for 317 you can build relatively decent PC without GPU, so add something like 200$ and you can have decent setup for maybnewest games like Cyberpunk on mid settings
I bought GTX 970 and Ryzen 7 1700 for 240$, but it was 2 years ago
In the early 2000s you could reasonably expect people to have access to a desktop computer of some description and this advice would've been somewhat valid. In 2021, nobody really assumes you have access to a desktop computer anymore, but we do assume people have access to a mobile device of some description. In that world, a $300 mobile is a much saner investment than a $300 PC for most people.
More importantly, though, the average console game is 50 bucks, while the average mobile game is free.