How to Build a Gaming PC for Beginners: Assemble Everything

Building and assembling a gaming PC is not difficult, the cheapest way is to build a gaming PC yourself. When putting together a suitable gaming PC, you want a system that will allow you to play games in high resolution and that will respond quickly to your inputs. Before you start putting it together, you should ask yourself a few questions. 

That way, you'll avoid disappointment later due to a bad choice. Answer the following questions in advance: - What is your maximum budget - Do you need new peripherals in addition to the computer? - How long do you want to use the system? - Do you want to overclock your processor later?

The components that have the biggest impact on performance are the processor, the graphics card and the RAM. These three components need to be well matched, otherwise you'll end up with a "bottleneck". A "bottleneck" means that one or more components in your computer are much slower than the rest, and that the faster components are underutilized.

For example, if you choose an Intel Core i3 processor with an NVIDIA GTX 2080 Ti graphics card, the expensive "high-end" graphics card will only be able to use a fraction of its power. For example, if you have a good processor and graphics card, but not enough RAM, then certain games will also be unplayable.

Things you should consider for the assembly

This problem is less pronounced if you put together a computer that is not meant for gaming, but for rendering photos and videos. This usually requires a lot of power from the processor and memory, but not so much from the graphics card. So in this case, you can safely take a slightly less powerful graphics card.

The case

Your case has little to no impact on the performance of your gaming PC. Nevertheless, you should look carefully when choosing the case. For one thing, the look enhances the image of your system.

A nice case with appropriate style elements is always nice to look at. On the other hand, you want a system with slots to install components and fans. Airflow through the case is also important. The better you can control the airflow, the better you will cool your system.

The power supply

To power all the components, you'll need a power supply. Putting together a gaming PC requires a dedicated power supply. The power of your gaming PC must be sufficient to drive heavy processors or graphics cards.

The power supply has a rating of 400 watts, while a gaming PC needs at least 550 watts. If you're building an expensive system with high-end components, you're more likely to choose 650 or even 750 watts. Diehards always go for 1000 watts or more, but a normal gaming PC doesn't need that kind of power.

Always pay attention to the build of your power supply. Not every power supply fits into every case. By checking this beforehand, you can avoid problems during installation. Also, choose a power supply that has enough ports.

After all, your motherboard, graphics card, hard drives and other components will only work if they have power. One last thing to consider is the efficiency and noise level of the power supply. Obviously, you want a power supply that works efficiently while being barely audible, if at all. So when putting together your gaming PC, preferably choose a power supply with an 80 Plus certificate.

This certificate guarantees high efficiency under different loads. Various websites test power supplies. You can quickly make a comparison by looking at the different power supplies and placing them next to each other.

The processor

With the processor we come to one of the most important components of your gaming PC setup. Although your graphics card is more important for gaming, you want to be able to do other tasks quickly as well. The most powerful processor is by no means necessary, but an above average processor is. We can't give concrete advice here, because the developments follow each other quickly, which also has its influence on the available processors and the selling price.

If you still do video editing on the side, it's worth getting a stronger CPU. The same principle applies to laptops for video editing.

We definitely recommend AMD for inexpensive gaming PCs. The price-performance ratio offers better value for money in this segment. In particular, you'll have a more powerful CPU in cheaper systems if you choose a processor from AMD.

Socket

The socket of your processor and your motherboard must be identical, otherwise you won't get the processor installed. The socket of your motherboard also determines the chipset provided by the manufacturer. More expensive motherboards often have sockets with more powerful chipsets.

Cache memory

The cache memory of your processor accelerates the processing process. When processing instructions, your CPU always checks whether it can still find the required data in the cache memory. It is there because of a previous operation. Since the cache memory is a very fast RAM memory, your CPU needs less time to read the data from the cache memory instead of from another place. The simple rule here is that the more cache memory, the better.

TDP

When performing operations, every CPU produces heat. We always quote the maximum heat production (or TDP) in watts. To organize cooling, your TDP is important because the fans need to keep the temperature of your CPU under control. Therefore, when putting together a gaming PC, you should choose a CPU cooler that generates enough airflow.

One final consideration you should make when buying a processor is the possibility of overclocking. Do you want to overclock your system for additional performance gains or to boost performance in a few years so you don't have to buy a new system? Then buy a processor and a suitable motherboard where you can set the multiplier. Not every processor is suitable for overclocking.

Motherboard

The motherboard usually doesn't have a big impact on performance, but it is still very important for a stable gaming computer. After all, you don't want to experience any bluescreens while gaming. The motherboard is where all the components converge, so it's important that it has enough ports for the components you want to use. In most cases, a more expensive motherboard will have more future-proof connectors and better cooling.

RAM

While you're working on games on your PC, your system uses the main memory or RAM to run these programs. RAM is much faster than a hard drive, so it's great for reading or writing data quickly. For normal users, 4 GB of DDR4 Ram is sufficient, but gaming PCs are best equipped with 8 or 16 GB of RAM. 8 GB is sufficient in most situations, but high-end gaming PCs should be equipped with 16 GB. 

When choosing your RAM, you should consider two factors: the speed of the RAM and the number of memory slots on your motherboard. Do not provide more memory than the number of memory slots. After all, you'll never be able to install 4 memory slots if your motherboard has two slots.

The speed of your memory is a second factor. Choose the golden mean and buy DDR4 memory clocked at 3200 MHz. Memory with a higher clock rate only offers added value in very powerful systems, while the price of memory with a lower clock rate does not differ much. Always buy DDR4 memory and don't be tempted by incredible offers only to find out later that it's DDR3 memory and your motherboard can't work with it.

Graphics card

Contrary to what many people think about putting together a gaming PC, the graphics card is the most important component when playing games. The operations that your PC performs to display the razor sharp graphics are performed by the graphics card. That's why you read everywhere that you should always choose a balanced system rather than a very powerful CPU combined with a mediocre graphics card.

As with the processor, there are dozens of graphics cards on the market and it's an art to find the right graphics card that fits your budget and also performs well. Choosing a good graphics card starts with the graphics chip. This chip does the calculations, so the more powerful the chip, the better the performance. Always evaluate the frequency and turbo frequency of the graphics chip. You should also choose a graphics card that has enough computing cores. 

A second important element of a graphics card is the memory. To perform the calculations, each graphics card has its own working memory, which is even faster than the working memory in your computer. A good graphics card has enough memory, which is clocked at a high speed. Also pay attention to the bus width of your graphics card. The more bits, the better the performance for your gaming PC.

Software

You can't do much with a computer without software. In order to play with your computer, you must first install Windows. If you have a Windows package at home, you can install it. My recommendation would be Windows 10 Pro. An antivirus system sounds convenient and safe but is ultimately just a waste of power. If you absolutely need an antivirus program, then you can also use Windows' internal one.