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Someone looking to dive headfirst into the world of gaming will likely have one pressing question they need to answer right away. Are you going to be a console gamer, or embrace the PC gaming community? One is certainly more accessible, as a console is a singular purchase that requires much less maintenance, upgrades, or understanding of components to build in the first place. But, naturally, there are a lot of perks to PC gaming that make it an enticing proposition. So, what if you build yourself a PC which has the power and capabilities equivalent to an Xbox Series X?
It is very possible to build an Xbox Series X-equivalent PC. However, in terms of the price tag, it will cost you in the region of $800-$1,000 to build this PC, assuming you get the best in-store and secondhand deals, meaning simply buying an Xbox Series X is a cheaper option. Ultimately, this is a much less convenient point of entry to owning a gaming system, which requires assembly, maintenance, and braving a very expensive PC components market at the time of writing.
But as a gaming PC, this Xbox Series X-equivalent build is a solid entry-level PC that will play most modern games comfortably at mid-settings. Not to mention, you’ll struggle to build a budget PC for much cheaper than this without making a lot of compromises.
What is the PC equivalent to an Xbox Series X?
To understand what a PC equivalent of the Xbox Series X would be, you first need to know what the Series X has working for it under the hood. Here is a quick overview of what components the Series X boasts that would be relevant to us.
With that in mind, an equivalent PC build will at minimum require an AMD 8-Core Ryzen CPU, 16GB of RAM, 1TB of storage, and a GPU that is able to match the performance of the Series X. Provided you can get these non-negotiables, everything else can be bought on a budget. Ultimately what this will end up looking like, in terms of the non-negotiable components; a Ryzen 5 5600 CPU, a Radeon RX 6700 XT 12GB GPU, 16GB DDR4-3600 RAM (2×8GB), and 1TB SN770 for storage. However, there are some minor changes that can be made if you want to work on a tighter budget.
Our benchmark for what the Xbox Series X equivalent should cost to make this process worthwhile is $799.99, the current retail price of the Series X. Achieving anything close to this would be good, and anything under would be an excellent result.
How much would it cost to assemble?
With regards to the PC equivalent, the GPU is the biggest factor, and buying new simply isn’t an option. Even the more budget alternative, the RTX 3060 Ti, is still going to cost you at least $400. However, you may be able to snag a used Radeon RX 6700 XT 12GB for around $250. Some sources have also suggested that an RX 580 can achieve the same graphical performance of an Xbox Series X, but just to set the record straight: This GPU pales in comparison, and is too much of a drop in quality.
Also, due to increased demand for RAM thanks to the rise of AI data centers, what would usually have been a relatively cheap purchase is now quite pricey. The most difficult part of this process will be looking for a secondhand on 16GB of RAM that’s still within budget. Finally, in terms of the non-negotiable purchases, you should be able to get your processor for $150-$180, and your storage for anywhere from $100-150.
However, this still leaves you with the need to purchase components such as a Case, Motherboard, PSU, and a cooling system. Not to mention paying for an OS like Windows and peripherals, all of which typically costing anywhere from $350-500 if you shop around and adjust your budget options. Taking all this into account, and assuming you get the best possible deal for each component (used or otherwise): The reality is that the best case scenario here is breaking even compared to the base price of the Xbox Series X, before you even consider purchasing an OS or peripherals.
