The Best $2000 Premium Gaming PC Build – September 2023
Treat 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 Exclusively by AMD!
For September 2023, the $2,000 Premium Gaming PC Build gets a big gaming upgrade, moving to AMD’s Ryzen 7 7800X3D, which after a big price cut has become the only CPU to consider for a pure gaming PC. It will be driving the beastly AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT 20GB, which offers extreme performance for the price, easily beating the more expensive GeForce RTX 4070 Ti 12GB. From a gaming point of view, the 7800X3D/7900 XT combo delivers unbeatable value per dollar.
And the quality runs deep in this system, as proven by the 2TB PCIe Gen 4 solid-state drive (upgraded from 1TB in past months thanks to huge price cuts), 32GB of fast DDR5-6400 CL32 RAM (upgraded to RGB this month), and a 750W Gold-rated power supply. Bringing it all together is the Lian Li Lancool 216 high-airflow case and an powerful but quiet air 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
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The Premium Gaming PC –
Skytech Siege 12700F/RTX 4070 Ti Gaming PC
$2000Not 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 big 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.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
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CPU –
AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D
$384 The Guru’s TipWith a recent price cut, it's simply impossible to recommend anything other than this CPU for the premium gaming PC - this is your gaming chip!
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Motherboard –
Gigabyte B650 AORUS Elite AX
$199 The Guru’s TipRemember, this motherboard requires DDR5 memory, which is what we spec in this guide.
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Video Card –
XFX Radeon RX 7900 XT 20GB MERC310 Ultra
$780 The Guru’s TipThe 7900 XT got lukewarm reviews at launch due to being overpriced, but thanks to a swift and steep price cut, it's now the best value in the high-end market!
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Memory –
G.Skill 2x16GB Trident Z5 Neo RGB DDR5-6000 CL30 EXPO
$115 The Guru’s TipRemember to engage this kit's EXPO profile in the motherboard's UEFI to take advantage of its speed!
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Solid-State Drive –
WD_Black SN850X 2TB NVMe
$119 The Guru’s TipWhile we previously recommended 1TB drives in this build, given recent price drops, we've bumped it up to 2TB. You'll never regret having more capacity on your system drive!
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Case –
Lian Li Lancool 216 RGB
$110 The Guru’s TipThis case's stylish ARGB lighting can be controlled using the motherboard's lighting controls.
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Power Supply –
Thermaltake Toughpower GF1 750W 80+ Gold
$100 The Guru’s Tip750W offers plenty of headroom for this build, which will pull about 450W at full load.
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CPU Cooler –
Scythe Fuma 3
$50 The Guru’s TipThis cooler of course comes with an adapter in the box for the AMD AM5 socket.
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Operating System –
Windows 11 Home (Download)
$130 The Guru’s TipRunning Windows 11 ensures you'll get the most out of your gaming rig!
Optional Products
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The Mechanical Gaming Keyboard –
Razer BlackWidow V3 Clicky
$100 The Guru’s TipOnce you go mechanical, you won't go back!
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The Ultimate Wireless Gaming Mouse –
Razer Basilisk Ultimate HyperSpeed
$80 The Guru’s TipYou can use the Synapse software to tune this mouse
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The Budget Wireless PC Headset –
SteelSeries Arctis 1 Wireless
$65 The Guru’s TipWe'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!
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The 34-inch Gaming Monitor –
Asus TUF Gaming VG34VQL1B
$470 The Guru’s TipStepping 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!
Total Cost: $1987
The Pre-Built Option
The DIY Build
- CPU – AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D ($384)
- Motherboard – Gigabyte B650 AORUS Elite AX ($199)
- Video Card – XFX Radeon RX 7900 XT 20GB MERC310 Ultra ($780)
- Memory – G.Skill 2x16GB Trident Z5 Neo RGB DDR5-6000 CL30 EXPO ($115)
- Solid-State Drive – WD_Black SN850X 2TB NVMe ($119)
- Case – Lian Li Lancool 216 RGB ($110)
- Power Supply – Thermaltake Toughpower GF1 750W 80+ Gold ($100)
- CPU Cooler – Scythe Fuma 3 ($50)
- Operating System – Windows 11 Home (Download) ($130)