The best gaming PC under 500 is a great way to game on a desktop without breaking the bank to do so.
It's easy to assume that in order to play PC games you need to be spending four figures. Thankfully, for the price of a next-gen console, you too can get in on PC gaming. However, you may have to adjust your expectations a little because going for a pre-built PC for under 500 may not allow you to play the latest AAA titles at high resolutions or on ultra-high settings.
But let's face it, it's not all about graphics. More often than not if you want to get in on some of the most popular games around, it's more about frame rates - of which these machines should be able to deliver the goods on.
It's much like if you opt to go for one of the best gaming laptops under 300 or the best gaming monitors under 200 - you'll still be getting a perfectly capable gaming experience with this equipment, but you'll just have to adjust to playing slightly less powerful games.
With all this in mind, we've selected these gaming PCs based on our research into their specs, features, general reviews, and other general points that we think make them worth considering. Plus, we’ve answered some of your most frequently asked questions so you can pick the best one for you.
Best gaming PCs under 500
- Fierce RGB AMD Gaming PC
- Allied RGB Home Office Desktop PC
- Alarco Gaming PC
- ADMI Gaming PC
- HP M01-f0033W
- CUK AsRock DeskMini X300W
1. Fierce RGB AMD Gaming PC
Best gaming PC U under 500 from Fierce
Graphics: AMD Radeon RX Vega 7 (integrated)
RAM: 16GB
Storage: 1TB HDD + 240GB SSD
Fierce makes some great pre-built gaming PCs and its RGB AMD Gaming PC looks like a marvellous choice.
Inside you'll find a powerful AMD Ryzen 5 5600G processor which should give you plenty of performance for 1080p gaming, as well as the beefy multi-core performance benefits of a Ryzen CPU, which will be handy if you want to use this PC for more than just gaming.
The graphics here are integrated ones, but for casual gaming, the bundled Radeon Vega 7 should be more than adequate. This is because integrated graphics on modern CPUs have come a long way, and in the real world, should work rather well.
On the point of storage, the Fierce RGB AMD Gaming PC features both a 240GB SSD and a 1TB HDD. This is particularly handy, especially since you can reap the benefits of faster boot times on one drive whilst retaining loads of spare capacity on the other.
16GB of RAM is also mighty handy, especially for such an affordable PC, and means you could even indulge in some more intensive tasks such as photo or video editing with this PC, as well as day-to-day work, and gaming, of course.
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2. Allied RGB Home Office Desktop PC
Best gaming PC under 500 from Allied Gaming
Graphics: AMD Radeon RX Vega (integrated)
RAM: 8GB
Storage: 240GB SSD
The Allied RGB Home Office Desktop PC looks to be a pretty decent option for a gaming PC under 500.
Inside, you'll find a dual-core AMD Athlon 3000G processor which should be speedy enough for casual gaming and day-to-day work and offer some decent performance.
With it comes AMD's Radeon RX Vega integrated graphics that should help you to decent performance in more casual titles. 8GB of DDR4 RAM also gives you some good headroom for multitasking work, too.
You'll also find some pretty good storage capacity with the Allied RGB Home Office Desktop PC thanks to a 240GB SSD allowing for some speedy performance for getting gamed started or just loading files on and off.
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3. Alarco Gaming PC
Best gaming PC under 500 from Alarco
Graphics: Nvidia GTX 650
RAM: 8GB
Storage: 1TB HDD
The Alarco Gaming PC looks to be a decent choice for an affordable gaming computer, as long as you don't mind some slightly older components.
Inside, it comes with an Intel Core i5-2400 processor which, admittedly, is a little old, but with a clock speed of 3.1GHz, should still be speedy enough to handle light gaming loads.
Moreover, the Alarco Gaming PC also features an older Nvidia GTX 650 GPU that can help to add a little bit of oomph to more casual titles, and 8GB of RAM gives you plenty of headroom to work with.
There's also a 1TB hard drive, which will give you oodles of space to put your favourite games on, as well as any important programs and documents.
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4. ADMI Gaming PC
Best gaming PC under 500 from ADMI
Graphics: AMD Radeon RX Vega 7 (integrated)
RAM: 16GB
Storage: 1TB HDD
The ADMI Gaming PC looks like a fantastic choice for the money, with a great blend of price and performance.
Inside, you’ll find it features an AMD Ryzen 5 5650G which can boost to 4.4GHz and should provide some great multi-threaded performance for gaming at 1080p, as well as for some light photo editing, and video editing, for instance.
The 16GB of RAM this ADMI Gaming PC features, which, runs at 3200MHz, should also be rather quick indeed also back this up. Capacity won’t be an issue, as you should have plenty of headroom for more intensive tasks if you so wish.
The graphics on offer are integrated ones with the AMD Radeon RX Vega 7 able to do a decent job for both general productivity tasks as well as gaming on less intensive titles.
As for storage, you’ll find a 1TB HDD inside, which will provide you with plenty of capacity so you can store games, apps, documents, and anything else you need to with loads to spare.
It’s also worth noting this ADMI Gaming PC also looks rather good with some sharp looks and an RGB-enabled case is sure to please the crowds, too.
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5. HP M01-f0033W
Best gaming PC under 500 from HP
Graphics: AMD Radeon RX Vega 8 (integrated)
RAM: 8GB
Storage: 1TB HDD
HP makes some of the best pre-built PCs out there and their M01-f0033W looks to provide a decent affordable option.
Inside you'll find an older AMD Ryzen 3 3200G quad-core processor which should offer some good multi-core performance for the price, and a base clock of 3.6GHz also ensures it's pretty quick, too.
8GB of DDR4 2666MHz RAM is plenty for a PC in this price bracket, which means you'll have a good amount of capacity to work with for multi-tasking, be it for gaming, or just having loads of Chrome tabs open at once.
As for graphics, this HP M01-f0033W features AMD Radeon RX Vega 8 integrated graphics that come bundled into the CPU.
These should allow for some decent casual gaming performance in titles such as Fortnite and Rocket League, as well as for more general day-to-day work, and if you wanted, you could also edit HD video, too.
Storage comes courtesy of a 1TB HDD, giving you a pretty generous starting capacity, which you should be able to fill with plenty of apps, documents and games.
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6. CUK AsRock DeskMini X300W
Best compact gaming PC under 500
Graphics: Nvidia GT 710
RAM: 8GB
Storage: 256GB HDD
The CUK AsRock DeskMini X300W looks like a formidable choice if you're after a small form factor PC for under 500.
You'll find an Nvidia GT 710 GPU inside that should provide you with some good performance for the price within casual games and for day-to-day work, too.
An AMD Ryzen 3 2200G may be a couple of generations old now, but its 3.7GHz clock speed should still give you some great performance for the price.
There's also 8GB of RAM inside the CUK AsRock DeskMini X300W giving you a good amount of headroom for more intense tasks as well as general work tasks.
This all comes in a tiny case so you can put the PC basically anywhere, and if you wanted, you could also take it on the go along with any of the best budget portable monitors to get yourself a nifty little setup.
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Frequently asked questions (FAQs)
Finding the right PC for gaming can be tricky at times. Don't worry though, we've answered some of the most commonly asked questions right here.
Can you get a good gaming PC for under 500?
In short, yes. It is possible to get a moderately powerful PC for £500 or less, although, as mentioned in the intro, you will have to be realistic with your expectations of what you want the PC to be able to do.
For instance, a £500 gaming PC will be good for less intensive gaming and general tasks. With some of the PCs on our list, it is possible to edit photos and videos on them for instance, but the lack of a properly powerful dedicated GPU will hold back their overall performance somewhat.
Is it cheaper to get a prebuilt PC?
This majorly depends on your budget, and of course, the time you've got on your hands.
Prebuilt PCs can be cheaper at certain times when components on their own are expensive, and getting an entire PC can sometimes represent better value for money than just buying a GPU for instance.
They can also be more affordable in terms of time regarding the point that it will take time for you to gather the individual components and build your PC, as opposed to purchasing an off-the-shelf prebuilt one where all the work is done for you.
Is building a PC hard?
This depends on who you ask. Building a PC may seem like a hard task at first, but it's really a case of plugging different components into their respective slots, fitting it all together, and you're done.
With enough practice, building a PC isn't that much of a hard job, but with the PCs we've picked, as they're pre-built options, you won't need to do any building.
Can a beginner build a PC?
If you've got some guidance, then a beginner can definitely build a PC. The process is essentially a large jigsaw and simply involves putting different components into their respective slots.
With the PCs above though, as they're prebuilt, you won't have to install anything, apart from if you do want to swap out any components down the line for an upgrade without changing your entire PC.
Is a gaming computer worth it?
We'd say that a gaming PC is worth it, just given the power that it can provide and the multi-purpose nature of a good computer.
With a PC, there's plenty of upgrade potential, and these gaming PCs for under 500 can be greatly improved with a couple of simple upgrades, be it another stick of RAM or a proper graphics card, which can raise your game and the power of your PC immensely.
Can I upgrade a prebuilt PC?
Yes, you can, though you'd want to make sure that the setup is compatible with whatever part that you're hoping to upgrade, a Ryzen processor for example would require a Ryzen motherboard.
Is it better to get a gaming laptop or PC?
This all depends on what you're looking for. If you're after a more portable means of PC gaming, then getting a gaming laptop will be better than a PC, although desktops will be better if you're staying in one place.
For under 500 though, a dedicated gaming PC is likely to be more powerful than gaming laptops. For more information on gaming laptops though, our friends at Gfinity Tech have a useful guide on the best budget gaming laptops if you do want something more portable.
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