Best High-End Gaming PC Build under $1500 in 2023

If you’re trying to build the ULTIMATE gaming PC for about $1500 in 2023, this one can’t be beaten. Packing the impressive RX 7900 XT, as well as AMD’s R7 5700X CPU, this PC is absolutely loaded with almost irresponsible amounts of power. 

Whether you’re planning on gaming in 4K, 1440p, or even 1080p, this build is going to constantly deliver. You can expect ~60fps in 4K with most games maxed out – if you keep raytracing off. That only gets better as you go down in resolution. Realistically, this is an ultra settings 1440p build if you want a reliable 60-100+ fps experience. 

That all said, let’s get into this build! 

$1500 Prebuilt Gaming PC Option

CyberPowerPC GXiVR8080A9

This prebuilt gaming PC from CyberPowerPC is a great option and similarly specced to the custom DIY build this post is all about. It’s giving you similar power for about the same price. AND, it comes completely assembled with Windows 10 already installed. All you have to do is plug it in and turn it on! 

 Complete Build Breakdown

When it comes to putting together an insanely high-power gaming PC build for $1500, this is it. You simply cannot beat this build in terms of price vs performance. It’s easily capable of handling all but the most graphically demanding games on ultra settings in 4K. 

The one place this build falls short is storage. Due to the fact that as much performance was crammed into this build as humanly possible, compromises had to be made. While 500GB is a fair amount, you will quickly run out and find yourself lacking if you’re playing large AAA games. 

Short of that, this build is an absolute powerhouse that’s practically at the top of the food chain. 

Case: Cooler Master’s MasterBox Q300L is a great case to use as a baseline. It has a ton of great options for cooling and clean cable management. However, it also has its drawbacks such as no PSU shield and only coming with a single 120mm fan. 

With that said, it would be a great idea to check out other cases – especially with this tier of build. Ideally, you want something that stands out and that you enjoy the looks of. After all, it’s the most subjective part of a build. 

If you’ve found a case that you like but you’re unsure if it’ll work well, just ask me in the comment section and I’d be more than happy to help. 

CPU & Cooler: The R7 5700X is an absolute beast of a 8 core, 16 thread, 4.6GHz CPU. It can easily handle anything you throw at it including workloads such as CAD and anything else CPU intensive. 

As the 5700X does not come with a CPU cooler included, I’ve opted to include Noctua’s NH-U12S for this build. It has a sleak minimalist design that I think works well with the build. It’s also an incredibly good performer as most Noctua products are. This is evidenced by overwhelming 5-star reviews that typically amount to 90% or thereabouts. 

However, you have a ton of options when it comes to cooling. Another good choice would be an AIO liquid setup like the NZXT Kraken X63. 

MOBO: MSI’s B550-A ProSeries is a great motherboard overall. It comes with everything we need for this build, plus it gives us a ton of extra room to expand later on. 

In total, this mobo comes with 6x SATA ports and 1x M.2 slots meaning you could run up to 6 storage drives (7 total ports, but 6 SATA lanes). It also gives you 6 onboard fan headers as well as integrated 7.1 audio and 7x USB 3.0 and 1x USB-C ports on the I/O panel. 

GPU: The 20GB (TWENTY FRICKIN GIGABYTES!) RX 7900 XT is a monster. I don’t really think much else has to be said. 

Its capable of smooth 4K gaming without a problem and anything less is just going to see better performance. 

XFX’s Speedster MERC310 is a great 3-fan model that offers a sleek minimalist design coupled with great cooling and the incredible performance you can expect from an RX 7900 XT. Plus, a great price. 

RAM: 16GB of RAM is the set standard for the amount of RAM you need in 2023. You could get by with less, but your performance would be impacted in most newer games. You could also consider doubling down for 32GB at this point, but anything more is still unnecessary for gaming. 

With that in mind, this build is running 16GB of Corsair’s Vengeance LPX clocked at 3200MHz. This RAM doesn’t offer up any RGB lighting, but it does offer great performance for an awesome price. If you want 32GB, simply add 2 of the kits to your cart. 

PSU: Running a good power supply is absolutely critical in a build like this. That’s why I opted to pick you out a really nice 80+ Gold rated unit that’s also fully modular. 

The EVGA Super Nova 750 G5 is an incredibly good 80+ Gold rated PSU that comes with a 10-year warranty just in case the worst were to happen. There’s a reason why it has overwhelming 5-star reviews, after all. 

Storage: For this build, I opted for a fairly standard dual SSD setup. A smaller SSD for your OS and any important/integral programs such as Chrome, Steam, things like that. Then, the larger 1TB SSD to store your actual games, memes, whatever else. 

By doing this, you can mitigate some of the risk of drive failure or damage. Especially damage. Another reason is to split the load between 2 drives. As SSDs “burn out” quicker than HDDs do, splitting the load of your OS and games can effectively extend the life cycle of your drives… Theoretically, at least. 

Keyboards, Mice, and Audio

It can always be challenging to find the right peripherals. With so many options available, you can spend hours reading reviews without ever getting anywhere. 

To ease that burden, I’ve picked out a few peripherals based on the tier of this build. Being that this is a higher tier build, you can expect higher tier peripherals to match! 

Operating System Options

When it comes to picking out the perfect operating system, you basically have 2 core choices: Windows, or Linux. Beyond that, there are multiple versions of both Linux and Windows which can make your decision more difficult than it needs to be. With that in mind, I’ll limit the choices to the best options. 

When it comes to compatibility, Windows is always the easiest to setup and start gaming with. But, on the other hand, Linux is great for the more advanced users – the other upside is it’s completely free. However, Linux has the downside of not being compatible with some programs/games without some form of emulation – typically a VM, or Virtual Machine. 

Internet Connection Options

As motherboards with integrated WiFi are few and far between, chances are if you have to use WiFi you’re going to need an adapter.

With that said, you have 2 options. Either an internal adapter, or an external adapter. Both have their pros and cons, but external USB-based adapters are generally the better choice for most.  

Conclusion

If you came here looking for the absolute best $1500 gaming PC build, I’m confident you found it. There’s just no beating the insane power you’re getting from AMD’s RX 7900 XT when paired with their R7 5700X CPU. 4K gaming is no problem as long as you keep raytracing off. Where this PC will really shine is 1440p where you’ll be able to run ultra settings and expect 60-100+ fps.

Of course, there’s still plenty of room for improvement. Depending on the case you chose, you could upgrade your cooling profile with better fans, or maybe swap out the aftermarket CPU cooler I picked for an AIO liquid cooler. Afterall, customizing your build is what makes it unique! 

As always, I hope this was helpful and if you have any questions please don’t hesitate to ask them in the comment section below.