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EnglishAre the prices in PC Tiers build lists still reliable?
Updated
No — treat them as reference points, not current market prices. PC Tiers itself warns that memory (RAM) and SSD prices have risen to roughly 5–7x their late-2025 levels because AI companies are buying up supply, and the site says it will not be updating builds much while pricing stays this volatile. The build lists were last updated March 2nd, 2026, so any RAM or SSD figure you see should be checked against a live retailer before you budget around it.
What the site says about its own pricing
The notice at the top of the page is unusually direct: "This is a VERY bad time to be building a new PC," with the recommendation to wait until the shortage blows over. That statement applies to the whole build list, not just one tier. It also explains why the builds are frozen — volatile pricing "throws off a lot" of the tier structure the site is built around.
The practical takeaway: the dollar figures attached to each part are the prices the site used when assembling the tier, not a quote you can rely on today.
Which parts are most affected
| Component | Pricing status per the site | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| RAM | Up 5–7x vs. late 2025 | Verify live price; it may dominate your budget |
| SSD | Up 5–7x vs. late 2025 | Same — check before committing |
| GPU | Volatile, with explicit ceilings on some models | Respect the stated maximum (see below) |
| CPU, motherboard, PSU, case, cooler | Not flagged as crisis-affected | Still worth a live check, but less urgent |
The GPU price ceilings are the most usable part
Some entries carry an explicit "do not pay more than" instruction, which is more durable advice than a raw price. For the Tier 1 budget build, the site lists the Intel Arc B580 12GB at $250 and states: "Do not buy Arc B580 above MSRP… Do not pay more than $260 for this GPU." It also notes the card is often out of stock because of its popularity.
That kind of ceiling tells you the value threshold the tier depends on. If a GPU is only a good deal at its listed price, paying well above it breaks the logic of the build — you would be better off moving up a tier or waiting.
How to use the lists without being misled
- Read the tier's target first (for example, Tier 1 is described as 1080p mid-high, around $650 total; Tier 2 as 1440p mid / 1080p high, around $930).
- Check the update date at the top of the page — currently March 2nd, 2026.
- Price the RAM and SSD at a live retailer before anything else, since those are the components the site says are most distorted.
- Apply any stated maximum (like the $260 Arc B580 limit) as a hard cutoff rather than a suggestion.
- If the live total lands far above the tier's stated budget, the site's own advice applies: wait rather than overpay.
When the prices are still useful
The tier structure — which CPU pairs with which GPU, what resolution and settings each tier targets, and where the value ceilings sit — remains informative even while the numbers drift. Use the lists to decide what to buy and what not to overpay for, then source current prices yourself. The site's own framing supports this: it presents "builds that make sense" as logical tier steps, and a tier only makes sense at the price it was designed around.