With a budget of $700, you can get yourself a pretty solid prebuilt gaming PC that can run the latest and greatest titles in 1080p. Or maybe a refurbished prebuilt PC with more RAM and a better CPU than what you can find in new PCs – a perfect base for a future GPU upgrade. The only thing you have to equip yourself with is patience since the market is flooded with crappy PCs with old components and inflated prices.
The PCs in this market segment usually come with budget gaming CPUs, lower-end GPUs suitable for 1080p gaming, and mostly 8GB of memory. Not anything to blow your mind but good enough hardware for an enjoyable 1080p experience, even in newer AAA titles. If you don’t want to invest time into finding the best gaming PCs under $700, scroll down since we’ve done this for you. Below you can find both new and refurbished options, great deals, as well as iGPU configurations.
If you’re looking for cheaper options, do check our lists of the best prebuilt gaming PCs under $600 and the best prebuilt gaming PCs under $500. If you, on the other hand, have more cash, our guide for the best prebuilt gaming PCs under $1000 is the one you should read first.
1. HP Pavilion TG01: Best value prebuilt gaming PC under $700
Let’s start with the best value prebuilt gaming PC for less than $700. This HP Pavilion desktop packs more than decent hardware that should run newer AAA games in 1080p@60fps and with medium to high visuals. The latest AAA games should run between 30 and 60fps with low to mid details. Finally, esports titles will run at high frame rates and even in resolutions higher than 1080p. Just mind texture quality since the graphics card only features 4GB of video memory.
We’re talking about a Ryzen 5 5600G + RX 5500 4GB combo. The former is a pretty capable gaming CPU that’s a great pairing for any current GPU, let alone the humble RX 5500. As for the GPU, the RX 5500 is an OEM model found in big brand prebuilt PCs that’s virtually as fast as the RX 5500 XT. The rest of the specs include 8GB of (most likely) single-channel memory and a 256GB PCIe SSD.
Overall, this is a great overall package considering its price, which is way below $700. While the GPU is a bit old, it’s still pretty capable. Do note that you can add another RAM stick for a dual-channel mode that can increase your performance up to 20 percent. Further, 16GB of dual-channel memory should also remove hitches and stuttering, which will be present in most newer games since they require more than 8GB of memory to run without issues.
2. MXZ Gaming Desktop: Best prebuilt gaming PC under $700 overall
Okay, this MXZ prebuilt costs a bit over $700, but the PC is definitely worth its price. This is the best overall prebuilt gaming PC for ~$700 we could find. Its price is about 4 percent over the $700 limit, and you should definitely think about expanding your budget to get this one. The main reason why this PC is so good is the 12th gen Core i3-12100F, the best budget gaming CPU on the market right now. This CPU offers performance in the ballpark of the Core i5-10600K and 11600K or the Ryzen 7 3700X, which is pretty good for such a cheap CPU.
The graphics card found in this PC is the recently released RX 6400 from AMD. Now, this card’s nothing to write home about, and the RX 5500 found in our value pick is up to a third faster than the meek RX 6400.
On the flip side, the card’s still powerful enough to offer 60 frames per second experience in new AAA games with low to medium details in 1080p and a high refresh rate experience in esports titles in the same resolution. Also, the GPU’s limited PCIe 4.0 x4 interface won’t hurt its performance since the motherboard comes with a PCIe 4.0 slot for the GPU.
When it comes to memory, you’re looking at 8GB of single-channel memory, so you already know what to upgrade first. The PC also comes with 500GB of SSD storage, which is pretty good to see at this price point. The only issue we have with this PC is its 400W PSU. While it’s more than enough for the current hardware, it probably won’t be enough in case you upgrade the GPU in the future.
3. Skytech Archangel 3.0: Prebuilt gaming PC under $700 with best GPU
If your budget is $700 and you can’t go one cent above, check out this Skytech Archangel 3.0 build. This is the best prebuilt gaming PC for less than $700 we could find, and the offering here is more than decent. The Ryzen 3 3100 CPU is an older part that has a 4 core/8 thread design.
It’s far from the 12100F found in our previous pick, but it’s still capable of reaching a stable 60fps experience even in the most CPU-demanding titles on the market. On the other hand, you can upgrade the CPU with any Ryzen 5000 processor in the future, which significantly increases the potential life of this PC. Just don’t forget to upgrade the BIOS before doing that.
As for the GPU, the RX 580 8GB found here is, technically, the fastest GPU on this list. It’s a bit faster than the RX 5500, but, more importantly, it comes with 8GB of video memory instead of 4GB. This means you’ll be able to play older AAA titles in 1080p@60fps and high details, including textures. You’ll have to reduce details to medium or low in new AAA titles to achieve the same level of performance, but at least you’ll be able to crank textures to high.
The rest of the specs is par for the course at this price point—8 GB of single-channel memory and a 500GB SSD. Now, 8GB of single-channel memory is less than ideal, and this should be the first thing you upgrade. Either get another 8GB stick of memory or sell the one found inside the case and get yourself a budget 16GB RAM kit.
On the other hand, a 600W PSU found in the Archangel 3.0 is great to have since you won’t have to worry about whether the PSU is powerful enough once you start thinking about replacing the CPU and the GPU.
4. HP Pavilion TP01: Best refurbished prebuilt gaming PC under $700
If you don’t mind getting a refurbished PC, this HP Pavilion TP01 looks like a great deal. This is the best refurbished prebuilt gaming PC for less than $700 we could find, and it packs some serious hardware.
The star of the show is the Core i7-11700F, a CPU that doesn’t belong in this market segment. In fact, prebuilt gaming PCs equipped with the i7-11700F usually sell for much, much higher prices. For instance, most of our picks in our list of the best prebuilt gaming PC under $1500 have CPUs in line with the 11700F.
The GPU part of the equation here is way less exciting than the CPU. The RX 550 (2GB version) will run esports titles without issues but playing anything newer that’s not a 2D indie game will make the card sweating bullets. You can achieve 30-40fps@1080p or 720p in newer AAA titles with low settings, but that’s pretty much it.
With that said, this PC comes with 16GB of memory that, again, can only be found in much more expensive new prebuilt PCs. Another positive is the storage situation. Aside from a 256GB SSD, you’ve also got a 1TB hard drive, which is great to see in such an affordable PC.
What we’re trying to say is that this PC is a perfect foundation for a GPU upgrade. The 11700F is pretty fast and is an excellent CPU for serious work besides gaming. It’s a perfect pairing for any current GPU. If you decide to upgrade the GPU in the future, your choices are pretty much limited only by your budget. Just make sure that the included power supply is powerful enough for the future graphics card upgrade. Replacing it with a new one shouldn’t be an issue if it proves too weak.
5. CUK Mantis: Best prebuilt gaming PC under $700 with iGPU
If you’re tight on cash right now and plan to buy a decent PC now and upgrade it later, but you don’t want a refurbished PC, check out the CUK Mantis. This is the best prebuilt gaming PC for $700 that comes with an integrated GPU.
The basis of the machine is the Ryzen 5 5600G, an excellent gaming processor that also includes integrated graphics on par with the RX 550 found in the previous pick. In other words, you should expect the same level of performance in games, but this time we’re looking at a new PC. As for the CPU, while the 11700F is faster, the 5600G is still pretty good and fast enough for any current graphics card, even something like the RTX 3080 or RX 6900 XT.
The Mantis also features 16GB of dual-channel memory and a 512GB NVMe SSD. Overall, pretty good hardware for the money, especially 16GB of memory, which you won’t find in new prebuilt PCs that feature dedicated graphics cards. Do note that the PSU here is a 500W unit. While not the best choice, it should be good enough for the following GPUs: RTX 3060, RX 6600 XT, RTX 3060 Ti, and the RX 6700 XT.