Costco may offer competitively priced gaming PCs that provide significant savings compared to building equivalent systems with similar or cheaper parts, potentially making it a viable option for budget-conscious PC gamers.
Costco currently offers gaming PCs from brands like CyberPowerPC, iBUYPOWER, MSI, HP OMEN, and Skytech, featuring configurations ranging from AMD Radeon RX 9060 XT and Intel Arc B580 GPUs to NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5060/5070/5080 models, with 32GB DDR5 RAM and 1-2TB SSDs. The video discusses a specific CyberPowerPC system with an AMD Radeon RX 9060 XT GPU. The AMD Radeon RX 9060 XT comes in both 8GB and 16GB VRAM variants, with the 16GB card having a 10W higher base power rating (182W total) and double the VRAM. AMD officially lists the RX 9060 XT (16GB) as a distinct product from the 8GB variant, with testing showing it delivers performance improvements over the RX 7600 XT at 1440p gaming.
As of late 2025, prebuilt gaming PCs have become more cost-competitive than DIY builds due to RAM price increases, with manufacturers like CyberPowerPC warning about price changes as early as December 2025, and RAM fabrication plants fully booked through 2026. System builders purchase components in bulk (1,000+ GPUs at a time) at reduced prices several hundred dollars below retail, often tax-free, giving them significant cost advantages over individual builders. In 2026, 32GB of DDR5 RAM costs upwards of $300, a steep jump from the $100-$130 range in early 2025.
The CyberPowerPC Gamer Xtreme at Costco (Model GXi2000CSTV3) features an Intel Core Ultra 5 225F processor, MSI GeForce RTX 5060 graphics card, 32GB of Team Group T-Force Vulcan DDR5-6400 RAM, a 2TB SSD, and Windows 11 Home, priced at $1,099.99. Costco-exclusive CyberPowerPC systems come with a two-year warranty, compared to three-year labor and two-year parts warranties on systems purchased directly from CyberPowerPC.com. However, reviews warn that while main components may be solid, manufacturers often cut corners on cooling, power supplies, and other components to hit lower prices, which can lead to issues later in the product's life, particularly for gaming PCs that require efficient cooling.
In Cyberpunk 2077 testing, the RX 9060 XT 16GB requires more than 8GB VRAM for 1440p and 4K RT-ultra settings. At 1440p in Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty, the RX 9060 XT trails the RTX 5060 Ti by just 2%, with performance in line with the RX 7700 XT and RTX 4070. The RX 9060 XT ran at 64 FPS average at 1440p in Cyberpunk, landing between the RTX 3070 Ti and RTX 5060 Ti, with the card being playable at these settings. The transcript's claim of "50 fps average" at default settings and smooth performance at 1080p aligns with professional benchmarks showing the card is optimized for 1080p and 1440p gaming.
Costco's pre-built gaming PCs from brands like CyberPowerPC and iBUYPOWER may actually cost less than building equivalent systems yourself, challenging the conventional wisdom that custom builds always save money.