Watching RAM prices skyrocket in recent weeks has been painful for my PC-building soul. 64GB of DDR5 has gone from around $500 to over $900 in just days, eclipsing the cost of entire builds. So Newegg's B650 motherboard and 16GB DDR5-6000 combo got me thinking: How cheap can you go on a build this deals season without sacrificing single-threaded CPU performance or gaming prowess?
Using that combo deal as a foundation, we put together a $650 build that doesn't suck. It's impossible to go any cheaper for a DDR5 platform right now, and moving back to DDR4 platforms is shockingly constraining. Many once-attractive CPUs and compatible motherboards have gone NLA, stopping us cold.
No, this build isn't going to run monster RT titles at 4K, and it's not going to chew through Blender work or 8K video edits. What it will do is run today's most popular games at well above 60 FPS at 1080p, and you have best-in-class DLSS 4 upscaling in your pocket if the RTX 5050's native performance isn't enough.
This parts list is perfect as a kid's first gaming PC, and it's a gift that will keep on giving every time your lucky recipient fires up Roblox, Fortnite, Apex Legends, or CS2. Unwrap it on Christmas morning, build it together, and you'll have warm memories that'll last long after this system becomes obsolete. Or just build it for yourself and enjoy a cheap and capable upgrade from an older gaming box.
Quick list: $650 suck-free gaming PC build
- Ryzen 5 7500F CPU + Wraith Stealth cooler: $160.99 at Newegg
- Gigabyte B650M Gaming Plus Wifi mobo and 16GB Team Group DDR5-6000 RAM: $109.99 at Newegg
- Crucial P310 1TB SSD: $79.99 at B&H Photo Video
- MSI Shadow 2X OC GeForce RTX 5050: $219.99 at Amazon // $219.99 at Walmart
- Cooler Master Elite 302 mATX case: $39.99 at Newegg
- Montech APX 550 power supply: $39.99 at Amazon
I'm not sure it's possible to build or buy a cheaper modern PC than this right now. You can swap out the RTX 5050 for a $199 Arc B570 if you want, but you're giving up valuable performance and DLSS support to get there.
The cheapest RTX 5050 prebuilt on Newegg is $100 more and isn't specced any better than this, and similarly priced prebuilts have ancient GPUs that sometimes don't even have 8GB of VRAM.
In any case, act fast on this parts list if it tempts you, because Newegg won't be running that free mobo + RAM combo forever, and that's the life preserver that's keeping us afloat as the DDR5 pricing waters threaten to drown PC builders at every price point.
