You Should Build A Retro Gaming PC Instead Of Buying Another Console

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Things are tough out there, especially if you’re looking to build a gaming PC. Having built PCs for over twenty years, I’ll be the first to tell you that now is not the time to get into the high-end gaming space. Things are so bad that some people have resorted to making their own RAM at home.

Even building a budget gaming PC can be problematic, as I recently faced the question of whether to spend money upgrading my CPU or GPU in a build. And consoles aren’t much better, with consumer-unfriendly practices and continually rising costs years after launch. But don’t lose hope, as budget options exist, including building retro gaming machines.

People are using affordable parts that aren’t heavily affected by RAM, storage, and price increases to build retro gaming rigs that are surprisingly powerful. You can build something for a few hundred dollars that can play all your retro games through emulation and modern eSports titles, while handling native PC games from around 2020 and prior without much trouble. With some tweaking, even some modern titles can run on lower settings.

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To make this work, you’ll need to look on the secondhand market for some items. I’d also avoid used CPUs, as they can easily be damaged in shipping. Avoid used memory too, since bad RAM can be hard to diagnose and can cause system instability.

I’d start with an ASRock B550M, a motherboard in the machine I’m currently using. It’s regularly $70, making it a pretty affordable option for a budget build. This is an AM4-based motherboard, so you’ll want an AMD CPU; the board supports up to the Ryzen 5000 series. Pairing this motherboard with an AMD Ryzen 5 5500 is a solid choice, and you can usually find it on Amazon for around $80, which keeps the build budget-friendly.

As for memory, you’ll be limited to DDR4 RAM. A stick of 8GB should be enough for older titles, and the DIGIERA 8GB DDR4 Memory Module is your best bet. It’s regularly $50, but it often goes on sale for less. And you won’t find a better deal on RAM right now unless you go the used route.

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Another option is buying laptop RAM. This might sound strange, as laptop memory is half the size of PC memory, but there’s an ingenious way around it. You can buy a Laptop SODIMM RAM Adapter Card that converts the format, letting you slot a laptop RAM stick into your PC. But be aware that support options may be limited.

As for the graphics card, you have some options. For the true budget build, the 8GB Radeon WX 5100 is an option, found online for around $80, but as low as $50 if you shop around. For something more powerful, the Radeon RX 6600 is a great mid-range choice, used for around $200 to $250. For more modern, demanding titles, the Intel ARC B580 is a solid option with its 12GB of RAM.

Add in the $45 Cooler Master Q300L case, a $38 ESGAMING 700W Power Supply, a $10 Wraith Stealth CPU Cooler, and a $40 Timetec 256GB SSD, and you have yourself a solid budget/retro gaming machine for under $350. That’s cheaper than any console on the market today, while still giving you room to upgrade.