If you want to build a budget-friendly PC on Black Friday, spiraling RAM prices and GPU shortages might make you think twice about trying to put together a cash-conscious gaming rig. Fear not. Tom's Hardware is back with its iconic budget build, as made famous by Amazon Prime Day.
Pleasing everyone is impossible when it comes to building a PC, so consider this a helpful guide as you get started. It includes an 8-core processor, 32GB of DDR4 RAM (DDR5 is simply not an option at this price), a 1TB M.2 SSD, and the potent RX 9060 XT with 16GB of VRAM.
$950 Prime Day gaming PC: Quick list
- AMD Ryzen 7 5800XT 3.8 GHz 8-Core Processor: $183 at Amazon
- Gigabyte B550 Eagle Wi-Fi 6 motherboard:
was $119now $89 at Amazon - PowerColor Reaper AMD Radeon RX 9060 XT:
was $369now $349 at Amazon - PNY 32GB (2 x 16GB) XLR8 3200 MHz DDR4: $139.99 at Newegg
- Crucial 1TB P310:
was $95.99now $79.99 at Amazon - Phanteks XT Pro:
was $59now $49.99 at Newegg - Thermaltake Toughpower GX2 80+ Gold 600W:
was $69.99now $49.99 at Amazon
$950 Prime Day gaming PC
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This is the same processor we chose the last time we built this. The dynamite Ryzen 7 5800XT comes with 4.8GHz peak clock speeds and eight cores of Zen 3 power. Grabbing this CPU from Amazon is now cheaper than Newegg. This CPU comes with AMD's capable Wraith Prism cooler, saving us vital cents on our build. If you insist on a third-party cooler to keep things quieter, grab this $20 Thermalright Assassin Spirit.
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This Gigabyte Eagle board is a solid foundation for our 5800XT and the DDR4 RAM we've chosen for this build. It comes with Wi-Fi, a decent array of connectivity, and at just $89.99, is extremely affordable.
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While the discount here is modest, the star of our show is actually cheaper than it was the last time we recommended it at just $349. AMD wins again in our budget build for GPU, as it does for CPU. Get $20 off this card with 3290 MHz clock speeds and crucially , 16GB of VRAM. If you want a 16GB card from Nvidia, you won't find one for less than $400, more than half our entire budget.
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32GB of RAM is a non-negotiable for us at this price point, but recent increases have more than doubled our preferred kit's price compared to just a couple months ago. Still, this is the best you can do for a large, low-latency DDR4 kit.
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A decent 1TB SSD with very respectable speeds and PCIe 4. Clean and simple.
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With a $10 rebate on offer, this Phanteks XT Pro case costs less than 50 bucks and gets you a tempered glass window, one exhaust fan (with support for plenty more), radiator support for liquid cooling (if you'd like to upgrade down the line), and plenty of space for our GPU and all the other parts. It's not the flashiest case in the world, but it's understated and solid, perfect for what we need.
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600W will be plenty of power for our rig, and this Thermaltake Toughpower comes with an 80+ Gold rating and a nifty discount to see us over the line.
And there you have it, a capable and affordable gaming PC that can handle 1080p and 1440p gaming, no corners cut. Pick up this parts list now before the AI gold rush makes budget-friendly PC building a thing of the past.
We are working hard to find the best computer hardware deals for you this Amazon Prime Day. We cover the hottest deals in real-time at our Best Amazon Prime Day Deals Live page. If you're looking for more savings, check out our Amazon Prime Day deals for a range of products, or dive deeper into our specialized SSD and Storage Deals, Hard Drive Deals , Gaming Monitor Deals , Graphics Card Deals , or CPU Deals pages.
