How Do You Build a Budget Gaming PC That Still Lasts in 2028?
Spend first on the graphics card and its memory, buy a platform you can upgrade, and treat RAM as the part to time carefully. No source can promise what a PC will play in 2028, so the advice below rests on what is published today.
Tom's Hardware, in its guide updated on 14 October 2026, raised its cheapest build tier to about $900 because $500 "just won't cut it at today's prices", and it says to avoid the 8GB version of the RTX 5060 Ti at its $1,700 tier. Steam's October 2026 survey shows 16 GB is the most common system RAM (41.42%), and one current game, Borderlands 4, lists 32 GB of RAM as its recommendation.
All prices on this page were read on 2026-11-04. Prices change often, especially for memory, so check the live listing before you buy.
What does a budget gaming PC cost right now?
The most useful published reference is Tom's Hardware's list of recommended builds, last updated 14 October 2026. It dropped its old $500 tier and says it is "pretty impossible these days to create a competent 1080p gaming machine for our typical $500 entry point". Its brackets are now $900, $1,200, $1,700, $2,100 and $4,000+.
- Tom's Hardware ~$900 build, total$924, with an Intel Core Ultra 250K Plus ($219), ASRock B860 Rock Wifi 7 board ($139), AMD Radeon RX 7600 ($339), 512GB Patriot P300 SSD ($82), case ($60), 650W power supply ($60) and cooler ($25)
- Tom's Hardware ~$900 build, RAM16GB V-Color Manta XSky DDR5-6000 CL36 at $258, listed as "volatile, not factored" into the $924
- Tom's Hardware ~$1,200 build, total$1,252, with a Ryzen 7 7600X3D ($230), RTX 5060 Ti 8GB ($499) and 1TB SSD ($149); 16GB of DDR5-5200 is listed at $200 and not factored in
- Tom's Hardware ~$1,700 build, total$1,710, with an RTX 5060 Ti 16GB
Tom's Hardware leaves RAM out of every total because prices swing and RAM bundled with a CPU or motherboard can cost far less. It points readers to its RAM combo deals page. These totals are the publication's own figures, not ours, and they were set on the dates in its guide.
Does graphics card memory decide how long a PC lasts?
It is the clearest published warning sign. In its GPU price tracker (updated 3 November 2026), Tom's Hardware says of the RX 9060 XT that "8GB of VRAM means the card isn't terribly futureproofed, as game requirements continually grow regarding shader and texture memory requirements." In its build guide it says of the $1,700 tier: "We recommend going with an Nvidia RTX 5060 Ti with 16GB (avoid the 8GB model)."
Steam's October 2026 survey shows how mixed the installed base still is: 8 GB of video memory is the most common tier at 26.92%, just ahead of 16 GB at 26.35%, with 12 GB at 12.91%. Game makers are already naming 8 GB: Borderlands 4's Steam page states "Requires 8 GB VRAM for graphics" and Monster Hunter Wilds lists an 8GB RTX 2060 Super or RX 6600 as its recommended card.
- Tom's Hardware GPU tracker, RTX 5060 (8GB)Best U.S. price $449, lowest-ever $279, launch price $299
- RTX 5060 Ti 8GB / 16GBBest U.S. price $499 / $769; lowest-ever $319 / $379; launch price $379 / $429
- Radeon RX 9060 XT 8GB / 16GBBest U.S. price $459 / $659; lowest-ever $259 / $349; launch price $299 / $349
- Radeon RX 7600Best U.S. price $389, lowest-ever $239, launch price $269
The tracker lists the best current price well above the launch price for every card above. Whether 16GB is worth the extra money in your budget is your call: no source read here says how much VRAM games will need in 2028.
How much RAM should a budget build have?
Steam's October 2026 survey lists 16 GB as the most common system RAM at 41.42%, followed by 32 GB at 37.06% and 8 GB at 7.52%. The survey's change column shows 16 GB up 3.60 points and 32 GB down 5.16 points from the prior month, so the lead is not settled.
Published requirements sit mostly at 16 GB. Battlefield 6 and Monster Hunter Wilds both list 16 GB for minimum and recommended specs. Borderlands 4 lists 16 GB as the minimum and 32 GB as the recommendation. Tom's Hardware's own $900 build ships with 16GB and warns that "your lowest glass ceiling will be the 16GB of RAM", so you may need to close other applications in RAM-heavy games.
The practical lesson is to buy a board with free memory slots and add capacity later if prices fall. Prices are the problem right now. Tom's Hardware's RAM tracker (updated 3 November 2026) says a 32GB DDR5 kit that sold for around $100 to $200 in October 2025 "now starts at $350, if it's even in stock", and lists DDR5-6000 32GB at $459 and DDR5-6000 16GB at $249 as its best U.S. prices.
Which CPU and platform keep an upgrade path open?
Tom's Hardware picked the Ryzen 7 7600X3D for its ~$1,200 build and says it "gives you an upgrade path to the 9000 series processors and moves into DDR5". It is a 6-core, 12-thread chip with 96MB of L3 cache. Tom's also says AMD still leads for gaming and did not put Intel's new Core Ultra refresh chips into its gaming builds, yet its $900 build uses an Intel Core Ultra 250K Plus with 6 performance cores and 12 efficiency cores, so its picks differ by tier.
Steam shows CPUs are mostly 6 or 8 cores: 8 cores at 28.68% and 6 cores at 27.29% of surveyed machines, with 4 cores at 12.36%. Borderlands 4 is the one title read here that states a core count: its Steam page says it "Requires 8 CPU Cores".
Tom's Hardware also says it has not tested every part, so the case, board and power supply it names are lighter-weight recommendations than the CPU, GPU and SSD it benchmarks.
What do games actually ask for today?
These are the stated requirements on each game's Steam store page, read on 2026-11-04. They are what the publishers say, and they describe the game's settings, not future titles.
- Monster Hunter Wilds (released Feb 27, 2025)Recommended: 16 GB RAM, RTX 2060 Super (8GB VRAM) or RX 6600 (8GB VRAM), for 1080p at 60 fps with Frame Generation at Medium. Minimum: GTX 1660 or RX 5500 XT, for 1080p (upscaled from 720) at 30 fps on Lowest.
- Battlefield 6 (released Oct 10, 2025)Minimum: 16 GB RAM, RTX 2060 or RX 5600 XT 6GB. Recommended: RTX 3060 Ti or RX 6700-XT, 16 GB RAM, 80 GB of storage.
- Borderlands 4 (released Sep 11, 2025)Minimum: 16 GB RAM, RTX 2070 or RX 5700 XT, 8 CPU cores, 8 GB VRAM. Recommended: 32 GB RAM, RTX 3080 or RX 6800 XT.
- Cyberpunk 2077 (released Dec 9, 2020)Recommended: 16 GB RAM, RTX 2060 SUPER or RX 5700 XT; SSD required.
Across these pages, the recommended graphics cards run from an RTX 2060 Super to an RTX 3080, which is well below Tom's Hardware's current budget picks. The Borderlands 4 recommendation is the one sign here of a title pushing RAM and GPU requirements up.
How should you time and buy parts?
- Check the date on every price. Tom's Hardware says prices have gone up since August of 2026, and about the GPU market it writes that it is "only getting worse". That is the publication's own view of current conditions, not a forecast we can verify.
- Compare against launch price. The GPU tracker lists a launch price next to each best price. For example, the RX 7600 launched at $269 and its best U.S. price is $389.
- Look at RAM bundles. Tom's Hardware says combo deals at Newegg can cut the RAM cost "in half or more" but tend to sell out quickly.
- Check the power supply spec. NVIDIA's RTX 5060 family page lists a 550 W minimum for the RTX 5060 (145 W graphics power) and 600 W for the RTX 5060 Ti (180 W). Tom's $900 build uses a 650W supply.
- Consider a prebuilt. Tom's Hardware notes a prebuilt can now cost less than the sum of its parts. See our best prebuilt gaming PCs for that route.
NVIDIA's RTX 5060 family page prints a price placeholder, not a number, and AMD's RX 9060 XT page lists a 16 GB model without a price, so maker list prices are not published on those pages. Third-party trackers are the only price source used here.
Questions people ask
How much does a budget gaming PC cost to build in 2026?
Tom's Hardware's cheapest recommended build, updated on 14 October 2026, totals $924 without RAM; it lists the 16GB DDR5 kit at $258 separately and says RAM prices are volatile. It dropped its $500 tier because it says a competent 1080p machine at that price is no longer realistic.
Is 8GB of graphics memory enough?
Tom's Hardware calls 8GB cards "not terribly futureproofed" and says to avoid the 8GB RTX 5060 Ti at its $1,700 tier. Borderlands 4 lists 8 GB of VRAM as a requirement, and Steam's October 2026 survey shows 8 GB at 26.92% of users.
Is 16GB of RAM enough for gaming?
Battlefield 6, Monster Hunter Wilds and Cyberpunk 2077 list 16 GB as a minimum or recommended figure on Steam. Borderlands 4 recommends 32 GB. Steam's October 2026 survey has 16 GB at 41.42% and 32 GB at 37.06%.
Should I build with DDR4 to save money?
Tom's Hardware's RAM tracker says DDR4 prices have also risen and that building a DDR4-based system now "makes little sense" because of processor and motherboard availability. If you already own DDR4, reusing it is a separate question.
Will this PC still play new games in 2028?
No source read for this page says. The published information covers today's games and prices only, so the advice here is to prioritize graphics memory, RAM slots and an upgradeable platform and check requirements as new games are announced.
Sources
- Tom's Hardware: Best PC builds for gaming 2026 · Recommended builds, part prices and totals, updated 14 October 2026
- Tom's Hardware: GPU price tracking 2026 · Best, lowest-ever and launch prices, updated 3 November 2026
- Tom's Hardware: RAM price tracking 2026 · DDR5 and DDR4 kit prices, updated 3 November 2026
- Steam Hardware & Software Survey · October 2026 RAM, VRAM, CPU core and GPU shares
- Monster Hunter Wilds on Steam · Stated PC requirements
- Battlefield 6 on Steam · Stated PC requirements
- Borderlands 4 on Steam · Stated PC requirements
- Cyberpunk 2077 on Steam · Stated PC requirements
- NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060 family · Memory, graphics power and minimum PSU; no price stated
- AMD Radeon RX 9060 XT · 16 GB model page; no price stated
Prices and stock were read on 2026-11-04 and change often. Check each part's live listing before you buy.
Top photo: bwDraco / CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons