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Build a PC / gaming

$2,500 gaming PC, part by part

An AMD Ryzen 7 9850X3D with the Sapphire Pulse Radeon RX 9070 XT 16GB, and the 6 parts around them that fit it: $2,293 all in.

Big titles at 1440p, high settings. Every part here was checked against every other for fit, and picked for 1440p frame rates, with a CPU that will not hold the card back. Typical US prices read on 2026-09-09, not a live checkout total: no operating system, shipping, tax, screen, keyboard or mouse.

The AMD Ryzen 7 9850X3D and the Sapphire Pulse Radeon RX 9070 XT 16GB are well matched at 1440p.

Change the budget or the job
83Fit for the job

Enthusiast

$2,293 of $2,500

Lian Li Lancool 216Sapphire Pulse Radeon RX 9070 XT 16GB1000 W

Build order

Eight steps, the way a builder works through the case. $2,293 all in.

  1. ASUS ROG Strix X870E-E Gaming WiFi on the tray
  2. Ryzen 7 9850X3D in the socket
  3. Arctic Liquid Freezer III Pro 360 on top
  4. 2 sticks of memory
  5. Crucial T705 1TB on the board
  6. Sapphire Pulse Radeon RX 9070 XT 16GB in the x16 slot
  7. 1000 W supply in the basement
  8. Panel on, power on
PartScore for the jobTypical priceBuy
ProcessorAMD Ryzen 7 9850X3D

Highest gaming score the budget allows next to this card: 8 cores, boosts to 5.6 GHz.

4 swaps that still fit
94
$484
Buy on Amazon
MotherboardASUS ROG Strix X870E-E Gaming WiFi

X870E board for the AM5 socket, DDR5, 5 M.2 slots, Wi-Fi.

4 swaps that still fit
96
$391
Buy on Amazon
MemoryCorsair Vengeance 48GB (2x24GB) DDR5-6000 CL30 White

48 GB DDR5 at 6000 MT/s CL30; 32 GB or more is the floor for gaming.

84
$139
Buy on Amazon
Graphics cardSapphire Pulse Radeon RX 9070 XT 16GB

16 GB of video memory, index 70 at 1440p; tuned for 1440p frame rates, with a CPU that will not hold the card back.

4 swaps that still fit
70
$720
Buy on Amazon
CPU coolerArctic Liquid Freezer III Pro 360

Rated 330 W for a chip that turbos to 162 W.

4 swaps that still fit
96
$70
Buy on Amazon
Power supplySuper Flower Leadex VII XG 1000W

1000 W, 80 Plus gold; this build draws about 650 W at full tilt, native 12V-2x6 cable.

4 swaps that still fit
92
$140
Buy on Amazon
CaseLian Li Lancool 216

3 fans in the box, 3 is the least 466 W of parts needs behind a mesh front. Takes EATX/ATX/MATX/ITX boards and cards up to 392 mm.

4 swaps that still fit
90
$99
Buy on Amazon
StorageCrucial T705 1TB

1 TB PCIe 5.0 NVMe, 13,600 MB/s reads, with cache.

4 swaps that still fit
92
$250
Buy on Amazon
Total, typical prices8 parts$2,293

The same list, more or less money

$2,000 gaming PCWhat $500 less buys, and which parts change.$3,000 gaming PCWhat $500 more buys, and where it goes.

$2,500 spent on a different job

The same money buys a different machine when the work changes.