• The list in brief
1. Best overall
2. Best runner-up
3. Best budget
4. Best AMD PC
5. Best work and play
6. Best compact
7. How to choose
8. How we test
If you thought you had to build a gaming PC to get the best performance, you'd be wrong. There are amazing pre-built rigs out there for whatever your gaming needs are. The HP Omen 45L, our top pick, is one such desktop, giving you all the fun without any of the fuss of putting together (and ruining) one of the best gaming PCs.
That being said, there are so many pre-built PC companies now, especially since the pandemic when PCs were sold out everywhere due to the work-from-home push. However, this guide will focus mostly on manufacturer pre-builts and not companies like Starforge PC or NZXT that just make custom PCs and sell them.
The quick list
If you're in a hurry, check out my picks for the best pre-built gaming PC. Hit the links below to read a full breakdown of any options, with details of the pros and cons for each.
Best overall
With bespoke cooling, configuration options up to an Intel core i9 13900k, and NVIDIA RTX 4090 GPU, this is one of the most powerful pre-built PCs available on the market, and it has everything you could need, all backed by HP and Omen's build quality.
Best runner-up
The Aurora R16 is one of the first pre-built PCs to offer the new 14th Gen Intel CPUs, which makes it one of the most current pre-builts on the market. The design looks great and has all the performance you could need.
Best budget
Finding the perfect HP Pavilion Gaming PC might be harder than the other PCs on this list because there is no build-your-own option. However, check our Amazon listings or another merchant to find pre-built configurations at excellent prices.
Best AMD PC
While the R15 only has options for AMD CPUs, it is still one of the best AMD options on the market from a reputable manufacturer. If you want a full AMD PC, look to a 3rd party pre-built PC company like NZXT or Starforge. This PC has limited configuration options but has enough power to enjoy AAA games for those who prefer red to green.
Best for work and play
The Dell XPS 8960 has all the power on the inside while keeping a professional aesthetic on the externals. You could easily sneak this into an office, get your work done, and load up some Cyberpunk 2077 without anybody knowing the beast of a PC you are using.
The MSI MEG Trident X2 is basically the most powerful compact PC you can get. With up to a 13th Gen Core i9, RTX 4090, and 64 GB of RAM, this is an enormous amount of power in a tiny form factor.
The best pre-built gaming PCs in 2023
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Below, you'll find complete breakdowns of why these choices have made my list of the best pre-built Gaming PCs. We have been able to review the Alienware Aurora R16 and Dell XPS 8960 desktops. They are both great options, as are the rest of the recommendations in this guide.
The best overall pre-built gaming PC
The HP Omen 45L is larger than its predecessor, but that's mostly down to an innovative new "Cryo Chamber" cooling solution. In an era where building your PC is so common, many manufacturers are trying to think outside the box with their desktop rigs, and HP certainly did that. Being external to the rest of the PC, temperatures can be up to 6 degrees lower thanks to the lack of heated air from inside the machine.
On the one hand, you might say the design is a little uninspiring, but to the PC gamer, this is a machine where function is the primary concern, and ease of access is paramount. You simply pull the glass side panel off, and you have free access to all internal components, all of which can be upgraded over time. It supports a full ATX motherboard, though out of the box, HP used a microATX, which limits both built-in functions a little and how much you can expand.
The Omen 45L boasts the latest high-end of the NVIDIA RTX GPU lineup with the RTX 4090 as the top-end solution or AMD Radeon graphics, CPUs from Intel's 13th Gen desktop lineup, or AMD's Ryzen 5000 Series, DDR5 RAM, SSD storage; it ticks all the boxes.
Literally, everything is replaceable, including the radiator in the Cryo Chamber, and the bottom line is that this is a PC any enthusiast would be happy with. HP did the hard work for you, though.
Read our in-depth Omen 45L review.
The best runner-up
Just like its parent Dell brand, Alienware has been making some amazing hardware recently. The Alienware Aurora R16 is one such example, and it recently received a new stylish design.
Thanks to a more traditional internal design on the R16 compared to its predecessor, you get plenty of space to work in and upgrade parts yourself. You can squeeze in a pair of graphics cards as well as a liquid cooler for the CPU. You also get plenty of space for additional drive bays.
It isn't even that expensive at the entry level. While you're not getting the most powerful parts on the cheaper models, the ease of upgrade means you're not limited by what you can initially afford. Adding more RAM or a new graphics card is completely tool-free and takes just a couple of minutes. The R16 is one of the first desktop PCs to be sold with Intel's new barnstorming 14th Gen processors.
The Aurora offers something for everyone: those on a tighter budget, those looking for ridiculous power, those hoping to upgrade in the future, and everyone else in between.
The best budget
A more affordable choice from HP, this gaming PC is equipped with an Intel Core i5-11400F, which is more than enough to handle the latest PC games released today. There's also a choice of GPUS, but the most budget-focused model comes with an NVIDIA GTX 1650. While not designed for the heaviest titles, at 1080p, you'll still be able to play a huge range of today's most popular titles with ease.
Accompanying the CPU and graphics card are 8GB of DDR4 RAM, 512GB SSD for your operating system (Windows 10, in this case), and plenty of ports. And thanks to the standard design, you have some scope to upgrade down the line as your needs and budget grow.
You might have to surf around on Amazon or other sites to find the exact configuration you are looking for, but there are more powerful configurations for more money, or you can get older components for cheaper.
The best AMD PC
While the entry-level configuration may not be worth shouting about, only coming with an AMD Ryzen 7 7700 and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050, the choice is perfect for anyone looking for a gaming PC with an AMD CPU. You can configure the R15 with up to an AMD Ryzen 9 7900X CPU, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 GPU, and 128GB of RAM.
This PC is very similar to the older Intel-powered R14 from Dell, allowing you to upgrade components like the RAM and GPU later if you wish to bump the performance up a little.
The R15 caters to several price points, allowing anyone to pick up a configuration that matches their needs, display, and budget.
The best work and play
While RGB is all the rage these days in gaming PCs, such a thing isn't suited to an office environment, home, or work. Some just want a powerful PC that can game without it screaming, "I'm a gamer." That's where the superb Dell XPS tower comes in, which has been a sleeping gamer hit for some time.
It's pretty stylish to look at, although it's a bit boring by the standard of most gaming PCs. XPS is Dell's professional brand, and the 8960 fits right into that, except it's also packing some serious horsepower for gaming.
Dell has a whole host of configurations from which to choose, all of which offer dedicated graphics from NVIDIA, including the RTX 3060 or now even the RTX 4080. It has also been updated to offer 13th Gen Intel processors with DDR5 RAM, and since it uses standard parts, much is upgradeable. Dell also uses superfast NVMe SSD storage, so this is a desktop PC that can hang with the best of them.
Read our in-depth Dell XPS 8960 review
The best compact gaming desktop
The current fashion for large gaming PCs includes mad cases and more RGB lights than a Vegas hotel, but not everyone wants or has the space for a colossal rig. It's also not necessary anymore, with some truly amazing and small gaming PCs like the MSI Trident 3 making the most of their compact forms.
It's about the same size as a game console and yet can still have up to an Intel Core i9-13900KFr and up to an NVIDIA RTX 4090 GPU inside. That's pretty remarkable, and when you add 64GB of RAM and a 2TB M.2 NVMe 4 SSD, you wonder why you'd ever want a large PC again. If you often take your PC on the go to LAN parties, this is a perfect option.
Parts are upgradeable, though due to the unique design of the Trident X2, you'll have to put in a little work. But even if you're not down for that, what you get out of the box is plenty to keep you gaming for years to come, and the entry-level model is both capable and affordable.
How to choose the best gaming PC for you
How to choose
There are a lot of great pre-built gaming PCs out there, but it's hard to do better than the HP Omen 45L right now. It's pricey, but it's supremely powerful, and the Cryo Chamber is a unique addition that adds real benefit.
What's also very apparent right now is that there's a good selection of affordable gaming PCs, too. It's no longer necessary to build your PC to get the best deals.
And the Omen 45L is so well designed that beginners and enthusiasts alike will fall in love with it. It can be all the PC you need for many years to come. And if you need something a bit more custom, boutique manufacturers like Falcon Northwest, Origin PC, and Digital Storm offer highly customizable systems with insane levels of performance that span a variety of budgets, like our performance-packed Talon and Tiki.
How we test pre-built gaming PCs
We do our best to focus our guides on devices we have tested in-house. When that isn't possible, we use reviews from sister sites, consensus, and forums to research any known issues with the computers we are looking at. Feel free to check out the articles 'How we test and review on Windows Central' and 'How we test and review laptops and computers at Windows Central' for more information. These are all time-tested product lines of pre-built computers and are being used and loved by thousands of people worldwide.
