Best Budget Gaming PC Build – AMD 2018

This is a cheap AMD budget gaming PC for playing modern games on a desktop computer. If you’re on a budget and want to build your own computer from scratch, this is your build guide with the perfect computer specs for current gaming in 2018. Peak performance at a low cost. This low cost build is brought to you by none other than the brand new cost efficient, energy saving, AMD Ryzen 3 1300x gaming processor. With a powerful true quad core AMD CPU and the highly sought after GTX 1050 graphics card, you can’t go wrong.

PreBuilt Ryzen 3 1300x (cost more than build your own but done for you)
Cheaper Ryzen 3 1300x Build (press continue to calculate total)

The cheaper build your own Ryzen 3 1300x build is the real budget gaming computer, however it does have a less powerful graphics card than the prebuilt package. The prebuilt has a GTX 1050 Ti 4GB while the build your own has the GTX 1050 2GB. This saves you over $200 because you don’t need the 4GB version for this budget build. Now that does not mean you can’t buy it so we have included it as an upgrade option below.

You can save even more with this cheap ugly case.

Cheap AMD Build Ryzen 3 Parts List

(Updated: 03/10/2018)

1. New Class CPU: [AMD Ryzen 3 1300x] [AMD Ryzen 5 1600x]
2. AMD AM4 Motherboard: [Normal A Series] [Overclockable B Series]
3. Gaming Performance Memory: [8GB RAM] [16GB RAM]
4. Graphics Card: [GTX 1050 2GB] [GTX 1050 Ti 4GB]
5. Hard Drive: [500GB HDD] [1TB HDD] [250GB SSD]
6. Power Supply: [PSU]
7. Gaming Case: [Cheap] [Better]
8. Monitor: [24″ LED]

Budget Gaming Computer Upgrades

As you can see we offered a few upgraded options. We’ll explain the differences so you can make the choice based on your budget. Now keep in mind, if you can afford it, you would get all the upgrades and have a beefed up computer. I will list these in the order of importance for gaming performance.

(1) GTX 1050 or GTX 1050 Ti
Coming in at number one for gaming, the graphics card. The difference in these cards is mostly price. Yes, the Ti is a 4GB card compared to the normal 2GB, but according to benchmarks, you will not get much more performance out of it for the cost. It is clocked at about 13% faster which is not very much when it comes to increased frame rates. The bottom line here, is if you have the extra money get the Ti of course. But if not, don’t worry. It is not mandatory for this budget build and the normal GTX 1050 will be just fine for all of your modern gaming needs. If you really want to see a big difference you would have to get a GTX 1060 and that is going to increase the bottom line cost by a large magnitude. Currently there is a huge shortage in graphics cards due to high demand from crypto mining. Unfortunately we pay with inflated GFX Card prices. It won’t get any better in the foreseeable future so if you’re even lucky enough, these cards will be in stock. They sell out every few days. When it comes to gaming performance, if there is only one upgrade for you to get, this is the one.

(2) The SSD Advantage
And here at number 2, we have overall PC performance in every day task and boot time. I’m sure you know by now that SSD’s are exponentially faster than the older mechanical hard drives. This is an important upgrade if you have the funds. Running your operating system from a Solid State Drive will give the biggest performance boost one can obtain in every day PC use. I would suggest this as the second most important upgrade for you gaming build. The SSD is not that big though, so you will need to get an SSD for the main OS and a 500GB or 1TB HDD for all of your normal storage.

(3) 8GB or 16GB of Gaming RAM
A strong 3rd place here. That is a good question, and sadly due to the massive builderberg going on with mining computers, the cost of memory has gone up and RAM is selling out frequently. I myself would surely go for 16GB, even though it is not necessary or mandatory for the current round of games. But if you’re strictly in this for the budget build, the 8GB will be your choice. I would consider this the 3rd most important upgrade if you had to choose because it can effect overall performance of normal every day task. For example, if you’re like me and have dual monitors and run Chrome and Firefox with over a hundred tabs each, you’re gonna need more memory. If not, if you just boot up, game, boot down, don’t worry about it.

(4) What motherboard should I get?
And last place and least important would be the ability to overclock your Ryzen 3. You’ll notice the normal and overclockable options. The Ryzen 3 1300x offers the ability to overclcok to 3.9Ghz witht he stock cooler. However to do this you need the more expensive B Series motherboard. This is good if you are a hobbyist and want to play with your computer. But as far as importance goes, this is the least significant option for upgrading your PC performance with gaming. You do not need this to game.

(5) Ryzen 3 or Ryzen 5?
OK, if this is a question, you are no longer looking at a “budget build“. Of course you should always get the stronger processor if you have the money. If you plan on getting a GTX 1060 or higher, you should get the Ryzen 5 to avoid bottle necking. But if you are still here on a budget, then the Ryzen 3 and GTX 1050 is the package of your choice.

Upgraded Gamer PC
The GTX 1050 Ti 4GB is more powerful and should be acquired if you want slightly higher frame rates. It’s not necessary, but for those with the money, it is. The same can be said about the SSD. You really shouldn’t have an OS installed on anything other than an Solid State Drive these days. The 16GB of DDR4 RAM is not a bad upgrade either but in terms of performance for dollar you should go GFX Card, SSD, then RAM. These 3 upgrades will make this cheap gaming computer an actual powerhouse. And if you are not on a budget, those 3 upgrades paired with the AMD Ryzen 5 will turn this from a budget build to a beast build for modern games.

This value computer build will handle better than any NextGen Console(think XBOX One/PS4) and it will give you the ability to have a fully enabled desktop computer for other things like Photoshop, web design, media streaming, browsing and more. It’s got super bang for its buck and will run the best modern games while looking better than a PS4 or XBOX One. Easily 60+ FPS on 1080p high definition. Consider it “the console killer”. This desktop can be upgraded any time with a better graphics card, more memory or a faster CPU. The faster CPU is always recommended if you can afford it but not mandatory for a budget build. In fact, you shouldn’t get the Ryzen 5 unless you plan on getting a GTX 1060 or higher to avoid bottle necking issues.

With the arrival of the Ryzen series processor by AMD, budget gaming just got a whole lot more powerful. The AMD Ryzen 3 replaces the Intel i3 in performance and cost, completely changing the desktop computer game. This system is overclockable to nearly 4Ghz if you get the B Series mobo. Much bang for your buck, much wow.

Build Strength.
Will run all of these award winning games and more!
This budget build is VR ready, meaning it is capable of Virtual Reality, it is fully upgradable to the Ryzen 5 or 7, lower power consumption, overclockable to 3.9Ghz when paired with the B350 series gaming motherboard. It is the top choice in budget gaming build it yourself computers at this time, the Ryzen 3. Building your own desktop with these parts is the way to go for performance and power at a reasonable price range.

CPU: AMD Ryzen 3 1300x Quad Core Gaming AM4 Processor.
AMD’s newest premier high performance gaming processor. It does come with the highly rated Wraith cooler heat-sink and will provide excellent frame rates at a low cost for old and new games on ultra settings at 1080p. Several people have asked why we went with the AMD over the Intel i3. When it comes to the Ryzen 3 vs the Intel i3, there is no question. AMD changed the game in an unexpected twist of events with this new processor. It is cheaper and benchmarks higher.

Motherboard: AM4 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0.
This Ryzen gaming motherboard is made with the AM4 Socket specifically for this build. It is the A version so you can not overclock your Ryzen X Series. You will not need to overclock for modern games, however if you are a hobbyist and want to overclock your CPU anyways, you must get the AM4 B series motherboard.

This mobo allows up to 32GB of DDR4 RAM. It also has USB 3.0 Ports and built in Ethernet LAN Ports. It’s all you need for a powerful base gaming pc. However, you can only use 2 sticks of RAM in this board so if you want to upgrade your memory in the future you will need to get the one with 4 slots for memory expansion, or when it comes time to upgrade your memory, just buy 2 new bigger sticks to replace these two. It is compatible with the Ryzen 3, 5, and 7 chipsets so you may upgrade by swapping the processor out at any time.

Again, the difference between A and B series motherboards with the AM4 socket for the Ryzen processor is you can not overclock an A Series motherboard. You can make it overclockable by getting the B Series motherboard. So if you do not need to overclock, the Ryzen 3 1300x and an A motherboard will save you around $50 or more compared to a B series motherboard.

Video GFX Card: Brand New GTX 1050 Gaming Edition.
The brand new ultimate mid range budget GFX Card. The GTX 1050 is the newest release low price range graphics card that can still play games like GTA V, Far Cry 3, Witcher 3, etc all on Ultra settings at 1080P and still get up to and over 60FPS. If you’re trying to run 4k you’ll need the upgraded components.
It has HDMI, DVI and a Display port so it’s thoroughly prepared for any monitor setup and will support up to 3 High Definition monitors. It is brand new and often out of stock due to popularity and having the best cost per performance statistics. This is a very popular PC build and may require waiting a few days for a part or two. Luckily they replenish this part often.

RAM: 8GB Gaming RAM.
8GB of DDR4(newest format) is a good cheap duel channel set of RAM. You should never need more but I myself have 16GB because why not?

Hard Drive: Fast SATA 7200RPM.
Internal Hard Drive from the ultimate drive manufacture. It runs at a max 7200RPM. If you can afford it, I would get the hard drive for data and the SSD from upgrades for the operating system.

Power Supply: PSU NOT GENERIC.
There are cheaper PSU’s out there but when it comes to this, it’s best to go with a known trusted gaming brand. The generic brands have been reported to burn out and fry motherboards.

Game Computer Case: Cheap mid tower and good looking.
A good cheap computer gaming case. Mid range ATX so you have plenty of room to work inside, front USB ports and several fans. However if you can spare in the budget and want a better looking case, I included a link with some top tier cases.

Ryzen 3 Budget PC Build Summary

With a powerful and efficient Ryzen processor and a loaded Graphics Card, you’ll surely be saving a lot of money instead of buying a prebuilt computer package. All you have to do is put it together yourself and believe it or not, that’s the really easy part. You almost need no instructions but the motherboard does have all of the instructions included. The plugs, ports, connectors, etc are all clearly labeled and all you have to do is screw it in and match colors to cables on the motherboard. It’s as easy as hooking up a computer when it comes to understanding what goes where. You got this.

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