The Best $5000 Dream Machine Gaming PC Build – March 2023

By Ari Altman | Published March 3, 2023 | Updated March 3, 2023

MSI MEG Prospect 700RBuild the Gaming System of your Dreams!

If you want to build a dream gaming system, but can’t stand the idea of having another huge desktop by your side, stop dreaming and jump into a new reality! This build has all the power you could want, packed into an awesome high-end chassis that performs as great as it looks. It’s everything you want in a killer gaming PC!

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

For March 2023, the $5,000 Dream Machine Gaming PC Build is faster than ever! It all starts with the Intel Core i9-13900KS 24-core, 32-thread CPU, a fire-breather if there ever were one. Capable of pulling more power than most graphics cards, it is not for the faint of heart. But don’t worry, we’ll set you up to get the most out of it! And you will be driving it to the max with the insane Nvidia GeForce RTX 4090 24GB, which is a shocking  60% faster than Nvidia’s prior best, the 3090 Ti.

But that’s not all, this build is packing upgrades everywhere else! 64GB of ultra-fast DDR5-6800 RAM will make sure the CPU has plenty of bandwidth to perform, and a 4TB PCIe Gen 4 SSD offers plenty of blazing-fast storage for a huge game collection (keeping in mind that modern games take up hundreds of gigabytes of space!). To keep things cool, this system uses an awesome Corsair 360mm liquid CPU cooler, which provides immense cooling capacity. Powering the system is a quiet and ultra-efficient 1300W Platinum-rated power supply. Finally, the system comes together in the sleek and cutting-edge MSI Prospect 700R, with built-in 4.3″ touchscreen display!

Parting Thoughts

We list all of our top picks to accessorize your Dream Machine in the optional products section later in this guide, although feel free to check out our dedicated Monitor Buyer’s Guide, Keyboard & Mouse Buyer’s Guide, and Headset Buyer’s Guide. To support continued development of this guide, please use the links we provide in the guide. For readers in the US, we list either Amazon links, which will auto-convert for readers in Canada, the UK, and parts of the EU, with automated substitutions made by region where necessary.

The DIY Build

  • CPU

    Intel Core i9-13900KS

    $740
    The 13900KS, based on the cutting-edge Raptor Lake architecture, takes everything that was great about the original 13900K and pushes it to the max. It packs in 8 Hyperthreaded performance cores that can boost up to 6.0GHz, making it the first consumer processor to hit the 6GHz mark. Combined with an incredible 16 efficiency cores, it offers a total of 32 threads. That makes it both the world’s fastest gaming processor, and an elite-level multi-tasking monster. Simply put, it’s what you want in a killer PC!

    The Guru’s Tip

    This CPU is hot and power-hungry, so take our PSU and cooler recommendations later in this guide seriously.

  • Motherboard

    MSI MEG Z790 Ace

    $700
    If you’re going to be running an ultra-high-end Intel CPU, you don’t want to mess around. Go for a board that can dish out the power, because that CPU is going to need it. The Z790 Ace from MSI follows in the footsteps of legends. It offers up  24+1+2 power phase design rated for 105 A, meaning it is a true premium solution. You also get dual PCIe x16 Gen 5 expansion slots, a PCIe x4 Gen 4 slot, an incredible 5 M.2 slots (one being Gen 5), along with 12 USB ports (1 being Type-C and two being full Thunderbolt 4 ports). Finally, it includes the cutting-edge ALC4082 audio codec plus ESS ES9280AQ DAC/headphone amp, dual 2.5Gbps Intel LAN ports, and WiFi 6E. Basically, this thing is stacked!

    The Guru’s Tip

    This board will guarantee incredible stability no matter how hard you push the CPU and RAM!

  • Video Card

    PNY GeForce RTX 4090 XLR8 24G

    $1650
    Hail to the king! The absolutely mind-blowing RTX 4090 24GB goes beyond extreme, beating the RTX 3090 Ti by 60%, an insane gen-on-gen leap in performance. And this model from PNY offers amazing cooling thanks to the massive yet quiet triple-slot, triple-fan cooler!

    The Guru’s Tip

    This card can draw over 450W on its own, so we equip this build with a seriously-high wattage PSU!

  • Memory

    G.Skill 2x16GB Trident Z5 RGB DDR5-6800 CL34

    $200
    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 TridentZ5 kit running at DDR5-6800 with timings of 34-45-45-108 at 1.40V. This is the real deal when it comes to DDR5 performance!

    The Guru’s Tip

    To get DDR5 to run this fast, you can't use just any motherboard, and the one we picked is a proven RAM overclocking monster!

  • Memory

    Second Kit of G.Skill 2x16GB Trident Z5 RGB DDR5-6800

    $200
    At this point, the fastest DDR5 kits max out at 32GB, but of course you’ll want more than that for this build, hence a second set!

    The Guru’s Tip

    We're going with DDR5-6800 here, because it's the fastest you can run when going with four sticks to get you to a full 64GB setup!

  • Solid-State Drive

    WD_Black SN850X 4TB NVMe

    $400
    With the SN850X 4TB, you’re getting the fastest high-capacity 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

    While you don't really need a drive this fast for gaming, for the dream machine, nothing else will do! And the truth is, you'll quickly see the benefit of the huge capacity if you have a large game collection.

  • Case

    MSI MEG Prospect 700R

    $380
    Arguably the most advanced case ever made, the Prospect 700R from MSI is simply astonishing. With dual hinged tempered glass doors on both sides and four 140mm ARGB fans and a mesh front panel for extreme airflow, it already has most cases beat for looks and performance. But what really sets this case apart from everything that has come before it is the built-in 4.3″ touchscreen control panel on top, allowing you to monitor and control practically every aspect of your PC’s performance!

    The Guru’s Tip

    This case is truly worthy of housing the Dream Machine PC!

  • CPU Cooler

    Corsair iCUE H150i Elite Capellix XT

    $220
    For this build, we recommend you go for the amazing H150i Elite Capellix XT from Corsair. It offers up three AF120 RGB Elite fans equipped with AirGuide technology, along with awesome ARGB lighting that can be sync’d directly with the rest of the components spec’d in this build.

    The Guru’s Tip

    Mount this radiator to the top of the chassis as an exhaust.

  • Power Supply

    SilverStone HELA 1300R Platinum

    $294
    A power supply is about so much more than just a wattage rating, and with SilverStone’s HELA 1300R, you get it all. Of course it has an incredible 1300W of capacity, but it also offers an impressive Platinum efficiency certification, a fully-modular design, all Japanese electrolytic capacitors, and an ultra-silent 120mm FDB fan with semi-fanless function. It’s also ultra-compact, at just 140mm deep, meaning it offers the most wattage per liter of any power supply on the market! But perhaps most important, and what really sets this unit apart, is the Gen5 12VHPWR PCIe connector, meeting Intel ATX 3.0 specification standard. It means no adapters required when paired with the latest power-hungry GPUs from Nvidia!

    The Guru’s Tip

    While 1300W is overkill for most systems, it's honestly the sweetspot for this system, because the CPU and GPU together consume about 800W at stock settings, and if you push them, that will go way up. This PSU will take it all in stride!

  • 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

    This is absolutely the OS you want on your system to take full advantage of the Intel 13th-Gen CPU and its advanced hybrid architecture!

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 even sync this keyboard's lighting with the lighting inside the case!

  • The Ultimate Wireless Gaming Mouse

    Logitech G502X Lightspeed Wireless

    $151
    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

    Logitech proves with the G502X that it can take the best and make it better!

  • The Ultimate Gaming Headset

    SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro Wireless Headset

    $350
    Combining audiophile reference-grade performance with incredible versatility, this wireless headset from Arctis is the finest gaming headset on the market! It features 360-degree Spatial Audio for immersive surround sound, active noise cancellation for the headphone to keep out ambient noises, plus AI-powered noise cancelling for the microphone for the clearest comms. Its breakout control box allows you not only to connect two devices at once via USB or Bluetooth, it also lets you listen to both simultaneously, so you can take calls or listen to music from your phone while gaming.  Finally, the Infinity Power System allows you to how-swap the battery without shutting down!

    The Guru’s Tip

    Arctis is the first gaming brand to offer something that is far more than gaming headset!

  • The Ultimate Gaming Monitor

    Corsair XENEON Flex 45WQHD240

    $2000
    Go beyond next-gen gaming with the XENEON Flex from Corsair! With a gigantic 45″ flexible OLED panel with a 3440×1440 resolution, it’s many monitors in one, allowing you to wrap it practically around you for intense immersion, or set it flat to use for media content. But this is more than a one-trick pony. You also get refresh rates up 240Hz, HDR up to 1000 nits, and intense color.

    The Guru’s Tip

    The best gaming PC deserves the best gaming monitor!

The Pre-Built Option

  • The Ultra-High-End Gaming PC

    Skytech Pro Eclipse 13900K/RTX 4090

    $4000
    Want mind-blowing performance without having to build your own PC? Then go for the incredible Pro Eclipse by Skytech. This system features an Intel Core i9-13900K 24-core, 32-thread processor cooled by a massive 420mm liquid cooler, a GeForce RTX 4090 24GB video card, 32GB of DDR5 RAM, and a 1TB PCIe Gen 4 solid-state drive, a Phanteks P500A case, and a massive 1200W power supply. In other words, it’s locked, loaded, and ready to rock the latest games!

    The Guru’s Tip

    While we know most people browsing this guide want to build their own, we'd be remiss if we didn't at least mention this pre-built option, which quite frankly is a much better value than the DIY build above, due to the better price (and better availability) OEMs can get on the 4090 GPU.

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