AtZDNet, we've covered the best and cheapest gaming laptops, so it only stands to reason that we should also talk about the most expensive gaming PCs you can buy. Most of the picks I have for this list were created specifically for gaming, though I did include a few workstations that could be converted to gaming machines by enterprising individuals. Whatever you think "expensive" means when it comes to gaming rigs, I assure you that you're going to have to raise your expectations significantly.

Once you've recovered from seeing the, frankly, ridiculous sticker prices on some of these builds, I'll explain why someone would want to spend that much on a luxury gaming machine. Like ripping off a band-aid, let's dive right in and look at some of the most expensive gaming PCs available right now

Most expensive gaming desktops

HP OMEN 40L for$5,477

Professional work at dawn, professional gamer at night

HP

CPU:Up to AMD Ryzen 5900X RAM:Up to 64GBStorage:Up to 2TB SSD and 2TBHDDGPU:Up to Nvidia GeForce RTX 3090Power supply:800W

Let's kick things off with an appetizer: The OMEN 40L from HP. The base model features some solid components for a much more wallet-friendly price, but the top configuration will run you close to$5,000. That's a down payment on a car, but even if you aren't a pro streamer, eSports pro, or content creator, I can see it being a splurge build for particularly ambitious gamers. You can get up to an AMD Ryzen 5900X CPU, 64GB of RAM, and 4TB total storage, which is more than enough power and space to handle even the most technically demanding games with the largest download files. And with up to a GeForce RTX 3090 GPU, you won't have to worry for quite some time about whether or not your rig can keep up with native 4K or even 8K resolution graphics. With the top configuration, it's not unreasonable to expect your desktop to last at least 5 or 6 years before you need to think about upgrading either piecemeal or whole-cloth; and on that timescale,$5,000 really isn't so bad. 

Pros:

• Much more affordable, even at top configurations
• Tons of storage
• Great CPU
• Keyboard and mouse included

Cons:

• No financing options available
• No Intel configurations
• No liquid cooling options

View now at HP

Velztorm Lux Custom for$8,748

Power and storage for an almost reasonable price (by comparison)

Newegg

CPU:AMD Ryzen 9 5950X RAM:128GBStorage:4TB SSD/6TB HDDGPU:AMD Radeon RX 6900XTPower supply:1000W

While almost$8,800 is still really steep for a pre-built gaming desktop, it's much more attainable for most regular gamers. This custom build from Velstorm is another configuration that would best be suited for content creators, but if you have a particularly robust Steam or Epic Store library, you'd be able to get great use out of it as well. It's built with an AMD Ryzen 9 5950X CPU, 128GB of RAM, 10TB total storage, and a Radeon RX 6900XT graphics card. The case itself has three clear panels to show off not only the top-tier components, but all of the fancy RGB lighting and the liquid cooling system. This desktop is covered by a 1 year warranty, and while that's not nearly as robust as other warranties you may find, it's nice to know that your investment is protected at least somewhat.

Pros:

• Tons of storage
• Top-tier components
• More attainable for non-eSports pros

Cons:

• Limited warranty
• No Wi-Fi 6-capable card

View now at Newegg

Acer ConceptD for$22,999

Dual-CPU overkill with a price to match

Acer

CPU:x2 Intel Xeon Gold 6148 RAM:192GB DDR4Storage:1TB SSD (7 drive slots available)GPU:Nvidia Quadro RTX 6000Power supply:1000W

This desktop is designed for engineering use, with a Quadro RTX 6000 GPU, 192GB of RAM, and dual Intel Xeon Gold 6148 CPUs. But with a bit of patience and ingenuity, a serious content creator or eSports professional could turn it into a god-tier gaming rig. The GPU can support up to four 8K displays with HDR, allowing you to future-proof your creative workstation as a streamer, let's player, or eSports pro as games come to embrace ultra-high definition graphics. The most disappointing part of this desktop is that for how expensive it is, it only comes with a 1TB SSD for initial storage. There are 7 drive slots available, so you can certainly expand your storage later. But if it were me dropping$23,000 on a desktop, I'd want at least 8TB of initial storage.

Pros:

• Dual CPUs
• Quadro RTX 6000 GPU
• Supports up to 4 8K displays

Cons:

• Price
• Only 1TB initial storage 

View now at Acer

Aventum X for$23,847

Budget? We don't know her

DigitalStorm

CPU:Up to Intel Core i9-10980XE or AMD Threadripper PRO 3975WX RAM:Up to 256GB DDR4Storage:Up to 56TB (SSD and HDD) with up to Raid 50GPU:Up to x2 Nvidia GeForce RTX 3090 water-cooledPower supply:Up to 1500W EVGA or Thermaltake 80 Plus Gold

The base models for the Aventum X start at around$4,200 for the Intel Core X build and$9,000 for the AMD Threadripper PRO. And the Threadripper PRO can cost as much as$24,000 with the high-end configuration. The top configuration gets you a staggering 256GB of RAM, 56TB of storage space across both SSDs and HDDs, and two GeForce RTX 3090 graphics cards with water cooling. For reference, with that much storage space, you can have up to 1,400 hours of 4K video, 28,000 hours of HD video, and up to 14 million photos. This PC is meant for hardcore content creators dealing with raw 4K and 8K video as well as highly technically demanding games. While it doesn't have the advantages of a dual-system build, it still uses top-of-the-line components to lessen process bottlenecks and other technical issues that can ruin a long day's work of recording, editing, or streaming. If$24,000 is a bit too much to pay all at once, there are financing options available.

Pros:

• Excellent components
• Lifetime warranty available
• Financing options available

Cons:

• Outrageously expensive
• Up to 28 days of building and shipping time

View now at DigitalStorm

OverclockersUK 8Pack OrionX2 Dual System for$43,939

You can literally buy a 2022 Camaro for less (no, seriously)

OverclockersUK

CPU:Intel Core i9-10980/Intel Core i7-10700KRAM:128GB DDR4/32GB DDR4Storage:14TB HDD/x2 2TB SSDGPU:x3 Nvidia GeForce RTX 3090 water cooledPower supply:2000W Super Flower Leadex Platinum

Are you sitting down? This custom, dual-system gaming rig from OverclockersUK will set you back almost$44,000 after currency exchange. Why on earth would someone pay that much for a computer? Well, this build is actually two computers in one case. That means it has double components: Two CPUs, two motherboards, etc. It's meant for hardcore content creators who want to record and stream in 4K or even 8K video, which eats up tons of resources. By having two CPUs, they can split tasks between them for faster processing and keep their computer from dying out of sheer spite. That's also why it has such huge storage capacities. Raw 4K and 8K video files are gigantic; we're talking double-digit gigabytes worth of information. And having two CPUs means the build can support a massive amount of system memory. So while it does cost slightly more than a 2022 Chevy Camaro 2SS, if a creator has tens of millions of YouTube or Twitch subscribers, I can see why they'd want to drop the equivalent of a 4-year degree at a state college on a gaming computer.

Pros:

• Dual-system build prevents CPU bottlenecks
• Truly massive storage capacity and system memory
• 3 RTX 3090 GPUs

Cons:

• Painfully expensive
• Not best-suited for everyday gamers
• Possible customs delays for customers outside the UK

View now at OverclockersUK

More:Best cheap gaming laptop 2022: Level up for less

Most expensive gaming laptops

Razer Blade 17 (pre-order) for$3,999

Razer is known for being pricey, but that doesn't help my sticker shock

Razer

CPU:Intel Core i9-12900H RAM:32GBStorage:Up to 4TBGPU:Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080 TiDisplay:17.3-inch 4KBattery life:82Whr (run time N/A)

Razer has a reputation for being expensive, and their updated Blade 17 for 2022 is no exception. The top configuration will cost you about$4,300, though you'll have to wait for the official release to get your hands on one as pre-order units are sold out. It will be built with the new, 12th gen Intel Core i9 CPU, 32GB of Ram, 1TB of storage that you can increase to 4TB, and an RTX 3080 Ti GPU. The 17.3-inch display will give you 4K resolutions with a 144Hz refresh rate and even 100 percent DCI-P3 color volume; Razer also claims that each laptop display will be factory calibrated for color accuracy, which is helpful for content creators who need ultra-accurate colors for designs. 

And while this is a gaming laptop, it doesn't exactly look like one; it has RGB keyboard backlighting, but no other RGB accents. This gives the new Blade 17 a more understated look that will be great for anyone who wants the laptop to double as a work machine or whose gaming space doubles as a shared workspace; no flashing lights or shifting colors to distract co-workers or make you look unprofessional in front of important clients. While there isn't any solid information on how long the battery will last, at 82Whr, it wouldn't be unreasonable to expect at least 3 hours of run time. That isn't stellar, but acceptable for such a powerful machine.

Pros:

• 12th gen Intel CPU
• Up to 4TB storage
• 4K display
• Sleek look

Cons:

• RAM is soldered in
• No OLED screen option
• Heavy (6 lbs)

View now at Razer

Alienware X17 Intel for$4,405

Still cheaper than a studio apartment in NYC...probably

Dell

CPU:Intel Core i9-11980HK RAM:64GBStorage:Up to 6TB Raid 0GPU:Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080Display:17.3-inch 4KBattery life:6 hours

Next is the Alienware X17, a nearly$4,500 device that provides all the features (and more) that you've come to expect from a gaming laptop. The 17.3-inch screen produces 4K resolution as well as up to 100 percent of the Adobe sRGB color spectrum and up to 500 nits of brightness for crisp details, rich colors, and the ability to actually see your games even in bright daylight. The screen also has a refresh rate of 120Hz and a response time as low as 4ms for near real-time reactions to your inputs. For storage, you can get up to a 2TB M.2 SSD boot drive and up to 4TB of RAID 0 storage for faster, more reliable program launching and loading. 

The keyboard uses CherryMX switches and RGB per-key backlighting for smoother actuation and durability as well as style. The steep price also includes a year of Alienware's Premium Support which covers hardware failures, remote diagnostics, international travel coverage, and repair service. Though it may be worth spending the extra$750 for the 4 year, Premium Support Plus plan for expanded warranty coverage as well as data recovery and even parental controls; which would be great if you share your gaming rig with the family, letting you set up a PIN or password to keep little ones from learning all kinds of no-no words in online CoD matches.

Pros:

• 1 year warranty included
• 4K display
• RAID 0 storage
• Mechanical switches
• Decent battery

Cons:

• Included warranty is somewhat limited
• Alienware Command Center is somewhat clunky
• Heavy (7 lbs)

View now at Dell

MSI WE76 Workstation for$8,509

The gaming laptop equivalent of stealth luxury clothing

MSI

CPU:Intel Core i7-11800H RAM:64GBStorage:16TB Raid 0GPU:Nvidia Quadro RTX A3000Display:17.3-inch FHDBattery life:80 minutes

This is another workstation laptop that could be used as a gaming machine, though I wouldn't really recommend it. Yes, you'll get 16TB RAID 0 storage, 64GB of RAM, and a Quadro RTX A3000 GPU, but there are more reasons to pass this up than the$8,500 sticker price. First off: the 17.3-inch display is only available in 1080p FHD, which is really disappointing for how much the laptop costs. If it were me, I'd want a 4K display with HDR support, and maybe even an OLED panel, if possible; if I'm going to be spending money hand-over-fist, I want the best tech my money can buy. It also has an abysmal battery life, just 80 minutes under load. This is sad even by gaming laptop standards, where even the most power-hungry models give you at least 3 hours of play before you need to plug in.

Pros:

• Great CPU and GPU
• Tons of storage
• Large display

Cons:

• No 4K display option
• Very poor battery life

View now at Newegg

MSI GE66 Raider for$8,849

Tell me you're rich without telling me you're rich

MSI

CPU:Intel Core i9-11980HK RAM:64GBStorage:16TB Raid 1GPU:Nvidia GeForce RTX 3080Display:15.6-inch 4KBattery life:7.5 hours

MSI is a fairly well-known gaming brand, though you may be more familiar with their peripherals like mice and keyboards than their desktops and laptops. They offer plenty of budget-friendly and mid-tier laptop configurations that are more than capable of handling triple-A titles, but this top-of-the-line configuration will cost you around$8,900. Some of the price is understandable when you see that it's equipped with an 11th gen Intel Core i9 CPU and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 graphics card as well as two 8TB SSDs capable of RAID 1 functionality. But your wallet is probably still shuddering in fear. 

The 15.6-inch display produces excellent 4K resolution, but has a somewhat disappointing 60Hz refresh rate; it's perfectly fine, but you can get up to 120Hz at 4K, and some games look best at higher refresh rates. It also has Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.2 for ultra-fast wireless internet speeds and more reliable connections to wireless peripherals, and is equipped with Windows 11 Pro so you don't need to worry about upgrading your OS later. It even has some nice-looking RGB backlighting for the keyboard and an RGB light strip on the front edge for showing off your personal style or syncing to game audio.

Pros:

• 16TB RAID 1 storage
• RTX 3080 GPU
• 4K display
• Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.2

Cons:

• Disappointing refresh rate (60Hz) for price

View now at Newegg

HP ZBook Fury 17 G8 for$14,566

Who's crying? Oh, that's me

HP

CPU:Up to Intel Xeon W