Build a PC / 3D & rendering

$2,500 PC for 3D and rendering, part by part

An Intel Core Ultra 5 245K with the Sapphire Pulse Radeon RX 9070 XT 16GB, and the 6 parts around them that fit it: $2,769 all in.

Blender, CAD and simulation, with long renders. Every part here was checked against every other for fit, and picked for all-core throughput and render speed. 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 Intel Core Ultra 5 245K and the Sapphire Pulse Radeon RX 9070 XT 16GB are well matched at 1440p.

Change the budget or the job

Fit for the job

Sweet spot

$2,769 of $2,500

The ASRock B860 Challenger WiFi White goes onto the NZXT H7 Flow (2024) White's tray: ATX, B860, nine standoffs.

The Intel Core Ultra 5 245K drops into the LGA1851 socket, lever down: 14 cores, up to 5.2 GHz.

The Thermalright Assassin X 120 Refined SE clamps onto the chip: a tower rated 180 W against the 159 W the chip can pull.

Two sticks of Crucial Pro 64GB (2x32GB) DDR5-6000 CL40 White click into the second and fourth slots: 64 GB at 6000 MT/s.

The Kingston NV3 2TB screws into the first M.2 slot under the card.

The Sapphire Pulse Radeon RX 9070 XT 16GB slides into the x16 slot and latches: 320 mm in a case that takes 410 mm, 16 GB of memory.

The be quiet! Pure Power 12 M 750W goes into the basement, 750 W for a build that draws about 650 W flat out.

Side panel on, three case fans spinning. Fit for the job: 65 of 100.

Build order

Eight steps, the way a builder works through the case. $2,499 all in.

ASRock B860 Challenger WiFi White on the tray
Core Ultra 5 245K in the socket
Thermalright Assassin X 120 Refined SE on top
2 sticks of memory
Kingston NV3 2TB on the board
Sapphire Pulse Radeon RX 9070 XT 16GB in the x16 slot
750 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

ProcessorIntel Core Ultra 5 245K

Highest 3D & rendering score the budget allows next to this card: 14 cores, boosts to 5.2 GHz.

2 swaps that still fit