reddit.com › r › buildapcforme › comments › 1l1ui73 › summer_2025_pc_best_buy_guide

Thanks for this my man! Been waiting to see if an updated list would be coming, and I just got the funds for my new build! This is gonna be a huge help! Answer from weightandink on reddit.com

Tom's Hardware

tomshardware.com › desktops › pc building

Best PC builds for gaming 2025: From $500 budgets to $4,000+ | Tom's Hardware

3 days ago - To help you assemble the best PC build for gaming or productivity that you can get, we've created recommended parts lists for every budget: from a super-cheap $600 system to an affordable $1,100 build to a $4,000+ dream machine for those with deep pockets. Prices have gone up on RAM and storage significantly in 4Q 2025, so we are forced to raise the cost on our tiers tom compensate.

reddit.com › r/buildapcforme › ☀️summer 2025 pc best buy guide☀️

r/buildapcforme on Reddit: ☀️Summer 2025 PC Best Buy Guide☀️

June 2, 2025 -

THIS GUIDE IS OUT OF DATE, PLEASE VISIT THE MOST UP TO DATE ONE ON THE FRONT PAGE!

As it's been asked a lot over DM's: If you want to buy me a coffee, you're more than welcome to. These guides will ALWAYS stay free for everyone, and I will never directly ask for any payment. PayPal or BuyMeACoffee are both possible.

Hi everyone, it's been a while! Welcome to the Summer 2025 PC best buy guide!

I've been out of the running due to injury on my arm, but the fast few months also haven't been great for those wanting to buy a PC - or a GPU in particular. As prices have been slowly going and stock going up, I'm hesitantly optimistic on making a new guide. Although it's far from where prices were, and with tarriffs going left and right, there's no telling where things will go, the Winter 2025 guide is now so out of date it warrants replacement.

Before commenting, please read the following:

I have been getting a lot of comments of people being confused what the lists are actually for, and how the parametric selections work on PCPartpicker.com . Please use this flowchart to guide you through the website before commenting some frequently ask questions
I want to reiterate that these lists are here to give you an indication on what you can expect for a certain budget; what kind of value you can get for your money with that budget. That does not only mean pure performance, but also features, expandability, and future upgradability. Some of these are hard to quantify in words, but I have tried my best through my own judgment to make some weighted decisions on each list.
To give you an example, in the $1100 list I might recommend a Ryzen 7600(X) with an RTX 5060 Ti, 32GB RAM, paired with a 1TB SSD, and a relatively value-oriented case, cooler & motherboard. This is my vision of the best 'value' PC you can get, but if you have a different PC with a high end case with RGB, expensive cooler, and 2TB SSD, that is 100%, utterly and completely, fine! I just want you to have a reference point.

Gaming PCs

Budget	Note / compared to previous budget	Possible upgrades with leftover budget (in order of priority)
~ $400	This is the cheapest gaming PC I can somewhat recommend. Do note that this PC does NOT have WiFi, and if you do need WiFi you need to either buy a WiFi enabled motherboard or add a (preferably PCIe x1) WiFI module. This PC uses the Arc A380 which is a pretty basic GPU.	A faster - but second hand - GPU like a used RTX 2070 (Super) or RX 5700XT. WiFi / Bluetooth capabilities on the motherboard, 1TB SSD, extra RAM (2x16GB)
~ $500 (iGPU)	If you're planning on buying a GPU later on, or are only a very light gamer, this might be interesting for you. You're getting an AM5 CPU with 32GB of DDR5 RAM which means great upgradability in the future. This list also ensures a fast Wi-Fi connection (as opposed to just wired Ethernet)	Ryzen 8700G (which has 8 cores and a faster iGPU). 1TB SSD.
~ $650	With $250 extra to spend compared to the $400 list, you're getting a huge upgrade, mainly in the form of the AMD Radeon RX 7600. As the stock and availability of the Radeon RX 6600, 6600XT, and 6650XT withers over time, the 7600 comes the more logical choice, even though it's quite expensive. You're also getting 32GB RAM which is really nice to have in 2025.	My first priority would be getting a 1TB SSD. We have a motherboard that supports as least 2 M.2 SSDs, so you can also add another SSD later on. If you have the i5 12400F selected, you could get a DDR5 motherboard and DDR5 RAM for better longevity as DDR5 is continuously getting faster than DDR4 in games.
~ $850	We're making a few nice to have upgrades here. The Intel Arc B580 is a fantastic value GPU, though it's still too expensive to be added in more budgets. If you can find a good deal on an RX 6750XT, 7600XT4060 Ti (16GB), or 7700XT, I'd pick that instead. We're also guaranteeing a 1TB SSD (finally), a much quieter cooler, 32GB RAM, a roomier case and a better quality power supply. The con of using the B580 with this specific build would be that the B580 really likes having more CPU overhead.	As mentioned, I'd prefer a 7700XT here if possible. A DDR5 motherboard + RAM is also a nice upgrade to make here. A better case would also be nice.
~ $1000	The main jump we're making here is in terms of CPU gaming performance, future upgradability, and DDR5 RAM. The Ryzen 7600(X) / 9600(X) are still the best overall value CPUs out there. They have fantastic gaming performance, a great upgrade path (to the 9800X3D or future AM5 socket generations), and are great to use. The starting price is a lot higher though, and we don't have a ton of GPU overhead anymore. I would love to add the 7600/9600 to lower lists, but that's hard to justify with current GPU prices.	You could 'future proof' the PSU to an 850W model.
~ $1100	Although the $1000 is a nicely rounded budget, I think that this $1100 list is a noticeably better PC due to the 16GB RTX 5060 Ti. Even though there's been a lot of drama on the 5060 Ti due to the 8GB variant, objectively speaking the 16GB version is one of the best Nvidia cards you can currently get in terms of value. With current prices that's not saying much, but it's something. All in all you're getting a nicely rounded PC	2TB SSD, dual tower cooler (like a Thermalright Phantom Spirit)
~ $1300	The AMD RX 9070 would be a nice upgrade over the RTX 5060 Ti 16GB. It's currently still a bit too overpriced, but would be a nice middle-of-the-road upgrade nonetheless.	Check the price on the AMD Ryzen 5 9600(X). If it's within $25 of the 7600(X), I'd upgrade tot that if you have the slack. 2TB SSD, dual tower cooler (like a Thermalright Phantom Spirit), higher end case.
~ $1500	Upgraded to the RTX 5070 Ti. If the 9070 XT is much cheaper, I'd grab that instead.	Check the price on the AMD Ryzen 5 9600(X). If it's within $25 of the 7600(X), I'd upgrade tot that if you have the slack. 2TB SSD, dual tower cooler (like a Thermalright Phantom Spirit), higher end case.
~ $1800	Upgraded to the AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D for much faster CPU gaming performance, with the added bonus of a much beefier cooler. Also upgraded the motherboard to an ATX model with at least 3 M.2 slots and Wi-Fi 6E, and a 2TB SSD.	For $100 extra you could consider the 9800X3D. Also look into a higher end case.
~ $2000	Upgraded to the 9800X3D and an extra 2TB SSD. Also clamped down the PSU to a more limited selection of premium brands	Higher end case, liquid cooling.
~ $2250	Upgraded to the RTX 5080.
~ $3000	High end liquid cooling, a higher end motherboard, double the RAM, a larger single SSD, a higher end power supply and a higher end case.
~ $5000	RTX 5090, an extra (PCIe gen 5) 2TB SSD, an even higher end motherboard, and top of the line power supply.	Anything you want!

Workstations

Budget	Note / compared to previous budget	Possible upgrades with leftover budget (in order of priority)
~ $850	Very fast and high quality Workstation without 3D acceleration. Although the new Intel Core Ultra CPUs aren't that interesting for gaming, with the reduced prices they're quite appealing for workstations.	If you want a 3D accelerated machine, you can add any GPU you like. For a high end (70-class and higher) you might want to consider a higher capacity PSU. If 2D is all you need but have budget left over, the Core Ultra 9 285K is a good upgrade too.
~ $1700	Upraded to the Core Ultra 9 285K added the 16GB RTX 5060 Ti. This gives you a relatively large VRAM buffer that's nice to have for 3D workstation applications.	Extra RAM, more storage, higher end case.
~ $3000	Upgraded to a 360mm radiator for CPU cooling, extra 2TB storage, an RTX 5080, a crap-load more RAM, and a much higher end case. If you don't need such a high amount of RAM, you can remove a set, or even go for a faster set of 2x32GB if that's enough for you.	RTX 5090 if you can stomach it. Spend more budget on storage if you don't need the RAM.
~ $5500	Changed to the Noctua NH-D15 G2 for ultimate air-cooling. Motherboard with Wi-Fi 7 and faster networking. Set of 4x48GB to guarantee stability over 2 sets of 2 x 48GB. More RAM. RTX 5090. More storage. Titanium rated power supply.	Anything you want!

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