Best prebuilt gaming PC under $800 in 2023 – top 5 gaming desktop PCs
When it comes to the best prebuilt gaming PC under $800, you actually have quite a lot of options and no longer have to settle for low FPS or graphical settings. While a gaming PC under $800 may not compete with the high-end options, these are still brilliant for gaming in 1080p.
It doesn’t matter if you are a competitive player or love single-player AAA titles, this price category is a bit of a sweet spot and these recommendations will perform.
You can also save some money by building it yourself. If that sounds interesting, go ahead and take a look at our custom PC Build.
Our Top Picks
How We Choose
We scoured popular and reputable prebuilt gaming PC manufacturers such as SkyTech, MSI, iBuyPower, CyberPowerPC, and even the latest prebuilt gaming desktop PCs from companies that specialize in upgrades and customizations such as CUK.
After an extensive search, we came up with a long list of potential candidates, we then: examined the specs, compared them, and came up with the five best prebuilt gaming PCs under $800.
How We Test
To give you an idea of how well these prebuilt gaming PCs performed, tests were made and benchmark results were recorded across a number of different games and platforms. We specifically picked popular games to give you an up to date reference.
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.
Things To Consider
Whether it’s a gaming PC under $800 or a 5K dream machine, there are always areas to consider before buying. you need to ensure the PC you choose can play your favorite games in your required settings and resolution, after all, we don’t want you wasting any of your cash. Below we will go over a few key areas that may assist in your decision and should inform you on what you can expect from a prebuilt PC under $800.
What To Look For In A Prebuilt Gaming PC Under $800
When buying a gaming PC under $800, there are fewer compromises and areas to concern yourself with compared to cheaper models but you can expect older components and around 500GB of storage usually. PCs under $800 look and perform great for the price, giving everything you need for seamless 1080p gameplay.
Processor (CPU)
When buying a prebuilt computer in this mid-tier bracket, you are likely to be getting older generation processors. Don’t worry though, the good news is that while these may not be the latest and greatest CPUs, they are still great for gaming!
Graphics Card (GPU)
As prebuilt gaming PC’s under $800 fall into the mid-tier category, the graphics cards that feature are often older generation. These GPUs may struggle to play the latest AAA games in 1440p and 4K but they thrive when playing in 1080p. You can easily push high framerates in esports titles with one of these prebuilts and they will also perform well enough to enjoy your favorite single-player titles in high settings.
RAM
All our picks have at least 8GB of DDR4 RAM, which is quite common for the price. Ideally you would want 16GB but this is one of those trade-offs compared to building this yourself. If you’re unsure how much RAM is too much, you can head over to our ”How Much RAM Do You Need for Gaming?” article to invest wisely.
Storage Space
When it comes to storage space in $800 prebuilt gaming PCs, you are unlikely to get dual storage solutions but they do feature SSDs.
The SSDs included will usually be around 500GB and give you just enough room for your operating system and favorite games. If you like to store a lot of media files on your PC you may want to buy yourself an HDD to store them, saving your SSD for gaming.
Future-Proofing
For $800, it’s possible you’ll want to make some upgrades to components in the near future. The list we have should give you a lot of options for upgrade. When considering future-proofing, you will often want to prioritize a powerful CPU since most PC compatibility revolves around it.
Best Gaming PC Under $800 Vs Custom
We always recommend that you build your own computer here at WePC and that is for one simple reason – value. It is no secret that you can squeeze in better hardware for your cash when building your own system, with the markup on prebuilt computers usually costing the same amount as an entire component ($100-$300).
Performance
While the performance of these $800 gaming PCs is solid, when building your own you could in theory include a better CPU or GPU into your computer without spending more. This means you could get even better performance for your hard-earned cash, get better in-game results, and future proof your investment for longer.
Convenience
The main selling point behind a prebuilt gaming PC is it saves you the hassle. We understand that not everyone knows how to build a computer and may not even have the time to learn this new skill, so the convenience of a prebuilt makes a lot of sense. Of course, there are many more benefits to buying a prebuilt gaming PC from manufacturers, obviously, it takes the stresses away from finding all the compatible components, while also preventing damage to said components when the time comes to build it.
With one of these gaming PCs, you are going to be able to send it back to the manufacturer if anything goes wrong. Furthermore, if you feel you need an upgrade, suppliers will often do this for you or at least insist you send it to them for an upgrade. Manufacturers will also dish out a warranty, usually covering parts and labor for around a year but some companies offer impressive warranties and you can always spend extra on insurance, giving you a lengthy/ lifetime warranty.
These computers are from the biggest manufacturers around the world and aren’t just packaged nicely for you either, they normally stress test the system to ensure the components are working before shipping and that it performs as it should. You will also receive your system with software, usually with Windows and drivers pre-installed, so you can simply plug it in and start downloading games.
The The Best 5 Prebuilt Gaming PCs Under $800
In-depth Review
- Features an 10th gen Intel CPU
- Comes with a fast SSD
- Solid gaming performance
- Compact
- Poor quality mouse and keyboard included
This great gaming PC from Skytech is more than capable of taking care of your gaming needs in 1080p resolution. The performance is excellent for the price and you can be sure that has something to do with the entry-level, yet powerful CPU/GPU combination inside.
The CPU is the Intel Core i3-10100F, which is highly regarded as a solid gaming CPU. The single-core performance on this processor is decent for the price and features a base clock speed of 3.6GHz which boosts to 4.3GHz. This 4 core CPU might not be the most powerful unit out there, but it delivers great single-core performance which is essential for gaming.
The CPU is backed up by the budget champion GTX 1650. This card handles 1080p gaming with ease and you can be sure to play on a wide range of games in high settings or enjoy high FPS counts in your favorite competitive games.
This machine features an SSD storage solution and while the SSD is only 512GB, it is more than enough to hold your operating system and a couple of your favorite games.
This would make an excellent PC for beginners, with strong gaming features at the heart of this build. Aside from the components, you are getting a compact system that can fit into any setup.
- Excellent CPU/GPU combination
- Features a fast SSD
- Great aesthetics
- Small form factor
- Only 256GB
This HP Pavilion Gaming PC offers everything you will need to get your gaming off the ground. This PC features the powerful AMD Ryzen 5 5600G. Alongside the highly capable CPU, we see the Radeon RX 5500, a surprising GPU that can tackle most games with ease.
This build also offers 8GB of DDR4 RAM and a 256GB SSD drive which, although not the biggest, is still capable of holding your operating system. You may want to add extra storage space down the line but this is enough to get you started.
The build comes in a stylish white case, with a viewing window, and some RGB lighting. You also get a keyboard and mouse included with this build so you can start straight away but you should definitely invest in your own peripherals when you get the chance.
- Superb CPU/ GPU combination
- Aesthetically pleasing case
- Wi-Fi
- Entry-level PSU
The SkyTech Chronos gaming computer comes with one of the best-looking cases in the price category! Style aside, this prebuilt PC brings excellent value into the under $800 price range with no compromises on performance.
At the heart of the PC, we see the trust Intel i3-10100F which has a great single-core performance for the price. While it doesn’t stack up against the higher-performance AMD CPUs for your general computing tasks, it will serve you excellently for gaming. The CPU has been backed up with 8GB of 3000MHz RAM, bringing you a well-rounded PC.
For gaming performance, we see a GTX 1650 4G graphics card. While this card is largely considered an entry-level GPU, it still manages to smash FPS counts across most AAA titles.
The SkyTech Shadow is one of the best budget prebuilt computers currently on the market and that is largely down to its impressive price to performance. The sleek case is of high quality and illuminated by RGB lighting. So for a gaming PC that looks great and will handle your games with ease, consider the Shadow gaming PC.
Finally, rounding off the insane value of this prebuilt we see an impressive, aesthetically pleasing case, with a windowed panel and clean exterior. If you are looking to play games in high detail and not spend a fortune, then you need to grab the Skytech Blaze II immediately.
- Excellent gaming performance
- Compact build
- Small SSD
The SkyTech Blaze II owes its power to the 1660 Ti it comes armed with. GPU aside, the Blaze II has a whole bunch of cool hardware such as the AMD 2600 chip, 8GB DDR4 RAM, and a super-efficient SSD storage solution. Aesthetically speaking, the Blaze II really pleased our team, it comes with an RGB fan setup which wouldn’t look out of place at a trance festival and a tempered glass case which allows consumers access to view their components in a stylish, sleek way.
The meat of this rig is, of course, the CPU/GPU partnership. The CPU is AMD’s 2600 which we’ve touched upon in the other builds, but in short, it was one of the best pound-for-pound, price/performance CPU’s money could buy when it was released. Extremely efficient at gaming and desktop tasks and ranks higher than a lot of other CPUs in its price point. The GPU is obviously the star of the show in this build as it’s both powerful and cost-effective thanks to Nvidia’s desire to outshine their fierce rivals AMD. It only has a mere 4% slower effective speed than the 1070 but smashes the RX 590 by 18%. What does all this mean for the general consumer? Well, it means running AAA game titles at mid-high isn’t going to affect this card a great deal.
8GB DDR4 RAM accelerates this build, more than enough to accommodate modern-day games that don’t require much more. Furthermore, this build comes with 500GB of SSD storage which effectively makes your computer rapid and spacious. It, unfortunately, doesn’t come with a keyboard or mouse so we’d recommend checking out our best keyboard and mice pages if you want to get the edge over your opposition.
A really impressive pre-build for the price tag and one that will last you years into the future.
- Affordable
- Excellent CPU
- Solid gaming performance
- Entry level GPU
- 240GB SSD
The iBUYPOWER Gaming PC Computer Desktop Trace 4 9310 is the perfect companion to tackle your competitive esports titles, with the affordable yet powerful CPU/GPU combination inside.
Inside we see the 3rd gen AMD Ryzen 5 3600, which is a solid all-round CPU. The single-core performance on this processor may not be as good as intel but it runs at a base clock speed of 3.6GHz which can be boosted to 4.2GHz in the BIOS. The real strength with this processor is its multi-threading ability, with 6 cores and 12 threads, this will make light work of heavy load tasks and generally make your budget PC feel quicker.
The AMD Radeon RX 5500 XT GPU is an entry-level card but still solid for 1080p gaming and has decent benchmarking results for its price. You can play on a wide range of games in high settings or enjoy high FPS counts in your favorite competitive games.
This machine features an SSD storage solution and while we would like to see more, 240GB is more than enough to hold your operating system and a couple of your favorite games.
This would make an excellent PC for beginners but also suits hardcore gamers on a budget. With strong gaming features at a low price, there is nothing to lose.
Build A Gaming PC By Price
Check out some of our price-focused custom PC build guides below.
- Best Custom Gaming PC under $300
- Best Custom Gaming PC under $400
- Best Custom Gaming PC under $500
- Best Custom Gaming PC under $600
- Best Custom Gaming PC under $700
- Best Custom Gaming PC under $800
- Best Custom Gaming PC under $1000
- Best Custom Gaming PC under $1500
- Best Custom Gaming PC under $2000
- Best Custom Gaming PC under $3000
- Best Custom Gaming PC under $5000
Other Related Custom PC Guides:
- Best Gaming PC
- The Best Silent PC Gaming Build
- The Best Streaming PC Build
- The Best Mini ITX Build For Gaming
Build A Gaming PC For Specific Games
Check out some of our game-focused custom PC build guides below.
- The Best Gaming PC For Valorant
- The Best Custom Built Gaming PC For CS:GO
- The Best Custom Built Gaming PC For Fortnite
- The Best Custom Gaming PC For Cyberpunk 2077
- The Best Custom Built PC For Emulation
Related Prebuilt Gaming PC Guides
Check out some of our related prebuilt PC guides below.
- Best Prebuilt Gaming PC
- Best Mini Gaming PC
- Best RTX 3080 Prebuilt Gaming PC
- Best RTX 3070 Prebuilt Gaming PC
- Best Prebuilt Gaming PC Under $2000
- Best Prebuilt Gaming PC under $1500
- Best Prebuilt Gaming PC under $1000
- Best Prebuilt Gaming PC Under $500
Best Prebuilt Gaming PC Brands
Every recommended prebuilt gaming PC in this article is from a reputable manufacturer. You are probably wondering how we know what the best gaming PC brands are? Well, we have done our research and purchased PCs from these brands.
Most notable brands:
Alienware
Corsair
CyberPowerPC
SkyTech
iBUYPOWER
Thermaltake
MSI
Scan 3XS
Overclockers UK
Final Word
Trying to find the best prebuilt gaming PC under $800 is actually relatively straightforward, once you know what you are looking for. There are loads of great PCs under $800, all offering superb in-game performance and value.
If you game in 1080p, an 0 machine could be all you need but if you would prefer something more powerful for either higher refresh rate monitors or resolutions, then a 00 or 00 prebuilt gaming PC may be more suited.
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