Are you looking to build an affordable gaming PC? Here are the best cheap PC parts you can buy in 2019.
PC gaming is usually more complicated than console gaming since you need to buy a custom PC if you want to make the most out of your money and it seems more expensive at first. But today, we will list the best parts to build an affordable gaming PC that is guaranteed to play most of your AAA games on 1080p resolution and high settings with above 30 FPS.
Monitor: ASUS VG248QE
This is our favorite gaming monitor. A budget gaming PC needs a budget gaming monitor. ASUS VG248QE has everything you need for an affordable price: 144Hz refresh rate and 1ms response time for competitive shooters, 1080p native resolution, bright screen and 80,000,000:1 ASCR contrast ratio. The monitor is fast, responsive and affordable.
Graphics Card (GPU): Zotac GTX 1050 Ti Mini
Until the new RTX 2050 arrives, GTX 1050 Ti is still our best affordable GPU choice. It is around %5-10 faster than its AMD competitor RX 560 and its cost-performance ratio is even higher nowadays since the Nvidia 1000 series had a price drop. You can play most AAA games on 1080p Medium-High on 60 FPS. Zotac’s GTX 1050 Ti Mini graphics card is one of the best affordable graphics cards that utilize the GTX 1050 Ti GPU: it is small, has a 4 GB video memory and always works on cool temperatures. It is also the Mini model, which should not affect your performance while being compatible with our MicroATX build. You can also browse through some of this year’s best graphics cards if you want the best for your money. With the RTX graphics cards and the new GTX 1660 graphics cards out, it’s likely you’ll want to get the best for how much you can afford.
Processor (CPU): Intel Core i3-8100 Quad Core 3.6 GHz Turbo Unlocked LGA1151
As our CPU, we have the best affordable processor that won’t bottleneck our GPU, Intel Core i3-8100. It is marginally better than its AMD counterparts around this price range and you can even upgrade your GPU to a GTX 1060 or RX 580 without bottlenecking, but those are its limits. It has a clock speed of 3.6 Ghz and does not support Turbo Boost, but it is also the first i3 to come with 4 cores, so its gaming and rendering performance is noticeably higher than Intel Core i3-7100.
RAM: Patriot Viper Elite 8GB DDR4-2400MHz
As someone looking to build a budget gaming PC, you won’t need memory more than 8 GB as it is still the gateway for gaming and more than enough for multitasking. Patriot Viper Elite 8GB DDR4-2400MHz holds the best value amongst other budget RAMs. It is a 2×4 GB dual-channel DDR4 RAM, running on the speed of 2400MHz. It is priced slightly lower than its closest competitors, HyperX Fury and Corsair Vengeance LPX, while offering very similar performance. If you want to upgrade in the future, you can buy more of these and install it easily on your motherboard.
HDD: WD Blue 1TB SATA 6 Gb/s 7200 RPM 64MB
Standard storage for a starter PC gamer. WD Blue offers the most storage per dollar, featuring 1 TB of storage, which is more than enough to store around 30-40 big games. The HDD has a standard speed of 7200 RPM and offers 2-year manufacturer limited warranty. You can easily upgrade your HDD or add SDD in the future, so there isn’t anything much to worry about in the storage part.
Power Supply: EVGA BR 450W 80+ Bronze-Certified PSU
450W is the most you will need using an entry level gaming PC like our build, and the EVGA BR 450W 80+ Bronze-Certified PSU is the gold standard of 450-watt PSUs. EVGA truly makes the best power supplies in the market. It is affordable, has high build quality, and most importantly, it is reliable. While they may seem insignificant, PSUs are one of the most important PC parts; going too cheap in this category can easily damage your PC, so always go with high-quality power supplies.
Motherboard: MSI H310M PRO-VH Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard
Since we are looking to build a cheap gaming PC while preserving the highest price/performance ratio, we went with a reliable and affordable gaming motherboard that supports the latest 8th Gen Intel processor with LGA1151 socket. It does not offer much since it is an entry-level motherboard, but it is compatible with our build, supports DDR4 Memory, up to 2666 MHz and has all the ports you need.
Case: Thermaltake Versa H18 Tempered Glass MicroATX Case
Thermaltake Versa H18 Tempered Glass MicroATX Case is a small, stylish and affordable PC case that does not look its price. The case has great airflow, looks stylish with its tempered glass and LED strip and comes with a fan. The single exhaustion fan may not be optimal for those that want the coolest gaming PC possible but getting 1-2 extra fans should not cost you more than $20. All in all, this is easily the best MicroATX PC case you can buy around this price range.
There it is, the best affordable gaming PC you can build in 2019. This PC’s gaming performance easily tops PS4. These cheap but high-performance PC parts should be enough to get you into the PC gaming scene and this gaming PC can easily run your favorite games reliably for the next 3 years.
