Join The Community
It's summer sale season, which means that during this awful, RAMpocalypse-ridden year, we finally have the chance to make the most of Prime Day gaming PC deals. Of course, all the retailers are at it, and since Valve has just finally launched its Steam Machine, PC gamers have a big choice ahead of them.
I haven't gone hands-on with the Steam Machine yet, but I've been tracking the prices of proper prebuilt gaming PCs for over three years now, reviewing them, building my own systems, and testing out a slew of components and upgrades. I can see the price of the Steam Machine, assess its specs, and I can comfortably tell you that even during RAMageddon, you can do better. PC gaming isn't the cheapest, but if you're going to spend that sort of money on a PC for your living room, trust me when I say that you might as well invest a little more in something that's upgradeable and has a discrete GPU to enhance your gaming performance.
So that's my mission this Prime Day. I'm going to be sifting through as many deals as humanly possible across all the retailers to secure you the best value. Newegg, Best Buy, Walmart, and of course, Amazon could hold the key to your living room PC gaming dreams, which offer better long-term value, gaming performance, and style than Valve's Steam Machine. I'll be looking for prebuilt systems, smaller upgrades you can make to your existing rig, and even the foundational blocks you need to build your own living room gaming machine.
Quick Links
- Amazon: RTX 5060 rigs for under $1,500
- Newegg: Loads of deals in the FantasTech sale
- Dell: up to $1,330 off Alienware Aurora builds
- Best Buy: up to $300 off MSI, HP, and more
- Walmart: Component and prebuilt deals
UK:
- Amazon: Prime Day deals, component upgrades
- CCL: Save 10% on a build-your-bundle combo
- Overclockers: Component bundle deals with 20% off
- HP: Discounts on HP Omen builds
- Very: Save up to £450 on prebuilt desktops
- Currys: Acer, HP Omen, and MSI discounted here
I've spent over three years immersing myself in the gaming PC market. In that time, I've reviewed loads of prebuilt desktops, I've built and rebuilt my own gaming PCs, and I've tested and reviewed lots of different components from CPUs to GPUs, to RAM, and SSDs. I'm also a fan of smaller gaming desktops - the first PC I ever built was a mini-ITX one, so I feel more than qualified to help you find an alternative to Valve's Steam Machine. I've covered seasonal sales on prebuilt gaming desktops for over three years now too, so I know how to spot a good deal, even during the RAM crisis.
The best Prime Day gaming PC deals
When does Prime Day end?
Prime Day will run from June 23rd-26th this year, meaning you have until midnight in your region on Friday to make use of Amazon's selection of deals. Keep in mind that often when it comes to gaming PC deals, the best offers actually tend to come from competing retailers like Newegg, Best Buy, and more. For Amazon deals, you may see limited time deals and Prime-exclusive discounts, which you'll either need to take out a free trial for, or be a paying member to secure.
How much does the Steam Machine cost?
The Steam Machine comes in two distinct flavors, each with its own controller bundle. Your options with Valve's console are as follows:
Steam Machine 512GB: $1,049 / £879
Steam Machine 512GB + Steam Controller: $1,128 / £938
Steam Machine 2TB: $1,349 / £1,149
Steam Machine 2TB + Steam Controller: $1,428 / £1,208
While I won't be trying to find gaming PCs that are cheaper than these this Prime Day, I will be hunting down better value for money in terms of performance and futureproofing. For example, while thermals, architecture, size, and like-for-like specs will be very difficult to match, I do believe it's possible to spend around the same money for something that will work as a living room gaming machine that will give you better performance thanks to discrete graphics cards being included.
Why is PC gaming so expensive right now?
PC gaming was never the cheapest platform to rely on for gaming, but the market has gotten a lot worse lately due to supply chain issues that are entirely down to AI companies stealing up consumer supply to build data centers. SSD and RAM prices have inflated massively, and other sectors of the PC market have been impacted as well. AI infrastructure is making everything more expensive, and PC gamers are one of the largest consumer bases that's paying the highest price for it.
Read more: RAM shortages explained
Live updates
Looking for bundle benefits?
Since the Steam Machine is available bundled with its controller, you might be more drawn to a desktop PC if you also get the benefits of some accessories. Brands like CyberPowerPC and iBUYPOWER are great for this, because sometimes if you buy one of their prebuilts, you'll also get a mouse and keyboard in the box.
That's the case with this CyberPowerPC Gamer Master at Walmart, which is pushing for the title of cheapest DDR5 RTX 5060 machine across the board this Prime Day.
Specs: AMD Ryzen 5 8400F, RTX 5060, 16GB DDR5, 1TB SSD, 600W PSU
CyberPowerPC Gamer Master: $1,289.99 $1,099 at Walmart
Does size really matter?
Get your mind out of the gutter, firstly.
Living room PC gaming would be nice if it were through a machine that was on the smaller side - that's the appeal of the Steam Machine in the first place. But would it be such a problem if your living room rig was full-sized ATX? If you can fit it at the side, or even behind your TV unit, what's the issue?
The ASUS ROG G700 isn't a smaller build, but Best Buy is offering a pretty reasonable price on it at the moment, considering you get an RTX 5060 and a DDR5 configuration.
I'm just saying, if you're deadset on the living room PC idea, does it really have to be a smaller build?
Specs: Intel Core Ultra 5 Series 2, RTX 5060, 16GB of DDR5, 1TB SSD
ASUS ROG G700: $1,499.99 $1,199.99 at Best Buy
Living room PC gamers need to know about this couch desk
Couch PC gaming can be tricky to navigate, especially if you want to still play FPS games or aren't a big fan of playing with one of the best PC controllers.
For me, this is the perfect solution. It's a couch desk that assembles over you as you sit. I've used mine for hundreds of hours at this point, and the memory foam cushions still feel as great as they always have, and the desktop surface doubles as a USB hub for whatever accessories you want to plug in.
Admittedly, these are a tad pricey, especially if you go for the gaming-tilted Cyon3. Couchmaster does have smaller options which are more affordable though, so if you aren't too fussed about surface space you can also go for one of those. Annoyingly, none of them are discounted right now, but these are good to know about while we're on the topic of PC gaming from the couch.
Couchmaster Cycon3: $224 at Amazon
Couchmaster CYBOT: $169 at Amazon
If you're going to build your own living room rig, try one of these smaller cases
These cases won't sit on your TV unit in the same way that a Steam Machine will, but for me, an m-ATX case is the sweet spot to allow you to build a gaming PC that will perform brilliantly and allow you to use a wide range of components, while also not stealing up loads of real estate.
Here are a few of my favorites:
NZXT H3 Flow: $69.99 $59.99 at Amazon
Fractal Design Epoch: $129.99 $120 at Amazon
NZXT H2 Flow: $149.99 at Amazon
Cooler Master Q300L: $44.99 $39.99 at Amazon
Quick reminder: It's not all Valve's fault
Just in case you're directing your gamer rage at Valve for the high price of the Steam Machine, I just want to point out that the price inflation is AI's fault, and that it's impacting the entire tech sector at the moment.
Case in point, an RTX 5070 gaming PC like this MSI Codex at Amazon would have set you back ~$1450 this time last year. If you want proof, check out this roundup I did last November on RTX 5070 gaming PCs. In a Prime Day deal, this one is currently discounted down from $2,052 to $1,829.99 at Amazon.
Smaller desktops like this could be the answer to the Steam Machine's price-to-performance
The issue with the Steam Machine's price is that without a swappable GPU, it's comparing itself to consoles like the PS5 and Xbox Series X. Although all technology has gotten more expensive this year, Valve has been the most honest with how much a gaming PC actually should set you back, which has landed the Steam Machine with a higher price tag.
The issue is that it's the same price as entry-level desktop machines that do have higher performance thanks to dedicated graphics cards, and swappable components on a conventional PC motherboard.
I wouldn't usually recommend you opt for a DDR4 system right now, but if you're looking to get a smaller size of PC that can sit to the side of a living room TV, you don't want to spend more than the cost of a Steam Machine, and you want the kind of gaming frame rates that a full-sized ATX gaming PC can give you, this is the sort of solution you should be looking to.
This Stormcraft Sirius PC at Newegg is packed with great specs and sits inside an m-ATX case. It's discounted down to $900, which is really solid for the parts within.
Specs: Intel Core i5-14400F, RTX 5060, 16GB of DDR4, 1TB SSD, 650W PSU
Stormcraft Sirius: $1,099.99 $899.99 at Newegg
Let's get going (and talk about sizes)
Okay, let's get this show on the road. First up, let's go over some info you might find helpful when reading this live blog.
PC sizes are a bit odd and can be confusing if you're new to talking about them, so let's define some stuff.
Valve's Steam Machine is technically a mini-PC. These often use a mix of mobile/laptop parts, one processor known as an APU that combines central and graphics processing into one. Desktop PCs are a bit different - and they come in the following sizes.
Mini ITX - these still get pretty small, but they do often have a separate GPU that still allows for great gaming performance. They can be a little quirky to build due to compromises on space and cooling, but they still use a full suite of desktop components.
mATX - this is my personal sweet spot. This is what you see in the image above. It takes a slightly smaller motherboard, but is essentially a conventional gaming PC in a smaller package. There can still be compromises when it comes to part sizes and cooling, but mostly you have access to everything larger PCs do.
ATX and EATX - these are larger sizes. These form up the bulk of the prebuilt gaming PC market because they're the most popular sizes. Most are regular ATX motherboards and cases, but more and more of the cases I saw at Computex this year were massive EATX ones.
It's good to know this stuff, because it will help you narrow down and classify the components and size of PC you want to shop for.
