
This ultra-cheap Ryzen 3 2200G PC build is going to surprise you! For right around $350, you can put together a PC capable of 1080p gaming without an issue! It doesn't even need a graphics card!
As long as you don't expect The Witcher 3 to run at 1080p 60fps on this ultra budget PC, then it's not going to let you down. It'll easily support an upgrade to a stronger Ryzen CPU and it also has plenty of room to add a dedicated graphics card down the line - a GPU should be your first upgrade.
Without wasting any more time on this intro, let's jump into the build! Check the tabs below for a list of the basic items you'll need as well as the steps required to build this PC. If you need a more detailed explanation, check out this build FAQ and this guide.
Have a question? Ask me in the comment section!
Ultra-Cheap PC Build for $350
Updated: July 19th, 2018Thermaltake Versa H15
MicroATX case, great layout and cable management. Comes with 1x 120mm fan.
ViewMSI B350M PRO-VDH
AM4 socket mATX motherboard, B350 chipset. Comes with 4x USB 2.0 and 4x USB 3.0, built in audio and integrated ethernet.
ViewAMD R3 2200G
3.7GHz AM4 socket APU. 4-cores 4-threads. Integrated Vega 8 graphics. Comes with a CPU cooler.
ViewEVGA 500 B1
500W power supply, 80% efficiency, 3-year warranty.
View4GB Kingston HyperX FURY DDR4 RAM
1x4GB 2400MHz DDR4 RAM. Strongly consider upgrading to 8GB for the best experience.
ViewWD Blue 320GB HDD
3.5 inch, 7200 RPM, 64MB cache, quiet!
View
- A small Phillips screwdriver
Size #2 works well as a general rule. - An anti-static wristband
Optional but recommended. - Patience And lots of it.
That’s really all you need to assemble your new desktop. All of the mounting hardware and cables will come with the parts listed above. The only time you might need something extra is if you’re modifying the build on this page.
Recommended Add-ons
Below you'll find some suggested add-ons for this build, some I'll mention more in-depth further down this page, but some are pretty self-explanatory like optical (DVD/CD) drives. Although not entirely necessary, optical drives can sometimes come in handy and I strongly recommended having one; if you have an old PC kicking around, it's optical drive will more than likely work for you and you won't need to buy a new one.
Windows 10 (USB Installer)
Windows 10 is your best bet when it comes to picking an operating system. This version is a USB installer. View
Gigabyte GTX 1050
Adding a graphics card like the 2GB GTX 1050 is going to give you way more gaming potential. View
WD Blue 1TB HDD
For a bit more than the 320GB HDD, you can upgrade your build to 1TB. If you can, I would strongly suggest this over the 320GB HDD. View
Kingston A400 120GB SSD
SSDs are a great way to speed up the loading/boot times of any programs installed on it, but they’re pretty expensive compared to HDDs.
ViewSamsung Ultra-Slim External CD DVD±R/RW
A lot of people are moving away from internally mounted optical drives, and it’s easy to see why! This one is definitely one of the cheaper & better external optical drives to consider. View
TP-Link TL-WN722N
A very affordable N150 USB WiFi adapter. Capable of 150Mbps on the 2.4GHz band. View
Build Breakdown
This little budget build is everything you need if you're trying to get into PC gaming for as cheap as possible. There are ways to go even cheaper, like downgrading the APU to something less powerful, but then you're sacrificing very important (and much needed) gaming potential.
Keep in mind that the price listed above is only for the core components - you will still need to add an operating system and any peripherals you don't already have (mouse, keyboard, audio, etc).
The Thermaltake Versa H15 is a great microATX case that gives you all of the features you'll need now, as well as some you won't use until later. That being said, in a build like this it's better to get a good case with enough room to "grow" into. Buying a cheaper, smaller case only limits your ability to add graphics cards, aftermarket CPU coolers, etc. That being said, your case is what you see every time you look at your PC, so you should make sure you're building inside of one that you like!
MSI's B350-Pro-VDH motherboard is a solid motherboard for the price and gives you plenty of room for future upgrades. Like with the case, there are cheaper options that would save you $10 or so, but you'd be limiting your future performance potential by doing so.
The brand new 3.7GHz Ryzen 3 2200G from AMD is an awesome processor for what it is. The 2200G is what's referred to as an APU (Accelerated Processing Unit), it's effectively a GPU and CPU mixed into one chip. This is what will be handling ALL of your graphical and processing needs until you add a dedicated graphics card.
If you're wondering how well the R3 2200G can perform, check out the following benchmark of CS:GO. It's in 1080p on low settings and averaging above 120fps - that's damn decent!
In more demanding games, or AAA releases, the 2200G is more likely to hold around 30fps in 1080p, just for reference value. Something like PUBG will have a lot of trouble running on this build, just something else to note.
EVGA's 500 B1 is the power supply I chose to run this rig, and that's because it's a solid performer for the price. Not only that, but it gives you enough juice to not only add a dedicated graphics card, but to also upgrade your CPU if you feel it's necessary after your GPU.
4GB of RAM is really subpar for a gaming PC build, but this is more of a basic PC anyways. That being said, I would strongly advise upgrading to 8GB of RAM sooner than later. 2400MHz is a little low for a Ryzen-based APU (Ryzen likes fast RAM) but it will do for this ultra-budget build; that being said, if you want to add faster (or more) RAM, please feel free to do so!
Last up is storage. For this build, I picked a 7200RPM 320GB HDD from WD's Blue lineup. It's not a huge amount of space, but it's enough to get the basics installed and then some games as well. Another option is to start with an SSD and then add an HDD later on, but that will cost you more $ for less space - see the Upgrades/Add-ons section above for my recommendation.
All-in-all, this build serves as a great foundation to start with for any aspiring (and frugal) PC gamer. For less than $500 (with everything considered) this build will get you gaming in 720p without many issues. Albeit on low-mid settings in most cases, but it's still better than not gaming at all!
Operating System
When it comes to picking an operating system, you have quite a few options laid out before you. But, the best / easiest two are either Windows or something Linux-based.
If you’re really strapped for cash, or you really just don't like Windows, Ubuntu is a great option because it’s entirely free, and it's really solid/secure. It’s a Linux-based OS and can play any game that supports Linux. More and more games are adding Linux support, but it definitely sucks when a game you've been waiting forever for ends up being Windows only...
The more expensive option is buying a copy of Windows. With DirectX 12 becoming more common and it being a Windows 10 exclusive, you might want to consider jumping on that right away, but it's ultimately your call.
Installing your operating system can be done in a couple of different ways, either by DVD or a USB flash drive that you either create yourself or buy. Either will get the job done, but going for Windows & using the retail DVD (or USB flash drive) is going to be the easiest - any cheap DVD drive will work for this.
If you want to create your own USB flash drive to install something like Ubuntu from, you can find some decent instructions here.
Peripherals
If this is the absolute first gaming PC you’ve ever owned, then chances are high that you don’t have a very good keyboard + mouse combo, or that your monitor is sub-par to really enjoy your experience.
If this is the scenario that you're in, then we have some really awesome suggestions for you to consider. Each peripheral was hand-picked for this build and they're all guaranteed high quality.
ASUS VS228H-P 21.5" monitor
21.5″ 1080p 60Hz monitor, 5ms response time – Inexpensive and great for gaming! View
CM Storm Devastator II KB+M Combo
An awesome keyboard + mouse combo from Cooler Master for around $30! Available with red, green, or blue backlighting.
ViewCreative Sound BlasterX Blaze
A very affordable headset with a better-than-average mic and good sound quality.
View
WiFi
Since the motherboard in this build does not have built-in WiFi (most don’t) you will need a WiFi adapter if you plan on using a wireless internet connection. That said, if you have the option to run a wired connection, do that instead because it will be faster & more reliable.
You have a couple options, you could get a decent USB-based WiFi adapter for about $20 that would work alright. Or you can get an internally mounted WiFi adapter that costs roughly $35, and will be more reliable than the USB option.
TP-Link TL-WN722N
A very affordable N150 USB WiFi adapter. Capable of 150Mbps on the 2.4GHz band. View
Conclusion
This build isn't guaranteed to max games out in 1080p at 60fps, let alone in 720p. But, what it will do is give you a good foundation to build upon as well as get you into games on low-mid settings - in my opinion, gaming with low graphics is better than not gaming at all!
It will support various upgrades like adding a dedicated graphics card (recommended you do that sooner than later), upgrading to a stronger Ryzen-based processor on the AM4 socket, adding more RAM, adding more storage, and a whole slew of other upgrades.
At the end of the day, you're not here because you have tons of cash to blow on the best PC out there, you're here because you just want to enjoy PC gaming whatever way possible - that's exactly what this build allows.
If you have any questions about this build, feel free to ask me in the comment section!
Ultra-Cheap PC Build
This ultra-cheap PC build is a perfect starting point for gamers on a tight budget. It won't get you into the best games on the highest settings, but it'll get you into games nonetheless. However, this is an easy dilemma to fix by adding a dedicated graphics card like the GTX 1050.
Hardware
Case | Thermaltake Versa H15 |
Motherboard | MSI B350M Pro-VDH |
Processor | AMD R3 2200G |
Graphics | Vega 8 (Integrated) |
Power Supp. | EVGA 500 B1 80+ Bronze |
RAM | 4GB DDR4 (2400MHz) |
HDD | WD Blue 320GB (7200RPM) |
SSD | Optional |
CPU Cooler | Wraith Stealth Cooler (Stock) |
Features
- Great entry-level build
- Lots of room to expand and grow
- Can handle 900p or even low settings 1080p gaming
- Great for games that aren’t graphically demanding
- Easy to add a discrete GPU

I created this build for around the same price, how would it compare? https://pcpartpicker.com/list/Y6VMgw
How do you think something like this would handle the later stages of 4X games, such as EU4?
Hey Jeffrey,
In something like EU4 or even CK2, it’s doable but not ideal. In newer 4X games with “decent” graphics, you’d run into quite a few problems during the late stages. But, a lot of that could be fixed by adding a GPU to take some load off of the APU.
Can I switch the B350 motherboard for a Gigabyte B450M DS3H and the 4gb ram stick for the Patriot Signature Line 8GB (2 x 4GB)??
Hey Marcus,
Absolutely! Right now, I’m actually in the process of going through all of my Ryzen builds and updating them to B450 boards now that they’ve finally released 🙂
Cool, thank you!
I have heard there is some issues with compatibility of Ryzen 2200g with B350 motherboards, and they need bios update but for that you need older cpu. Will it work out of the box with the MSI B350m gaming pro that is shown here? I ordered Ryzen 3 2200g and now I’m just being careful. Please help.
I have heard there is some issues with compatibility of Ryzen 2200g with B350 motherboards, and they need bios update but for that you need older cpu. Will it work out of the box with the MSI B350m gaming pro that is shown here? I ordered Ryzen 3 2200g and now I’m just being careful. Please help.
There can be and at this stage it’s pretty unreliable. That said, if your board doesn’t come with the right BIOS then AMD will send you a “boot kit” for completely free – do that here.
Okay, thanks for the reply! Another question, if I wanted to add a graphics card to this build in the future what can I add that’s not too expensive?
I’d suggest aiming for a GTX 1050 or GTX 1050 Ti.
im new i was wondering if i could switch out the amd a10 with an intel i3 550?
Unfortunately not. The A10 9700 runs on a socket (AM4) that the i3 550 is not compatible with. Even there, the i3 550 is a 7-year-old CPU and isn’t really worth the cost any more and it’s almost impossible to find the LGA 1156 socket motherboard it requires. It would be a bad choice performance-wise as well, the A10 9700 will readily beat the i3 550 in everything and anything.
ty for your time
No problem 🙂 Feel free to ask any other questions you might have.
Can It Run OverWatch
Sure can. It’s one of the games benchmarked in the video above 🙂 On mostly low settings (high textures) at 75% render scale in 1080p, you should get right around 60fps.