It was a tough task putting a $300 custom build together, but thanks to AMD's impressive range of APU's, we were able to do so while still achieving good levels of performance. At the heart of this build sits AMD's entry-level APU, the 2200G. It comes equipped with Vega 8 graphics, which are surprisingly good at handling low intensive games such as CS: GO and Fortnite.
The Best Cheap Gaming PC
This budget-oriented gaming system is designed to be the best 300 dollar gaming PC money can buy. FPS may not be very high, but this system should give you a perfectly enjoyable gaming experience overall, especially for eSports titles.
CPU: AMD Ryzen 3 3200G
The Ryzen 3 3200G showcases excellent value for money and dominates the competition in this price bracket. With the release of the Ryzen 3rd Gen CPUs, we see AMD – for the first time in years – finally competing with Intel on a value and gaming spectrum. The recent drop in price, combined with its impressive performance, makes the 3200G one of the best value-for-money products available today. It comes equipped with Vega 8 integrated graphics that showcase similar performance to that of the GT 1030. This, in turn, means you have the ability to run low-intensive AAA games at 50+FPS in low/med settings. Perfect for any entry-level PC build.
We’ve gone for Patriot Viper Elite Series DDR4 16GB 2666MHz RAM for our $300 build as it offers excellent performance at a relatively affordable price tag. It does push us slightly over budget, but we feel it’s a smart investment as it boosts overall performance exponentially. It’s pretty much the perfect pairing for the Ryzen 3 2200G. With 16GB at your disposal, you’ll never run the risk of being bottlenecked by this RAM, and it effectively makes your build future-proof for a good few years to come.
SSD: ADATA SU635 240GB
We’ve decided to go for an SSD over the more traditional HDD in this build because it adds so much to the performance and overall usability of this system. Even though we’re losing roughly 750GB of storage capacity by going for an SSD, we’re making up for it with much faster boot/load times.
Thermaltake’s 430W PSU is perfect for this build as it provides an efficient power source at an affordable price point. It even allows for small upgrades down the road if that’s what you’re looking to do. Unfortunately, we had to go for the non-modular option to stick within the budget, meaning cable management will be more difficult, but still very achievable come build time. That being said, we did save a decent amount of money on this PSU, which went towards a much better RAM kit. If you are curious to know which PSU’s we recommend overall, you can find them on our best gaming power supplies page right here.
MOBO: Asus Prime B450M-A
The Asus Prime B450M-A motherboard is an entry-level board that offers excellent features at an affordable price point. It’s the perfect starter to any budget build and comes equipped with Ryzen 1st/2nd/3rd Gen support, up to 3466+MHz RAM support, and the reliability that comes with buying ASUS products. Furthermore, an ultra M.2 slot is available for users wanting to upgrade down the road. Overall, one of the best motherboards for gamers looking for a cheap platform to build off.
CASE: Thermaltake Versa H15
The Thermaltake Versa H15 PC Case isn’t going to win any awards for style, but this budget case still has a lot to offer. Thermaltake has equipped it with 1 x pre-installed fan for out-the-box cooling. The case comes with four options to install extra fans; two on the front and two at the top for intake and exhaust. Although this build will never overheat, the additional fans will allow you to produce a fully-fledged airflow solution for even lower temps when the build is under stress. It’s a compact case with a sleek and refined aesthetic. You can’t ask much more from a budget case offering, but if you do find yourself wanting something a little different.
Upgradability and Future-Proofing
Another area to consider when building your own PC is future upgrades. Let's be honest; a PC won't last you forever. At some stage, you will need to upgrade its components. Making sure you limit the number of products that need updating when that day comes is a major part of the hardware selection process.
Luckily, we've already done that for you. This build comes with an up-to-date motherboard, which is perfect for future upgrades. The case is also a solid option that will allow for GPU and additional storage capacity upgrades, as well.
Overclocking
Overclocking has become increasingly more achievable in the last ten years, mainly thanks to the quality of the hardware becoming much more overclocking friendly. It's a great way of extracting additional performance at no extra cost. But be careful, just a couple of weeks ago, one of our product testers fried a motherboard by pushing it too far.
This build is set up for light overclocking and will respond if you choose to do so. However, it must be noted that Ryzen chips are extremely well-optimized out-of-the-box. Gaining significant performance increases is probably a thing of the past, for now.
What games can this PC run?
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive - 1920x1080 Low 115FPS average
Dota 2 - 1920x1080 Low 85FPS average
Fortnite - 1600x900 Low 80FPS average
Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege - 1600x900 Low 65FPS average
PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds - 1600x900 Very Low 50FPS average
Overwatch - 1600x900 Low 70FPS average
GTA V - 1600x900 Normal 80FPS average
Forza Horizon 4 - 1920x1080 Very Low 50FPS average
Hitman 2 - 1600x900 Low 35FPS average
The Witcher 3 - 1600x900 Low 35FPS average
Upgrade Parts
CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 2600
The first and probably most influential (in terms of performance) upgrade for this build is the CPU. If you’re looking to seriously bolster the computational power this thing has then we recommend the Ryzen 5 2600 as it offers hugely improved performance over the 2200G, respectively. Now, even though this is a wise move and not too painful on the wallet, this upgrade does come with a few conditions.
Firstly, if you remove the 2200G then you are completely removing any graphical input you have. The Ryzen 2600 does not have integrated graphics. So, if you’re looking to upgrade the CPU then we strongly recommend getting an additional GPU as well. That then puts you into the realms of $500-$600, which is considerably more, but that’s the price you will have to pay to see a serious increase in performance.
This build uses an APU, meaning it uses an integrated GPU. However, you can upgrade the GPU while still utilizing the APU as your CPU. This is where the MSI RX 570 comes into the picture. With a low-profile and quality build, this graphics card represents a huge performance boost over the integrated GPU. This allows you power well beyond other graphics cards around this price. You will benefit from improved graphics and FPS across all games with this extremely well-priced card.
Due to the lack of an intake fan with the case, we highly recommend you buy one of these to use as an intake for your PC. Good airflow will ensure optimal performance and longevity for your components! Noctua’s NF-F12 fans may be a little expensive, to be fair, but they’re also whisper-quiet and great performers in their own right. That’s why we recommend them here.
For an easier building process, buying this semi-modular PSU should save you some cable management stress. While this isn’t a strictly necessary part of building and will cost you extra, it’s much easier than dealing with a fixed, bulky set of cables that come with non-modular PSUs.
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