The best gaming PC under $ 700 uses a powerful 8-core AMD Ryzen 7 5700G processor with Radeon RX Vega 8 Graphics. Do you want to create a decent gaming PC that will handle up to 1080p with newer games? You can’t find a better deal for this money, under $ 700.
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Prebuilt options
Consider the prebuilt option if you don’t have the time and courage to assemble your PC build. An exciting offer comes in the form of the following configuration:
While this seems like an acceptable offer (a little bit above the planned budget), you need to keep in mind the following limitations:
- For this price, it has only one module of 8GB DDR4 RAM speed 2666 Mhz,
- Certain graphics cards will also require a power supply upgrade if you plan to upgrade your PC. To boost this power supply can be pretty expensive and complicated.
Ok, you can say here’s a best-prebuilt gaming pc under $ 700, and you don’t seek further, but let’s take a closer look.
Prebuilt vs. Your PC gaming build
The advantage of a prebuilt PC is getting everything assembled and set up, including a decent USB keyboard and mouse on offer. You can be pleased for several years if you don’t need more. Gamers will enjoy games with medium or low detail up to 1080p, depending on the game title.
Those looking for more have complete freedom to assemble their computer for a little more money, which has a lot of space for future upgrades. There will be no problem whether it’s a better processor (CPU), another HDD, SSD, more RAM, or a discrete graphics card. A power supply unit (PSU) will suffice for most demanding tasks.
For users who haven’t assembled a computer before, I recommend you pay attention to my beginner’s guide.
The best gaming PC build under $ 700 – A Closer Look at the Parts
Assembling the best gaming PC under $ 700 can challenge a beginner. When building a cheaper computer, you need to balance price and quality. Any gamer aims to get as much as possible for the money invested. It’s the same in this area.
If your PC budget limits you, I recommend what you can get for $ 700. You can also go cheaper, but your goal must be to upgrade your computer in the future for less money.
In the beginning, get a good motherboard, a spacious case, a quality power supply unit, and a decent processor. When you have the money in the future, take a discrete graphics card and breathe new life into your computer. Also, if the motherboard has multiple RAM slots, you can quickly expand system memory. I hope you understand the point of the story.
Another important thing. The listed components are the core of any PC configuration. You must also count on purchasing monitors and peripherals (mouse, keyboard, headphones, speakers) and the operating system. Linux is a free operating system that requires prior knowledge and isn’t for everyone. I recommend investing in Windows, at least the Home version.
Case
Cooler Master MasterBox Q300L TUF
The MasterBox Q300L Gaming Alliance Edition is an attractive small case that supports the Micro-ATX and mini-ITX format. Magnetic dust filters on the front and top are easy to remove and clean. Cooler Master designed the case under the Asus TUF Gaming Alliance, and with the Asus TUF motherboard, it will make a great gaming symbiosis of this compact gaming configuration.
You can install two fans up to 140 mm and a water cooling radiator up to 240 mm on the front of the housing. You can place one fan or a radiator up to 120mm on the back. At the top, you can install two 120mm fans. The open design of the perforated front, the top, and the bottom guarantees excellent thermal performance potential.
The CM Q300L TUF allows the installation of a discrete graphics card up to 360 mm (14.1 “) in length. Behind the motherboard, there’s a space of about 30 mm where you can place the excess cables and do good cable management.
Overall, you get a compact and likable gaming design, quality build, and enough space to install standard-size components for a reasonable price. MasterBox Q300L is a perfect base for assembling the best gaming PC build for under $ 700.
Motherboard
ASUS TUF Gaming B450M-PLUS II
ASUS TUF Gaming B450M-PLUS II is a fantastic AM4 motherboard for its price, loaded with many possibilities and a likable gaming design. With the recommended small gaming case CM Q300L, the motherboard will be a good foundation for your future gaming computer. Besides, it has a fast PCIe Gen3 x4 interface for M.2 NVMe SSD. Alternatively, I also recommend the excellent Asus Prime B450-A II motherboard.
To support the latest Ryzen 5 5000 series processors, you need to do a BIOS update (to version 2409). If you aren’t sure how to do this, ask your dealer, service technician, or friend who understands to do it for you.
The BIOS update procedure isn’t complicated. You only need a USB flash drive with the latest BIOS. Insert the USB flash drive and press the button on the I/O back panel. The motherboard doesn’t even have to have a processor or memory installed, and this process Asus calls the BIOS FlashBack. You have the whole procedure described in the motherboard manual.
You won’t go wrong with this motherboard, where you can overclock the processor without any problems. Just note that for any OC, you need to have a severe aftermarket CPU cooler. Fortunately, the CM Q300L TUF case supports the installation of a CPU cooler up to 159 mm (6.2″) high in addition to water cooling.
CPU
AMD Ryzen 7 5700G with Radeon RX Vega 8 Graphics
AMD Ryzen 7 5700G is an excellent AMD APU with 8 Cores and 16 processing threads, a base clock of 3.8 and 4.6 GHz boost clock, 16 MB L3 cash, and the Wraith Stealth cooler. Ryzen 5700G (coded name Cezanne) is built in 7nm and belongs to Zen 3 desktop APU technology for desktop pc. The G suffix refers to the integrated Radeon graphics card essential for gaming PC under $ 700 without discrete GPU-s.
The integrated graphics of the Radeon Vega RX 8 come with 8 CU-s running at 2.0 GHz. All Zen 3 processors, unlike the older architecture, switch from DDR4 2933 to DDR3 3200, which contributes the most to the performance of games with integrated graphics.
AMD Ryzen 5 5600G and the Ryzen 7 5700G CPUs are great solutions if you don’t have discrete graphics and plan to get it until availability and pricing normalize globally. For those who opt for the best APU solution and for whom price isn’t a problem, there’s no better solution than the Ryzen 7 5700G.
Looking at every dollar and value for money, the Ryzen 5 5600G is a better option. It’s not much slower than the more expensive and more powerful 5700G. So let’s look at the Ryzen 7 5700G as a transitional solution for advanced users who can’t find the desired discrete graphics card at reasonable prices or aren’t available.
Unfortunately, Intel can’t offer anything near AMD APU performance for 2022. Please pay attention to the speed of the RAM because it pretty much affects the FPS in games.
Last but not least, if you want to play with the processor overclocking, you must get a better-quality aftermarket cooler.
RAM
TEAMGROUP T-Force Delta RGB DDR4 16GB (2x8GB) 3600MHz
Although choosing memory may seem easy for your gaming PC built for under $ 700, it can give you a headache if you make the wrong choice. You should know that inserting only one memory module in a dual-channel memory controller halves the memory bandwidth, especially detrimental for integrated graphics whose architecture and speed mainly depend on system memory (RAM).
The budget allows us to choose two memory modules of 16GB(2x8GB) for dual-channel work. Note that two more RAM expansion slots are left on the motherboard for future upgrades. Since we know that the Ryzen 7 5700G works with 3200 Mhz memory, we will take a minimum of that speed or higher.
In this particular case, for your gaming PC build under $ 700, we chose a quality RGB RAM that runs at 3600 Mhz. This memory speed is good for integrated graphics and CPU to overclock if you want to play with that option to give more fps in games. Always take memory modules from the same manufacturer at the same speed for compatibility and more stable system operation.
PSU
EVGA 110-BQ-0600-K1 600 BQ, 80+ Bronze 600W, Semi Modular
We don’t need a too expensive and robust PS for this budget configuration. It must be good quality, have an 80+ certificate, and have a 3-year warranty. In that case, you can take a semi-modular power supply unit with an 80+ bronze certificate from the EVGA.
EVGA 110-BQ-0600-K1 power supply unit is of excellent quality, and you get a three-year warranty. It is a semi-modular design, which is reasonably practical for cable management. The fan is quiet and suitable for excellent cooling.
The EVGA PSU is more than suitable for this system, but the power supply has enough power to power a stronger discrete graphics card.
I have used EVGA power supplies for years and have never had a problem with them. My warm recommendation for building your gaming PC under $ 700 is EVGA 600 BQ.
Storage
Western Digital 1TB Blue SN570 NVMe SSD Gen3, M.2 2280, Up to 3,500 MB/s
I recommend installing the minimum 120GB SSD capacity in a modern gaming PC. On 128GB, you can install the operating system, antivirus program, utilities, and several smaller applications. Mostly quite cramped for comfortable work.
Since SSDs are much faster to run than traditional hard drives, always look to buy an SSD (especially pay attention to NVMe SSDs), and then you can buy some more HDDs later.
You can use HDD to store your data, movies, and music. The 240Gb SSD is quite comfortable for comfortable work. You can already install a couple of your favorite games on it.
You can always easily upgrade SSD for money, but this is more than a good start. But for this build, I recommend purchasing an NVMe SSD because it is a much faster option than a classic SATA SSD. If you haven’t had an M.2 NVMe SSD before, you won’t return to the “old” SSD once you buy it.
Western Digital is a well-known name, one of the largest HDD manufacturers in the world, and its products have never disappointed me. In addition to HDDs, WD is also engaged in producing SSDs, with great success.
If your budget allows, go immediately to a 1 TB NVMe SSD capacity. This WD Blue SN570 SSD comes with sequential reads/writes up to 3500 MB/s / 3300MB/s.
Using an NVMe SSD as your primary drive, you will feel a big difference in system, game, and application loads compared to a SATA SSD.
Operating system
Without an operating system (OS), your new gaming PC will be just a decoration on your desk. Today you can choose between two popular PC OS: Windows and Linux. If you are tight on budget and don’t want to spend more than buying hardware, choose one of the Linux distributions.
Popular distributions of Linux (which visually most resemble Windows) are Linux Lite, Zorin OS, and Ubuntu … These are all free distros of the Linux operating system. Linux’s only downside is that they require more customization and have narrowed support for games and programs, unlike Windows.
If you want a legitimate copy of Windows, get at least the basic version of Windows Home. Windows has many games and programs, ironed drivers, and runs smoothly.
If you decide to take Windows, you can install it on your PC in two ways, via a USB flash drive or an optical drive (CD or DVD). You can find a pre-installed Windows 10 on a USB flash drive.
See the instructions to install your copy of the OS at home on a USB flash drive.
Periphery
Suppose you have a monitor, mouse, keyboard, and headphones left over from your old PC. Then it would be best to have nothing more to buy than the estimated budget for this pc gaming build under $ 700. But if you don’t have peripherals, you’ll have to get them to complete your gaming PC. Furthermore, I will recommend cheap but quality peripherals that will not burden you with the planned budget for building your gaming PC.
Monitor
ASUS VG245H 1080p 1ms Dual HDMI Eye Care Console Gaming Monitor with FreeSync/Adaptive Sync
Great monitor for games. It isn’t heavy and is easy to place on a stand. Because it’s light, you must be careful not to knock it down accidentally. The OSD menu and preset settings are easily accessible and easy to use. The contrast isn’t too strong, but it won’t bother you since this is a gaming monitor. The Built-in TN panel has an excellent response time but worse viewing angles. With this price and solid characteristics, this is an offer that you can hardly reject. Alternatively, you can peek at our list of best gaming monitors for under $ 200.
Keyboard mouse combo
Cooler Master Devastator 3
CM Devastator 3 is a fantastic keyboard and mouse combo. All the keys feel good (has a rubbery touch and don’t make much noise when typing), and the lighting on both is phenomenal (7 colors and three types of light intensity). The lights are bright but not too distracting.
I would recommend this to anyone on a budget who doesn’t need all the extra features for gaming. You can lock the keyboard entirely or only the Windows Key. For the price, I believe it’s the best combo out there for the gaming PC built for under $ 700. Alternatively, peek at our list of best gaming keyboards for under $ 50.
Headphones
HyperX Cloud Stinger Core
Fantastic gaming headphones for this price. Great sound, but a bit thin for my taste. Maybe it would be better if the bass were a shade stronger. Of course, you won’t even notice it while you’re in the heat of the game, but it can bother someone.
Note that you cannot remove the microphone, so headphones primarily intend to play games. You should also note that headphones aren’t for people with giant heads and ears because they create discomfort after a long time.
Yet, as I pointed out, it could hardly be better for your gaming PC for this money. Alternatively, peek at our list of best gaming headsets for under $ 100.
WiFi for gaming PC
The selected board in this price range doesn’t have a built-in WiFi adapter. You must get an internal PCI card or an external USB adapter if you want a WiFi connection. The recommendation for a WiFi adapter goes to an external USB adapter because it’s much easier to handle.
TP-Link AC600 USB WiFi Adapter for PC (Archer T2U Plus)
If you are bothered to open a desktop computer and insert a PCIe WiFi card, here’s the solution. Also, this is a good and fast solution to connect to WiFi if you don’t have an Ethernet cable nearby.
Windows 10 will recognize this device and run at 2.4 GHz with the generic driver. To work at 5Ghz, you need to download the appropriate driver. The driver on the supplied CD will probably work, but I recommend downloading the latest driver from the manufacturer’s website.
The card has a solid 5dbi signal via a built-in antenna, a decent bit rate, and support for Mac OS. In addition, the adapter works very well and has good value for money.
Conclusion
For less than $ 700, you can assemble a decent gaming PC with a state-of-the-art integrated graphics card. We could install a graphics card such as the AMD RX 580 8GB or NVidia GTX 1060 6GB a year ago into this gaming PC.
Due to the mining of cryptocurrencies, supply chain disruptions due to the pandemic, and the chip crisis, there was a sharp jump in the prices of graphics cards. Their availability on a global level has also come into question. This PC built is an excellent base for future upgrades. Wait for the graphics cards to become cheaper enough that you can enhance this configuration.
Finding a better price-quality ratio on this excellent PC build is complex. It’s cheap enough, has quality components, and is expandable in the future. It has enough power to cope up to 1080p in games with medium or low detail.
Lastly, if you have any additional questions or suggestions, don’t hesitate to leave a comment.