Black Friday gaming PC deals 2026 - here are the rigs I'd consider in the lead-up to the big sale

The integrated graphics on this processor won't get you gaming at higher resolutions or higher settings in modern games, but it's a great way to get into some light 1080p gaming. This gaming PC mainly acts to get you up and running, and you can then upgrade with a (relatively low-power) discrete GPU down the line, though bear in mind if you want the latest and greatest specs, including processor and RAM, you'll have to upgrade the entire PC, motherboard, too. Also note that you won't be able to keep many games installed at the same time on that 500 GB drive.

Key specs: Ryzen 5 5600GT | 16 GB DDR4-3200 | 512 GB SSD

You're making quite a lot of sacrifices here to keep the price tag under $1,000—namely a pretty lacklustre CPU and only 16 GB of previous-gen RAM. But you are getting an RTX 5060 machine for a very reasonable price in today's market. That means decent, discrete graphics for 1080p and even some lighter 1440p gaming.

Key specs: Core 5 120 | RTX 5060 | 16 GB DDR4 | 1 TB SSD

There is a caveat to this one, which is that it's running just 16 GB of DDR4 RAM, and judging by the picture, it's just a single stick. However, you're getting an RTX 5060 Ti in here for not too far north of $1,000, which is better than I've seen at this price point for quite some time. A future RAM upgrade will be in order, but for starters this is great.

Key specs: Core i5 14400F | RTX 5060 Ti 8 GB | 16 GB DDR4-3200 | 1 TB SSD

A tidy look and a tidy price for a full-on RTX 5070 rig right now. Especially so when you consider it comes with 32 GB of DDR5 memory. Not too shabby.

Key specs: Core i5 14400F | RTX 5070 | 32 GB DDR5 | 1 TB SSD

RX 9070 XT gaming PCs below the $2,000 mark are the ones to keep your eyes peeled for in the current market. They're kind of a last bastion of high-end builds for reasonable prices during the memory shortage. This one only has 16 GB of DDR5 RAM, but for gaming it'll do very well if you keep background apps closed.

Key specs: Ryzen 7 7700X | RX 9070 XT | 16 GB DDR5-6000 | 1 TB SSD

This rig is a bit of a glass cannon for certain kinds of productivity task, and for CPU-intensive games. The Ryzen 9 here is a beast, but it is limited in a lot of cases by just 16 GB of RAM, so assess your use case carefully. That being said, for gaming, it'll do fantastically as 16 GB of RAM is still perfectly fine for gaming provided you keep background apps closed.

Key specs: Ryzen 9 9900X | RX 9070 XT | 16 GB DDR5 | 1 TB SSD

This is the whole caboodle: a top-end AMD GPU, the best CPU for gaming on the market, a full 32 GB of DDR5 RAM, and 2 TB of storage. There's nothing about those core specs I'd change, and you're getting it all for cheaper than many other lower-spec rigs.

Key specs: Ryzen 7 9800X3D | RX 9070 XT | 32 GB DDR5 | 2 TB SSD

You can get similar performance to what you'll get out of this rig for a bit cheaper if you're willing to go for AMD, but if you're keen on sticking with Nvidia, this is about as cheap as you'll get something so high-end. The CPU-GPU combo here will have you powering through modern games at 1440p and even at 4K in many cases.

Key specs: Ryzen 7 9800X3D | RTX 5070 Ti | 32 GB DDR5-6000 | 2 TB SSD

Unless you're willing to push up to about $3,000 or higher for an RTX 5080 rig, this is about as high-end as you'll get. And it's no slouch in any department, as that CPU and RAM combo should make this PC great a productivity tasks in addition to gaming.

Key specs: Core i9 14900KF | RTX 5070 Ti | 32 GB DDR5-6000 | 2 TB SSD

You're definitely paying the Alienware tax for this one, even with a discount, and that won't be for everyone. But if you're keen on the Alienware aesthetic, this is a great high-end build for it.

Key specs: Core Ultra 9 285 | RTX 5070 Ti | 32 GB DDR5 | 1 TB SSD

This is a fantastic high-end all-rounder, offering not only great gaming performance but some very decent productivity performance, too. It's not slacking in any department, and to top it off, all its components sit in a lovely little chassis.

Key specs: Core Ultra 7 270K | RTX 5080 | 32 GB DDR5-6000 | 2 TB SSD

As far as high-end rigs go, this is the whole package. The CPU is a recent Intel one that performs incredibly well, and of course this is paired with a high-end Nvidia GPU. 1440p gaming should be a breeze for this PC, and it'll handle 4K well, too.

Key specs: Core Ultra 7 270K Plus | RTX 5080 | 32 GB DDR5-5200 | 2 TB SSD

The specs on this one pretty much speak for themselves. What more could you ask for? Not much, really, unless you're willing to practically double the cost for an RTX 5090 rig. Here you're getting one of the best CPUs for gaming on the market, an RTX 5080, and plenty of RAM and storage, all during during a global memory shortage.

Key specs: Core Ultra 7 270K Plus | RTX 5080 | 32 GB DDR5-6000 | 2 TB SSD

This is a great price for all you SFF (small form factor) lovers. You're getting an older and not very powerful CPU, and only 16 GB of DDR4 RAM, but for a cheap, portable gaming system these should serve just fine alongside the RTX 5060. Usually you have to pay the SFF tax for a mini PC, so it's great to see such a low price on this one. Don't expect miracles with this hardware, but for some light gaming and a small physical footprint, look no further.

Key specs: Ryzen 5 5500 | RTX 5060 | 16 GB DDR4-3200 | 1 TB SSD

You're not getting the best CPU here, but for gaming it should do fine, especially with that RAM being dual-channel. The main allure here is getting an RTX 5070 in your build for this cheap of a price. If you're looking for a mid-range build for as cheap as possible, this one is worth considering.

Key specs: Ryzen 5 8400F | RTX 5070 | 16 GB DDR5 | 1 TB SSD

This might only be packing an older CPU and 16 GB of previous-gen RAM, but it's all worth it for that RX 9070 XT. Getting one of those GPUs in your rig for this price is a steal, and the other components shouldn't bottleneck too much while gaming, provided you close background apps and play mostly GPU-intensive rather than CPU-intensive games.

Key specs: Ryzen 7 5700X | RX 9070 XT | 16 GB DDR4-3200 | 1 TB SSD

This all-AMD gaming PC is about as cheap as you'll get for some bona fide high-end gameplay these days. You are having to settle for just 1 TB of storage and not the highest-end CPU, but it's still a more than capable rig, even for 4K gaming in most games. Just make sure you configure the build to match the specs below and price listed here.

Key specs: Ryzen 5 9600X | RX 9070 XT | 32 GB DDR5-6000 | 1 TB SSD (Kingston ver.)

This might actually be the best shout for a high-end gaming PC right now. Of course the RTX 5070 Ti is fantastic, as is 32 GB of fast RAM during a memory shortage. But that CPU is a thing of beauty, too. The refreshed Arrow Lake chip performs about as well as a lower-end X3D chip (which means pretty damn well) but also happens to do incredibly well at productivity and other CPU-intensive tasks, making this a very well-rounded build.

Key specs: Core Ultra 5 250K Plus | RTX 5070 Ti | 32 GB DDR5-6000 | 1 TB SSD

If you're happy opting for an AMD rather than an Nvidia GPU, this is about as high-end of a rig for such a low price as you can get right now. The best CPU on the market, paired with AMD's best GPU, plus a whole heap of memory and storage during a global memory shortage. Lovely.

Key specs: Ryzen 7 9800X3D | RX 9070 XT | 32 GB DDR5-5200 | 2 TB SSD

If you're gonna go for a high-end RTX 5080 rig, you also want the CPU to match, and that's what you're getting here. Sure, it's not a current-gen X3D chip, but an X3D chip it is nonetheless, and that means some fantastic gaming performance. There'll be little worry of significant bottlenecks from either the CPU or GPU here, even in the latest demanding games at very high settings.

Key specs: Ryzen 7 7800X3D | RTX 5080 | 32 GB DDR5-6000 | 1 TB SSD