Build a PC / gaming & streaming
$2,500 streaming PC, part by part
An AMD Ryzen 9 9950X3D with the Sapphire Pulse Radeon RX 9070 XT 16GB, and the 6 parts around them that fit it: $2,642 all in.
1440p gameplay with a live encode running beside it. Every part here was checked against every other for fit, and picked for frame rates with headroom for the encoder and the chat. 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 9 9950X3D and the Sapphire Pulse Radeon RX 9070 XT 16GB are well matched at 1440p.
Enthusiast
$2,642 of $2,500
Highest gaming & streaming score the budget allows next to this card: 16 cores, boosts to 5.7 GHz.
2 swaps that still fit
- AMD Ryzen 9 9900X3D-$115, -11 ptsBuy on Amazon
- AMD Ryzen 9 7950X3D+$66, -10 ptsBuy on Amazon
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
32 GB DDR5 at 6000 MT/s CL30; 32 GB or more is the floor for gaming & streaming.
1 swap that still fit
16 GB of video memory, index 70 at 1440p; tuned for frame rates with headroom for the encoder and the chat.
2 swaps that still fit
- Radeon RX 9060 XT 16GB-$371, -26 ptsBuy on Amazon
- Radeon RX 9070-$200, -7 ptsBuy on Amazon
Rated 260 W for a chip that turbos to 230 W.
2 swaps that still fit
750 W, 80 Plus gold; this build draws about 750 W at full tilt, native 12V-2x6 cable.
4 swaps that still fit
- Corsair CX750same price, -24 ptsBuy on Amazon
- MSI MAG A850GL PCIE5same price, same scoreBuy on Amazon
- Corsair RM750e+$10, -2 ptsBuy on Amazon
- Corsair RM750e White+$10, -2 ptsBuy on Amazon
3 fans in the box, 3 is the least 534 W of parts needs behind a mesh front. Takes EATX/ATX/MATX/ITX boards and cards up to 410 mm.
4 swaps that still fit
- Montech XR White-$13, -14 ptsBuy on Amazon
- Montech XR-$13, -14 ptsBuy on Amazon
- Fractal Design Pop Air+$7, -10 ptsBuy on Amazon
- Phanteks XT Pro Ultra+$3, -8 ptsBuy on Amazon
1 TB PCIe 5.0 NVMe, 13,600 MB/s reads, with cache.
4 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
- Crucial T500 1TB+$19, -10 ptsBuy on Amazon
The same list, more or less money
$2,500 spent on a different job
The same money buys a different machine when the work changes.