Construct the high-end PC you’ve always dreamed of with these ten builds

A whirlwind of component announcements in recent months has PC enthusiasts everywhere making plans for their next build. New graphics cards from NVIDIA and AMD, motherboards, CPUs from Intel and AMD, AIO CPU liquid coolers, power supplies, and more are all on the menu. That wealth of options gives you incredible opportunity to assemble a rig that’s right for you, but you might also be feeling a little overwhelmed at the prospect of sorting through all your choices. Here, we’ve constructed ten builds, each with a different theme, to give you a starting point.

Some notes on our recommendations

Before we dig into the specific builds, a couple thoughts about how we’ve assembled this list and ways that you might customize each build to make it your own:

• Intel vs. AMD: We’re more interested in giving you options for your next build than we are in trying to settle the debate between Intel and AMD CPUs. You’ll see chips from both companies represented here so that you can follow your own personal preferences.
• Balance in all things: In our experience, you’ll be most satisfied with your PC over the long term if you purchase a CPU and GPU that are roughly in the same performance tier, and we’ve tailored our recommendations accordingly. Some gamers reduce the upfront price tag of their new machine by pairing a higher-level GPU with a midrange or even entry-level CPU. There is some merit to this approach, as you can always upgrade your CPU down the road as needed, but we think you’ll be happier in the long run with a well-balanced machine.
• Cooling considerations: For each build, we’ve recommended an AIO CPU liquid cooler that offers cooling performance and aesthetics that aligns with the rest of the selected components. This type of cooler is a great fit for the higher-end CPUs in the list, as they’re well-tuned to give you great cooling and subdued noise levels. Plus, you’ll be able to customize your experience for both your motherboard and your AIO cooler with one app: Armoury Crate. If you’d prefer an air cooler instead, there are some excellent options out there.
• Make the most of your memory and storage: With so many companies producing rock-solid memory modules, we decided against recommending specific brands or kits. Instead, we’ve given you some targets for capacity and speed that we think make the most sense for each build. We made similar choices for your storage needs, making suggestions regarding PCIe generation and capacity but letting you make the call on the drive manufacturer. For the smoothest build experience, visit the support page for your motherboard and consult the Qualified Vendor List (QVL) to pick a memory kit.
• State your case: While there are practical considerations with your chassis, notably with component compatibility, selecting a chassis is a very personal decision. We’ve made some recommendations from our lineup that offer a cohesive aesthetic with the other components, but don’t let our suggestions deter you from getting your preferred style. Just make sure that your choice can fit the motherboard, graphics card, and cooling solution that you’ve selected.

The Gamer’s Dream: Titanium

The AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D has been turning heads for its chart-topping gaming performance, so it’s a natural starting point for this list. Our favorite motherboard to accompany this trailblazing CPU is the ROG Crosshair X870E Hero. Stylish and powerful, this board paves the way for the rest of this build with its next-gen PCIe 5.0 slot, ample M.2 slots, WiFi 7, and blazing-fast connectivity options. This board also includes access to Turbo Game Mode, an easy-to-active BIOS feature that optimizes the gaming performance of your AMD Ryzen CPU by disabling simultaneous multithreading and the CPU’s second CCD (if present).

It’s armed and ready to give you great memory performance with NitroPath DRAM Technology, a cutting-edge design that improves signal quality to increase DRAM overclocking performance by up to 400 MT/s depending on factors like memory speed, module, and system configuration. Keep your new processor cool and comfortable with the ROG Ryujin III 360 ARGB Extreme, an AIO CPU liquid cooler that delivers flagship acoustics, cooling performance, and gamer style.

For graphics power, we’ll point you to the ROG Astral GeForce RTX™ 5080. Featuring an all-new design that we debuted for this revolutionary series of GPUs, this graphics card is powered by the NVIDIA Blackwell architecture and the most advanced NVIDIA tech yet, including frame-rate boosting DLSS 4. We keep this beastly GPU cool with our first quad-fan array, our patented vapor chamber solution, a phase-change GPU thermal pad, and a hefty heatsink with densely packed fins.

Let’s step over into the memory aisle. At the moment, most enthusiasts prefer DDR5-6000 RAM for AMD systems, as it’s the highest-speed memory that you can reliably run in a low-latency 1:1 mode with AMD CPUs. Look for a two-stick kit with low latency and tight timings. We’re recommending two 32GB DRAM modules here. While that exceeds the needs of almost any game out there, it’ll make sure that you have plenty of memory leftover for livestreaming — or all those browser tabs and apps that you’d rather not bother to close before diving into a game.

Today’s games demand a sizable chunk of storage space. It’s no fun when you have to uninstall your old favorites just so you can check out the latest title, so let’s get your rig started right with a 4TB M.2 SSD. For the fastest game load times, look for a PCIe 5.0 option, but if you spot a tempting deal on a PCIe 4.0 drive don’t hesitate to pull the trigger. The ROG Crosshair X870E has five total M.2 slots, so give any drives you have from older builds a new shot at life by re-using them in this new PC.

For this CPU and GPU combo, we recommend a PSU that can pump out at least 1000W. But “at least” isn’t the name of the game for this PC. Give yourself headroom for performance tweaking by going all-out with the ROG Thor 1600W Titanium III. On top of stunning power delivery, this PSU offers exceptional efficiency and cooling. Modern graphics cards often require quick bursts of power during intense gaming sessions, so ROG Thor III series PSUs feature our patented GPU-First intelligent voltage stabilizer. It’s a visual stunner, too, with a side-mounted OLED display that gives you a real-time readout of your system’s current total power draw.

We recommend that you wrap up all this high-end hardware in the ROG Hyperion GR701 chassis, an unashamedly large case that provides exceptional airflow, ample space for all your components, and the front-panel ports you’ll need to take advantage of the ROG Crosshair X870E Hero’s USB connectivity options.

The Gamer’s Dream: Platinum

ROG Strix components are perennial favorites for gaming builds. Channeling the high-end energy of our most premium ROG components into designs that stake their claim at the upper end of mainstream, ROG Strix parts bring cutting-edge gaming power to wide audiences.

For this build, we’re letting the Intel Core Ultra 9 Processor 285K run the show. The ROG Strix Z890-F Gaming WiFi motherboard can unleash this CPU with an XMP Tweaked memory profile that helps reduce memory latency for enhanced gaming performance. You’ll get an M.2 slot and PCIe x16 slot that are both wired for PCIe 5.0. WiFi 7, a front-panel Thunderbolt 4 port, and an ROG SupremeFX audio solution are all on the menu, too. For cooling, we recommend the bold style and powerful performance of the ROG Strix LC III 360 ARGB LCD. This AIO CPU liquid cooler even has an LCD atop the pump housing that you customize with your own images and designs — or use to display a readout of vital system information, including temperatures and frequencies.

It’s hard to pick a favorite graphics card from the NVIDIA 50 Series lineup, but the ROG Strix GeForce RTX™ 5070 Ti 16GB GDDR7 OC Edition (coming soon) might be the preferred pick for mainstream gamers who love plentiful RGB LEDs and a cooling solution that’s built to go the distance. Its generous 16GB of GDDR7 should ensure that this GPU will be ready for any game on the market for years to come, and it’ll put the complete NVIDIA RTX feature set at your fingertips.

The latest Intel CPUs and motherboards can handle a high-speed memory kit without any fuss, so we’re recommending a 2x16GB DDR5-8000 kit. Getting a kit on this board’s QVL list up to speed won’t take anything more than enabling the XMP profile, though the rich feature set in our award-winning BIOS will give you all the memory tweaking options that your heart desires. 2TB PCIe 5.0 SSDs are readily available these days, so go get your gaming library started in style.

The Gamer’s Dream: Gold

The next build is for the value hunters out there. It’s not a budget gaming PC — we’ll look at one of those shortly — but it is a build that sits at the sweet spot of price and performance. It pairs an AMD Ryzen 7 9700X CPU and TUF Gaming Radeon RX 9070 XT graphics card to give you years of unforgettable gaming experiences. The TUF Gaming X870-Plus WiFi pulls this build together with a feature set that makes cutting-edge tech accessible for a wide audience, and it’s built to last with black metallic capacitors, protection against electrical surges with TUF LANGuard, and robust heatsinks for the VRM and chipset.

TUF Gaming components stand out from the crowd with their battle-hardened, no-frills aesthetic. The TUF Gaming LC II 360 ARGB is the perfect partner for your new CPU with its stripped-down style and quiet performance.

By the time you’re done putting this build together, we think you’ll want to show off your hard work. The TUF Gaming GT502 Horizon is a dual-chamber chassis that gives you a seamless view unobstructed by a front pillar. The optional TUF Gaming ARGB Lighting Kit for GT502 Horizon Series lets you outfit this PC case with vibrant surrounding lighting. If you want to add more fans, we recommend looking at the TUF Gaming TR120 ARGB fans. They’re available with both regular and reverse fan blade orientations so that you can get maximal airflow and great ARGB illumination no matter if you’re using them for air intake or exhaust. The TUF Gaming ARGB PWM Fan Hub makes it easy to connect and control up to six case fans.

The Master Creator’s Dream

So far, we’ve looked at a variety of options for gamers. Now, let’s switch gears to the world of creative work. Professionals in fields like architecture, 3D product design, game development, and video editing need powerful PCs to bring their visions to life, and we’re ready to help get your high-powered creative rig up and running.

This first build is targeted toward creators who primarily use an app that scales best with Intel CPUs. If that’s you, we’ll point you toward the top of the stack with an Intel Core Ultra Processor 285K. Pair it with the ProArt Z890-Creator WiFi motherboard to get the wide connectivity and rock-solid performance that you need in a design that’s suitable for professional contexts. The ProArt LC 360 AIO CPU liquid cooler gives you complementary style, powerful cooling with a 360mm radiator and three Alphacool Apex Stealth Metal Power fans, and an illuminated meter that can indicate the live system load, temperatures, or fan speeds.

Creative workloads can scale with multiple GPUs, so we equipped the ProArt Z890-Creator WiFi’s two PCIe 5.0 x16 slots with the ability to operate in an x8/x8 configurations. To take advantage of this capability, you’ll need two graphics cards with relatively slim cooling solutions. For this reason, we’ll point you toward the Prime GeForce RTX™ 5080 graphics card. In a 2.5-slot design, it gives you high-end AI TOPS powered by the latest Blackwell architecture, NVIDIA Studio, and great cooling. MuseTree, our AI-powered image-generation app that revolutionizes how you create and manage images and visual ideas, will soon support our latest RTX 50 Series cards powered by the Blackwell architecture. Additionally, you’ll enjoy a complimentary 1-month subscription to Adobe Creative Cloud (terms and conditions apply).

A couple notes about memory. When professional creators select memory for their PC, they’re usually more concerned about unwavering reliability and capacity than they are with high speeds. A 2x48GB DDR5-5600 kit will balance those considerations for many folks. But we’ll mention that new 4x64GB configurations at DDR5-5600 make it possible to get a stunningly large pool of memory without having to venture into quad-channel workstation hardware.

For storage, we recommend opting for multiple drives. That way, your operating system and apps can run on a drive that’s separate from the SSD that holds your projects and assets.

For the chassis of this powerful build, we’ve selected the ProArt PA602 Wood Edition. It’s built from end to end for exceptional airflow, and it’s wrapped up in a showcase design that integrates durable and beautiful ash wood with a thermowood treatment for an aesthetic that’s both professional and sophisticated.

The Expert Creator’s Dream

If you’d prefer an AMD Ryzen CPU for your creative workstation, we have the gear you need. The high-end AMD Ryzen 9 9900X gives you outstanding multithreaded performance with its 12 cores and 24 threads. The ProArt X870E-Creator WiFi provides the perfect home for this cutting-edge CPU with its ultrafast networking options, robust power solution, and wide-ranging connectivity options.

Many of our recommendations for this build are similar to the components you’ll need for the Intel-based creative PC, but we do want to highlight the variety of options that you have available with the ProArt PA602. In addition to the Wood Edition with a tempered glass panel, we also offer a Wood Edition variant with a metal side panel that prioritizes cooling efficiency and durability. If the wood elements aren’t your style, check out the original ProArt PA602.

The Clean Enthusiast’s Dream

Some PC builders rightfully take pride in their ability to carefully shape and position the internal cables of their PC into elegant, parallel curves, and they’re quick to take advantage of the opportunity to show off their work in a chassis that provides a panoramic view. But for many of us, cable management is a chore that we could do without. To help you to build an ultra-clean PC without the extra hassle, we offer BTF motherboards that keep the wires out of sight by orienting the headers and ports on the rear of the board rather than the front.

Your premium motherboard pick in the BTF ecosystem is the ROG Maximus Z890 Hero BTF. An ideal platform for the Intel Core Ultra 9 Processor 285K, it’s equipped with a PCIe 5.0 x16 slot for new graphics cards, WiFi 7, and much more. Most importantly, it keeps headers and connectors out of sight while packing ultra-stylish ROG flourishes and premium lighting effects.

A BTF build requires a chassis with motherboard tray cutouts that allow you to access all the connectors on the backside of the motherboard. The ROG Hyperion GR701 BTF Edition will give you what you need. It brings the style, ample interior space, and great airflow of the original, while making it easy to construct your BTF PC.

Your First PC: TUF Gaming Edition

Perhaps you’re new to the world of building a PC, but you’re eager to get started with gaming or content creation. Here’s a build plan for a computer that won’t break the bank. The AMD Ryzen 7 9700X stands in the middle of AMD’s 9000 Series CPU lineup, and it’s a great fit for the value-oriented TUF Gaming B850-Plus WiFi.

It’s worth mentioning that our latest motherboards go above and beyond to help you with the process of getting your new PC up to speed. Our Z890, X870, B860, B850, and B840 motherboards — basically every board that we’ve launched in the last six months — support ASUS AI Advisor, an easy-to-use tool that gives you a natural-language interface to learn more about your new hardware. If you have questions about how to optimize your PC, AI Advisor will be there to guide you.

For graphics performance, we recommend the brand-new TUF Gaming GeForce RTX 5070 Ti (coming soon). Armed with all the latest NVIDIA RTX features and a future-proof 16GB pool of VRAM, this card is ready to go the distance with enhanced cooling and power delivery, as well as rugged reinforcements for exceptional durability.

One of our favorite PC cases to recommend to new builders is the TUF Gaming GT302 ARGB. This mid-tower chassis checks all the boxes. It’s roomy enough for an easy building experience, yet not overly large. Its four 140mm fans and mesh front panel equip it for great cooling right out of the box. And niceties like a detachable top panel, high-speed front panel USB Type-C port, and spacious cable management compartment just add to the value proposition.

Your First PC: ASUS Prime Edition

Maybe you’re looking for a gaming-ready PC that’s even more affordable. Let’s get you there with rock-solid ASUS Prime components. A B840 motherboard like the ASUS Prime B840M-A WiFi gives you all the essentials for a great PC that’s ready to go the distance. The Prime ecosystem ensures that you can get complementary style and performance with your AIO CPU liquid cooler, graphics card, power supply, and chassis.

Your White PC: ROG Strix Edition

In years past, building a white-themed PC involved a lot of custom painting. Now that we offer a wide range of white components, it’s as simple as buying the right parts. Start with the AMD Ryzen 9 9900X, and pair it with the ROG Strix X870-A Gaming WiFi, a potent gaming motherboard that dazzles with white and silver accents and a cobble-gray PCB. The ROG Strix LC III 360 ARGB LCD White Edition keeps CPU temperatures low while maintaining your build’s frosty look. The ROG Hyperion GR701 White Edition will wrap it all up in an eye-catching white-themed enclosure.

If you’re looking for a white graphics card from the ROG lineup right now, we’ll point you to the ROG Strix GeForce RTX 4080 SUPER White OC Edition. But perhaps you’re willing to wait just a bit for an NVIDIA 50 Series model. We’re not ready to share all the details, but we do have a white 50 Series ROG graphics card on the way, and it’s coming soon.

Your White PC: TUF Gaming Edition

We not only give you white-themed components, but we also give you options. Perhaps you’d prefer the ruggedized aesthetic of TUF Gaming for your white PC? Here’s your build plan. Your foundation is the TUF Gaming Z890-Pro WiFi, a high-end Intel motherboard ready to launch your overclocking ambitions with the Intel Core Ultra 7 Processor 265K. Give your PC some serious graphics muscle with the TUF Gaming GeForce RTX 4070 Ti SUPER White Edition — or stay patient for just a little while longer, as we have a white NVIDIA 50 Series TUF Gaming graphics card on the way. For your chassis, the white edition of the TUF Gaming GT502 Horizon stands ready. The special ARGB lighting kit for this chassis will create unforgettable lighting effects across its white surfaces.