The Best $5000 Dream Machine Gaming PC Build – February 2024

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

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 2024, the $5,000 Dream Machine Gaming PC Build goes with Intel’s Core i9-14900K 24-core, 32-thread CPU, which nearly matches AMD’s 7950X3D in games while decimating it in everything else. And you’ll make use of all of its power, because this system will be pushing out a massive number of frames thanks to an insane liquid-cooled Nvidia GeForce RTX 4090 24GB, which is a shocking  30% faster than any other GPU on the market, making it a generation ahead!

But that’s not all… this build is packing premium gear everywhere else! 64GB of ultra-fast DDR5-6800 RAM will assure the CPU has plenty of bandwidth to perform, and the world’s best M.2 SSD, Crucial’s T705 4TB, which offers blazing-fast storage for a huge game collection. To keep things cool, this system uses an awesome 360mm liquid CPU cooler. Powering the system is a quiet and ultra-efficient 1500W Platinum-rated power supply. Finally, the system comes together in the sleek and cutting-edge MSI Prospect 700R case, 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 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 i9-14900K

    $545
    The 14900K, based on the cutting-edge Raptor Lake architecture, takes everything that was great about the 13900K and pushes it to the max. It packs in 8 Hyperthreaded performance cores that can boost up to 6.0GHz. Combined with an incredible 16 efficiency cores, it offers a total of 32 threads. That makes it both an incredibly-effective 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 requires a serious cooler, which is what we spec later in this guide.

  • Motherboard

    ASUS ROG Strix Z790-E Gaming WiFi II

    $500
    Asus brings the best to gamers with its ROG line, and the Z790-E comes from a long line of legendary boards. This Socket 1700 model is a perfect match for Intel’s latest CPUs. It features robust 18+1 power solution, five PCIe M.2 slots (one being Gen 5, four being Gen 4), a PCIe Gen 5 video card slot, 12 USB ports (including two Type-C ports), and integrated WiFi 7.

    The Guru’s Tip

    This board was released alongside 14th-Gen CPUs, and is guaranteed to have the updated firmware needed to boot the Core i9 we spec above!

  • Video Card

    MSI GeForce RTX 4090 Suprim Liquid X 24G @Newegg

    $2100
    As if the RTX 4090 weren’t impressive enough, this model from MSI takes the 4090 to the max, thanks to the all-in-one liquid cooler, including a 240mm radiator. It will keep the 450W monster of a GPU under control and at maximum boost!

    The Guru’s Tip

    Mount this card's radiator to the side exhaust vent, next to the motherboard. And by the way, the RTX 4090 is practically sold out in the US, so if you see this in stock, grab it!

  • Memory

    G.Skill 2x32GB Trident Z5 RGB DDR5-6800 CL34

    $270
    For the ultimate in speed, you can’t just go for any DDR5 RAM, you need high-frequency DDR5 to achieve range-topping performance. And that’s what you get with G.Skill’s Trident Z5 kit running at DDR5-6800 with timings of 34-45-45-102 at 1.40V. This is the real deal when it comes to DDR5 performance in an ultra-dense 64GB configuration!

    The Guru’s Tip

    This is the ideal kit for a serious gaming machine, offering fantastic speed and enough capacity that you'll never hit a bottleneck.

  • Solid-State Drive

    Crucial T705 4TB PCIe Gen 5

    $590
    For primary storage in a truly elite system, you don’t just want high-end, you the best on the market, and that means going with a Crucial’s absolutely insane T705 4TB. Not only is it among the only 4TB PCIe Gen 5.0 solid-state drives on the market, it’s also the only one that already maxes out the Gen 5 interface. It belts out a shocking 14,100MB/s in sequential read and 12,600MB/s in sequential write, making it about nearly twice as fast as any Gen 4 drive. You’ll truly be on the cutting-edge with 4TB of ultra-extreme storage on board!

    The Guru’s Tip

    While you don't really need a drive this fast for gaming, for the dream machine, nothing else will do! But assuming you have a huge game collection, you'll want to add the secondary drive below.

  • Case

    MSI MEG Prospect 700R

    $364
    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

    You can get bigger cases than the 700R, but you cannot get a better case!

  • Power Supply

    be quiet! Straight Power 11 Platinum 1500W

    $250
    be quiet! originated the silent PSU, and the Straight Power 11 is a perfect example of the latest innovations the company has to offer. Featuring 1500W of Platinum-rated power, a fully-modular cable design, and a high-end Silent Wings 3 135mm fan with funnel-shaped intake shroud, this is an exceptional choice for a premium PC build! And take note that this is an ATX 3.0 spec unit, featuring the latest PCIe Gen 5 GPU cables.

    The Guru’s Tip

    While 1500W is overkill for most systems, it's honestly ideal for this system, because the CPU and GPU together consume nearly 750W at stock settings, meaning this unit will always be in its sweet spot!

  • CPU Cooler

    SilverStone IceMyst 360

    $137
    There has been tremendous innovation in the AIO liquid cooler market over the past few years, and the IceMyst 360 is the perfect example of this. Not only does its advanced pump, radiator, and fan design provide a tremendous leap over previous-generation coolers on a noise-normalized basis (which is what counts!), you also have the option of adding up to three 70mm accessory fans to the pump to cool RAM, VRMs, or SSDs. This is a truly unique feature that sets the IceMyst apart and makes it the clear choice among 360mm AIOs!

    The Guru’s Tip

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

  • Operating System

    Microsoft Windows 11 Pro Flash Drive @Newegg

    $199
    Windows 10 one of Microsoft’s most successful and respected operating systems in history, and Windows 11 just builds on its strengths. The Pro version provides the best security, along with compatibility with the highest-end configurations!

    The Guru’s Tip

    This is absolutely the OS you want on your system to take full advantage of the advanced platform.

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

    Download the iCUE software from Corsair to make the most of this feature-packed keyboard.

  • The Ultralight Gaming Mouse

    Razer DeathAdder V3 Pro Wireless

    $143
    Sometimes a product is so far ahead of the competition comes along that it resets the entire industry. So it is with the DeathAdder V3. Featuring the same ergonomic grip as the original from years ago that set the gaming world on fire, this is nonetheless leagues ahead of that classic. Weighing in at a scant 63g, while offering up a 30K DPI sensor, optical switches, wireless operation, and an incredible 90 hours of battery life, this is as cutting-edge as it gets. To have all of this in a mouse that weighs half as much as the best wireless mice from a few generations ago shows you just how far the bar has been raised!

    The Guru’s Tip

    This mouse will keep up with the most fast-twitch games!

  • The Ultimate Gaming Headset

    SteelSeries Arctis Nova Pro Wireless Headset

    $313
    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 34" Ultra-wide OLED

    Samsung Odyssey G85SB

    $980
    Welcome to next-gen gaming, here today! The G85SB features an incredible 34″ ultra-wide QD-OLED panel, able to hit 175Hz, produce up to 1000 nits for true HDR images, while also offering the most colorful images ever seen on the desktop. And it does this all without a distracting cooling fan, thanks to its advanced energy efficient design. At this point, if you want an ultra-high-end monitor, it’s going to be an OLED, much like the high-end TV market.

    The Guru’s Tip

    A dream machine PC deserves a dream monitor!

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