PC build cost calculator: GPU + RAM prices, 2026
The GPU tracker and the RAM tracker on this site each show one side of the same 2026 memory shortage. This page adds them together into one build total, layered on a disclosed baseline for everything else, so you can see what a build actually costs today and how much of that is the shortage.
How much does a gaming PC cost to build right now?
A mid-range gaming PC (an entry-to-mid GPU, a 32GB DDR5 kit, a 1TB NVMe drive, and a typical CPU, motherboard, PSU, case and cooler) runs about $2,014 at today's tracked street prices, against about $1,854 if every part still sold at its official list price. Almost all of that gap is the GPU: a Nvidia RTX 5060 Ti 16GB is selling +37% over its $429 MSRP. IDC forecasts average PC prices could rise 4 to 8% in 2026 for the same reason: memory makers reallocating capacity toward AI infrastructure and away from consumer parts. Use the calculator below to price your own configuration.
- Aug 20, 2026Storage split out into its own live-tracked line. The vendor baseline bundled a 1TB NVMe drive at a July 2026 price, which understated a build now that NAND contract prices move 10 to 15 percent a quarter; each tier baseline now has its own SSD line item removed and the SSD tracker supplies the price instead.
- Aug 17, 2026Initial PC build cost calculator: live GPU and RAM tracker prices layered on a dated non-GPU/RAM baseline, against IDC's 2026 PC price outlook.
Where the money goes, by GPU tier
Holding the RAM kit and the baseline constant and only changing the GPU isolates what the GPU tier alone does to the total, the same controlled comparison the GPU tracker uses to isolate the VRAM premium between two same-die cards. Each bar uses the cheapest tracked card in its tier.
| Scenario | GPU | RAM | Storage | Everything else | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Entry: Nvidia RTX 5060 (32GB DDR5 (2x16GB) + 1TB NVMe + mid-range build baseline) | $339 | $485 | $152 | $788 | $1,764 |
| Mid-range: Nvidia RTX 5060 Ti 16GB (32GB DDR5 (2x16GB) + 1TB NVMe + mid-range build baseline) | $589 | $485 | $152 | $788 | $2,014 |
| High-end: AMD RX 9070 XT 16GB (32GB DDR5 (2x16GB) + 1TB NVMe + mid-range build baseline) | $700 | $485 | $152 | $788 | $2,125 |
| Flagship: Nvidia RTX 5080 (32GB DDR5 (2x16GB) + 1TB NVMe + mid-range build baseline) | $1,595 | $485 | $152 | $788 | $3,020 |
Build your own total
Verified snapshot · 2026-08-20$2,014 total, at today's street prices
Nvidia RTX 5060 Ti 16GB ($589, 29% of the build) + 32GB DDR5 (2x16GB) ($485, 24%) + 1TB NVMe ($152, 8%) + everything else ($788, 39%: CPU, motherboard, PSU, case and cooler).
If GPUs still sold at MSRP: this build would total $1,854, not $2,014. The Nvidia RTX 5060 Ti 16GB alone is selling +37% over its $429 official price, which is $160 of the gap on its own.
GPU, RAM and storage prices are this site's own live-tracked figures. The "everything else" figure is a dated vendor parts list, not a live price; see the GPU tracker, the memory tracker and the SSD tracker for methodology.
Full lineup: total cost by graphics card
Every tracked Nvidia and AMD card, paired with a 32GB DDR5 (2x16GB) kit, a 1TB NVMe drive and the mid-range "everything else" baseline of $788. The calculator above lets you swap the memory, drive and baseline; this table holds them fixed so the GPU column is the only thing that changes.
| Card | Tier | MSRP | Street | Build total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nvidia RTX 5060 | Entry | $299 | $339 | $1,612 |
| AMD RX 9060 XT 8GB | Entry | $309 | $360 | $1,633 |
| AMD RX 9060 XT 16GB | Entry | $369 | $430 | $1,703 |
| Nvidia RTX 5060 Ti 8GB | Entry | $379 | $359 | $1,632 |
| Nvidia RTX 5060 Ti 16GB | Mid-range | $429 | $589 | $1,862 |
| Nvidia RTX 5070 | Mid-range | $549 | $599 | $1,872 |
| AMD RX 9070 16GB | Mid-range | $569 | $619 | $1,892 |
| AMD RX 9070 XT 16GB | High-end | $619 | $700 | $1,973 |
| Nvidia RTX 5070 Ti | High-end | $749 | $919 | $2,192 |
| Nvidia RTX 5080 | Flagship | $999 | $1,595 | $2,868 |
| Nvidia RTX 5090 | Flagship | $1,999 | $4,830 | $6,103 |
How this is calculated
Three legs, added together, and only two of them are live.
- GPU: this site's own GPU price tracker, reported retail street price by model, refreshed on its own cadence.
- RAM: this site's own memory price tracker, the midpoint of the tracked kit-price range for the chosen capacity and generation.
- Everything else: Aggregated from one dated, itemized parts list per tier, not a live tracker. Each figure is the tier's CPU, motherboard, PSU, case and cooler prices added together, with that source's own GPU, RAM and storage line items removed so this site's live-tracked GPU, RAM and SSD prices can be layered on top without double-counting. Read from CyberPowerPC's How Much Does it Cost to Build a Gaming PC in 2026?, dated July 9, 2026.
The 2026 PC price context comes from IDC, Global Memory Shortage Crisis: Market Analysis and the Potential Impact on the Smartphone and PC Markets in 2026 (December 2025), which puts the industry-wide cause in one sentence: Memory manufacturers reallocating wafer capacity toward AI-infrastructure memory (HBM and high-capacity server DDR5) and away from the conventional DRAM and NAND used in consumer PCs.
Where to look next
- GPU price tracker: MSRP vs. street, by model.
- RAM price index and DRAM tracker: every channel, charted.
- Should you buy RAM now?: a live buy-or-wait check for the memory leg of this calculator.
- Why VRAM costs so much: the GDDR math behind the GPU leg.
Frequently asked questions
- How much does it cost to build a gaming PC in 2026?
- It depends heavily on the GPU tier, because that is the part moving fastest. At today's tracked prices an entry-tier build runs roughly $1,764, a mid-range build about $2,014, and a flagship build with an Nvidia RTX 5080 about $3,020. Every figure combines this site's live-tracked GPU, RAM and SSD prices with a dated baseline for the CPU, motherboard, PSU, case and cooler; pick your own GPU, memory and drive in the calculator above to price a specific build.
- Why did PC build costs go up in 2026?
- IDC, a market research firm covering the PC and smartphone industry, says it is memory reallocation: Memory manufacturers reallocating wafer capacity toward AI-infrastructure memory (HBM and high-capacity server DDR5) and away from the conventional DRAM and NAND used in consumer PCs. The effect shows up directly in this calculator's two live-tracked legs. GPU prices moved because GDDR memory now runs more than 80% of a graphics card's bill of materials (see the GPU tracker), and RAM kit prices moved because the same DRAM fabs are the ones being reallocated (see the memory tracker). IDC's own forecast for the average PC is 4 to 6% in a moderate scenario and 6 to 8% if the shortage worsens.
- Is now a bad time to build a PC?
- If you need the machine, yes in the sense that waiting has not historically paid off this year: neither the GPU nor the RAM tracker on this site shows a forecaster expecting relief before 2027 at the earliest. If the build is optional, the calculator above lets you see exactly how much choosing a lower GPU tier saves, since the GPU is normally the single largest line item and the one furthest above its own MSRP. See <a href="/should-i-buy-ram-now/">the RAM buy-or-wait checker</a> for the memory-specific version of this question.
- How much of a PC build is now GPU and RAM?
- On the mid-range build modeled here, the Nvidia RTX 5060 Ti 16GB is about 29% of the total, the 32GB DDR5 (2x16GB) is about 24% and the 1TB NVMe about 8%, leaving roughly 39% for the CPU, motherboard, PSU, case and cooler combined. That split shifts a great deal by GPU tier: the three components tracked live on this site (GPU, RAM and storage) make up a larger share of the total the higher the GPU tier goes, since the baseline for everything else does not scale with it.
- How current are these prices?
- The GPU, RAM and SSD figures are this site's own live-tracked prices, dated on <a href="/gpu-prices/">the GPU tracker</a>, <a href="/memory-prices/">the memory tracker</a> and <a href="/ssd-prices/">the SSD tracker</a> respectively and refreshed on their own cadence. The "everything else" baseline is dated July 9, 2026, from a single itemized vendor parts list rather than a live feed, and is refreshed only occasionally since those component categories have not moved anywhere near as fast as GPU and RAM prices in 2026.
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