Building your own gaming PC can seem like a daunting experience. You might not even know where to start, but there are a few things that you can do to try and guide yourself through the process.

Understand your Needs

The first thing that you need to do is work out if you should be building a PC or buying one. If you want to help yourself here, then you need to work out what games you’ll be likely to play. Some games will require a very high-end system in order to operate. Others won’t need much power at all, and by taking this into account you can be sure to save time and money.

What do you need?

When choosing the parts for your PC, there’s a lot for you to take into consideration. You need to make sure that every part you have is compatible. You also need to make sure that you balance everything out too. After all, the last thing you need is to spend a small fortune on your PC, only to find that the cheap graphics card you installed is bottlenecking your performance.

The Importance of a Good Processor

The processor is known as being the brains of your computer. It is the second-most impactful component, behind the GPU. It’s also the most important if you’re creating your own PC. There are a few things that you need to know about choosing your processor. The first thing that you need to take note of is your clock speed. This is usually measured in gigahertz. Another thing that you need to think about is the number of cores you have. A general rule is the more you have, the better your PC will perform. If you want to future-proof your computer then you need to make sure that you buy an up-to-date CPU. It also helps to compare the benchmark stats against popular models too, so you can find one that is within your budget without compromising your PC’s performance. If you need some additional help, you should note that Intel processors are stronger than most in terms of individual-core performance, but they do provide you with some restrictions in terms of overclocking. AMD processors are known for having strength across the cores, which makes them much better for multitasking and productivity. That being said, both options are good for gaming, as long as you look into the one that you are buying and that you also take note of the individual stats.

Choosing the Motherboard

So now you have chosen your CPU, you need to make sure that you have a compatible motherboard. The main difference between a low-end motherboard and one that’s high-end is something known as overclocking.  All modern AMD processors have the ability to overclock, but not all Intel processors have this function.

It’s all about the Graphics Card

The GPU is otherwise known as the Graphics Processing Unit. This will be the component that affects your gaming performance the most. If you think about a first-person shooter game, the CPU is what keeps track of what other players are doing. It shows where they are on the map and even what they are shooting at. The GPU takes all of this information and translates it into the graphics you see on the screen. Even though the GPU might be the most important function on your PC, it still needs the CPU in order to function properly. If the CPU isn’t processing what’s going on fast enough then your GPU will lag until it’s been able to catch up. If you want a good rule of thumb then try not to spend less than 50% of your graphics card budget, on your CPU. This will help you to run intensive games and it will also help you to make the most out of your experience overall.

RAM

RAM is otherwise known as being a memory. This is the third most important component for your overall gaming performance. It’s tied to your CPU, so it will affect your gaming if you opt for one that is low quality. If you want to get some help when choosing your RAM, you need to make sure that you opt for DDR4. DDR3 is slow and it will force your system to lag. The more RAM you have, the better your computer will run overall. 4GB is the absolute minimum you should be getting. Sure, it’s suitable for light gaming, but other than that, it will only handle light computing tasks. Modern games will overwhelm it, and make it much harder for you to get a solid experience. 8GB is a happy medium. It’s fantastic for multitasking and it’s good for gaming too. You’ll be able to play most modern games. 16GB is probably the best you can get right now. Most games won’t need this much, but if you want to future-proof your system then it should be a strong consideration.

Storage

SSD stands for Solid State Drive. It’s way faster than an HDD but it’s also more expensive. An SSD will hold your operating system, programs and a few of your favorite games. It will give you a way more responsive system and it will also make everything run faster. HDD, on the other hand, is great for storage and it does come in a way bigger sizes, but you will pay the price by having your games load up slowly. If you want to help yourself here, it is a good idea for you to invest in both. When you do, you will have the best loading times without compromising on your overall system storage.

Internet Slot

If you want to get the best result out of your PC, then it helps to have an ethernet slot. This will give you the chance to have a wired connection if you are playing an internet-intensive game. If you want to really make a good choice with your internet, then investing in a portable WiFi router is certainly the way to go. It will give you much more versatility if you are building a system and it will also help you to move your PC around at a later date.

Casing

The casing that you choose is again, rather important. The main reason for this is because it will ultimately determine your fan placement. If you want to get some additional support here, then it helps to buy your fans before you choose your case. Of course, if you are having a hard time choosing your fans then it helps to choose ones that relate to the specific type of PC you are trying to build. If you are building a high-performance computer for example, then you will want to have some additional fans. If you don’t then you run the risk of your PC overheating and this is the last thing that you need. When adding your fans, make sure that they provide your PC with a good level of circulation and also make sure that you choose ones that can actually be powered by your PC. A lot of this will depend on the fitting you have, but either way, it helps to check everything over so you can make sure that you don’t make a wasted purchase.

So, building a PC is very easy to do and when you take into account the various elements you need, you’ll soon find that you can do it way under budget too so you have nothing to worry about there.