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Best Gaming PC for 2025

Gaming desktops still play second fiddle to gaming laptops for most people, but PCs have a place in the hearts of those who want power and upgradability for now and the future. PC configurations change a lot more frequently, though, and it's hard to keep up with testing and reviews, so our current gaming PC recommendations may include previous configurations that we've reviewed. We also include configuration suggestions that we haven't specifically tested but are based on our experience with similar components. What's the best gaming PC overall? Our pick for the best gaming desktop is the Lenovo Legion Tower 7i, thanks to its solid performance up through 4K, without costing as much as you'd usually spend. It's got some flaws -- you can't overclock the memory and it's a little light on the dust filtering -- but for a prebuilt model costing $2,220 (at the time of writing this) it's a nice balance. The Best Gaming PCs Other notable gaming PCs we've tested HP Omen 35L: While we like the both the form and functional design of the Omen 35L and its strong 4K performance, the memory and storage upgrades are overpriced and it pairs a strong GPU with an oddly midpower CPU. : The LOQ Tower can deliver decent 1080p performance in its compact 20-liter case, but it's ultimately a budget system with a budget design. That means it's limited when it comes to options, ports and even airflow. Factors to consider when buying a gaming desktop Size There's no one-size-fits-all answer for this. If you want high-powered components or a motherboard with more than just a slot for a graphics card, you need a midtower or full tower case -- it needs to accommodate extra cooling or a larger motherboard. If you've got limited space, measure the width and depth you can accommodate and look carefully at a computer's dimensions. If you don't plan on upgrading and can afford to pay for the configuration you're going to still want in three to five years, then you can go with a small form factor, or SFF, PC. While you can use liters as a measurement for case size, actual dimensions are more useful. Motherboard You generally only can choose the motherboard for custom or DIY builds, but even with a prebuilt system you need to ensure it can meet your needs. For instance, not only that it has sufficient PCI slots but that if you hypothetically require both 16-bit slots to run at maximum bandwidth they will. The motherboard and its chipset determines the maximum possible USB ports; networking types; type and maximum amount of memory; maximum amount and type of SSD and more. Prebuilt and small systems sometimes have proprietary motherboards, so confirm you'll be able to upgrade if you think you'll want to. Operating system Windows. You can play games on MacOS or Linux, but far more games are developed for and supported on Windows. Processor The CPU doesn't matter as much as other components, but games that spawn and calculate the movements of a lot of objects or characters -- complex simulations and RTS, for example -- may lean on it to run well. AMD's chips with "X3D" in the name are its best gaming CPUs, while Intel's overclockable chips have "K" in their model names and its Core processors are still generally better for desktop gaming than its newer Core Ultra CPUs. Graphics For the most part, the GPU is the most important component for running games, not just to render quickly and at high resolutions now, but to drive AI-based upscaling technologies without sacrificing frame rates or smoothly running AI-based technologies of the near future (such as in-game contextual help or smart NPCs). The amount of memory accessible by the GPU also makes a difference: I recommend at least 8GB VRAM for 1080p, 12GB for 1440p or 16GB for 4K. The amount of VRAM tends to correlate with the class of GPU, and the class correlates with speed; in other words, in general (but not necessarily so), more memory means a faster class of card and a faster class of card means a higher frame rate. System memory I don't recommend ANY system with 8GB RAM or less -- 16GB should be your absolute minimum and many games already require that much -- but 32GB is a good bet to support games for at least another few years. Most desktops let you upgrade memory; ultracompacts or all-in-ones may use laptop parts, which means soldered (and therefore not upgradeable) memory, so you want to watch for that if you plan on saving money now. Storage Games are getting bigger and bigger, so more storage is always better. If you play serially you can probably get by backing up to an external SSD, but if you jump around or want to keep multiple games installed on your system (and use the system for more than just gaming!), I suggest 1TB minimum. The review process for desktops consists of two parts: performance testing under controlled conditions in the CNET Labs and extensive hands-on use by our reviewers. This includes evaluating a device's aesthetics, ergonomics and features with respect to price. A final review verdict is a combination of objective and subjective judgments. How we test gaming desktops Dan Ackerman/CNET We test all desktops with a core set of benchmarks, including Primate Labs Geekbench 6 and Geekbench AI, Cinebench 2024, PCMark 10, a variety of 3DMark benchmarks (whichever can run on the desktop), UL Procyon Computer Vision and Image Generation AI benchmarks and more. If a desktop is intended for gaming, we'll also run benchmarks from Guardians of the Galaxy, The Rift Breaker (CPU and GPU), Shadow of the Tomb Raider as part of our core set, then supplement with a variety of other game benchmarks (such as Returnal and Cyberpunk 2077) and general gameplay, all in a variety of resolutions depending upon the system. Our testing suite for systems with discrete graphics also includes SPECviewperf 2020 for pro graphics. For the hands-on, the reviewer uses it for their work and gaming during the review period, evaluating how well the design, features (such as the screen, camera and speakers) and manufacturer-supplied software operate as a cohesive whole. We also place importance on how well they work given their cost and where the manufacturer has potentially made upgrades or tradeoffs for its price. The list of benchmarking software and comparison criteria we use changes over time as the devices we test evolve. We do not report all the results of our testing, only the data which adds information rather than duplicating a comparative pattern. Gaming computer FAQs When is the best time to buy a desktop? Outside of Prime Day and Black Friday sales, there are certain times of the year when you're more likely to find a good desktop deal, or the latest tech -- sometimes both. January is a good time to find a post-holiday deal and is also the month when new models with new components are usually announced at CES. There's generally a lead time before those new models are released. They typically become available in the spring. In the spring months, you will not only find the latest desktops with the latest CPUs from Intel and AMD and the latest GPUs from Nvidia and AMD, but you can also find discounts on older models that are suddenly relegated to previous-gen status but are still far from being classified as outdated. The next month to keep an eye out for desktop deals is July, when retailers begin to offer back-to-school sales. Those sales will run through August and into September. This is not to say you can't lock in a solid desktop deal on any given day of the year. The large manufacturers such as Dell, HP and Lenovo constantly rotate sales on their sites, and retailers including Amazon, Best Buy and Newegg offer discounts weekly. Should I buy or build my gaming PC As far as PC gaming goes, all power players ponder how to build a gaming PC at some point or another. As they go through the gaming PC build, they also wonder whether the resulting gaming experience is worth it. Doing your own PC build is a great option if choices and DIY don't scare you -- it's sometimes the only way to get the best gaming PC configuration for your needs -- or if you think PC building will be fun. But it generally doesn't work out to be a way to save money over an identical prebuilt gaming PC, or if you don't know what a motherboard is and how it works. Even if you can get the parts at good prices, the assumption for the cost analysis is that your time is worth zero; labor is part of the price discrepancy between custom build and DIY. And there are other considerations; for instance, I bought a custom build last time because there's no place in my apartment to build one and I didn't need a GPU. It may be cheaper to do your own PC build than getting a premium custom PC model from a company like Origin PC, Maingear , Velocity Micro and the like, but the flip side is that it's nice to have someone else do the overclocking iterations, stability testing and burn-in runs. There are few things more frustrating than gearing up and sitting down to play the latest AAA only to have it crap out during the opening cutscene with only yourself to blame.