Best gaming PC gift under $1,500

Enough for 1440p and the newest big games, ranked by Cyberpunk 2077 at 1440p in Justin's testing (one of the hardest games he runs). Every pick is in stock today at $1,500 or less, at a real store price we checked this morning, and clears our quality bar.

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Ranked by estimated FPS in Cyberpunk 2077 at 1440p.

Best pick

Asus T500MVMS564T TUF Gaming T500 Gaming Desktop - Intel Core i5-13420H - NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 Ti - 16GB/1TB

RTX 5060 Ti · 16GB VRAM · Core i5 13420H · 1TB storage

$1,149.99Price checked Oct 15

  • Same speed today; 16GB avoids stutter in new games like Indiana Jones and Spider-Man 2
  • You don't need to spend $1,500. This $1,149 PC is as fast as anything at 1440p.
  • Not a real drop: this PC sold for about $1,150 in October

About 70–80 FPS in Cyberpunk 2077 at 1440p (Max settings, native; estimated from Justin's testing of this graphics card in another PC)Measured in Justin's own testing: RTX 5060 Ti with a Core i5 14400F (CPU class 6), highest preset, native (no DLSS/FSR). Justin's sheet doesn't name this card's memory size; his results read as the 16GB card's, so they are used for it.

Next best

ABS Cyclone Aqua Gaming Desktop PC, Windows 11, Intel Core 5 Processor 120, GeForce RTX 5060 8GB, 16GB DDR4 RAM, 1TB NVMe SSD, WiFi, RGB, Prebuilt

RTX 5060 · 8GB VRAM · Core 5 120 · 16GB RAM · 1TB storage

8GB: great for 1080p esports and Medium/High; newer games at Ultra or 1440p can stutter

$849.00Price checked Oct 15

  • 8GB of video memory at 1440p: not recommended at this setting
  • 41% cheaper than similar PCs (same graphics card and CPU class)

About 60–70 FPS in Cyberpunk 2077 at 1440p (Max settings, native; estimated from Justin's testing of this graphics card in another PC); with 8GB of video memory, less than the game asks for at its highest preset here, though Justin's own tests of 8GB cards here are what the number goes by (lower textures if it stutters) (best playable setting: Medium)Measured in Justin's own testing: RTX 5060 with a Ryzen 5 5600X (CPU class 8), highest preset, native (no DLSS/FSR).

Third pick

ZOTAC MEK3050A5500BR0 MEK Gaming Desktop with RTX 3050 Ryzen 5 5500 16GB 500GB SSD

RTX 3050 · 8GB VRAM · Ryzen 5 5500 · 500GB storage

8GB: great for 1080p esports and Medium/High; newer games at Ultra or 1440p can stutter

Sold by Newegg Inc. on Walmart.com

Marketplace seller: returns and warranty follow the seller's terms, not Walmart's. Check them on the listing before you buy.

$800.00Price checked Oct 14

  • 8GB of video memory at 1440p: not recommended at this setting
  • About 30 FPS in Cyberpunk 2077 at 1440p: under our 60 FPS bar

About 30–35 FPS in Cyberpunk 2077 at 1440p (Max settings, native; estimate from Justin's testing, calibrated against published independent reviews); with 8GB of video memory, less than the game asks for at its highest preset here, though Justin's own tests of 8GB cards here are what the number goes by (lower textures if it stutters) (best playable setting: Medium)Estimated from Justin's testing, calibrated against published independent reviews: Justin's RTX 5060 run with CPU class 8 CPUs, scaled by the performance index (the RTX 3050 is about 50% slower than the RTX 5060 at 1440p); no runs with CPUs of this PC's class (9) or a weaker one place it between two measured cards here, so the nearest stronger class's, GPU-bound there (well under its CPU cap).

At this budget, look for: 12GB+ of video memory for 1440p, 32GB of RAM (2 sticks), a 1TB SSD.

What to look for

What to avoid

Return windows

Each store sets its own. Here is what the stores on this page say for a new gaming desktop, from each store's own policy page (a store we have not checked yet just links to its policy). Holiday return dates show here in November and December when the store has published them.

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