Best Gaming PC Build Under $700 in 2021 (Ultra 1080p): Custom & Prebuilt Systems
Built & Tested By Our Team
The Team That Worked On This Build
Last Updated
- Aug 4, 2021
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Our Prebuilt Gaming PC Recommendation
Best Gaming PC Under $700
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Before we break down the individual components of our AMD build path, let’s discuss what you can expect from a $700 gaming PC build. This was once considered the mid-range, however, due to stock issues and price hikes, you are looking at a gaming PC closer to budget but you can still expect a really good gaming experience. These components are sure to cope with any AAA game titles you throw at them, especially in 1080p.
Our main goal with our build is to give you the best gaming experience we possibly can for the under $700 target. Each component is carefully selected to maximize value and performance, while also ensuring there are no compatibility issues and your building experience is a great one.
VIDEO: $700 GAMING PC BUILD!
What You Get For Your $700
As you go further down the price ladder, more and more compromises have to be made. Despite this, we have managed to create a build you can be proud of, and to stay on track and keep this under $700, compromises were made in areas that affect your gaming less. The build includes CPU and GPU combinations that can handle most games to a certain point, with more recent AAA titles needing the odd graphical tweak.
At this price category, we have had to sacrifice SSD space and this should be the first area you look to upgrade in the future. That being said, there is still plenty of room here for your operating system and favorite games to get you going. This mid-level PC not only handles games in 1080p with ease but it looks good too!
Performance
Regardless of whether you go for AMD or Intel, you are going to get surprisingly good gaming performance from our $700 gaming PC. This PC handles 1080p gaming in max settings with some titles, however, is most optimal when playing in medium settings.
The AMD CPU brings multithreading into this build, giving it excellent multitasking performance and improving your system overall.
To bring you better gaming components, an area we compromised on was SSD storage. Despite this, the 480GB SSD we recommend is more than enough to get you started and it will actually enhance your gaming too. This SSD boots the operating system much quicker than an HDD and will even give you extra FPS in some games. To improve performance and further future proof the system we have included 16GB of fast RAM, which when tested, brought an increase in the FPS count.
AMD Vs Intel
As you get closer to the lower end of the spectrum you start to see the value in AMD’s impressive 3rd-gen CPUs. Now while gaming performance is fairly similar between both the AMD and Intel build paths, your other general computing tasks like video editing and streaming are going to want the AMD CPU backing them up. Other than a faster clock speed the AMD build path also comes multithreaded, giving you greater flexibility for multitasking. It is worth noting as well with the AMD build path you are going to get better results out of the fast RAM and have a stronger PC in general.
How We Choose
Our team has years of experience behind them building PCs for a range of needs and budgetary requirements. All this knowledge combined with hours of research, user feedback, and onsite benchmarking is what goes into choosing the best components for our builds.
We look for value for money, how the components perform together and focus on gamer’s needs to make sure our builds are the best bang for your buck.
We build all these PCs ourselves, in-house, so trust us when we say we want to make them as good as possible. We actually use all these builds ourselves day-to-day in the WePC offices.
How We Test
We build each of our selected PC’s from scratch to make sure all the parts we recommend work well together, fit into the selected case, and provide the best performance possible for the price range.
Once built, the PCs are used in the office for everyday work as well as a range of games from light to heavy-duty. While we test, we also run benchmarking tests to see how well our builds perform, all while keeping an eye on the temperature of the components themselves.
We know how much some of our readers enjoy overclocking their PCs, so we made sure to test that out too. So, you can feel safe knowing that these machines can be pushed beyond their basic capabilities. But, please make sure you know how to overclock before trying to over-task your builds.
NOTE: Due to the ongoing effects of the global coronavirus pandemic, some retailers are experiencing stock issues. WePC constantly updates our pages to reflect current availability, so if the PC or part you want shows as out of stock, check back later or check out these alternatives.
Our Recommended Custom Build Details
- Last Updated - Aug 4, 2021
This $700 1080p Ultra Gaming PC is designed to thrash anything in its path. Let’s see what makes up the best gaming desktop under $700.
At the $700 mark with a custom gaming PC, this is where we start to see high performance in the 1080p sphere. With a combination of a powerful multithreaded CPU and a reliable GPU, this build will provide you with an excellent gaming experience.
AMD Ryzen 5 2600
The 6 core, 12 thread Ryzen 5 2600 is one of AMD’s second-generation high-end desktop processors, renowned for excellent value multi-core performance. Thanks to the arrival of the recent Ryzen 5000 series, we’ve seen the price of 3rd-gen CPUs plummet, however, we are still unable to fit a 3600 into this build due to the ongoing stock issues.
It comes to the table equipped with an increased clock speed capable of 3.9GHz max boost speed. Overall, this should provide all the gaming performance you need, as well as acceptable streaming and video rendering performance.
GIGABYTE B450M DS3H V2
We’ve paired AMD’s CPU with the Gigabyte B450M Motherboard to create a brilliant foundation for what we consider to be the best gaming rig for under $700. It guarantees compatibility with the Ryzen series and has some great little features as well. It is effectively an entry-level motherboard but comes equipped with fantastic versatility and overclocking potential.
To touch on overclocking briefly, the Ryzen 5 range was purpose-built to be clock boosted, so attaining a solid motherboard that has the ability to utilize this feature is key. Furthermore, the B450M motherboard also houses the potential to overclock the RAM as well, meaning you can squeeze every possible inch of extra performance out of it.
Patriot Viper Steel Series DDR4 16GB (2 x 8GB) 3200MHz
We’re finally at the price point where we can stop making heavy compromises and start focusing on extracting maximum performance out of the hardware we choose. That being said, we’ve opted for a Patriot Viper Steel 16GB 3200MHz RAM kit for the $700 build. This should be more than enough memory to handle even the most demanding of AAA game titles. Furthermore, this is the perfect partnership for the Ryzen CPU. Patriot is an established manufacturer in the memory business and they offer some of the most reliable DDR4 memory money can buy. All-in-all, a fantastic memory solution for this monster of a PC build.
ZOTAC GAMING GeForce GTX 1650 OC
The Zotac Gaming GTX 1650 is our pick for the best gaming PC build under $700 thanks to a combination of strong performance and excellent value for money. It may not be the best graphics card on the market, narrowly missing out on the RX 570, however, it fits within our budget.
Crucial BX500 480 GB
What $700 build is complete without an SSD? That’s right, none. Our build makes use of the ever-popular BX500 480GB SSD for its high sequential read/write speeds. We’ve gone for a trusted brand in Samsung for our SSD as it’s one of the most reputable consumer-level storage manufacturers out there. Load your Windows and primary games onto the SSD for lightning-quick load times and you won’t look back.
Zalman S4 PC Case
The Zalman S4 is an affordable case with some cooling straight out-of-the-box, making it ideal for mid-range builds. The case features an aesthetically pleasing design and has adequate airflow to keep mid-range builds relatively cool. It also gives you enough space for future upgrades and is very easy to build in.
EVGA BQ 80+ Bronze 500W Semi Modular PSU
This affordable PSU from EVGA comes in with excellent levels of efficiency too. If you don’t get a certified PSU you seriously run the risk of endangering the build and potentially your investment. The EVGA 500 Watt option as it offers both excellent reliability and decent efficiency, with semi-modularity, and will run your system for years without issue.
Things To Consider
What Games Can This PC Run?
Counter Strike: Global Offensive
1080p
High settings
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
1080p
Ultra Settings
fortnite
1080p
Epic settings
Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Siege
1080p
High settings
Total War: Warhammer II
1080p
High settings
GTA V
1080p
Highest settings
Our Prebuilt Gaming PC For Under $700
For those without the experience of building a custom PC or the necessary time to do so, a prebuilt option could be the best way to go. Custom PC companies often bring the advantage of warranties and they will test your system before sending it. That being said, we always recommend you build your own but either way here’s our best-prebuilt recommendations.
So if you are one of those who would prefer to buy a prebuilt for whatever reason, here’s a list for you:
HP Pavilion Gaming Desktop (GTX 1650 Super)
This post recommends the best gaming PC you can build for under $700. If you’re looking to buy a pre-built gaming rig instead of going to the hassle of doing it yourself, we recommend the HP Pavilion Gaming Desktop. It’s powered by Intel’s Ryzen Core i3-10100 CPU and a GTX 1650 Super GPU, which can handle most games in 1080p.
Upgrade Path for Custom Build
- Last Updated - Aug 4, 2021
The $700 PC build already has the power to deliver a 1080p gaming experience with at least 60FPS on ultra settings, however, this is a custom PC build. There’s always room to ascend to an even higher level of processing power by making a few tweaks here and there. Below are what we consider to be the absolute best upgrade options for the current $700 PC build. The upgrades have been chosen based on their performance, price, aesthetics, and overclocking ability. So, without further ado, let’s take a look at the prime contenders.
AMD Ryzen 5 3600X
The natural upgrade for this build is a Ryzen 5 3600X, the successor to the 2600x. It’s part of the massively impressive Ryzen 3000 range and one that showcases some of the best single-core performance we’ve seen. We feel it’s the perfect upgrade to this already stellar build and will offer a much more stable and enjoyable gaming experience if you decide to go for it.
Cooler Master MasterLiquid ML240L RGB
Seeing as though one of the main agendas of this build was overclocking, we’d highly recommend purchasing a liquid cooler to reduce any potential temperature issues you might encounter whilst doing so. We’ve chosen Cooler Master as it’s both a trusted brand and boasts reasonable value for money.
ASUS ROG Strix NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 Gaming
For the GPU upgrade, we’ve decided to go for the increasingly popular RTX 3070 card. It’s a graphics card that will increase your FPS considerably thanks to a number of different features this card comes equipped with. Furthermore, this card has the added benefit of real-time ray tracing technology and newly enhanced AI-enhanced graphics. This, in turn, makes the RTX 3070 a brilliant option and one that will future-proof your build for years to come.
Operating System & Peripherals
If you’re buying the best $700 dollar gaming PC, you may already have a number of these things. However, we understand if you don’t, so we’ve written up this section in case you need anything within.
NOTE: These will raise the price of the build!
Let’s get this out of the way: the best gaming PC you could get for the price of 700 dollars is already awesome. It’s boasting more power than a console, and, in fact, probably multiple times the power of the PCs you’ve already used. Unfortunately, PCs aren’t ready to be used right out of the box. They need what’s called an operating system. Operating systems take the power offered by their hardware and provide a standard environment that a user or an application can interact with.
Windows 10 Home USB
Windows and certain Linux distributions (like Ubuntu and Mint) are the biggest OS’s on PC right now. But if you want to do PC gaming, Windows boasts the highest compatibility. If you already own a retail copy of Windows, you should be able to move it over to your new PC, however, if you don’t, you’ll need to buy Windows 10. To save on optical drives, install your OS via USB. We’ll explain how to do that later in the article. For the old-schoolers out there who are still using DVD ROM’s, here is the DVD version of windows to suit your needs.
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