The Best $2000 Premium Mini-ITX Gaming PC Build – April 2024

By Ari Altman | Published March 30, 2024 | Updated April 2, 2024

Small Footprint, Big Performance!

This system is designed for gamers who want a compact system but aren’t willing to sacrifice performance to get it. The $2,000 Premium Mini-ITX Gaming PC Build has all the power of a full-blown desktop gaming PC, packed into a compact, stylish case that’s dwarfed by standard towers. Amazingly, there’s no price premium to pay to get such a unique PC, making this PC a pretty good value too.

This Month’s Build, Powered Exclusively by AMD!

For April 2024, the $2,000 Premium Mini-ITX Gaming PC Build features AMD’s blazing-fast Ryzen 7 7800X3D 8-core, 16-thread CPU, the best gaming CPU on the market. Particularly notable for this build is the 7800X3D’s insane efficiency, which allows this system to run cool and quiet despite the system’s small dimensions. The 7800X3D will have no trouble maxing out our GPU of choice, AMD’s Radeon RX 7900 XT 20GB, which offers excellent performance and a new lower price, making it the right GPU at the right time! Yes, Nvidia released a new GPU recently, the RTX 4070 Ti Super, to try to catch up, but shockingly added almost no performance despite selling for far more than the 7900 XT.

Just as important as all the computational firepower used in this system is the case, which truly defines this build. The NR200 from Cooler Master brings high-end capabilities down to a compact size and a very reasonable price. With competitors only available from boutique manufacturers at over twice the price, the NR200 stands alone. Inside, you’ll be installing 32GB of fast DDR5-6000 RAM, a 2TB PCIe Gen 4 solid-state drive, and a 120mm tower cooler from Scythe. Keeping the system running is a compact 650W Gold-rated SFX power supply, which will have more than enough power for all the gear in this build.

Parting Thoughts

To see recommended accessories for this build, just scroll down to the bottom of this page, or check out our dedicated Monitor Buyer’s Guide and Peripherals Buyer’s Guide. Throughout this guide, you’ll see direct links to Amazon for US readers, and our Amazon links will auto-convert for readers in the UK, Canada, and parts of the EU, with automatic reginal substitutions made where necessary. To support continued development of these guides, please use these links when you’re ready to buy your ITX machine!

The DIY PC Build

Click to Buy

CPU –
AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D
$390

AMD has done it again with its 3D cache technology, turning an average CPU, the 7700X, into the 7800X3D, the best gaming CPU ever released! This CPU can take on any CPU, regardless of price, when it comes to gaming, thanks to its advanced stacked cache design. It also has a leg up on Intel by offering the latest connectivity standards thanks to the AM5 platform.

The Guru’s Tip
This CPU does not come with a cooler, so don't forget to pick up the high-powered cooler we list later in this guide!
Click to Buy

Motherboard –
Gigabyte B650I AORUS Ultra
$250

This board has all the features you need for a high-end build on the AM5 platform, despite its reasonable pricepoint. It features 8+2+1 power stages, dual M.2 PCIe slots (one Gen 5, one Gen 4), 2.5Gbps LAN, built-in 802.11ax wireless networking with Bluetooth, the premium ALC4080 audio codec, and seven USB ports, including a Type-C port.

The Guru’s Tip
This board requires DDR5 memory, so make sure to follow our RAM recommendation in this guide.
Click to Buy

–
Sapphire AMD Radeon RX 7900 XT 20GB Pulse
$700

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!

The Guru’s Tip
With a cooler that's 313mm long, this model is an easy fit in the case we recommend, while most other RX 7900 XT models are simply too big.
Click to Buy

Memory –
TeamGroup 2x16GB T-Force Vulcan DDR5-6000 CL30 EXPO
$103

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 AM5 platform. It allows for the highest overall performance thanks to running in 1:1 sync with the memory controller. And this T-Force Vulcan kit is specially designed for AM5, thanks to the enhanced 30-36-36-76 AMD EXPO timings.

The Guru’s Tip
This DDR5 RAM is the perfect match for the motherboard we recommend.
Click to Buy

Solid-State Drive –
Crucial T500 2TB Gen4
$152

Crucial knocked it out of the park with its ultra-high-performance T500 PCIe Gen 4 drive. Optimized for excellent real-world performance, it easily keeps up with more expensive drives. This 2TB model can provide sequential read speeds of 7400MB/s and write speeds of 7000MB/s.

The Guru’s Tip
We recommend that the first thing you install on the motherboard is the SSD. This will ensure you have access to the M.2 slot.
Click to Buy

Case –
Cooler Master NR200
$90

This amazing case is one of a kind. Coming in at 18 liters, it has space for just about every component you could imagine, and looks fantastic too! That includes a huge GPU, a variety of powerful cooler options, and an SFX-class PSU.

The Guru’s Tip
Note that there is a ver. 2 of this case, but it's completely different, and is only compatible with liquid cooling. This system relies on a tower air cooler, so stick with the original NR200 case.
Click to Buy

Power Supply –
SilverStone SST-SX650-G
$138

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
This PSU will have plenty of power for this system, which will draw under 450W at load.
Click to Buy

CPU Cooler –
Scythe Mugen 6 Black (Dual Fan Edition)
$55

The Mugen is legendary in low-noise circles, and yet, things can always get better. So while the Ver. 6 Black Edition still offers class-leading silence, it gets a huge boost in performance, catapulting the Mugen past all of its competitors. That’s thanks to not one, but two Wonder Tornado fans. These beauties are the very best heatsink fans ever released, and alone are worth nearly the asking price of this entire cooler. Of course you also get a smartly-designed heatsink, with tightly-spaced fins, 6 heatpipes, and an offset design that allows it to sit just 154mm tall, while offering unlimited RAM clearance. Basically, this is the perfect 120mm-class cooler!

The Guru’s Tip
This is the perfect match for the case we recommend, maxing out the height limit while providing exceptional cooling!
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
Win 11 is absolutely the OS you want on a modern PC.

Optional Products

Click to Buy

The Mechanical Gaming Keyboard –
Corsair K70 RGB Pro MX Red
$150

The Corsair K70 set the standard for mechanical gaming keyboards and is still the benchmark by which all others are judged. With its solid aluminum construction and detachable wrist rest, it’s a truly premium option. It features Cherry’s classic MX Red switches, PBT Doubleshot keys for durability, a magnetic soft-touch palm rest, and 8,000Hz hyper-polling for amazing responsiveness. And yes, it also is fully blinged out with RGB!

The Guru’s Tip
Once you go mechanical, you won't go back!
Click to Buy

The Ultimate Wireless Gaming Mouse –
Razer Basilisk Ultimate HyperSpeed
$90

Razer is legendary in the gaming mouse market, and the Basilisk Ultimate, now discounted from its original introductory price, is an ultra-high-end bargain! Featuring a 20,000dpi sensor, Razer’s awesome HyperSpeed wireless system, and a perfect ergonomic design, this model can’t be beat! And in addition to its 100-hour battery life, it’s also incredibly light, at just 107g!

The Guru’s Tip
No other mouse offers ultra-high-end performance at such a low price!
Click to Buy

The 34-inch Gaming Monitor –
Asus TUF Gaming VG34VQL1B
$388

Are you ready for serious big-screen gaming? Then feast your eyes on this 34″ monitor from Asus, which breaks new ground in terms of features and performance per dollar. It has an ultra-wide 3440 x 1440 curved VA panel, a fast 165Hz refresh rate, and FreeSync Premium technology to keep your frames running smoothly. It also offers a height-adjustable stand (unusual at this pricepoint), plus built-in speakers (which are more for convenience than incredible performance, but hey, they can be useful in a pinch!).

The Guru’s Tip
You'll have no trouble taking advantage of the full resolution of this monitor with the $2,000 ITX Gaming PC Build!
Click to Buy

The Deluxe PC Headset –
SteelSeries Arctis Nova 7 Wireless
$137

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
This headset easily beats similarly-priced models from the popular "gaming" brands.