7 Amazon-Sold Gaming PCs We Would Actually Recommend

Gaming PCs, also known as prebuilts, often get a bad rep. Users complain about things like poor component choices and bad value for the money, not to mention subpar cooling or mismatched hardware. However, a gaming PC is the perfect gateway to thousands of titles, from cutting-edge AAA blockbusters to those old games you can't seem to put down. Still, for many, gaming PCs are a lot more difficult to handle than a console. After all, the idea is that you'd build your own PC, and picking out components is no easy feat. Having to put them together is even worse.

I love toying with different builds and have built well over a hundred desktops during the past two decades, but even though I'm a bit of a building fanatic, I know how intimidating the process is to people who just want something to game on. Fortunately, some companies make the idea of building your own PC unnecessary. You can pick up a good ready-made desktop—you just need to know what to look for. As a PC builder of over 20 years, I know that these complaints are often rooted in reality. This prompted me to pick out the top seven Amazon gaming PC options you can go ahead and buy right now, hassle-free and ready to go.

Below, I'll introduce you to the best gaming PCs on Amazon right now, ranging from budget options to true beasts. I've picked them out based on my own experience with these brands, but also the PCs themselves, and more importantly, the hardware inside of them. I also took reviews into account to make sure others agreed with my verdict.

Starting with the Corsair Vengeance i7600, this computer is a bit on the pricey side at about $2,800, but it comes with high-quality components that will run games at 4K, which is great news if you like ultrawide monitors. It sports Intel's latest Core Ultra 7 265KF CPU, which has loads of cores (a total of 20, eight of which are Performance cores and 12 Efficient cores), making this PC good not just for gaming but also for multitasking. The other perk is the RTX 4070 Ti Super graphics card, which comes with 16 GB of video memory—a much-needed boost if you want to play AAA games.

One thing I love about this particular PC is that it's liquid-cooled. Intel's best CPUs tend to run a little hot in my experience, so Corsair was right to deck it out with its proprietary cooling system. To that end, I also have faith in Corsair to know how to cool a PC; I've been using Corsair's liquid cooling solutions for the last few years myself.

Corsair gives you 32 GB of RAM here, which I consider the optimal amount in a high-end gaming PC. There's also a 1 TB SSD. The case is pretty standard, but it does have plenty of airflow and looks cool with some extra RGB pizzazz.

Would it be cheaper to build your own PC using the same or similar components? Yes, it would—this is a pretty expensive machine. But if you're not feeling up to it, you can get the Corsair Vengeance i7600 and enjoy gaming at max settings for a long, long time. If I were buying a prebuilt right now, I'd get this one.

If you want a PC that's well-suited for 1440p gaming with the occasional push to 4K with the help of Nvidia's upscaling tech, the Alienware Aurora R16 is a solid pick at just under $2,000. This model is equipped with hardware that will keep you playing the latest games at high settings for the next few years. I've had the pleasure of testing a few Alienware PCs and they've all been excellent quality, albeit always a little bit pricey. 

There are many different versions of the Aurora R16 floating around, but the one I picked out here comes with the Intel Core i7-14700F processor, 32 GB of DDR5 RAM, and an Nvidia RTX 4070 Super graphics card. The RTX 4070 Super is one of the best graphics cards of that generation. I recommend using this PC for 1440p or 1080p gaming if you want to max out the settings, though, as the 4070 Super wasn't built to be a 4K GPU.

Buying from a known brand helps avoid some of the pitfalls of prebuilts, such as poor cooling or re-using components. In the case of Alienware, however, it does limit upgradeability to an extent. Alienware uses a proprietary motherboard and power supply, and replacing or upgrading those might be a challenge in the future—but contacting the manufacturer should help if you ever need that exact model.

Based on the reviews, this model might run hot or loud at times. It's not water-cooled (it doesn't need to be), which means the temps might climb higher than they would otherwise. I recommend downloading a program such as HWiNFO to monitor temperatures during heavy gameplay if you're worried.

We're straying away from those super-well-known PC building brands and towards something less recognizable. This Panorama gaming PC, made by Empowered PC, is a total beast with a price tag to match. Just north of $3,500, it's not cheap, but it's also your best bet if you want to get one of Nvidia's latest RTX 50-series graphics cards without needing to wait. The downside? Buying from a lesser known system builder always carries some risk. I haven't tested this one myself and I'm recommending it to you based on the components listed by the manufacturer as well as the Amazon reviews.

Going through the list of components tells me that we're dealing with a solid, high-end PC. The builder decked it out with an RTX 5080 graphics card, Intel's Core i9-14900KF processor, 64 GB of DDR5 RAM, and a 2 TB SSD. I would've picked faster RAM given the price of the PC, but DDR5-5600 is still more than fine.

The cooling on this one seems nothing short of monstrous. There are 10 case fans on top of a liquid cooling system. Another perk I'm happy to see is that Empowered PC included a GPU bracket. Modern GPUs are really heavy, and an extra support bracket protects both your graphics card and your motherboard.

Seeing as the components are crazy high-end and the reviewers are happy, this one feels like a safe (if expensive) bet to recommend. If you want to spend even more, there is a version with the RTX 5090, but the price is eye-watering.

For a more affordable, shockingly good value, well-rounded PC, I recommend checking out the MSI Codex R2. This is a prebuilt I recently recommended to a couple of friends, and thus, I've had the chance to see it in action. It has everything you need in a midrange PC and will barely cost you more than $1,000; despite the reasonable price tag, both of my friends have been able to game at high settings even in demanding titles.

This particular variant comes with Nvidia's RTX 4060 Ti. This is the version with 8 GB of video memory, which is a shame, but that's my only complaint, because otherwise, the RTX 4060 Ti is a good pick for 1080p gaming. Scaling up to 1440p is doable, but you'll have to compromise on settings, especially in blockbuster-type games. Fortunately, the card benefits from Nvidia's DLSS 4, which makes games like "Cyberpunk 2077" still play at high frame rates.

MSI also added the 10-core, 16-thread Intel Core i5-14400F, and it's a CPU I'm personally a fan of. Many people prefer AMD for gaming these days, but a comparable Ryzen CPU only gives you six cores, so going up to ten is a relief if you also tend to use your PC for work.

Aside from the aforementioned, you're also getting 16 GB of DDR5 RAM and a 1 TB SSD. You can pay extra for a RAM upgrade or just upgrade it yourself later down the line. One way or another, this is a good deal.

Unlike some brands on this list, it doesn't make its own components, which means you're getting hardware from other manufacturers. As mentioned above, I'm a fan of that approach, because both upgradeability and repairs get a lot easier—and seeing as this is an AMD PC, you'll have a long upgrade path ahead of you.

The Slate 8 MESH comes with AMD's Ryzen 7 9700X processor, which is part of AMD's latest Zen 5 lineup, as well as the Radeon RX 7800 XT, which is my own personal favorite card in the RDNA 3 generation. As such, the CPU belongs to the latest possible gen, and while the GPU does not, it's still new and good value, which is reflected in the pricing of this PC.

The Ryzen 7 9700X comes with eight cores and 16 threads, and it's a solid gaming CPU. It may not enjoy the benefit of AMD's 3D V-Cache, but it's certainly more than good enough to be your daily driver for just about any game. You'll also be able to swap it for a next-gen AMD CPU when that comes out in a couple of years.

Meanwhile, the RX 7800 XT is fantastic—with 16 GB of VRAM, it only adds to the whole future-proofing of your PC. Games these days call for more and more video memory; 8 GB may not last much longer, but 16 GB will keep you gaming at 1440p for years.

The PC also serves up 32 GB of DDR5 RAM and a 1 TB SSD. There's a built-in Wi-Fi card on the motherboard, and iBUYPOWER even throws in Windows 11, a mouse, and a keyboard.

Small form factor (SFF) PCs hold a special place in my heart, and the NUC is possibly the most well-known such computer. Previously an Intel product, the brand now belongs to Asus, and the company regularly updates it with the latest hardware. This iteration, the $1,200 Asus ROG NUC 760, comes with Intel's Core Ultra 7 155H CPU and an Nvidia GeForce RTX 4060 GPU. There's also 16 GB of DDR5 RAM and a 1 TB SSD.

This thing is tiny when you compare it to a regular desktop. It's really more like a big console. The case is 2.5L, which is much smaller than most desktop PCs. Most of us don't really need a SFF PC, but if you've got a tiny desk, here's an easy option. Personally, I built myself a second SFF PC just to use for sofa gaming. Plug in your TV and you've got a library that can rival any console, ready to game on in the living room.

You're paying a bit of a premium for that small case, though. It'd be cheaper to buy a full-sized desktop with the same components, so make your choice based on whether you really need to go with SFF or not.

I couldn't leave you without throwing in a truly affordable pick. Buying a gaming PC is a bit of a trap—you're always being told to spend just a little more to get something better. And yet, month after month, it's the cheapest hardware that tops the Steam Hardware Survey. Why? Because most gamers do not need to spend $3,000 (or $6,000) on a PC, so if you're on a tighter budget. no stress. This CyberpowerPC Gamer Xtreme desktop will do just fine.

Built by CyberpowerPC, this is a $900 computer equipped with Nvidia's RTX 4060, 16 GB of DDR5 RAM, Intel's Core i5-13400F processor, and a 1 TB SSD. It's a great starter PC, but even if you never upgrade it, frame generation technology will let you play newer games without needing to compromise on settings too much. With that said, I'd stick to 1080p with this one—1440p will force you to do some of that aforementioned compromising a whole lot more.

The RTX 4060 is one of Nvidia's most popular GPUs in that generation. Meanwhile, the Core i5-13400F is one of those CPUs that I always tend to recommend in budget builds. (AMD's Ryzen 5 7600 would be my other pick, but again, fewer cores.)

I wouldn't worry about things like cooling here, as neither the CPU nor the GPU should run very hot. However, reviewers remark on something that's not at all unexpected—the motherboard's Wi-Fi card isn't great. You might need to buy an adapter. Still, it's a small price to pay for an otherwise affordable gaming computer.