When thinking of a gaming PC, the first thing one might imagine is a sleek black or white chassis with RGB oozing out of every ventilation hole. The interior might be a neat amalgam of water cooling tubes and the latest generation GPU sitting in pride of place.

While that is the ideal rig for any PC gamer, it’s not something that most of us can afford to spend in one go. Thankfully, you don’t need to spend more than most earn in a month on a PC.

At first glance, PC components look expensive and they can be especially if you’re looking for the best of the best. However, technology has advanced considerably in the last decade and you can comfortably enjoy even the latest titles on a budget PC.

For example, the AMD Ryzen 5 5600G with Radeon Graphics, when paired with 16GB of 3200 memory is capable of running From Software’s latest title, Elden Ring, at 60 frames per second at a 1080p resolution. What’s more, this configuration yields a score of 1473 in Time Spy.

We know this because PCBuilder, available to the public on Computer Mania, gives you an incredible amount of insight into how the PC you’re building will perform thanks to the integration of an independent benchmarking platform that is globally recognised in the form of 3DMark. This insight is updated every step of the way so that you can see how a different CPU, faster memory or even a different graphics card will perform.

As showcased above however, a barebones PC with a CPU that features integrated graphics can save you a lot of money on your first purchase. The great thing about this is that if, in a month or two you decide you want a graphics card, you can simply slot one into the relevant PCIe slot.

PCBuilder even shows you where you can save money. For instance, if you’d prefer to use a smaller SATA SSD instead of an NVMe M.2 SSD, you can save yourself some money or put it towards other components and peripherals.

Of course, a major consideration for any gamer is games. Thankfully, there are a wealth of free games available for PC that you can dive into immediately. By far one of the best ways to access a lot of games on day one is with the Xbox Game Pass from Microsoft. The service is constantly adding new games and for the price of one AAA title per year, you can access an ever growing catalogue.

PCBuilder allows you to fully customise your rig down to the power supply you use. Once you’ve built and named your affordable gaming PC, submit your order and sit back. The wonderful folks at Computer Mania will have your PC built and shipped within 72 hours.

To start your journey in the world of PC gaming, head to Computer Mania’s official website.