I build gaming PCs for a living, and EVERYTHING you need is on sale for Cyber Monday, so here are 14 picks that I'd buy

Motherboard: MSI MAG B550 TOMAHAWK | was $169.99 now $149.99 at Newegg

I bought this exact board for two reasons: It has 2x M.2 SSD sockets with 1x supporting PCIe 4.0 and the other PCIe 3.0, perfect for carrying over older drives and keeping up with faster speeds on a new one. Perfect for the Ryzen 5 5600X or 7 5800X, it also supports 2.5G Ethernet networking.

💰 Price check: $149.99 at Amazon

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 5600X | was $309 now $134.89 at Amazon

No matter how many processors were released over the past few years, the 5600X never goes away. You'll struggle to find a gaming CPU with better performance per dollar, and it handles modern games without issue. At close to $100, this is an unbeatable value choice.

💰 Price check: $158.91 at Newegg

Cooler: Corsair iCUE H150i Elite Capellix XT (360mm) | was $219.99 now $174.99 at Best Buy

I often prioritize compact cases and stick with 240mm AIO (all-in-one) liquid coolers. Still, my secondary benchmarking machine has proven the benefit of a full-sized 360mm with a front-mounted radiator. I've bought at least three Capellix coolers so far, no issues.

💰 Price check: $174.99 at Newegg

Thermal paste: Arctic MX-4 (4g) | was $8.99 now $6.98 at Amazon

There's nothing much to say about thermal paste except that you need it. Sure, most coolers come with it pre-applied, but having a tube ready to go means you won't sweat over perfect pump placement if you can try multiple times.

💰 Price check: $7.69 at Newegg

RAM: Corsair Vengeance 16GB (2x 8GB) DDR4-3600 | was $49.99 now $39.99 at Best Buy

A world-renowned choice for a reason, I've never had a single issue with Corsair Vengeance DDR4 RAM. Using kits at various clock speeds and timings, 16GB of 3600MT/s is about perfect for a Ryzen 5 5600X. Upgrading to 32GB is an option in the future, too.

💰 Price check: $39.99 at Newegg

SSD: Samsung 980 PRO 1TB PCIe 4.0 M.2 | was $109.99 now $79.99 at Best Buy

I remember when 1TB of solid-state storage practically required a second mortgage on your house, and now it's under $100 for PCIe 4.0 speeds. Fast enough for a Windows boot drive with enough space for games, it's a bargain.

💰 Price check: $79.99 at Newegg
🔎 Our review: Samsung 980 Pro: A beast mode upgrade for your PC or PS5

MSI Ventus 2X RTX 3060 12GB | was $289.99 now $249.99 after $20 rebate at Newegg

This will probably get me the most heat, but I don't struggle to run my everyday games like Counter-Strike 2 and Baldur's Gate 3 at 1440p. For this build, it's pretty much perfect, and 12GB VRAM will support games for a while yet.

💰 Price check: $299.99 at Best Buy

Thermaltake Toughpower GF1 850W | was $139.99 now $99.99 at Amazon

The primary draw here is a fully modular design. Whether it's your very first custom PC or you've built them for years, you'll appreciate only connecting the cables you need instead of shoving trailing remainers into your case.

💰 Price check: $120.99 at Newegg

Corsair 4000D Airflow | was $104.99 now $79.98 at Amazon

Practically perfect, it comes with 2x standard 120mm fans and plenty of easy access from each angle. Easy to build in, and it looks great to boot, plus it's geared towards optimal airflow (as the name implies.)

💰 Price check: $79.98 at Newegg

62-in-1 Precision magnetic screwdriver | was $17.99 now $12.76 at Newegg

Trust me, a magnetized screwdriver is 100% worth it. Dropping a tiny M.2 mounting screw underneath VRMs on my motherboard was all the convincing I needed, and I never looked back.

👀 Alternative 24-in-1: $6.17 at Amazon

350pcs PC Screws Kit | was $10.99 now $7.96 at Amazon

This might seem excessive because you will get all of the screws you need for each part with the case and each component, but it's not impossible to misplace these tiny guys during a build. Having spare motherboard standoffs has been worth the investment for me alone.

👀 Alternative w/ screwdriver: $9.59 at Amazon

ASUS TUF 27-inch 1440p 144Hz (VG27WQ1B) | was $269 now $215 at Amazon

1440p at 144Hz quickly became my favorite balance between framerate and resolution fidelity, even though my monitor is technically capable of 240Hz. Paired with our RTX GPU with DLSS upscaling, you can run games at lower internal resolutions and push for extra frames. A bargain for 1ms response with adaptive sync.

💰 Price check: $215.99 at Newegg

Razer Basilisk V3 | was $69.99 now $39.99 at Best Buy

One of Razer's best gaming mice got much better in its third version with a vastly improved scroll wheel, already competitively priced at launch. With an almost half-price discount, it shouldn't be missed.

💰 Price check: $39.99 at Amazon
🔎 Our review: Razer Basilisk V3: The best FPS gaming mouse now has a smarter scroll wheel

Keychron C3 Pro Gaming Keyboard: was $36 now $27 exclusively at Amazon

The C3 Pro redefines budget gaming keyboards. It has a gasket-mounted design that gives you excellent feedback in daily use, plus you get mechanical switches and easy software customizability.

💰 Price check: Exclusively available at Amazon.

Total cost | $1,319.50 with savings

✅ Perfect for: Mid-range gaming at 1440p, aiming for 30-60 FPS in cinematic single-player games or 144 FPS in competitive multiplayer titles.

❌ Avoid if: You don't have the proper space to build a computer. You'll need a clear area away from carpeted surfaces prone to static electricity.