Looking to build yourself the best budget gaming PC for $500? Then this is it! Packing an Intel i3 8100, a GTX 1050, 8GB of RAM and 1TB of storage, you’ll be able to easily play your favorite games without an issue!!

This build is packing more than enough power to handle your favorite games in 1080p without an issue. It won’t be on ultra settings by any means, but the performance will be very comparable to (usually better than) modern consoles. Games like Battlefield 1, Fortnite, PUBG, and anything like that is going to run well on this build. Less graphically intensive games like CS:GO and things of that nature won’t have any problems running at 60fps+. 

If you were to travel down to any local store and spend around $500 on a budget desktop, you’re going to walk away with little more than a paperweight that struggles to run Minesweeper at 20fps in 720p, let alone any games that you actually want to play.

In comparison, building your own budget gaming PC will set you up with a desktop with waaayyyyy more gaming potential. Plus, you can say “I built that.”

Have a question? Ask me in the comment section!

Component prices are much higher than normal which has forced this build way out of skew in terms of budget. The only way to rectify that is to sacrifice an incredible amount of performance that in the end wouldn’t be worth it. 

Check out my $600 build instead as it’s much more balanced in terms of price vs performance. 

Add-ons like SSDs and optical drives are by no means necessary, but they may give you a better experience. If you’re planning on installing your OS from a disc instead of a USB flash drive then you’ll definitely need an optical drive.

For right around $500, this budget gaming PC is going to get you into modern games and playing them on mid-high settings pushing 60fps or better in 1080p. Some games are still going to give this build some issues at the highest settings, but it’s still going to outperform (or at least keep up with) next-gen consoles!

Keep in mind that the price above is for the core components only, you will still need an operating system, and any other peripherals you don’t currently have.

This budget build will run games like PUBG, Fallout 4, GTA:V and pretty much anything else on mid settings or better while getting great performance! Less graphically intensive games like CS:GO, DOTA, LoL, or anything along those lines, will all run well above 100fps.

The Thermaltake Versa H15 is a very decent mATX-sized case (Check out the best mATX cases here) that’ll easily fit everything in this build and then some. It comes with 1x 120mm fan but has room to mount 2 more in the front if you wanted to (it’s not required). Keep in mind that there are tons of choices when it comes to cases and you should definitely shop around for one that you really like before deciding on one! 

The Gigabyte B360M DS3H motherboard used for this build is relatively basic, but it still gives you everything you’ll need and will still have room left for future upgrades. It supports the LGA 1151 socket type that Intel’s newest CPUs require, making it compatible with not only the i3 8100, but with stronger CPUs like the i5 8600 or i7 8700. This board comes with integrated audio, a built-in ethernet controller, 6 USB ports, 6 SATA 6GBs ports, a M.2 slot for super-fast SSDs, and room for 3 DIMMs of RAM. 

Running Intel’s new quad-core i3 8100 is a great starting point for a build with massive potential to grow. Not only is it a very strong entry-level CPU, but it also uses the same LGA 1151 socket as other 8th generation Intel CPUs like the i5 8600, meaning you can upgrade to a stronger CPU any time you want. The 4-core/4-thread, 3.6GHz i3 8100 is the first of the i3 lineup to feature 4 physical cores and it makes for a really good budget CPU for gaming! 

The 2GB GTX 1050 is a budget beast when you take into consideration it’s super-low power requirements and very reasonable price point. EVGA’s GTX 1050 2GB (with GDDR5 VRAM not DDR5 SDRAM) is definitely no exception! That being said, don’t expect this card to play AAA games on anything higher than low-mid settings if you want 60fps or better in 1080p. If that’s what you want, definitely upgrade to the 4GB GTX 1050 Ti or something better! 

When it comes to power, this build doesn’t require a whole lot and a 500W supply like EVGA’s 500 BQ is going to work great while giving you all the power you need. It’s a good semi-modular 80+ bronze power supply which means it’ll be at least 80% efficient, it also comes with a nice 3-year warranty if anything were to ever happen. 

8GB of RAM is basically the standard when it comes to a gaming PC. Some games do require more, but as a general rule 8GB is enough. Since Ryzen processors perform the best with at least a speed of 2666MHz, I’ve included 1x8GB stick of Ballistix Sport LT. That said, running a dual channel pair would result in slightly better performance, but it would also be a little more expensive. 

Overall, this build is perfectly tailored for games like Fortnite, CS:GO, Overwatch, LoL, Rocket League, and anything else along those lines. More graphically intensive games like GTA:V, Battlefield 1, The Witcher 3, and so on, will still run better than on consoles but don’t expect to play on max settings.

When it comes to choosing which operating system to run, you’re going to have to consider a couple of points. Your budget, and what you really need.

Windows is currently the best option when it comes to having access to a wide-array of compatible programs, but, it’s also the most expensive option. Picking what version has become somewhat limited recently, and since the newest version of DirectX requires Windows 10, that’s basically our option to keep up with the tech advances.

However, there is also a free alternative, and that’s Ubuntu or another Linux-based OS like SteamOS (I wouldn’t really suggest SteamOS at this point). As Linux is becoming more and more popular, more dev studios are extending their support out to Linux-based operating systems as well, so you can expect more AAA games to support Linux as we move forward.

Keep in mind that to installing Ubuntu on your new PC will require you to create your own installation disc / flash drive. It’s not really a difficult process by any means, but it’s just another step to take into consideration. If you wanted to create your own bootable flash drive for either OS, you can find good instructions here.

If this budget beast is the very first gaming PC you’ve owned, chances are you don’t have a very good keyboard + mouse combo, or that your monitor is sub-par to really enjoy your experience. Or maybe you don’t have any kind of speakers / headset?

If you don’t have these basic peripherals, you’re definitely going to want them. At the very least you’re going to need a keyboard, a mouse, some kind of audio, and a monitor.

Luckily for you, I’ve hand picked some awesome budget-minded peripherals matched to this build’s budget level to cover each of these basic needs, check them out below!

All-in-all, this cheap build is absolutely over-the-top when it comes to spending $500 on your own custom gaming PC. It’s a little more pricey than your average next-gen console, but it’s also way more versatile. 

This budget gaming beast is going to outpace the nextgen consoles by giving you noticeably higher frame rates and better graphics (usually). If you wanted even more gaming potential, your best bet would be upgrading the GTX 1050 to something more powerful like a GTX 1060 or RX 580. 

You really couldn’t ask for a better build on a $500 budget, and this one will completely blow your mind when you start loading up your favorite games!

If you have any questions ask me the comment section and I would be happy to help!