Every year, we have a tradition of putting together a Black Friday PC out of the best deals we can find. Our normal best gaming PC build guide aims for around $1,250 for its budget, while the high-end build goes for $2,000. But on Black Friday weekend, when prices on some components drop through the floor, can we do better? Yes, or you wouldn’t be reading<\/b>
\nEvery year, we have a tradition of putting together a Black Friday PC out of the best deals we can find. Our normal best gaming PC build guide aims for around $1,250 for its budget, while the high-end build goes for $2,000. But on Black Friday weekend, when prices on some components drop through the floor, can we do better? Yes, or you wouldn’t be reading this.
We’re going to do two parts lists this year, one for a midrange PC and one for a high-end build. The goal here is to get a great deal, and we’ll regularly update the parts as needed\u2014because the best deals aren’t going to last.
As a point of reference, there’s an HP Omen PC selling for $1,499 that we want to meet or beat on price and performance. That will be the high-end build, while the mainstream build will shoot for a budget half as high. Both builds are designed to handle all of today’s games without struggling, with 1080p ultra being the target for the midrange build and 1440p high on the high-end system. Here are the current best picks, and we’ve done our best to ensure all the parts will work and fit together.
As usual, we aren’t including the keyboard, mouse, or monitor in these builds. Black Friday high-end PC build
Everything you need for a high-end, overclocked custom PC, including Windows. You could upgrade to a larger SSD, or choose a different case, but that’s about the only thing you’d need to think about swapping out.
Total Price: $1,658.92 (save $466)
Yeah, beating that HP Omen price is tough! Tim was so impressed by the deal that he bought one. We do win a few points for including the unlocked K-series CPU with a liquid cooler, plus a larger high-end M.2 SSD. Is that worth the extra $150? We’d like to think so.
Intel Core i7-8700K| 6 Cores | 12 Threads | $339.99 ($30 off)
This eight-generation Core i7 processor is $30 off the usual price right now at both Amazon and Newegg. 4.9-5.0GHz overclocks are common, with the right cooler. Buy at Newegg, Amazon
Corsair H100i v2 | 240mm AIO CPU cooler | $75 (Save $35)
This is the lowest-ever price for Corsair’s reliable dual-rad all-in one liquid cooler. It has some snazzy RGB lighting, but more importantly, can keep your CPU very cool with little effort. Buy it at Amazon
EVGA Z370 Classified K | $129.99 (save $150) Better known for its graphics cards, EVGA also makes high-end Intel motherboards. The Z370 Classified K is the current high-end offering for Coffee Lake CPUs and includes support for SLI and overclocking, plus three M.2 slots (one Key-E only). Buy at Newegg
ZOTAC GAMING GeForce RTX 2080 AMP | $699.99 ($100 off)
If you want the latest and greatest, Zotac’s RTX 2080 is currently $100 off the original price with a coupon applied on the page, and comes with a free copy of Battlefield 5. Buy at B&H
Team T-Force Vulcan (2x8GB) DDR4-2666 | $97.99 (save $28)
16GB is the recommended amount of memory for most builds. Getting more or faster RAM isn’t typically helpful, unless you’re chasing every last bit of performance. This Team kit has decent specs for the price. Buy at Newegg
Samsung 970 Evo 500GB M.2 | $116.99 (save $33)
One of the fastest SSDs around, Samsung 970 Evo is now priced the same as last years 500GB SATA drives. It’s also up to six times faster. Buy at Amazon
Enermax ECA3520 | $49.99 (save $20) There are many cases, and opinions vary greatly on what looks good. This Enermax supports 240\/280mm coolers, which was a requirement for our high-end build, and it’s 29 percent off right now. Buy at Newegg
EVGA SuperNOVA 650 G3 | $49.99 (save $60)
Every PC needs a steady and reliable source of power, especially if you start thinking about overclocking. This EVGA PSU provides plenty of juice and is 80 Plus Gold rated. It’s also half off the regular price. Buy at Newegg
Windows 10 Home 64-bit | $98.99 (save $10)
There aren’t any great deals on Windows 10 itself this year. If you’re okay with an OEM key, however, you can still find those at many places for under $100. Buy at Walmart Black Friday midrange PC build
Our midrange build is still potent, but we’re going for savings rather than all-out performance. As such, AMD’s Ryzen CPUs are the much better option right now, and the same goes for RX 580 graphics cards.
Total Price: $671.91 (save $231)
The closest you’ll come to a similar prebuilt deal right now is this Dell at Office Depot, for $480. We don’t beat it on price (mostly thanks to the Windows license), but we do provide a better CPU, motherboard, storage, and graphics card.
AMD Ryzen 5 2600 | 6 Cores | 12 Threads | $145 ($15 off)
AMD’s latest mid-range Ryzen processor just dropped $15. Buy at Amazon
MSI X370 Gaming Pro Carbon | $79.99 (save $90)
One of last year’s better X370 boards is now more than half off the original price, after the $30 MIR. This MSI board fully supports the newer Ryzen 2 processors, including APUs. The only thing it’s missing is wifi. Buy at Newegg
ASUS Radeon RX 580 8GB | $184.99 ($15 off)
This is a pretty good deal on an 8GB RX 580, and it comes with two free games (you can choose from The Division 2, Resident Evil 2, and Devil May Cry 5). Enter code 119ZFCF978 at checkout to get the discount. Buy at Newegg
GeIL EVO Spear (2x4GB) DDR4-2400 | $49.99 (save $14)
8GB is enough memory for just about any game, and this is the lowest price we’ve seen all year. Buy at Newegg
Samsung 860 Evo 500GB SATA | $72.99 (save $37)
A perennial favorite for SATA drives, the 860 Evo costs about half of what it did last Black Friday. It remains one of the best SATA SSDs around. Buy at Amazon
DIYPC Solo-T2-R Black | $19.97 (save $20.01)
Budget cases are easy to find. Budget cases that don’t absolutely suck are a bit harder to come by. DIYPC’s case is perhaps a bit garish for some, but it’s sturdy and will get the job done, for only a Jackson. Buy at Newegg
EVGA 500 BR | $19.99 (save $30)
This is about as cheap as you’ll get for a decent power supply. 500W is more than enough for this build, with room to grow, and still 80 Plus Bronze efficiency. Buy at Newegg
Windows 10 Home 64-bit | $98.99 (save $10)
There aren’t any great deals on Windows 10 itself this year. If you’re okay with an OEM key, however, you can still find those at many places for under $100. Buy at Walmart
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