Sarfraz
You might be searching for a gaming PC that doesn’t go above $700 but at the same time offer a decent gaming experience at 1080p. You are at the right spot because we have some excellent advice and suggestions that will help you start your gaming journey from scratch.
While it is always a better idea to build a custom Gaming PC, not everyone has the time and skill to build one for himself. This makes PreBuilt Gaming PCs compelling as they come pre-assembled and are ready to work out of the box in no time.
With $700 in your pocket, you can get a good configuration in 2023 that will allow you to play games on at least medium to high settings at 1080p resolution. We have listed the best ones below and the reasons why you should go with one.
What Is PreBuilt Gaming PC?
A PreBuilt Gaming PC comes with pre-assembled PC components and is ready to work out of the box. PreBuilt Gaming Systems are put together by well-known and popular brands that feature gaming performance-oriented configurations. A Desktop Gaming PC comes with 6-7 different components that are connected to each other via the motherboard. The user needs to install each component manually to get it working but a PreBuilt Gaming PC comes with everything pre-installed.
Is $700 Good For A Gaming PC?
In simple words, Yes but it depends mostly on your gaming needs and the configuration you opt for. There are two types of CPU-GPU configurations that decide gaming performance.
One is the APU that has both the CPU and iGPU, and the other one is the CPU and discrete GPU combo. Generally, the CPU-GPU combo is better than an APU as both work independently resulting in better performance overall.
With $700 in hand, you can expect a decent gaming experience at 1080p resolution. If your configuration can’t play games at 1080p, then your system is providing you with a poor value for the price. PreBuilt Gaming PCs under $700 offer a variety of options in CPU and GPU, and offer a good amount of storage and RAM that is adequate for optimal gaming and non-gaming performance.
Your motherboard should have all the basic necessary ports and slots for installing components. On top of that, it is recommended to have a lot of USB ports at the I/O and multiple fan headers for cooling. If the processor is overclockable, the motherboard should have an unlocked chipset and a strong VRM section for handling overclocking and thermal issues.
For no-compromise gaming, your PC must have at least 8GB of DDR4 RAM or higher. For $700, you can easily get 16GB RAM these days, and better if the RAM modules have a frequency of at least 3000MHz. A dual-channel memory configuration always works better than using a single RAM stick of the same capacity.
You should try to opt for a dedicated graphics card if you want consistent gaming performance. For $700, most PreBuilt Gaming PCs come with discrete GPUs but if you are looking to fulfill some casual gaming needs, an APU will do the job just fine.
For any gaming build, Solid State Drive is the way to go as they are several times faster than a traditional hard drive and acquire less space inside the case. Fortunately, for under $700, it is possible to have an SSD as the storage drive and an additional SSD/HDD for storing bigger files.
If you are buying a PreBuilt Gaming PC, do not compromise on the power supply. Although you won’t get the best quality PSU with PreBuilt systems, you should check if your PSU is at least 80 Plus rated and provides you with all the necessary cables to power your components.
Most PreBuilt Gaming PC brands use Micro-ATX motherboards for budget builds. So, you can expect mostly Micro-ATX towers for a $700 PreBuilt system. However, some brands do offer ATX mid-tower cases that are better for upgradability.
5 Best PreBuilt Gaming PCs Under $700
GPU- AMD Radeon RX 5500
RAM- 8GB DDR4
Storage- 512GB SSD
- Great for 1080p gaming
- APU+GPU combo
- Keyboard/Mouse combo
- Wifi and Windows 11 Home
- APU with just 4 cores
- Compact case with insufficient clearance
HP has several offerings below $700 but only a few of them are worth considering. The Pavilion TG01-2022 is one of the newest PreBuilt Gaming systems from 2022 where you get a decent CPU-GPU combo where the CPU is an APU that gives you an option for working on your system even without a dedicated GPU. Ryzen 3 5300G is an OEM-only APU that comes with 4 cores and 8 threads and features a Vega GPU with 6 cores.
This is not the best CPU you can get for this price but the GPU used here is really good. The Radeon RX 5500 is one of the best budget GPUs that makes gameplay smooth at 1080p resolution. You can expect 60 fps on average on high settings and with overclocking, you can get some more juice out of your APU and GPU.
For storage, you will get a 512GB SSD that is actually an NVME drive which is several times faster than the SATA SSD. This will be ok to store a couple of games but you should consider adding at least 1TB SATA SSD to make more room for your files.
As for the RAM, you will get 8GB of DDR4 memory clocked at 3200MHz. As the motherboard features 4x DIMM slots, you can add three more 8GB RAM sticks to make a total of 32GB of RAM if you ever require it.
Finally, all of this is hosted inside an HP micro-ATX tower that is compact but will allow small to medium-sized components. To let you start gaming right away, it comes with a pre-installed Windows 11 Home and a Keyboard/Mouse combo.
GPU- AMD Radeon RX Vega 7
RAM- 16GB DDR4
Storage- 128GB SSD+1TB HDD
- Powerful 6 Core/12 Thread APU
- High capacity RAM and Storage
- Beautiful mid-tower case
- Wifi and Windows 10 Pro
- No dedicated GPU
- No Keyboard/Mouse combo
ViprTech Whiteout PC is one unique PreBuilt system with an elegant mid-tower case featuring RGB LEDs and RGB fans to uplift its aesthetics. The gaming PC isn’t the most powerful one yet it’s one of the most upgradable systems you can buy for under $700.
It comes with a powerful 6 core/12 thread Ryzen 5 5600G APU that is really powerful for almost any task. It comes with a Radeon RX Vega 7 iGPU that is best suited for low to medium settings gaming at 1080p and therefore, do not expect this PC to max out games at 1080p resolution.
The reason why I think this PC will be great is that you can add a powerful discrete GPU in the near future to play all the games at 1080p or 1440p resolution. Currently, it doesn’t have any discrete GPU as other components are already top-notch for its price and it’s for those who want the best configuration without the need for upgrading the CPU, RAM, Case, etc.
It comes with 16GB of DDR4 RAM and a storage of 128+1TB for storing your OS and games. It also comes with pre-installed Wifi and Windows 10 Pro just like most PreBuilt systems but its mid-tower chassis is really what makes it superior.
You can add a full ATX motherboard anytime and install an aftermarket CPU cooler without thinking much of the clearance. On top of that, it comes with a Viprtech Keyboard/Mouse combo where the mouse features RGB LEDs. Again, it’s not the best for its price but a better one if you want to add a better GPU like an RTX 3060 or higher in the future.
GPU- Nvidia Geforce GTX 1650 Super
RAM- 8GB DDR4
Storage- 256GB SSD
- Powerful Intel 10th gen CPU
- GTX 1650 Super for 1080p gaming
- Keyboard/Mouse combo
- Wifi and Windows 11
- Only 256GB of storage
- Compact case with insufficient clearance
We can have several PreBuilt systems from HP alone and again, I am recommending another great HP Pavilion desktop that is greatly balanced and is perfect to play games on high settings. The TG01-1022, 2020 system uses an Intel Core i3 10100 CPU that features 4 cores and 8 threads clocked at 3.6/04.30GHz. Although it is a locked chip, the turbo frequency increases the performance significantly when needed.
This CPU also comes with an Intel UHD Graphics 630 which makes troubleshooting easier in case your discrete GPU fails to power up your display but you won’t be needing that to play games as it is highly inferior in front of the GPU used inside this build.
A smooth gaming experience will be achieved through its Nvidia Geforce GTX 1650 Super which is currently one of the most popular budget gaming GPUs for several years now. It comes with 4GB of GDDR6 memory and can play almost any title with 60 fps on average on high settings.
The main system RAM is 8GB and the storage is a single NVME 256GB SSD. This may compel you to add another storage drive to store games and you should do so as it won’t increase the overall cost above $700.
Other features of this PC are pre-installed Windows 11 OS, Wifi, and a Keyboard/Mouse combo. Compared to the Pavilion TG01-2022 listed at the top of the list, its CPU is superior in gaming but the GPU is a little behind. You won’t go wrong with any of them. So, make your choice carefully.
GPU- AMD Radeon Vega 7
RAM- 8GB DDR4
Storage- 500GB SSD
- Powerful 6 Core/12 Thread APU
- Quality Micro-ATX case
- 120mm AIO cooler
- Reliable 650W Cooler Master PSU
- Wifi and Windows 10 Pro
- No dedicated GPU
- No Keyboard/Mouse combo
I present you with one of the most unique PreBuilts under $700. It is called Q-Box_4 from AVGPC. This brand has put together some of the best components you won’t find in any other PreBuilt Gaming PC.
It uses one of the best Micro-ATX cases, the Cooler Master Q300L mini which is a fantastic compact case that is spacious from the inside despite being small in size. I have personally used this case for one of my relative’s build and it can support decent-sized CPU coolers and graphics cards.
The PC uses a reliable MasterWatt 650W power supply that provides you with protective measures for your components and has enough wattage capacity to power even high-end graphics cards. Generally, most brands use generic 80 Plus power supplies, and therefore, the protection of components is compromised. You will get around 450-500 watts PSU in most PreBuilts under $700.
So, this is really a Top Pro for the Q-Box_4 users. For CPU, the build comes with a Ryzen 5 5600G APU that is cooled by a Cooler Master 120mm AIO cooler. Again, this a unique feature you will hardly find in most $700 PreBuilt Gaming PCs. This will allow you to overclock the APU to squeeze out more free performance.
Other specs include an 8GB DDR4 RAM, 500GB of storage, and a Micro-ATX motherboard. You will get a pre-installed PCI-E Wifi adapter and a Windows 10 pre-installed. The company provides 1 year of warranty and free lifetime support that is useful if you ever run into issues.
This PC will be one of the fastest ones if a dedicated GPU is added in the future. However, currently, with the iGPU, you can expect it to play games on low to medium settings.
GPU- AMD Radeon RX 5500
RAM- 8GB DDR4
Storage- 256GB SSD
- Powerful 6 Core/12 Thread APU
- Powerful GPU for 1080p gaming
- Keyboard/Mouse combo
- Wifi and Windows 10 Home
- Only 256GB of storage
- Compact case with insufficient clearance
The 2021 HP Pavilion Gaming Desktop is hands down the fastest PreBuilt Gaming PC under $700. It has everything top-notch for an awesome gaming performance except for a few things that mildly affect the upgradability. It uses the same micro-ATX tower that is used in the HP Pavilion desktops listed above and therefore, the upgradability isn’t good enough. Also, one more storage drive is recommended to add if you want to store more games and big files.
Except for these two issues, the CPU-GPU combo used here is the best. The Ryzen 5600G is combined with the Radeon RX 5500 GPU so can easily get 60 fps on an average at 1080p. You will also get 8GB of RAM that is adequate at this resolution and to start off things right away, you will get a free keyboard/mouse combo, wifi, and Windows 10 Home pre-installed.
This PC is perfect for those users who aren’t planning to upgrade their PCs anytime soon. Hence, the original specs will be sufficient for any game. As I mentioned earlier, the only thing you should add is at least 1TB of additional SSD storage to store more games. Adding another SSD will increase the total expense by just a little above $700 which won’t break the bank.
Are $700 PreBuilt Gaming PCs Upgradable?
Most of the above-listed PreBuilt Gaming PCs are upgradeable. Some will require a dedicated GPU while some a better processor. Meanwhile, you should always try to balance the configuration by combining a CPU and GPU with similar power. By this, I mean that neither your CPU should bottleneck the GPU nor the GPU should bottleneck your CPU.
PC’s having low storage like a 256GB or 500GB storage drive will love to have an addition of another storage drive. This will be better as your OS will use a separate drive and your games/applications will be stored in another. For PCs with only iGPU, I recommend going with a GPU at least equal to or higher than the RX 6600.
As most $700 PreBuilt systems are using either a 4 or 6-core CPU, you don’t really have to worry much about bottlenecking. On the other hand, we discourage our readers to use a very high-end GPU like an RTX 3090 or 3090 Ti due to the possibility of CPU-Bottlenecking.
In case you are upgrading to a better CPU and GPU that consume more power, always make sure you have adequate wattage capacity from your PSU. You should also check if you have enough cables to power your graphics card. In case, your PC isn’t fulfilling these requirements, get a bigger wattage PSU like a 650 or 750W PSU from well-known manufacturers like Cooler Master, Seasonic, Corsair, EVGA, etc.
Final Words
From all the available $700 PreBuilt Gaming PCs, I have listed the top ones based on the factors like specs, upgradability, gaming performance, features, and value for the price. If you have any queries regarding them or if you want assistance in building your own PC, then feel free to comment down below.
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