Best Gaming PCs of 2022

The best gaming PCs that have gone through our labs are prebuilts that impressed.

When you’re in the market for a gaming PC, there’s a lot to consider: power, size, components and what resolution you want to play at. If all you need is to play a few AAA titles at 1080p, you won’t need a high-end CPU and graphics card. 

But if you want to play at 1440p or 4K, then you need to start thinking about saving more for your rig. CPU horsepower is also tied to gaming acumen, but branching out into anything much over a quad-core processor will primarily see performance gains in multi-threaded workloads such as video processing, rendering and encoding, not games.

Because component shortages have become less of a problem, you may now be able to get a prebuilt gaming PC with one of the best graphics cards for gaming without paying a hefty premium or having to wait weeks or months for you system to arrive.

Intel’s full 12th Gen “Alder Lake” lineup is here and, for the most part, quite impressive. If you prefer AMD, Ryzen 7000 will launch on September 27. The Ryzen 6 5600X will start at $299 and go up to  the top-end Ryzen 9 7950X with 16 cores and 32 threads, as well as a 5.7 GHz boost clock, running for $699.

On the graphics front, rumors have suggested we could see new 40-series Nvidia GeForce graphics cards soon, so keep your eyes peeled.  The latest leaks suggest that the RTX 40-series will use a ton of power, especially on the high-end, which means we’ll likely see pre-built gaming PCs with higher-wattage PSUs than we currently see on the market. Intel’s Arc GPUs are hard to come by, but we found the Arc A380 (codename “Alchemist”) to be a weak gaming card. We’ll jump into our tested picks for best prebuilt gaming PCs directly below. But if you want more advice about how to shop and specific things to look for, our buying advice follows our top gaming PC picks.

Best Prebuilt Gaming PCs You Can Buy Today

1. MSI Aegis RS 11th Gen

The Best Mainstream Gaming PC

SPECIFICATIONS

CPU: Intel Core i7-11700K

GPU: MSI GeForce RTX 3080 Ventus 3X OC

RAM: 16GB Crucial Ballistix DDR4-300

Storage: 1TB XPG Gammix S70 PCIe Gen 4, 2TB Seagate Barracuda (7,200 RPM)

REASONS TO BUY

Off the shelf parts

Powerful gaming performance

Decent pack-in peripherals

REASONS TO AVOID

MSI Center software is clunky

Middling file transfer speeds

The MSI Aegis RS 11th is a top-of-the line prebuilt gaming desktop. The 11th Gen Intel Core CPU and options for an RTX 3080 bring awesome gaming performance in a design that you can upgrade yourself down the line.

All of the parts are standardized, including the case. In fact, MSI makes the case, motherboard, CPU cooler, fans, GPU and power supply. This is the type of prebuilt desktop that you can upgrade, tinker with and make your own over the next several years. 

If you don’t have a keyboard and mouse, the peripherals that MSI includes are decent enough to get started, though you’ll likely want to bump up the keyboard to something with mechanical switches eventually.

2. Alienware Aurora R11

A Powerhouse PC With an RTX 3090

SPECIFICATIONS

CPU: Intel Core i9-10900K

GPU: Nvidia GeForce RTX 3090

RAM: 64GB HyperX Fury DDR4-3200MHz

Storage: 2 TB M.2 NVMe SSD and 2 TB, 7,200-rpm HDD

REASONS TO BUY

Fairly compact design

Strong gaming performance with 10th Gen Core i9 and RTX 3090

Little bloatware

REASONS TO AVOID

Loud and needs better cooling

Very expensive

The Alienware Aurora R11 prebuilt muscled its way onto our list with its sheer GPU power. Right now, it’s really hard to find one of Nvidia’s Ampere GPUs, but as of this writing Alienware is shipping with both RTX 3080 and RTX 3090, so that’s one way to go.

The design is futuristic, and while it may be divisive to some, you can’t argue that it’s fairly compact. The RTX 3090, compared with the Intel Core i9-10900K in our review unit, offered some top-notch gaming performance. It uses largely standardized parts and has plenty of room for extra drives.

The biggest downside is that the machine gets loud with few case fans. It’s also expensive, but it’s a maxxed-out machine, not just the graphics card.

3. iBuypower Revolt 3 i7BG

The Best Small Form Factor Gaming PC (for Most People)

SPECIFICATIONS

CPU: Intel Core i7-11700KF

GPU: Aorus GeForce RTX 3080 Gaming OC 10G (10GB GDDR6X)

RAM: 16GB T-Force DDR4-3200

Storage: Western Digital SN550 1TB NVMe M.2 SSD

REASONS TO BUY

Attractive, understated case

Includes a handle and two headset hangers

Great performance

REASONS TO AVOID

Limited space for upgrades

Bottom-mounted IO complicates peripheral swaps

No intense lighting, no glass windows, just a small tower packed with gaming power. The iBuypower Revolt 3 has steel panels, black mesh and a largely subtle design. It’s clever, though, with two headset hangers and a built-in handle to carry it to your next LAN party.

At $2,599 as tested with an Intel Core i7-11700KF and an RTX 3080, it’s not listed at a crazy price considering today’s component shortage. And those components offer excellent performance in this tiny chassis.

Small form factor PCs can bring some oddities. This one has the motherboard I/O on the bottom of the case, so you have to lift it up to plug in or remove peripherals. Additionally, there is limited room in this case for when you want to make upgrades.

4. Corsair One i300

Best Premium Small Form Factor Gaming PC

SPECIFICATIONS

CPU: Intel Core i9-12900K

GPU: Liquid-cooled Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 Ti (12GB GDDR6X)

RAM: 64GB Micron DDR5-4800

Storage: 2TB PCIe Gen 4 NVMe SSD

REASONS TO BUY

Compact, 12-liter chassis

Stronger CPU and GPU performance

Two-year warranty 

REASONS TO AVOID

Harder to upgrade than standard towers

Expensive

In some ways, the Corsair One i300 is a console-like prebuilt PC. It takes up very little space on a desk with a 6.93 x 7.87-inch base that rises slightly taller than an Xbox Series X. But in that metal chassis is a set of top-end components, including an Intel Core i9-12900K, Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 Ti, 64GB of DDR5 RAM and a 2TB PCIe Gen 4 NVMe SSD.

The design pulls in air through the sides and exhausts it out the top, and it’s not particularly loud. But that same petite form factor is what makes it difficult to upgrade. Sure, it’s possible, but you have very limited room to work with, and the sides don’t come off because the radiators are connected to them.

In order to get this top-tier, tiny system, you’ll have to pay a high price, however. We tested it at a wallet-busting $4,999, and the other configuration with Intel’s 12th Gen CPUs starts at $3,649.99. If that’s too much (and it is a lot of money!) you may want to consider some of the cheaper options on this list.

5. HP Omen 30L

An attractive design with name-brand parts

SPECIFICATIONS

CPU: Intel Core i9-10900K

GPU: Custom HP GeForce RTX 3080 (10GB GDDR6X)

RAM: 32GB HyperX DDR4-3200

Storage: 2TB WD Black M.2 NVMe, 2TB Seagate 2.5-inch SATA HDD

REASONS TO BUY

Improved, attractive design

Powerful-name brand components

REASONS TO AVOID

Cooling could use improvement

Has a lot of bloatware

The HP Omen 30L is a big-box gaming PC that feels like one you build. The latest design adds more airflow with an intake fan, plus sleek glass front and side panels and still has an easy-access panel to get to the most critical components. Oh, and of course the new intake fan has some sleek RGB to go with the new logo and the rest of the system.

The version we tested, with a 10th Gen Intel Core i9 and an RTX 3080 proved powerful in our gaming benchmarks and productivity tests. We do wish that HP had a more powerful CPU cooler, as the single 120 mm fan isn’t always enough for the Intel Core i9.

The addition of name-brand parts is also nice to see. There’s little, if anything, proprietary about the system, which includes a micro-ATX motherboard, WD Black SSD, Seagate HDD and a 750W power supply. That’s the special sauce that makes it feel a bit more like an enthusiast machine than some alternatives.

Gaming PCs You Can Get During the Component Shortage

Right now, we’re going through a global component shortage, which has made it difficult to buy the best CPUs for gaming, the best GPUs and really anything that goes in a gaming PC at all. In turn, people are turning to buy anything they can, including full-built gaming PCs, even if they only need a few parts. This is especially the case with Nvidia’s RTX graphics cards.

How to Choose a Gaming PC

• Bigger isn’t always better: You don’t need a huge tower to get a system with high-end components. Only buy a big desktop tower if you like the look of it and want lots of room to install future upgrades.
  
• Get an SSD if at all possible: This will make your computer far more faster than loading off of a traditional HDD, and has no moving parts. Look for at least a 256GB SSD boot drive, ideally paired with a larger secondary SSD or hard drive for storage.
  
• You can’t lose with Intel or AMD: As long as you opt for a current-generation chip, both companies offer comparable overall performance. Intel’s CPUs tend to perform a bit better when running games at lower resolutions (1080p and below), while AMD’s Ryzen processors often handle tasks like video editing better, thanks to their extra cores and threads.
  
• Don’t buy more RAM than you need: 8GB is OK in a pinch, but 16GB is ideal for most users. Serious game streamers and those doing high-end media creation working with large files will want more, but will have to pay a lot for options going as high as 64 or even 128GB.
  
• Don’t buy a multi-card gaming rig unless you have to: If you’re a serious gamer, get a system with the best-performing single graphics card you can afford. Many games don’t perform significantly better with two or more cards in Crossfire or SLI, and some perform worse, forcing you to disable an expensive piece of hardware to get the best experience possible. Because of these complications, you should only consider a multi-card desktop if you are after more performance than can be achieved with the best high-end consumer graphics card.
  
• The power supply is important: Does the PSU offer enough juice to cover the hardware inside? (In most cases, the answer is yes, but there are some exceptions, particularly if you intend to overclock a CPU.) Additionally, note if the PSU will offer enough power for future upgrades to GPUs and other components. Case size and expansion options vary drastically between our picks.
  
• Ports matter: Beyond the connections necessary to plug in your monitor(s), you’ll want plenty of USB ports for plugging in other peripherals and external storage. Front-facing ports are very handy for flash drives, card readers, and other frequently used devices. For added future-proofing, look for a system with USB 3.1 Gen 2 and USB-C ports.

Graphics cards, including Nvidia’s RTX 3090, RTX 3080, and RTX 3070 GPUs, are still hard to get although supply and pricing are improving. Some of our Nvidia-based picks still have the last-gen cards, though those who are patient or keep checking back may be able to find them with the latest and greatest. 

For most people, budget plays the biggest role in a desktop buying decision. You can sometimes find good deals on big-box desktops when they go on sale, but you’ll be stuck with the components chosen by the likes of HP, Lenovo or Dell. The beauty of a custom-built PC is that you can adjust the component configuration until it suits your needs and budget. We are happy, though, to see more builds coming with standardized parts than ever before, so you can upgrade them later on.

Intel’s Alder Lake CPUs are here, and AMD is teasing its Ryzen 7000 processors based on Zen 4, likely to show up later this year, so we should see new PCs throughout the year.