You may be wondering what the best steps would be towards getting a good PC build for under $800. Any custom PC within the $600-$800 range is going to be a beast of a system and trust me when I say that you would never regret the day you decided to build a custom PC within this budget range.

$800 Is A Great Way To Go For A Gaming Rig

If you have never built a PC before then it may sound like something that would be to complicated to get done.

Through personal experience I can tell you that it’s really not that hard at all even though the thought of it might intimidate you. When I first got interested in building custom computers on whatever budget I desired I always thought that I would never be able to actually build a PC.

One day I said screw it and grabbed all of my parts to build the gaming computer of my dreams.

When I went to go build my first computer I followed a simple step-by-step video by Newegg and everything went just fine. I have added the video to this post so if you’d like you can bookmark this post and come back to it whenever you go to build your computer that way you can be ensured that you have an awesome result!

How To Build A Computer

If you’re new to the whole custom computer scene then I’d highly suggest going through the first half of this video before you go and try to build your computer.

Sure it’s a lengthy video but the content is right on point and the instructions are extremely easy to follow. When you actually order your parts and go to build your computer then be sure to follow this video as you go to build your computer. This way you won’t miss a step and you’ll be able to build it like a pro!

Also, once you get this process down you can then build computers for friends/relatives and maybe even have them give you a small charge for the work you do. 😉

After building about 8 computers for various friends/family I am now able to build a computer around a hours worth of time. Personally, I think the process is fun and easy so why not develop a new skill right? 🙂

With all that being said, let’s go over which parts are going to be optimal within this budget range.

Optimal Hardware On A $800 Budget

Last Updated: September 23rd, 2019

* = Optional, final price DOES NOT include optional part.

Read below for more details.

Case – Apevia X-SNIPER2 Mid Tower

Processor – AMD Ryzen 5 2700

Motherboard – MSI B450M Bazooka V2

Video Card – ZOTAC Gaming GeForce RTX 2060 6GB

RAM – Crucial Ballistix Sport LT Single 8GB 2666 MHz

Power Supply – EVGA 600W BR PSU

Hard Drive – Western Digital Blue 1TB HDD

* CD Drive (Optional) – Asus 24x DVD-RW

Final Price: $807.26

Build Details

This build is AMAZING. 😀

Seriously, the combination of the Ryzen 5 2700 and this graphics card really packs a powerful punch and you’ll be set for years to come.

If you’re looking to have a build that can stand the test of time and give you a gaming experience like you’ve never experienced before then this is the build for you. As of the time of this writing, there’s even a bit of leg room in the budget for your peripherals or whatever else you’re looking to add in with the build.

The Ryzen 2700 offers 8 physical cores and starts out clocked at 3.2GHz. You can go up to 4.1GHz using Turbo Boost.

This processor can be overclocked and it leaves plenty of room for an upgrade path down the road. Though to be honest, with the amount of power that it provides, you won’t be needing a CPU upgrade for a long while. A nice overclock will give a crazy amount of performance!

Overclocking gives the CPU more performance power per dollar spent and in comparison to say an i5-9400 – you’ll be able to match if not have even more overall performance after a slight overclock. It’s doable even with the stock cooler that it comes with which makes it even more valuable.

All in all, it’s going to be a great CPU for down the road. Then if/when you decided that you’re wanting more processing power whether for extreme content creation or for the highest quality VR gaming you’d be able to do so. Even without the overclock, it’s still good enough to get those tasks done.

In the past we had listed a previous generation motherboard which required a BIOS update before using the above CPU. This is no longer the case.

Now that the newer B450 motherboards have been out on the market long enough and the pricing/timing of them is at a good point then it’s high time that we start using them! No more having to get a loaner CPU from AMD or updating the BIOS with other methods – this can now be put together right out of the gate without any updates needed.

Another obvious factor towards overall gaming performance is the video card. At this time, a RTX 2060 6GB variant is definitely the way to go. For the longest time the RX series video cards were far too overpriced to even consider including it into the build, but times have changed.

As far as the future, the RTX 2060 is capable of handing it. Sure, it’s an ideal card for 1080p but it’s also going to have nice performance in VR gaming as well. If you’re thinking about trying out VR in the future then a build including a card like this is essential.

This will be very easy to do once you install the drivers for your motherboard after building your PC. Also be sure to check out YouTube tutorials over it! There are plenty of people out there that have successfully overclocked the 2700 with the stock cooler.

As per usual, you’ll be able to have 1TB of hard drive space with this build. After doing thorough research, I found it better to not include a solid state drive at this budget point as of today. It’s more worth getting the performance power versus having a SSD in the mix. We used to share having a 1TB SSD included which fit in the budget at the time, but it will not fit within the budget any longer. However, if you have the room in your budget, you should still try to include a SSD of sorts into your build!

Hopefully as new hardware comes out we’ll be able to put a SSD back into the build list while still being able to stay within the target budget range. Until then, this will have to do.

The case is your choice. The case that I have listed above will fit the video card and it is the USB 3.0 option. If you want a different looking case then you can go ahead and browse some cool ones by Clicking Here .

* A CD drive is completely optional because you can install your operating system via booting through a USB and you will be able to find your drivers online. I only share using the CD drive because it streamlines the process for those that are new to putting a PC together.

If you are in need of a keyboard and mouse for your build then you should check out the review that I did on a great keyboard/mouse combo for a lower price! It doesn’t break the bank and it still gets the job done.

Keyboard/Mouse – CM Storm Devastator 3

The video card will put you in awe with the amount of power it holds. You can feel very comfortable if you’re planning on playing at a 2560 x 1440 resolution with the graphics settings set to high with this card. 🙂

Down the road when 4K monitors become the norm then I would maybe suggest a GPU upgrade but this graphics card is going to give you power for years to come. This card performs about 200% better than today’s consoles. 😉 With that though, there is a card that you should get once it’s at the right price point. That would be the GTX 1070/1080 – it’d be the better pick to go with for the future.

The reason why I don’t have it listed today is because it’s not available at the right price yet. Once it is though, this build will definitely have it listed. Years down the road it’ll make more sense to add parts like that to a build at this budget point.

As for a monitor, as I said, you’re not going to want to go with something like 4K for a while. However, this build would perform very well at a 1080p resolution so you should definitely get a monitor that delivers on that res.

Monitor – Asus VS228SH

Be sure to go with 700+ watts of power with this build. If you ever feel like upgrading down the road whether it’s the GPU or CPU then you’re also going to want to increase the amount of power you can give to the whole computer.

The 500W power supply that I have listed above is one of the most trusted and most protected brands in power supplies so you for sure won’t have to worry about having any power issues with this build!

Operating System And Internet Connection

Choosing an operating system is going to be up to you to decide.

There are many ways of acquiring Windows but actually purchasing a real copy will ensure the highest quality experience with your OS.

I recommend getting Windows 10 since it’s the most compatible when you’ve got your build strictly with gaming in mind. It’s a mixture of the Windows 7 start menu ease combined with the modern feel and look of Windows 8. They got rid of Internet Explorer (FINALLY. Lol.) and replaced it with some new browser they created called Edge. I’d recommend a different browser still, but it’s good to know that they are wanting to trash out their outdated web browser.

Now if you can’t afford to purchase a Windows operating system for about $90 more just know that I completely understand that. Some work arounds would be to throw a free, Linux based operating system like Ubuntu on your build. Ubuntu is an open-source and free operating system that works great for every day use. The only down side to having a Linux based operating system is that not every game out there is compatible with Linux.

There are some 3rd party programs that are out that help with this issue but it’s still kind of an annoying problem. If you don’t mind trying to problem solve and emulate games then you’d be able to use Linux just fine but it’s still a pain to have such a little problem.

That’s why Steam is making their own operating system called SteamOS. Valve wants to base it off of Linux and have it be compatible with every Steam game in existence. I’m pretty excited about that! 😀

But if you still want to go with Windows then I would suggest throwing Linux on your computer temporarily until you have saved enough money to grab a Windows disk. Then you could either dual boot both operating systems or switch entirely over to Windows. You also have the choice of trying to get a copy of Windows through pirating but I don’t suggest that you do that.

Reason being is because it’s illegal and your operating system won’t run 100% perfect by trying to throw a cracked copy of it on a brand new computer. It’s best to just wait and save up for it and have a legit copy that way you can know that everything is going to

Also, if you need a way to connect to internet then I highly recommend picking up a broadband wireless network adapter. It plugs right into a USB slot and it’ll give you the most reliable connection. I’ve included links to both a 64bit version of Windows 10 and a good USB network adapter that is also compatible with Windows 10.

Windows 10 64bit – Microsoft Windows 10 Home 64bit

USB Wireless Network Adapter – Panda 300Mbps Wireless N USB Adapter

One thing that you need to be certain of is grabbing a 64bit version of Windows because if you don’t then you won’t be able to use all 8GB of your RAM, and that is extremely important to have especially as we move forward with how the PC gaming industry is growing.

To Conclude

There you have it, this is how you can get a good PC build under for $800.

So what do you guys think? Are you going to be grabbing this build?

Let me know in the comments below and if you have any questions feel free to ask away! 🙂