The Tech Buyer's Guru

The Best $2000 Premium Gaming PC Build – March 2023

The Best $2000 Premium Gaming PC Build – March 2023

By Ari Altman | Published February 5, 2023 | Updated February 13, 2023

Lian Li Lancool 216 RGBTreat Yourself to a Premium Gaming PC Experience!

Looking to build the best gaming PC possible for around $2,000? This is it! Incredibly stylish, ultra-quiet, and most importantly, brutally fast, this build offers the very best balance of CPU power, GPU power, and cooling performance out of any of the gaming PCs we profile. We call it “premium” for a reason! And take note: this build doesn’t skimp on the wheels and chassis just to cram in a “big engine”. We’re all about long-term thinking here at TBG, and this is a seriously long-term build!

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

For March 2023, the $2,000 Premium Gaming PC Build gets a big upgrade, moving to Intel’s incredible Core i5-13600KF, a 14-core, 20-thread gaming specialist that blows away everything AMD offers in its price range. It will be driving the beastly AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT 20GB, which offers extreme performance for the price, beating the previous king-of-the-hill GeForce RTX 3090 Ti. From a gaming point of view, the 13600K/7900 XT combo delivers unbeatable value per dollar.

And the quality runs deep in this system, as proven by the 1TB PCIe Gen 4 solid-state drive, 32GB of DDR5-6000 RAM, and a 750W Gold-rated power supply. Bringing it all together is the Lian Li Lancool 216 high-airflow case and a powerful yet quiet tower cooler from Scythe.

Parting Thoughts

We also list plenty of ways to accessorize the $2,000 Premium Gaming PC Build – just scroll down to the end of this guide to see our top picks among gaming keyboards, mice, and monitors. If you want to see even more options, check out our Monitor Buyer’s Guide and Peripherals Buyer’s Guide!

We update this build every month, and provide direct links to Amazon or Newegg. Our Amazon links will auto-convert for readers in the UK, Canada, and several countries in the EU, with regional substitutions made where necessary. Your use of these links is the only thing that keeps this site on the ‘net!

The Pre-Built Option

  • Skytech Siege
    Click to Buy
    The Premium Gaming PC –

    Skytech Siege 12700F/RTX 4070 Ti Gaming PC

    $2000
    Not ready to build your own? No problem! Skytech is offering up tremendous value as always with its latest Siege desktop. It’s equipped with the Intel Core i7-12700F 12-core, 20-thread CPU, a 240mm AIO liquid cooler, and comes packing serious heat with a GeForce RTX 4070 Ti 12GB! Also on the build list is 16GB of DDR4-3200 RAM, a 1TB PCIe SSD, and an 850W Gold-rated PSU.

    The Guru’s Tip

    This system is nearly as fast as the DIY build we spec out below, so don't feel bad if you decide you'd rather just skip the whole building process!

The DIY Build

  • Intel Core i5-13600KF
    Click to Buy
    CPU –

    Intel Core i5-13600KF

    $297
    The 13600KF is simply revolutionary in terms of performance across the board. With a total of 14 cores (6 performance cores and 8 efficiency cores), and a total of 20 threads (yes, it’s getting hard to keep up!), it can handle just about anything. And for gaming in particular, it offers simply incredible performance per dollar, beating everything AMD has, while nearly matching its big brothers in the Core i7/i9 lines.

    The Guru’s Tip

    This chip does not include a cooler, so make sure to pick up the powerful model we list later in this guide!
  • MSI PRO Z790-P
    Click to Buy
    Motherboard –

    MSI PRO Z790-P WIFI

    $230
    MSI packs tons of value into its “P” series motherboard, and this Socket 1700 model is a perfect match for Intel’s latest CPUs. It features four M.2 slots (all being Gen 4 x4), a PCIe Gen 5 video card slot, eight USB ports (including a Type-C port), and integrated WiFi 6E.

    The Guru’s Tip

    We are very intentionally going with a DDR5 version of this motherboard, due to the huge performance boost DDR5 RAM provides over DDR4!
  • XFX RX 7900 XT
    Click to Buy
    Video Card –

    XFX Radeon RX 7900 XT 20GB MERC310 Ultra

    $821
    AMD broke new ground with its RX 7900 series, and the 7900 XT is a perfect showcase for that. Offering RTX 3090 Ti-stomping performance for far less money, it immediately put every last-gen GPU in its price range out of contention. And with 20GB of VRAM, it’s future-proof too! This awesome model from XFX uses the stylish and effective MERC310 cooler, which is even better than the reference cooler from AMD!

    The Guru’s Tip

    The 7900 XT got a bad name when released due to what seemed like a price that was too high - but now that it's come down in price and Nvidia's far slower RTX 4070 Ti sells for more, the XT has a clear place in the Premium PC Build!
  • G.Skill Ripjaws S5
    Click to Buy
    Memory –

    G.Skill 2x16GB Ripjaws S5 DDR5-6000 CL32

    $135
    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 Ripjaws S5 kit, running at DDR5-6000 with timings of 32-38-38-96 at 1.35V. This is the real deal when it comes to DDR5 performance!

    The Guru’s Tip

    Remember to engage this kit's XP profile to take advantage of its speed!
  • WDBlack SN770
    Click to Buy
    Solid-State Drive –

    WD_BLACK SN770 1TB NVMe

    $78
    WD knocked it out of the park with its ultra-high-performance, bargain-priced SN770 PCIe Gen 4 drive. Optimized for excellent real-world performance thanks to WD’s years of SSD development, it easily keeps up with much more expensive drives. This 1TB model can provide sequential read speeds of 5150MB/s and write speeds of 4900MB/s.

    The Guru’s Tip

    While you don't really need Gen 4 speed for gaming, the amazing price on this drive makes it irresistible!
  • Lian Li Lancool 216
    Click to Buy
    Case –

    Lian Li Lancool 216 RGB

    $125
    The Lancool 216, which traces its heritage back to the trailblazing Lancool gaming cases of the early 2000s, is simply amazing for the price. You get dual 160mm (not 120mm or 140mm!) ARGB fans in the front, along with a 140mm fan in the rear, meaning this system has more cooling power than some cases that cost twice the price. To make the case even better, Lian Li equips it not only with mesh in the front, but mesh on the lower panels, so you can mount upward-facing fans on the PSU shroud to keep your GPU ice cold with a constant stream of fresh air. Simply put, Lian Li is making every other manufacturer look bad by offering premium cases at a budget-friendly price!

    The Guru’s Tip

    This case's stylish ARGB lighting can be controlled using the motherboard's lighting controls.
  • Click to Buy
    Power Supply –

    SilverStone ST75F-GS-V3 Gold

    $116
    Offering up 750W of power and top-notch build quality, this PSU is a great value among high-end models. Thanks to its fully-modular cables and compact design, it’s very easy to install, allowing you to minimize cable clutter by leaving out cables you don’t need for this build. The best part: thanks to its Gold-rated efficiency, the power supply will operate in virtual silence!

    The Guru’s Tip

    750W offers plenty of headroom for this build, which will pull about 500W at full load.
  • Scythe Mugen 5
    Click to Buy
    CPU Cooler –

    Scythe Mugen 5 Rev. C

    $57
    Offering amazing cooling along with very low noise levels thanks to its big heatsink and powerful but quiet Kaze Flex II 1500RPM fan, the Mugen 5 Rev. C is the perfect pick for any high-performance PC.

    The Guru’s Tip

    This cooler includes the adapter required for use with the latest Intel platform.
  • Microsoft Windows 11
    Click to Buy
    Operating System –

    Windows 11 Home (Download)

    $140
    Windows 11 take everything people loved about Windows 10, and then takes 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! Make the best use of this downloadable version of Windows by loading it onto this 128GB USB 3.1 thumb drive, which you can re-purpose after OS installation as an ultra-fast backup drive.

    The Guru’s Tip

    Running Windows 11 ensures you'll get the most out of your gaming rig!

Optional Products

  • Razer Blackwidow V3
    Click to Buy
    The Mechanical Gaming Keyboard –

    Razer BlackWidow V3

    $100
    Razer has been in the gaming peripheral business a long time, and the BlackWidow is perhaps the most legendary bit of kit in history. It has practically defined the mechanical gaming keyboard market, and all the while has offered surprising value as well. That’s the story with the V3, which undercuts the other big names, while offering more style and more functionality. Razer’s Yellow mechanical switches deliver super-quick response thanks to a 1.2mm actuation distance, and are almost entirely silent thanks to a damper that prevents bottoming out. The keycaps are the high-quality Doubleshot ABS that enthusiasts pay extra for to fix other brands’ boards. And then there’s the stunning Chroma RGB effects that allow endless customization plus integration with countless games. In short, the BlackWidow is better than ever!

    The Guru’s Tip

    Once you go mechanical, you won't go back!
  • Click to Buy
    Mouse –

    Corsair Dark Core RGB Pro SE

    $80
    Offering up awesome functionality, a sleek design, and an ultra-fast 18,000 DPI sensor, the Dark Core Pro simply has no competition at its pricepoint. This “SE” version can be easily charged with an Qi-compatible charging pad!

    The Guru’s Tip

    Sync the mouse's lighting using the Corsair iCUE software!
  • Click to Buy
    The Budget Wireless PC Headset –

    ‎SteelSeries Arctis 1 Wireless

    $74
    SteelSeries has made a name for itself in the gaming headset world with its no-nonsense focus on performance. The Arctis 1 follows in this tradition with high-end drivers, lossless 2.4 GHz wireless for ultra-low latency wireless connectivity on both PC and PS4/PS5, a detachable bidirectional microphone, and 20 hours of battery life.

    The Guru’s Tip

    We've long believed that wireless is the only way to go with a gaming headset - no getting tangled up in the heat of the action!
  • AOC CU34G2X
    Click to Buy
    The 34-inch Gaming Monitor –

    AOC CU34G2X

    $400
    Are you ready for serious big-screen gaming? Then feast your eyes on this 34″ monitor from AOC, which breaks new ground in terms of features and performance per dollar. The Nitro packs in an ultra-wide 3440 x 1440 VA panel with a 1500R curve, a fast 144Hz refresh rate, and FreeSync technology to keep your frames running smoothly. It also offers a height-adjustable stand (unusual at this pricepoint), plus a 3-year hassle-free warranty for screen defects!

    The Guru’s Tip

    Stepping up to an ultra-wide will give you a whole new view on gaming, and luckily the $2000 Gaming PC Build can drive it to the max!

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