Best Gaming PC Builds for 2023: Build A High-End Desktop

Need the best gaming PC build for 2023? This guide gives you five of the best computer builds and prebuilt PC options at a variety of price points to help you build a high-end PC.

With modern PC games advancing at such a rapid rate, there is no surprise that there are multiple titles that have been released that most standard cookie-cutter computers can barely handle (cough, Starfield, cough). And, as PC gamers we like to have and experience the best… We like to play our games on the highest settings possible, at the highest resolution possible, with the highest framerate possible, and, of course, with as many RGB lights as possible.

Fortunately, in this day and age, even a budget gaming PC will allow you to run most games on higher settings on an affordable 1080p monitor. (Although, in this guide, we’ll be talking about high-end computers, rather than budget-friendly systems.)

In some cases it may make sense for you to opt for a prebuilt gaming computer, a custom gaming PC, or a gaming laptop instead of building your own system. However, with the GPU shortage now over, it is once again cheaper to build your own system. If you’re not up for building your own PC, though, we have a number of buyer’s guides on prebuilt systems and laptops to help your find something that will suit your needs.

In this guide, we’ve given you part lists for the most powerful gaming PC builds at five different price ranges. We’ve also linked to prebuilt gaming computers with similar specs as well so that if you don’t want to build your own system, you can go the prebuilt route as well.

Quick-Look: The Best Gaming PC Builds

For those of you who just want to get right into ordering the parts for your system, I’ve put together five different pre-made part lists ($1,000, $1,250, $1,500, $1,750, & $2,000) so that you can bypass the component selection process and get right into building your new powerful gaming PC for 2023.

We’ve chosen the part lists for these budgets based on personal experience, brand reputation, benchmarks, part availability, and pricing at the time of the last update. We update this guide with the top components at the best prices on a regular basis. So, if you’re looking at these builds you can bet they’ll give you maximum performance for the budget you’ve set. And, if you’re looking for a similarly priced pre-built gaming computer, just click on the “PRE-BUILT »” link to check out an alternative option.

		NAME	SPECS
EXTREME		$2,000 Gaming PC	Intel i5-13600KF RTX 4070 Ti 16GB RAM 850W PSU	SEE PRICE » PRE-BUILT »
ULTRA		$1,750 Gaming PC	Intel i5-13600KF RTX 4070 16GB RAM 850W PSU	SEE PRICE » PRE-BUILT »
HIGH-END		$1,500 Gaming PC	Intel i5-13600KF RX 6800 XT 16GB RAM 650W PSU	SEE PRICE » PRE-BUILT »
BALANCED		$1,250 Gaming PC	Intel i5-12600KF RTX 3070 16GB RAM 650W PSU	SEE PRICE » PRE-BUILT »
VALUE 4K		$1,000 Gaming PC	Intel i5-12400F RTX 3070 16GB RAM 650W PSU	SEE PRICE » PRE-BUILT »

*These components are updated about once per week. If the lists contain components that are out-of-stock or if the price is higher than listed, either search for similar replacement components or use the comment form below to ask for advice on alternative options.

FAQ: Buying/Building the Best Gaming PC

If you’re on the fence of whether or not you should build your own gaming computer, buy a prebuilt computer, get a gaming laptop, or go with a console (like a PS5 or XBox Series X), we’ve put together a list of answers to some questions you likely have.

1. Which PC is best for gaming?

There really is no answer to the question of what the best computer for gaming is. The best computer for gaming will vary from individual to individual. For instance, if all you want to do is run non-demanding titles like Rocket League, Apex Legends, Minecraft, and/or Fortnite, you don’t need an extreme $4,000 computer with a multi-GPU setup and an insane liquid cooling configuration.

You could easily get by with spending aound $1,000 on parts.

However, if you want to game on a new 4K monitor, you’re going to need a much better system because of how much more demanding 4K gaming is.

Or, if you want a capable gaming computer that will also serve as a workstation system for your profession, you’ll want to alter the type of system you build or buy to accommodate your needs.

So, the bottom line is that, there is no such thing as the single “best” gaming computer. The reality is that everyone has different needs and a different budget. So, the best gaming PC will be one that gives you the performance you need at a price you can afford.

Also Read: What to Look for in A Gaming PC

2. Can you build a gaming PC in 2023?

With the GPU shortage and supply chain issues mostly over, it is once again far more affordable to build your own PC than it is to buy a prebuilt system. Prebuilt systems and custom-built systems are still a worthy option if you want to forego the building process.

However, if you’re looking for the most bang for your buck, your best bet is to assemble your own computer.

The good news is that it isn’t difficult to build your own gaming PC. All you need to build a computer is all of the parts necessary (which we’ve provided you with the part lists above), a screw driver, some patience, and a good step-by-step building guide. (Check out ours here.)

Also Read: What Parts Are Needed to Build A Gaming PC?

3. Is $2,000 good for a gaming PC?

Yes, a $2,000 budget to put towards a gaming computer will allow you to acquire a high-end gaming desktop. If you’re talking about a prebuilt system, that should be enough to get you an RTX 4070 Ti gaming PC, or something similar. And, that will provide you with enough power to max out just about any game you want to play.

It should be noted, though, that even a $2,000 budget will not be able to max out all games on a 4K display, as newer titles like Starfield are incredibly demanding. But, with a $2,000 budget your limitations on what you can do will be very small.

Depending on your needs, you could also spend less and still come away with a PC build that will exceed all of your expectations. Check out our guide on how much it costs to build a gaming PC to get an idea of what kind of performance you should expect for your budget.

4. Is building a gaming PC hard?

If you’ve never built a computer before, the good news is that there are a ton of written and video guides out there that do a great job of walking you through the assembly process. We’ve provided a solid step-by-step building guide here, but you might also want to check out our guide on the most common PC building mistakes and our guide on how long it takes to build a PC to help give you a better idea of the process.

5. Is Intel or AMD better for gaming?

Both processor manufacturers are worthy of considering. In fact, it’s probably not a good idea to commit to one brand over the other and, instead, pick the option that will best fit your budget at the time you go to purchase your components or system.

The reality is that, on a dollar-for-dollar basis, the two processor manufacturer options are going to provide similar in-game performance. What this means is that, for example, if you have ~$200 to spend on a processor, the options available from Intel and AMD at that price range are going to provide near identical in-game performance. So, it’s much better to not commit to either brand, and see which option costs less at the time of purchase.

There are instances where you may prefer one brand over the other, however…

AMD’s Ryzen CPUs generally provide a decent performance boost over similarly-priced Intel processors in multi-threaded applications. So, if you need the extra power in multi-threaded applications, that might be one reason to justify choosing an AMD CPU over an Intel CPU in the same price range.

But, if your main aim is pure gaming performance, it is best to just choose the option that comes with a lower pricetag. This should also include the

6. Should I get a gaming laptop or a desktop?

A desktop will always offer more performance for the price than a laptop. However, that’s not to say that laptops aren’t capable gaming machines. If you have a larger budget, you can get yourself a really powerful gaming laptop.

The new RTX 4090 laptops, RTX 4080 laptops, and RTX 4070 laptops are all capable of maxing out any game you throw at them. On the flip side, though, for the same amount of money, you can build or buy a PC that offers more performance and better cooling.

So, whether or not you should get a laptop or a desktop will come down to how much you value the mobility of a laptop. If you need a mobile system that you can take with you on the go, sacrificing a little bit of performance for the mobility that a laptop provides is probably your best option.

If you need as much performance as possible and you don’t mind opting for a stationary system, then a traditional PC offers the most performance regardless of your budget. And, you can squeeze out even more performance from your budget if you opt to build your own system.

7. Which is better? A gaming PC, PS5, or XBox One X?

I’ve touched on this a bit above, but, in terms of hardware and performance potential, a gaming computer will always beat out a PS5 or XBox One X, or any other console. However, that doesn’t mean that a computer would be the best option for you.

For starters, certain titles are only available on consoles. For example, MLB The Show and the Spider Man series are console exclusives. (And, up until recently, the God of War Series). If those are the titles you want to primarily play, you probably shouldn’t spend a ton of money to build an extreme gaming computer.

Of course, the PC platform has its own exclusive titles as well (League of Legends, Dota 2, World of Warcraft, etc.) And, of the games that you can run on both the PC and console (Apex Legends, PUBG, Rocket League, Fortnite, etc.), most of them will run better on a PC than they will on a console.

As I mentioned earlier, though, if you love playing games with your friends and they all game on a console, it might not be worth it for you to start playing games on a computer. Regardless of the advantages that computers offer over a consoles, its always more fun to game with your friends than it is to game alone.

So, again, the reality is that, while PC gaming does offer some advantages over console gaming (like more RGB lighting!), there isn’t a right answer to which platform is better for you.