- Posted by:
- Posted on:
- Category:
BlogBlog - System:
Unknown - Price:
USD 0
PC gaming has always been an expensive hobby, but the memory supply crisis has driven up costs even more. It’s not just RAM and SSDs seeing spiking prices either, with plenty of other components becoming increasingly costly. The fact that picking up an entire prebuilt gaming PC has been the most cost-effective way to secure a decent amount of memory for months now is just one sign of the times.
Picking up a cheap prebuilt gaming PC is great if this is your first rodeo, but kind of a headache for the average PC upgrader. Thankfully, Newegg is offering a selection of stripped down bundles that ditch bulkier elements like the PC case and focus on the most important components, namely an AM5 socket motherboard, an AMD CPU, a Teamgroup T-Force Vulcan 2x 16 GB kit (which is still our top pick for the best budget DDR5 kit), and even a free Cooler Master Elite Liquid 240 CPU AIO Cooler while stocks last. Better yet, each one of these DDR5 memory bundles costs comfortably under a grand, too.
Quick list
- Team Group T-Force Vulcan 16 GB DDR5-5200 | Asus B850 Max Gaming WIFI W motherboard | AMD Ryzen 5 9600X | $525 @ Newegg
- Team Group T-Force Vulcan 16 GB DDR5-5200 | Asus TUF Gaming X870E-Plus WIFI7 motherboard | AMD Ryzen 9 9900X | $659 @ Newegg
- Team Group T-Force Vulcan 16 GB DDR5-5200 | Asus B850 Max Gaming WIFI W motherboard | AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D | Samsung 9100 Pro 1 TB SSD | $974 @ Newegg
PC component bundle deals
I’ll start with the most affordable option: for a couple of cents shy of $525, you’re getting 16 GB of DDR5 5200, an Asus B850 Max Gaming WIFI W motherboard, and an AMD Ryzen 5 9600X CPU. Sure, that’s not the most bleeding-edge list of components, but it’s still a very affordable basis for a first gaming PC build (especially since 16 GB of RAM is absolutely fine for PC gaming in 2026).
Obviously, hunting down a GPU to go along with that affordable clutch of components is another matter entirely. Staring down rising graphics card prices, our Dave advises avoiding any Nvidia card with more than 8 GB VRAM. Beyond that, you can take a gander at our graphics card price watch for something that will suit your budget.
In an attempt to outpace the creeping despair of graphics card pricing, I’m going to move on. Today’s second bundle also features 16 GB of DDR5-5200, but also includes the Asus TUF Gaming X870E-Plus Wi-Fi 7 motherboard and an AMD Ryzen 9 9900X processor—all for $659. It’s always good to have options, but I’m going to move swiftly on to the most expensive bundle.
Let’s get it out of the way: the final bundle that caught my eye costs $974. For that price, you’re getting another 16 GB of DDR5-5200, plus an Asus B850 Max Gaming WIFI W motherboard. So far, so familiar, but you’re also getting the AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D, which is still an exceptional processor for gaming—in fact, it’s our pick for the best CPU overall. Then, on top of that, this bundle throws in the 1 TB version of the Samsung 9100 Pro SSD.
At the very least, that’s one less thing to worry about, but otherwise it’s up to you whether this bundle has any right to cost nearly as much as a prebuilt PC. I’d argue that picking up an AM5 socket motherboard alongside the best CPU for gaming decently future-proofs whatever you end up building with this bundle—especially as component prices will likely get worse before they get better.
Best CPU for gaming 2026
