How easy is it to build a gaming pc

A high-priced powerhouse to last the ages? Personally, I need to build a new machine because my current gaming rig is 10 years old. I also need something that will be at least as powerful as the PS5 and Xbox Series X , in case I need to compare games across platforms. From there, I went to Newegg the best place to buy PC components online, in my experience and started looking for components.

Obviously, Newegg is just one place to shop. Once you find the gear you need, you can bargain hunt at Amazon, Best Buy and other big electronics retailers.

My personal favorite is Micro Center, especially if you have one of these electronics meccas near you. You could very conceivably walk in with nothing and walk out with an unbuilt computer, at a very reasonable price. When possible, buy gear from established, known brands — Corsair, HyperX, Western Digital, and so forth.

You could theoretically save a lot of money by going with no-name storage, RAM or power supplies. But device quality is a total crapshoot, and customer service in small brands tends to be either haphazard or nonexistent. My last piece of advice is to be somewhat flexible with your budget, if possible. A good PC will last a long time, and a few dozen dollars make very little difference over the course of a few years. As mentioned above, the GPU is the most important or at least the most straightforward place to start with a gaming PC build.

The other two cards would have eaten up too much of the cost. Buying older cards can save you some money, but makes your machine less future-proof. It's worth mentioning that at the time of writing, the RTX is still a few weeks away from release, and it's probably going to sell out quite fast.

However, it was a tough call between the and the K. The latter is only a little more expensive, but you can overclock it — a huge boon for a gaming PC.

In the end, I settled on the , because the K would have caused sort of a pricing cascade. Furthermore, overclocking draws more electricity, which might have required a bigger, more expensive power supply. RAM is a tricky topic, since there are a lot of variables at play. Naturally, higher memory levels and speed cost more money. RAM speed is less important. There was also the question of whether to buy two SSDs: a small one just for system files, and a larger one for games.

The benefits from this setup tend to be limited, however, and it increases the overall system complexity. Depending on how you build your machine, the motherboard may be either the first or last component you choose. I also knew I wanted a motherboard with Wi-Fi built in, since my computer desk is far from my router. There are also mini- and microATX motherboards, and you can do some very cool things with them, but they can be expensive and difficult to put together.

A common meme in PC-building communities is a power supply as a ticking time bomb. The best-case scenario is overheating your components and burning them out well before their expected lifespan. Thankfully, it doesn't have to be that way. PCs are much easier to build than they were in the past, and while it's not as easy as putting together a Lego spaceship, you don't have to be scared of it.

That's why we've put together this straightforward guide on how to build a gaming PC. It's intended for those who are a little wary of building their first PC or just need a little refresher of the steps to doing so. Of course, due to the current pandemic, many online stores are experiencing product shortages and shipping delays that could interfere with your PC build, so be sure to check the estimated delivery date when ordering from stores like Newegg or Amazon.

Actually picking your parts can be daunting, especially when you factor in compatibility and power consumption. We used the website to build our rig and highly recommend using it for yours. It makes it easy to stay within your budget and lets you know if your components are compatible with each other--it'll even make suggestions if there are issues with your chosen parts. Get the latest gaming news, reviews, and deals sent to your inbox, FREE!

If you're looking for some accessories to round out your new gaming rig, check out the best gaming mice , best gaming headset , best capture card for streaming , best gaming keyboard , and best budget gaming monitors.

Fortunately, you don't need many tools or extra parts to build your PC--almost everything you need will be included in your components' boxes. However, there are a few items you'll need to have ready before you start building your PC. For the vast majority of your build, you'll be using a No.

You'll want a tube of thermal paste to keep your CPU's temperature low during use. Most CPU coolers come with thermal paste already applied, which means you won't need any extra. However, if you do end up buying a tube of thermal paste, you can clean the cooler's paste off and use your own. We've attempted to simplify the process of building a gaming PC as much as possible here, but if you're not familiar with PC hardware, some of the terms in this guide may need some clarification.

We've briefly explained some of the parts and terminology we'll be using below. Feel free to reference this section as you work on your build. This will handle displaying images on your PC. The more elaborate and complex these images are, the more power you'll need from your graphics card.

The two big names in the graphics card game are Nvidia and AMD. Motherboard: The motherboard is where all of the components are installed, allowing them to work together and perform their functions properly.

This provides much faster access to saving and accessing data. The more RAM you have--paired with a good-quality processor--the faster your PC can perform its various functions. Cooling system: The cooling system is used to protect the CPU from overheating.

OS: OS stands for operating system. Most gaming PCs will utilize Windows it's what we suggest--though some people may want to install Linux. We've included a breakdown of our recommended PC build alongside a much more affordable gaming PC build. This should give you an idea of the vast price range you can expect when starting to build your first PC. More expensive PC builds will absolutely rock your bank account, but they're more likely to be future-proofed--you won't need to upgrade the PC's components for quite some time, and when you do, you likely won't need to upgrade more than your graphics card.

The cheaper PCs can still provide an excellent experience at a much more affordable price, but you may need to upgrade it more often if you want to keep up with new releases. Either way, you're sure to have a fantastic gaming experience, as long as you keep your expectations in check with your budget. Keep in mind that many a PC build these days lacks an optical drive since actual disk usage is rare nowadays , but you always add one later if you need one.

Assembling the motherboard outside of the case will make your whole experience much easier to deal with. Our general rule of thumb is to install as many parts as possible before screwing it into your case. An important thing to note before starting on your motherboard is that you should refer to its manual as often as possible, as your specific motherboard may suggest specific ways or places to install your components. Also, keep in mind that certain parts will require some force when plugging them in, while others simply just need to be placed into their respective spots.

Please pay close attention to the following instructions before installing your components. The first thing you'll want to do is make sure you're assembling your PC on a flat surface. Don't build it on a carpet--the mixture of static electricity and your PC's parts is a dangerous combination and could cause damage to your components.

It's unlikely to happen, but we still suggest touching your metal case from time to time to help ground yourself and avoid this from happening. Instead, build your rig in a room with hardwood or laminate floors like a dining room or kitchen--we even went the extra mile and took our socks off.

Take your motherboard out of its packaging and then place it on a flat surface. You can lay it directly on your table, but we personally placed it on top of its box to avoid scratching our desk.

At this point, you're ready to start. Your motherboard's CPU socket will be protected by a piece of plastic, which you'll be able to remove when you open the tray. All you need to do is gently push down on the tray's metal arm and pull it out. Once it's free of the tray, lift it up to open the socket and the protective plastic will fall out. Be sure to keep this plastic piece in case of any issues with your motherboard, as you'll need to reinsert it before sending it back to the manufacturer.

Your CPU should have some small half-circle indents in its board. Once you've figured out how to place your CPU into its socket, do so gently. Do not apply pressure directly on the CPU--simply close the tray and make sure the metal arm is locked into its original position, which may require a bit of force. Your motherboard may have protective thermal guards on your M. Once you've taken any guards off the motherboard, you can slot in your M. These require a little bit of force to slot into their respective slots, but don't push too hard--they should slide in quite easily.

Once the M. A single M. Given the install sizes of most modern PC games, it's probably a good idea to get yourself a new drive for your gaming PC. While SATA SSDs are almost cheap enough to recommend as secondary storage what a world we're living in , you'll probably look to a regular HDD to keep the cost down when you hit multiple terabyte demands.

Realistically, you'll appreciate that speed if you're planning to keep your HDD inside a gaming PC for more than a couple of years, as we already see load times creep up for the biggest games of Power supplies are not the most exciting part of a gaming PC build. After all, it can be hard to tell them apart in terms of features. Even so, you don't want to skimp on your PSU. Corsair has an excellent and well-deserved reputation for its power supplies, and the TXM comes at a reasonable price and delivers 80 Plus Gold efficiency.

We also tend to go with modular PSUs where possible. Instead, the remaining wires have to find a home in your closet. Here's our guide to the best power supplies for PC gaming. Your best chance of getting hold of the best graphics cards and CPUs right now is to buy one of the best gaming PCs or best gaming laptops.

Cases can be as stylish or boring as you want. We're going to go for the former rather than the latter, with the NZXT H, a slick, tempered glass case available in white or black. If you want other options, check our guide to the best mid-tower cases. The clean look goes well on any desk and doesn't stand out like many so-called 'gaming cases.

Picking a case can be an entirely personal choice, so for more options, here are the best PC cases you can buy right now. He built his first gaming PC at the tender age of 16, and finally finished bug-fixing the Cyrix-based system around a year later.

When he dropped it out of the window. Now he's back, writing about the nightmarish graphics card market, CPUs with more cores than sense, gaming laptops hotter than the sun, and SSDs more capacious than a Cybertruck. Included in this guide: 1. AMD Ryzen 5 X. Specifications Cores: 6. Threads: Base Clock: 3.

Boost Clock: 4. Overclocking: Yes. L3 Cache: 32 MB. PCIe 4.