The Best $2000 High-End Content Creation PC Build – May 2025
Calling All Serious Content Creators!
If you’re looking to put together the ultimate video editing PC at a mainstream price, this is the guide for you! Rather than try to tweak gaming-focused builds to make them a better match for heavy Photoshop, Premiere Pro, and similar application use, just build one that’s designed for content creation from the start! Sure, you could game on this system, but the components have been chosen specifically to maximize application performance and minimize noise, which is what we think professional video editors will value the most.
This Month’s Build, Featuring AMD and Nvidia!
For May 2025, the High-End Content Creation PC Build features AMD’s high-powered but bargain-priced Ryzen 9 9900X, a 12-core, 24-thread behemoth that offers tremendous content creation chops, plus impressive efficiency. It’s paired with the Nvidia GeForce RTX 5070 12GB, which provides huge acceleration in apps like Davinci Resolve, Premiere Pro, and Photoshop. It’s also quite efficient, which is great for keeping noise in check, while also allowing for the use of up to 4 monitors.
Backing up the CPU and GPU is 64GB of ultra-high-speed DDR5-6000 RAM and a fast 2TB PCIe Gen 5 solid-state drive, which offers extraordinary I/O throughput. We suggest you equip this system with an efficient fully-modular 750W power supply and cool it with an awesome tower cooler from Thermalright. Finally, you’ll house it in the trend-setting, wood-paneled Fractal Design North, which will look great in any professional studio or work space. This will give you a silent-running, workstation-class system.
Parting Thoughts
If you’re looking to complete your system, you’ll find our recommendations on the perfect peripherals for a content creation PC later on this page. We use Amazon affiliate links for our readers in the US, which will auto-convert for our readers in the UK, Canada, and parts of the EU, with regional substitutions made automatically based on availability. Your use of these links to purchase the products we recommend will help support continued development of this site.
Required Components
-
CPU –AMD Ryzen 9 9900X
$383The Guru’s TipAMD has done it again with Zen 5, improving performance in all respects over the previous generation. The 12-core, 24-thread Ryzen 9 9900X is up to 15% faster than its predecessor, while offering even better efficiency.While Intel previously held the lead in content creation, the 9900X beats Intel CPUs in the same price range, while using far less power.
-
Motherboard –ASRock AMD B850 Phantom Gaming Riptide
$210The Guru’s TipThis B850 board from ASRock allows you to tap into the potential of AMD’s cutting-edge AM5 platform at a great price. You get a potent 14+2+1 Phase power solution, a PCIe Gen 5 video card slot, four M.2 slots (one being Gen 5, the others Gen 4), plus built-in WiFi 7.Note that this B850 board is fully up to date and includes the latest firmware to boot the 9900X processor out of the box.
-
Video Card –Gigabyte GeForce RTX 5070 12GB Windforce @Newegg
$618The Guru’s TipThe RTX 5070 offers amazing performance and amazing efficiency, surpassing the 4070 by over 20% at the same launch price. This model’s triple-fan cooler will keep temperatures in check and noise levels down, without going overboard on size.This video card will provide a huge boost in various apps, especially video processing.
-
Memory –Silicon Power 2x32GB Value Gaming DDR5-6000 CL30 EXPO
$170The 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 making the most of the AM5 platform. It allows for the highest overall performance thanks to running in 1:1 sync with the memory controller. And this 64GB kit from Silicon Power is specially designed for AM5, thanks to the extraordinary 30-38-38-96 AMD EXPO timings. It offers tremendous capacity and speed in a single package!64GB is really want you want for a high-end content creation system. While you won't often need all of this capacity, having the headroom means you'll never have to worry that you're hitting RAM limits.
-
Solid-State Drive –Corsair MP700 Elite 2TB
$180The Guru’s TipCorsair leverages the PCIe Gen 5 interface to propel the MP700 Elite 2TB past its similarly-priced competitors. It can hit 10,000MB/sec sequential read and 8,500MB/sec sequential write speeds.The speed of this drive will be put to good use in a serious content creation machine. Make sure to install it in the top slot on the motherboard to ensure you are enabling its PCIE Gen 5 speed.
-
Case –Fractal Design North White
$140The Guru’s TipThe North is a true watershed product for the professional case market. Designed for designers, with a nod to mid-century themes thanks to the wood slat front grille, this PC case will look great anywhere, and is perhaps the harbinger of the next big trend as RGB lighting’s potential has been tapped out! This case also offers plenty of space and quiet operation, thanks to the two included 140mm front fans. All in all, you’re getting an amazing enclosure for a seriously-pro PC!This case was originally designed as a gaming case, but its professional looks and ultra-quiet operation make it perfect for a content creation PC.
-
Power Supply –Thermaltake Toughpower GF3 750W
$110The Guru’s TipOffering up 750W of power and top-notch build quality, this PSU is a great value among high-end models. It’s equipped with the 12VHPWR used by modern GPUs, meaning no adapters are necessary. It has fully-modular cables for a clean install, and thanks to its Gold-rated efficiency and zero-fan “Eco” mode, the power supply will operate in virtual silence! The best part: it’s backed by a 10-year warranty!This PSU will provide plenty of power for this system, which under full CPU/GPU rendering load will draw under 400W. And the white color scheme, including cables, will look great in this build
-
CPU Cooler –Thermalright Phantom Spirit 120SE
$36The Guru’s TipThermalright is legendary in the CPU cooler business, having designed some of the very first premium tower coolers in the early 2000s. Their focus has always been on performance per dollar, providing a lot of metal for your money. And with the Phantom Spirit 120SE, that metal comes in the form of 7 chunky 6mm heatpipes, which you won’t find on any other cooler at this pricepoint. Also included are two large towers and two 120mm fans. All in all, you get class-leading performance at a price that no other manufacturer can touch!This high-powered cooler will keep the powerful AMD processor under control, while looking absolutely first-rate in this system! Note that it requires low-profile RAM, which we spec for this build.
-
Operating System –Windows 11 Home (USB) @Newegg
$139The 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 what you want on a new PC!
Optional Products
-
Sound Card –Creative Sound Blaster AE-7
$210 The Guru’s TipStepping up to a dedicated sound card is a good choice if you do a lot of audio work.
-
The 32-inch Professional 4K Monitor –ViewSonic VP3256-4K
$500 The Guru’s TipAny content creator will want a big 4K monitor to work with, and this one is that and a whole lot more!
-
The Ultimate Business Keyboard –Logitech MX Keys S Wireless Illuminated Keyboard
$105 The Guru’s TipLogitech really leapfrogged the competition when it released this keyboard, and no one is close to catching up!
-
The Deluxe Wireless Mouse –Logitech MX Master 3S
$100 The Guru’s TipPerhaps the coolest feature of this mouse from a content creator's perspective is the Flow cross-computer control, which allows you to work seamlessly on three computers without the need for a KVM switch.
-
The Deluxe PC Headset –SteelSeries Arctis Nova 7 Wireless
$160 The Guru’s TipWhile designed first for gaming, this headset is of such a quality that any content creator can be proud to use it!
Total Cost: $1988
Required Components
- CPU – AMD Ryzen 9 9900X ($383)
- Motherboard – ASRock AMD B850 Phantom Gaming Riptide ($210)
- Video Card – Gigabyte GeForce RTX 5070 12GB Windforce @Newegg ($618)
- Memory – Silicon Power 2x32GB Value Gaming DDR5-6000 CL30 EXPO ($170)
- Solid-State Drive – Corsair MP700 Elite 2TB ($180)
- Case – Fractal Design North White ($140)
- Power Supply – Thermaltake Toughpower GF3 750W ($110)
- CPU Cooler – Thermalright Phantom Spirit 120SE ($36)
- Operating System – Windows 11 Home (USB) @Newegg ($139)
Optional Products
- Sound Card – Creative Sound Blaster AE-7 ($210)
- The 32-inch Professional 4K Monitor – ViewSonic VP3256-4K ($500)
- The Ultimate Business Keyboard – Logitech MX Keys S Wireless Illuminated Keyboard ($105)
- The Deluxe Wireless Mouse – Logitech MX Master 3S ($100)
- The Deluxe PC Headset – SteelSeries Arctis Nova 7 Wireless ($160)
-
The TBG DIY PC Build Guides
View all of TBG’s DIY PC Build Guides! This is where you’ll find all the best PC builds on the ‘net, from ultra-compact home office PCs to massive gaming towers.
-
The Monitor Buyer's Guide
Upgrade the view for your PC with a new monitor - we list the best in our buyer's guide!
-
The Wireless Networking Buyer's Guide
Need to upgrade your home network to get the most of your new PC? Check out our picks!
-
The Speaker & Headset Buyer's Guide
Upgrade your audio experience with one of our top-rated speaker kits or headsets!