Custom PC

Best Gaming PC Components - The Elite List

By Edward Chester. Posted

Finding the right balance of PC components to build the best gaming PC for your budget is a tricky task. So to make things as easy as possible we've done the hard work for you. Below you'll find six different gaming PC builds that showcase what we feel is the best hardware selection for a range of budgets.

Each build specifies the best CPU, graphics card, memory, motherboard and storage for any given price range. We don't include power supplies and cases so you'll need to factor in the extra budget for your preferred case and power supply, and double-check there's room in your case for your chosen components, especially the GPU cooler and graphics card.

We've largely stopped reviewing power supplies, as the 80 Plus certification scheme has now effectively eliminated unstable PSUs. Instead we've recommended the wattage and minimum 80Plus certification you should consider for each component bundle. You can then choose whether you want a PSU with modular or captive cables.

We update each recommended build every month.

The Elite List index > Best Gaming PC Components

Best Gaming PC for under £500 ($600)

The integrated graphics of the AMD Ryzen 3 3400G provides enough performance for some basic gaming while also delivering quad-core CPU performance. Needs a micro-ATX or ATX case. We recommend a 350W 80 Plus power supply.

Component Name Supplier Price (inc VAT)
CPU AMD Ryzen 5 5700G Amazon £250
CPU cooler AMD Wraith air cooler included with CPU N/A N/A
GPU AMD Radeon RX Vega 11 integrated into CPU N/A N/A
Memory 16GB (2 x 8GB) Corsair Vengeance LPX 3200MHz Scan £59
Motherboard Asus TUF B450M-Plus Gaming (micro-ATX) Scan £99
Storage 500GB WD Blue SN550 (M.2 NVMe) Amazon £46
Total £454

Best 1080p Gaming PC for £900 ($1100)

This six-core PC provides enough performance for 1080p gaming. Needs an ATX case with room for a 150mm-tall air cooler. We recommend a 450W 80 Plus Bronze power supply.

Component Name Supplier Price (inc VAT)
CPU Intel Core i5-12400F Amazon £173
CPU cooler ARCTIC Freezer i13X Amazon £20
GPU AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT CCL £360
Memory 16GB (2 x8 GB) Corsair Vengeance LPX Pro 3200MHz Scan £59
Motherboard Gigabyte B660 Gaming X DDR4 (ATX) Amazon £155
Storage 1TB WD Blue SN570 (M.2 NVMe) Amazon 80
Total £847

Upgrades

Component Name Supplier Price (inc VAT)
Swap Graphics card Nvidia GeForce RTX 3060 Ti Ebuyer £420

Best 1440p Gaming PC for £1400 ($1600)

Get great 1440p gaming with this mid-range gaming PC build.

Component Name Supplier Price (inc VAT)
CPU Intel Core i5-12600K Scan £300
CPU cooler ARCTIC Liquid Freezer II 240 RGB (240mm AIO liquid cooler) scan.co.uk £80
GPU Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070 Overclockers.co.uk £530
Memory 16GB (2 x 8GB) Corsair Vengeance RGB Pro 3600MHz DDR4 Scan £73
Motherboard Gigabyte Z690 Gaming X DDR4 Box £220
Storage 1TB WD Black SN850 Amazon £120
Total £1,323

Upgrades

Component Name Supplier Price (inc VAT)
Add secondary storage Western Digital Blue 4TB Amazon £85

Best Mid-range Gaming PC for under £1600 ($1800)

Needs an ATX case with room for a 240mm all-in-one liquid cooler. We recommend a 600W 80 PLus Bronze power supply.

Component Name Supplier Price (inc VAT)
CPU Intel Core i5-12600K Amazon £300
CPU cooler ARCTIC Liquid Freezer II 240 RGB (240mm AIO liquid cooler) CCLonline £80
GPU Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 10GB Scan £690
Memory 16GB (2 x 8GB) Corsair Vengeance RGB Pro 3600MHz Scan £73
Motherboard MSI MAG Z690 Tomahawk WiFi DDR4 Amazon £250
Storage 1TB WD Black SN850 Amazon £120
Total £1,523

Upgrades

Component Name Supplier Price (inc VAT)
Add secondary storage Western Digital Blue 4TB Amazon £85

Best 4K Gaming PC for £2500 ($2800)

A 12-core CPU, 4K gaming-capable graphics card and real-time ray-tracing are all possible with this build. Needs an E-ATX case with room for a 240mm-all-in-one liquid cooler. We recommend a 650W 80 Plus Gold power supply.

Component Name Supplier Price (inc VAT)
CPU AMD Ryzen 7 7700X Amazon £480
CPU cooler Corsair iCUE H100i Elite Capellix (240mm AIO liquid cooler) Amazon £116
GPU Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 Ti Scan £929
Memory 32GB (2 x 8GB) G.Skill Trident Z5 Neo DDR5 6000MHz EXPO Scan £280
Motherboard ASRock X670E PG Lightning Overclockers £300
Storage 2TB WD Black SN850X scan £200
Total £2,409

Upgrades

Component Name Supplier Price (inc VAT)
Add secondary storage Western Digital Blue 4TB Amazon £85

Best Workstation/Content Creation PC

The serious multi-threading power of the Threadripper 2950X makes this a massively capable workstation PC. Needs an ATX case with room for a 240mm all-in-one liquid cooler. We recommend a 700W 80 Plus Gold power supply.

Component Name Supplier Price (inc VAT)
CPU AMD Ryzen 9 7950X Amazon £849
CPU cooler Corsair iCUE H150i Elite LCD (360mm AIO liquid cooler) Amazon £220
GPU AMD Radeon RX 6600 XT CCL £360
Memory 32GB (2 x 8GB) G.Skill Trident Z5 Neo DDR5 6000MHz EXPO Scan £280
Motherboard ASRock X670E Steel Legend Amazon £385
Storage 2TB WD Black SN850X scan £200
Total £2,294

Upgrades

Component Name Supplier Price (inc VAT)
Swap Graphics card Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 Ti Scan £929
Add secondary storage 4TB Western Digital Blue Amazon £85

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