The Best $3000 Elite RGB Gaming PC Build – March 2024

By Ari Altman | Published March 17, 2024 | Updated March 17, 2024

2500XGame Hard and Look Good Doing It!

If you want a $3,000 Gaming PC Build that’s a true showcase, not just another black box, then this is the one for you! In addition to the best gaming components available, we’ve pushed the limit on aesthetics with this build more than any other – it sports a sleek cable-less look, sweet RGB lighting, and a compact glass-enclosed interior to put your components front and center!

This Month’s Build, Powered AMD and Nvidia!

For March 2024, the $3,000 Gaming PC Build gets a complete and total overhaul to the newest, cutting-edge standard on the DIY PC market: behind-the-motherboard cables. While this may sound like a minor change, cable management inside the main section of a PC case has been the bane of every PC builders’ existence since the beginning. Now, with ground-breaking new standards pioneered by MSI and Corsair, you can build a system practically devoid of any visible cables. This system combines MSI’s Project Zero for motherboards with the first compatible case on the market, Corsair’s sleek 2500X, plus Corsair’s iCUE Link system for fans, which similarly eliminates fan cabling. The result: the absolutely sleekest PC you can build, with practically no cable management required!

Of course, this system has to have the performance to back up its looks, and it does: it uses AMD’s dominating Ryzen 7 7800X3D, which is still the fastest gaming processor on the market even after the release of Intel’s latest 14th-Gen Core processors. The 7800X3D is paired with a seriously-fast GPU, the new Nvidia GeForce RTX 4080 Super 16GB, which equals AMD’s Radeon RX 7900 XTX in legacy games and blows it away in Ray Tracing titles.

For storage, we go with a blazing-fast 2TB PCIe Gen 4 drive, along with a massive 64GB of DDR5-6000 RGB RAM. To make this system really stand out, this case uses the compact mATX form factor, which means all you’ll see are your awesome components, no dead space, and this has a side benefit of much better airflow to your components from the fans we spec. Keeping the CPU cool is Corsair’s highest-performing 360mm liquid cooler (with integrated LCD screen!), and powering this system is an ultra-modern 850W ATX 3.0 power supply. And the last thing: every component in this build is white, making this a true dream build!

Parting Thoughts

If you’re looking for new accessories to add to your $3,000 Gaming PC build, check out our Monitor Buyer’s Guide, our Peripherals Buyer’s Guide and our Speaker/Headset Buyer’s Guide for all the latest and greatest accessories, although we list our top recommendations for the $3,000 Gaming PC Build later in this guide.

Throughout this guide, we provide direct links to Amazon or Newegg, and the Amazon links will auto-convert for our readers in the UK, Canada, and parts of the EU, with regional substitutions made automatically when necessary. To help support the continued development of this guide, please use the links we provide if you purchase products we recommend.

The Pre-Built Option

The DIY Build

  • CPU

    AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D

    $356
    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 make sure to pick up the capable liquid cooler we recommend later in this guide!

  • Motherboard

    MSI B650M Project Zero

    $230
    This micro-ATX motherboard supports the latest AMD processors using the AM5 socket. It has a PCIe Gen 4 GPU slot, a PCIe x1 slot, and two PCIe M.2 slots (both Gen 4), nine USB ports (including dual Type-C ports), and built-in WiFi 6E wireless networking. But most importantly, it uses the MSI Project Zero design, moving all cabling to the back of the motherboard for a cable-free look!

    The Guru’s Tip

    Remember, this is a unique motherboard and will only work with the case we recommend - do not try to mix and match here!

  • Video Card

    Zotac GeForce RTX 4080 Super 16GB White @Newegg

    $1070
    The RTX 4080 Super offers more cores and more memory bandwidth than the original RTX 4080, while coming in at a much lower price. And that means it gets even further ahead of the previous king-of-the-hill RTX 3090 Ti while using far less power. It also offers all the latest enhancements from Nvidia, including class-leading Ray Tracing performance and DLSS.

    The Guru’s Tip

    This GPU will look great in the all-white build we've spec'd out!

  • Memory

    G.Skill 2x32GB Trident Z5 Neo RGB DDR5-6000 CL30 EXPO White

    $223
    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 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 Trident Z5 Neo kit from G.Skill is specially designed for AM5, thanks to the extraordinary 30-36-36-96 AMD EXPO timings. It offers tremendous capacity and speed in a single package!

    The Guru’s Tip

    This ultra-fast kit will make the most of your AMD-based system!

  • Solid-State Drive

    WD_Black SN850X 4TB NVMe

    $294
    With the SN850X 4TB, you’re getting the fastest high-capacity Gen 4 model on the market, with incredible sequential speeds of up to 7,300MB/s. What’s more WD priced it to kill off the competition, with a price lower than most lower-tier 4TB drives.

    The Guru’s Tip

    Because this system uses the mATX format and has only two M.2 slots, we're upping our recommended capacity here to 4TB, which will mean far less capacity constraints over time.

  • Case

    Corsair 2500X White @Newegg

    $160
    Corsair has always been on the cutting-edge of case design, and the 2500X represents an absolute watershed moment – the very first case designed for use with behind-the-motherboard cabling. This takes the “fishbowl” aesthetic that has become popular in the industry to the next level, allowing you to showcase your components and nothing but your components. No cable mess at all! And being a micro-ATX case, it’s much more compact, meaning a small footprint and less dead space in your system – that makes it very “component-forward”! And of course, with tremendous bottom-to-top airflow potential, your system will stay extremely cool while looking great!

    The Guru’s Tip

    Keep in mind that this case does not include fans, so make sure to pick up the ones we spec below - they will make this system look great, and match the fans on the CPU cooler as well!

  • Case Fan

    Corsair iCUE LINK QX120 3-Pack White

    $140
    Add a ton of airflow and style to your system with Corsair’s 3-pack of QX120 White fans! They have 34 RGB LEDs per fan, and use the awesome iCUE Link system to allow connecting the fans together with zero power or RGB cables, meaning a much more streamline appearance!

    The Guru’s Tip

    Mount these to the bottom of the case, blowing upwards towards the GPU.

  • Power Supply

    SilverStone DA850R White

    $108
    Offering up 850W 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 150mm length, it’s very easy to install, allowing you to minimize cable clutter by leaving out cables you don’t need for this build. It’s also forward-looking, with both traditional video card power cables and a 12V-2×6 connector (an improved version of the 12VHPWR connector), allowing you to directly connect to any current or future GPU. The best part: thanks to its Gold-rated efficiency and zero-fan mode, the power supply will operate in silence most of the time!

    The Guru’s Tip

    This PSU even has white cables, which while mostly hidden in this system, will complete the look! The only one visible will be the GPU cable.

  • CPU Cooler

    Corsair iCUE Link H150i LCD CPU Cooler White

    $285
    Corsair’s iCUE Link H150i LCD offers more performance and features than any other 360mm cooler. Its big radiator is equipped with triple QX120 RGB fans, which offer tremendous static pressure, making them unbeatable on a radiator. But the standout part is that the pump has a built-in LCD display, allowing you to monitor just about anything in your PC using the Corsair iCUE software. Also adding to the aesthetic is that the fans use the iCUE Link system to eliminate fan cables, making for the sleekest installation possible!

    The Guru’s Tip

    The fans on this GPU are identical to the case fans we recommend, meaning they match perfectly and can be controlled together.

  • 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

    This is absolutely the OS you want on your system to take full advantage of a modern gaming system!

Optional Products

  • The Ultimate Gaming Keyboard

    Corsair K100 RGB Optical-Mechanical Gaming Keyboard

    $200
    Corsair reestablishes itself as the king of gaming keyboards with the K100, which builds upon the strengths of the K70 and K95, but adds even more tech! In addition to incredible build quality and lots of configuration options, it features optical-mechanical switches for the smoothest, fastest response.

    The Guru’s Tip

    You can set up the RGB on this keyboard to integrate with the lighting in your system!

  • The Ultimate Wireless Gaming Mouse

    Logitech G502X Plus Lightspeed Wireless

    $143
    Logitech designed the G502X Lightspeed Wireless to be the ultimate technological tour de force in the gaming mouse industry. Featuring a mesmerizing 25K Hero sensor, hybrid optical-mechanical switches, RGB lighting, and the best wireless connectivity, it is impossible to beat. And you can even upgrade to ultra-elite status with the optional PowerPlay charging mat, which allows you to use it forever without stopping to charge thanks to the exclusive wireless charging capability!

    The Guru’s Tip

    The lighting on this mouse can be controlled via Logitech's GHub software.

  • The Deluxe PC Headset

    SteelSeries Arctis Nova 7 Wireless

    $140
    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

    The Arctis series truly has a lock on performance!

  • The 32" 4K 144Hz Gamer's Dream Monitor

    Gigabyte M32U

    $600
    It took seemingly forever for the elusive 32″ 4K 144Hz panels that gamers had dreamed of for years to finally hit the market, and surprisingly Gigabyte was first out of the gate with one widely available at retail. Known for its high-end video cards and motherboards, Gigabyte has quickly made a name for itself in the gaming monitor market, and the M32U simply astounds with its features. Get a load of these specs: a 31.5″ 3840 x 2160 4K IPS panel, 144Hz refresh rate, 1ms (GTG) response time, FreeSync, 10-bit color,  90% DCI-P3  and 123% sRGB color space, and VESA DisplayHDR 400. It even has a built-in KVM switch, allowing you to use it on multiple systems with the push of a button!

    The Guru’s Tip

    There's no better way to show off brutal gaming horsepower than with a big 4K monitor!

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