMe drive.

The CPU, while only quad-core, is probably the best you can have in the sub-$800 category. It’s more efficient and performs better than older six-core chips; plus, it is more forward-compatible, meaning it will support the newer DDR5 RAM if you decide to upgrade later on.

The GPU is older, but as we mentioned in our review of the G104, it’s a cost-efficient video card that offers great performance for 1080p gameplay. It will run the majority of older and popular titles with smooth frame rates and will only fall short of new, graphically demanding titles.

Apart from the storage, the power supply is probably the weakest link here, and it will severely limit your future upgrade options. On the other hand, if you don’t plan on upgrading your components in the future, it’s enough for the level of performance the PC offers.

Just like the CyberPowerPC G104, MXZ also doesn’t offer any peripherals with the PC. As we mentioned earlier, we see this as a significant drawback, as most people shopping in this budget range will be either gamers switching from consoles or completely new gamers.

In summary, this gaming PC from MXZ is a bit of a mixed bag. It offers impressive performance for a very affordable price, but the downsides we covered, be it the airflow, the power supply, or the lack of peripherals, may be dealbreakers for a lot of gamers.

With the two other PCs featured on this list being marginally better, we’d only recommend this one if you can find it on a sale for $100-$150 cheaper.

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Final Words

There you have it. These were our selections for the 12 best budget prebuilt gaming PCs on the market in 2023.

Whatever plans you have in mind for your PC, the options on our list will be an excellent starting point, no matter your budget.

If you enjoyed the article, make sure to share it with your friends on social media!

More importantly, if you have some additional questions or need help with picking the best gaming PC for your needs, feel free to reach out to us, and we’ll be more than happy to help you out.

We love hearing from you!

12 Best Budget Prebuilt Gaming PCs in 2023 – Under $1500, $1200, $1000, $800

Best Prebuilt Gaming PCs Under $1500

1. SkyTech Nebula

2. CyberPowerPC Gamer Master

3. YEYIAN Kunai X13

Best Prebuilt Gaming PCs Under $1200

1. CyberPowerPC Gamer Master

2. YEYIAN Shoge

3. MXZ Gaming PC

Best Prebuilt Gaming PCs Under $1000

1. SkyTech Shadow 3.0

2. ViprTech Ghost

3. CyberPowerPC Gamer Xtreme

Best Prebuilt Gaming PCs Under $800

1. SkyTech Chronos Mini

2. CyberPowerPC G104

3. MXZ Gaming PC

Final Words

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