How to Build A Gaming PC Under $1,500 in 2023 (2024)

With a Ryzen 5 5600X CPU, an RX 7900 XT GPU, and 32GB of DDR5 RAM, you’ll be able to max out anything you throw at this $1,500 gaming PC build on a 1440P display and you’ll be able to run games on higher settings at 4K resolution.

If you’re looking to get into1440P or 4K gaming, or you want a high-end desktop that can handle competitive games on a 1080P/360Hz+ or 1440P/240Hz+ monitor, then the PC build listed in this guide might be what you’re looking for.

This list of components will include everything you need to assemble the tower. All you’ll need is a screwdriver, a PC building guide (check the FAQ section below), and enough time set aside to complete the build.

And, if you absolutely aren’t up for building your own computer, we’ve also linked to a suitable prebuilt system for the same amount. But, by opting for a simlarly-priced prebuilt, you’ll be leaving a lot of performance on the table.

Here’s the parts that will makeup a high-end gaming desktop…

You can also read our guide on the Best Gaming PC Builds for more build options at higher and lower pricepoints.

Part List for $1,500 PC Build

CPU	AMD Ryzen 5 7600X	VIEW
COOL	Thermalright PA 120 SE	VIEW
MOBO	ASRock B650 PRO	VIEW
GPU	XFX RX 7900 XT	VIEW
RAM	G.SKILL Flare X5 32GB	VIEW
SSD	Samsung Pro 990 1TB	VIEW
CASE	Phanteks Eclipse P400A	VIEW
PSU	XPG 850W	VIEW

Grand Total: $1,470-$1,530

PRICE ON AMAZON »

CHECK PRE-BUILT »

*Prices on PC components change on a daily basis. Click ‘Price on Amazon’ to see the most-up-to-date price.

**The ‘Grand Total’ price includes the parts that make up the computer only. You’ll need an operating system and Windows costs ~$125 for an activation key. However, you can still install Windows for free and it will work indefinitely without activating it with no problems—there will just be a watermark at the bottom left of your screen asking you to activate it.

$1,500 PC Build Overview

$1,500 is the perfect budget to build a high-end gaming PC with. It will allow you to get a powerful processor and graphics card combo that is capable of maxing out games at higher resolutions while maintaining a high enough average framerate to utilize a high refresh rate monitor.

This build comes with a brand new AMD Ryzen 5 5600X CPU, an XFX Radeon RX 7900 XT GPU, 32GB of G.SKILL’s Flare X5 DDR5 RAM, a Samsung 990 Pro 1TB NVME SSD, and an XPG fully-modular 850W power supply.

Check out the benchmarks below for a better idea of what this build is capable of.

Overclocking & Cooling

You also get our pick for one of the best value air coolers on the market, the Thermalright Peerless Assassin 120 SE. And, this build comes with a solid a ASRock B650 chipset motherboard. The combination of the Thermalright Cooler and the B650 chipset board will allow for moderate overclocking to squeeze even more performance out of this system.

We’ve chosen the Phanteks P400A for this build as it is affordable, spacious enough to hold all of the parts in this build, has a mesh front panel for better airflow, and comes with three preinstalled RGB fans for excellent out-of-the-box cooling.

Overall, there really isn’t anything this $1,500 system can’t handle. It will pair well with a 1080P 360Hz display for competitve gamers and it will run games on higher resolution displays (like 1440P 240Hz monitors or 4K 144Hz monitors) great, too.

So, if you’ve got a decent amount to spend on a desktop that will last you a long time, the set of parts listed below should do the job for you.

Prebuilt Option: If you’re not up for building your own computer, click the “Shop Pre-Builts” button in the section above to see a similarly priced pre-built gaming computer.

RX 7900 XT Benchmark

Build FAQ

We chose each of these components for a reason—but there are viable alternatives. Below, we discuss why we chose the components listed above for this build and what other alternatives there are…

1. How Do I Build This PC?

You will need to assemble all of the individual components you have purchased into a working PC. Fortunately, this process is not difficult! And, it’s a lot of fun. If you’ve never built a PC before, use our Step-by-Step PC building guide to walk you through the process.

How to Build A Gaming PC: Step-by-Step

2. What About an Intel Processor?

Although we chose the AMD Ryzen 5 5600X for this build, you could opt for a new Intel CPU instead.

Intel’s 12th,13th, and 14th Gen CPUs are extremely powerful options that would work well in this build. However in terms of price-to-performance, at the moment the 7600X seems to offer the best value. It performs on par with the i5-13600K in most scenarios and is a lot cheaper.

The i5-14600K is over ~$100 more expensive and it doesn’t provide a significant performance advantage.

The i5-12600K is about the same price and falls slightly behind the 7600X.

So, at the moment, we like the 7600X the best for this budget. It would be worth checking the above-mentioned Intel options, though, as they could drop down to pricepoints that make them more attactive options.

If you want to save even more money, you could also opt for the non-x variant, the Ryzen 5 5600. It doesn’t offer as much performance out-of-the-box as the 5600X, but you can bridge that gap with some mild overclocking.

Whether you choose an AMD- or Intel-based build, both options will provide similar real-world gaming performance. Your best option here would be to choose whichever option is cheaper at the time you are choosing your parts.

3. What About an NVIDIA GPU?

As of right now, in our opinion, AMD’s GPUs just seem to be better-priced than NVIDIA’s GPUs at similar performance levels.

With this $1,500 build we configured it so that we could maximize GPU performance. We felt that by allocating ~$750 to a GPU, we could still fit in components that would not create a bottleneck.

And, right now, for ~$750 you two GPU options are the NVIDIA RTX 4070 Ti and the RX 7900 XT.

Compare: RTX 4070 Ti vs RX 7900 XT

*Note that at the time this guide was written above, the 7900 XT was more expensive. Both GPUs are now the same price.

In almost all benchmarks, the 7900 XT outperforms the 4070 Ti. So, since the two GPUs are roughly the same price, we opted for the 7900 XT.

Again, like with any component choice, you need to check current prices. If you were to find an RTX 4070 Ti available in the low $700’s or high $600s, the money saved might make it a better value for you.

4. Storage Options

There are a lot of different ways you could handle storage in this build. Since the price of NVME drives have come down to levels close to traditional SATA SSD drives, we opted for an NVME drive from Samsung.

Since the B650 chipset motherboard doesn’t have PCIe 5.0 support, there was no reason to opt for a newer Gen 5 NVME SSD. Instead, we opted for one of the best Gen 4 SSDs on the market, the Samsun 990 Pro.

If you do want to get a Gen 5 SSD in this build, you’ll have to stretch your budget quite a bit as not only will you have to spend~$80 extra for a PCIe 5.0 SSD, but you’ll also have to spend at least ~$100 more to get an X670 chipset motherboard that offers Gen 5 support.

Also Read: The Best SSDs for Gaming

5. Case Options

While we chose the Phanteks Eclipse P400A for the case in this build, there are a ton of different options out there that might work better for you. We like the Phanteks case because it has plenty of room to hold this system, has a grilled front-panel (for better air intake), comes with three preinstalled RGB fans, and comes with a full-length PSU shroud.

And, you get all of that for under $80. But, again, depending on your own personal preferences, there might be a better case out there for you. If you do opt for a different case, just make sure that it will hold all of your components!

Also Read: Which PC Case Size is Best for Your Next Build?

6. How Big of A Power Supply?

Outervision’s PSU calculater recommends a ~550-watt power supply for this build. However, AMD recommends at least a 750-watt power supply. And, although Outervisions’s PSU calculator is probably more accurate (AMD is over-recommending wattage in order to ensure nobody blows up their system), we’ve erred on the side of caution and opted for an 850-watt PSU.

This will give you plenty of headroom for system tuning or for future upgrades.

For more information on picking a power supply, check out our guide on How to Choose the Right Power Supply for Your Build.

Conclusion: A $1,500 Powerhouse Gaming Desktop

There’s really nothing this $1,500 gaming PC can’t handle. It can work as a 4K gaming PC. It can serve as a high-end system for hardcore competitive gamers who need a machine that can push a 360Hz monitor or a 1440P 240Hz display. And, it will work well for streamers and content creators.

All-in-all, if you’re looking for the best gaming PC under $1,500, this system is worth considering.

Get Help With Your Build: If you need help putting together a part list for your build? Fill out the form below or ask your questions in the comment section!