The Best $3,000 Extreme Mini-ITX Gaming PC Build – November 2025
Go Big, but Build Small!
If you’re looking for a no-holds-barred extreme Mini-ITX Gaming PC Build in a sleek, compact chassis, this is the one for you! Our $3,000 Extreme Mini-ITX Gaming PC Build might be dwarfed by standard towers, but it can easily keep up with them thanks to its truly extreme components. And amazingly, there’s virtually no price premium for getting a system of this caliber down to a portable size, making this PC a pretty good value too.
This Month’s Build, Powered by AMD and Nvidia!
For November 2025, the $3,000 Extreme Mini-ITX Gaming PC Build features the awesomely-powerful AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D 8-core CPU, endowed with 3D V-Cache to provide tremendous gaming performance in an ultra-efficient power envelope. It’s the fastest gaming CPU on the market! To keep it cool while running quiet, we recommend a big 280mm liquid cooler. And to ensure great 4K performance, this build has the ideal GPU for a compact but extreme gaming PC, Nvidia’s GeForce RTX 5080 16GB. It offers simply amazing performance while fitting within a reasonable thermal envelope.
But there’s more here than a great CPU and GPU. The build has a 32GB of premium DDR5-6000 CL30 RAM, along with a blindingly-fast 2TB PCIe Gen 5 solid-state drive and an awesome Platinum-rated 850W SFX power supply. It all comes together in the new Cooler Master NR200 v3 chassis, with an integrated Gen 5 riser cable, space for huge GPUs, plus room on top for that aforementioned 280mm liquid cooler!
Parting Thoughts
You’ll find our recommendations for the best accessories for this build later in this guide. For all products, we provide links to Amazon or Newegg in the US, and our Amazon links will auto-convert for our readers in Canada, the UK, and parts of the EU, with regional substitutions made automatically where necessary. To support continued development of this guide, please use the affiliate links we provide.
The DIY Build
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CPU –AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D
$469The Guru’s TipAMD’s 7800 X3D was impressive enough, easily beating every other CPU ever released in gaming. And despite it still holding the crown after the release of many other CPUs, AMD went and did it again, giving gamers the 9800X3D with enhanced 3D cache technology, redesigned to allow higher clockspeeds and manual overclocking. This CPU is the ultimate gaming processor, regardless of price.Another great feature of this CPU is its low power use, a far cry from Intel's top-end CPUs, which draw at least 100W more power at load - something you definitely don't want in a small ITX chassis.
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Motherboard –MSI B850I Edge Ti WiFi
$290The Guru’s TipThis board has all the features you need for a high-end build on the AM5 platform, despite its reasonable pricepoint. It features 8+2+1 power stages, dual M.2 PCIe slots (one Gen 5, one Gen 4), 5Gbps LAN, built-in WiFi 7 wireless networking with Bluetooth, the premium ALC4080 audio codec, and six USB ports, including a 20Gbps Type-C port.This is the perfect high-end ITX board - in fact, while some X870-based ITX boards are available, they end up basically the same, because the X870 chipset's support for extra ports and slots is unusable on an ITX board!
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Video Card –Gigabyte GeForce RTX 5080 Gaming 16GB
$1300The Guru’s TipThe RTX 5080 offers nearly the same performance as the older RTX 4090, while coming in at a lower price, and with much lower power draw. And it’s also far ahead of anything AMD offers. It offers all the latest enhancements from Nvidia, including class-leading 4th-Gen Ray Tracing cores and DLSS 4. This model adds to all of that with a massive triple-fan cooler for low noise and low temps, plus sweet RGB lighting.This model will easily fit, as it's 340mm long. It will also look great shining through the case!
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Memory –Patriot 2x16GB Viper DDR5-6000 CL30 EXPO @Newegg
$190The Guru’s TipTo get the most out of AMD’s latest CPUs, you want fast RAM, and DDR5-6000 is the sweetspot not only in terms of price, but in terms of the capabilities of the AM5 platform. It allows for the optimum settings and highest overall performance. This kit is specially designed for AM5, thanks to the tight 30-40-40-76 EXPO timings.Note that RAM prices are currently skyrocketing, and we'll be updating our guides as best we can to get you a decent deal on the RAM that's remaining on store shelves.
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Solid-State Drive –WD_BLACK SN8100 2TB PCIe Gen 5
$220The Guru’s TipFor primary storage in a truly elite system, you don’t just want high-end, you want the best on the market, and with the biggest names duking it out for that bragging right, it’s tough to keep up. But there’s no doubt that the SN8100 is at the top, offering performance that maxes out the Gen 5 interface. It belts out a shocking 14,900MB/s in sequential read and 14,000MB/s in sequential write, making it twice as fast as any Gen 4 drive. You’ll truly be on the cutting-edge with 2TB of ultra-extreme storage on board!While you don't really need a drive this fast for gaming, we figure that with a premium ITX build, you'd only want the best!
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Case –Cooler Master NR200P V3
$128The Guru’s TipBuilding on the immensely-popular NR200P, the NR200P V3 offers next-level performance. It was designed out of the box for the hottest, most power-hungry CPUs and GPUs. It can fit a big 280mm liquid cooler, mounted at the top for optimal exhaust (most cases, including the original NR200P, are side-vented). Also included is a PCIe Gen 5 riser card, allowing big triple-slot video cards to be mounted vertically, which was not possible in the original NR200. Coming in at around 20 liters including feet, it’s the best-optimized SFF case on the market for extreme CPUs and GPUs!This new case offers the best compatibility with the high-end GPU we recommend, thanks to having 362mm of clearance and space for 3.5 slot coolers.
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Power Supply –Corsair SF850
$190The Guru’s TipThis high-end 850W Platinum-rated model offers a fully-modular cable design, a Gen5 PCIe connector (450W rating) for modern GPUs, and an ultra-silent 92mm fluid dynamic bearing (FDB) fan with intelligent fan control. It’s the perfect PSU for a premium ITX build!This unit will have no trouble supporting this system, which will draw about 500W at full load.
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CPU Cooler –be quiet! Pure Loop 3 280mm
$110The Guru’s TipFor a hot-running processor, you need serious cooling, and this 280mm liquid cooler from be quiet! has what it takes. It offers up tremendous performance at reasonable noise levels, along with very classy looks.This cooler will fit perfectly in the top of the system, and note that we don't recommend a cooler with an RGB-lit pump cover because it won't be seen behind the GPU.
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Operating System –Windows 11 Home (USB) @Newegg
$137The Guru’s TipWindows 11 built on everything people loved about Windows 10, and then took it to 11! It adds significant under-the-hood changes to make it faster and more secure, and of course, the interface is sleek too! Note that we’re linking to Newegg, because Amazon long ago stopped selling this physical USB version of Windows, which is the most convenient one to use.Win11 is definitely the OS you want on a PC running the latest CPU architectures!
Optional Products
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The Mechanical Gaming Keyboard –Corsair K70 RGB Pro MX Red
$165 The Guru’s TipThis keyboard is the classic!
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The Ultralight Gaming Mouse –Razer DeathAdder V4 Pro Wireless
$170 The Guru’s TipWhile there are plenty of ultra-light mice out there, Razer delivers the goods when it comes to performance like no other manufacturer can!
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The 34" Ultra-wide OLED –Alienware AW3425DW
$800 The Guru’s TipIf you want a monitor to show off the power of your new extreme PC, this is the one!
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The Deluxe PC Headset –SteelSeries Arctis Nova 7 Wireless
$200 The Guru’s TipArctis simply owns the market for high-end, performance-oriented gaming headsets.
Total Cost: $3034
The DIY Build
- CPU – AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D ($469)
- Motherboard – MSI B850I Edge Ti WiFi ($290)
- Video Card – Gigabyte GeForce RTX 5080 Gaming 16GB ($1300)
- Memory – Patriot 2x16GB Viper DDR5-6000 CL30 EXPO @Newegg ($190)
- Solid-State Drive – WD_BLACK SN8100 2TB PCIe Gen 5 ($220)
- Case – Cooler Master NR200P V3 ($128)
- Power Supply – Corsair SF850 ($190)
- CPU Cooler – be quiet! Pure Loop 3 280mm ($110)
- Operating System – Windows 11 Home (USB) @Newegg ($137)
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