Research-based guide. Prices and specs are sourced and dated, not tested by us.

Most budget lists give you a fixed set of parts. When prices move fast, a different tool works better: a rule you can recompute yourself. This guide is that rule applied to October 2026 prices. It builds on the parts list in our budget gaming PC build, which has the part-by-part reasoning.

The rule

The non-GPU parts of Tom’s Hardware’s June 2026 build (Core i5-12600KF, B760 DDR4 board, 32GB DDR4, 1TB SSD, case, 750W PSU, cooler) added up to $719.60 at that article’s deal prices. Graphics cards moved more than any of those parts, so we hold the base fixed and let the card price vary. The result is a floor, not a quote: the other parts were not re-priced for October, and the base has no Windows license.

What each budget fits

Total budget	Left for the graphics card	Cards whose lowest 26 Oct price fits
$1,000	$280.40	None on our list. The Arc B570 is $289.
$1,200	$480.40	Arc B570 ($289), RTX 5050 ($419), RTX 5060 ($449), RX 9060 XT 8GB ($459)
$1,300	$580.40	All of the above, plus RTX 5060 Ti 8GB ($529)
$1,400	$680.40	Plus RX 9060 XT 16GB ($599)
$1,500	$780.40	Plus RX 9070 ($699) and RTX 5060 Ti 16GB ($765)
$1,600	$880.40	Plus RTX 5070 ($869) and RX 9070 XT ($869)
$2,000	$1,280.40	Plus RTX 5070 Ti ($1,229)

Prices: Tom’s Hardware GPU price tracker, updated 26 October 2026, lowest listed US price for each card. The cheapest listing may be out of stock or require a promo code. Not a live check.

The cards behind the numbers

Card	Memory	Lowest price, 26 Oct	MSRP	Premium over MSRP	Build floor
Arc B570	10GB	$289	$219	32%	$1,008.60
RTX 5050	8GB	$419	$249	68%	$1,138.60
RTX 5060	8GB	$449	$299	50%	$1,168.60
RX 9060 XT 8GB	8GB	$459	$299	54%	$1,178.60
RTX 5060 Ti 8GB	8GB	$529	$379	40%	$1,248.60
RX 9060 XT 16GB	16GB	$599	$349	72%	$1,318.60
RX 9070	16GB	$699	$549	27%	$1,418.60
RTX 5060 Ti 16GB	16GB	$765	$429	78%	$1,484.60
RTX 5070	12GB	$869	$549	58%	$1,588.60
RX 9070 XT	16GB	$869	$599	45%	$1,588.60
RTX 5070 Ti	16GB	$1,229	$749	64%	$1,948.60

Where the rule breaks

• The base CPU is a 1080p-class part. Above roughly $1,500, pairing an RTX 5070-class card with a Core i5-12600KF may leave performance unused. Plan on spending more on the CPU and platform, so the real total is higher than the table shows. Our bottleneck guide explains how to check.
• The June prices for memory and storage have not been re-checked. Both are part of the shortage. Treat every total as a minimum.
• No performance comparison across all these cards. We did not find one benchmark set that covers every card above at the same settings, so the table sorts by price and memory, not by speed.

Our reading by budget (editorial opinion)

Budget	What we would look at	Why
About $1,200	RTX 5060 or RX 9060 XT 8GB	Within $10 of each other. See RTX 5060 vs RX 9060 XT.
About $1,300 to $1,400	RX 9060 XT 16GB over RTX 5060 Ti 8GB	The 16GB card costs $70 more for double the memory. If you keep a card for years, memory is what runs out first.
About $1,500	RX 9070	It costs $66 less than the RTX 5060 Ti 16GB, has 16GB, and launched as the higher-priced card ($549 against $429 list). We have no side-by-side benchmark, so this is a price and memory argument.
About $1,600	RX 9070 XT or RTX 5070	Same listed price. The RX 9070 XT has 16GB against 12GB on the RTX 5070. Our GPU guide for the memory shortage compares the RX 9070 XT, RTX 5070 and RTX 5070 Ti in more depth.

If you would rather not build, check what a finished PC costs at the same budget in Best Prebuilt Gaming PCs. For why prices are where they are, see why PC parts cost so much in 2026.

Last checked 29 October 2026. We update this guide when graphics card prices move noticeably or when we can re-price the other parts. How we source our guides is explained on the About page.

Sources

• Tom’s Hardware, GPU price tracking 2026 (updated 26 October 2026)
• Tom’s Hardware, $1,000 budget build with Prime Day parts (June 2026)