This RTX 4060 gaming PC is STILL cheaper than building your own, and Black Friday price protection is guaranteed

ABS Cyclone Aqua deal
It's rare to find a pre-built gaming PC for less than building your own, but this limited deal at Newegg does the trick. (Image credit: Future/Newegg)

One of the main drawbacks to buying a pre-built gaming PC is the elevated cost compared to building your own system. Of course, a pre-built has some perks — like a more straightforward warranty handled (usually) by one company and a system that works out of the box — but for many people, it's a tough decision between economy and convenience.

The ABS Cyclone Aqua with an Intel Core i7-14700F processor (CPU), NVIDIA RTX 4060 graphics card (GPU), 32GB of DDR5-6000MHz RAM, and a 1TB M.2 PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD is currently discounted by $400, bringing the total down to $1,099.99 at Newegg. I put together a similar system with the cheapest hardware available, and you'll actually spend less on this pre-built than if you build your own PC.

Originally a limited Newegg Shell Shocker deal, the discount price has continued with Black Friday price protection and an extended return window.

Recent updates

November 4, 2024: I was expecting this deal to go dead when Newegg's limited Shell Shocker timer ran out, but it's still going strong with a $400 discount. It's still cheaper than building your own system, and Newegg has applied Black Friday price protection to ensure you aren't left out if the price drops further. Additionally, Newegg is offering refunds and replacements through January 31, 2025. — Cale Hunt

ABS Cyclone AquaWas: 1,499.99Now: $1,099.99 at Newegg

ABS Cyclone Aqua
Was:
1,499.99
Now:
$1,099.99 at Newegg

Customer reviews:⭐⭐⭐⭐½ @ Newegg

Perfect for: Any PC gamers who want to crush 1080p and push to 1440p in their favorite titles. It's cheap enough that building your own system would actually cost more.

❌Avoid if: You prefer having a hands-on approach from start to finish. Also not great if you want to push frame rates at 1440p in extra demanding games; an RTX 4070 would be better.

CPU: Intel Core i7-14700F GPU: ASUS RTX 4060 RAM: TeamGroup Delta RGB 32GB DDR5-6000 SSD: TeamGroup 1TB M.2 PCIe 4.0 NVMe PSU: ABS 650W 80+ Gold Case: ABS Cyclone mATX Mobo: ASUS B760M-A WiFi Launch date: 2024

👉See at: Newegg.com

Return period: 30-day free returns. Price match? Extended holiday return (January 31, 2025) Membership: Not required, but Newegg+ is a free membership with free shipping, exclusive sales and discounts, and dedicated customer service.

💰Price check: $1,188 at Amazon

🤔Alternative deal: $320 off ABS Stratos Aqua (Core i7/RTX 4060)

🎃The best early Black Friday deals🦃

Save money with a pre-built gaming PC? That doesn't happen every day.

I'm always on the lookout for pre-built gaming PCs that offer better value than building your own, and today's Newegg Shell Shocker deals have delivered the ABS Cyclone Aqua.

Newegg's in-house ABS brand is generally well-rated and reliable, using as many standard parts as possible so that you know what you're getting. This also makes it easy to put together a theoretical build in PCPartPicker to compare prices.

The only parts I couldn't get a price for are the custom ABS case and the ASUS B760M-A WiFi motherboard. Assuming that together they cost as little as $200 (you'd likely spend more on the case/mobo combo), you're looking at about a $1,238 cost when the hardware is at the best price possible. That's before adding RGB case fans as well.

Here's a look at the included hardware, which without a case, motherboard, and fans costs about $1,038.

I put together this theoretical build at PCPartPicker to compare prices against the pre-built ABS Cyclone Aqua. (Image credit: Future/PCPartPicker)

Your time is also money, as they say, and the convenience of having a system that works out of the box as soon as it arrives shouldn't be ignored. Sure, you could wait for better deals on individual parts — especially with Black Friday approaching — but that doesn't work for everyone due to time constraints and plain impatience. I know what it's like waiting for one last piece of a PC before I can assemble it, and it's not fun.

The ABS Cyclone Aqua's hardware, including an Intel Core i7-14700F CPU, ASUS Dual GeForce RTX 4060 GPU, and TeamGroup RAM and SSD, is more than enough to crush 1080p gaming with tons of 1440p potential. And thanks to the standardized design without proprietary leanings, you can easily swap out the GPU, memory, and storage if you want to boost performance.

The RTX 4060 GPU gets you all of NVIDIA's latest tech, including DLSS 3.5, and the inclusion of USB-C and native Wi-Fi connectivity sets you up nicely for the future. Shell Shocker deals never usually last long, but the $1,099.99 deal at Newegg seems to be holding on. Now that Black Friday price protection is in place, you can buy now and not worry much about seeing a lower price in the future.

CATEGORIES
Cale Hunt
Contributor

Cale Hunt brings to Windows Central more than eight years of experience writing about laptops, PCs, accessories, games, and beyond. If it runs Windows or in some way complements the hardware, there’s a good chance he knows about it, has written about it, or is already busy testing it.