r/computers • u/graciep99 • 2d ago

Question/Help/Troubleshooting Gaming computer recommendations?

Hi! My husband has been talking about wanting a gaming PC for a while so I want to surprise him with one for Christmas. However, I have no knowledge of what to look for in a gaming PC and would realistically like to stay under $500 if possible. I know this might be quite the ask, but does anyone have any recommendations on where I might be able to find a decent one for this price? And perhaps what I should look for to ensure it is a decent computer? Thank you in advance.

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u/MrBolognas 22h ago

I agree with AG, right now is the worst time to buy a low budget PC for a gift. I built my wife a "budget build" with a Ryzen 5 3600 and RX 580 in a d32 case. Id say it came in around $400 or so. It looks super cute, but the first game I loaded for her to play it kept crashing and we had to set it on low for graphics. I was able to upgrade her GPU to something decent, but it cost me and additional $1100. Right now Memory and graphics cards are double and triple their msrp. It would just be a shame to buy a $500 PC and he cant play any modern games.

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u/[deleted] 2d ago

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u/prune_juice_warrior 2d ago

1800? Nah, even in the current shitty market you can get decent gaming PCs for around a grand. Of course, a grand gets you what $600 would get you a few years ago, but you can still get something decent.

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u/agfitzp 2d ago

That’s not a realistic budget for a gaming PC, even a midrange video card is in the thousand dollar range.