Why You Can Trust CNET We've rounded up great offers on gaming desktops with Nvidia's current RTX 4000 series and previous-gen GeForce RTX 3000 GPUs.
Thanks to their powerful and easily upgradeable hardware, PCs are just about the most versatile gaming machines out there at the moment. And you don't have to spend weeks researching parts and building your own rig from scratch to get your hands on one. There are tons of excellent prebuilt gaming PCs on the market right now that are ready to run the latest games right out of the box. Below, we've rounded up some of the best value gaming PCs out there, along with some advanced models with next-gen RTX 4000 series GPUs that you can snag at a discount.
Check out the best gaming PC deals at Best Buy, Newegg and B&H on systems with previous-gen -- and still highly capable -- RTX 3000-series GPUs, as well as models with the latest RTX 4000-series graphics cards.
Read more: Best Graphics Card for Gamers and Creatives in 2023
Check back regularly, as we'll keep this list updated as current discounts expire and new deals emerge. Note that not all of these PCs are on sale, per se -- the section at the bottom includes systems that are just great values, and some that have been further discounted in the past.
This ABS Stratos Ruby rig is $200 off and one of the most affordable systems with RTX 4080 graphics. Like the above Stratos Ruby model, it's based on the Ryzen 7 7700X but doubles the RAM to 32GB and solid-state storage to 2TB. It also ups the PSU to a 750-watt unit.
This ABS system is currently $300 off at Newegg, making it one of the few PCs with RTX 4070 Ti graphics that costs less than $2,000. In addition to a GPU from Nvidia's latest generation, it features a CPU from AMD's latest Ryzen 7 7000 series in the form of the Ryzen 7 7700X. It also supplies 16GB of RAM, a 1TB SSD and a 700-watt power supply -- all sufficient for the price.
This CLX PC is a great value when you can pick it up on sale, and right now it's discounted by $100 at Best Buy. It's one of the few RTX 4090-based gaming PCs that you can pick up for less than $4,000. It also has a 13th-gen Intel Core i7-13700KF CPU and 32GB of RAM, along with a 1TB SSD and a huge 4TB HDD.
You can save $200 right now on this RTX 3070-based MSI slim-tower system. In addition to the midrange RTX graphics card, it features a Core i7-12700F CPU, 16GB of RAM, a 1TB SSD and a 750-watt PSU.
Even at full price, this Skytech system is one of the lowest-cost gaming PCs with RTX 3060 graphics out there, and right now you can pick it up for $150 off at Best Buy. Paired with the RTX 3060 GPU is an Intel Core i7-12700F CPU. You also get 16GB of RAM, a roomy 1TB SSD and a 650-watt power supply.
Some desktop PCs are such a great value that they're still worth mentioning even when they're not on sale, and we've rounded up several of those models below. That includes some rigs that aren't currently on sale, but have seen some serious discounts in the past and may go on sale again in the near future.
This Velzstrom gaming PC features RTX 3080 graphics along with an 11th-gen Intel Core i9-11900K CPU, 16GB of RAM, a 1TB SSD and a 750-watt PSU, making it a rare example of an RTX 3080-based PC that costs less than $2,000.
Although it's not currently discounted, this CyberPower tower is one of the least expensive gaming PCs with Nvidia's new GeForce RTX 4070 Ti GPU. It also supplies an AMD Ryzen 7 7700X CPU, 16GB of RAM and a 1TB SSD.
This Skytech system features the latest from Intel and Nvidia by way of the Core i7-13700KF CPU and RTX 4090 GPU. You can pick it up for $3,600 at Newegg, which is a good value for a gaming PC with Nvidia's latest flagship GPU. It also features 32GB of RAM, a 1TB SSD and a massive 1,200-watt PSU.
Though it's only available at full price at the moment, we've seen this Thermaltake desktop with an RTX 4000-series GPU on sale for as much as $500 off in the past. It has the latest graphics processor from Nvidia but pairs it with a CPU -- a Ryzen 7 5800X -- that's a couple generations behind AMD's current 7000 series. It also serves up a beefy 850-watt power supply, an ample 32GB of RAM and an enormous 3TB of storage by way of a 1TB and a 2TB SSD, all inside a striking clear case.
This MSI system comes equipped with a cutting-edge RTX 4000-series GPU for $2,000. It features RTX 4070 Ti graphics along with a Core i7-12700KF CPU, 16GB of RAM, a huge 2TB solid-state drive and a 750-watt power supply.
This Cobratype system is one of the more affordable RTX 4080-based gaming PCs out there at the moment. Part of the reason for its (relatively) low price is the odd CPU-GPU pairing. It boasts the latest from Nvidia in the form of the RTX 4080 GPU, but then turns around and gives you a CPU from Intel's previous 11th-gen family of processors. At least it's a powerful Core i9-11900F chip. The other items to note are the liquid cooling system and beefy 1,000-watt PSU.
There are thousands of gaming PC deals to choose from, but not all of them are worth your hard-earned cash. As with any pricey purchase, it's worth assessing your needs before diving in and spending big bucks. When it comes to gaming PC deals, that means looking at how demanding the games you plan on playing are, how your new PC will fit into your existing setup (how many displays it will be driving, for example, and at what resolution and frame rate) and of course, your budget. If you want multimonitor 4K gaming, you're probably going to struggle with a budget of $1,000, so it's best to be realistic with your expectations here.
Once you've considered those factors, it all comes down to the price-to-performance ratio on offer. The main considerations here are the processor, graphics card and RAM as these will have the most impact on your overall experience. Newer and more powerful parts are going to push the overall price up -- just take a look at our list of the best graphics cards for gamers and you'll see that these don't come cheap -- so consider machines with recent previous-gen components to save some cash.
Depending on how technically savvy you are, the proposition of building your own gaming PC will either excite you or strike fear into you. The main benefit of building a PC yourself is you get to choose every component, shop around for deals on individual parts, and ultimately get more bang for your buck. The downside is that it takes a lot of research, effort and a decent amount of technical savvy. There's also the risk of something going wrong in the build process, which means you'll end up damaging parts or pulling your hair out trying to figure out why things aren't working as expected. With prebuilt gaming PC deals, you get to skip some of the more time-consuming and frustrating parts of the process, but you'll pay for the privilege and likely spend more money overall.