Become a Gaming PC Builder A Tutorial on Selecting and Assembling the Perfect Rig

How to Build a Gaming PC - Intel

Memory (RAM)

Random Access Memory (RAM) is your PC's short-term memory. Its where applications store temporary data that needs to be accessed quicklythose "instruction lists" that the CPU reads and executes.

For gaming as of 2022, youll need at least 16GB of RAM. If you plan on running multiple simultaneous processes, like streaming your game, or heavily modding your game, youll need more.

The most important thing to keep in mind when shopping for RAM is what your motherboard and processor can support. RAM that's faster than what your system supports will downclock to run at your system's capabilities.

Tip: Its not recommended to mix RAM kits from different manufacturers, even if they are advertised with the same speeds, as the specifications can vary.

Tip: If you decide to go with high-speed RAM, look for RAM with Intel Extreme Memory Profile (Intel XMP) support. High-speed RAM will run at a standard (lower-than-advertised) speed unless it's overclocked², and Intel XMP makes this easy to do with predefined and tested profiles.

Check out our comprehensive RAM guide

Storage: Solid-State Drives (SSDs), Hard Disk Drives (HDDs)

There are two main types of storage: Solid-state drives (SSDs) and hard disk drives (HDDs). Each has its pros and cons, though the good news is that you don't have to choose just one.

Youll most likely want an SSD in your build. They are much faster and less prone to mechanical failure than HDDs, and some modern games have begun to require them. Youll find SSDs in two protocols:

• Serial Advanced Technology Attachment (SATA), which is the older protocol of the two and operates with higher latency and lower peak bandwidth.
• Non-Volatile Memory Express (NVMe), which uses the PCIeinterface to achieve higher performance.

You may also want to include an HDD in your build. The advantage of HDDs is their lower cost and high storage capacity, meaning you can store large quantities of data relatively inexpensively. HDDs come in two form factors:

• 2.5 inches, which are more common in laptops and usually spin at a rate of 5400 RPM (revolutions per minute).
• 3.5 inches, which are more common in desktops and spin at faster rates, often upwards of 7200 RPM.

You don't necessarily have to pick just one type of storage. Many people use a small SSD as a boot drive (for the operating system, games, and other programs) and fill the rest of their bays with cheaper HDDs for maximum storage capacity.

Learn more about selecting SSDs and HDDs for your build.

Power Supply Unit (PSU)

Selecting a power supply unit (PSU) is a critical step in any build. The PSU needs to be well-made and powerful enough to handle all current and future components, and it doesn't hurt to have a warranty.

PSUs come in non-modular, semi-modular, and full-modular styles.

• Non-modular PSUs have all cables permanently attached. This is the cheapest option, but you'll need to find a place to store all the cables that you know youre not going to use. Too many unused cables result in poor cable management, which can obstruct airflow and end up affecting your PC's performance.
• Semi-modular PSUs are the best option for most people. These units come with a handful of essential cables attached and are cheaper than full-modular styles.
• Full-modular PSUs are even easier to work with than semi-modular PSUs, but the added convenience usually comes shouldered with a higher cost.

Tip: A PSU Wattage Calculator can help you figure out how much wattage you need.

Learn how to choose the right PSU.

System Cooling: CPU Cooling and Chassis Airflow

There are two main ways to cool your PC: Air cooling and liquid cooling.

• Air cooling uses fans to funnel hot air through your system and away from components to prevent overheating. The main benefits of air cooling are cost and ease-of-installation (fans are smaller and easier to fit inside a crowded chassis). The biggest drawback to air cooling is that it can be inefficient: It depends on unobstructed airflow inside the case to move hot air away from components, so any airflow restriction can be problematic.
• Liquid cooling uses a liquid coolant (such as distilled water) to soak up heat from components and move it to an area that's less restricted (where the radiator is placed). Liquid cooling is less dependent on airflow inside the chassis, and therefore more efficient at cooling specific components. The downside to liquid cooling is that liquid cooling systems are contained, which means they're usually larger and more difficult to install than a typical air-cooled setup (they're also more expensive).

When building a liquid cooled PC, you generally have two options: an All-in-One (AIO) liquid cooler, or a custom cooling loop.

• AIOs are self-contained, pre-assembled units that come ready to install out-of-the-box and require minimal maintenance.
• Custom cooling loops are an advanced customization option that gives you greater control over your systems operating temperature (and, thus, its performance) and aesthetics. It requires some in-depth research, as youll need to plan out the route of the cooling loop through the case, and to assemble the loop yourself from custom parts.

Whatever type of cooling system you go with, you'll need a dedicated CPU cooler. CPU coolers come in both air and liquid form factors and mount directly onto your CPU. When shopping for a CPU cooler, it's important to make sure it's compatible with your CPU and sized to fit your build.

Keep your PC cool.Learn more about liquid cooling vs air cooling.

Peripherals

Monitors, keyboards, mice, headphones, and other peripherals mostly come down to personal preference. You don't need to purchase these items with your components, but you will need a display, a keyboard, and a mouse to set up your system after you build it.

Tip: Keep build balance in mind when picking peripheralsif you've got the best components in the world but you're still using a 1080p, 60Hz monitor, you won't be taking full advantage of your hardware.

What to look for in a gaming monitor

Operating System (OS)

Last but not least, youll need to prepare to install an operating system once all the other components have been assembled in the case. To prepare your PCs OS ahead of time, determine which OS you want to install on your PC and download the installer on a USB flash drive. Windows 11 is recommended to unlock the full potential of the latest Intel Core CPUs and Intel Arc GPUs. You can download the installer here.

Best gaming PC builds: budget, mid-range and high-end recommendations

For those about to build a gaming PC, we salute you. We're big fans of building your own PC here at PC Gamernot only is it often cheaper than buying a pre-built but you get to learn all about how a PC is pieced together. That can be incredibly helpful knowledge if you ever need to upgrade or troubleshoot your machine.

The first step to building your own PC is choosing your components. Below you'll find three gaming PC builds, starting from a sub-$900 build to an all-out overkill rig at over $4,000. All the hardware in this guide are the parts I'd pick if I were building my own PC, and using my own experience and our expert reviews to guide me. The key components have been tested on our test bench to ensure they meet expectations.

If this isn't what you're looking for, you can skip the whole building thing and get one of the best gaming PCs prebuilt or snap up a cheap gaming PC instead. But trust me, PC building can be a whole lot of fun and it's usually the far cheaper option. Go on, give it a go.

Best budget gaming PC build

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For this budget build, I'm opting for one of my favourite processors right now, the Intel Core i5 13400F. It's a plucky chip considering its price point, and Intel has bumped the number of E-cores on the chip compared to the 12th Gen model. That makes it a decent multithreaded processor, while simultaneously the speedier P-cores favoured for gaming keep things buttery smooth fps-wise.

The added benefit of this 13th Gen Intel chip is that we can opt for a motherboard with DDR4 support. Nowadays, DDR5 is the memory of choice for high-end machines, but when you get down to a budget level it's not quite as affordable. DDR4 RAM, and RAM in general, is extremely cheap nowadays, and that's why we're stuffing 16GB of 3,200MHz RAM into this machine, with a CAS latency of just 16.

I've tried to save as much cash as possible in this build to spend that money on one key component: the graphics card. Nvidia's RTX 4060 is a decent all-rounder for the money, and while we would love it to be a little cheaper, it does come with the benefit of DLSS 3 and good ray tracing chops.

There are a couple of alternative GPU picks: either going cheaper with a last-gen RDNA 2 GPU like the RX 6600 XT or bumping up to the RX 7700 XT found in our mid-range PC build, though the latter is around $150 more expensive than the RTX 4060 and, to be honest, we wish it were the RX 7800 XT. But now I'm just day-dreaming of better GPUs.

For the purpose of this build, I want to nail 1080p performance. The RTX 4060 does just that.

One key component I don't recommend you skimp on is the power supply. We used to have a somewhat cheaper XPG PSU in our build guides, the Pylon 450, but it's mostly unavailable nowadaysat least for a fair price. That's why I've bumped up to the Be Quiet! Pure Power 12 M 550Wanother PSU maker we've reviewed well in recent years. It's enough juice for this GPU/CPU combo, while coming with some modern features. Be Quiet! use a solid platform for their power supplies, so you can rest easy knowing that your PC is safe from dodgy power.

As for storage, I've opted for our favourite SSD on the cheaper side of things: the WD Black SN770. Now don't let this SSDs price fool you, it's extremely fast. It's going to be a superb and snappy boot drive, and you really can't fault it on price. Originally I had a 500GB drive in here, alongside a 1TB HDD, but as the 1TB SN770 isn't much more money so I killed the HDD for the larger solid-state storage. A deal I'd make every time.

Lastly, the chassis. This is a tricky one, as if you really want to save pennies I recommend the Aerocool Zauron that I reviewed in 2022. Thing is, that isn't the easiest case to find in the US anymore, and even in the UK it appears to be in the process of being replaced by newer models. You can't really go wrong with most of Corsair's cheaper Carbide cases in my experience. If in doubt, take a look into the Carbide 175R.

Overall, this budget PC doesn't drop the ball on any of its components. It's certainly better than what you'd buy for the same cash pre-built, and I'm sure it'll last you years to come without running into trouble. Though I can't vouch for your building ability. Patience and caretwo very important aspects of PC building any of us would do well to remember.

Best mid-range gaming PC build

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For our mid-range build, I'm recommending the same processor as the budget build: the Intel Core i5 13400F. Yep, I'm sticking to my guns here, and there's good reason for it. I want the benefit of this cheaper processor and money-savvy DDR4 RAM to keep plenty of cash aside for the graphics card.

Originally I had picked the RTX 4060 Ti for this build. Mostly because, at the time, it was the only current generation GPU in the correct price bracket, and importantly beat out the RTX 30-series and RDNA 2 cards it solely competed with. However, AMD just dropped the RX 7700 XT and RX 7800 XT, which are priced as such to completely rule out the RTX 4060 Ti from any of my builds.

Now, I'd love to say the RX 7700 XT is a home-run, but it's not. It's priced so closely to the RX 7800 XT that I'd wholly recommend splashing out on the higher-end card. That said, I have to confine myself to some sort of budget for these machines, and the RX 7800 XT tipped this build guide over the edge.

For now, we'll stick with the RX 7700 XT, but know if you have any spare budget for this machine, I'd wholeheartedly recommend spending it on swapping to the RX 7800 XT.

For RAM, I've stuck with a tried and tested dual-stick kit of Corsair's Vengeance DDR4, rated to 3,200MHz. It's a fast, dependable kit that looks nice to boot.

Since we need a bit more power budget for this build versus the budget build, I've gone with the Be Quiet! Pure Power 12 M 650W here. It's a great platform, and a trusted manufacturer. You definitely don't want to pinch too many pennies when it comes to your power supplythat can have dire consequences. Best to play it safe and spend a little extra for peace of mind.

The WD Black SN770 rounds out this build. It's a great little NVMe that will work as an excellent boot drive with room to spare for your gaming library.

Lastly, the NZXT N7 case. If you're spending this sort of budget on a gaming PC, you want it to look good too. The NZXT is an absolute stunner, and it's well finished to look great under your desk or on it. The other benefit is NZXT's great cable management in the rear of the case and the tidy shrouds in the front, which mean you don't have to worry about too many zip ties or ugly cable runs visible through its tempered glass side panel.

Best high-end gaming PC build

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This is it, the daddy of PC builds. I've spared no expense putting this one together, and was pleasantly surprised it only amounted to a cool $4,000 when I totalled all the parts up. Oof. It may not be the cheapest but this PC will tear through any game you throw at it, any video editing task you want to get done, and make short work of at least a handful of Google Chrome tabs.

At its heart lies the AMD Ryzen 9 7950X3D. What can't this chip do? It's a mega-multitasker, with 16 Zen 4 cores capable of running up to 32 threadsyour task manager won't know what to make of all those cores.

What makes the Ryzen 9 7950X3D a gaming powerhouse is the extra 3D V-Cache stacked atop of its cores. This chip comes with 128MB of L3 cache, double the regular Ryzen 9 7950X. Games can't get enough of the stuff, and this chip is demonstrably quicker in gaming than any other around today. It's the perfect chip to pair with a high-end graphics card, and I have just the thing in mind.

The RTX 4090. Did you expect anything less? Of course not. This graphics card offers unbeatable performance, and frankly it's a better deal, in terms of performance per dollar, than the RTX 4080 that sits below it in the stack. While equalling the amount some would spend on a car, it is an extremely proficient graphics card that makes short work of 4K gaming.

There are no real surprises for the rest of the build, either, besides maybe the SSD. I've opted for 2TB of our favourite PCIe 4.0 storage here, the WD Black SN850X, rather than a 'just-for-the-sake-of-it' PCIe 5.0 drive. We will reach a time when PCIe 5.0 makes more sense, but it's not really today. This drive, paired with another 2TB of decently-quick Crucial storage, will offer plenty of space for your Steam library.

I couldn't really opt for anything less than 32GB of DDR5 here, and make no mistake we are going all-in on the newer memory standard here. Prices have come tumbling down for DDR5 as of late, so it's not such a hit on our budget as it once was.

The PSU matters for a lot with this build, as it's the lifeblood of all these expensive components. I've opted for the Seasonic Prime TX-1000 to ensure a robust platform with extremely high efficiency.

All that is wrapped up in the Corsair 5000D: a lovely looking case with tons of expansion room. I also have the Corsair 5000T for my PC build at home, and I'd recommend that as an alternative for the RGB obsessed. Either way, there's plenty of airflow getting to those high performance parts.

There's plenty of opportunity to configure this build to your liking with a couple tweaks here or there, but the important thing is it's going to absolute crush any game you throw at it.

Monitors, peripherals, and other important bits

Below are a few of our favourite monitors and peripherals you may wish to check out if you're entirely starting from scratch in PC gaming.

High-end picks

Glossy goodness lets Alienware's cheaper OLED monitor sing

For

• Glossy coating makes all the difference
• Ultra-quick response
• Good full-screen brightness

Against

• Still fairly pricey
• Mediocre pixel density

The legend continues in a leaner, meaner, more focused death-dealing machine.

For

• Excellent ergonomics
• Impeccable wireless performance
• Great sensor and tracking
• Very good battery

Against

• Seriously pricey
• Not great outside of FPSes
• Kinda generic looking

A gorgeous enthusiast keeb from Asus, but it sure is 2023 expensive.

For

• Outstanding build quality
• Great typing experience
• Solid, speedy wireless
• Useful OLED display

Against

• How much?!
• Damned Armoury Crate

Budget picks

Proof positive that good gaming hardware doesn't have to be painfully pricey.

For

• Zippy IPS panel
• 165 refresh and good latency
• Slick, well-built chassis

Against

• Very limited HDR support
• 'Only' 1080p
• Silly OSD menu and options

Logitech G203 Lightsync gaming mouse review

The Logitech G203 Lightsync is an awful lot like what came before, but that's not such a bad thing.

For

• Affordable
• Three-zone RGB lighting
• Lightweight

Against

• G203 Prodigy is cheaper for now
• Tough competition at this price

The best budget gaming keyboard, and one with more than just a nod to the enthusiast keeb community.

For

• Super affordable
• Per-key RGB
• Hot-swappable base
• Discrete volume dial
• PBT pudding caps as standard

Against

• Plasticky chassis
• Hollow sound
• Kailh red switches aren't great