Best Gaming PC Build Under $700

The PC Parts

The PC Parts Details

Now, we’re going to go in-depth on each of the components that we’ve selected for this build.

Case: Fractal Design Focus Micro ATX

First and foremost is the Micro ATX version of the Fractal Design Focus, an excellent chassis from the folks at Fractal Design. This is a medium-sized case with a mesh front panel and dual fans for improved airflow, a full side panel window to show off the components inside, and plenty of room for cable management, drive mounting, and even a liquid cooling setup.

In terms of aesthetics, we consider the Fractal Design Focus to be top-tier. It’s not too gaudy and flashy: it prioritizes sleek form and function over “gamer” design choices. The dual intake fans do shine with white LEDs, but these are fairly unintrusive for the most part and still allows the build overall to look professional.

In terms of building experience, we’ve found that this case is very good, especially for first time builders. The ample cable routing holes and cable management compartments are both nice to have, and so long as you use them properly you’ll have a fairly clean-looking build once you’re finished.

The only real downside worth noting is the lack of an included exhaust fan, which is a bit unusual for a case boasting two intakes. If you can’t afford to spend a little extra on an exhaust fan, we recommend simply moving one of the intakes to the back in order to provide a more complete airflow solution.

CPU: Intel Core i5-8400 Processor

The Intel Core i5-8400 is a powerful six-core processor. It’s a part of the eighth-gen Intel Core series, which focuses more on raw core counts than hyperthreading to compete with the latest and greatest from AMD. While the i5-8400 is definitely more expensive than its rival Ryzen processor, we selected it for this build due to Intel’s lead in single-core gaming performance. (If you’d prefer a cheaper price tag and Ryzen, check out our Ryzen alternative build below .)

Once you actually start playing games with this processor (especially CPU-limited games), however, you’ll see why we chose not to compromise here. The Intel Core i5 series has dominated the midrange gaming PC space for about a decade now, and the i5-8400 is no different. If raw gaming performance is your only concern and you don’t plan on Twitch streaming or making YouTube videos, then the i5-8400 is the obvious choice.

RAM: Patriot Signature Line 8GB DDR4-2666 RAM

Our RAM is a humble 8GB DDR4 RAM kit from Patriot. Despite not looking particularly flashy, this RAM actually boasts a slightly higher clock than standard DDR4 (2666 MHz instead of 2400), and the kit is actually two 4GB RAM sticks.

For those of you who don’t know: it’s important to always run RAM configurations in at least Dual Channel, which means two identical RAM sticks running together. This allows them to reach their full clock speed- in this case, 2666 MHz. Without a Dual Channel configuration (ie, if this were just one 8 GB stick instead of 2 GB sticks), RAM speed would be limited to half of its full capacity. (In this case, 2666 would become 1333, which is DDR3-tier speeds.)

Fortunately, this is 8GB of RAM in a Dual Channel configuration, so you have nothing to worry about. You’ll be able to run these RAM sticks at full speed, and the extra bit of RAM speed will actually slightly increase your minimum FPS in games, reducing the severity of FPS drops.

Motherboard: ASRock H310M-HDV Micro ATX Motherboard

We’ll own up to it: this is definitely the most barebones part of this PC.

Fortunately, that won’t have any impact whatsoever on performance. On the Intel side, we aren’t yet at the price range where investing in OC-capable motherboards and CPUs (as well as buying our own coolers) will pay off. In this scenario, a well-built but budget motherboard will do the job just fine, since it has all the essentials we need for a gaming PC and won’t hinder our CPU, GPU, or RAM in any way.

The ASRock H310M-HDV may not win any awards for outstanding RGB lighting or extra features, but it doesn’t need to. Instead, it serves as the backbone of a killer performance-per-dollar gaming PC build, and that’s all that really matters.

GPU: MSI RX 580 8GB ARMOR MK2

The star of the show in the best gaming PC build under $700 is definitely this card. The MSI RX 580 8GB ARMOR MK2 boasts MSI’s excellent cooler design, a generous factory overclock, and a full 8GB VRAM buffer to improve performance in higher-resolution apps. (Higher-resolution apps being games played at 1440p or higher resolutions, as well as VR gaming in general.)

To summarize the RX 580’s performance, we’ll just boil it down like this:

• The 580’s 1080p gaming is far beyond anything modern consoles are capable of, even the PS4 Pro and Xbox One X. This means higher framerates, better effects, and more.
• The RX 580’s 1440p gaming is also better than either the PS4 Pro or Xbox One X. Outside of a few select scenarios with the Xbox One X, neither of these consoles run games at actual 4K resolutions. Instead, they usually use 1440p and upscaling to achieve their 4K images. You will need to turn down a few settings to maintain 60 in some games, though.
• In VR, the RX 580 will keep up with all the best VR experiences available on the HTC Vive and Oculus Rift. This is far better than PSVR. The Vive Pro and higher-resolution VR headsets like it may need a GPU upgrade, though.
• In native 4K, the RX 580 will struggle at high-to-max settings in most games. Lighter games, especially eSports titles, should work fine at true 4K60, though. In modern games, though, expect 4K30 at low/medium settings.

SSD: Kingston A400 240 GB SSD

The Kingston A400 240GB SSD was our pick for this build, thanks to its excellent price-per-gigabyte. SSDs used to be a lot more expensive than this, but with the market changing, 240 GB SSDs are now possible in budget builds.

While an SSD won’t improve gaming performance, it will greatly improve your general PC usage experience. All you need to do is install your OS and apps on the SSD, and you’ll enjoy the benefit of lightning-fast boot and loading times. You can even fit a few of your favorite games on it, though we recommend only sticking frequently-played multiplayer games on an SSD.

While 240 GB may not seem a lot, it’s a question of quality over quantity. For your operating system, your basic apps, and a few of your favorite multiplayer games, an SSD is the best move. For everything else.

HDD: Hitachi Ultrastar 7K3000 3TB HDD

The Hitachi Ultrastar 7K3000 is a 3 TB HDD that serves as our storage drive, and at the time of writing, it’s retailing for right under $60. That is nuts for a 3TB hard drive, and you can even get a renewed version of the drive for ~$50 if the discount has ended by the time you read this article.

With 3 TB of storage space, we’d dare say that you have all the room you could possibly need for your full Steam library and media collection.

 

PSU: EVGA BQ 500W 80+ Bronze Semi-Modular Power Supply

Last but not least is our PSU, the EVGA BQ 500W.

First up, let’s talk the “Semi-Modular” in the product name. This means that aside from the motherboard power cable, all the other power cables can be removed from the PSU. This is especially useful for Micro ATX and Mini ITX builds, where you won’t have as much room for cable management, and removing cables you aren’t using is the best move.

Aside from the improved building process, you also have the benefit of an 80+ Bronze certification, which means this PSU will be respectably power-efficient and useless excess power than bottom-bin PSUs.

Most importantly, this PSU comes from a reliable manufacturer- EVGA. You never want to buy PSUs from no-name manufacturers, because not only do they generally run loud and hot, they can be outright dangerous to your build. Always buy PSUs from a trusted brand.

What This Build Plays

Let’s start with the biggest darling of the day: Apex Legends.

At 1080p, this build can max out Apex Legends at 90+ FPS with no issues and maxed-out settings. At 1440p and 4K with high settings and no AA, this build can achieve 60 FPS and 30 FPS, respectively. The 8GB of VRAM in the RX 580 essentially turns it into a midrange 1440p card, as well as a high-end 1080p card: great for gamers who play at higher resolutions.

In other popular modern titles, like Fortnite, this trend continues. 1080p and Ultra settings quickly exceed 60 FPS and start breaching the 90 range. More demanding games, like Monster Hunter: World, sees the game push right around 60 FPS at maximum settings and 1080p. At 1440p, you’ll need to compromise on a few settings (like AA and effects) to maintain 60 FPS, however.

Overall, we think the performance of the RX 580 is fairly strong, and it tends to beat the 6GB GTX 1060 in most benchmarking scenarios. Until the release of Nvidia’s next-gen budget GPUs, RX 580 dominates this price range with an iron fist.

Our Selection Process

The selection process is based on two things:

• Our own years of experience with tech and PC hardware, and
• Observations on what competitors are doing and how we can do it better

Many PC builds right now are boasting an RX 580, but they’re usually doing so alongside an underpowered CPU and a lackluster storage solution. We assembled this build with the goal of ramping up performance just a little bit while dramatically improving general usage, thanks especially to the addition of an SSD to the build. In our opinion, we’ve succeeded in that goal, and we hope you’ll agree.

Recommended Upgrades

FAN:Phanteks PH-F120XP

The only thing this case is missing is an exhaust fan. While you can move one of the two intake fans to the back to have a more complete airflow solution, we also recommend adding this non-LED fan as an exhaust to complete the build. These fans retail for well under $20 on most days (usually close to $15), and they’re fairly quiet and powerful. At this price point, we certainly can’t complain.

GPU: XFX RX 590 Fatboy

For the most part, we don’t really have any upgrade ideas for this build. At least, no upgrade ideas that wouldn’t be better suited by you just checking out our $800 gaming PC build instead.

However, we did want to provide an upgrade option for those who are willing to spend just a little more but don’t want to go as high as $800. That being the case, we recommend putting that extra money toward the XFX RX 590 Fatboy.

The RX 590 is essentially just a souped-up version of the RX 580 already included in this build, and the XFX Fatboy version slaps on a massive cooler and a huge factory overclock. Since our case is already so great for airflow, you’re sure to get a pretty respectable performance boost out of the RX 590, especially if you decide to add your own overclock on top of its factory OC.