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Build a PC / gaming

$4,000 gaming PC, part by part

An AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D with the GeForce RTX 5080, and the 6 parts around them that fit it: $3,984 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 9 9950X3D and the GeForce RTX 5080 are well matched at 1440p.

Change the budget or the job
87Fit for the job

Enthusiast

$3,984 of $4,000

Fractal Design TorrentRTX 50801000 W

Build order

Eight steps, the way a builder works through the case. $3,984 all in.

  1. ASUS ROG Strix X870E-E Gaming WiFi on the tray
  2. Ryzen 9 9950X3D in the socket
  3. Arctic Liquid Freezer III Pro 360 on top
  4. 2 sticks of memory
  5. Two drives on the board
  6. RTX 5080 in the x16 slot
  7. 1000 W supply in the basement
  8. Panel on, power on
PartScore for the jobTypical priceBuy
ProcessorAMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D

Highest gaming score the budget allows next to this card: 16 cores, boosts to 5.7 GHz.

2 swaps that still fit
96
$669
Buy on Amazon
MotherboardASUS ROG Strix X870E-E Gaming WiFi

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

2 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 cardGeForce RTX 5080

16 GB of video memory, index 77 at 1440p; tuned for 1440p frame rates, with a CPU that will not hold the card back.

2 swaps that still fit
77
$1,600
Buy on Amazon
CPU coolerArctic Liquid Freezer III Pro 360

Rated 330 W for a chip that turbos to 230 W.

2 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 800 W at full tilt, native 12V-2x6 cable.

4 swaps that still fit
92
$140
Buy on Amazon
CaseFractal Design Torrent

5 fans in the box, 4 is the least 590 W of parts needs behind a mesh front. Takes EATX/ATX/MATX/ITX boards and cards up to 461 mm.

2 swaps that still fit
92
$205
Buy on Amazon
StorageSamsung 9100 Pro 2TB

2 TB PCIe 5.0 NVMe, 14,700 MB/s reads, with cache.

3 swaps that still fit
97
$400
Buy on Amazon
Second driveSamsung 990 EVO Plus 2TB

2 TB for games, footage or models; the budget had room once every other slot was at its best.

78
$370
Buy on Amazon
Total, typical prices9 parts$3,984

The same list, more or less money

$3,500 gaming PCWhat $500 less buys, and which parts change.$4,500 gaming PCWhat $500 more buys, and where it goes.

$4,000 spent on a different job

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