EXPERT INSIGHT & TRUSTED REVIEWS

EXPERT INSIGHT & TRUSTED REVIEWS

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Pre-Built PCs

The 5 Most Expensive Gaming PCs Worth Buying in 2021

Most Expensive Gaming PC

The Most Expensive Gaming PCs Worth Buying in 2021

With the latest RTX 3000 series GPUs hot on the market, now is a great time to buy a gaming desktop.

And with the premium RX 3090 being one of the most impressive powerhouse options in a long time, buying a high-end PC is even more of an attractive option.

But there are several listings out there overcharging for gaming PCs with lesser GPUs/CPUs and other hardware.

Which is why today’s feature is here to guide you through the most expensive gaming computers actually worth buying today for those after the most powerful setup possible.

Top Picks

Most Expensive Gaming PC Top Pick: ASUS TUF GT301

We’ll start by saying this is the most expensive pre-built gaming PC on the list, and arguably overkill for some needs (our next pick is for the best value premium gaming PC).

However, if you’re after the most powerful gaming computer today regardless of cost, then the ASUS TUF GT301 will not only meet your expectations but likely exceed them.

Boasting possibly the best specs you’ll find on the market today, the GT301 is led by the unmatched RTX 3090 GPU which, when tied with the right CPU/RAM/Motherboard, outputs incredible performance.

Not only do you have a gaming PC capable of unrivaled ray-tracing, high FPS, and maximum settings in practically every game today (and undoubtedly many well into the future), but the hardware on offer here is enough to support a very premium monitor setup for immersive titles or esports.

Options like 1440p 240hz, 4k 144hz, 1440p ultrawide 144hz & the highest Hz monitors available aren’t just possible with the GT301, but recommended to maximize your setup and show you just how amazing the 3090 can be.

But as good as this GPU is, this is the card shared by most of our top choices. What sets the GT301 apart are its other specs.

With an AMD Ryzen 9 5950X, you have the best premium CPU on the market today for gaming. This is the perfect processor to match up to the great power of the RTX 3090 and ensure you get the best performance across games (and pretty much any other type of task you can throw at it).

Elsewhere is an X570 motherboard, the high-end choice for AMD’s AM4 chipset (perfect to host such a powerful build) and 128GB DDR4 3200MHz RAM.

128GB is an insane amount and you’ll be hard-placed to find a gaming PC with more RAM than this.

With that said, this spec is where we see a bit of overkill with the GT301, you’re not going to see any real-world performance increase creative to the cost over the 64GB version for gaming. We’d go with the cheaper model (or our pick directly below) if your only concern is a future-proof gaming PC. The only exception to this rule is if you’re looking for a high-end production/video editing PC, then this extra RAM can help (but isn’t required, the cheaper models on this list are still very powerful).

Finally, the storage on the GT301 is what you would expect for a premium gaming computer; with 2TB NVMe + 4TB HDD installed in the 128GB RAM version, this is an insane offering and even with today’s enormous titles, it’s hard to imagine you’ll need more.

All tied together in an extremely durable ASUS case & appropriately powered by an 850W PSU, the GT301 really feels like the full package.

Note: It’s worth adding that while we like the power of the high-end AMD processor and think it provides the best capability for someone after the best gaming desktop possible, there is an Intel version of this desktop which is only slightly behind in power (we’re talking a few average FPS in games) and worth considering for slightly lower budgets.

Yes, you’ll find some even more expensive gaming desktop PCs on the market, but anything past this line is of no real-world benefit to you; the GT301 is today’s best pre-built gaming computer.

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Best Expensive Gaming PC Value Pick: HP OMEN 30L

As we alluded to in the GT301 review, we appreciate some readers may have a large budget, but still want some semblance of finding the best value gaming PC in the high-end price range (minimizing diminishing returns, etc.).

If that is you, then the HP OMEN 30L is the perfect pick.

Hitting the sweet spot between performance, build quality, and price, the 30L represents the best balance for a premium gaming desktop that doesn’t go heavily into the “overkill” territory.

Boasting an RTX 3090 graphics card, i9-10850K CPU & 32GB RAM @ 3200MHz, not only are these specs more than capable of high-end gaming and pretty much all of the high-end resolution/Hz setups we detail for our top pick, but you also have a powerhouse machine here for anything else you need to do (from general use to production work).

We have gone with the liquid-cooled i9-10850K version as we believe it’s the best value, but you can choose a version with the i9-10900K, which will perform nearly on par with our top choice’s processor. In gaming, this difference will likely only amount to 2-5 average FPS depending on the game; with the 10850K/RTX 3090, you already have enough power for any modern game at high specs (Cyberpunk 2077, Red Dead Redemption 2, and future titles for at least the next few years).

One of the more notable spec drops compared to our top pick is the 1TB SSD. Don’t get us wrong, this is still plenty of space and more than enough to get you started; but if you’re the kind of person who likes to keep all your games installed, we expect you’ll want a little more storage.

The good news is you can very easily upgrade the storage in the 30L and it’s a much cheaper option than buying more pre-built. Picking up say, a 2TB HDD would likely be the perfect secondary storage solution for most gamers.

Lastly, the build quality and design on the 30L work to its credit, with a minimalist aesthetic and good cooling for a pre-built machine, with all the usual ports you’d expect (including a USB type-C on the back) and Windows 10 pre-installed.

What else is there to say? With the best balance in the high-end market, the 30L is a beast of a computer.

If you’re looking at the most expensive choices but still want the most bang-for-your-buck, then this is, without doubt, our top pick for the best value premium gaming rig today.

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Most Unique Expensive Gaming PC: CUK Continuum

We know that an important part of buying one of the most expensive gaming PCs on the market for some readers will involve picking up an offering that is not just powerful, but visually striking.

No offering fits the bill better than the CUK Continuum Micro computer.

Yes, you’re seeing the picture right; this unit is built with a custom infinity mirror PC case.

Stock photos do not do it justice, this unit is simply stunning.

Not only is the chassis a Micro ATX form factor, meaning it’s smaller than the ATX units on the list (aside from the MSI Trident) but is also still built with a good amount of airflow and 6 RGB fans pre-installed. You’d be hard-pressed to find a more impressive gaming PC aesthetic than this that still balances good cooling.

But the reason we love the Continuum is that it’s not just a pretty face.

On top of its build quality/fan cooling, the specs in this machine are some of the best on the list and come close to rivaling our top pick, with:

  • The wonderful RTX 3090 capable of 4k, high refresh rates, and very high settings across all titles
  • Intel Core i9-10900KF, the most powerful gaming CPU on the list with the exception of the Ryzen 9 5950X (however, they are very close, and the Intel represents better value)
  • 128GB DDR4 RAM, an insane amount and suitable for much more than gaming (production/rendering usage, etc.)
  • 2TB NVMe SSD and a 4TBHDD, matching our top pick’s storage, it’s hard to imagine ever needing more (but upgrade space is there if so)
  • Z490 motherboard designed for high-end Intel desktops
  • A decent 850W PSU appropriate to power this top-end machine

For the price, this is a really impressive list of specs, and out of all the options on the list, this is the pick that comes closest to matching the hardware of the top ASUS pick at a lower price tag.

The only difference is the CPU choice, with our top ASUS pick going for the best gaming CPU on the market; the 5950X.

But (and it’s a big but), at the time of reviewing these options, the Continuum is a few hundred dollars cheaper. The difference in CPU performance isn’t worth that much unless you simply don’t care about the budget.

If you’re after a unique aesthetic that doesn’t compromise in any spec area, this CUK offering is easily one of the best premium gaming computers on the market and will be perfect for anything you can throw at it.

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Most Expensive Compact Gaming PC: MSI MEG Trident X

If you’re interested in a premium gaming rig that is a little smaller, either for aesthetics or portability, the Trident X is a great option.

Boasting an RTX 3090 GPU, an Intel Core i9-10900KF & 64GB of RAM, you have some very powerful specs to achieve max-setting gaming and high-resolution/FPS setups.

Tied with its thin form factor, the Trident X is one of the best-looking gaming PCs around; with a beautiful build quality and changeable RGB lighting through MSI’s custom software.

While it’s not tiny, it’s certainly small enough to act as a portable rig for VR demos, LAN parties, etc. Its thinness also makes it very flexible for limited-space setups.

We also appreciate how the unit includes a 2TB HDD on top of the 1TB NVMe SSD base-storage to ensure you have plenty of room for gaming.

This combination of specs at the price is a fantastic deal for a high-end gaming computer.

So with all that said, for its great price, why do we not rank this about the 30L for the best value premium gaming desktop?

The main reason is that although this unit is usually capable of coping with the demanding needs of high-end gaming, we worry that its modest cooling solution and tight internal space for airflow is a slightly risky setup when looking at the most expensive gaming PCs because these units demand a lot of power and output notable heat.

The concern here is that users may run into issues with uncomfortably high temperatures when running demanding games/software.

Usually, we wouldn’t highlight this as a factor, as we don’t believe this will be a common occurrence for the Trident X and is more of a minor risk.

But when we think of readers looking for the most expensive gaming computers on the market, we imagine part of that pursuit is finding a computer that ticks all the boxes, so even an increased minor risk over another choice is something noteworthy.

Additionally, although the Trident X has twice the RAM, its base clock speed is 2933MHz as opposed to the 30L’s 3200MHz – both setups are going to provide very similar results, but when we get into this RAM sizing, you can expect the RAM speed to matter more than the RAM size for gaming (and 3200MHz is a nice sweet-spot speed for larger RAM profiles).

The battle between this and the 30L was close, however, and we’ve included it in the feature for a reason.

The Trident X still represents a fantastic selection of top-end parts to create a build that is somehow compact and still one of the most powerful gaming PCs on the market.

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Most Expensive Quiet Gaming PC: VCI Vulcan 3090 

Last but not least, we’ve included an option that matches many of the similar specs as our other top offerings and combines them with a Fractal Define R-Series case, which is, by far, our favorite chassis for silent gaming PC builds.

The VCI Vulcan is lead by the RTX 3090 GPU, an Intel Core i9-10850K processor, and 64GB DDR4 RAM. If you’ve been reading through this list, you’ll know that this is a great combo for a high-end gaming machine and can easily handle all modern (and many future) gaming titles at very high settings, resolutions, and frame rates.

The unit also comes with all the usual extras you would hope for in a gaming PC; decent ports (including USB type-C on the back I/O panel), Windows 10, Bluetooth & a Wi-Fi adapter (Intel 6 AX201).

Despite being designed for noise-dampening, the beautiful minimalist case the VCI Vulcan runs in doesn’t just very impressively minimize decibel output but manages to still be well equipped for decent cooling and airflow, even for a build of RTX 3090 caliber.

The only reason we put this offering towards the bottom of the feature is because its price is not as fair for the provided specs as our other options.

Yes, these are all the most expensive gaming desktops around, but there is still a value consideration in this article – and the Vulcan seems a little more pricey for what you are getting.

But if your singular focus is on ensuring a silent gaming computer setup, then this is easily the best high-end option available to you.

If for whatever reason, the Vulcan is out of stock/not matching your requirements, it’s worth noting our top value pick, the HP OMEN 30L, is also hosted in a decently quiet chassis (and only really makes notable noise if you’re playing very demanding titles).

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Most Expensive Gaming PCs Final Word

And there you have it! After much deliberation, the above choices are our top picks for the most expensive gaming computers worth buying today.

We always emphasize “worth buying” because we’ve focussed on ensuring we’re not recommending an expensive pre-built gaming PC that bloats the price tag of its premium offerings (as many we came across did).

We chose based on finding high-end choices that hit the sweet spot between balancing top budgets with the best gaming CPU, GPU, RAM configurations & other secondary considerations (cooling, build quality, etc.).

If these are a little outside of your budget, then don’t fret! We have features around a larger budget range of gaming PCs, and also gaming desktop bundles for those also after a monitor/keyboard & mouse inclusion.

But if you can stretch to the above choices, then you’re in for a fun time! There isn’t a gaming title today that these choices can’t handle!

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About the author

Kaelum Ross
Kaelum Ross
Kaelum Ross, BSc is the Lead Writer at What in Tech and a leading authority in PC hardware and software. With a career as a senior IT professional, Kaelum has led multi-million dollar projects covering everything from bespoke software development to complex Windows hardware upgrades. Today, Kaelum uses his expertise to serve What in Tech's readers and has been featured in numerous global publications including New York Magazine and Lifewire.