Build a PC / gaming

$5,500 gaming PC, part by part

An AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D with the GeForce RTX 5080, and the 6 parts around them that fit it: $5,215 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. A price marked Amazon US is ScoutPrices' reading of the listing its button opens, dated; the rest are typical prices. Not a checkout total: no operating system, shipping, tax, screen, keyboard or mouse.

Everything past this costs far more than the speed it adds, so the build stops at $4,692 rather than spend the rest of the budget on a bigger number. $808 is left for a screen, a keyboard and a mouse.

The AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D and the GeForce RTX 5080 are well matched at 1440p.

Change the budget or the job

Fit for the job

Enthusiast

$5,215 of $5,500

The ASUS ROG Strix X870E-E Gaming WiFi goes onto the Lian Li O11 Dynamic Evo RGB's tray: ATX, X870E, nine standoffs.

The AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D drops into the AM5 socket, lever down: 16 cores, up to 5.7 GHz.

The Arctic Liquid Freezer III Pro 360's block sits on the chip and its 360 mm radiator bolts to the roof; rated 330 W against 230 W.

Two sticks of G.Skill Trident Z5 RGB 32GB (2x16GB) DDR5-6400 CL32 click into the second and fourth slots: 32 GB at 6400 MT/s.

The Samsung 9100 Pro 2TB screws into the first M.2 slot, the WD Black SN8100 4TB into the second.

The GeForce RTX 5080 slides into the x16 slot and latches: 310 mm in a case that takes 422 mm, 16 GB of memory.

The Corsair RM1000x (2024) goes into the basement, 1000 W for a build that draws about 800 W flat out, one native 16-pin cable to the card.

Side panel on, 7 case fans spinning. Fit for the job: 87 of 100.

Build order

Eight steps, the way a builder works through the case. $4,692 all in.

ASUS ROG Strix X870E-E Gaming WiFi on the tray
Ryzen 9 9950X3D in the socket
Arctic Liquid Freezer III Pro 360 on top
2 sticks of memory
Two drives on the board
RTX 5080 in the x16 slot
1000 W supply in the basement
Panel on, power on

Illustration built from this build's parts: the case's card and cooler clearances, the board's size, the card's length, the cooler, the memory sticks, the supply. Shapes are generic, not the products' own.

PartScore for the jobPrice

ProcessorAMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D

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

3 swaps that still fit

AMD Ryzen 9 9900X3D-$115, -9 ptsBuy on Amazon
AMD Ryzen 9 7950X3D+$66, -11 ptsBuy on Amazon
AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D2+$265, same scoreBuy on Amazon

96

$624Amazon US, Oct 25

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

ASUS ROG Strix B850-I Gaming WiFi-$75, -18 ptsBuy on Amazon
MSI MPG X870E Carbon WiFi-$10, -4 ptsBuy on Amazon
Gigabyte X870E Aorus Master+$89, -1 ptsBuy on Amazon
ASUS ROG Crosshair X870E Hero+$140, +2 ptsBuy on Amazon

96

$400Amazon US, Oct 25

MemoryG.Skill Trident Z5 RGB 32GB (2x16GB) DDR5-6400 CL32

32 GB DDR5 at 6400 MT/s CL32; 32 GB or more is the floor for gaming.

4 swaps that still fit

TeamGroup T-Force Delta RGB 32GB (2x16GB) DDR5-6000 CL30-$95, -5 ptsBuy on Amazon
G.Skill Trident Z5 RGB 32GB (2x16GB) DDR5-6400 CL32 White+$50, same scoreBuy on Amazon
G.Skill Flare X5 32GB (2x16GB) DDR5-6000 CL30-$10, -5 ptsBuy on Amazon
G.Skill Trident Z5 Neo RGB 32GB (2x16GB) DDR5-6000 CL30+$10, -3 ptsBuy on Amazon

85

$590Amazon US, Oct 25

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.

Buying it opens GIGABYTE GeForce RTX 5080 Gaming OC 16G, one of the boards built on this chip.

4 swaps that still fit

MSI GeForce RTX 5070 Ti 16G Gaming Trio OC-$300, -7 ptsBuy on Amazon
ASUS Prime GeForce RTX 5070 Ti 16GB OC-$251, -7 ptsBuy on Amazon
MSI GeForce RTX 5080 16G Gaming Trio OC+$686, same scoreBuy on Amazon
ASUS ROG Astral GeForce RTX 5080 16GB White OC+$350, same scoreBuy on Amazon

77

$1,800Amazon US, Oct 25

CPU coolerArctic Liquid Freezer III Pro 360

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

4 swaps that still fit

Thermalright Frozen Notte 360 White-$16, -18 ptsBuy on Amazon
Thermalright Frozen Notte 360-$23, -18 ptsBuy on Amazon
Corsair Nautilus 360 RS+$39, -12 ptsBuy on Amazon
NZXT Kraken 240 (2024) White+$20, -14 ptsBuy on Amazon

96

$70Amazon US, Oct 25

Power supplyCorsair RM1000x (2024)

1000 W, 80 Plus gold; this build draws about 800 W at full tilt, native 12V-2x6 cable.

4 swaps that still fit

Corsair RM850x (2024)-$30, -3 ptsBuy on Amazon
Thermaltake Toughpower GF3 1200W+$27, -1 ptsBuy on Amazon
Seasonic Focus V3 GX-850+$93, -5 ptsBuy on Amazon
MSI MPG A1000G PCIE5+$30, -5 ptsBuy on Amazon

93

$170Amazon US, Oct 25

CaseLian Li O11 Dynamic Evo RGB

7 fans in the box, 7 of them lit, 5 is the least 590 W of parts needs behind a closed front. Takes EATX/ATX/MATX/ITX boards and cards up to 422 mm.

4 swaps that still fit

Lian Li Lancool 207-$169, -5 ptsBuy on Amazon
Montech King 95 Pro White-$125, -5 ptsBuy on Amazon
Lian Li O11 Dynamic Evo RGB White-$122, same scoreBuy on Amazon
Fractal Design Torrent-$65, -1 ptsBuy on Amazon

93

$295Amazon US, Oct 25

StorageSamsung 9100 Pro 2TB

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

4 swaps that still fit

Crucial T705 2TB-$18, -1 ptsBuy on Amazon
WD Black SN8100 2TB+$74, same scoreBuy on Amazon
Samsung 870 EVO 2TB+$94, -57 ptsBuy on Amazon
Crucial T705 4TB+$228, +1 ptsBuy on Amazon

97

$406Amazon US, Oct 25

Second driveWD Black SN8100 4TB

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

99

$860Amazon US, Oct 25

Total9 parts, every price read on Amazon US$5,215

The same list, more or less money

$5,000 gaming PCWhat $500 less buys, and which parts change.$6,000 gaming PCWhat $500 more buys, and where it goes.

$5,500 spent on a different job

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