Gaming PC Under 500

/Updated 10.11.2022./

First, you must know that a gaming PC under $ 500 doesn’t have a discrete graphics card. Or do you want to create a decent gaming PC that will handle up to 1080p resolution with newer games? No problem. It has a powerful 6-core AMD Ryzen 5 5600G processor with Radeon Vega RX 7 Graphics. 

Under $ 500, you can’t find a better deal:

Prebuilt options

Also, we have a prebuild PC for those who don’t have the time and courage to assemble their build in this price range.

An exciting offer comes in the form of the following configuration:

Ok, you can say here’s the best gaming PC built for around $ 500, and you don’t seek further, but let’s take a closer look.

While this seems like an acceptable and cheaper offer, you need to keep in mind the following limitations:

• Limited space in the case of future upgrades
• Inferior integrated graphics compared to AMD
• It does have a PCIe expansion slot, but the PSU power is the only 300w, so your choices are pretty limited

Prebuilt vs. Your built gaming pc

The advantage of a prebuilt PC is that you get everything assembled and set up. You can be pleased for several years if you don’t need more. Casual gamers will be able to enjoy light gaming with low details. Don’t count on installing more powerful and larger discrete graphics. That action needs more power from the weak power supply unit.

The “cheap” solution will be to install low-profile graphics cards like AMD RX 6400 without a power connector. Of course, you can install a discrete graphics card at your own risk during the warranty period.

I’m sorry, but we can’t recommend the Intel configuration in this price range because the integrated graphics are inferior to AMD. Those looking for more have complete freedom to assemble their PC for less money, which has a lot of space for future upgrades. Whether it’s a better processor, another HDD, SSD, M.2 SSD, more memory, or a discrete graphics card, there will be no problem. A PSU will suffice for most demanding tasks.

For users who haven’t assembled a PC before, we recommend you pay attention to the beginner’s guide. If you have additional questions, don’t hesitate, we are here for you.

The best gaming PC build under $ 500 – A Closer Look at the Parts

Assembling the best gaming PC build under $ 500 can be challenging for a beginner. As we mentioned, read this detailed guide before creating your first PC. When making a cheaper PC, you need to balance price and quality. Every 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, we recommend what you can get for under $ 500. You can also go cheaper, but your goal must be to upgrade your PC in the future for less money. In the beginning, get a good motherboard, a spacious case, a quality power supply unit (PSU), and a decent processor (CPU).

Take a discrete graphics card and breathe new life into your PC when you have the money in the future. Also, if the motherboard has multiple memory slots, it is easy to expand the RAM. 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 other peripherals (mouse, keyboard, headphones, speakers) and the operating system (OS).

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

The MasterBox Q300L  is an attractive small case that supports the Micro-ATX and mini-ITX format. Magnetic dust filters on the front and top of the Q300L case are easy to remove and clean.

The case is compact and beautifully designed, so together with the Asus Prime B450M 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 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 built for under $ 500.

Motherboard

ASUS Prime B450M-A II

Fantastic AM4 motherboard for this price, loaded with many possibilities and a likable design and support for Ryzen 5000 series processors. Besides, it has a fast PCIe Gen3 x4 interface for M.2 NVMe SSD.

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.

You won’t go wrong with this motherboard, where you can overclock the CPU without problems. Just note that for any OC, you need to have a severe aftermarket CPU cooler.

 CPU

AMD Ryzen 5 5600G with Radeon RX Vega 7 Graphics

 

AMD Ryzen 5 5600G is an excellent AMD CPU (APU)  with 6 Cores and 12 processing threads, bundled with the Wraith Stealth cooler. The G suffix refers to the integrated Radeon RX Vega 7 graphics. AMD APU represents a slight improvement over the previous generation of the Ryzen 5. It runs at 4.4Gh with a boost, is unlocked for overclocking, has a 19 MB cache, and has DDR4-3200 support.

If you are looking for a CPU with integrated graphics that can give its most for gaming above 60 fps at low resolutions, the Ryzen 5 5600G represents the perfect balance of price and performance. This 5600G Ryzen/Vega system is suitable for gaming PC in 720p and 1080p (with a reasonable level of detail, depending on the game title). 

The integrated Radeon RX Vega 7 graphics card is more potent than competing solutions. Intel chips have UHD 630/ UHD 750 graphics in this price range, but it’s nowhere near the performance offered by the Ryzen IGP.

The more expensive Ryzen 7 5700G generally outperforms the Ryzen 5 5600G by a decent margin. But this isn’t so significant in the graphics segment that the average user would notice it. The difference in price doesn’t justify investing in a more potent processor.

In the future, when these integrated graphics become cramped for higher resolutions and higher levels of detail in games, consider installing a discrete graphics card. Also, please pay attention to the RAM speed because it affects the fps in games, especially with an integrated graphics card.

AMD Ryzen 5 5600G is more than enough for everyday work and your budget gaming PC. Still, if you want to play with the processor overclocking, you must get a better-quality aftermarket cooler. 

RAM

Patriot Viper Steel RGB DDR4 16GB (2 x 8GB) 3200MHz Memory Kit 

Although choosing memory may seem easy for your gaming PC built for under $ 500, 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, which is especially detrimental for integrated graphics, whose architecture and speed mainly depend on system memory (RAM).

We recommend choosing two memory modules (2x8GB) total capacity of 16GB for dual-channel work. Two more memory expansion slots are left on the motherboard for future upgrades. Since we know that the Ryzen 5 5600G works with 3200Mhz memory, we will take a minimum of that speed or higher.

In this particular case, for your gaming PC built under $ 500, we chose a memory that runs at 3200Mhz. 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.

Also, this Patriot Viper Steel RGB RAM is fully compatible with Asus Aura Sync and XMP 2.0 for OC.

PSU

EVGA 600 W3, 80+ White 600W 

 

We don’t need an overpriced and robust power supply unit for this budget configuration of a gaming PC, especially since there’s currently no discrete graphics card. However, if you don’t care when choosing a PSU, you can have burned-out components and run out of money.

PSU with 600W is enough to power this PC but must meet the following criteria: satisfactory quality, 80+ certificate, and at least a three-year warranty.

EVGA 600 W3, 80+ White is a primary budget PSU that satisfies the set criteria, and at the same time, it’s reliable, and at this price, it’s what we need. If you install a discrete graphics card, you will have enough power at your disposal.

The downside is that the EVGA 600 W3 isn’t a modular PSU, but it’s hard to expect to be looking for that option in this price range. Overall, a great PSU for the money invested and the quality you get. We have been using EVGA PSU for years and have never had a problem, and take our warm recommendation for this gaming PC builds.

Storage

WD Blue SN550 NVMe SSD

 

 

The minimum SSD capacity I recommend for modern PC installation is 256GB. Install the operating system, antivirus program, utilities, and several smaller applications. Mostly quite cramped for comfortable work. 

Since NVMe SSDs are much faster to run than traditional SATA SSDs, always look to buy an NVMe SSD, and then you can buy HDD later for personal data storage. The HDD, like slower media, can store your data, movies, and music. The SN550 NVMe SSD Gen3 with 500GB capacity is excellent for comfortable work and will be enough in this price range.

The WD SN550 has a read speed of 2,600 MB/s and a write speed of up to 1800 MB/s. So, it’s much faster than a classic SATA SSD. Note that the fastest SATA SSDs can achieve a maximum speed of 600 MB/s via the SATA III interface.

You can install a few of your favorite games, but this is a good start. When you have more money, add an NVMe with more capacity.

The operating system for the best gaming pc build under $ 500

Your new gaming PC will be a desk decoration without an operating system. Today you can choose between two popular PC operating systems: 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 resembles 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. We recommend getting at least the basic version of Windows Home if you want a legitimate copy of Windows. 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).

Here 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 $ 500.

But if you don’t have peripherals, you’ll have to get them to complete your gaming PC. Furthermore, I recommend cheap but good-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’s not 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 sound characteristics, this is an offer that you can’t refuse.

Keyboard mouse combo

HAVIT Mechanical Keyboard+Mouse+Headset Kit

Havit keyboard comes in 104 Key full-size, occupying sufficient space on the table. This kit contains a mechanical gaming keyboard, wrist rest, mouse, and headset. The build quality is good, but nothing special. The design is quite decent and oriented toward the gaming population.

For this price, you get a mechanical keyboard. It comes with Outemu Blue switches and an RGB backlight. With the easy adjustment, the mouse has six DPI sensitivity levels (800/1600/2400/3200/4000/4800). The headphones are a budget variant with mediocre sound quality, and the RGB works appropriately.

Lighting effects come with 14 predefined settings on the keyboard and seven on the mouse. The headphones have also implemented RGB lighting, which will complete the atmosphere.

Given the relatively low price of this kit, one should not be too critical. If a small budget limits you, it’s worth taking. You get a rounded offer that’s hard to resist, especially for this money. You can’t ask for more. Alternatively, peek at our list of best gaming keyboards for under $ 50.

WiFi for gaming PC

The selected motherboard doesn’t have a built-in WiFi adapter in this price range. If you want a WiFi connection for your gaming PC, you need an internal PCI card or an external USB adapter.

The recommendation for a WiFi adapter goes to an external USB adapter because it’s much easier to handle.

External WiFi adapter

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

If you were in a dilemma about whether it’s possible to make the best gaming PC build under $ 500, the answer is –  yes. 

Anyway, today, this pc is an excellent base for future upgrades. Wait for the discrete 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 with 1080p resolution games with medium or low detail.

If you have any additional questions or suggestions, don’t hesitate to leave a comment.