How Much Does It Cost To Build A Gaming PC Entire Cost Breakdown

How Much Does It Cost To Build A Gaming PC Entire Cost Breakdown

If you’re in the market or want to try the project of building a gaming PC. Well, you’re in luck as we will give you a step-by-step breakdown of the total estimate cost. We promise once finished reading this article; you will have a least a ballpark estimate on how much you will roughly spend on your new gaming PC. Additionally, we will also list the best components for each price range to assist you in finding the best components for yourself.

How Much Does It Cost To Build A Gaming PC
How Much Does It Cost To Build A Gaming PC

Now to answer the question: “How Much Does It Cost To Build A Gaming PC”  The answer purely depends, what you want to get out and what components you want to integrate to your  PC costing anywhere from $150 to $2,000+.  Here is a comprehensive chart that breaks down the three main gaming pc categories and their average cost.

Range: Average Cost:
Low-End Gaming PC $150-$500
Mid-Range Gaming PC $500-$1200
High-End Gaming PC $2000+

Before even buying, we would recommend creating a list of crucial piece equipment that are must-haves for new gaming PC, and also come up with a  set max budget of how much you are willing to spend. Thus you can make priority for the components you want most and spend the access budget on secondary advancements.

Also, acknowledge what task you will be performing on your new PC, if you know you play very demanding games or tasks, then it may be wise to save up a bit more till you know you have the funds to purchase/build a Pc that can handle those demanding applications. On the opposite hand, if you know the applications you run are not very demanding such as Fortnite or League Of Legends, then you may not require such as massive budget as the components don’t need to be as powerful. 

Parts Needed To Build A Gaming PC (Cost Breakdown)

1. Processor CPU –

The first on the list is the processors, as its a critical piece within creating your gaming PC. As it holds three essential parts that significantly affect performance.

Clock Speed This measures the processing speed of the computer.

Cores Which are a kind set of instructions that read and execute programs, generally they’re usually assigned to handle one task within the computer. However, specific processors can utilize multiple cores at one time

ThreadsThese refer to the highest level of code that can be executed by the processor. Thus if you have a high number of threads in the system. Then your CPU will be better suited in supporting several tasks at the same time. All CPUs have active threads, and every process performed on your computer has at least a single thread. However, many high-end processors are equipped with Hyper-Reading, which adds additional threads per core.

Intel Core i5 i5-7400 Quad-core (4 Core) 3 GHz Processor
Intel Core i5 i5-7400 Quad-core (4 Core) 3 GHz Processor 

Finally, these three components are going to impact your performance directly. Thus, when choosing your CPU, you want to make sure that you choose one that it’s up to date as older CPU will not have the same technological advancements as a newer flagship CPU. Thus we would recommend future-proofing you’re CPU to be able to handle newer, flagship applications here are the top CPU for each price range.

Intel processors are known for having a robust single-core performance, thus being favored within tasks such as gaming. Unfortunately, they are heavily restricted within functions such as overclocking and also tend to be more expensive than their counterparts. As for AMD processors, they are geared with strong multi-core performance being very good at multitasking and productivity tasks.

Basic Range $50-$100:  AMD Ryzen 3 1300X or AMD Ryzen 3 2200G
Mid   Range $150-$250: Intel Core i5 or AMD Ryzen 5 CPU.
High-End  $250-$350: Intel Core i7, or AMD Ryzen 7 Chip.
Workstation Heavy $400+ Intel Core X or AMD Threadripper

(Click On Any CPU To View The Best Pricing We Found)

2. Motherboard

Once you have found the CPU you want, it’s now time to chose what motherboard you want to equip. In short, the main difference between high-end and low-end motherboards is with the lower-end motherboard; you may not have the capability to support overclocking.

If you don’t know what overclocking is, its the action of increasing a computer’s clock speed, allowing it to run at a higher rate than it was initially intended. Within your Pc, it comes with a set factory setting speed, If you have a lower spec CPU performing past maximum speed. May cause unwanted problems or even damage the component permanently.

Motherboard Parts
Motherboard Parts

However, if you know you have a higher tier CPU that is not limited. Then you can increase the speed CPU speed by setting a higher clock speed. This will allow the components to perform more operations per rate, but you still need a motherboard that can support these high specifications as they work within contingent.

Thus we would recommend buying a high model motherboard conjoined with your CPU. If you choose an Intel CPU, you will need at least a  K-Series-Or Z-Series motherboard if you want to overclock your CPU. If you have bought an AMD CPU, you will need a B-Series Or X- Series motherboard to achieve overclocking capabilities. 

Best High-End AMD MotherBoard MSI MEG X570 Godlike
Best High-End Intel MotherBoard- MSI MEG Z390
Best Mid Range AMD MotherBoard Asus ROG X570 Crosshair VIII Hero
Best Mid Range Intel MotherBoard- Gigabyte Z390 Aorus Xtreme
Best Budget AMD Motherboard- MSI B450 Gaming Plus MAX
Best Budget Intel Motherboard Gigabyte Z390 UD

(Click On Any Motherboard To View The Best Pricing We Found)

3. GPU

The GPU is another key element that profoundly impacts gaming performance; the purpose of the GPU is to intake information that is happening on the screen and renders it to. To be the actual graphics and resolutions that you are seeing.  For this process to go smoothly, all components must work together.

GTX 980 Graphics Card
GTX 980 Graphics Card

As the GPU and CPU must both be in contingent as if, they fail to communicate with one another properly it may cause for a bottleneck or make the images appear to be ghosting  (Click Here To Read Our Post On How To Eliminate Monitor Ghosting For Good) A good measurement to avoid purchasing a subtly GPU is by examing the VRAM. 

  • At 2GB of VRAM, expect decent performance in 1080p  application or games with standard-definition textures.
  • At 4GB of VRAM, expect decent performance in 1440p titles, or 1080p applications or games with high-definition textures.
  • At 6GB and higher, expect excellent performance in VR titles, 4K titles, and 1440p titles with high-definition textures.

Finally, A GPU can come at a wide array of different price points, and we would strongly not advise purchasing a  lower-end graphics card as it may not be powerful enough to perform some action smoothly.

Mid-Range, we would suggest something the GTX 1050ti, GTX 1060, or an RTX 1660 card, as they have a high price to performance ratio. And if you want something that can handle all your tasks, then consider purchasing a high-end graphics card such as the  GTX 1080 TI or RTX 2080TI.

Range: Cost:
Low-End GPU $100-$200
Mid-Range GPU $200-$500
High-End GPU $500+

4. Memory RAM

Next, up is the Memory RAM. What RAM stands for is ” random access memory,” and it’s responsible for saving computer resources and function stored within the memory of the computer. Allowing for faster retrieval next time that specific function is once again performed.

Memory RAM -
Memory RAM

The RAM is also directly correlated with CPU performance. Thus we would suggest staying away from single RAM and favor more toward dual or quad-channel if possible to help for faster memory access to your programs. Here is a chart of various RAM GB’s and what they can be used for 

  • 4GB – The absolute bare minimum. Light gaming and basic computing tasks. 
  • 8GB – Mid-Range- Great for gaming and multitasking, Definitely able to handle nearly all today’s computer uses.
  • 16GB – The best. Definitely future-proof for the next four years or so.
  • 32GB – Serious productivity, unnecessary for regular users.

5. SSD(Solid State Drive) Or HDD (Hard Disk Drive)

(Click Here If You Want A More In-Depth Comparison Between An SSD And A HDD)

To keep it short, an Solid State Driver (SSD) is a storage drive that has no moving parts within the unit. And also tend to be much faster than there counterparts Hard Disk Drive (HHD) However. Unfortunately, they also tend to be more expensive per GB of storage.

Solid State Drive VS Hard Disk Drive
Solid State Drive VS Hard Disk Drive

As for HDD,  they serve better when only used to store media, applications. Although they can save your gaming experience, we wouldn’t suggest it. As the majority of the time, the result appears with slower load times. However, they work very wells for simple application tasks such as watching videos or listening to music or browsing the web.

6. Power Supply Unit

Finally, you need a reliable power supply unit to be able to deliver enough power to the PC of your choice. For those who don’t know a power supply unit, it is a piece of hardware that projects power that’s provided by the outlet, into the many usable moving parts inside the computer case. Here are some tips to check for when buying a power supply unit.

  • Purchase only from a reputable brand
  • Make sure that the power supply unit has enough wattage to power your system, especially if you’ll be doing tasks such as overclock
  • Choose a power supply unit with a high weight efficiency level to avoid excessive power consumption or excessive heating; 80 + certification should be acceptable.

7. Case – 

The last thing you will need is a  case for your gaming PC. This is very simply all that is required is to find a case that matches the size of your motherboard. These very from ATX MATX or ITX, you want to choose a case that will also have enough room from your GPU as well.

Conclusion

There you go, those are all the components that will play a part in answering the question, How Much Does It Cost To Build A Gaming PC, as previously mentioned this answer will change depending on the users and their needs. Thus, if you want a very high performing gaming Pc with top of the line components, then expect to pay more. And if you simply want a gaming Pc that can handle decent performance, then you may not need such a wide budget. (Also Read Our Post That Further Explain How Long This Entire Process Can Take)