The Best Gaming PC Builds Under $3000

Modern gaming PCs have become increasingly more expensive as the quest for visual fidelity continues to prove to be a moving target for all but the most ardent spenders. Not a lot of DIY PC builders can spend the desired amount to get the best PC hardware every year, and with many prebuilt PCs easily pushing close to $5k for top-of-the-line hardware and aesthetic choices, consumer budgets have soared to higher levels in an attempt to get best-in-class PC performance that modern gaming PCs can deliver.

What Gaming PC Build Should Buyers Get?

Game Rant has divided this build guide into multiple tiers to allow consumers to choose the best builds possible while catering to different budget and performance classes:

How To Build The Best Gaming PC Possible For $3000

Modern gaming PCs are more than just the sum of all their parts. They tend to perform well when built with a balance in terms of hardware to avoid bottlenecks and hardware issues. Gamers must also take into account the aesthetics of such PCs and upgradeability, as modern gaming hardware often comes with significant size requirements, cooling options, and RGB lighting options. All of these features take up space and require power while also requiring adequate support from the PC.

Put simply, if one is to build a gaming PC in 2023, the following are some of the key areas to focus on when selecting hardware components:

Upgradeability/Future-proofing: Unlike modern gaming consoles or mobile devices, gaming PCs are modular and can be kept current with a significantly smaller degree of spending every few years. It does, however, require gamers and enthusiasts to pick and plan accordingly. This means planning and picking hardware with an upgrade path or support for next-generation hardware. This is especially true if building a high-end PC that is time-consuming and expensive to take apart to swap multiple components every time an upgrade is required.

Price: PC hardware generally tends to be priced competitively in the lower to mid-range. As with most products, it has a very high ceiling when it comes to higher-end hardware. One could pay double the cost for what is essentially single-digit performance gains in some cases. This makes picking the right hardware while factoring in price to eke out as much performance without exceeding budgets a crucial part of planning out or executing any PC build plans.

Thermal Considerations: Modern CPUs and GPUs generate tremendous amounts of heat. This requires users to have adequate cooling and heat dissipation mechanisms. This could come in the form of dedicated liquid cooling, airflow design, and cooling fans, as well as picking hardware that is relatively less thermally sensitive or runs cooler out of the box.

Design/Aesthetic: As modern PCs continue to become mainstream, even as current-generation consoles essentially mimic mid-range PCs, aesthetic comparisons are inevitable. Unlike consoles or prebuilt PCs, modern PCs can have considerable improvements or design upgrades that add to the overall look of the rig, allow it to host more or less hardware, customize lighting, and even form factors depending on the needs and requirements of the user.

Power Considerations: At sub-$3000 for a gaming PC, most builds would be GPU or CPU-heavy, with the former generally requiring large amounts of power. This is particularly true for the RTX 4000 series GPUs as well as Intel’s 14th-generation CPUs, both of which require significant amounts of power when pushed to their limits.

While most users overlook the importance of a quality PSU, it can directly affect the stability, longevity, and overall experience one has of any gaming build, especially those that happen to be more demanding when it comes to power consumption. Therefore, having a quality power supply is a key factor in ensuring a smooth gaming experience for gamers, especially when pushing the limits of visual fidelity.

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The Best $3000 Gaming PC Builds For 2024

Some of the best gaming PCs that can be built for around $3000 using easily available parts at multiple stores are below. They are split between a creator-friendly primary build, an upgrade-friendly secondary, and a purely gaming-focused tertiary option, all with their respective strengths for gaming, productivity, and benchmarking-related workloads.

These builds are regularly updated with modern PC hardware options and monitored to ensure suggestions are up-to-date as well as relevant to the users looking to make the best possible PC with a focus on balanced performance, upgradeability, and value. They are known to have parts that are rated to work with each other out of the box without any issues.

Team Red’s Creation Engine

• AMD Ryzen™ 9 7950X3D 16-Core, 32-Thread Desktop Processor

  $627 $699 Save $72

  The AMD Ryzen 9 7950X3D 16-core, 32-thread desktop processor is AMD’s answer to a resurgent Intel 13th generation processor lineup as it attempts to wrest back the gaming crown with the same technology that made the last generation 5800X3D such a powerful CPU.

  With 128MB of L3 cache on offer, the Ryzen 9 7950X3D leverages its 3D V-Cache muscle in gaming as well as its powerful new Zen 4-based cores in productivity to make for a potent enthusiast-grade CPU in the offing.

• G.Skill Flare X5 Series (AMD Expo) 6000MHz 32GB (CL36)

  The G.Skill Flare X5 Series RAM kits are DDR5 RAMs that operate at an overclocked 6000MHz sweet spot for AMD AM5 processors with a lower latency EXPO profile available to allow users to overclock their memory with a push of a button while costing significantly lower than the competition. 

• ASRock X670E Taichi Carrara

  $523 $530 Save $7

  The ASRock X670E Taichi Carrara is one of the best-looking motherboards for AMD’s latest Ryzen 7000 series CPUs. It also comes packed with features including excellent networking, storage options, and dual PCI-E 5.0 x16 slots in tow.

  With excellent 24+2+1 power phases, high memory overclocking support, and RGB lighting on the motherboard itself, it should please gamers, enthusiasts, and power users looking beyond simply the excellent aesthetic it has on offer.

• Samsung 990 PRO SSD 2TB

  $152 $290 Save $138

  The Samsung 990 PRO is a top-tier solid-state drive designed for exceptional performance, featuring significant speed enhancements over its predecessor. It offers a massive boost in random read and write speeds that are 40% and 55% faster than the 980 PRO.

  In addition, it provides high input/output operations per second (IOPS) up to 1400K/1550K, and sequential read and write speeds that reach up to 7,450 and 6,900 MB/s, approaching the maximum performance of PCIe 4.0. This SSD is not only high-performing but also energy-efficient. It provides up to 50% improved performance per watt over the 980 PRO.

• ASUS TUF Gaming GeForce RTX® 4080 OC Edition

  $1300 $1400 Save $100

  The ASUS TUF RTX 4080 OC edition is a solid entry for an RTX 4080 GPU and matches up with the MSRP of Nvidia’s own Founders Edition (FE) in terms of price thanks to a price cut by Asus. It has an excellent boost clock and maintains low operating temperatures thanks to the vapor-chamber centric design.

• MSI MPG A1000G PCIE5 PSU

  $170 $200 Save $30

  The MSI MPG A1000G PCIE5 PSU is built from the ground up to support the ATX 3.0 spec while also being PCI-E 5.0 compatible in a fully modular design without costing an arm and a leg unlike some of its nearest competitors, making it a viable contender for a gaming PC.

• DeepCool Liquid Cooler LS720 360MM ARGB Liquid Cooler

  $125 $147 Save $22

  The DeepCool Liquid Cooler LS720 360MM ARGB Liquid Cooler is one of the best-looking ARGB liquid coolers available on the market, and it delivers excellent cooling that can handle some of the most powerful CPUs on the market without costing the part as some of the more premium ARGB liquid coolers.

• LIAN LI LANCOOL 216 PC Case

  The LANCOOL 216 is a mid-tower case with all-around mesh panels for optimal airflow. Thanks to its modular rear panel, it can be optimized for air or water cooling. It includes 2 x 160mm and 1 x 140mm pre-installed PWM fans and an innovative rear PCIe fan bracket to maximize airflow.

The first build focuses on getting the fastest gaming CPU possible while getting an MSI 1000W PCI-E 5.0 PSU capable of running an RTX 4090 down the line with a focus on plentiful, fast storage (Samsung 990 Pro 2TB) and excellent AMD EXPO-compatible G.Skill Flare memory out of the box. It is built around AMD’s fastest creator-centric Ryzen 9 7950X3D CPU and is being offered at a small discount.

The handpicked ASUS TUF RTX 4080 OC offers a high-end variant of Nvidia’s penultimate GPU that can handle titles like Cyberpunk 2077 and its new Phantom Liberty DLC at 4K with Ray Tracing in tow with relative ease even as it takes a page out of Nvidia’s DLSS3/3.5 playbook to make the magic happen. It also offers a decent high-resolution experience in more recent titles, such as Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora. This makes it a great, well-rounded purchase, especially when considering the current price premium the RTX 4090 commands thanks to renewed AI-centric demand by multiple sectors.

Rounding off the purchase is the well-designed ASRock X670E Taichi Carrara. This is coupled with a cost-effective Lian Li Lancool 216 case that supports a single 360mm radiator-mounted cooler at the top where the DeepCool LS720 liquid cooler should be housed to maximize both its performance and service life.

The result offers buyers a nice mix of white with silver, making for a pleasing aesthetic and decent RGB lighting, and a PC that is RTX 4090-ready if needed. Plus, it offers excellent ray-tracing performance targeting 4K renders with DLSS support in most modern game titles.

Total Estimated Build Cost: $3,071

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Team Blue’s Juggernaut

• Intel Core i7 14700KF 20-Core, 28-Thread CPU

  $393 $435 Save $42

  The Intel Core i7 14700KF is the iGPU-less version of the unlocked Intel Core i7 14700K CPU, offering the four additional efficiency cores and a lower price thanks to it skipping the integrated Intel UHD 770 that the latter offers. It requires a discrete graphics card for display and adequate cooling for what is one of the most power-hungry CPUs.

• ASUS ROG Ryujin III 360 ARGB AIO Liquid Cooler

  $350 $360 Save $10

  The ASUS ROG Ryujin III 360 ARGB AIO Liquid Cooler is ASUS’s latest premium tri-fan AIO that offers better cooling, an upgraded LCD, and a new Asetek 8th generation pump as some of its salient features. Thanks to a thicker radiator and a new cold plate, it can reduce temperatures drastically versus both its predecessor and its competition.

• ASUS ROG Maximus Z790 Dark Hero

  $688 $700 Save $12

  The ASUS ROG Maximus Z790 Dark Hero is the latest in a series of well-established Z790 Motherboards in the ROG lineup. It adds native Wi-Fi 7 support as one of the first motherboards in the industry to do so while throwing in better memory overclocking and power delivery.

  It comes with a bolder aesthetic in addition to cutting down to four available SATA ports from the original Hero with an otherwise identical arsenal as it integrates its additional M2 slots on the board itself, eliminating the need for users to get space for the ROG Hyper M2 card its predecessor uses.

• Asus TUF GAMING GeForce RTX 4070 Ti

  Powered by NVIDIA DLSS3, ultra-efficient Ada Lovelace arch, and full ray tracing, the RTX 4070 Ti is part of the newest generation of NVIDIA GPUs. This version from Asus has Axial-tech fans scaled up for 21% more airflow. With how powerful this card is, exceptional cooling is needed.

• TEAMGROUP T-Force Vulcan DDR5 32GB Kit (2x16GB) 5600MHz

  The TEAMGROUP T-Force Vulcan DDR5 32GB Kit is a memory module package designed for desktop computers. It comes in a sleek black color that blends well with most PC setups. The kit is primarily intended for use in systems with a Z690 motherboard.

  The kit comprises two 16GB memory modules, totaling a substantial 32 GB of RAM. The modules have been designed to work together seamlessly while operating at a high speed of 5600MHz.

• Samsung 990 PRO SSD 2TB

  $152 $290 Save $138

  The Samsung 990 PRO is a top-tier solid-state drive designed for exceptional performance, featuring significant speed enhancements over its predecessor. It offers a massive boost in random read and write speeds that are 40% and 55% faster than the 980 PRO.

  In addition, it provides high input/output operations per second (IOPS) up to 1400K/1550K, and sequential read and write speeds that reach up to 7,450 and 6,900 MB/s, approaching the maximum performance of PCIe 4.0. This SSD is not only high-performing but also energy-efficient. It provides up to 50% improved performance per watt over the 980 PRO.

• MSI MPG A1000G PCIE5 PSU

  $170 $200 Save $30

  The MSI MPG A1000G PCIE5 PSU is built from the ground up to support the ATX 3.0 spec while also being PCI-E 5.0 compatible in a fully modular design without costing an arm and a leg unlike some of its nearest competitors, making it a viable contender for a gaming PC.

• NZXT H9 Elite

  The NZXT H9 Elite is a stunning-looking mid-tower case with a dual-chamber design. It has a wraparound tempered glass design that gives it a premium look. There is plenty of space for cable management and the chassis can accommodate up to an ATX motherboard. The case can also take up to 10 fans and different-sized radiators on the side, top, and bottom. The NZXT H9 Elite comes with three F Series 120mm RGB Duo fans and one F120Q fan pre-installed.

The next build features the 14th-generation Intel Core i7 14700KF along with ASUS’s newest ROG-themed motherboard. The ASUS ROG Maximus Z790 Dark Hero is a pricier upgrade to the original Hero, raising prices by $100 versus its predecessor. In return, it throws in better memory overclocking, an overhauled power delivery mechanism, and Wi-Fi 7 built-in for the premium it charges while being 14th-generation Intel CPU-ready out of the box.

The build also showcases one of the best AIO coolers in the business, the new ASUS ROG Ryujin III 360 ARGB AIO Liquid Cooler which leverages its high-end Asetek 8th generation pump and numerous modifications to cool even some of the heaviest Intel Core i9 chips (for potential future upgrades) easily from the get-go. This makes for an easy, hassle-free upgrade for users aiming to switch over to the 14th-generation core i9 CPUs.

While you can go for a more powerful and higher-clocked Intel Core i9 14900K, it would slightly exceed the budget constraints one has while adding little in terms of gaming performance into the mix. The same rings true for moving to an RTX 4080/4090 from the RTX 4070TI we have currently suggested. Still, if users must upgrade one thing, the extra money is better spent on picking up a higher-end GPU than a CPU in a PC built for high-end gaming, with the former more likely to be a bottleneck in most modern games at 4K.

With a stylish, well-priced NZXT H9 Elite case in addition to the trusty 1000W MSI MPG PSU, the system rounds off aesthetics, upgradeability, and form factor in a well-built enclosure. It allows for easy upgrades down the line to a higher-end GPU, CPU, and fans.

Total Estimated Build Cost: $2,907

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Intel Core i9 14900K Vs AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D: Is The Refresh Enough?

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The Gamer’s Dream

• AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D

  $370 $449 Save $79

  The AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D is AMD’s latest and greatest CPU when it comes to gaming. With an excellent and highly efficient gaming performance that tops the charts currently, the Ryzen 7 7800X3D is here to stay and has a crown to claim thanks to its 3D V-Cache-enabled prowess when it comes to gaming on a PC.

  The octa-core CPU currently happens to be the fastest in the business for gaming even as it leads efficiency charts at the top, making it a very sought-after gaming upgrade.

• Cooler Master MASTERLIQUID Liquid CPU Cooler

  COOLER MASTER MasterLiquid ML240L RGB V2 is a refreshed design from the popular MasterLiquid Lite Series that elevates the exterior design elements. The radiator surface area is larger to increase the surface area for heat dissipation for optimized cooling performance. In addition, the ML240L RGB V2 includes the latest SickleFlow 120 RGB fan with a brand-new design and Air Balance fan blades that are quieter than before without compromising on airflow and pressure.

• MSI PRO X670-P WiFi Pro Series Motherboard

  The MSI Pro X670P is a capable middle-of-the-road X670 chipset-based workhorse coupled with support for high DDR5 OC clocks, EXPO support, Wi-Fi, and Ethernet 2.5G.

• G.Skill Flare X5 Series (AMD Expo) 6000MHz 32GB (CL36)

  The G.Skill Flare X5 Series RAM kits are DDR5 RAMs that operate at an overclocked 6000MHz sweet spot for AMD AM5 processors with a lower latency EXPO profile available to allow users to overclock their memory with a push of a button while costing significantly lower than the competition. 

• Kingston NV2 1TB M.2 2280 NVMe Internal SSD

  This internal solid-state drive from Kingston has 1 TB of digital storage capacity. The NV2 series SSD is designed to be compatible with laptops. It operates on PCIe 4.0 Gen 4×4 technology, features an M.2 2280 form factor, and delivers read speeds of up to 3,500 MB/s. It has lower power requirements, generating minimal heat, which makes it perfect for compact devices.

• ZOTAC Gaming GeForce RTX 4090 AMP Extreme AIRO 24GB

  The ZOTAC Gaming GeForce RTX 4090 AMP Extreme AIRO 24GB is one of the fastest and coolest RTX 4090 SKUs currently available to end users.

  With its patented IceStorm 3.0 cooling and Spectra 2.0 RGB lighting on offer, it delivers some of the best gaming performance one can buy in 2024.
   

• GIGABYTE GP-UD1000GM PG5 Rev2.0 1000W PSU

  $121 $160 Save $39

  The GIGABYTE GP-UD1000GM PG5 Rev2.0 1000W is the second revision of the successful PG5 PSU with the addition of a native 16-pin PCI-E 5.0 power connector and compliance with Intel’s new ATX 3.0 PSU standards in a fully modular design backed by as much as 10 years of warranty at an affordable price.

• Corsair 4000D Airflow

  $80 $105 Save $25

  The CORSAIR 4000D AIRFLOW is a mid-tower ATX case with easy cable management and exceptional cooling. A steel front panel with triangular cutouts offers optimal airflow to components, accompanied by two included 120 mm AirGuide fans designed with anti-vortex vanes that enhance cooling. The CORSAIR RapidRoute cable management system makes it effortless to route major cables through a single channel, with 25mm of routing depth.

The third build leverages the power of both the fastest gaming CPU available from AMD and the best GPU currently available, the RTX 4090, in a gaming-centric build that should give any prebuilt PCs in the same price bracket a run for its money with ease. It does involve compromising on spending on the case and the motherboard to balance out the RTX 4090 purchase, however.

With a budget-oriented Kingston NV2 PCI-E 4.0 1TB SSD and EXPO-certified G.Skill memory out of the box in addition to an adequate liquid cooler to ensure that the Ryzen 7 7800X3D does not bottleneck in any meaningful way. The Corsair 4000D Airflow doubles down on this with pre-installed fans, an excellent wire-routing system, and flexes an ATX 3.0 certified GIGABYTE GP-UD1000GM PG5 Rev2.0 1000W PSU with a native 12VHPWR connector out of the box.

I/O is handled by a well-designed and well-priced mid-range MSI Pro X670-P Wi-Fi motherboard. It offers up-to-date current-generation connectivity, regular BIOS updates, and a decent UI for gamers to manage their overclocking needs if PBO is in play for the Ryzen 7 7800X3D.

While the PC above is not suited for a lot of productivity-related tasks, given its 8-core limitation compared to the others on the list, its inclusion of a high-end ASUS TUF RTX 4090 OC more than makes up for it in some rendering benchmarks and gaming performance alike. It also sees the steepest increase, even as it cuts back on multiple components, thanks to the RTX 4090 increasing by an average of $700-800 due to strong AI-related demand from institutional consumers.

Total Estimated Build Cost: $3,366

FAQ

Q: Should I aim for an RTX 4080 or 4090 for a high-end gaming PC?

An RTX 4080 or 4090 will tend to skew performance positively in most modern games on high-end PCs. This is due to both ADA Lovelace’s highest-end GPUs being much more powerful and more efficient than their predecessors.

As a result, in all situations where they are not bottlenecked by other PC components, they should easily outperform their competition.

Q: What is the best CPU for content creators?

Both Intel’s 13900K and AMD’s Ryzen 7950X3D flagship processors are excellent CPUs that can contend for a content creator-centric PC’s CPU slot with Intel pouring in more raw power and clocks while AMD tends to push for efficiency and better gaming performance to offer better value to its customers.