The Best $3,000 Extreme Mini-ITX Gaming PC Build – October 2025
Go Big, but Build Small!
If you’re looking for a no-holds-barred extreme Mini-ITX Gaming PC Build in a sleek, compact chassis, this is the one for you! Our $3,000 Extreme Mini-ITX Gaming PC Build might be dwarfed by standard towers, but it can easily keep up with them thanks to its truly extreme components. And amazingly, there’s virtually no price premium for getting a system of this caliber down to a portable size, making this PC a pretty good value too.
This Month’s Build, Powered by AMD and Nvidia!
For October 2025, the $3,000 Extreme Mini-ITX Gaming PC Build features the awesomely-powerful AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D 8-core CPU, endowed with 3D V-Cache to provide tremendous gaming performance in an ultra-efficient power envelope. It’s the fastest gaming CPU on the market! To keep it cool while running quiet, we recommend a big 280mm liquid cooler. And to ensure great 4K performance, this build has the ideal GPU for a compact but extreme gaming PC, Nvidia’s GeForce RTX 5080 16GB. It offers simply amazing performance while fitting within a reasonable thermal envelope.
But there’s more here than a great CPU and GPU. The build has a 32GB of premium DDR5-6000 CL30 RAM, along with a blindingly-fast 4TB PCIe Gen 5 solid-state drive and an awesome Platinum-rated 850W SFX power supply. It all comes together in the new Cooler Master NR200 v3 chassis, with an integrated Gen 5 riser cable, space for huge GPUs, plus room on top for that aforementioned 280mm liquid cooler!
Parting Thoughts
You’ll find our recommendations for the best accessories for this build later in this guide. For all products, we provide links to Amazon or Newegg in the US, and our Amazon links will auto-convert for our readers in Canada, the UK, and parts of the EU, with regional substitutions made automatically where necessary. To support continued development of this guide, please use the affiliate links we provide.
The DIY Build
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CPU –AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D
$477The Guru’s TipAMD’s 7800 X3D was impressive enough, easily beating every other CPU ever released in gaming. And despite it still holding the crown after the release of many other CPUs, AMD went and did it again, giving gamers the 9800X3D with enhanced 3D cache technology, redesigned to allow higher clockspeeds and manual overclocking. This CPU is the ultimate gaming processor, regardless of price.Another great feature of this CPU is its low power use, a far cry from Intel's top-end CPUs, which draw at least 100W more power at load - something you definitely don't want in a small ITX chassis.
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Motherboard –Asus ROG Strix B850-I
$270The Guru’s TipThis is a high-end motherboard for a serious small form factor system! It features 10+2+1 power stages, a future-proof PCIe Gen 5 video card slot (which is what you want for the latest GPUs), dual M.2 slots (both being Gen 5), eight USB ports (two being Type-C), Intel Gigabit LAN, WiFi 7 wireless networking, plus the high-end ALC4080 audio codec and a Savitech SV3H712 Amp.This is the perfect high-end ITX board - in fact, while Asus offers an X870-based ITX board for 50% more, it's basically the same, because the X870 chipset's support for extra ports and slots is unusable on an ITX board!
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Video Card –ZOTAC Gaming GeForce RTX 5080 AMP Extreme Infinity 16GB
$1150The Guru’s TipThe RTX 5080 offers nearly the same performance as the older RTX 4090, while coming in at a lower price, and with much lower power draw. And it’s also far ahead of anything AMD offers. It offers all the latest enhancements from Nvidia, including class-leading 4th-Gen Ray Tracing cores and DLSS 4. This model adds to all of that with a massive triple-fan cooler for low noise and low temps, plus sweet RGB lighting.This model will easily fit, as it's 332mm long. It will also look great shining through the case!
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Memory –Klevv 2x16GB Bolt V DDR5-6000 CL30 EXPO
$110The 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 the capabilities of the AM5 platform. It allows for the optimum settings and highest overall performance. This kit from Klevv is specially designed for AM5, thanks to the tight 30-36-36-76 EXPO timings.This has all the speed you need, and none of the extra flash of RGB lighting (which wouldn't be seen anyway behind the GPU).
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Solid-State Drive –Samsung 9100 Pro 4TB PCIe Gen 5
$399The Guru’s TipFor primary storage in a truly elite system, you don’t just want high-end, you want cutting-edge, and that means going Gen 5 on your SSD. Samsung has this category practically locked up with the 9100 Pro, which belts out an impressive 14,800MB/s in sequential read and 13,400MB/s in sequential write, making it about 50% faster than the best Gen 4 drives. You’ll truly be on the cutting-edge with 4TB of ultra-extreme storage on board!While you don't really need a drive this fast for gaming, we figure that with a premium ITX build, you'd only want the best!
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Case –Cooler Master NR200P V3
$128The Guru’s TipBuilding on the immensely-popular NR200P, the NR200P V3 offers next-level performance. It was designed out of the box for the hottest, most power-hungry CPUs and GPUs. It can fit a big 280mm liquid cooler, mounted at the top for optimal exhaust (most cases, including the original NR200P, are side-vented). Also included is a PCIe Gen 5 riser card, allowing big triple-slot video cards to be mounted vertically, which was not possible in the original NR200. Coming in at around 20 liters including feet, it’s the best-optimized SFF case on the market for extreme CPUs and GPUs!This new case offers the best compatibility with the high-end GPU we recommend, thanks to having 362mm of clearance and space for 3.5 slot coolers.
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Power Supply –SilverStone Extreme 850R Platinum
$248The Guru’s TipThis high-end 850W Platinum-rated model offers a fully-modular cable design, a Gen5 PCIe connector (450W rating) for modern GPUs, and an ultra-silent 92mm fluid dynamic bearing (FDB) fan with intelligent fan control. It’s the perfect PSU for a premium ITX build!This unit will have no trouble supporting this system, which will draw about 500W at full load.
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CPU Cooler –be quiet! Pure Loop 3 280mm
$110The Guru’s TipFor a hot-running processor, you need serious cooling, and this 280mm liquid cooler from be quiet! has what it takes. It offers up tremendous performance at reasonable noise levels, along with very classy looks.This cooler will fit perfectly in the top of the system, and note that we don't recommend a cooler with an RGB-lit pump cover because it won't be seen behind the GPU.
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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 the OS you want on a PC running the latest CPU architectures!
Optional Products
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The Mechanical Gaming Keyboard –Corsair K70 RGB Pro MX Red
$170 The Guru’s TipThis keyboard is the classic!
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The Ultralight Gaming Mouse –Razer DeathAdder V4 Pro Wireless
$170 The Guru’s TipWhile there are plenty of ultra-light mice out there, Razer delivers the goods when it comes to performance like no other manufacturer can!
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The 34" Ultra-wide OLED –Alienware AW3425DW
$800 The Guru’s TipIf you want a monitor to show off the power of your new extreme PC, this is the one!
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The Deluxe PC Headset –SteelSeries Arctis Nova 7 Wireless
$200 The Guru’s TipArctis simply owns the market for high-end, performance-oriented gaming headsets.
Total Cost: $3031
The DIY Build
- CPU – AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D ($477)
- Motherboard – Asus ROG Strix B850-I ($270)
- Video Card – ZOTAC Gaming GeForce RTX 5080 AMP Extreme Infinity 16GB ($1150)
- Memory – Klevv 2x16GB Bolt V DDR5-6000 CL30 EXPO ($110)
- Solid-State Drive – Samsung 9100 Pro 4TB PCIe Gen 5 ($399)
- Case – Cooler Master NR200P V3 ($128)
- Power Supply – SilverStone Extreme 850R Platinum ($248)
- CPU Cooler – be quiet! Pure Loop 3 280mm ($110)
- Operating System – Windows 11 Home (USB) @Newegg ($139)
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