The Best $3500 Ultimate Gaming PC Build – October 2024

By Ari Altman | Published October 6, 2024 | Updated October 24, 2024

Jump Into Ultra-High-End Gaming Today!

If you’re looking for the ultimate $3,500 Gaming PC Build, truly the best of the best, then this is the build for you! Sure, you could spend more, but in most games you won’t see better performance than what this PC Build can provide. It’s a showcase of the very best tech available in PC gaming today. And while the $3,500 Gaming PC Build isn’t exactly a bargain, it’s custom-tailored to deliver flat-out extreme gaming performance!

This Month’s Build, Powered by AMD and Nvidia!

For October 2024, the Ultimate $3,500 Gaming PC Build offers incredible performance, anchored by Intel’s exceptional Core i9-14900KF 24-core processor, now available at a jaw-dropping discount. And thanks to its very reasonable price, we can drop in the greatest GPU of all time, Nvidia’s shocking GeForce RTX 4090 24GB. It is so much faster than anything else that it might as well come from the future!

Of course, the rest of the system is up to the task of keeping this system fed with data, including an incredible 32GB of ultra-fast DDR5-7200 RAM and the fastest 4TB Gen 4 solid-state drive to store your game collection! Completing the $3,500 Build is a high-airflow case from be quiet!, a powerful 360mm liquid cooler, and a massive 1000W Gold-rated power supply!

Parting Thoughts

Note that we list a number of “Optional Components” at the end of this guide that highlight the accessories we think best match a system of this caliber, including our favorite keyboard, mouse, and monitor picks. To browse even more options, check out our Monitor Buyer’s Guide, Peripherals Buyer’s Guide and Speaker/ Headset Buyer’s Guide, which provide our picks for the best accessories at every pricepoint.

Throughout this guide, we provide direct links to Amazon or Newegg, and our Amazon links will auto-convert for readers in the UK, Canada, and parts of the EU, with automatic substitutions being made where necessary. To help support the continued development of this guide, please use the links we provide if you purchase products we recommend.

The Pre-Built Option

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The Extreme Gaming PC –
Skytech Azure 7800X3D/RTX 4090
$3400

Want mind-blowing performance without having to build your own PC? Then go for the incredible Azure by Skytech. Equipped with both the fastest CPU and GPU on the planet, AMD’s Ryzen 7 7800 X3D 8-Core, 16-thread processor and the mighty Nvidia GeForce RTX 4090 24GB GPU respectively, you simply can’t do better. This system also features 32GB of DDR5 RAM, and a 1TB PCIe Gen 4 solid-state drive, a stylish glass-front case, and a 1000W power supply. In other words, it’s locked, loaded, and ready to rock the latest games!

The Guru’s Tip
This system will offer the same gaming performance as our DIY build, but doesn't have the custom touches we recommend, like an ultra-high-end SSD and 64GB of RAM.

The DIY Build

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CPU –
Intel Core i9-14900K
$440

The 14900K, based on the cutting-edge Raptor Lake architecture, takes everything to the next level. It packs in 8 Hyperthreaded performance cores that can boost up to 6GHz, along with an incredible 16 efficiency cores, for a total of 32 threads. It’s a shockingly-fast gaming processor and an elite-level multi-tasking monster. Simply put, it’s what you want in a killer PC!

The Guru’s Tip
While we cautioned against Intel's Core i9 processors for a while due to overvoltage issues, Intel has finally got it under control via firmware updates, and the across-the-board performance of this processor is simply undeniable!
Click to Buy

Motherboard –
MSI Z790 Tomahawk WiFi DDR5
$218

MSI’s Tomahawk line has always defined the sweet spot for performance boards, and this one is no different. It features a potent 16-phase VRM with 90A power stages, four M.2 slots (all being Gen 4), a PCIe Gen 5 video card slot, ten USB ports (including dual Type-C ports), and integrated WiFi 6E plus 2.5Gbs LAN.

The Guru’s Tip
This board requires DDR5 memory, which is what we spec in this guide.
Click to Buy

Video Card –
Asus GeForce RTX 4090 TUF OC @Newegg
$1980

Hail to the king! The absolutely mind-blowing RTX 4090 24GB goes beyond extreme, beating the RTX 3090 Ti by 60%, an insane gen-on-gen leap in performance. And this model from Asus offers amazing cooling thanks to the massive triple-slot, triple-fan cooler!

The Guru’s Tip
This is about as close to the retail price as you can get - and the price/performance is amazing!
Click to Buy

Memory –
G.Skill 2x16GB Trident Z5 RGB DDR5-7200 CL34
$130

For the ultimate in speed, you must go with DDR5 RAM, but not just any DDR5 RAM, because you need high-frequency DDR5 to blow past DDR4 RAM performance. And that’s what you get with G.Skill’s Trident kit running at DDR5-7200 with timings of 34-45-45-115 at 1.40V. This is the real deal when it comes to DDR5 performance!

The Guru’s Tip
This kit is the perfect match for the $3500 build thanks to its high frequency and huge capacity!
Click to Buy

Solid-State Drive –
Samsung 990 Pro 4TB
$300

For serious storage, you don’t just want high-end, you want ultra-high-end, and that means going for the 990 Pro PCIe 4.0. It offers mind-blowing performance, up to 7,450MB/s read and 6,900MB/s, plus blistering random speeds that no other drive can touch. The 990 Pro will go down in history as the drive that truly maxed out the PCIe Gen 4 bus.

The Guru’s Tip
As much as you may be tempted to splurge on a Gen 5 drive, you get a lot more capacity per dollar with this stellar Gen 4 drive, and here's the honest truth - for gaming, you won't see a difference.
Click to Buy

Case –
be quiet! Dark Base 701
$167

The Dark Base 701 is a thoroughly modern case, packing in the very best in design advancement to produce class-leading performance and silence. The three included Silent Wings 4 fans are among the best case fans on the market. Plus this case has understated yet customizable looks, thanks to the built in ARGB light stripes.

The Guru’s Tip
Another thing you get with every be quiet! case is simply impeccable craftsmanship!
Click to Buy

Power Supply –
Thermaltake Toughpower GF3 1000W
$161

A power supply is about so much more than just a wattage rating, and with Thermaltake’s Toughpower GF3, you get it all. Of course it has an impressive 1000W of capacity, but it also offers Gold efficiency certification, a fully-modular design, and an ultra-silent 140mm FDB fan with zero-RPM mode. But perhaps most important, and what really sets this unit apart, is the Gen5 12VHPWR PCIe connector, meeting the Intel ATX 3.0 specification standard. It means no adapters are required when paired with the latest power-hungry GPUs from Nvidia!

The Guru’s Tip
Given the massive firepower of this system, we've given it an equally-massive PSU. The PC will draw about 750W at load, meaning you'll make good use of this unit's capacity!
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CPU Cooler –
SilverStone IceMyst 360
$145

There has been tremendous innovation in the AIO liquid cooler market over the past few years, and the IceMyst 360 is the perfect example of this. Not only does its advanced pump, radiator, and fan design provide a tremendous leap over previous-generation coolers on a noise-normalized basis (which is what counts!), you also have the option of adding up to three 70mm accessory fans to the pump to cool RAM, VRMs, or SSDs. This is a truly unique feature that sets the IceMyst apart and makes it the clear choice among 360mm AIOs!

The Guru’s Tip
You should mount this radiator to the top of the chassis as an exhaust, which means you'll also want to move the pre-installed top case fan to the front of the case.
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Operating System –
Windows 11 Home (USB) @Newegg
$139

Windows 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.

The Guru’s Tip
This is absolutely the OS you want on your cutting-edge gaming rig!

Optional Products

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The 34" Ultra-wide OLED –
Alienware AW3423DW
$800

Welcome to next-gen gaming, here today! The AW3423DW features an incredible 34″ ultra-wide QD-OLED panel, able to hit 175Hz while also offering the most colorful images ever seen on the desktop. At this point, if you want an ultra-high-end monitor, you’ve got to go OLED!

The Guru’s Tip
This monitor will allow you to truly take advantage of all the power your new PC can deliver!
Click to Buy

The Ultimate Gaming Keyboard –
Corsair K100 RGB Optical-Mechanical Gaming Keyboard
$193

Corsair reestablishes itself as the king of gaming keyboards with the K100, which builds upon the strengths of the K70 and K95, but adds even more tech! In addition to incredible build quality and lots of configuration options, it features optical-mechanical switches for the smoothest, fastest response.

The Guru’s Tip
Corsair has owned the high-end gaming keyboard market for years, and yet it continues to innovate, keeping a step ahead of the competition!
Click to Buy

The Ultralight Gaming Mouse –
Razer DeathAdder V3 Pro Wireless
$99

Sometimes a product is so far ahead of the competition comes along that it resets the entire industry. So it is with the DeathAdder V3. Featuring the same ergonomic grip as the original from years ago that set the gaming world on fire, this is nonetheless leagues ahead of that classic. Weighing in at a scant 63g, while offering up a 30K DPI sensor, optical switches, wireless operation, and an incredible 90 hours of battery life, this is as cutting-edge as it gets. To have all of this in a mouse that weighs half as much as the best wireless mice from a few generations ago shows you just how far the bar has been raised!

The Guru’s Tip
This mouse is all business - if you want tons of RGB, you'll need to look elsewhere, but you won't get the same performance!
Click to Buy

The Deluxe PC Headset –
SteelSeries Arctis Nova 7 Wireless
$151

PRIME DAY DEAL – SAVE $25 TODAY! From humble beginnings as a mousemat manufacturer, SteelSeries has come to absolutely dominate the gaming headset industry. And that’s because it’s not rocket science, it’s audio science! SteelSeries took a careful look at what gamers needed and and then applied all the proven techniques to get them everything they wanted. That includes ultra-high-fidelity audio, 360-degree surround sound for immersive gaming, dual audio streams for simultaneous connection to a PC and a smartphone, multi-platform support, and amazing 38-hour battery life plus quick-charge over USB-C, providing a 6 hour boost in 15 minutes! It also has among the best microphones in business, providing clear audio for everyone you’re talking to!

The Guru’s Tip
No headset can touch this in terms of value in the premium market!