Gaming PCs have come a long way since the days of dial-up internet. They’re so powerful that they can now play games at high resolution on large displays. And while gaming laptops are still popular, if you want to play the latest games in 4K—or even 1440p—you’ll want a desktop model with an Intel Core i5 processor or higher and at least 8 gigabytes of RAM.
On a budget?
If you’re on a tight budget, there are still some great gaming PCs out there. On the low end of our list, we have an Intel Core i5-6400 processor with 8GB RAM and 256GB SSD for R 2,000 (about $300). The high-end gaming PC is powered by AMD Ryzen 7 2700X processor with 16GB DDR4 memory and 512 GB SSD for R 4 000 (about $700).
If you want to skip all the technical jargon and jump right into buying your new PC, check out our Best Gaming Pc Deals guide—it has everything from the best deals on laptops to desktops to prebuilt gaming PCs from top brands like Acer and HP!
Basic Build
To get started, you’ll need a CPU and GPU. The AMD Ryzen 5 2600 is a good budget option that offers more than enough power to run any modern game at 1080p resolution on medium settings. You can find it online for around R2 000 or in stores for about R3 500. If you want something slightly cheaper, the Nvidia GeForce GTX 1660 Ti should be able to handle most AAA titles at 1080p resolution with high-quality settings enabled. It too is easily available online or at your local computer store (R800).
The next component we recommend adding is RAM as this will improve performance when running multiple programs simultaneously like Photoshop and Premiere Pro CC 2019 on your gaming PC! Our recommended amount of RAM for our build is 8GB DDR4 which gives us plenty of headroom for future upgrades without having to worry about running out of space sooner rather than later.”
What does it cost?
The price of a gaming PC in South Africa varies depending on the manufacturer and the model you choose. The average price range for a high-end gaming PC is between R 14,799 to R 16,000. This is comparable to most other countries in this region. If you’re looking for something more affordable, then we have some options available as well; they start at around R 13k and go up to just over R 15k!
Performance Build
- CPU: Intel Core i7-9700K
- Motherboard: Gigabyte Z390 Aorus Pro
- RAM: Corsair Vengeance RGB 32GB (2 x 16GB) DDR4-3200MHz
- Storage: Samsung 970 Evo Plus NVMe 500GB M.2 SSD
A 4K gaming PC costs around R 14,000.
A 4K gaming PC costs around R 14,000. You can get a 4K gaming PC for less than that or more than that depending on the brand and model you choose.
Conclusion
We hope this guide has helped you decide on the best gaming PC for your needs. As always, leave us a comment below if you have questions about building or buying one!
