The Tech Buyer's Guru

The Best $1500 High-End Mini-ITX Gaming PC Build – May 2025

The Best $1500 High-End Mini-ITX Gaming PC Build – May 2025

By Ari Altman | Published April 30, 2025 | Updated April 30, 2025

SG16Serious Gaming Power in a Tiny Box!

Are you a gamer who wants extreme gaming capability in a tiny package? Then the $1,500 High-End Mini-ITX Gaming PC Build is for you! This system takes up barely 1/3 the space of a typical gaming tower while packing in the same performance, making it perfect for gaming on the go or in your living room. In other words, despite its compact size, the $1,500 Mini-ITX Gaming PC Build is a totally legit high-end gaming PC, the equal of massive PCs that cost the same or more!

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

For May 2025, this build features the Ryzen 5 9600X six-core, 12-thread CPU, which is the perfect choice for a compact gaming-focused system, given its great performance and newly-discounted price. It’s supporting the new Nvidia GeForce RTX 5060 Ti 16GB, which is the fastest GPU you can currently buy that fits in the case we recommend.

Also on the build list is 32GB of speedy DDR5-6000 RAM, along with a quick 1TB PCIe Gen 4 solid-state drive. The build comes together in the compact SilverStone SG16 chassis and uses a 120mm liquid cooler to maximize the system’s cooling performance. Finally, feeding this system is a quiet, efficient 650W power supply. Learn more about building in the SG16 case in our full review.

Parting Thoughts

We list our favorite accessories for the $1,500 Mini-ITX Gaming PC Build at the end of this guide, including a great keyboard and mouse, so don’t forget to scroll down to check those out! Note that in our buyer’s guide below, we have dedicated links to Amazon for our US readers, which will auto-convert for readers in Canada, the UK, and many countries in the EU. Your use of these product links is the only thing that will keep this site going!

The DIY Build

  • AMD Ryzen 7600X
    Click to Buy
    CPU –

    AMD Ryzen 5 9600X

    $185
    AMD has continued to dominate Intel with its Zen 5 chips, smashing through the performance barrier in all respects. The 6-core, 12-thread Ryzen 5 9600X offers incredible performance for the price, while offering the latest connectivity standards thanks to the AM5 platform.

    The Guru’s Tip

    This CPU does not include a cooler, so make sure to pick up the model we list later in this guide.
  • Gigabyte A620i
    Click to Buy
    Motherboard –

    Gigabyte A620I AX

    $150
    This affordable AM5 board allows you to jump into AMD’s latest CPU ecosystem at a great price. It offers built in 802.11ax (WiFi 6E), a Gen 4 M.2 slot, a Gen 4 video card slot, plus six USB ports (including a Type-C). The key difference between the A620 chipset on which this board is based and the B650 chipset on boards costing twice as much is the number of slots and ports, but for an ITX board, that has little impact. There’s only so much space for these things in a compact form factor anyway, so for mini-ITX, A620 is a perfect match!

    The Guru’s Tip

    The A620 chipset doesn't support manual overclocking, so we go with the pre-overclocked 9600X CPU above!
  • 5060 Ti
    Click to Buy
    Video Card –

    MSI Gaming GeForce RTX 5060 Ti 16GB @Newegg

    $550
    The RTX 5060 Ti 16GB offers excellent performance, high efficiency, and plenty of VRAM to make use of its power. And this MSI model offers great cooling in a compact package, thanks to its two large fans and flow-through fin stack.

    The Guru’s Tip

    At just 9.7" long, this card is a perfect fit for the ITX case we recommend for this build - most RTX 5060 Ti models will be too long.
  • TeamGroup VulcanZ
    Click to Buy
    Memory –

    TEAMGROUP 2x16GB Vulcan DDR5-6000 CL30 EXPO

    $90
    To 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 from TeamGroup is specially designed for AM5, thanks to the tight 30-36-36-76 EXPO timings.

    The Guru’s Tip

    This DDR5 kit is a perfect match for the motherboard we recommend.
  • MP44L
    Click to Buy
    Solid-State Drive –

    TeamGroup MP44L 1TB PCIe 4.0

    $60
    The MP44L PCIe 4.0, which blows past previous PCIe Gen3-based drives by harnessing the power of the PCIe Gen4 interface, is an absolute bargain of a high-end drive. It can hit up to 5,000MB/s in sequential operations!

    The Guru’s Tip

    Remember to install this drive before you install the motherboard in the case!
  • SilverStone SG16
    Click to Buy
    Case –

    SilverStone SG16

    $108
    Coming in at just 13 liters despite impressive component compatibility and exceptional airflow, the SG16 stands alone. There are smaller “kick-started” cases out there, but they often come with a whole lot of “gotchas”, one of which is always an exorbitant price! The SG16, on the other hand, is a value-packed option designed by the biggest name in the ITX industry, SilverStone. It has 120mm fan mounts front and rear (almost unheard of in this size-class), and it can fit video cards up to 10.8″ long.

    The Guru’s Tip

    This case is also available in a sleek white finish, which is listed on the same product page.
  • Click to Buy
    Case Fan –

    Arctic P12 PWM

    $9
    Want to cooler your system without a noise penalty? Look no further than the excellent P12 PWM from Arctic. It offers fantastic performance at low noise levels, and comes in at a shockingly-low price, despite a market-leading 10-year warranty.

    The Guru’s Tip

    You'll be mounting this fan to the front of the chassis to provide cool intake air to the motherboard, RAM, and CPU.
  • SilverStone SX650
    Click to Buy
    Power Supply –

    SilverStone SST-SX650-G

    $141
    For a high-powered build like this one, you need a serious power supply, and this awesome 650W Gold-rated unit is our top pick. It’s incredibly powerful for its size, with more than enough output to handle the CPU and GPU featured in this build (including 4 PCIe power connectors – a single GPU can use up to 3!).

    The Guru’s Tip

    While the case we recommend can technically fit a full-size ATX power supply, going with this ultra-compact SFX model will make the PC so much easier to build and keep cool thanks to all the extra room it frees up inside, like the awesome cooler we recommend!
  • Aqua Elite
    Click to Buy
    CPU Cooler –

    Thermalright Aqua Elite 120 V3

    $35
    Keeping a CPU cool in a high-powered, compact PC can be a challenge, but this liquid cooler has what it takes to get the job done. It is far superior to any low-profile air cooler, and it will match many of the best 120mm tower coolers. All that and it’s easier to install too!

    The Guru’s Tip

    Mount the radiator and fan to the rear of the chassis. There's plenty of space, as the case we recommend is perfectly designed for 120mm liquid cooling!
  • Microsoft Windows 11
    Click to Buy
    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

    Windows 11 is the OS to get for a new DIY gaming PC!

Optional Products

  • Click to Buy
    The 27" 1440p 180Hz Gaming Monitor –

    Acer XV271U

    $200
    Acer has been in the high-end gaming monitor market for years, and always offers out-of-this-world value! This model packs in a big 27″ 2560 x 1440 IPS panel, a whopping 180Hz refresh rate and FreeSync Premium for ultra-smooth framerates, a Displayport 1.2 port and dual HDMI 2.0 ports, plus built-in speakers. To get it set up just right, it has a height-adjustable stand, unheard of in this price range. It even includes a Displayport and HDMI cables in the box!

    The Guru’s Tip

    This monitor will let you get the most out of your new high-end gaming PC!
  • Apex 3
    Click to Buy
    The Budget Gaming Keyboard –

    SteelSeries Apex 3

    $43
    Pick up a great keyboard at a great price with the Apex 3. It’s quick, quiet, and responsive, and it also has sweet RGB backlighting, of course!

    The Guru’s Tip

    There are a lot of knock-off keyboards on the market selling for around the same price - our advice: avoid them!
  • Razer Basilisk V3
    Click to Buy
    The Pro Gaming Mouse –

    Razer Basilisk V3 X HyperSpeed Wireless

    $49
    Offering cutting-edge performance, there’s nothing like the Basilisk V3 for anywhere near the price. Ultra-sensitive 18K sensor, mechanical switches, Razer’s awesome HyperSpeed wireless system with up to 285 hours of battery life, and perfect ergonomics. It’s a great mouse!

    The Guru’s Tip

    Whether you're using your PC from a desk or the couch, this is the perfect mouse!
  • HyperX Cloud
    Click to Buy
    The Budget Wireless PC Headset –

    HyperX Cloud Stinger Core

    $80
    HyperX absolutely revolutionized the budget gaming headset market with the Stinger series, and the Cloud Stinger Core is its budget wireless offering. It has an ultra-lightweight design, 40mm drivers, and a convenient swing-down mic for better control. With up to 17 hours of battery life, it will go all day and then some!

    The Guru’s Tip

    We figure if you're building a small PC, it's very likely going to be tucked far enough away from you that using a wired headset will be a no-go!