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Build Guides

Curated PC builds for every use case and budget. Each guide includes a full parts list with compatibility verification, performance expectations, and upgrade paths.

Best PC Build for Local AI & LLMs (2026)

VRAM is the one spec that decides which local LLMs you can run. Anchored builds at $1,250, $2,400 and $4,200, a model-size × quantization VRAM matrix, and the best 16GB card setup for coding.

5 partsby PlanMyPC Editorial

RTX 5070 vs RX 9070 XT: Which GPU Wins in 2026?

RX 9070 XT wins rasterization, VRAM and price-per-frame; RTX 5070 wins ray tracing and DLSS 4 MFG. Benchmarks, VRAM analysis and which card belongs in your build.

9 partsby PlanMyPC Editorial

Best Motherboard for Ryzen 9800X3D (2026)

The best motherboards for the Ryzen 7 9800X3D in 2026: X870E, X870, B850 and B650 picks for ATX, mATX and mini-ITX, plus chipset guidance, BIOS compatibility and RTX 5090 / 5080 pairing advice.

0 partsby PlanMyPC Editorial

Best Gaming PC Build Under $1,500 (2026)

The best gaming PC build under $1,500 in 2026: a 16GB Radeon RX 9070, Ryzen 5 5600 and 32GB of DDR4 for 1440p Ultra — $1,436.91 at September 2026 prices.

8 partsby PlanMyPC Editorial

Best Gaming PC Build Under $2,000 (2026)

The best sub-$2,000 PC build in 2026 targets 1440p high settings with a Ryzen 5 7600X and RX 9070 — about $1,957 at August 2026 catalogue prices. Full parts list inside.

8 partsby PlanMyPC Editorial

4K Gaming Powerhouse

No-compromise 4K gaming at ultra settings. This build pairs the fastest consumer GPU with Intel's flagship to push every pixel.

8 partsby Marcus Johnson

Best 4K Gaming PC Build (2026)

The best 4K gaming PC you can build in 2026, about $3,036 at August 2026 catalogue prices: a Ryzen 7 7800X3D paired with an RTX 5080 on a B650 platform, with 32GB of DDR5-6000 and a 2TB NVMe. It averages 98 FPS at native 4K across our ten-game benchmark set, with 8 of the 10 above 60 FPS before any upscaling.

8 partsby Marcus Johnson

Best 1440p High-Refresh Gaming PC Build (2026)

A 1440p high-refresh gaming PC build for 2026, about $2,070 at August 2026 catalogue prices: the Ryzen 7 7800X3D and RTX 5070 Ti average 134 FPS at native 1440p across our ten-game benchmark set, feeding a 165Hz+ display in both esports and AAA games.

8 partsby Sarah Kim

Content Creator Workstation

Built for video editors, 3D artists, and anyone who needs maximum multi-threaded performance alongside strong GPU acceleration.

8 partsby Alex Chen

Ray Tracing Gaming Build Under $2,100

Experience real-time ray tracing in modern titles without breaking the bank, thanks to DLSS 3 and the RTX 4060 Ti's dedicated RT cores. About $2,077 at August 2026 catalogue prices.

8 partsby Sarah Kim

Best PC for Video Editing Under $2,200

A purpose-built video editing workstation with fast multi-threaded rendering, hardware-accelerated encoding, and enough storage for large project files. About $2,183 at August 2026 catalogue prices.

8 partsby Alex Chen

AI & Machine Learning Workstation

A workstation built for training neural networks, running large language models locally, and serious data science work — anchored by 24GB of GPU VRAM.

8 partsby Marcus Johnson

Best White-Themed Gaming Build

An all-white aesthetic gaming PC that pairs clean visuals with strong 1440p performance — every visible component is white or silver.

8 partsby Sarah Kim

VR-Ready Gaming PC

Built to deliver smooth, stutter-free VR experiences on headsets like the Meta Quest 3, Valve Index, and HP Reverb G2.

8 partsby Sarah Kim

Streaming and Gaming PC

Game at high frame rates while streaming to Twitch or YouTube without dropped frames, thanks to NVENC encoding and plenty of CPU threads.

8 partsby Marcus Johnson

Silent Gaming PC Build

A gaming PC engineered for near-silent operation without sacrificing frame rates, using premium quiet components throughout.

8 partsby Alex Chen

Ryzen 7 7800X3D Build Guide: Best Motherboard (2026)

The complete Ryzen 7 7800X3D build guide for 2026: the best motherboard, RAM, cooler and GPU pairings for the fastest mainstream gaming CPU, with a recommended high-end parts list.

8 partsby Sarah Kim

RTX 4070 SUPER vs 4070 Ti SUPER: Which Wins? (2026)

RTX 4070 SUPER vs 4070 Ti SUPER in 2026: a clear buyer's verdict for 1440p and 4K gaming, with a recommended balanced build and August 2026 prices for both.

8 partsby Alex Chen

RGB Showcase Build Under $3,500

A head-turning build designed to look as good as it performs, with coordinated RGB lighting, a glass-panel case, and high-end components. About $3,422 at August 2026 catalogue prices.

8 partsby Sarah Kim

Best PC Build for Programming & Software Dev (2026)

The best PC for programming and software development in 2026: a 16-core AMD Ryzen 9 7950X with 32GB of DDR5, a 2TB Gen4 NVMe and an RTX 4070 SUPER, about $2,639 at August 2026 catalogue prices. Compiles large codebases fast, runs Docker, VMs, local databases and dozens of containers at once, drives multiple monitors, and doubles as a capable local-AI dev box. Includes a 64GB + RTX 4080 SUPER variant for heavy monorepos and local LLMs.

8 partsby Alex Chen

Photo Editing Build for Lightroom & Photoshop

Optimized for Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop workflows — fast imports, snappy edits, and smooth exports for professional photographers.

8 partsby Alex Chen

All Build Guides

Browse all 41 guides by category.

Advice & How-To

Budget

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Compact Mini-ITX Build

Gaming

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NAS & Home Server Build

Streaming

Workstation