The best budget gaming PCs out there to prove that investing in a new gaming computer isn’t as expensive as you might think. And while the best gaming PCs may need you to take out a loan, the best budget gaming PCs can still deliver fantastic performance at more affordable price points. That should ease the pocketbooks of the more budget-conscious buyers out there.
And with all the latest internals unveiled or available on the market, like Intel Coffee Lake Refresh, AMD Ryzen 3nd Generation and AMD Navi, as well as Nvidia’s Super RTX series,there's never a bad time to dive into one of the best budget gaming PCs.
We’ve compiled our selection of the best budget gaming PCs of 2019, which will leave the PS4 Pro and Xbox One X in the dust, and have you gaming in no time and for not too much money.
If you’re looking for a cheap way to play your favorite PC games without having a gigantic tower taking up a ton of space in your apartment, you’re going to want to take a look at the Intel Hades Canyon NUC. Don’t assume that these onboard graphics won’t be able to handle real gaming either – these Vega graphics will see you through AAA games at 1080p no problem, with some light 1440p thrown in for good measure. The only drawback here is that you won’t have an SSD, RAM or an OS, but you should be able to make it a full system for not too much, easy.
When souped up, the HP Omen Desktop PC isn’t what many would consider cheap (and understandably so, as powerful internals do tend to cost a lot). Yet there’s an HP Omen Desktop PC for everyone – yes, even the budget-minded. At a decent price, you’re scoring more than enough power to get you through AAA games, albeit probably not on Ultra, what with an Intel Core i7-8700 processor, Nvidia GeForce GTX 1660 Ti graphics and 8GB RAM. Plus, it’s very upgradeable should you come into a bit of money later, meaning it’s just the best budget gaming PC for gamers who like to plan for the future.
MSI has long held a reputation for being a top-tier laptop and PC component manufacturer, and with the MSI Trident 3, it has combined the two to great effect. And, while this budget gaming PC features last-generation Kaby Lake processors, you’re still going to get fantastic gaming performance – especially at 1080p. Plus, unlike many small-form factor PCs like the Corsair One, you can easily upgrade the MSI Trident 3 in the future – making this purchase one that will last you a long time.
The Dell XPS Tower Special Edition is a lesson in subtlety. This on-the-DL gaming rig looks like something you’d find in your dad’s office, rather than something powering the latest PC games. Rocking an Intel 8th generation Coffee Lake CPU and a Nvidia GTX 1050 Ti even at the lowest configuration option, you’re getting one of the best gaming PCs you can buy in 2019 with the Dell XPS Tower, and that’s without any of the off-putting ‘gamer aesthetic’.
The HP Omen line’s more affordable PC, the HP Omen Obelisk, is definitely well-deserving of the best budget gaming PC title, thanks to its low price of admission and its decent specs at that configuration. And, if you customize before you buy, upgrading the base specs for more power, it won’t set you back a whole lot either. The best part? If you’re not into that over-the-top gaming aesthetic, this one has a classier-looking chassis so you can haul it to your office desk, and no one will be the wiser.
