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I love Black Friday and Cyber Monday component deals. You can combo-chain them to build yourself a gaming PC much cheaper than usual—no matter what resolution you’re playing at. During the rest of the year, you can find bargains, but it’s harder to pull together a full system (much less a kickass one) at the same prices.

In 2024, it turns out that despite rising SSD costs and slowed graphics card releases, you can still put together an upgradable gaming PC capable of 1080p High or Ultra at 60fps for just $550 on Black Friday, and $585 on Cyber Monday (just a bit more, due to expired bonus discounts). And as a bonus for this year, this build packs a powerful CPU and lots of memory. All without any hijinx: The parts are new and sold by major retailers.

More interested in 1440p gaming, or scaling down to a more modest gaming build? I’ve got suggested builds for those scenarios, too—and they may surprise you.

Some deals have changed since Black Friday, but you can still get pretty close to the original price for Cyber Monday these suggested builds, especially the 1440p one. Let’s dive in!

This article is part of a series about the cheapest Black Friday (and Cyber Monday) gaming PC you can build. For fun, you can compare this year’s results to 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, and 2016. Thanks to everyone who tunes in for this annual exercise!

The $585 1080p Cyber Monday gaming PC build

We live in an unusual period for PC components. Intel’s 13th and 14th-gen woes make those chips more difficult to recommend; little movement in graphics card releases has resulted in stagnant prices. AMD also has split its offerings between older generations as the “budget” options, and its newer generations as more performant alternatives. Add in the looming threat of tariffs, and building a gaming PC now can feel like a pressured decision during an awkward time. 

But you can still set yourself up for current and future success with this 1080p build. It’s solidly capable of playing at 60fps on High, and even Ultra in some games. You’ll have to forgo ray-tracing, but that shouldn’t lessen the enjoyment of excellent games.

As typical for suggested gaming PC builds, a mouse and keyboard aren’t included in the parts list. However, for the sticklers out there, feel free to add at least another $17 for a basic mouse and gaming keyboard to the total.

Part	Name	Price
CPU	Ryzen 7 5700X	$145* $130*
CPU Cooler	Arctic Freezer 36 CPU Cooler	$25
Motherboard	Gigabyte B450M DS3H WIFI Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard[1]	$85
RAM	Corsair Vengeance LPX DDR-3200 32GB (2x16GB)	$0*
Graphics Card	ASRock Radeon RX 6600 Challenger D 8GB	$190
Storage	Inland TN450 500GB M.2 NVMe Gen 4 SSD	$34
PSU	Thermaltake Smart 600W 80+ Non-Modular	$43 $41
Case	DIYPC DIY-S07 Black Steel ATX Case[2] Thermaltake S100 Snow Edition MicroATX Case[2]	$40 $29
OS	Windows 11 Pro OEM	$20
Total		$582 $554

Build notes

1. This motherboard will likely require flashing to a newer UEFI version to work with the Ryzen 5700X. If you don’t already own a compatible older processor that will let you enter the motherboard’s UEFI to perform this update, a local computer shop may be able to perform this service for a fee. You can also try a B550 chipset motherboard, which may have a lesser chance of needing flashing to a new UEFI version, if the mobo unit you receive was manufactured recently.
2. The Thermaltake case is now out of stock, so I’ve swapped in this slightly more expensive DIYPC case instead. The side panel is acrylic rather than tempered glass, but it does come with 4 included fans. Also will accommodate more motherboard sizes, if you want to use an ATX mobo for your build instead. Want tempered glass and ARGB fans? Swap in this DIYPC case instead.

AMD’s older AM4 CPUs march on like champions, with the architecture still plenty capable of strong performance for gaming. Despite a launch in 2020, Ryzen 5000 kicks so much butt that it hangs in strong even four years later. And thanks to Newegg’s bundle discounts, we’re seeing a notable upgrade on our similar 2023 Black Friday build.

You now get a 8-core, 16-thread processor (!) and 32GB of DDR4 memory—setting you up for the future. Despite its relative age, the Ryzen 7 5700X should keep trucking on when you decide to upgrade your graphics card. Similarly, the bountiful amount of Corsair RAM should hold up as apps get greedier about memory use. This bundle isn’t quite as good as on Black Friday, which also included an additional $15 discount for combining a motherboard with the purchase. But it’s not shabby.

Overall, this 1080p build has plush touches, since unlike previous years, I no longer try to cut things as close to the bone as possible. Though you certainly can choose to—for example, swapping for a cheaper motherboard without on-board Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. The Windows 11 license is included in the overall price, too, with a key that’s above board; the license comes from PCWorld’s affiliated shop.

Still, this build shows the still-slowed pace of PC component releases. Compared to last year, this 1080p gaming PC features a more modest motherboard option (mATX instead of full ATX, which means fewer PCIe expansion slots for streaming or audio cards) and slower memory (not quite the sweet spot for maximum performance with Ryzen 5000). Also for the Black Friday variation, you had to settle for a non-airflow case to get the cheapest good option; for Cyber Monday, you’ll have to accept a case with an acrylic side panel.

And of course, with SSD prices having risen over the past year, the storage drive is a more budget option. Without companies furiously pushing the envelope, the deal offerings aren’t as juicy across the board as in the past. It would have been nicer to see newer CPU generations like Ryzen 7000 at lower prices, for example.

Nevertheless, this affordable DIY build is more than capable of 1080p gaming with few compromises!

Areas for improvement

• Storage: A 500GB SSD often fills up quickly, so if you can afford it, buy the 1TB version of the Inland TN450 ($55) instead.
• Additional fans: The Thermaltake case I chose has only one included fan, so you can buy more fans yourself for more optimal airflow (especially with that closed front). It’s best to have at least one intake fan, and one outtake fan. With the case swap for Cyber Monday, the new case suggestion includes four fans!
• Case: The new case suggestion for Cyber Monday has an acrylic side panel rather than tempered glass. If that doesn’t feel luxe enough, go for this DIYPC case instead. It has a tempered glass side panel and includes ARGB fans.

Suggested upgrades

• Power supply: I usually choose more affordable power supplies for these articles, but usually, you want the nicest power supply you can afford. You can look through this PSU tier list if you prefer a higher-rated one. (For example, this Thermaltake Toughpower GX2 600W power supply is considered by power supply enthusiasts to be more reliable than the one I recommended above, and at $50, it costs just $10 more.)

The $800 1440p Cyber Monday gaming PC build

For 2024, this suggested 1440p gaming PC makes use of an extremely sweet CPU bundle deal. Could this be a $700 build by leaning on the same parts as the 1080p build? Sure, but that’s no fun.

Part	Name	Price
CPU	Ryzen 7 5700X3D	$300* $215*
CPU Cooler	Arctic Freezer 36 CPU Cooler	$25
Motherboard	MSI MPG B550 GAMING PLUS AM4 ATX Motherboard[1][2] MSI B550M PRO-VDH WIFI Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard[1]	$0* $90*
RAM	G.Skill Ripjaws V DDR4-3600 32GB (2x16GB)	$0*
Graphics Card	XFX Speedster QICK 319 RX 6750 XT 12GB	$301
Storage	Inland TN450 1TB M.2 NVMe Gen 4 SSD	$55
PSU	Thermaltake Toughpower GX2 80+ Gold Non-Modular 600W	$50
Case	DIYPC DIY-S07 Black Steel ATX Case[3] Thermaltake S100 Snow Edition MicroATX Case[2]	$40 $29
OS	Windows 11 Pro OEM	$20
Total		$791 $789

1. This motherboard may require a newer BIOS to work with the Ryzen 5700X3D. (It will depend on how recently the board was manufactured—if its BIOS version is new enough, you won’t need to.) If you don’t already own a compatible older processor that will let you enter the motherboard’s UEFI to perform this update, a local computer shop may be able to perform this service for a fee.
2. This motherboard option does not have Wi-Fi and Bluetooth support, so you will need to buy a separate antenna (USB or PCIe add-in card) for your PC, if needed. You can also still choose the previous suggested motherboard for the Black Friday version of this build, but it is a smaller micro-ATX board (so fewer PCIe expansion slots).
3. The Thermaltake case is now out of stock, so I’ve swapped in this slightly more expensive DIYPC case instead. The side panel is acrylic rather than tempered glass, but it does come with 4 included fans. Also will accommodate more motherboard sizes, if you want to use an ATX mobo for your build instead. Want tempered glass and ARGB fans? Swap in this DIYPC case instead.

Our $800 1440p gaming PC bumps up to the Ryzen 7 5700X3D—an absolutely monster of a chip for gaming, even today. When pitted against Intel’s newly released flagship processor, the Core 9 Ultra 285K, the 5700X3D is less 10 percent behind in gaming performance, when you look at the average across multiple games. And it costs just one third of the 285K’s price.

Given Newegg’s bundle deal for the 5700X3D, it was too hard to pass up in favor of the 5700X from the 1080p build. Even on Cyber Monday, which changed the bundle from DDR4-3600 to DDR4-3200 memory (so no longer the sweet spot for speed when paired with Ryzen 5000), it’s still a killer combo. For $300, you get the processor, 32GB of memory, and a nice ATX motherboard. Yes, your graphics card is generally the more important factor in gaming performance, but this chip is a smart move if you love higher-performance gaming and plan to upgrade your GPU to something more powerful later on.

That said, you can save $70 by using the same CPU, motherboard, and RAM bundle as in the 1080p build above. You’ll lose framerates, but depending on the games you play, you may not notice as much. And instead, you can put the extra cash elsewhere.

It was also hard to pass up a couple of other upgrades, given this level of build. (If you’re looking to game at 1440p, you’re not exactly trying to scrape by on pennies.) I chose to go with a higher capacity storage drive and a better-regarded power supply, but again, you can downgrade those if you wish.

Suggested upgrades

• Wi-Fi & Bluetooth: The bundled motherboard lacks on-board Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, so you must purchase a separate antenna (USB or PCIe add-in card) for your PC, if needed. You can also still choose the previous suggested motherboard for the Black Friday version of this build, but it is a smaller micro-ATX board (so fewer PCIe expansion slots).
• Graphics card: The Radeon 6750 XT is more budget 1440p gaming—to truly let your PC stretch its legs at this resolution, you can try for a $420 PowerColor Fighter 7800 XT, which has been coming in and out of stock on Amazon. As proof of stagnant GPU pricing, this price is an incredibly modest discount…and it’s the best you’ll find right now.
• Storage: You can find solid prices on 2TB SSDs right now. Filling a 1TB drive doesn’t take as long these days, so expanding your storage pays off down the road.
• Monitor: Swanky monitors that used to cost a pretty penny have dropped dramatically in price right now. If you’re building a new PC and have extra cash, a monitor upgrade during Black Friday may be worth consideration.

Possible swap

• Motherboard bundle: Need a motherboard with more PCIe slots? If you can get by without on-board Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, you can opt for this 5700X3D bundle instead. (It’ll save you $5, too.) To keep costs close to the original Black Friday version of this build, this swap is already made in this updated Cyber Monday parts list.

The $500 AM5 Cyber Monday gaming PC build

Part	Name	Price
CPU	Ryzen 5 8600G	$160
Motherboard	Gigabyte B650M GAMING PLUS WF Micro ATX AM5 Motherboard GIGABYTE B650M D3HP AX AM5 Micro ATX AM5 Motherboard[1][2]	$120 $110
RAM	Team T-Force Vulcan DDR5-6000 32GB (2x16GB) (2x16GB)[3]	$74
Graphics Card	Integrated AMD Radeon 760M graphics (8 RDNA3 cores)	—
Storage	Inland TN450 500GB M.2 NVMe Gen 4 SSD	$34
PSU	Thermaltake Toughpower GX2 80+ Gold Non-Modular 600W	$50
Case	DIYPC DIY-S07 Black Steel ATX Case[4] Thermaltake S100 Snow Edition MicroATX Case[4]	$40 $29
OS	Windows 11 Pro OEM	$20
Total		$498

1. This motherboard may require a newer BIOS to work with the Ryzen 8600G. (It will depend on how recently the board was manufactured—if its BIOS version is new enough, you won’t need to.) If you don’t already own a compatible older processor that will let you enter the motherboard’s UEFI to perform this update, a local computer shop may be able to perform this service for a fee.
2. Price after using promo code BFDD335.
3. Price after using BFCDZA24.
4. The Thermaltake case is now out of stock, so I’ve swapped in this slightly more expensive DIYPC case instead. The side panel is acrylic rather than tempered glass, but it does come with 4 included fans. Also will accommodate more motherboard sizes, if you want to use an ATX mobo for your build instead. Want tempered glass and ARGB fans? Swap in this DIYPC case instead.

For years now, my cheapest Black Friday gaming PC builds have relied on APUs (CPUs with more powerful integrated graphics). You don’t need a separate graphics card to play games.

This year’s is a little unique in that it leans on AMD’s newer mid-tier APU, the Ryzen 5 8600G, which is a chip that requires a newer AM5 motherboard.

On the one hand, the specs may feel overpriced for a cheap gaming PC meant to handle lightweight games. On the other, there are no Ryzen 5 5600G deals this year, which would fit that bill. So think of this as a snapshot of the current climate—as I said above, awkward.

But this build can still be a good fit for a less demanding gamer who still needs or wants flexibility to upgrade later on, like when dedicated graphic cards become more appealing to buy. AM5 may still see further compatible processors released, too, meaning you may be able to squeeze long-term value from the CPU and memory. Speaking of, I popped in a generous 32GB due to how relatively cheap memory still is right now—and the fact that APUs rely on system memory when running games. More never hurts. Similar for the power supply; may as well upgrade that as well for a more robust system.

Could you trim down further? Absolutely. But this system is really best treated as one meant to stretch further down the road, so no need to limit yourself with a lower wattage power supply, less memory, or a motherboard without Wi-Fi.

Cyber Monday often feels like a lighter version of Black Friday. But even with many deals being sold out by today, I still purposely wait until today for select deals.

Why? Because for software and services, it can stretch how long I can make use of the deal. Prices drop for Black Friday, and then the deals extend into Cyber Monday. If you wait, you don’t lose out. There’s no product to run out of.

Each year (including this one), you’ll find me scooping up these discounts.

Cheap streaming service promotions

Late November is the best time to subscribe to a streaming service. Case in point: Hulu. As in previous years, the service has slashed the price of its entry plan. The 2024 promotion is just $1 per month for 12 months, or $3 per month for a Hulu & Disney+ bundle. And if that’s not enough TV, you can also stack a $1-per-month Starz add-on once you’ve signed up.

Other streaming service deals right now:

• HBO Max: $3/mo for 6 months
• Peacock: $20 for 12 months
• Paramount+: $3/mo for 2 months

Other more niche streaming sites (e.g., Britbox or Dropout.tv) often offer discounts through Cyber Monday, too. It’s worth checking out.

Heavily discounted software

Subscriptions dominate our lives—so many things require a recurring cost. For the ones you can’t avoid, this time of year is a great time to reduce the pain.

For example, you can get 12 months of Adobe Creative Cloud for 50 percent off, which will save you hundreds of dollars. Normally a subscription is $60/month (or $720 for a year), but if you sign up during Black Friday, it’s $30/month (or $360).

You can find deals on just about all services, not just image editors. Think password managers, antivirus subscriptions, VPNs, cloud storage, online backup, web hosting, and even email. I save money on these boring but necessary parts of digital life so I can spend the savings on more fun things.

A few noteworthy deals:

• Microsoft 365 Family: $68 for 15 months of access. Also includes a bonus year of NordVPN’s service. Normally $99 for just one year of Microsoft 365 Family alone (Microsoft Office apps + 1TB cloud storage per family member, plus other features).
• Norton 365 Deluxe: $30 for first year, normally goes for $50. Our favorite antivirus software suite.
• Kindle Unlimited: $1 for 3 months, normally goes for $12/month.

Affordable cell phone plans

You can keep your cell phone bills cheap by opting for prepaid services, like Mint Mobile, Red Pocket, Tracfone, Cricket, Google Fi, U.S. Mobile, and other MVNOs (mobile virtual network operators). They lease use of the AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile networks, and in exchange for some light restrictions (like data speed caps), they’re able to offer customers inexpensive plans.

Cyber Monday is a good time to grab top-ups for your plan, or to take advantage of new customer specials. I do this for relatives who don’t want to spend a lot on their cell phone plans. Buying this late in November means they can hold the top-up card or squeeze the last bits out of their plan just a little longer.

You can also score excellent phone deals when porting to another mobile carrier—so if you need a new phone, it’s a good time of year to look into those offers, too.

Sample deals:

• Mint Mobile: $30 for 3 months (20GB data plan). Normally $75.
• Red Pocket: $200 for 12 months (12GB data plan on AT&T network, 8GB on Verizon & T-Mobile networks). Normally $365. Plan sold through Red Pocket’s official eBay storefront.
• Mint Mobile: $480 for Google Pixel 9 + 1 year of unlimited data plan. Normally $800 for phone, $360 for plan. Current Mint Mobile customers can buy the phone for $300.

Cyber Monday is quickly coming to a close, which means there’s no better time than now to scoop up a heavily discounted laptop. If you fancy yourself a gamer, you’re in luck, as the Alienware m16 R2 (PCWorld’s favorite gaming laptop) is on sale today for up to $600 off at Dell. While the version we reviewed back in March is currently out of stock, other configurations are on sale for $400 and $600 off, respectively.

We love the core setup of this machine, as it offers strong gaming performance as well as great battery life. The Intel Core Ultra 7 155H processor inside the midrange unit we reviewed is designed with power efficiency in mind, which likely contributes to the longevity of this machine. Speaking of, the Alienware m16 R2’s 90 watt-hour battery lasted seven hours on a single charge in our test–a great result for a powerful gaming laptop. We expect to see similar results from the other configurations.

The lower tier configuration that’s on sale today ($1,299.99, $400 off) comes with an Intel Core Ultra 9 185H CPU, an Nvidia GeForce RTX 4060 GPU, a 16-inch non-touch 2560×1600 display, 16GB of RAM, and 1TB of SSD storage. That’s a step down from the RTX 4070 GPU in our review unit. That said, the RTX 4060 is still a fine graphics card–you should be able to play most games on the Medium or High graphics settings at 1080p resolution, though you may need to dial things back on more intensive titles.

If you’re looking for a more powerful machine, the top tier configuration is on sale for $1,999.99, which is $600 off of the original $2,599.99 price. This version boasts an Intel Core Ultra 9 185H CPU, an Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070 GPU, a 16-inch non-touch 2560×1600 display, 64GB of RAM, and 2TB of SSD storage. The 2TB of SSD storage is worth noting, as it should provide plenty of space for your massive games library.

These deals are fantastic, but you should act now rather than later. Cyber Monday will be over in a flash and the deals will be nothing but a faraway memory.

Save up to $600 on PCWorld’s favorite gaming laptop

Don’t forget these crucial accessories!

Picking up a laptop during Black Friday sales can save you hundreds. But why stop there? You can save even more money by accessorizing your laptop with the extra things it needs while these sales last.

We’ve detailed must-have laptop accessories here, but here’s a cheat sheet with three especially crucial items:

• USB hub: Get a USB hub to expand the number and kinds of ports available for your laptop. Hiearcool’s USB-C hub is an affordable and capable USB-C hub with myriad ports, including 2 x USB-A ports, microSD and SD card slots, and an HDMI port. Get it on Amazon.
• Mouse: Using a mouse instead of your laptop’s trackpad can speed up productivity if your laptop is mainly used for work, and it’s crucial if you plan on doing any gaming. A mouse you can rely on for all your needs, and one that feels oh-so-comfortable in your hand, is the Razer DeathAdder V2 X HyperSpeed. Get it on Amazon.
• Laptop sleeve: A good quality sleeve will protect your laptop from the inevitable bumps, scratches, and drops that happen over time. Amazon’s choice for laptop sleeve is the BOOEUDI, which is shockproof and made from neoprene. Browse sizes at Amazon.

Anker’s speedy three-port charger is on sale this Cyber Monday for $30 at Amazon, a solid 46% under its $56 MSRP. Given how useful this charger is, you may as well get a few of them.

We all have a handful of devices that always need charging, from phones to tablets, smartwatches, earbuds, and so on. Well, a powerful charger is what you need to make sure you spend as little time as possible tethered to the wall outlet.

Since this Anker charger delivers a maximum of 65W charging, it’s the perfect choice for a lot of phones, from iPhones to Samsung Galaxy models, but also tablets and even MacBooks.

There are three ports on this charger — two Type C and one USB-A. It’s the two USB-C ports that can deliver that maximum 65W charge, while the USB-A can reach 22.5W. When you use multiple ports simultaneously, that power will get divided between them.

The Anker 735 charger uses GaN II technology, which translates into faster charging, a more compact build, and better heat dissipation.

Don’t miss the chance to upgrade your charger to this discounted Anker model that’s now down to its very best price of $30.

This Anker GaN charger is 46% off