Best $2,200 Custom PC Build In 2023

Specs:

• 8 Cores and 16 processing threads
• 100MB cache
• 5.0 GHz Max Boost
• AM5 platform
• 120W TDP

It’s by far the best gaming PC right now with all aspects taken into account (including price). The AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D is tough to beat. It might not have the monstrous number of cores and threats as the Ryzen 9 or i9 CPUs of this generation, but its efficiency and gaming performance is undoubtedly better.

All this for a price of $440 (likely less with a sale). Outside of gaming, you can also opt to use it for productivity workloads and it will still perform well, as well as you can expect from a Ryzen 7 CPU. And since AM5 is just a young platform, you can get a lot of mileage out of your motherboard of choice, great for future-proofing.

Specs:

• Memory: 24GB GDDR6
• XFX MERC Triple Fan Cooling Solution
• Boost Clock: Up to 2615 MHz
• 13.54 x 5.04 x 2.24 inches
• 384 bits Memory Bus Width

Here’s AMD Radeon’s best GPU for this generation, the RX 7900 XTX, courtesy of partner manufacturer XFX. XFX spared no expense and gave this one a triple-fan cooler with a length exceeding a typical ruler. So you’ll need a good and spacious case (we’ve taken care of that as well).

As for the performance, you can expect it to go toe-to-toe (on average) with the NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 even if the latter has ray tracing. And with AMD developing frame interpolation with the upcoming FSR 3.0, the only advantage NVIDIA has left will be a marginally better ray tracing performance.

Specs:

• M.2 PCIe 5.0, USB 3.2 Gen2x2 Type-C, front USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-C, USB4 support
• WiFi 6, Realtek 2.5 Gb Ethernet, and TUF LANGuard
• Enlarged VRM and PCH heatsinks, M.2 heatsinks, hybrid fan headers, and Fan Xpert 2+ utility in Armoury Crate
• Aura Sync RGB
• AMD AM5 socket

You can’t go wrong with Asus motherboard (as long as they’re not too cheap). And among the most budget-friendly AM5 and DDR5-ready motherboards, the TUF Gaming B650-PLUS offers the best bang for your buck.

With it, you can overclock your DDR5 RAM to 6400 MHz. It’s also more than capable of handling the Ryzen 7 7800X3D and its power requirements (which aren’t even big, to begin with). As an added bonus, there are essentially three M.2 heatsinks, which is quite thoughtful for a motherboard of this price.

Specs:

• 11.1 x 4.72 x 1.06 inches
• 33 dB noise level
• 280w TDP heat dissipation
• 2x 120mm DeepCool FK120
• Infinity mirror CPU block

You could go with the impressive Arctic Liquid Freezer II, but even that’s more expensive than one of DeepCool’s latest masterpieces. The DeepCool Liquid Cooler LT520 is a stylish beast of a cooler that can tame even the hottest of Ryzen CPUs.

It has slightly noisier fans and operation but the overall cooling is similar to the Arctic Liquid Freezer II and it’s more affordable. Besides, can you resist that infinity mirror CPU block?

Specs:

• DDR5
• 6000 MHz
• CL36-36-36-96 latency
• 1.35V
• Customizable RGB

RAM is starting to become more affordable these days and that’s a good thing. That means you can play fast and loose a bit with the amount, which is why we’re going 32GB here, and with RGB nonetheless!

The speed is also near the upper limits of what most motherboards allow, which is 6000 MHz and that’s enough for you to discern a framerate boost in games. All in all, good RAM for the money.

Specs:

• NVMe (PCIe Gen4 x4)
• 5000MB/s sequential reads
• Rated at 1.5 million hours
• Backward compatibility with Gen3

We still have a budget to stick to and we’re not at the top-tier enthusiast level yet so we’re sticking to 1TB for now to allow for other components to be beefier. But make no mistake, this NVMe SSD is superb.

It’s a Gen4 PCIe NVMe so the speeds are blazing fast and likely more than what you’ll ever need for gaming. For some reason, it’s even cheaper than the Gen3 models, so feel free to add more if you want to go over budget.

Specs:

• Fully modular
• Gold-rated efficiency
• 120mm HDB fan
• 850 watts
• 5-year warranty

Cooler Master’s MWE lineup for its PSUs is some of the toughest and most reliable ones on the market. At the same time, they’re also affordable. This particular one is on sale for a sub-$120 price tag.

And that’s all the wattage you’ll ever need for an RX 7900 XTX (the minimum requirement is actually just 800W). And the Gold efficiency means you don’t have to worry too much about wattage spikes.

Specs:

• 22 x 22 x 12 inches
• Mid Tower size
• 28 Pounds
• Three included RGB fans
• Dual-tempered glass door

It’s not the best-looking PC case out there, but it has the best value in terms of price, stock cooling performance, and features. The Lian-Li Lancool II Mesh not just meshifies its front panel but also the bottom part of its side panels to allow for even more airflow.

The result is a stock cooling performance that can rival that of the Fractal Torrent, which is twice as expensive. If you care more about style, you can always go for the slightly cheaper Corsair 4000D or NZXT H5 Flow.