Best $700 Gaming PC Build in 2023 [Tested & Reviewed]

If you have a hard time building a gaming PC within $700, you’ve come to the right place.

As a gamer, I know it’s hard to make the perfect build with a low budget.

Hence, I’ve researched budget builds for hours and finally made the best gaming PC build for $700.

You’ll get the best value for money build and get an upgrade path to turn it into a mid-tier gaming PC.

So read the whole post carefully.

The Best $700 Gaming PC Build For 2021

At a low budget, it’s vital to build the PC in a way so that you can upgrade the components and turn it into a better gaming PC over the years.

Hence, the core components like CPU, motherboard, PSU, and primary storage must be of high quality and go well with upgraded components in the future. Otherwise, you’d have to replace many components every time you want to upgrade the PC, which will cost more and won’t give you the best value proposition. Check out some awesome AM4 socket-compatible cpu coolers.

The following PC build is done keeping these factors in mind.

So here’s the best $700 gaming PC build:

1. (CPU) Intel Core i3-10100

The Intel Core i3-10100 is the best low-budget gaming CPU.

Top highlights of the Intel Core i3-10100:

Check Today's Price of Intel Core i3-10100→

The core part of any PC is the CPU. So naturally, you’d want to buy the best possible CPU in your budget. The Intel Core i3-10100 is the best low-budget option right now.

The Intel Core i3-10100 is quite an upgrade over its previous generations. Don’t let the i3 label fool you, as it’s a quad-core CPU now. It also has hyperthreading, so you get eight threads. It performs like an i5 from some years ago. Check out some budget-friendly CPUs for RTX 3070, 3080,

The clock speeds are also quite decent, with a 3.6GHz base clock and a 4.3GHz boost clock. As gaming is mostly single-core dependent, you’d benefit a lot from the higher boost clock here.

Moreover, it has 6MB of smart cache, which is quite decent over the previous generations. Overall the i3 10100 is a decent upgrade for an i3 CPU and performs close to old i5 CPUs.

Considering the current GPU prices, it’s hard to get your hands on a GPU for a low-budget build. So integrated GPU matters more than ever.

With this in mind, the CPU has Intel UHD630 graphics, which performs exceptionally well for an integrated GPU. It can output solid 1080p performance on eSports titles. You’d have to try and test your settings and resolutions for other games to get the best experience.

To sum up, the Intel Core i3-10100 is the best CPU for low-budget gaming.

2. (CPU Cooler) Cooler Master Hyper 212 Evo

The Cooler Master Hyper 212 Evo is the best budget CPU cooler of all time.

Notable features of the Cooler Master Hyper 212 Evo:

Check Today's Price of Cooler Master Hyper 212 Evo→

The i3 CPU has a stock cooler, but you should consider an after-market air cooler to get the best performance. Hence the Cooler Master Hyper 212 Evo.

When it comes to budget cooling, the Cooler Master Hyper 212 Evo is the best product you can get. It’s the best-selling CPU cooler for budget PCs.

Cooler Master created a solid air cooling solution for the price. You get a single tower 120mm cooler with 4x direct contact heatpipes. These heatpipes connect with the CPU base plate in such a way that creates a virtual vacuum chamber. Hence it’s highly effective. Don’t forget to check out the best alternatives to dark rock pro 4 cpu cooler.

Moreover, the 120mm fan has a unique wave-fin design on the blades, which helps achieve high static pressure and thus more cooling.

The fan also has PWM functionality. So if you connect the fan through a PWM header, you can adjust the speed and thus control the noise level.

Overall, the Cooler Master Hyper 212 Evo is the best-selling and best-performing CPU cooler for the price. For a low-budget build with an i3 CPU, the cooler is more than enough.

3. (Motherboard) Gigabyte B560M Aorus Pro AX

The Gigabyte B560M Aorus Pro AX is the best B560M motherboard you can get.

Top features of the Gigabyte B560M Aorus Pro AX:

Check Today's Price of Gigabyte B560M Aorus Pro AX→

The motherboard is the central hub of the PC as all the PC components connect via the motherboard. So it’s imperative to get a decent motherboard within the budget.

The Gigabyte B560M Aorus Pro AX is the best B560M motherboard that rivals some more expensive B560 motherboards. For such a micro ATX motherboard, it has a lot of features at such a low price.

The motherboard has a 12+1 digital VRM solution with high-quality MOSFETS. Hence it can handle powerful CPUs with no issue. If you want to upgrade the CPU in the coming years (for example, 10th/11th gen i5 or i7), you can freely do that with this motherboard.

On the connectivity front, you get onboard Intel WiFi 6 and Bluetooth 5. As for wired Ethernet, you get a 2.5G LAN port. So whether you’re going for wired/wireless mode, the motherboard gets you low latency and high-speed connectivity. Have a couple of minutes to spare?

You also get 4x DIMM slots and 2x PCIe NVMe slots in such a compact motherboard. Upgrading your RAM and storage will be of no issue here.

You also get a few extra features like Q-Flash BIOS, where you can flash a new BIOS update without CPU. You also have hybrid fan headers with a fan stop feature.

The rear IO is pre-installed for your ease. Speaking of rear IO, it has lots of USB 3.2 Gen1 and Gen2 ports, along with DisplayPort and HDMI. You also get HD audio and a 2.5G LAN port, as I’ve discussed earlier.

On the software side, you have access to RGB Fusion 2.0, which gives you tons of customizations and tweaks.

Overall, for the price, the Gigabyte B560M Aorus Pro AX is the best B560M motherboard that you can get.

4. (RAM) Corsair Vengeance LPX 16GB 3200MHz C16

For the best high-speed budget RAM, the Corsair Vengeance LPX is a no-brainer.

Top highlights of the Corsair Vengeance LPX:

Check Today's Price of Corsair Vengeance LPX 16GB 3200MHz C16→

A faster RAM makes the system snappy and responsive. The new Intel 10th gen CPUs can take advantage of high-speed RAM, unlike previous generations.

Hence I’ve included the best high-frequency budget RAM. The Corsair Vengeance LPX has a BUS speed of 3200MHz. It’ll be more than enough for the i3 CPU. The timings are also very tight for such a budget RAM. You get C16 latency here.

The high frequency and low latency together with dual-channel configuration will do wonders for your PC. It won’t feel like a budget PC. Rather in day-to-day use, it’ll be as responsive as a mid-tier gaming PC.

To dissipate heat, the RAM uses the integrated black heatsink. Thermals are not an issue here. The height of the modules is relatively low. Hence you’d be able to use a massive cooler like the Cooler Master Hyper 212 Evo without any sweat.

For the price, the Corsair Vengeance LPX is the best choice for high-frequency RAM.

5. (PSU) Corsair CX650M 650W 80+ Bronze

The Corsair CX650M is one of the best budget PSUs in the market.

Major highlights of the Corsair CX650M:

Check Today's Price of Corsair CX650M 650W 80+ Bronze→

On any PC build, you should never cheap out on a PSU. It supplies power to all the components of the PC. Hence if something goes wrong with the PSU, your whole PC is at risk.

Corsair makes reliable budget and high-end PSUs. The Corsair CX650M is one of the budget offerings from them. For the low price, you can’t go wrong with the PSU.

The PSU is rated at 650W. Further down the road, if you want to upgrade the CPU or add a GPU, you won’t need to change the PSU as 650W will be enough.

The PSU has an 80+ bronze rating. It ensures that the output wattage of the PSU is consistently above 80%. The internal capacitors and components used are of high quality and reliable.

The semi-modular functionality is convenient. It essentially means that not all the cables are fixed into the PSU. Only the required cables are permanently attached, and the rest are detachable.

It helps a lot in cable management. You can get rid of the cables you don’t want to hang around. It makes the build clean and neat.

The Corsair CX650M has a large diameter fan which helps to reduce the noise while spinning. Check out our definitive guide for Power Supply units.

A five-year warranty backs the PSU for your peace of mind. Overall, the Corsair CX650M is a top choice as a budget PSU with high reliability.

6. (Case) NZXT H510

The NZXT H510 is the most beautiful compact ATX casing on the market.

Notable features of the NZXT H510:

Check Today's Price of NZXT H510→

When choosing a PC case, it’s essential to look at the airflow or thermal performance and aesthetics. You should also note the clearances to make sure your components fit.

With these points in mind, the NZXT H510 is the best choice. It’s compact but has enough clearance for the components, it’s gorgeous, and most importantly, it has decent thermal performance.

The NZXT H510 is quite famous due to its clean design. The case looks premium with its modern and minimalist design. The materials used are of high quality. Check our expert’s recommended best aura sync cases.

On the side, you get a tempered glass to show off your internals. The front IO has a USB Type-C port, which comes in handy these days.

Despite being compact, it has good clearance for components. The giant Hyper 212 Evo CPU cooler will fit comfortably inside the case. In case you want to add a GPU later, the case has 381mm GPU length clearance. So you should be good to go.

The clean design philosophy also stays true inside. The case has a PSU shroud and cable routing kits and channels. It gives you all the opportunities to hide and manage cable clutters and achieve a clean and beautiful build.

Thermals are of no issue here. Though the case is designed especially for water cooling, air cooling doesn’t lead to bad temperatures. The front and bottom air intakes have air filters to keep dust away. In the future, if you upgrade the CPU, you can replace the budget air cooler with a beefy AIO for the best thermal performance.

To sum up, you get a modern-looking clean PC case with decent thermals and a premium build.

7. (Storage) Samsung 970 EVO Plus NVMe M.2 500GB SSD

The Samsung 970 EVO Plus is the best SSD for gamers.

Top highlights of the Samsung 970 EVO Plus SSD:

Check Today's Price of Samsung 970 EVO Plus NVMe M.2 500GB SSD→

SSD is a must in any gaming PC build these days. It ensures you get fast storage for an overall speedy and responsive gaming system.

The Samsung 970 EVO Plus is a best seller SSD due to its incredible speed and high-quality components. Samsung produces all the controllers and NAND flashes used in the SSD, and they are among the best.

The 500GB capacity will be enough to store some games and softwares. If you need more storage, you can always add more SSD or HDD.

The high speed of the SSD comes in two ways: the use of the NVMe interface and high-quality NAND flashes and controllers. Among the SSD available in the market right now, the Samsung 970

EVO Plus is the fastest. It boasts incredible read-write speeds. The blazing fast speed will certainly make your gaming PC experience better.

The SSD features a DRAM cache, which helps optimize the performance and increase the lifespan of the SSD. So it’s essential to get an SSD with a DRAM cache.

Lastly, Samsung has Magician software available for the SSD. It helps you monitor the performance and health of the SSD. It also lets you upgrade the firmware for more optimization down the line.

All in all, the Samsung 970 EVO Plus is a blazing fast SSD for the money.

8. (GPU) No GPU

GPU is the central part of any gaming PC. But sadly, the current GPU prices are double or even four times the actual MSRP due to global GPU shortage and mining. As such, it’s impossible to get a decent GPU at such a low budget. Hence you’d be using the integrated GPU on the CPU for gaming.

The Intel UHD 630 graphics deliver decent performance for an integrated GPU. It will deliver decent 1080p performance across eSports titles. For other games, you’d have to tweak the resolution and game graphics for the best experience.

However, if you have an extra budget to add a GPU or want to buy a GPU later, you can consider Nvidia GTX 1660 or 1660 Super.

Both offer excellent gaming performance for the money. You’d be able to get 60+ FPS on 1080p high settings or, in some games, 1440p low/medium settings. That’s excellent gaming performance for the money.

Final Thoughts

The budget gaming PC build above is the most well-balanced build you can get for $700. You’re getting the best CPU and motherboard in the budget, which has a great upgrade path. The motherboard can handle more powerful CPUs, while the CPU can pair nicely with dedicated GPUs.

The spacious and premium case will also help you with further upgrades.

The RAM and SSD are already fast enough and will make the whole system feel snappier.

The air cooler can cool down more powerful CPUs.

Lastly, the highly reliable PSU has enough wattage and efficiency to power the present components and future GPU/CPU upgrades.