How Much Does It Cost to Build a PC? (Price Guide)

Building a PC means buying each part separately: processor, motherboard, graphics card, memory, storage, power supply, case and cooler. The total depends on which tier of each part you pick, and in 2026 two of those parts, memory and graphics cards, cost far more than they did a year earlier.

Tom's Hardware's guide changed its brackets for this reason. It says a competent 1080p gaming machine is no longer possible at its old entry point, so it raised its tiers. The examples below use its published parts lists, plus two other builds for comparison.

Tom's Hardware's totals for its October 2026 builds are below. These totals do not include RAM. The guide marks memory as volatile and leaves it out of each total, so a finished build costs the listed amount plus a RAM kit.

The entry build with a Radeon RX 7600 totals $924. Next is the RTX 5060 Ti 8GB build at $1,252, then the RTX 5060 Ti 16GB build at $1,710. The Radeon RX 9070 XT build is $2,136, and the top build with an RTX 5080 is $4,200.

Memory can change a build's total significantly. Tom's Hardware listed a 32GB DDR5-6000 kit at $479 in the build with the RTX 5060 Ti 16GB, and that kit is not counted in the total above. Memory prices change quickly, so use a current price when you add it.

The graphics card is the biggest single choice, and the guide lists a price for each one.

The Radeon RX 7600 is $339, the RTX 5060 Ti 16GB is $794, the Radeon RX 9070 XT is $849, and the RTX 5080 is $1,649. The guide notes that it used an RTX 5080 in its top build because the RTX 5090 alone costs a huge amount.

Two other sources give different views.

PCWorld priced a build in February 2026 and reached a subtotal of $1,178.80 before sales tax and shipping, then decided the build was too expensive for its goal and looked at prebuilt alternatives. MaxMyBuild's May 2026 budget guide says a capable 1080p build with new parts costs $650 – $750. That guide predates the October prices above, so the two should not be treated as the same market.

• Operating system: Windows or another operating system is a separate purchase.
• Monitor, keyboard and mouse: The parts lists do not include peripherals.
• Memory: Excluded from the totals, as noted above.
• Tools and cable management: Most builds need a screwdriver and a few ties.
• Tax and shipping: PCWorld's subtotal was before tax.

It can be, but 2026 prices make the comparison less clear. A prebuilt includes memory, an operating system in many cases, assembly and a warranty. A parts list gives you control over each component. Compare both with RAM included on each side before you decide.

Pick the resolution and frame rate you want first, since that decides the graphics card. Then choose a processor, memory and storage that match it, and leave the cosmetic parts, such as RGB, for last. If you are unsure, start from a published parts list and change one part at a time.