Our Best Cheap Gaming PC Under $300 in 2021

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This extremely budget-conscious build is no easy task. With a $300 limit, we’ve had to cut some corners but also keep the quality of the components as high as possible. Thankfully, we’ve managed it. Now, this PC is not going to be able to run all the AAA games at glorious graphical settings and fantastic FPS levels, but what you are getting is an entry-level gaming PC that suits the casual gamer looking to get accustomed to mouse and keyboard on less graphically intensive games like Fortnite and League of Legends. Unfortunately, due to various factors, the prices of the hardware listed fluctuate daily. We aim to update all of our builds as much as we can to ensure they are as close to the specified build price as possible.

CPU

The Ryzen 3 3200G that we’ve chosen is not just a CPU, it’s an APU, with AMD’s Radeon Vega 8 graphics integrated onto the chip. This is great for us, and the main reason why we’re able to keep the cost of this gaming PC down, due to not having to go out and buy an external graphics card. It also comes packaged with a fan so buying an external CPU cooler isn’t necessary.

MOBO

This ASRock motherboard is the cheapest of the B450M range and provides 3rd generation Ryzen CPU support straight out the box, which is essential for this build. It features a next-generation Hybrid Digi Power design which enables an efficient and clean power delivery to the CPU. Additionally, ASRock has incorporated full spike protection for your components so no damage when those unexpected power surges occur.

RAM

OLOy as a brand isn’t the one that springs to mind when searching for high-quality RAM, but it’s definitely one you should consider. The reason we’ve gone for their DDR4 RAM in this build as it had 3000MHz memory speeds but at a price that doesn’t make your eyes water. Even though this is a budget build we think going that little bit further for that all-important 16GB RAM is essential. It’ll not only help you in terms of multi-tasking but improve the system’s overall performance.

COOLER
GPU
STORAGE

An SSD is almost essential in today’s PC world due to faster read and writes times over the more traditional HDDs. They might cost more but it is well worth it for the vast difference in performance. The Sandisk Plus 240GB SSD is perfect for this build, it’s exceptional value for money providing a decent amount of storage and read/write speeds of up to 530/s/440/s.

CASE

Some of you reading this might never have heard of Rosewill, but they make a line of very affordable PC cases without all the fancy trimmings. Their Ranger-M case is no different. It is extremely functional, compact, while also having fantastic ventilation through a honeycomb mesh design. This one also comes with blue LED dual fans which is a welcomed addition to any gaming PC.

PSU

Thermaltake has created a smart series of power supplies that have an efficiency of up to 86% coupled with an intelligent, low noise cooling fan. We think that this 500W supply is of great quality and immensely cost-effective and that’s why it makes the list for this budget build. In addition to the product features, the PSU itself uses high-quality components, enabling non-stop usage with stable and reliable performance.

Conclusion

A $300 gaming PC is quite a struggle when you take into consideration the amount each individual component costs. However, with the components we’ve been able to source, it’s just about possible, with this rig being able to play some AAA games at relatively decent FPS levels. Alternatively, if you’re able to expand your budget just slightly, you could get some increasingly powerful kit that can handle more graphically intensive games. All in all, if budget is your main focus then this gaming rig does the job, but if you want to run the latest AAA games you’re going to have to invest a lot more. If you did end up building this rig, enjoy your new PC! Be sure to check out our other articles if you have any issues or want to explore different options!

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Jacob was exposed to a variety of gaming consoles and tech from an early age and has expanded his knowledge to become well-versed in all things PC. He is now a keen technology tinkerer and gaming enthusiast, making him an expert in the overall field.

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