Build a PC / gaming

$6,500 gaming PC, part by part

An AMD Ryzen 7 9850X3D with the GeForce RTX 5090, and the 6 parts around them that fit it: $6,479 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.

The AMD Ryzen 7 9850X3D and the GeForce RTX 5090 are well matched at 1440p.

Change the budget or the job

Fit for the job

Flagship

$6,479 of $6,500

The ASUS ROG Strix B650-A Gaming WiFi goes onto the Montech Air 903 Max's tray: ATX, B650, nine standoffs.

The AMD Ryzen 7 9850X3D drops into the AM5 socket, lever down: 8 cores, up to 5.6 GHz.

The Thermalright Phantom Spirit 120 SE clamps onto the chip: a tower rated 260 W against the 162 W the chip can pull.

Two sticks of TeamGroup T-Force Delta RGB 32GB (2x16GB) DDR5-6000 CL30 click into the second and fourth slots: 32 GB at 6000 MT/s.

The Crucial T705 1TB screws into the first M.2 slot under the card.

The GeForce RTX 5090 slides into the x16 slot and latches: 330 mm in a case that takes 400 mm, 32 GB of memory.

The Super Flower Leadex VII XG 1000W goes into the basement, 1000 W for a build that draws about 1000 W flat out, one native 16-pin cable to the card.

Side panel on, 4 case fans spinning. Fit for the job: 93 of 100.

Build order

Eight steps, the way a builder works through the case. $6,479 all in.

ASUS ROG Strix B650-A Gaming WiFi on the tray
Ryzen 7 9850X3D in the socket
Thermalright Phantom Spirit 120 SE on top
2 sticks of memory
Crucial T705 1TB on the board
RTX 5090 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 7 9850X3D

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

2 swaps that still fit

AMD Ryzen 9 9900X-$147, -16 ptsBuy on Amazon
AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D-$31, -3 ptsBuy on Amazon

94

$475Amazon US, Oct 25

MotherboardASUS ROG Strix B650-A Gaming WiFi

B650 board for the AM5 socket, DDR5, 3 M.2 slots, Wi-Fi.

4 swaps that still fit

Gigabyte B650 Eagle AXsame price, -12 ptsBuy on Amazon
ASRock B850M Pro-A WiFi+$70, -8 ptsBuy on Amazon
ASUS Prime B650M-A AX II+$10, -16 ptsBuy on Amazon
Gigabyte B850M Eagle WiFi6E Ice+$9, -10 ptsBuy on Amazon

74

$140Amazon US, Oct 25

MemoryTeamGroup T-Force Delta RGB 32GB (2x16GB) DDR5-6000 CL30

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

1 swap that still fit

Crucial Pro 32GB (2x16GB) DDR5-5600 CL46+$65, -20 ptsBuy on Amazon

80

$495Amazon US, Oct 25

Graphics cardGeForce RTX 5090

32 GB of video memory, index 100 at 1440p; tuned for 1440p frame rates, with a CPU that will not hold the card back.

Buying it opens Gigabyte AORUS GeForce RTX 5090 Xtreme WATERFORCE 32G, one of the boards built on this chip.

2 swaps that still fit

MSI GeForce RTX 5080 16G Gaming Trio OC-$2,344, -23 ptsBuy on Amazon
ASUS ROG Astral GeForce RTX 5080 16GB White OC-$2,680, -23 ptsBuy on Amazon

100

$4,830typical price

CPU coolerThermalright Phantom Spirit 120 SE

Rated 260 W for a chip that turbos to 162 W.

3 swaps that still fit

Thermalright Assassin X 120 Refined SE-$22, -26 ptsBuy on Amazon
Thermalright Peerless Assassin 120 SE ARGB-$7, -4 ptsBuy on Amazon
Thermalright Peerless Assassin 120 SE ARGB White-$5, -4 ptsBuy on Amazon

88

$40Amazon US, Oct 25

Power supplySuper Flower Leadex VII XG 1000W

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

4 swaps that still fit

Corsair RM1000e White-$5, -6 ptsBuy on Amazon
Corsair RM1000e-$35, -6 ptsBuy on Amazon
Lian Li Edge 1000W+$15, -2 ptsBuy on Amazon
Lian Li Edge 1000W White+$16, -2 ptsBuy on Amazon

92

$140Amazon US, Oct 25

CaseMontech Air 903 Max

4 fans in the box, 3 of them lit, 4 is the least 737 W of parts needs behind a mesh front. Takes EATX/ATX/MATX/ITX boards and cards up to 400 mm.

1 swap that still fit

Phanteks XT Pro Ultra+$6, -4 ptsBuy on Amazon

82

$80Amazon US, Oct 25

StorageCrucial T705 1TB

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

3 swaps that still fit

Samsung 990 EVO Plus 1TB-$43, -16 ptsBuy on Amazon
Samsung 990 Pro 1TB-$20, -6 ptsBuy on Amazon
Kingston NV3 2TB-$2, -32 ptsBuy on Amazon

92

$280Amazon US, Oct 25

Total8 parts, 7 read on Amazon US and 1 typical$6,479

The same list, more or less money

$6,000 gaming PCWhat $500 less buys, and which parts change.$7,000 gaming PCWhat $500 more buys, and where it goes.

$6,500 spent on a different job

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