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With Amazon Prime Day and Black Friday coming soon, the best gaming PCs are bound to get some massive price cuts, as they always do every year. So now’s is the perfect time to talk about buying a gaming PC.

Sure, any gaming PC may be capable of seeing you through your favorite PC games, but it’s the best gaming PCs that will truly deliver that incredibly immersive and butter-smooth gaming experience.

Buying the best gaming PC is the fastest, easiest way to get into PC gaming. As you pick a rig from one of the best gaming PC builders, their after sales service ought to make it the most stress-free too.

It’s true that building a gaming PC for yourself can be immensely satisfying but simply buying one as a complete system will take all the hassle out of the process, and give you someone to blame if, heaven forbid, anything goes wrong.

The best part about having a gaming PC is its nearly limitless potential for upgrading. Whether it’s to boost performance or upgrading storage capacity. Though, there does come a point where the best thing you can do for yourself is picking up the best gaming PC which becomes the foundation for future upgrading endeavors.

Scouring the internet for the best deal on a prebuilt PC requires just as much and diligence as figuring what exacting you want inside said PC.

A specs-sheet balance of price and performance is our top priority. Ideally, your gaming PC will have one of the best graphics cards and the best CPUs for gaming, though that’s not always financially possible. But you can’t skimp on one and go overboard on the other; an Nvidia RTX 2080 Ti is only worth having if it’s paired with a top-flight processor that can take advantage of its power.

Then there’s the support. After-sale support is where a good system builder becomes a great system builder. Things like 24/7 tech support or generous warranties are often overlooked by most people but could save a headache down the road.

To get on our list of the best gaming PCs, you need to have it all: great parts, great value and great support.

1. Alienware Aurora Ryzen Edition R10

Powerful gaming for all budgets

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 3500 – 9 3950X | Graphics: AMD Radeon RX 5600 – NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 Ti | RAM: 8GB – 64GB DDR4 | Storage: 1TB 7200RPM SATA – 2TB M.2 PCIe NVMe SSD + 2TB 7200RPM SATA

The AMD Ryzen processors of the latest generation are exemplary in terms of both performance and price. And with the potential for a 16-core, 32-thread chip inside your Alienware gaming PC, alongside an Nvidia RTX 2080 Ti, you’re looking at something rather special.

But the lower end has something to offer too. The different configurations on offer mean that for under $1,000 you can get a six-core machine with a GTX 1660 Super inside it, that will nail 1080p gaming in that sleek Alienware chassis.

Like the other Aurora cases, it’s not necessarily the easiest to upgrade, due to its bespoke design, but as a first machine the R10 will not do you wrong. And with the upgrade-friendly AMD platform, there’s a good chance this base will serve you well into the next generation of  AMD Ryzen 4000 processors too.

 

2. MSI

Trident 3 10th

Best small form-factor gaming PC

CPU: up to 10th Gen Intel Core i7-10700 | Graphics: up to MSI GeForce RTX 2060 Super | RAM: up to 64GB DDR4 2666MHz | Storage: 1 x M.2 SSD + 1 x 2.5″ HDD / SSD

If space is an issue, or you simply want a gaming PC set up right in your living room, then the MSI Trident 3 10th is worth considering. This isn’t just one of the smallest gaming PCs we’ve ever seen, it’s also more affordable than the competition with equivalent hardware. Without draining your wallet while touting a smaller footprint, the specs inside will be more than enough to ensure an excellent experience. And, as long as flashy RGB lighting and liquid cooling aren’t vital – and you don’t care much about upgradeability, this is the best gaming PC for you.

3. HP Omen Obelisk

Tricked out stunner for the hardcore gamer

CPU: Intel Core i5-8400 – i5-9600K | Graphics: Nvidia GeForce GTX 1050 Ti – RTX 2080Ti | RAM: up to 64GB | Storage: 1TB HDD – 1TB SSD, 3TB+3TB HDD

This rectangular monster is definitely worthy of its moniker as it boasts lots of power… more than enough, in fact, for most gamers’ needs. When you have the funds for an upper-tier configuration, you’ll get a behemoth. Unfortunately, budget-minded buyers will have to be satisfied with gameplay at medium settings, since the lower end models don’t pack the same firepower. Still, because of its high upgradability and tool-less design, such buyers are only an upgrade or two from the best gaming experience on Ultra or Max settings. Plus, we’ve honestly seen more expensive machines for those specs. If you’re looking for the best gaming PC for cheaper, this HP PC is worth looking into.

4. Corsair One i164

The best compact form factor gaming PC

CPU: Intel Core i9 9900K | GPU: Nvidia GeForce RTX 2080 Ti | RAM: 32GB DDR4-2666 | Storage: 960GB NVMe M.2 SSD, 2TB HDD | Warranty: 2 year

One of our highest rated pre-built gaming PCs is back in an updated model, Corsair One i164. It’s still the same small form factor PC, but with updated hardware, a revamped internal layout, and a few other slight changes. The case design still looks like something straight out of Tron. The CPU and GPU both use independent liquid cooling solutions, and all the hot air is pumped out by a single 140mm maglev fan. The PSU now sits below the motherboard, and some of the USB ports have been re-positioned on the front of the case, but that’s the extent of the non-component changes.

Like a number of the pre-built systems on this list, the Corsair One i164 isn’t the only configuration the One comes in. In fact, with an Intel Core i9 9900K and an RTX 2080 Ti, the i164 is the mid-range model. Yes, you read that right, the mid-range model. The lower model comes with a Core i7 9700K and an RTX 2080, while the Corsair One Pro workstation model comes with a Core i9 9920X and an RTX 2080 Ti.

There are also now new AMD Ryzen-powered versions, with the a100 designation, offering either the 12-core Ryzen 9 3900X or the 16-core Ryzen 9 3950X. That’s some serious core-counts in something so svelte.

The price varies based on the specs, of course, so if $3,600 for the i160 is a little too rich for your blood, the i140 is $600 less at $3,000, which is the same price as the a100 with a 3900X CPU. If you are in the market for a compact workstation, the i180 will zap $5,000 from your bank account. All models come with 32GB of RAM, so you won’t need to worry about upgrading that aspect of the One for years to come.

Regardless of the configuration, the most recent Corsair One is a sleek, potent little machine designed for anyone wrestling with space considerations, or for those who want a powerful PC but don’t want to listen to it whine every time it’s stressed with a graphically intensive game.

5. Origin Chronos

The best AMD-powered small form factor PC.

CPU: Up to Ryzen 9 3900X | GPU: Up to Titan RTX | RAM: Up to 32GB 3,000MHz | Storage: Gen4 PCIe SSD up to 2TB | Warranty: 1 year

Origin PC’s Chronos machine is a small form factor build that can house the most powerful gaming components around. And, to be honest, the fact you can squeeze a 12-core Ryzen 9 3900X and an Nvidia Titan RTX in there means you could have yourself one hell of a powerful workstation too.

Origin PCs aren’t cheap, but they are really well-built, super customizable, and you could still create a far more affordable gaming machine from a Ryzen 5 3600 and a GTX 1660 pairing. If you’re not sold on the actual Origin Chronos chassis, and maybe fancy a little more Perspex in your build, you can go for the lovely Fractal Define Nano S instead. There’s also the Fractal ERA if you’re the serious type.

That will negate any potential thermal issues you might encounter dropping super high-end components into the smaller confines of the Chronos case.